Chapter 32
I immediately lowered my head, but the prince showed a strange smile. Then he said to Calyx,
“You don’t usually keep female servants, do you?”
“I don’t, but her swordsmanship is excellent.”
What kind of praise was that? It was unexpected. I thought he would just say my skills were acceptable at best.
“Swordsmanship, huh. As expected, to stand beside you, Calyx, one must be outstanding in at least one thing.”
I could feel the prince’s gaze. His eyes were just as sharp as Calyx’s, as if he were trying to discover something about me.
I glanced at Calyx. Please, read the situation and send me out!
In this huge villa, it would take half a day just to search for the scammer.
But Calyx ignored me and looked only at the prince.
“Did you truly call me here just to exchange pleasantries?”
His tone was calm, yet sharp. The prince watched him for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
“Ha ha, that’s right. I forgot for a moment. You’re busier than anyone. Even simple conversation must feel uncomfortable for you, yes?”
Calyx did not answer. He only met the prince’s eyes. With a strange smile, the prince continued,
“You’re unusual. You build troops like a madman, ignore our words, yet when we meet like this, you show endless courtesy.”
“……”
“So I have nothing to say. I should respond somehow, but when you act so polite, it makes me feel like the fool instead.”
Is that really what he thinks?
He was sharper than expected. Now his smiling face no longer looked so pure. After all, he was the one behind the scammer. He couldn’t be completely kind.
The prince leaned back in his chair and looked at Calyx leisurely. Now there was coldness in his eyes.
“What I want to ask is simple. Why did you come here?”
After a moment, Calyx answered,
“There is someone I want to find.”
“Someone you want to find?”
“Someone I want to kill as well.”
In an instant, the atmosphere sank. The prince stared straight at Calyx, then suddenly laughed.
“Calyx, you startled me.”
Still smiling, he added,
“I thought you were trying to kill me.”
“My apologies. My words must not have come out properly.”
“No, thanks to you, I enjoyed it. So, who is it?”
The prince’s eyes sparkled.
“I will find him soon. I intend to uncover even the one behind him and wipe everything out at once.”
“Very much like the Duke of Demerut. But everyone here is my person. There shouldn’t be anyone so reckless.”
The prince lifted his teacup with a smile. Calyx looked at his face without concern.
“Such people usually hide cleverly. Like cockroaches hiding in sawdust.”
The prince laughed and set down his teacup.
“Even among my people, someone could hide cleverly, I suppose.”
Tap, tap.
The prince tapped the table with his finger.
“But is your territory all right? I heard Berok has been appearing more often lately, so you recruited more mercenaries.”
Calyx did not answer, only looked at him. His gaze was emotionless, yet the air was so cold it was hard to speak.
The prince continued brightly,
“Instead of coming here, shouldn’t you watch your territory as well? The enemy may be closer than you think.”
Calyx’s brow twisted slightly. Silence fell for a moment.
Still smiling faintly, the prince stared at him.
“I am deeply moved that Your Highness worries about my land.”
“Of course. You are the one protecting our northern region from Berok. Our royal family owes you much.”
Just from the words, their relationship sounded good. The prince was smiling slightly, yet his eyes held a strange, challenging killing intent.
The corner of Calyx’s lips lifted.
“I am the one who owes the royal family much. Even while I strengthen my troops, the royal family shows generous understanding. I can only feel grateful.”
Calyx lowered his head.
The prince was smiling, but his eyes hardened. The hand tapping the chair’s armrest tightened.
“Calyx, you truly know how to be grateful.”
His voice was filled with sarcasm. The prince lifted his teacup, inhaled the scent calmly, then looked at Calyx.
“Do you know why I came here?”
Calyx only watched him. The prince spoke slowly.
“I suddenly remembered the vacation I didn’t take last year.”
He smiled again.
“So I came back—to enjoy that missed rest and relax.”
The sound of the teacup touching the saucer rang softly. The prince placed it down leisurely and looked at Calyx.
“I just want to rest here. To organize my thoughts, forget painful and tiring things, and adjust my future plans.”
