Chapter 18
After falling together with Cedric, I immediately got into a carriage that had been prepared in advance. According to him, the carriage was an escape route, just in case something went wrong.
The moment the carriage door closed, Cedric took off the outer garment he had been wearing.
“Now I can finally breathe.”
“…….”
“Why are you so stiff?”
Do you really have to ask?
I frowned and pressed myself tightly against the backrest.
“Why don’t you ask?”
“Ask what? Ah—about you sneaking into the office?”
“You snuck into the office too, Your Highness.”
Right. In a way, we were in the same boat. It was just that I was at a slight disadvantage. In the end, Cedric was also nothing more than a trespasser.
“So you’re saying I’m at fault too?”
I answered with silence. Cedric crossed one leg over the other and rubbed his chin as if amused.
“But I didn’t steal any documents.”
“But weren’t the documents your goal?”
“What? How do you know that?”
“I’ve met the First Prince before.”
For the sake of my alibi, I willingly sold out the First Prince.
“Looks like that bastard told you everything.”
“You attended the social party for this reason too, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. Otherwise, why would I come to a shitty party like that?”
Cedric shuddered as if fed up.
“Then what about coming with me?”
“That’s the same as what I said before. When I thought about who to go with, you came to mind right away.”
“By coincidence?”
“Yeah. By coincidence.”
He interlaced his fingers and rested his hands on his knee.
“Then is it my turn to ask now?”
“There’s still more.”
“……Let me ask first. Am I the only one curious right now?”
Cedric let out a deep sigh, saying he was curious too, and leaned his head against the window.
“What exactly are you?”
It was a question loaded with many meanings.
“Why were you after the documents? What kind of documents are they, that you’d break into a marquis’s office?”
“…….”
“Don’t tell me, sister-in-law.”
He lowered his voice.
“You have the same goal as me?”
“!”
“Otherwise it doesn’t make sense. Especially since the seal stamped on the envelope was from Revillia.”
Cedric’s gaze fixed on the documents tucked into my chest.
Documents proving that the Hendron Marquisate and Revillia were colluding.
If the one who took them was a former princess of Revillia, depending on Cedric’s judgment, the situation could get twisted in a very strange way.
I might even end up suspected of plotting treason.
‘What should I do?’
Glancing at the documents in my arms, I racked my brain as hard as I could. How should I say it to at least make it sound plausible?
“Be honest. Don’t overthink it.”
“……I did.”
“What?”
Cedric frowned, unable to hear my muttering.
After barely organizing my chaotic thoughts, I hurriedly unraveled the script I had just made up.
“I made a deal with His Majesty the Emperor.”
“A deal?”
“Yes. In exchange for handing over information about Revillia, he would guarantee the safety of both me and the Fourth Prince.”
I had to make an excuse, at least like this. There was no other way to explain it. And strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie.
Some important facts were missing, but still.
“Handing over information, huh. Is that because you’re a princess of Revillia?”
“……Yes.”
“Then how did you come to know that information?”
“I heard it while I was at the royal palace.”
That was a lie.
I didn’t know when they had started plotting this. To make the story consistent, using my status from Revillia was the easiest way.
I had heard this news since I was in Revillia, and used it to strike a deal with the Emperor.
If I claimed that, he might doubt me, but he wouldn’t immediately arrest me as a spy.
Once I handed over the documents, the Emperor would take care of the rest.
“Hm. Is that so?”
Cedric looked at me with a subtle gaze, but thankfully, he didn’t press further.
After all, if the Emperor already knew. From Cedric’s perspective, there was no reason for me to lie. Carelessly invoking the Emperor’s name would come at a disastrous cost.
“You must’ve been damn happy when I asked you to come with me.”
“……I guess so?”
It was like he had handed me an opportunity on a silver platter.
“Seriously.”
At my honest answer, Cedric laughed as if it were absurd. From his point of view, it was like offering a fish to a cat.
“I really just helped someone else out.”
“Why are you interested in this matter, Your Highness?”
“Obviously, to get my confinement lifted.”
His confident reply left me speechless. A confinement severe enough to require handing over someone who was practically a traitor. Just imagining it made my head spin.
“……What on earth did you do?”
“Ah. It’s nothing.”
As if he’d heard my muttering, Cedric spoke calmly.
“I broke a national treasure.”
You lunatic.
Why are you saying that so casually? I failed to manage my expression and stared at him with my mouth hanging open. My face must have been quite entertaining, because Cedric burst out laughing.
This doesn’t feel like a laughing matter.
