CHAPTER 48
The site was swarming with guards.
The tense atmosphere was completely different from yesterday.
“……As reported through the media, the on-site security will be commanded by Lady Aristina of the House of Rosen. Well, she’ll mostly just be… making a show of it….”
The chief of the security bureau paused mid-briefing, his mouth agape.
“What is that?”
“They said she’d only be making a show, right?”
Everyone murmured.
Even in the dim light, heavily armed knights of the Rosen family were swarming in.
All under my command, Lady Aristina.
‘Hehehe….’
I let a small smile slip as I watched the stunned faces.
It wasn’t difficult to mobilize the knights.
When I offered to pay them a special allowance ten times their base salary out of my own pocket, the roster filled in no time.
They quickly formed a perimeter around the department store.
“No… Lady Aristina…”
The security chief stared at me with wide eyes.
“In hunting attire, with whips, and even hunting dogs?”
“I prepared a little. How do I look?”
“You’re… absolutely magnificent! If I were thirty years younger, I would’ve knelt before you and sworn my loyalty. But…”
He lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Your role was just to lure the phantom thief, wasn’t it? The real capture operation will be carried out by Their Majesties inside the building. All you needed to do was play along, right?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
I shook my head vigorously.
“My role tonight is to be the foolish villainess who doesn’t know her limits and provokes the phantom thief. I will take responsibility for taunting the thief and carry that role out to the very end!”
“Ooooh….”
Everyone was impressed.
Just the fact that I wouldn’t abandon something once started was enough to earn admiration. Living as a villainess is truly effortless.
Everyone’s low expectations of me were far too obvious.
‘But I have a very important reason for being here tonight.’
From what I gathered, Aldensis and Zikren had been held up for quite a while during an audience with their stepmother last night, only to be released later.
In the meantime, Luelian had escaped safely and, using his authority, erased all records, so they had no clue.
There was nothing in their way.
I needed to put the interrogation ability I obtained to use quickly.
And as a bonus…
“I’ll handle this place, so Chief, why don’t you take everyone and leave early?”
This way, no one would have to work in vain.
I couldn’t guarantee the phantom thief wouldn’t appear tonight, but at least I could make things easier for everyone.
You have to accumulate virtue if you want to live long.
“Come now. I’ll patrol, so everyone else sit down. What are you doing? Not serving drinks first?”
“This is some encouragement liquor our lady prepared for everyone.”
“Everyone, take a seat with your drinks. Light a fire and play cards or something!”
I let the guards relax and walked a few rounds with the hunting dogs.
The knights wanted to do something, but I was so thorough that they couldn’t interfere.
“Ah… then we’ll report to the Crown Prince inside.”
“I’ll handle that too. I was planning to check inside anyway.”
I led the hunting dogs into the department store.
Under the glow of the phosphorescent stones, the merchandise quietly reflected light. The leaves of the indoor deciduous trees cast large shadows on the floor.
It genuinely felt like the phantom thief could appear at any moment. At least, the atmosphere suggested it.
I looked around.
‘He’s supposed to be hiding in here, but where exactly? I don’t sense anything.’
The Rosen family’s hunting dogs led the way, sniffing along the floor.
But then, suddenly, the brave dogs hesitated, tucking their tails and stopping.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
The dogs were very aware of a specific spot. I examined it closely and then saw him.
‘Isn’t that Zikren?’
A red-haired man in a tight short top was perched atop a crescent-shaped structure, chin resting on his hand, lost in thought.
When he sensed my gaze, he whipped his head toward me and almost fell off in surprise.
“Aristina!”
Zikren called out, barely holding onto the structure.
“What are you doing here? I thought your role was over and you’d only come to see the thief being captured and interrogated.”
“Can I just stop? I’m participating in the operation too, so I have to see it through properly.”
As I answered and stepped forward, the hunting dogs whined, refusing to approach further and trembling as they lay on the floor.
‘Ah, that’s right.’
The dogs were afraid because Zikren was a transcendent being with the bloodline of dragons—a creature instinctively feared by living beings.