His tone was light.
For a moment, Calyx met his eyes. The prince did not look away. Heavy air drifted around them.
I glanced at Calyx. He looked calm, but his lips were tightly set.
Then Calyx spoke.
“I will follow your will. So as not to disturb Your Highness’s rest, we will take our leave now.”
“Why? Won’t you drink more tea?”
“No. I cannot waste any more of Your Highness’s valuable time.”
Calyx bowed and stood. He turned immediately.
Startled by the sudden situation, I quickly followed him.
When the door closed, his steps grew faster.
What happened? Why did he suddenly retreat?
Even after leaving the corridor, he kept hurrying. I rushed after him and asked,
“Is something wrong? Why are we leaving so suddenly?”
“Didn’t you feel it in the prince’s words?”
“Feel what? And why didn’t you let me leave earlier? At least I could have searched for the scammer.”
“He isn’t here.”
“Not here?”
“He already escaped—or he’s dead.”
“What?”
A chill ran down the back of my neck.
“The prince said he remembered the vacation he didn’t take last year and came here again. What do you think that means?”
No matter how I thought, my head couldn’t follow.
Why a vacation all of a sudden? I looked at Calyx in confusion. He frowned slightly, as if annoyed.
“It means he came to review and finish what he planned before.”
“Then…”
“From the start, the prince intended to interfere with me, and he came here to finish that matter.”
Calyx continued naturally.
“Since the prince planned the scam as well, he already knew the scammer was here.”
“How?”
“The scammer probably contacted him.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
Calyx strode forward and soon exited the villa.
Under the sunlight, he continued,
“Because we were chasing him like we would kill him, the scammer must have been frightened and contacted the royal knights. Unexpectedly, the prince himself came down.”
“Then where is the scammer now?”
“One thing is certain—he’s not nearby. The best choice now is to return to Setos.”
“Why Setos?”
Calyx frowned and looked down at me.
“Miss Lerit, weren’t you standing right beside us?”
“I was, but I don’t really understand noble speech. Why do they talk in circles like that? Honestly, just hearing the words without seeing your expressions, I would think you two were very close.”
I felt frustrated too. Calyx looked at me and spoke slowly.
“The prince told me to search for the enemy nearby. That means he must have planted someone in Setos.”
The more I heard, the stranger it sounded.
“But would the prince really explain everything so kindly to you?”
“It’s more entertaining for them when we suffer knowing the truth rather than in ignorance.”
“……”
“They’re playing with us like pieces on a game board.”
The prince’s smiling face now felt like a devil’s.
“Then we’re moving according to the prince’s words right now, whether we like it or not?”
Calyx let out a short laugh and looked at me, slightly annoyed.
“I have no intention of moving according to their will.”
The confidence in his eyes was striking.
After all, no matter how much the royal family told him to reduce his troops, he never did.
Just then, the carriage door opened. I climbed in without hesitation.
I wanted to find that damn scammer, but everything had become strangely tangled.
What is this…
Still, since Calyx was involved too, I wasn’t that afraid.
After all, he had money and power enough to oppose the royal family.
Should I laugh or cry…
I glanced at Calyx. He was looking at a ledger.
His stiff face carried a different mood. His slightly lowered black hair made him look calm in thought. Today, he seemed deeply sunken.
That atmosphere felt a little suffocating.
In this tangled situation, where was I even going?
I sighed and looked out the carriage window.
I still hadn’t found the scammer, so my debt remained the same.
That damn scammer.
All this time had been wasted.
I could have caught him right in front of me.
Thinking back, Calyx had been too calm then—as if it wasn’t his problem.
“Your Grace. We should have chased the scammer to the end back then.”
Regret from the past rushed over me.
“Even if we had chased him, the result would be the same.”
“Why?”
“Because the prince already knew from that time.”
“Then that means…”
“It seems the scammer was bait to make me move this way.”
Calyx laughed in disbelief and closed the ledger.
Suddenly curious, I asked,
“Why would the prince suddenly step in? Did he learn something special?”
