Chapter 117

In the midst of this, Naen was faithfully doing what Astelle had asked for.

Astelle looked at Naen like that and fell into her thoughts.

Will this girl do what Florin tells her this time too?

Florin must be trying to use this girl again.

After watching her by her side all this time, Astelle knew Naen wasn’t an idiot.

She was a little timid and obtuse, but she did exactly what she was told.

She didn’t seem stupid enough not to know that Florin used her.

‘Still, she is her family.’

A powerless noble girl cannot escape the shadow of her family.

This is because if her family falls, her own destiny will also fall into the abyss.

In the past, Astelle herself was like that.

‘Florin will make this girl do another dangerous job.’

If things go wrong, she’ll cover her sins over and over again.

When she heard about the note, Astelle had thought of finding out Florin’s plans in advance and setting up a trap for both sisters.

However, seeing Naen, who was not yet an adult, bothered her a little.

“Miss Naen.”

Naen, who was holding a pen and writing hard, raised her head.

“Yes Your Majesty?”

“Do you want to go back to the mansion?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Naen blinked her big eyes in embarrassment.

“Wh-what do you mean……”

“I’m asking because I think you will miss your family in the mansion. In your mansion, there must now be Lady Florin and your father, the marquis.”

Naen hesitated for a while at Astelle’s direct question, and then managed to answer.

“I, I miss the mansion, but I like living here.”

“Is that so? Isn’t it difficult to work?”

“N-no.”

Astelle looked straight at Naen and spoke in a calm voice.

“Miss Naen. I brought Miss Naen here for a formal punishment at first.”

Naen looked at her with a startled look.

After the empress brought her here, she kept calling her to work, but this was the first time she had brought up the topic of punishment so directly.

“I’m sure you know, but even if it was a mistake, it was something that could not be overlooked.”

“Yes……”

“But since Miss Naen is not an adult yet, and I thought you sacrificed yourself out of concern for your family, I decided to end it here.”

Naen’s face grew pale when the words, ‘She sacrificed herself out of concern for her family’ came out.

It was like the empress was openly pinching her because she had been caught doing her sister’s orders and lying.

“I’m glad you like living here though. Miss Naen is very sincere and diligent, so I like you too. If it’s okay with you, I hope you will help me here in the future as well,” Astelle continued, reassuring her.

When Astelle finished her words, Naen’s innocent face turned paler than before.

Apparently, she had no idea the empress would say something like this.

Naen lowered her gaze and hesitated.

But Astelle did not miss the guilt that flashed through her eyes for a fleeting moment.

“Th-thank you, Your Majesty, the Empress……”

Naen bowed her head belatedly.

“I, I also have the honor to serve Your Majesty here. And….., thank you again for showing your mercy.”

It was a low voice, but there was sincerity in her last words.

Astelle nodded quietly.

“Your Majesty.”

Then Hannah came inside.

“Oh, yes, Hannah.”

Hannah gave Astelle a meaningful glance. Did she find the answer to the code?

Astelle put down the report and smiled at Naen.

“Miss Naen, you did a great job. Will you go to the library one last time, organize the books there, and find me the harvest records?”

“The harvest records?”

“Yes. It’s been a while, so I want to find a book of etiquette in advance and prepare for it.”

Of course, there was no need for such a book of etiquette.

She was just trying to stall before Naen went back to her room.

The naive Naen meekly headed for the library without much doubt.

As soon as Naen closed the door and left, Astelle asked Hannah.

“Did you find it?”

“Yes, it was a book, as expected.”

Hannah put down a note that she decrypted with a note she found in the garden.

“I have been interpreting the content.”

Astelle opened the note.

A few words were written on a small piece of paper.

[Prince. Pet dog. Next time. Poison. I will give it to you. Feed it.]

“She’s planning to poison the dog?”

This was unexpected.

Astelle deliberately told Naen about Florin’s marriage.

Florin was angry and trying to make a new plot.

“But she was planning to kill Blynn.”

This was a really unexpected plan.

Hannah asked with a heavy look, “Probably….., it will be difficult to approach the empress and prince, could it be that she wants to cause chaos by killing Blynn?”

“It certainly seems that way.”

Astelle had the maids thoroughly examine everything Theor ate and wore.

Florin wouldn’t even think about hurting Theor.

Because that’s too risky.

All Florin wants is to keep Astelle from retaliating against her.

She didn’t have to make up for such a huge thing.

“Certainly, if Blynn eats poison, the empress’ palace will be in chaos.”

Florin tries to make Astelle forget that she is trying to retaliate against her as she panics and tries to find the culprit.

