Chapter 14
“…The outside?”
What Didier saw before his eyes wasn’t a dark room but the dim outdoors after sunset. He closed his eyes and opened them, examining the place.
Large crates neatly arranged, it appeared to be a warehouse. There was nothing remarkable except that the warehouse had no roof?
But…
‘Why would a barrier be placed to block access to a place like this?’
Just a warehouse.
Even stranger, the Maro energy Didier had sensed was absent here. In the trading guild, he had felt numerous Maro energies, so how had they suddenly vanished after crossing a single door?
Didier frowned and walked slowly. When he fully stepped out of the door, it closed with a click, as if automatically returning to its original state. Didier waited until the sound stopped. The door had to return to its original state to be opened again.
When the sound ceased…
“…I didn’t expect this.”
Something truly unexpected happened.
“The door disappeared.”
The black door that had been before Didier’s eyes vanished suddenly.
As if it were an illusion.
Didier gently closed his eyes, then opened them, and reached toward where the door had been. The space rippled at his touch, and a part of the black door reappeared.
‘It’ll take at least an hour to open again.’
He could dispel the illusion, but reactivating it was a difficult task.
Because this wasn’t magic, but a mechanism.
Didier sighed. Even he didn’t know how to operate mechanisms. He could break it by force, but that would cause a commotion.
“…I decided to stay quiet.”
Although it was a personal resolve, Didier had decided to remain quiet until Erica came. But that resolve shattered in less than a day. So, he had to avoid causing bigger problems.
Didier’s face filled with worry. His anxiety grew as he thought about what to do, and his head gradually drooped toward the ground.
Rustle.
Suddenly, Didier raised his head.
A human presence. He opened his eyes wide and tried to identify the source.
It wasn’t Maro, nor Adrian.
Light footsteps, seemingly from someone with an injury, and fairly quick.
Didier smiled unconsciously, then his smile froze.
He had just realized who the footsteps belonged to.
Knowing who had come here despite an injured ankle, Didier suppressed his worry.
Then he ran toward the presence. Just a little, a little more! If he got closer, he’d see the one he missed. Didier increased his speed with the aid of magic.
Whoosh!
Didier confirmed he had caught the one he wanted in his embrace.
Oh, my Lady Erica.
Didier smiled innocently, then his smile turned to a grimace.
Because the person in his arms quickly overpowered him and held a knife to his throat.
When Erica realized who she had threatened with the knife, she was utterly flustered.
“…Didier?”
* * *
To understand what happened, we need to go back in time a little.
After meeting Cain, I returned to my room and lay on the bed. I was truly exhausted. After returning, I dealt with Priscilla’s provocations, then met Cain, which drained my emotions significantly.
‘I wish I could sleep all day.’
I had never done that before. Since starting my life as the heir, I had never slept enough in a single day. Perhaps that’s why I set this goal.
‘When I leave the family, I’ll lie under the sun and sleep all day.’
Without work or anything else. While I was planning for after leaving the family…
‘One at the door, three downstairs, two at the stairs.’
That was the number of knights in the palace now. Before I went to the snowy mountain, there weren’t this many…
In other words…
The surveillance in the palace had increased. Perhaps they strengthened the guard to prevent other families from targeting Cain, the Alpha, but I was definitely among the targets being watched.
‘No doubt it’s because of the political marriage.’
Before finalizing the political marriage, my father had taken measures to prevent any reckless actions from me.
But…
Every surveillance has gaps. By exploiting those gaps, I could slip out at night for a bit.
‘There are many guards, but their skills aren’t up to par.’
It seemed only one knight could sense a presence inside a room. They had increased the number of knights who could only swing swords.
That was barely enough to fend off a professional assassin from another family.
Or rather, they could barely notice an assassin passing by. Would another family send an assassin who couldn’t hide their presence?
It was strange. My father wasn’t one to make such mistakes, so why had he reinforced the guard so carelessly?
Did he have some plan?
I tried to discern my father’s intentions, but I found no clear answer.
First hypothesis:
My father wants Cain dead.
Would he want to kill the precious Alpha? Was he so disturbed by the coming generational change that he’d do something illogical?
It didn’t seem plausible. If my father were like that, he wouldn’t have sold me to the Regulus family.
Second hypothesis:
My father wants to scare Priscilla.
This was more logical. Priscilla would know the guard was weak. She’d fear for her son’s life and submit to my father willingly.
Her power comes from Cain, her Alpha son.
But Priscilla’s demeanor today didn’t support this hypothesis.
Then…
‘Is he trying to test my loyalty again?’
Did he expect me to notice the weak guard and decide to protect Cain?
Whatever it was, it all boiled down to treating his children as tools. I had reached a point of indifference, no longer even sighing.
Just empty thoughts about the beauty of moonlight and my longing for Didier filled my head.
‘Oh, by the way…’
I suddenly got up from the bed. I remembered something I had to do before things got more complicated.
As promised, I had to go get Kob tomorrow.
‘It seems the only chance is now.’
If I said I dozed off from exhaustion after returning, who would suspect? Of course, my father would, but he wasn’t one to suddenly come to my room.
In other words, I had to exploit this sloppy guard.
‘It’s enough to leave a note for Mary.’
Mary would come to tidy my bed again.
I found a suitable piece of paper and wrote to Mary that I was stepping out briefly and not to tell anyone, then put on a cloak and secured its hood tightly. I approached the window, opened it, and took a deep breath.
It was a quiet night with no sound of wind.
Tap.
Leaving the palace without being noticed was easy. Of course, I was the only one capable of hiding my presence and slipping out like this.
But there was a problem.
‘Damn it, my ankle!’
My ankle, injured from the incident, was bothering me. It seemed the landing had affected it, increasing the pain. Because of this ankle, I made a faint sound.
How flustered I was by that sound. But fortunately, it was so faint no one heard it.
And my new room was close to the palace’s back door. I found some comfort in that and moved with extreme caution. Of course, being spotted in this darkness would be difficult.
‘But if my eyes meet someone’s, I’ll be in trouble.’
Beast eyes glow more in the dark.
Even my silver hair glimmers under moonlight. The cloak covered it well now, but it was still a concern.
I completely hid my presence and easily leaped over the family’s high walls.
‘Ack!’
I had to endure the pain. And this pain was bearable. At least, I could still move.
I ran, hiding my presence, to the place where I’d meet Kob.
The usual meeting spot with Kob. The place Adrian had carefully prepared for me.
A back warehouse in the Hydra Trading Guild.
‘It’s strange how close it is.’
In terms of distance, the Hydra Guild seemed far from the palace. But when I walked, I arrived faster than expected.
Even items ordered from the guild sometimes arrived in less than a day, even if they were rare.
‘A truly strange place.’
Adrian, the guild’s owner, remained a mystery even after knowing him for so long. His identity was also unknown.
But since my mother introduced me to him, he was surely trustworthy.
While I was thinking, I reached the back warehouse of the Hydra Guild.
As usual, no one was there, but just in case, I completely hid my presence.
Then…
One step.
Two steps.
Then…
Whoosh!
What happened earlier occurred.
I quickly pulled the knife away from Didier’s throat and smiled awkwardly. Didier looked shocked, his eyes brimming with tears.
“…E-Erica?”
“Didier…”
“…Lady Erica.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Didier hugged me and wiped his tears sadly. I patted his back warmly.
If I had known it was really Didier, I wouldn’t have drawn the knife.
…Really.
