“Ouch… I’m okay. Just a bit dizzy.”
Ciello pressed her head. She was suddenly engulfed by magic and felt dizzy, but fortunately, thanks to Estribal, her body was fine.
‘…Wait, thanks to what?’
Ciello, who had regained her senses, looked down. Estribal was lying underneath her.
“Gasp.”
Ciello quickly got up. She just remembered. The moment she was falling defenselessly in mid-air, Estribal had caught her as if to protect her first. Thanks to this, Ciello was safe without a scratch, but Estribal was squashed between the floor and Ciello.
“Are, are, are you okay?”
Estribal, who had been squashed, frowned and nodded his head. Ciello hastily reached out her hand towards him. Estribal looked at the hand Ciello had extended and chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“Duke?”
Ciello looked at him with a puzzled face. Estribal lightly shook his head and took Ciello’s hand.
“No. I thought I should do this much to make you want to lend a hand.”
As Ciello said ‘ah’, and flinched, Estribal sighed and let go of her hand, getting up on his own. Noah, who had been looking at him with an ambiguous eye, asked.
“What happened, did the magic circle explode? Why did the people who should know fall like that?”
“The magic circle worked normally. We just lost balance for a moment.”
“It’s quite late. Did something happen on the way?”
“I’m sorry for being late to the schedule. A guest suddenly visited.”
Estribal answered the elder’s question, glancing at Ciello. But Ciello turned her head as if she didn’t know. Noah slightly furrowed his eyebrows at the unusual situation. Normally, Ciello would have stammered first, and Estribal would have pretended not to know and turned the conversation around. It was definitely suspicious.
“What, who’s the guest? Was everything okay?”
The elder also looked at the two with a subtle gaze as if agreeing with Noah’s question, but Ciello quickly changed the subject to the point of looking suspicious.
“Of course. Let’s go in. We can practice right away, right? Where is the imitation?”
“Hmm… Yes. Come in first. Don’t rush.”
The elder coughed and moved her steps. Noah, who had been watching the two, turned his gaze and supported the elder with a worried face.
“Elder. Have you taken your medicine? The night wind is cold.”
“The northern barrier, Peregrine, coughs at this little cold…I’m getting old too.”
The elder sighed with a bitter voice. Surely, after entrusting the Liberation Force to Raysendella, they must have received much better treatment than before. But still, the elder’s face was clearly tired. Ciello also looked at the elder with somewhat regretful eyes and entered the palace.
“You’re late. I won’t ask how you are. There’s no hitch in the plan, is there?”
Raysendella was waiting for them in the palace.
“The delay is due to personal circumstances, so don’t worry about the plan.”
Ciello sat on a long chair, and Estribal also sat next to her as usual. It was a normal action, but Ciello’s body stiffened slightly. Estribal, who felt this, sighed and moved a little away from Ciello.
‘What, really…’
Noah, who had been watching the two closely, sent a puzzled look, but Estribal turned his head pretending not to know. The princess asked.
“Right. There’s a change in the plan, isn’t there?”
Estribal opened his mouth calmly.
“Yes. Ciello will not attend with me as a partner, but has decided to be with the Liberation Force. We have revised the route and plan accordingly, so please check and supplement any shortcomings and share them, and burn this.”
Estribal took out a map and a plan from his pocket and put it down. Noah answered.
“You’ve thought well. That will be much safer. I…We will escort well, so don’t worry.”
By this point, Estribal’s nagging would have been heard, but Estribal only sighed without saying a word. Noah looked at Estribal with surprised eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
Only then did Estribal reply as usual.
“I don’t know why you’re asking. Do you need to worry about me? It seems you’re scared now.”
“Yes, yes. You should be…”
Noah grumbled as if he knew it would be like this. Raysendella opened her mouth.
“Enough, go. The place is prepared in the next room.”
The wheelchair rolled smoothly, and people followed Raysendella. Raysendella silently opened the door next to her.
“Wow…”
Ciello opened her mouth wide. Contrary to the other rooms of the detached palace, the room sparkled brilliantly. The thick curtains embroidered with gold thread were richly pleated without sparing the fabric. The walls were decorated with colorful patterns, and a large grandfather clock was hung. And in the middle of it, there was a large snake statue with a red mark.
“I thought it would help you, so I decorated the interior as similar as possible. Is it enough?”
“Yes. It seems to be a great help…”
Ciello nodded her head as if overwhelmed by the splendor, and couldn’t dare to go inside. Estribal, who visited the palace every day, also couldn’t hide his surprised expression. It was his first time seeing such a colorful palace. He felt anew how many people would have been fascinated by that splendid palace and turned his head while enduring the disgust.
