Chapter 54
Hale was pressing his throbbing forehead as he read through the documents—or more precisely, glared at them.
The letters refused to enter his eyes, his brow was furrowed, and before long, he shut his eyes tightly and gave up on working altogether.
The reason was obvious.
‘This is driving me insane.’
It had already been an hour since Senika left the office with Jayus, and he hadn’t managed to sign even a single document.
Theo had said there was already a mountain of overdue work, but at this rate, finishing it today seemed impossible.
Irritation surged through him, and Hale spun his chair around to face the window behind him.
The weather outside was bright and clear, yet his mind felt gloomy and overcast.
“Lord Hale.”
Theo entered and spoke, but Hale didn’t respond—he seemed far too lost in thought.
“Ah, I happened to see the young lady just now, outside.”
“Senika? Why?”
The only topic that could break Hale’s daze was one involving Senika, and Theo knew that all too well.
So he began to recount what he had witnessed just a little earlier in the hallway…
‘Why, he says? This mansion is my workplace and her home. Of course, I might run into her!’
Theo felt a little—no, a lot—hurt by Hale’s reaction, but he brushed it off. After all, the lord always tolerated his minor insolence.
“She was with the heir of the Black Dragon family in the hallway.”
“I see.”
“It seems even the fiery youth of noble men and women can’t help but… spark a little, eh? I remember when I was your—”
“Enough.”
Hale tried to tune Theo out. He already knew Senika had left the office with Jayus, so he assumed Theo had just seen them walking together.
But the way Theo said it didn’t sound so simple.
If they had merely been walking, why would he say their eyes had met in a romantic way?
“Say that again—slowly.”
“Pardon?”
“Tell me exactly what you saw.”
Hale shot up from his chair and grabbed Theo’s shoulder with a force that made him flinch.
Theo didn’t even know what was happening, yet facing those pale blue eyes blazing with anger made cold sweat trickle down his back.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet somehow he felt like he had.
“…Their atmosphere was, uh, kind of… strange.”
“What? Strange? How?”
“How do you describe strange, my lord? It was just… strange.”
“Not the atmosphere. What else?”
“Uh, well…”
Theo, who was usually quick-witted, suddenly lost all sense in this situation.
Which meant he had said enough to realize—too late—why Hale was reacting this way.
He regretted opening his mouth, but it was too late now. The words were out.
“You’d better tell me everything, Theo.”
Theo sighed deeply and decided to give a watered-down version.
“Well, um… they, uh, brushed hair aside for each other…”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t each other—only the man had tucked the woman’s hair back—but that was better than admitting how close they’d looked.
“That snake of a bastard.”
Hale ground his teeth.
Theo shuddered. He felt like he’d wandered into a battlefield uninvited.
If he kept talking, his head might actually roll. So he quickly shifted to the real reason he’d come here.
“My lord, there’s something more important than this.”
“More important than this?”
“Yes! You’ll be shocked when you hear it. It’s also connected to what you ordered me to investigate.”
Theo’s expression turned proud—it had taken him days to dig up this information.
Hale, seeming to catch on, released his grip on Theo’s shoulder.
“Go on. I’m listening.”
With his composure restored, Hale leaned against the desk and nodded.
“It’s about what’s hidden beneath the imperial palace. I believe it’s related to the Empress.”
Hidden beneath the palace?
That sounded oddly familiar. Where had he heard it before…?
“You found information about someone imprisoned under the palace?”
“…Yes, how did you know?”
Theo’s eyes widened. He hadn’t imagined Hale would already know.
‘Does the lord have another informant besides me?’
Information from within the palace was notoriously hard to obtain. So who had told him first?
The thought that there was someone else gathering intelligence—someone better—was both shocking and infuriating.
‘I’m his aide, and yet… there’s someone I don’t know about?’
Then why did Hale always dump so much work on him?
“What else?”
Hale’s question snapped Theo out of his spiraling thoughts.
He decided to save his suspicions for later and smiled slyly.
“There’s more. I wouldn’t be standing here so confidently otherwise.”
“I’m listening.”
“The informant told me who’s imprisoned down there.”
“They did?”
“Not exactly—they didn’t know who. But I do.”
