Chapter 34
All eyes naturally shifted from the bride and groom to the unexpected intruder.
“Huff, huff.”
Gasping for breath, the man who had burst into the wedding hall was one of Gobard’s closest knights.
“What the—?”
“Isn’t that His Highness’s…”
“Did something serious happen?”
“No matter what, how dare someone be so disrespectful during a royal wedding!”
No matter how much the nobles whispered among themselves, the knight didn’t seem to hear them.
He ran frantically toward Gobard, his eyes locked only on him.
As soon as the emperor narrowed his eyes, the imperial guards stepped forward and blocked the knight.
“What is the meaning of this, sir?”
“You’ll be held severely accountable for today.”
It seemed they wanted to handle the matter quietly, as the guards didn’t raise their voices while dragging the knight away.
Even as he was being dragged out, the knight looked only at Gobard, his eyes desperate.
Their gazes met in the air.
The knight opened his mouth as if to say something several times, then finally shouted in a desperate voice.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness!”
With that, the knight disappeared quickly through the back door.
Thud!
The door slammed shut, and after a moment of murmuring, everyone turned their heads forward again.
‘They probably think the commotion is over.’
But I knew better.
While everyone’s eyes were on the knight, mine had stayed on Gobard.
And soon…
“No!”
“Gobard, that child—!”
“Your Highness! Where are you going?!”
People in the front row cried out in shock.
But no voice could stop Gobard.
“Gobard Luim Lornod—!”
Not even the angry voice of the emperor, whom he feared so much.
Clatter.
The pink diamond Gobard had thrown rolled across the floor and stopped at someone’s feet.
Without even glancing at it, Gobard flung open the front doors—reserved for royal use—and bolted outside.
Of all places, there were no guards stationed there, so no one could stop him.
“T-The groom just stormed out of the wedding hall!”
Someone shouted from the back.
With that, the solemn wedding ceremony instantly turned into chaos.
“Oh my god, what is happening?!”
“What in the world just happened?!”
“Look at His Majesty’s face—it must be serious!”
“Then what about Lady Bobonshire?!”
Indeed, left behind, Ebwa stood frozen, her mouth slightly open as she stared at the door Gobard had disappeared through.
“That son of a bitch…”
Hearing that through Marin, I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
Our table wasn’t any calmer.
“Brother… Did he lose his mind?”
Brindel muttered gravely, exchanging a subtle look with his mother, the Third Empress.
“Do you know how hard it was for me to invite Cardinal San Fran…?”
Luhel muttered irritably in a depressed voice.
“Your Highness.”
And then Duke Sandrin.
He trembled with clenched fists, staring at me.
I gave him a small nod and said in a cheerful tone,
“Seems something major happened to His Highness! Like… losing something very important?!”
Right now, Gobard’s biggest concern was none other than Agasa.
There’s no way he’d entrust someone else with watching over her unless it was his closest companion.
‘Someone who grew up with him since childhood.’
He trusted such a friend, but look at him now—storming into the wedding hall, pale as a ghost!
Any knight with a bit of sense would’ve waited until the wedding ended—unless it was something truly dire.
He barged in fully prepared to take all the blame.
‘And that desperate apology…’
Then it was no wonder Gobard lost it, overwhelmed by the worst-case scenarios.
As everyone was panicking, I accidentally dropped my glove.
Then, as I bent down to pick it up, I whispered to the duke.
“Now it’s your turn to act, Duke.”
“…Thank you, Princess.”
Taking advantage of the confusion, Duke Sandrin quietly slipped out.
No one noticed his departure—not even the sharp-eyed Brindel, who was too distracted by the chaos.
As I picked up my glove, I looked at the front doors with a worried expression—though I was hiding a smirk inside.
Glancing at the emperor, I saw his face contorted with rage as he roared.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! BRING HIM BACK! IMMEDIATELY!”
‘The son who ran out of his own wedding in front of his father’s eyes.’
He must be furious.
But the moment Gobard escaped, the game was already over.
The moment he exited the temple, he must have seen a horse waiting at the nearby carriage stand.
He’d happily mount it and head to his palace.
By then, his knights—who had fainted—would be recovering.
‘And they’ll report that Agasa has been kidnapped.’
