CH 30

“Are you alright, Your Majesty!?”

Like a picture ripped apart, the sky tore apart, and Belson popped out.

“Wo~w, you’re very fast.”

The emperor grinned sarcastically at him.

Belson hopped about in anger, not paying the Emperor any attention.

“What kind of barbarian could enter the Phantom Palace! Not to mention, only people who know the magic circle can enter here!”

Belson stretched out his hand into the air, making one wonder if he was going to open the barrier and call the soldiers at any moment.

“Stop it, as long as no one is hurt, don’t make a fuss.”

The Emperor stopped Belson’s actions.

Instead, he looked down at the outer garden outside the Phantom Palace, which had already calmed down.

“Still, I got my revenge. At least one side of their head would have been pierced.”

The Emperor burst out laughing as if he had found something funny.

“What’s the point of having three useless men? One Leah is so much more reliable. She was really brave.”

The Emperor looked at me and said so, Then, Belson’s eyes widened.

‘Ouh. My feet are cold.’

I hid one of my bare feet under my skirt.

The red jewels were glittering, proof of their expensive price, but what should I do…

As soon as I came to my senses, I was overwhelmed with worries.

“There were no footprints or circumstances that could be a lead.”

Raoul appeared for the first time in a long time, perhaps after a round of reconnaissance.

“Is everyone alright? Your Majesty, seeing no traces, I think it was just a wild cat.”

Raul said as if it wasn’t something to worry about.

‘Oh, it’s that nice guy.’

Raoul left a very good impression on my mind.

He has good manners and is kind, and, befitting of the young emperor’s assistant, Raoul was tall and warm.

If you look at it now, he’s like the secretary of the Blue House or something. Then, being smart is basic, especially since blue hair is very attractive…

‘Mmmm? Blue?’

When I was looking at Raoul with joy, a clear memory flashed through my head.

— Davan threw the man’s head, which had been neatly removed from his limbs, at the empress dowager.

The blue hair, tangled in the blood, rolled all the way down to the empress dowager’s feet…

My eyes narrowed.

That scene was a scene in which Davan cut the confidant who had been acting as a spy for the Empress Dowager’s Palace in two at once.

Right before the empress dowager.

‘That person, who the hell was it?’

No matter how hard I tried, my memory was cut off there.

Only the most impressive part was clear.

The cruelty of cutting down even the limbs of someone who had followed him for 10 years at once, the cruelty of throwing the corpse at the empress dowager.

When I saw that scene I only thought, “A crazy guy doesn’t have such a thing as compassion, after all.”

Who was it? Who was it…

I looked closely at Raoul’s blue hair and shook my head.

Raoul isn’t the only one with blue hair in this world, maybe it’s just a coincidence.

“By the way, are there any high heels around there?”

“Pardon? What do you mean by high heels? I didn’t see it at all.”

“Is that forest outside magic, too? Didn’t they say that things will be absorbed when they fall off?”

“Oh, not over there. That is an ordinary garden managed by His Majesty.”

Perhaps my question was sudden, Raoul looked puzzled.

“You said it was probably just a wild cat?”

“Ah yes.”

I frowned slightly and muttered.

“Hmm. So you’re saying perhaps the wild cat bit my high heels and run away with them?”

“…”

“Is that possible? It would be a little rough for a small animal to bite.”

I did not readily acknowledge the thought.

The jewel decorations are gorgeous, but they are quite sharp.

“Isn’t sheepskin as soft as human skin? Even if it is a small creature, it is a wild animal and has very sharp teeth. It should still be able to run away with it.”

“Yes. It’s such soft leather, so perhaps.”

I agreed and nodded.

I remembered hearing similar things from the maids.

With expressions that were more excited than mine, the maids were saying that the shoes flashing in front of me were ordered with soft leather.

But suddenly…

‘How did he know the shoes were sheepskin?’

Well, Raoul escorted me. Just as I was about to get suspicious, I remembered what happened earlier.

He was a meticulous person who even took care of my skirt so that I wouldn’t fall.

“Do many wild cats come to the garden?”

It couldn’t be helped since I’ve already lost them. But still, I asked Raoul, throwing away my regrets.

“Yes. Don’t you think many wild cats come because of the fruits in the garden, Your Majesty?”

“Is that so? Well, I do take care of the fruit trees very carefully.”

The Emperor, who looked at the garden with a happy face, pointed his finger somewhere.

“Leah, look over there.”

My gaze reflexively followed the Emperor’s fingertips.

Yellow…?

What was seen through the dense trees was a particularly colorful leaf.

“The citrus tree you planted yourself when you were a child is already that big.”

“Citrus tree?”

My eyebrows narrowed spontaneously.

“Yes. You won’t notice how strong the scent is from this distance because of the woods. However, if you get close, the scent is overwhelming.”

I nodded reluctantly.