Theo savored the moment of triumph before revealing it.
“You’ll be surprised when I tell you.”
“Get to the point.”
“You remember the ones you told me to look into? It’s one of them.”
Theo’s excitement was clear—he loved dragging things out, making Hale guess.
Hale frowned slightly, but played along for a moment, thinking it through.
Soon, a name surfaced in his mind.
“Don’t tell me… the Second Prince?”
“Correct.”
Theo crossed his arms like a teacher giving a lecture, his tone smug.
“I’ve been frequenting the palace lately and getting to know some of the servants there. Naturally, with this handsome face, they all—”
“Just the point.”
A lesser man might’ve humored him, but Hale cut him off flatly.
“Anyway, several palace staff claim that the Second Prince often disappears for days at a time.”
“That alone isn’t much to go on.”
“Exactly. I thought so too—until I heard this.”
Theo brushed his chin thoughtfully.
“When he reappears, he’s said to look gaunt—almost skeletal. His steps unsteady, eyes sunken, hair limp and pale—more white than silver.”
“…”
“And then, a few days later, he’s back to normal, as if nothing happened.”
Theo’s tone dropped, turning serious.
“Don’t these symptoms sound familiar to you, my lord?”
The Second Prince’s described condition perfectly matched the symptoms of pheromone depletion—something that only affected dragons, never humans.
Hale’s expression hardened. He knew exactly what Theo was implying.
“So, my theory is this—”
“…”
“They’re experimenting on the Second Prince. And whatever the experiment is, it’s connected to the weapon that wounded you, my lord.”
It was a far-fetched theory, but if a human like Roel did possess pheromones, it wasn’t impossible.
However, for that to be true, another hypothesis would also have to hold.
“And you know, the Second Prince’s hair isn’t gold—it’s silver, right?”
That struck a nerve.
It brought back the Emperor’s earlier insinuation.
“So that’s what you’re getting at.”
“Pardon?”
Theo flinched at the sudden chill in Hale’s voice.
He had expected this might be a sensitive topic—but not this level of hostility.
“You’re suggesting the Second Prince was switched with Senika at birth, and that he carries the pheromones of the White Dragon clan?”
A cold, serpentine pressure swept over Theo—Hale’s pheromones filled the room, suffocating.
For the first time, Theo truly feared for his life.
‘I was only theorizing…!’
Hale rarely silenced dissent with force, but because this touched Senika, his composure had snapped.
Theo swallowed hard and stammered, “…My lord?”
But the killing intent didn’t fade. It only grew tighter, crushing the air around him until he dropped to his knees.
“There’s logic in what you say,” Hale said at last, his voice low.
“…”
“But it’s a useless fantasy.”
The words were a warning—never to speak anything within this mansion that could harm Senika.
To Hale, there was—and could only ever be—one heir of the White Dragon family: Senika.
Hair color alone wasn’t enough to connect royalty to her.
Theo understood the message clearly and bowed his head deeply. Even if his theory turned out to be true, he would never mention it again.
“…My apologies, my lord. I overstepped.”
Hale stared down at him for a long moment, then finally withdrew the suffocating aura.
Theo clutched his chest, gasping for breath.
“Whatever happens,” Hale said quietly, “never forget—Senika is the only heir of the White Dragon clan.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Theo rose unsteadily to his feet. His legs still trembled from the overwhelming pressure earlier.
“Stop investigating the Second Prince. Focus on the Empress and the Emperor instead.”
Hale had decided that the matter of the imprisoned person beneath the palace would be better handled by Jayus, not Theo.
Jayus had already mentioned something related—and frankly, Hale had been overworking Theo too much anyway.
Better late than never.
“Understood.”
“Oh, and—who’s in charge of this year’s White Festival?”
The White Festival was the White Dragon family’s annual celebration.
Hale vaguely remembered it always being held around this time of year. Normally, he had no interest in such events—but this year was different.
It would be Senika’s first White Festival. He wanted it to be a happy memory for her.
“Rita is in charge, my lord.”
“I see. You may go.”
He nodded slightly.
For the first time, Hale resolved to give input on the festival’s arrangements—
—all for Senika’s sake.