‘Is it lucky that it ended with just confinement?’
It was such an enormous incident that I couldn’t even begin to gauge it.
“You’re thinking I’m crazy right now.”
Is that even a question?
It wasn’t worth answering. When I clamped my mouth shut, Cedric clicked his tongue as if he’d expected that.
“It’s really strange.”
“What is?”
“I don’t want to kill you.”
……Why is he suddenly raising a weird flag?
“What do you mean, you don’t want to kill me?”
“Talking back to me even in a situation like this. And getting the documents before me.”
“You went there before me.”
As soon as Cedric arrived, he had slipped away under the pretext of using the restroom. That was why I’d been alone at the party hall the whole time.
If you went by time, Cedric had more than enough of it compared to me.
“I took a look around first. To see if there was another exit from the marquis’s estate besides the front or back gates.”
“Another exit?”
“A place where evidence would be.”
A place wide enough for a carriage to pass through easily. Cedric, habitually crossing his legs, continued.
“There were two doors inside the marquis’s residence. They probably went out through there. Or it could be a place where they transport something even more important.”
“…….”
Something important. I guessed it might be materials for building the bridge.
They might have even secretly loaded workers into carriages and taken them out. The possibilities were endless.
“Anyway, what does it matter. You’ve got the documents.”
At those words, I lightly bit my lower lip. If he had come because of his confinement, he would definitely need these. But I needed them just as desperately.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give these to you.”
“I know. You’d die without them, right? I don’t plan on snatching something you found first.”
“Why?”
To be honest, if Cedric really wanted to, he could take them from me. He could threaten me or something.
If that happened, I planned to resist as much as possible. But contrary to my expectations, Cedric backed off without much fuss.
‘You said you needed this to get your confinement lifted.’
If so, couldn’t he at least say something like we found it together? He backed off so easily that now I was the one feeling suspicious.
At my look, Cedric sharply furrowed his brows, as if his pride had been wounded.
“It’s embarrassing. I don’t have a hobby of stealing what someone else found.”
“I-I see.”
“……Why are you making that face?”
“It’s just—.”
Because it’s surprising.
‘It doesn’t seem like you want anything from me in particular.’
Wouldn’t this be a loss for Cedric? He went all the way to the marquis’s estate, but I was the only one reaping the benefits. He didn’t gain anything at all.
And yet, he was willingly letting me have it.
‘I don’t get it.’
He was someone I couldn’t read at all. He said he liked that I didn’t put on airs around him, and maybe that really was true.
‘I mean, I’m grateful, but still.’
It was puzzling. There was absolutely no reason for him to act this way. From what he’d said, it didn’t seem like he had any prior connection with Shatrina either.
But suspicion was suspicion. For now, I decided to seize the opportunity he was giving me.
“You won’t take that back later.”
“Of course not.”
Cedric shrugged, telling me not to worry. His behavior, as if he had no lingering attachment at all, left me at a loss for words.
Why, exactly?
“If you don’t trust me, run straight to His Majesty the moment we reach the imperial palace.”
“…….”
Was there a part of my heart that felt uneasy?
Even though I’d obtained what I wanted so badly, all I felt was an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
‘I’m tired.’
I wasn’t actually tired, but the thought came to me out of habit. Leaning my head against the window like he had, I looked outside.
Passing through the blue scenery, the carriage raced forward at a frightening speed.
Even though I’d only been at the marquis’s estate briefly, the sky had already turned dark.
The sky had been cloudy when we went there, as if it might rain, and the moment we arrived at the imperial palace, heavy rain poured down.
“You worked hard, Your Highness. Shall I prepare some warm milk tea?”
“I’ll have milk tea tomorrow. I just want to rest for now.”
I wanted to go see the Emperor immediately, but it was already too late. Deciding to go first thing in the morning, I washed up roughly and returned to my room.
The moment I wrapped myself tightly in the blankets, drowsiness rushed over me like a mad tide.
As soon as I arrived, I had placed the documents under my pillow.
I didn’t have a proper drawer yet.
Closing my eyes like that, I fell asleep faster than ever.
That place was nothing but pitch-black darkness. And in the middle of it, a red light appeared.
I realized that light was a person because of the name I heard soon after.
[Reilia.]
At that sweet whisper, my stomach churned violently. Soon after, someone with bright red hair turned toward me. The moment I reached out my hand toward that familiar light, his figure vanished in an instant.
At the same time, my vision went dark.
And then—
[Die.]
Endless curses echoed.
