TN: Changed detached palace to Star Palace. “별궁” means a specially prepared palace. A separate palace prepared specially for someone or (In the old days) a palace where the king or crown prince received the queen or crown princess at their wedding, thus ‘detached palace’, but it could also be translated to ‘Star Palace’.
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‘What?’
Ciello covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming out in shock. A muffled groan echoed against the walls.
“Ugh, Your Majesty…!”
A heavy thud was heard as something hit the floor. This was followed by the sound of something breaking and a dull thud repeatedly hitting the ground. That must be the ‘order’ from the Emperor. Ciello was overcome with fear and anger, almost retching. She desperately tried to suppress her rapidly beating heart.
“Your Majesty, how can you… Ugh, ugh…”
“Ah, I learned from you. I also wanted to prepare a fake one.”
“Ack!”
The suppressed groan burst out sharply.
‘Just what is he being made to endure?’
Ciello’s eyes were bloodshot. If she had enough strength, she could have pounced on the Emperor right then and there. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her fingertips were turning purple, but Ciello couldn’t even feel the pain.
“One silver-haired girl would do, wouldn’t it? Replace all the maids in the detached palace.”
Between the Emperor’s cheerful voice, Estribal’s painful gasps could be heard. Ciello wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn’t. She bit the inside of her mouth hard enough to taste blood, eavesdropping on the Emperor’s command.
‘It’s okay. I just have to hide here. When the Duke comes out, I can cancel the command…’
“Is anyone there?”
Then the door of the room where Ciello was hiding suddenly opened. Startled, Ciello collapsed to the floor. The person who entered the room was a maid.
“I knew it. You rat-like thing. Stop pretending and come out!”
The maid scolded Ciello, leaning on her waist. But it was somewhat fortunate for Ciello. The maid knew nothing about the princess’s plan, so she mistook the reason Ciello was hiding for laziness.
“I’m, I’m, I’m sorry!”
Ciello quickly bowed her head. The maid gave Ciello an order.
“Go clean up the other guest rooms. Do you want the guests to sleep in a dust pit?”
If she leaves now, it will be hard to find Estribal. Seeing Ciello hesitate, the maid glared at her fiercely. Ciello had no choice but to reluctantly pull the trolley and hesitantly leave the room.
To not get too far from Estribal, Ciello subtly entered the room next door. But the maid’s reprimand came from behind her.
“That’s not the room. Clean up the corner room for guests!”
“Yes…”
‘Damn it.’
Ciello went into the corner room, swallowing a slew of curses internally. She shook the dustpan half-heartedly, but all her nerves were focused on the sound coming from behind her.
After a while, the sound of the maid’s footsteps faded. Ciello quickly peeked out into the hallway through the door gap. The maid was nowhere to be seen, but instead, the Emperor, who seemed to have just come out of the room, was visible.
“Good, it’s not too late yet.”
Ciello pushed the trolley and moved naturally towards the vicinity of the room where the Emperor had been, one room at a time, as if she was cleaning and coming out. However, the nobles who came up from the banquet hall approached the Emperor’s side.
“Your Majesty, why are you here?”
“The banquet loses its light without the sun of the empire.”
The nobles flattered and clung to the Emperor, stopping his steps. Ciello hid her desperate heart and shook the dustpan in frustration.
‘Hurry up and go!’
“But isn’t a banquet more enjoyable at night without the sun? You guys also had a good time when I wasn’t there.”
But despite Ciello’s prayers, the Emperor made a leisurely joke and shrugged his shoulders.
“Hehe, you don’t know how many girls are waiting for Your Majesty’s attention now.”
“That’s right. Your Majesty should also start thinking about marriage now.”
The nobles with daughters subtly changed the topic. The Emperor narrowed his eyes.
“Well, if I say so, will you set her aside?”
“Of course. If you subtly tell us what virtues a girl who can manage the empire with you should have…”
Hmm, the Emperor opened his mouth with a soft smile. That smile was as beautiful as the protagonist of a fairy tale.
“For silver hair, it seems that curly hair would feel more elegant than straight hair. And I would like her to be about my age.”
The nobles looked at each other with bewildered eyes. This was because the characteristics of the woman the Emperor spoke of were exactly the same as the princess. Only Ciello, who knew the Emperor’s intentions, clenched the dustpan handle in frustration.
“Yes…we understand Your Majesty’s will.”
“Let’s try our best.”
The nobles, who had been watching each other, nodded for now.
The nobles who sided with the current Emperor judged that it would be easier to manipulate the reckless current Emperor than the strict and firm first princess.