“If the storage room is this neat, the hall where the ball is held will be more beautiful, right?”
But Ciello, not knowing his feelings, murmured in a regretful voice. Estribal’s expression hardened slightly. Raysendella, noticing the subtle conflict between the two, sighed lightly and spoke.
“Ciello. If the plan succeeds, you will rise to a more glorious position than anyone else. It’s incomparable to a ball.”
The princess’s voice was heavy. It was literally a matter of the fate of the empire and Peregrine. Feeling ashamed of her childishness in front of such a serious matter, Ciello bit her lip and bowed her head.
“…I’m sorry.”
Raysendella handed Ciello a few sheets of paper.
“Right. Take it. This is a blueprint of the lock.”
Ciello politely received the paper. Raysendella said,
“The locks of the castle have been repaired by the previous generation, and we have completely reproduced the device designed by the descendant of the person who designed it at the time. The servant I brought has confirmed it, so there will be no problem.”
Without a word, Ciello nodded and began to trace the inside of the lock with her fingers. Estribal said,
“You’ve found it well. The designers who repaired the lock at the time would have all died at the hands of the emperor and closed their mouths.”
“You know it well. Did your grandfather tell you?”
Estribal was silent. Raysendella chuckled as if she knew it would be like that and turned her gaze to the elder.
“Perez’s hard work. It wasn’t easy. After ensuring safety, we allowed the engineer to stay in this castle, so Ciello, if you have any questions, ask through me.”
Ciello nodded her head. Raysendella encouraged her in a soft voice.
“Now, go in and check for yourself. Don’t just stand there.”
“Yes…”
With her answer, Ciello cautiously entered the room. Despite her hesitation at the door, Ciello quickly walked around the room to check the interior structure. She also knocked on the window frame, took out a thin pick and a tool with a steel string from her pocket, and picked the lock. She did not forget to compare the lock with the blueprint that Raysendella had given her from time to time.
“She’s an interesting kid. She hesitates at any time, but once she crosses the threshold, she has no hesitation.”
Raysendella, who was watching Ciello open the window and figure out the roughness of the wall, muttered to herself. Estribal, who heard her words, agreed and sighed lowly.
“She’s impulsive and unpredictable. And she doesn’t know how to hide her feelings, which is not suitable for the decision of this plan.”
“Well, wouldn’t that be a breakthrough?”
The elder looked at Estribal and said,
“If you’ve worked hard alone for so long, it’s time to come up with a new method.”
“What long? Refrain from useless words.”
Estribal coldly retorted and turned his head. The elder laughed lightly and called Ciello by the window.
“Ciello, have you seen enough?”
“Yes, I think I can do it.”
“Good. Then come here.”
Ciello returned to the rest of the people in the middle of the room. Estribal tapped the statue with a red scarf on the back of his hand.
“The real ‘Cunning Snake’ rises from the treasury and stays in this storage room for a while. After that, the main court nobles are gathered here, and the palace magician inspects the genuine article, and just before the event, it is moved to the palace balcony.”
Estribal moved his steps and lifted the banner in the corner of the room. Inside, there was a snake statue with a blue mark hidden.
“After the genuine inspection, the emperor goes out with the nobles, and shortly after, he secretly returns here and changes the position of the imitation and the genuine. After that, the emperor leaves this room as if nothing had happened. Have you understood up to here?”
People nodded their heads. Estribal looked at Ciello and spoke.
“Ciello, your move is next. It’s about turning back the time of this space to when the genuine article was here.”
“When the genuine article was here…”
Estribal tapped the statue with the back of his hand again.
“Right after the genuine inspection. The moment when the nobles and the emperor leave their seats and no one is in the room.”
“But if Ciello moves with us, how will she know the time?”
At Noah’s question, Estribal’s brow furrowed slightly.
“If it were according to the original plan, after the genuine inspection, I would return to the banquet hall and inform Ciello of the time…”
Estribal caught Ciello’s eye for a moment. But Ciello avoided him and looked down.
“Since Ciello is not officially attending, this has become somewhat cumbersome.”
Estribal said in a voice mixed with a sigh.
“Ciello will hide nearby and check the time herself. The window, it’s two stories high, so it won’t be hard to hear. Rather, it would be more accurate.”
Raysendella furrowed her brow.
“But isn’t that too dangerous? In my view, it would be better for Ciello to attend in person.”
