Chapter 38
Chloé slowly pulled off her hood, her eyes revealing the disgust she hadn’t been able to hide earlier.
“I can’t believe I have to do this for you… It would be better for everyone if you disappeared, for the sake of the future.”
Chloé voice, which she’d managed to fake, was now harsh and cold.
Sera clutched her throat and scratched at it. But only for a moment. Soon, she stretched her arms through the bars, staring at Chloé’s cold form with horrified eyes.
With a bang, Chloé stepped back, away from Sera, who tried to grab Chloé with a look of betrayal on her face.
“I thought a lethal dose like that would kill you instantly. I’ll have to make some adjustments.”
Chloé watched Sera like a guinea pig in an experiment, hardly the niece she’d grown to love.
Chloé snatched up the water bottle and cap that had rolled to her feet and hid them in her arms, and then, with a thud, she looked down contemplatively at the increasingly choked sound and the fluttering of Sera’s eyes, and then, as if there was nothing more to see, she put her hood back on and turned away resolutely.
‘Never mind, it won’t be a problem now.’
She hadn’t expected the fire incident in the slums while experimenting with the pochi to come back to haunt her in this way. This was especially true for the Duke of Joubert, who was furious at Thierry’s inability to distribute the poisonous herbs properly.
When the publican was unintentionally forced to live on her own for a while, the Duke of Joubert sent a messenger to quickly put an end to the worst of the situation.
“He has ordered me to dispose of the impurities myself.”
This was probably the last chance the Duke of Joubert would give Chloé. He would have her swear undisputed loyalty to him by killing her niece.
There was no turning back now. She had covered up the crime by killing the criminal herself, and if word of this got out, all the blame would fall on her.
Chloé stared uneasily down the hallway toward the entrance. The dungeon was silent, a premonition from the moment she entered.
Solitary cells were the opposite of group cells, and they were located at the end of corridors that branched off in all directions in case a prisoner escaped. As if that weren’t bad enough, it was difficult to escape, as the only way to find the exit was to follow secret markings known only to the guards.
However, the number of guards was also limited, so she only had to avoid the ones guarding the entrance.
For Chloé, that meant sneaking in while he was asleep by slipping sleeping pills into the canteen of one of the guards on duty.
“I came because there was only one person on… shift, but now that I think about it, that’s pretty flimsy.”
Her mind was clouded by desperation, and when she finished, she realized that she’d been sneaking down the hallway and into the entrance, a sense of foreboding that made her heart sink.
Chloé moved quickly down the hallway, almost sprinting toward the entrance, her breathing becoming more ragged with tension and impatience.
‘Almost there!’
Chloé couldn’t wait to get back and erase all traces of this, but what she saw as soon as she opened the door left her stunned.
“Get her.”
Thierry, standing some distance from the entrance, tilted his head at an angle and glared at her.
‘It was a trap? How did you know I was coming?’
The question came even as the accident paralyzed her. Chloé’s eyes darted around the front of the carriage, meeting Thierry’s merciless gaze and trembling like a man facing terror. The waiting knights slowly began to surround her.
Chloé, too frightened to look away, saw something unbelievable. A platinum-footed head poked out from behind Thierry’s massive frame.
Chloé couldn’t tear her gaze away, even as she was being held captive by a sight that didn’t belong in this situation. Her fine, wavy hair fluttered, and a tiny face popped into view.
“Princess…?”
Chloé muttered in disbelief. The Emperor’s presence was surprising enough, but the sight of a Princess appearing behind him was even more unbelievable. Even as she was being dragged away, she couldn’t take her eyes off Alicia, even to look back.
‘… Are you laughing?’
Chloé’s eyes burned as brightly as if she’d been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. Alicia’s usual, harmless smile had turned into a maddeningly shallow grin.
Her head was spinning. Too shocked to speak, Chloé could only stare wide-eyed as she was dragged away.
***
Thierry narrowed his eyes at Alicia, who stood behind him, looking adorable.
“I said don’t follow me.”
She told me to wait in the room and she’d tell me the rest of the story in case she was in danger, but I could tell she was furious that she’d come all this way.
