Chloe slowly took off her hood. In the lamplight, Chloe's eyes were filled with a sense of disgust that she had been unable to hide for some time.
"To think I have to go this far because of you... For the sake of the future, it would be better for everyone if you just disappeared like this."
Even the affectionate voice that had been put together has now transformed into a cold one.
Serira could not help but scratch at the title. But that was only for a moment. Soon, Serira stretched out both arms through the bars, staring at the cold figure of Chloe with eyes filled with astonishment.
Bang! Chloe stepped back to avoid Serira, who was trying to grab her with a face full of betrayal and venom.
"I thought that lethal dose would be instant death. I'll have to adjust it a bit more."
Chloe watched Serira with a gaze that was hard to believe for the niece she had cherished all this time, as if she were merely looking at a mouse being experimented on.
Chloe picked up the water bottle and lid that had rolled to her feet and hid them back in her pocket. Then, looking down at Serira’s eyes rolling back and hearing the choking sound, she turned around resolutely, putting her hood back on as if there was nothing more to see.
'That's it. There won't be any problems now.'
She never expected the fire incident that occurred while experimenting with Pochi in the slums to be exposed in this way. It was a bolt from the blue, especially for Duke Joubert, who was already furious about being unable to properly distribute poisonous herbs due to fear of Thierry.
When a situation arose where he had to keep a low profile for the time being due to Serira, Duke Joubert secretly sent a messenger to order a quick resolution to this worst-case scenario.
"I ordered you to handle the impurities yourself."
This was likely the last chance Duke Joubert was giving Chloe. It was probably meant to make her swear absolute loyalty to him by personally killing her niece, Serira.
It was irreversible now. Since she had effectively killed the criminal herself to cover up the incident, the moment this spread, all the blame would fall on her.
Chloe stared anxiously at the hallway leading to the entrance. The underground prison, which sent chills down one's spine from the moment one entered, was enveloped in silence.
The solitary cells were located at the exact opposite end of the communal prison and were positioned at the end of corridors branching out in all directions to prevent prisoners from escaping. As if that were not enough, the structure required following secret markings known only to the guards to find the exit, making escape difficult.
However, since the security personnel were also limited, all we had to do was avoid the guards at the entrance.
Thanks to that, Chloe had secretly put sleeping pills in the canteen of the guard keeping watch at this hour, and had sneaked in while he was asleep.
"...I came because I heard there was a gap since it was shift change, but come to think of it, it's too sloppy."
Only one person is on duty during the shift change? Why not leave some buffer time for the change? She had rushed here with her reason clouded by desperation, but once she actually finished, a chilling sense of foreboding snapped her back to reality.
Chloe quickly rushed out of the hallway and headed toward the entrance, practically running. Gasping for breath, her breathing grew heavier from the tension and impatience.
'They're all here!'
She wanted to hurry back and erase all these traces. However, as soon as Chloe opened the door, she was left devastated by the sight before her.
“Catch her.”
Thierry, who was standing a little distance from the entrance, tilted his head slightly and glared at Chloe.
'It was a trap? But how did you know I would come?'
Even as her mind went blank, a question arose. Chloe, her face pale, glanced around ahead, then spotted Thierry's merciless gaze and trembled like someone facing terror. The waiting knights began to slowly surround the area.
Something unbelievable caught Chloe's eye as she was paralyzed with fear and unable to even look away. A platinum-blonde head had peeked out from behind Thierry's massive frame.
Even while being bound, she couldn't take her eyes off the scene that was so completely out of place in this situation. Smooth, wavy hair swayed gently, and a small face popped out.
"Princess...?"
Chloe muttered with a dazed look on her face. Why is the Princess here? The Emperor's presence was surprising enough, but the sight of the Princess appearing from behind him was simply unbelievable. So much so that she couldn't take her eyes off Elisha even as she was being dragged away, and even went so far as to turn back to look at her.
But that was only for a moment. Chloe was shocked as if she had been hit hard on the back of the head with a hammer.
'...Are you laughing?'
However, even that quickly flared up as if fire had suddenly entered Chloe's eyes. She found Elisha's face, smiling harmlessly just as usual, to be maddeningly hateful.
Her head was spinning. Overwhelmed by shock, Chloe couldn't even speak properly and had no choice but to be dragged away with her eyes wide open.
***
Thierry narrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Elisha, who was standing cutely behind him.
"I told you not to follow me."
He had told her to wait in her room, saying he would explain the details of the incident separately in case it was dangerous, but she seemed displeased that she had insisted on coming all the way here.
Wagen was probably the only one among them who noticed how surprised he was to see Elisha suddenly show up yesterday.