Zikren looked at the dogs.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
He reached out to calm them, but the dogs kept their heads down, squeaking in fear.
“It’s okay, really.”
Zikren knelt on one knee and patted their heads. Finally, they calmed and wagged their tails.
A smile spread across Zikren’s face.
‘Right, Zikren likes animals.’
A fragment of memory surfaced in my mind.
“I want to pet the puppies too! But they just cower and run away…”
Young Zikren slumped, his chubby cheeks sagging.
“Humph! Why would a prince worry about something like that? The Crown Prince wouldn’t!”
Little Aristina raised her chin arrogantly.
“Follow me! I, Lady Aristina, will handle it!”
“Wait! You’re….”
That was the memory.
‘Back then, he wasn’t bad. But we grew apart as we aged, and now we’re at a point where I have to doubt whether he’s a murderer or not.’
Watching Zikren play with the dogs, wagging tails and rubbing heads, I thought, ‘He must’ve forgotten that incident,’ but…
“Ah, just a little petting. Otherwise, we’ll get scolded again.”
From his teasing, it seemed he remembered very well.
I pretended not to hear and called the hunting dogs.
“What are you doing here, Zikren? The phantom thief will be caught in a trap soon anyway. Shouldn’t you go somewhere quietly?”
“The sun hasn’t fully set yet. I want to see if he set any devices. I’ll check entrance number four one last time.”
“I already checked there.”
“Then three.”
“Checked that too.”
I wiped sweat from my forehead and said confidently:
“‘The secret to the phantom thief’s mysterious crimes is infiltrating the scene in advance and setting up hidden devices.’ I read that hypothesis too, so I checked everywhere.”
“Wow, Aristina, that’s amazing.”
Zikren’s golden eyes widened, then a mischievous smile spread across his face.
“Then can I play a little?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
No need for pointless effort.
Encouraged, Zikren’s eyes lit up, and he eyed a nearby palm-like tree.
“That’ll do.”
In an instant, he vanished, leaping to the top of the towering tree.
I was shocked. Is he even human?
‘Right, not human.’
From the treetop, Zikren reached down and plucked a round fruit. He landed upright on the ground.
“Catch!”
He tossed the fruit, and the dogs scrambled after it.
“Hahaha! Adorable.”
Zikren laughed, watching the dogs.
Then suddenly, his smile disappeared. A flash, and his back blocked my view.
“What’s wrong?”
Confused, I flinched.
Leaves rustled suspiciously ahead, with an ominous presence accompanying them.
“……”
I could see the muscles in Zikren’s back tense, lowering his posture like a predator ready to strike.
I stared past his back.
Could it be… Luelian?
“Huh?”
Zikren suddenly relaxed.
“It’s you, brother.”
The Crown Prince, blond and in uniform, appeared inside the indoor garden.
“I wondered who it was.”
Zikren grumbled.
“If you saw us, just come. Why make such suspicious noises?”
“Suspicious? I made noise so no one would be startled. You’re fine, but Lady Aristina isn’t an ordinary person.”
A transcendent being moving silently, mimicking footsteps, looks endlessly suspicious.
‘Well-intentioned, but really unnecessary.’
I glanced at Aldensis. He looked at me.
“Lady….”
Just as he greeted me, the hunting dogs, already wary, were instantly terrified by Aldensis’ presence.
They could barely stand, barking twice in strained voices before fleeing behind me.
“……”
Aldensis watched the fleeing dogs with an expressionless face.
Their reaction was ordinary for him, as with Zikren.
Usually, he’d remain indifferent, so I expected the same now. But I was wrong.
“……”
He glanced at me, then at the dogs hiding behind Zikren, and suddenly…
“Come here! Come here!”
He shouted at the dogs—not just a voice, but a beautiful, strange echo that pulled them toward him like a magnet.
“That’s right.”
Aldensis patted the dogs, looking over at me proudly.
Huh?
I stared, dumbfounded.
“What are you doing, Your Highness?”