Then, without even dismounting, Gobard would leave the palace and ride out.
Who could possibly stop the crown prince, who moves faster than even the emperor’s orders?
‘The reason Duke Sandrin came on horseback instead of a carriage—’
That was my instruction.
I told him to bring the fastest and strongest horse in his stables.
Not only that, the carriage carrying Brillint and Agasa had intentionally left behind tracks.
This was bait—meant to lead Gobard on a wild chase with no time to regroup at the palace—and it had all been agreed upon with Duke Sandrin.
‘Brillint plans to switch to a different carriage at a crossroads.’
There would be five decoy carriages at that junction to confuse Gobard.
Chances are high he won’t find Agasa.
‘And when that happens…’
The puzzle pieces I had carefully arranged would finally come together.
I called out to Modway.
‘Modway, under the table.’
[Okay, master!]
I quickly slipped a ring onto Modway’s foot.
The pink diamond ring that I had picked up while pretending to retrieve my glove.
‘Modway used wind magic to roll the ring toward me on purpose.’
Isn’t it hilarious?
The very catalyst of this whole disaster ended up right back in my hands—the true culprit.
As the wedding descended into chaos, Brindel sighed with a troubled expression.
“This is a mess.”
I pretended not to notice the sharp glint in his eyes and covered my mouth with both hands.
“What should we do…”
Contrary to my worried tone, I hid my upturned lips behind my hands.
***
A few days passed after Gobard’s wedding ended in disaster.
The emperor had summoned Gobard several times, but he never returned to the palace.
‘Well, that’s understandable.’
So close, yet out of reach.
The scattered information about Agasa only agitated him further.
Just enough to make him feel like he could catch her any moment—but if he hesitated, she’d disappear forever.
But the more he struggled, the deeper Agasa’s trail vanished into the mud.
‘Some of the info he’s getting is deliberately faked by me.’
It wasn’t hard to feed false information to Gobard.
After all, Agasa had been staying in my palace until recently.
I already had all her personal records in my possession.
‘So if he wants to look into her background, he needs my permission.’
But he never asked me directly.
Which leaves only one method.
‘To investigate Agasa behind my back.’
And the only informant from Gobard’s side within my palace is Is.
It would be hard for his side to sneak in another spy during this chaotic time.
So they had no choice but to trust Is’s reports.
‘Even if there’s evidence that the guard she recruited betrayed me.’
That doesn’t necessarily mean Is betrayed the crown prince, right?
Still, Gobard isn’t a fool.
While chasing Agasa’s trail, he also suspects that the kidnappers are his enemies, and is expanding his investigation in that direction too.
Desperate, he’s using every card he has.
‘Which means Is’s reports only make up a fraction of the intel he’s getting.’
But a single drop of ink is enough to muddy the water.
Gobard’s aggressive investigation began to cause fractures among his closest allies.
And now, I was witnessing that very scene.
“Is His Highness still outside?”
“At this rate, something terrible might happen! The Third Prince’s faction is already acting suspiciously!”
“His Majesty’s wrath is no joke either. If this keeps up…!”
“I hate to say it, but what if His Highness’s madness is because of that maid?”
“Then we need to find her immediately! Remember how lost His Majesty was when he lost the Fourth Empress in his youth?”
“You! Have you found the maid yet? His Highness must return soon, so get moving!”
“Right! Didn’t we get her info from Princess Neroli’s side? Just dig a little deeper, and we’ll find something!”
“…We’re already working on it. But moving the organization for a single maid? That’s unacceptable.”
“Agreed. We act for the Empire and the greater good. Moving for personal ‘feelings’ is hard to justify.”
“Watch your tongue! That’s disloyal talk!”
“The organization belongs to His Highness! So its actions are up to him!”
“This is what happens when you entrust rootless people with power. No loyalty at all!”
“If it weren’t an emergency, we wouldn’t even be involved with nobles like you.”
“What?! That’s rude!”
[That’s everything, master~.]
Thanks, Marin.
[Do I need to stay at that palace again~?]
Yes. It should be quiet there for a while.
[Got it~. I’ll come let you know if anything fun happens~.]
And with that, Marin quietly disappeared.