However, their young Emperor had strangely changed since he wore the imperial crown. He still looked frivolous and noisy, but he was surprisingly flawless. Sometimes he looked more cunning and clever than they, who had lived for decades longer.
Perhaps the Emperor was pretending to be a reckless blond young man to hide his dark eyes, they doubted. But now they couldn’t change their choice. One noble subtly pointed to the lower floor and said.
“Then shall we slowly return to the grand banquet hall? Who knows if a maiden who suits you is eagerly waiting.”
“That’s right. It’s not good to leave the banquet hall for too long on such a good day.”
The Emperor grinned as if he had already anticipated their reaction. They would interpret his words in various ways after sending him to the banquet hall. The Emperor was very curious about who among them would understand his words first.
‘Those who are ignorant, should have improved their sense by now.’
The Emperor looked at the nobles with a relaxed expression like an old man who had known them since a very young age and nodded.
“Good. Let’s go down.”
The Emperor led the nobles and disappeared towards the banquet hall. Ciello quickly entered the room where the Emperor had been with a sigh of relief.
“Duke!”
But Estribal was nowhere to be seen. Only the curtain was fluttering in front of the open window.
“Ah, shi…”
She had wasted too much time. Ciello clenched her fist. Perhaps Estribal was moving towards the princess. Before Estribal found the princess, Ciello had to find either the princess or Estribal first.
“Hey, can’t you give me a way to find the Duke?”
Ciello grumbled towards where Serpiente was supposed to be with a frown. But Serpiente was silent. Perhaps even Serpiente couldn’t come out freely in the imperial palace.
‘If I knew things would get this twisted, I would have prepared a method beforehand.’
But there was no time for regret. She had to follow the route that Estribal would have moved. Ciello took a deep breath and looked down from the window.
‘Did he jump down this way…’
Seeing the tree under the window broken, it seemed likely. Ciello checked the time for the last time.
3:10 PM. She had to save her strength so she couldn’t turn it many times, but if it gets too late, she could come back to this time. Ciello leaned against the wall and jumped down from a reasonable height.
“Ugh…!”
Ciello safely landed on a tree in the garden. The bulky maid’s dress was a bit cumbersome, but it served as a useful protective gear when jumping from this height. Ciello climbed down the tree, adjusted her wig, and looked around. She spotted a familiar maid of the princess from the Star Palace.
“Maid!”
Ciello ran towards the maid as if she was her savior. The maid, surprised to recognize Ciello, looked around.
“Oh my, Ciello? Why are you here…”
The maid lowered her voice and led Ciello behind a tree. But Ciello, panting, grabbed the maid’s arm.
“I’ll explain later. Do you know where the princess is?”
“Ah, the princess went to the Silver Lion Palace with the Duke. He said he had something important to discuss. It’s the palace where the princess used to be, so there aren’t many people…”
‘No!’
Ciello screamed inwardly.
“Thank you! Please wait around here!”
Ciello ran madly towards the Silver Lion Palace. Passersby widened their eyes at Ciello’s appearance, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t even think about the bomb-like words of the Emperor, who was also a Peregrine. She had to stop Estribal. Ciello’s mind was filled with that thought.
“Huff, huff, is…is this the place?”
Before she knew it, a silver palace was in front of Ciello’s eyes. Ciello took a deep breath and looked around. The Silver Lion Palace seemed to have been completely neglected after the princess was exiled to the Star Palace, as weeds were growing around it. Thanks to that, the traces of a wheelchair rolling up to the entrance were clear.
‘It’s here.’
Her calves felt like they were going to burst. Her lungs, short of breath, were shrinking, pressing on her heart. But she couldn’t stop here.
Ciello took off the brown wig that was heavily hanging on her head and followed the traces of the wheelchair. The traces stopped in front of a secluded door. Ciello pushed the door and entered the palace. Almost simultaneously, the princess’s scream echoed in the hall as she clutched the wheel of her wheelchair.
“Duke!!”
Estribal, who was pointing a gun at the princess, had a sinister turquoise light swirling around his neck. Ciello shouted.
“Duke, don’t!”
Estribal turned his head mechanically. His face showed a mix of sorrow, despair, and liberation. Estribal moved his mouth with difficulty.
“…It’s… too… late.”
Estribal’s golden pupils, which had been blurry, split vertically. The thorn of magic that was wrapped around his neck went down his arm and tightly wrapped around his fingertips. Ciello’s shout echoed in the hall.
“It’s not too late!”
The trigger was pulled. Ciello, squeezing all the remaining strength in her legs, threw herself at Estribal. A louder explosion than the gunshot vibrated in the hall.