“Yes… Right. Citrus is a fruit with a strong scent.”

“So the wild cats hang around the garden like they’re possessed.”

In the meantime, the Emperor, who was proud of his garden, looked at Raoul.

“Is that what you’re saying, Raoul?”

Raoul nodded gently.

“Yes. Because it is a garden that does not change with the seasons, the sweet and sour scent vibrates throughout the four seasons.”

“As expected, you are smart.”

The Emperor grinned as if he liked the answer.

Whether it is true that the cats pick up the fallen fruits and eat them,

His [Raoul] eyes said he was not particularly curious about the identity of the intruder.

“Well… I see.”

The end of my voice gradually faded.

Wild cats, carnivores, come to hand out because of the smell of fruit, and citrus on top of that.

“Sir Raoul must have seen a lot of cats around here. Wild cats are very wary, so they probably won’t follow people.”

“Ahaha, They are not too wary because of the smell of their own kind on me.”

“Oh, do you have a cat?”

My eyes widened.

If Raoul had a cat, that would have been a surprise to me.

“Oh, no. I don’t raise one. There is a cat that I just know… ”

A cat that you know…?

Raoul waved his hand as if he didn’t want to think anymore.

“He’s so ferocious in nature, and not friendly at all.”

“He’s definitely sensitive.”

After paying close attention to Raoul’s hair color and trousers, I was going to wrap up the conversation.

Originally, I didn’t intend to drag the conversation this far.

“Anyway, the heels are not in that forest, right?”

“Yes. They’re not.”

To my repeated question, Raoul gave the same answer.

I glanced at him and then smiled.

“I see. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Well then.”

As Raoul turned around in silence, my voice calling him was a little faster.

“By the way. Sir Raoul.”

Raoul, who was once again caught, looked back at me with a puzzled face..

“I think you should go back to investigating the intruders.”

“Pardon?”

Raoul’s eyes became slightly twitchy as if he was uncomfortable repeating the same story over and over again.

“The cat…”

I like this Phantom Palace.

Nothing can be heard except for my voice.

“They hate the smell of citrus.”

“…”

“My nanny used to dry the citrus peels to keep the cats out of the garden.”

Raoul didn’t answer for a moment.

“Ah, if even the cats living in the castle are different, there must something special about them.”

I laughed softly.

Because Raoul and I know that a cat is a cat, and a cat that lives in a castle is no different.

“I meant to ask you to reconnaissance one more time just in case.”

As I shrugged, Raoul nodded his head.

“Oh, I see. Thanks for your help, my lady.”

“You’re welcome.”

“It seems that I might have missed some things. I will take a look once more.”

Raoul gave a brief salute and turned his back on me.

‘Hmm.’

I stared at his back.

If one doesn’t own a cat, or even if one has a cat, they might not even know those details…

He may have seen while escorting that my shoes were sheepskin, and there are morer than one person with blue hair.

‘But what if it’s true?’

I suddenly became serious.

The attitude of reflexively answering that ‘there was no was’, particularly that way.

‘If Raoul is really lying to me…”

Knowing the original work, I could only put unnecessary vigilance.

Even if Raoul was really the intruder, he could’ve said that he found the high heels in the forest.

He didn’t have to hide the high heels that he had to make excuses for.

‘Did he take it with him because he was so flustered?’

Before I knew it, Raoul was talking to Cadel.

I stared at Raoul like that.

‘Is he a pervert? But he looks normal.’

I was about to frown, but I held my expression because I couldn’t be sure of anything prematurely yet.

‘Yes. I don’t need to worry about it.’

I shook my head.

In fact, there was no way to catch the intruder only with my high heels as proof.

Is it possible to capture the Emperor’s closest confidant who is aware of the magic platform?

The reason I did that even though I knew everything…

‘I was afraid. Damn it. ‘

The main characters instinctively knew that they were not going to die, so they were all relaxed.

Those relaxed faces made me anxious.

The anxiety that I can’t die here when I’m desperately trying to live.

Above all, Davan, the Emperor, and Cadel were men and were excellent swordsmen.

Even if a demon attacked them in a dark place right now, they could protect their own body, but…

It wasn’t like that for me.

I’m a sloth who lives and trusts only myself.

My goal was to focus my attention for once. It seems that the goal has actually failed.

“Sigh.”

I’ve lost all my energy.

Without realizing it, I sighed when I heard the Emperor’s voice.

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you a pair of shoes that are much nicer than that.”

He grinned while leaning against the chair as if this was too much fun.

“Leah, you are my lifesaver. I can do more.”

“It’s not like that…”

What lifesaver.

The emperor seemed to think that I was out to save him.

I only did it because my life is urgent.

‘The Emperor’s benefactor?’

You can do more?

The corners of my lips twitched for a moment.

“…It’s like that, yes. I’m really glad you’re all right.”

One doesn’t have to refuse if offered a medal.