Perhaps only Bakken noticed how surprised he was to see Alicia here yesterday.
“Your Majesty, I want you to be on the lookout for your handmaiden, Chloé Anthe.”
Alicia spoke up, wondering where the herbivore had gone. The story was that my handmaiden had overheard her secretly meeting with an outsider at night.
There was no need for truth in her words. The fact that the handmaiden was a relative of Sera’s played a part, but Thierry believed her primarily because Alicia told him.
Thierry immediately ordered the prison guards to let the word get out that the cell was empty, and waited for the handmaiden to fall for the trap.
Sure enough, the handmaiden took it upon herself to kill Sera. She had invented the reason for her imprisonment.
“Ah… I think you should see for yourself…”
Alicia glanced toward the entrance of the prison, trying to avoid Thierry’s prying eyes. Her cheeks were flushed from the run, and her face was bright in the darkness.
“Do you think… is Sera by any chance?”
“… Must be dead.”
Thierry muttered hesitantly, not sure he hadn’t set the situation up just so he could catch her, and he glanced at her in case she was afraid of him, but to his relief, she merely nodded.
He patted his chest inwardly and glanced at Oscar.
“Keep watch while I come back.”
“You’re not interrogating her right away?”
“After I drop Princess off.”
Thierry turned to Alicia, who was still standing behind him. He gently grabbed her wrists, her hands wringing in anger.
“Oh, it’s okay, you can go alone.”
“I’m not okay.”
The long fingers that lingered on her wrist brushed against her palm in a sweeping motion. Then their fingers intertwined and their hands came together.
Hmmm.
Alicia’s eyes flicked down to his hand, then up to his face. His eyes, the green of early summer, fluttered like leaves in the wind.
“Let’s go.”
Thierry tugged her hand ever so slightly. He moved slowly to match her pace and felt her obediently follow.
Thierry’s jaw loosened from its stony rigidity. He felt a strange connection. They walked silently, hand in hand, through the still-dark night, toward the main palace.
“Do you think you should see…?”
When they reached Alicia’s room, they stared at each other with conflicting expressions. Alicia hesitated and sat down on the bed, her embarrassment evident. But Thierry just nodded resolutely.
“Okay. I’ll go see if you sleep.”
Thierry moved the stool to the side of the bed and gestured for her to lie down. Alicia swallowed a half-given-up sigh and lay down on the bed.
As she grabbed the end of the comforter and held it to the tip of her chin, Thierry gently tapped the back of her right hand with his index finger. As if he wanted her hand.
Alicia’s lips twitched at the corners of her mouth as Thierry gently grasped her fingertips and dragged them away, like a wary young animal. She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath to stifle the laughter that threatened to escape.
After looking at her questioningly for a moment, Thierry gently touched Alicia’s hand under him and spoke.
“Looks like… helped me again. If there’s anything else you want, besides what we talked about last time, tell me.”
He didn’t say it out loud, but she could guess it was coming.
Alicia slowly opened her closed eyes and gave Thierry a glance, her voice calm, as if she was glad she’d said something she didn’t have to.
“I was only telling Marie what she knew, so I’d like the reward to go to her, if possible.”
Thierry’s jaw tightened.
‘Ha, you’re crazy.’
She was so sassy and smart, she was definitely his Lari. Even her sweet, gentle side hasn’t changed since she was a kid.
Fearing that she might get caught, Thierry vowed to stay close by her side.
This and that were all things that Alicia would have laughed at if she had heard them.
***
Marie returned to her room, looking very impressed. It was after lunch, in the afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky, that Thierry called her in to congratulate her on her work.
“You’re going to be promoted to senior maid next year, and they’re going to pay you well!”
Marie was thrilled. She knew she had a hard enough life on her own, and a reward like that would be more than enough.
There was just one catch. Even though she’d captured the Handmaiden, she hadn’t gotten anything definite yet, and the reward was too generous. She wondered if she should be doing this already.
He decided not to overthink it, and congratulated Marie heartily.
“I heard the Princess asked Your Majesty to reward me.”
Did you have to say that? You didn’t have to say that…
