In a situation where she couldn't say yes or no, she just blinked, meeting his gaze. Shartus let out a short laugh.
“I guess that’s right."
"...I'm not saying I'm going to die completely."
Rosentine's voice trailed off. It wasn't a particularly lame excuse, to her own mind, but Shartus's determined gaze made her feel like she was making a mistake.
She checked every word she had said. She said she wouldn't destroy that pretty cabinet, and she wouldn't take away the medicine meant for the Crown Prince.
"Then I did nothing wrong?" With that thought, she lifted her gaze again. Shartus was still looking at Rosentine.
"Do you have anything to say?"
“I have something to say..."
Chartus raised an eyebrow. He was breathtakingly handsome, but Rosentine stared at him, keeping her mouth shut except for the question from earlier.
Her blue eyes were filled with a deep sense of incomprehension. Shartus stared at her and remained silent. His eyebrows slowly furrowed.
Seeing him open and close his mouth rarely, he also seemed slightly confused.
This time, Rosentine raised an eyebrow. Look at that. He doesn't even know what he's talking about. That's what she thought.
"...Isn't that dangerous?"
After a long silence, Shartus blurted out, seemingly at a loss for words. It was a response as far removed from Rosentine's expectations as the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
While she blinked once, twice, Shartus remained silent. He simply looked at her with less feverish eyes, his brow still slightly furrowed.
Rosentine frowned and tilted her head, following him as if following a plaster pattern.
"Your Highness, you too are in a dangerous situation."
'Why are you doing this when you say I'm going to save you?' and I barely swallowed what was about to come out.
As the feeling of being overwhelmed by emotions eased, she was very worried about the hand that was still holding her chin this time. The distance is as close to. However, if she told him that she was worried about this, this man would definitely change the mood in an instant and try to make fun of her.
No matter how much he looks at her with a disapproving and unconvincing expression right now. So instead, she took a step forward and closed the distance.
She secretly held her breath in the deep snow in front of her.
"That danger. Didn't you hire me to get rid of it?"
The distance has been reduced to just one step. Her actions as she took a step closer than usual made Shartus's body stiffen slightly. A languid but powerful gaze was scrutinizing Rosentine's closer face.
She felt like she was blushing, but Rosentine looked into his hot eyes as well. The eyes that looked at Shartus were as clear blue as always.
The flickering in his eyes, which she had named anger, subsided for a moment. As Shartus made eye contact with Rosentine, he gradually smiled deeply. Then, a low voice sounded a little softer.
"That's right."
"I won't die. Then all the hard work I've been doing so far will be in vain."
Rosentine said clearly. She didn't know why she felt like she was soothing him.
Of course, just because she feels this way doesn't mean he will feel that way too. The hand that grabbed Rosentine's chin moved. The feel of the thumb that overshadowed the outline of the face was unfamiliar.
Rosentine, who was flinching, took a step back. Shartus didn't bother to hold on to her face as she walked away. He only shrugged his shoulders and briefly cast his gaze on Lucien, who was standing behind him.
"I feel unbearably annoying, and according to the shaman, there is no reason to do anything."
Rosentine pouted her lips unevenly. Shartus looked at this and shook his head loosely as if to warm up. It was a light movement that even felt relaxed, but there was still a strong energy from a while ago.
What is bothering you again? Rosentine sighed as she thought about it. Until the next words are heard.
"I should join you."
"Yes?"
"The operation of the cabinet is the same."
"Your Highness!"
Hostang and Lucien's sighs erupted from behind. They were about to run halfway, but Shartus raised his hand to stop them.
"Be quiet."
What else does this mean? Rosentine opened her eyes, then frowned and then circled again. She doesn't understand it at all. Shartus only looked at this splendid change in expression with a relaxed face.
"How... You don't know, do you?"
"You just need to tell me. You have never dealt with this yourself. If you tell me, it will be the same no matter who does."
"But if you do it wrong..."
"I'm going to die because of my mistake, whether you stab me or I stab you."
Except for buying even one more second, well, that's it. Of course, if Rosentine herself dies, he will not be able to avoid the next threat of poisoning, and even Shartus may die. However, if the break through the trap here, there will only be one poison plot left, and the thought hit her head.
Maybe she was mistaken. This Prince might not have any interest in dying. Of course, if he had done that, he wouldn't have hired her in the first place.
