144. Special Mission! Secretly Paving a Flower Path for the Possessor
Evelyn, who had received Marquis Balton’s order, tried her best to stay calm.
As usual, she helped Shailo with her grooming.
Volunteering to brush Shailo’s hair, Evelyn racked her brain furiously.
‘How can I secretly take some of her hair?’
She couldn’t understand why her father wanted Shailo’s hair.
All she knew was that, because of the recent incident with Pyron, her father’s position in the imperial court had become precarious.
Feeling the same sense of crisis, Evelyn obediently decided to carry out his command.
At that moment, Shailo, surrounded by her maids, let out a deep sigh.
“It’s already been days, and His Majesty still hasn’t summoned me. He must be truly furious.”
She, too, was upset by the collapse of diplomatic relations with Pyron.
‘It was a golden chance to profit handsomely, and now it’s gone.’
Still, at least she was spared from the Emperor’s anger.
The one ultimately responsible for this failure was Marquis Balton.
Although the Emperor adored Shailo, he never trusted her enough to entrust her with national affairs.
Since there were no expectations, she was free of blame.
She comforted herself with the thought that as long as she didn’t fall out of favor, other opportunities would come. For now, she decided to lie low.
“Please don’t be too disheartened, my lady. Once things settle down, His Majesty will surely call for you again.”
The maids tried to console her, but Shailo’s sighs did not cease.
While she remained lost in dejection, Countess Garcia quietly observed Evelyn.
Evelyn often acted suspiciously. The countess had a habit of keeping an eye on her, and today, her behavior seemed particularly odd.
“……”
Even while the maids comforted Shailo, Evelyn’s gaze lingered only on the comb.
After glancing around, she carefully gathered the strands of hair caught in the comb and slipped them into her inner pocket.
Just then, one of the maids clapped her hands as though struck by a good idea.
“How about going on a boat ride to lift your spirits?”
“A boat ride?”
“Yes, my lady. The weather’s cooled—it would be lovely to enjoy some outdoor leisure.”
“Hm.”
Shailo gazed absentmindedly out the window.
Outside, the world was gradually being painted with the vibrant hues of autumn.
“I should suggest to His Majesty that we go to the villa to enjoy the autumn leaves.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. His Majesty could use a change of mood as well.”
Shailo rose to her feet.
“Go and tell him I request an audience.”
“Understood, my lady.”
At her command, the maids dispersed in orderly fashion.
Evelyn finished straightening Shailo’s attire and then slipped out of the toilet room.
While the others went to the Emperor’s palace, she planned to secretly meet her father.
‘I did it!’
Her steps quickened toward the reception hall.
Perhaps it was because of the trophy hidden in her pocket, but her heart pounded wildly with strange excitement.
But then, someone blocked her path.
“Lady Evelyn, daughter of Marquis Balton.”
It was Countess Garcia, who had been watching her closely.
“What are you hiding in your pocket?”
Her gaze fell directly on Evelyn’s inner pocket, and Evelyn froze.
Still, she stiffly raised her chin.
“What are you talking about? I haven’t hidden anything.”
“Don’t bother pretending. I saw with my own eyes—you collected Lady Shailo’s hair.”
“……!”
Since when had she been watching?
Cornered, Evelyn blurted out loudly,
“I was just about to throw it away!”
“Then give it to me. I’ll dispose of it instead.”
As the countess stepped closer, Evelyn quickly turned on her heel.
“No, thank you!”
“Lady Evelyn!”
Just then, someone approached from the end of the hallway, but the two were too busy bickering to notice.
The figure drew near and stopped abruptly.
“Lady Evelyn?”
“L-Lady Roselia?”
“……!”
Roselia looked back and forth between the startled two.
Just a few hours earlier.
After Countess Gott left the ducal residence, another visitor arrived.
“My lady, a messenger from the imperial palace has come. His Highness Prince Perwyn wishes to see you. What shall we do?”
“His Highness?”
