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The place Elshnain and the cotton candy-like prince headed to was one that even most members of the royal family were restricted from accessing.
“Huh? Why isn’t there a single guard stationed at Father’s residence?”
“Hmmm.”
It was none other than the Sacred Palace.
“C-Could it be that you’re planning to use me for some sort of evil deed, Sister…?”
Thwack!
Elshnain smacked him sharply on the head for spouting nonsense and clicked her tongue in annoyance before striding forward.
Still, the little guy was right.
Just like he had pointed out, there wasn’t a single soul in sight in the Sacred Palace. Normally, there should have been guards stationed at each gate.
“Ugh…”
The prince let out a whimper, clutching his head with both hands as if the spot where he’d been hit still hurt. His pitiful demeanor, paired with his adorable looks, might have evoked sympathy from anyone else—but not Elshnain.
She stared at him blankly for a moment before speaking curtly.
“Stop playing games and just guide me properly.”
“Huh?”
The prince looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. Meanwhile, Elshnain cast a disinterested glance at the same repeated scenery they have been walking through ever since entering the Sacred Palace and said flatly;
“We’ve been going around in circles. I understand you might be cautious around someone you’ve just met, but try to be a little more rational.”
“……”
“Why would someone with the power to command the Sacred Imperial Palace’s forces send someone like me to you of all people?”
She knew he was a bit of a gold digger, easily swayed by a stack of platinum coins at their first meeting, but Elshnain also knew he wasn’t rotten enough to sell his own father for money.
“Are you worried I might harm His Majesty?”
“Um…”
The boy, who had been absentmindedly scratching the back of his head, fell silent.
Well, it was a natural reaction. After all, she had only asked him to help for the day, using a stack of platinum coins as bait without revealing her detailed plan.
“I believed you know very well who has the power to turn the Sacred Imperial Palace into this.”
“……”
The prince, who had been walking steadily, stopped in his tracks, as if he had found himself at a crossroads.
Elshnain glanced at him, who seemed to be deep in thought, and continued:
“Think carefully. If we continue to waste time like this, things will escalate to a point where neither of us can stop it. Is that what you want?”
The prince’s eyes trembled at those words.
“The reason I’m here with you in the Sacred Palace is to… attract more investments in the future,” Elshnain added.
“Oh dear, what was I thinking! This isn’t the right way! Sister, I’ll take you there as quickly as possible!”
Forget about being cautious—his sudden shift in attitude was so extreme that it almost seemed like he had been deliberately dragging things out just to rake in more money; His expression changed from serious to gleeful in an instant.
And Elshunain watched him with cold, unimpressed eyes as he began to lead her down a different path than before.
“You said the deepest garden in the Sacred Palace, right? It’s right here!”
Following the prince, who raised his hand in an overly cheerful gesture, they arrived at their destination; A private small garden directly connected to the Emperor’s chambers.
As soon as they entered through the gate, Elshnain ducked into a nearby bush, and pointed toward the inner part of the garden.
“Ah…! Over there… Mmmpf”
Startled by what he saw, the prince let out a yelp, only to have his mouth covered by Elshnain’s hand.
Since he already knew that they were following Killian, it wasn’t surprising that the man was exactly where Elshnain had pointed.
No, what actually startled him was the person lying in front of Killian.
At a quick glance, a woman who seemed identical to Elshnain, so much so that one might believe it was truly her, was laying on the floor, bleeding.
It wasn’t just the prince who was shocked.
What the hell?
Elshnain herself was actually even more surprised.
She was so shocked that she almost lifted her bangs, forgetting that her face was half covered by a brown wig to hide her identity.
Why is that person impersonating me?
Whether she squinted her eyes or opened them wide, the person lying there bleeding looked exactly like her.
According to the original story, it should have been Arwen’s appearance she was imitating as she lay there.
Killian, who was still unsure whether this woman who was by his side was the real Arwen, would have been shocked to find the collapsed Arwen here…
And then, in an attempt to save the seriously injured, almost unconscious woman, he would have used his divine power…
But using divine power or magic without permission within the Sacred Imperial Palace is prohibited. Violating that rule will lead to punishment under imperial law.
Then, just at the right moment, someone would have broken into the Emperor’s chambers, leaving traces of attempted murder behind that the Crown Prince could easily use to frame Killian for attempting to assassinate the Emperor.
But…
You villains picked the wrong person to disguise yourselves as!
Seeing the woman who should have been disguised as Arwen looking exactly like her instead left Elshnain extremely flustered. She couldn’t understand why someone would disguise themselves as her of all people in order to lure Killian here.
Just as she was tearing her hair out in frustration, fragments of a conversation she’d overheard among the nobles in the banquet hall flashed through her mind.
[Did you hear? It’s said that Lord Killian went mad after Lady Elshnain disappeared.]
[Could it be that he still hasn’t given up on her?]
[Oh my! Lord Killian and Lady Elshnain…?]
This can’t be!
Could it be that these people thought…
Gulp
Elshnain swallowed hard as she rubbed her temples.
Could they have misunderstood the situation between me and Killian?
If that’s the case, then everyone except Killian and herself would be under a colossal misunderstanding.