But it doesn’t become a huge event because it’s just an animal.

It’s not like the prince ate it, nor is it enough for a man to lose his life.

Florin seemed to have come up with a plan like this, as she thought Astelle would only investigate quietly within the empress’ palace.

‘I don’t think you ever thought about coming and apologizing in person.’

Hannah asked worriedly, “What should we do?”

“Of course, Blynn must not be in danger.”

The original plan was to get things going according to Florin’s plan and then grab the evidence at the decisive moment.

But Blynn must not be in danger.

Astelle made up her mind after a brief deliberation.

“First, take the note to its original place and let Naen find it. And double the watch over Naen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

***

Naen headed to the library to find the book Astelle ordered.

The empress’ palace was spacious and splendid, and the structure was also complex.

At first, it took her a while to memorize the location.

Now that she’s used to it, she knows exactly where to go and what to look for.

The hospitality here was good.

All the maids were friendly and kind.

Even though Her Majesty the Empress seemed strict, if she did as she asked, she would treat her well.

‘How long will it take to get back to the mansion?’

Astelle’s words came to mind, saying that if it’s okay with her, she can continue to work here.

Was she serious?

In fact, it was unbelievable.

Naen’s mother went into exile for trying to harm the empress, and her eldest sister also tried to frame the empress, and she was expelled.

Her Majesty said she knew that Naen had sacrificed herself for her family.

That’s why she showed mercy to her and was nice to her.

‘…..I don’t think it’s bad to stay here.’

When she returned to the mansion, she had nothing to do, and no one to welcome her.

As she thought about it, she was walking down the hallway when a round ball rolled from the other side.

As she picked up the ball that touched her feet, she saw a child in front of her.

“Prince?”

“That’s mine.”

A little boy with black hair came running.

Next to him was a golden hound, and a few steps behind him was a young servant.

Naen bent her knees and bowed.

“I greet you, Prince of the Empire.”

The Prince, Theor, caught the ball rolling at Naen’s feet with both hands.

Then he observed Naen with a curious gaze.

Naen was a little nervous.

She’s been living in the empress’ palace for quite some time.

But it was the first time she had seen the prince so close.

The young prince looked closely at Naen, then he smiled and spoke to her.

“Hello, Lady.”

“Sorry?”

The servant who followed spoke in a gentle tone.

“The Prince is the son of His Majesty the Emperor, so you don’t need to use honorifics.”

“Prince, it’s okay to just talk to me comfortably.”

Naen smiled and bent her knees again.

“Just call me Naen.”

Although she never met him closely, Naen had heard many stories about the young prince from the maids here.

Most of them were praising the prince for how cute, kind, and well-spoken he was.

“Naen.”

The prince smiled again as if he liked her name.

His dimples could be seen on his cheeks which still haven’t lost the baby fat.

‘You’re really cute.’

His unusual red eyes were also fascinating and beautiful.

His Majesty the Emperor’s red eyes were so terrifying, but the young prince’s red eyes were as pretty as jewels.

woof woof.

The golden hound next to Theor barked and wags its tail as if asking for attention.

Theor stroked the golden hairs with his little hand.

“This is Blynn.”

“It’s soft and gold, so it’s Blynn? How cute.”

Blynn was the eastern term for pancakes.

[T/N: It refers to the Blini pancakes. The pronunciation of Blynn and Blini is the same for Koreans.]

“Where are you going?”

“I am on my way to the library by order of Her Majesty.”

“Why in the library?”

Theor seemed curious about Naen and wanted to talk more, but a quick-witted servant intervened.

“Prince, you must now return to the marquis. The marquis must be waiting for you.”

“Hm?”

Theor turned and walked with the servant to the other side.

Then he turned around again and waved his hand to Naen.

“Goodbye, Naen. See you later.”

“Goodbye, Prince.”

Naen stood still in the hallway as she watched the little prince walk away.

She felt bitterness as she watched the servant try to separate the prince from herself.

Everyone was so kind that she forgot that she was only being punished here.

As expected, it was a waste of time to stay here.

Naen found the book and returned to Astelle’s place.

Astelld was absent for a while due to other work.

Naen put the book on the desk and went outside.

It was already evening, and everyone seemed to be busy preparing dinner.

Naen went out to the garden and walked down the road leading to the imperial palace.

Florin hid notes in this garden to communicate with Naen.

Each time, there was a note in a designated place under a designated tree.

She couldn’t check it often. If she came here every day, it would look suspicious.

She came back from time to time to check if there were any new notes.

Today, the note was hidden in the promised place.

After Naen checked the surroundings, she picked up a small note and hurriedly left.