The visitor was none other than Perwyn’s messenger.
Normally, the Perwyn I knew would have either barged in unannounced or summoned me straight to the palace.
Maybe his words about making an effort weren’t empty after all—this time he was asking for my consent.
“Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Thanks to that, I prepared gladly to meet him.
With the Pyron affair unresolved, there was much we needed to discuss.
Getting ready to enter the palace didn’t take long.
Just as I was about to step into the Crown Prince’s quarters, I noticed a maid loitering by the entrance.
‘What is she doing there?’
She hovered aimlessly like someone who had lost her way.
One of my attendants stepped forward.
“You there, stop dawdling and move along.”
At that, the hesitant maid turned toward me. The moment she saw me, her expression shifted drastically.
“Oh no!”
Crash!
With movements dramatic enough to shame a Hollywood stunt double, she fell—no, practically flew—right in front of me.
Clutching her knee, she groaned in a monotone voice as if reading from a schoolbook.
“Ouch, ouch, it hurts so much. What should I do?”
“?”
‘What is this, some AI wearing a human mask?’
“What are you doing! Get up this instant!”
My attendant scolded her harshly, but she ignored him, staring straight at me.
“Ow, ow, ow. I think my bone is broken. I absolutely can’t get up on my own.”
“?”
“It’d be nice if someone helped me up. Preferably a lady…”
“Ah, are you all right?”
Reluctantly, I held out my hand.
Her awkward, robotic voice grated on my nerves, but she did look to be in pain.
“Thank you.”
As if waiting for this, the maid grabbed my hand.
Slowly, she began to rise.
“?”
Something tickled my palm. Looking down, I realized she had slipped me a small note.
[Head to the Crystal House immediately.]
“Thank you so much. I’ll take my leave now.”
Startled, I tried to get a good look at her face, but she bowed deeply.
Before I could stop her, she hurried off and disappeared in the distance.
…What on earth was that?
“Haah… Raising kids that aren’t mine is going to be the death of me.”
Once out of Roselia’s sight, the maid collapsed on the stairs.
“Tch.”
Her knee, which she had slammed into the ground, throbbed with pain.
“…It’s not actually broken, right?”
If she’d known it would hurt this much, she would have faked the fall more gently.
She let out a small sigh and glanced at her reflection in the polished floor.
Brown hair. A freckled face.
The very definition of an ordinary maid with no distinguishing features.
The perfect extra character for Ian to possess without drawing attention.
Ian, now inside the body of the maid, looked around warily.
‘Don’t tell me someone noticed that just now?’
Ever since the administrator caused that massive incident, surveillance over all possession cases had grown far stricter.
As a low-level employee, Ian couldn’t even chat freely anymore.
‘My so-called “peer” really knows how to dump a giant mess in my lap. Thanks a lot, buddy.’
The administrator, who had possessed Kaiyen to descend into the human realm, was forcibly dragged back to the middle realm, saddled with Kaiyen’s penalties as well.
【WARNING! Unauthorized access detected.】
【WARNING! Severe behavioral restrictions imposed.】
【WARNING! Forcefully confined to another dimension!】
‘Warning, warning, warning—nonstop. That’s karma for you.’
Because he had disrupted the world too many times, the administrator was bound by the system and imprisoned in another dimension.
Bound hand and foot, he could no longer see, feel, or speak.
Though Ian felt he had brought it on himself, he couldn’t help but be bothered by him.
[Please, take care of Roselia in my stead. ㅠ,ㅠ]
‘…What a sap.’
Those almost final words of the administrator lingered in Ian’s mind, and in the end, he recklessly descended into the human world.
“I must be insane. I’m not their babysitter.”
Grumbling, she forced herself up, her knee still stinging.
From the moment she became a possessor, Ian had vowed never to do anything unprofitable.
And yet, without realizing, she had caught the administrator’s foolish sense of duty.
“Never again will I step in.”
Even as she muttered this, Ian stole a glance toward the direction where Roselia had gone.