Now that I think about it, it makes sense…
He’s been carrying an illusion of her around with him every day out of a desire for revenge. He even went so far as to unleash his divine power to find me, and it’s also publicly known that ‘Killian went mad after Elshnain left!’
It was no wonder people misunderstood their relationship.
Ha. No way. No, no, no……. No, it can’t be; Elshnain shook her head vigorously.
To think that they would mistake his greatest enemy in the world for the person he… he… is in love with!
How would Killian feel if he found out?
He might get so angry that he’d blow up an entire city.
No, there’s no way. Such a foolish misunderstanding is impossible; Elshnain firmly denied the idea as she rubbed off the chill that had crept up her shoulders.
“Ugh…”
At that moment, the woman lying on the ground groaned and reached out her hand.
“Ki… Killian.”
Her voice sounded eerily similar to Elshnain’s.
“Please… help me. I barely escaped from the demons… cough, cough.”
“….”
Despite the woman’s desperate voice, the man showed no reaction. She reached out a few more times, but Kilian remained silent.
See? I told you this was a bad choice. You should have disguised yourself as Arwen, just like in the original story!
Watching the woman being completely ignored, Elshnain felt a pang in her chest.
Even though it wasn’t truly her lying there, it still felt as though she was being treated with such cold indifference.
Then, Killian, who had been silent up until now, finally spoke.
“Elshnain.”
The voice, smooth and elegant, was like that of a noble prince reciting poetry at a recital.
It was dignified, calm, and gentle, but completely out of place in this situation, with someone lying there bleeding.
And it seemed that the woman felt it too from the way she was acting, which had been so effortless until then, faltered for a moment.
Killian ignored her reaction, and slowly extended his index finger, asking ;
“ Where is the bracelet?”
“What?”
The slender finger pointed towards the area around the woman’s right wrist.
“The bracelet.”
“Br… Bracelet?” She looked down at her wrist with a startled voice, blood dripping down from her shoulder.
Oh, something was definitely amiss.
Elshnain glanced back and forth between the two of them while holding onto the Prince with one hand and shielding them both with the bushes using the other.
“The bracelet I gave you. The one that looks exactly like this.”
“Oh…?”
The woman made a confused sound, then bit her lip before smiling awkwardly.
“Oh, that one!”
“Mm. Looks like you remember now. Where is it?” Killian persisted.
His voice was still as soft as ever.
“I lost it when I was captured by the demons. Ughh……. Killian, enough about the bracelet, can you please heal my wound?”
The woman seemed to grow impatient at the unexpected topic as she anxiously reached out and grabbed Killian’s sleeve.
“It’s me, Elshnain, the person you’ve been looking for. I’m in so much pain. Please, use your powers on me…”
“Ahh! I’m tired of this.”
“What?”
“I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened,” Kilian answered as he nonchalantly slapped her hand away, glaring down at her with cold, ice-like red eyes.
If looks could kill, the woman before him would have already been brutally slaughtered, her body unrecognizable. That was the kind of look he was giving her.
“How many people have shown up in front of me, pretending to be Elshnain? I’ve given up on counting.”
He continued speaking.
“However, this time, it was a bit… just a little bit… special, so I allowed myself to step into your trap without resistance…”
“…!”
“Seeing you disguised as Elshnain, I can’t hold back any longer. Fine. I’ll use my powers as you wish.”
“Uh…?”
Before the woman could even process his words, a white light began to radiate from Killian’s hand, which had previously been hanging lazily.
The light gradually took shape and eventually became a sword.
“Eeek! K-Killian! It’s me, Elshnain! Your Elshnain!”
“Yeah, I know.”
Killian looked down at the woman, who was trembling and clutching her knees with emotionless eyes.
Then, he extended his hand.
At his gesture, the energy shaped like a sword stood rigidly, vibrating as if ready to pierce through her at any moment.
“Gasp…!”
In that life-or-death moment, the woman’s heart sunk to the floor.
But there was someone else, someone hiding behind the bushes, whose heart had dropped just as hard as hers.
Elshnain.
No!!
In panic, she pushed whatever she was holding forward.
“Ugh!”
With a scream, something toppled forward.
As if trying to regain balance, its arms flailed pitifully, but Elshnain did not forget to mercilessly push its back with her foot.
Thud.
“Ackk!”
The cotton-candy-like Prince completely lost his balance and tumbled forward, rolling with a somersault.
Before finally landing at Kilian’s feet.
“……”
“……”
“……”
A brief silence passed between the three.
“Hic…”
As the prince’s hiccup broke the awkward silence, the magical energy that had been gathered in Killian’s hand instantly vanished.
Swoosh.
“……Your Highness.”
“Hic!”
Killian’s calm voice flowed out as if they had stumbled upon each other on a walk.
This was the guardian of the Sacred Empire, who had just attempted to harm one of the Five Stars, his former comrade Elshnain, with divine power in the small garden of the Sacred Palace.
And here was the unfortunately cursed prince, who had unexpectedly rolled in front of him after secretly watching from the shadows.
The situation was rather complicated and awkward, but the prince, who had spent his life putting up acts, had no shortage of wit.
With wide eyes , and an innocent smile, he cheerfully exclaimed:
“Hello there, Guardian!”
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