"Your Majesty, I would like you to be wary of the Head Maid, Chloe Ante."
Elisha spoke boldly, as if the timid herbivore she usually used to cautiously observe had vanished.
The story was that her maid happened to see the head maid, in the middle of the night, secretly meeting with an outsider.
There was no need to verify the truth of those words. Although the fact that the head maid was Serira's relative did play a part, Thierry believed it without question primarily because Elisha had said it.
Thierry immediately gave an order to the prison guard. He dropped a hint that there was a shortage of personnel during the shift change and waited for the head maid to fall into the trap.
Sure enough, the head maid stepped forward herself to kill Serira. She had created a pretext for being imprisoned with her own hands.
"Ah... I think I'll have to see it for myself..."
Elisha glanced around toward the prison entrance, as if avoiding Thierry's gaze. Her cheeks were flushed as if she had just run, and her face did not lose its light even in the darkness.
"Um... perhaps Serira?"
"... She must be dead."
Thierry muttered with a hesitant expression, acknowledging that he had indeed manipulated the situation to ensure his capture. He glanced around cautiously, worried she might be afraid of him, but fortunately, Elisha simply nodded calmly.
He breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to Oscar.
"Keep it guarded. Until I come back later."
"Aren't you going to interrogate her right away?"
"After dropping off the Princess."
Thierry pressed himself against Elisha, who was still standing behind him. With a startled look on her face, he carefully took her wrists and pulled them down as she tried to link her hands with his.
"Oh. It's okay! I can go alone."
“I’m not okay.”
The long fingers that had been resting on her wrist brushed against her palm as if sweeping down. Then, as their fingers intertwined, their hands naturally met.
Elisha lowered her eyes to the hand that had been caught in her commotion, then raised them toward her face. The lush, verdant eyes that met his gaze trembled like leaves meeting the wind.
"Let's go."
Thierry pulled her hand ever so slightly. As he moved slowly to match her pace, he could feel her following obediently.
Thierry's stiff lips softened. A strange sense of bonding was felt. Quietly holding hands, they walked along the still dark night road toward the main palace.
"...Do you really have to watch it?"
Eventually, they arrived at Elisha's room, and they stared at each other with contrasting expressions. Elisha sat on the bed with a hesitant look, openly displaying her embarrassment. However, Thierry simply nodded firmly.
"Yeah, I have to wait until I see you asleep before I leave."
Thierry placed a stool next to the bed and gestured with his chin for her to lie down quickly. Soon, Elisha swallowed a sigh with a look of half-giving up and lay down on the bed.
As she held the edge of the blanket against her chin, Thierry gently tapped the back of jer right hand with his index finger, as if asking for her hand.
Elisha twitched the corners of her lips at Thierry's actions, as he slyly grabbed her fingertips and dragged her along like a timid baby animal. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, as if suppressing a laugh that was about to burst out.
Thierry, who had been looking at her with a puzzled expression for a moment, opened his mouth while subtly fiddling with Elisha's hand beneath his.
"...I’ve been helped again. Besides what we talked about last time, tell me if there is anything else you want."
Of course, they'll probably tell me to leave out the return trip again this time, right? They didn't say it directly, but I could fully expect it.
Elisha slowly opened her eyes and looked at Thierry. She spoke calmly, looking pleased that it was exactly what she had wanted to say anyway.
"I merely relayed what Marie found out, so if possible, I would like the compensation to go to Marie."
Thierry tensed his jaw.
'Ugh. This is driving me crazy.'
She was so bold and smart; she was indeed my Lari. To think that even her gentle and kind side hadn't changed since childhood.
Fearing that he might get taken advantage of, Thierry firmly resolved to stick by his side and fend them all off from now on.
All of these things would have shocked Elisha if she had heard them.
***
Marie returned to her room with a deeply moved look on her face. It was around the afternoon, past lunchtime, and when the sun was high in the sky, that Thierry had suddenly called her to commend her for her achievements.
"I'll be promoted to Senior Lady-in-waiting next year, and they say they'll give me a reward too!"
It was really a good thing. I know she lives a hard life alone, so with that level of compensation, she shouldn't lack anything to live on.
However, there was one thing that bothered me. Although I had captured the Head Maid, I hadn't gained anything concrete yet, but the reward was excessively generous. It made me wonder if it was really okay to be this generous already.
'...Well. They’ll figure it out!'
Still, thinking that it’s better to just let it go, I decided not to think too deeply about it and sincerely congratulated Marie.
"I heard you say that the Princess asked His Majesty to give me a reward."
Did you really tell me that? You didn't really have to...
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