"I have never failed to handle a tool after hearing how to use it."
Shartus added, his lips curling upward. Rosentine let out a breathy laugh. "That would be the case. His reputation as an undefeated knight backs that up."
She didn't know if that extended to the entire tool, but his judgment and understanding were certainly not easily conceived, and if the employer was so stubborn, it would be difficult to simply say no.
Even Lucien, who should have stopped the Prince from risking his life, remained silent.
Rosentine was troubled. The main reason was that it might be significantly easier if two people could operate the cabinet properly.
The way she knew was through the ghost, so what she heard was the same as Shartus or herself.
Yes, of course, she had practiced.
"I think it would be okay if the two of us did well."
“How?”
"The stinger will sting you from the inside when you put your hand inside the vine's root."
"So, one death for one resurrection?"
Rosentine nodded. She reached out and touched the ivory tree's roots. She opened the lid and pressed inside, revealing a space. It was just big enough for two hands.
"When you pour wine, the weight of the glass causes the device to work."
It was quite a tricky task, so even she couldn't guarantee 100% success in one swoop.
It was just a gamble on the fact that she knew the design principle of the device and that she could do it over a long period of time.
Why not? She memorized all the cards and felt like she was winning a game at a casino.
"What's the internal situation? Do you know?"
"Yes, I saw it. To put it simply, the medicine seeps into the bottom of the glass, and while the medicine is in the glass, you have to hold the handle that supports the cup from the inside of this root."
"It means that poison flows from below while you are holding it."
Desert stuff. The cabinet was an object that contained the idea of the desert rather than the idea of the sea. The blessing of the desert land that has absorbed blood and poison, and the oasis that rises above it.
The documents documenting the Mura's Ivory certainly contained such praise. It is a beautiful craft. Rosentine examined the ivory and swept the work.
Thinking of the medicine and poison flowing somewhere inside, it really felt like a desert.
"If you don't hold on, you won't get the medicine."
While serving wine, the handle must be pulled strongly inside. It could have been a little overwhelming on her own.
The problem was that while holding the handle, you had to find another place where the stinger was pouring out and dismantle that part. Without being able to see inside.
Once you don't know the existence of poison, you don't need to dismantle the stinger in the first place. So you just went to the other world, and even if you knew about the existence of the stinger, there was no way you could manipulate the invisible interior. However, she had many eccentric friends.
The blueprint shown by the collector's ghost was truly unusual.
"Look, you can't see it anywhere."
He really, really angrily took her to a part of the imperial palace. The place that the ghost took her to was a place where you had to open the door again from the back of the library to get out.
The dusty warehouse was filled with piles of papers and paper scrolls.
'Is it abolished?'
'Abolition! Excuse me, there is no such rudeness! Do you know what I'm trying to show now?'
'Rosentine, you can't use it if you make fun of him too much.'
At Ranon's words, Rosentine shrugged. Still, she obediently apologized to the collector's ghost. Because he was helping her for now.
In fact, there was only one reason why the collector's ghost helped her. It was just because he wanted to show off his collection so much.
It is said that it has been a long time since he was dead and could not touch anything, and he could not enter the secret room that he had made during his lifetime. Of course, it was information given by Ranon. Therefore, if you open the door to the secret room, you can get information from him.
Rosentine thought of a passage that was more dusty than a warehouse, and that she had found a different passage in it. She remembers the blueprint she tried to memorize while simulating it several times.
In a long, enclosed room with dimly lit light, she took the time to memorize the blueprints. She also practiced by gesturing in the air. All of this was in preparation for this kind of thing.
'It won't be exactly the same.'
'Because you can't hope for everything."
'Still. It's a device that fell off with similar branches, so it should be roughly the same. Maybe Mura's Ivory is from a long time ago, so it might be easy.'
In the blueprint that Rosentine memorized, Auro's device was depicted. It was an object that seemed to work similarly to the Mura's Ivory. It was a device for air defense that shot poison while holding the device with your hand inside.
"Are you putting your hand in this?"
Shartus grabbed her hand tightly. Before she could be surprised, Rosentine's hand was pulled into the cabinet.
'Ah.'
Rosentine, who was momentarily dazed, missed the moment to react.
'This is how it goes.'
So, if you put your hand inside, you can reach it. She didn't think about dismantling the cabinet yet.
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