LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 29
Chapter 29 Devit and Erinne both stopped and looked at me.“Why are you suddenly talking about the theft again?”Erinne frowned and asked.“Well, I’m just glad it worked out, don’t you think?”I pushed past them both and walked down the hallway first. Then I spoke casually.“It is, after all, the Emperor’s dagger. Something really bad was about to happen.”“… The thing that disappeared was His Majesty’s dagger?”Devit asked.Unlike Erinne, who was walking at the same speed as me, Devit was still standing there. She seemed quite surprised.“But why would His Imperial Majesty’s-”“Shh, don’t say that out loud.”Devit interrupted, and I resumed walking as if nothing had happened.Davit, who had moved her mouth as if she had something more to say, was silent.‘That’s suspicious.’I glanced at Erinne. That side face that looks so peaceful.Of course, there was no such thing as theft. So the Emperor’s dagger and everything was a lie. A lie to make them think.Devit’s reaction was very common sense. Why was the emperor’s dagger in the Crown Prince’s palace, how did he lose it, and where is it now, and why am I the only one who knows about it?Those who worked at the Crown Prince’s Palace and were accused of being one of the suspects in the theft case were bound to wonder.‘But why? Why doesn’t Erinne wonder?’It was too suspicious to be true. Her lack of curiosity was one of two things.First, she already knew it was a dagger.‘This is ridiculous because it’s a lie in the first place.’Second, did she already know it was a lie?‘The only one who can know that….’I stared at Erinne’s back.Time passed quickly, and it was the day of the banquet to celebrate Caesar’s fifteenth birthday.The palace was quite a buzz. It was thanks to the Emperor, who was always lying on the bed, said that he would personally attend the banquet.‘So the nobles are not here to celebrate Caesar’s birthday, but to be seen by the Emperor’s eyes.’The imperial palace is all about power and connections. In other words, they work for profit.It was a perfectly natural rule that I was already familiar with, but I couldn’t help but feel bitter.“Evelyn, wear this ribbon today!”As if to break my thoughts, I heard an excited voice. I glanced in the mirror and saw Floria fiddling with the ribbon.I was to attend the banquet as Caesar’s handmaiden. Normally, I would have dressed casually like the last banquet, but…“Take this ribbon! Just like me!”Floria had brought me to the princess Palace. She said that I shouldn’t wear plain clothes like last time.In fact, it wasn’t the first time this had happened. Every time I came to her palace, once a week, Floria wanted to give me something.At first, she prepared expensive accessories-earrings, necklaces, brooches-but when I refused, she switched to more affordable items.Still, it’s an item of the royal family, so it’s a value beyond imagination.“This is the ribbon I specifically requested for today. How is it? Isn’t it cute?”What Floria was holding was a fluffy white ribbon.“Yes… It’s cute.”The problem was that it was a little too cute. It was too big, too fluffy.“I’m seventeen now,” I thought to myself.It was not an accessory suitable for my age when I would soon come of age.Moreover, today was the imperial palace banquet. Even if I’m a noble, wasn’t it a little too luxurious for a maid?I was pondering how to reject it again, when Floria suddenly started fiddling with my hair.“Yo-your highness?”“Wait. I will do it for you.”I felt a small hand ruffling my hair.Apparently Floria thought that if she was nice to me, I would return to the princess palace, and she’d bribe me with a gift for it.I realized that I had made a mistake last time, following her to Duke Spiegel’s banquet.Since then, I think she’s been thinking, ‘I’ll find a way to get her back.’Of course, she had every right to feel sad that her favorite maid was gone so quickly. She was young.“Done!”Before I could choose my words of rejection, Floria proudly crossed her arms in front of her.She’d been fiddling with it so hard, I thought she’d done something spectacular, but all she’d done was pull my hair into a ponytail.There were even strands of hair sticking out here and there.“What do you think? Do you like it? It’s cute, isn’t it?”But there was no way I could say anything bad to Floria who asked with twinkling eyes.“Yes, it’s cute.”“Then Evelyn, are you still like this today?”“Well….”It was time to smile with a troubled face.“Hey.”‘Huh?’Suddenly a low voice was heard.“Oh, brother?”Turning my head, Caesar was standing there.“Crown Prince?”I jumped up from my seat and bowed my head.Floria got up in a hurry as well.‘Why is Caesar here?’Behind Caesar was a puzzled-looking princess maids.Sure enough, he had never been to the princess Palace before.“What’s going on here….”“What’s going on? Isn’t that normal?”‘Have you come to see Floria? But it would do no good to draw attention to yourself, especially today….’Caesar hurriedly approached me.“I’m here to pick up my personal maid. The banquet is approaching, and I have something to tell her in a hurry.”“Ah…”There was no such thing as an urgent message, so this was just an excuse. A chance to get into the Empress’s palace without making an awkward entrance.“Everyone can get out of here.”Caesar said, and Floria nodded, and all of the palace’s occupants filed out.Caesar, down to just three people, grabbed my hand without hesitation.“Your highness!”“We have to practice today.”Do you really think that holding hands raises the level of awakening, or does he think it’s just sword training?“Don’t look at me like that when you suddenly disappear. Didn’t I tell you to tell me when you’re going somewhere?”“You’ve been busy today.”No, Caesar had been busy all day preparing for the banquet. At the mention of something unfavorable to me, Caesar turns the tables.“… What’s that on your head?”“Ah, this!”Before Floria could explain anything, Caesar raised his hand. Then he quickly untied the ribbon.“It doesn’t suit you, this style.”“Ha, but…!”Floria is upset.She was unhappy that my hair, which she had worked so hard to tie up, had come undone, but she was too afraid of her brother to say anything.“Better something colorful than this childish ribbon. Turn around.”“Yes?”I quickly turned around and Caesar started stroking my hair again. It was a completely different feeling than when Floria touched it.‘What are you so good at? I’m getting sleepy….’With his gentle hands tickling my hair, I dared to forget that the Crown Prince was tying my hair.“It’s done.”‘Hey, what is this?’In the hand mirror that Caesar had placed in front of me, there was a dazzling look of my hair.The hair that was gathered together, of course, was sloppy, just like Floria’s, but it was different. It was full of pearl decorations that looked luxurious at first glance, so it was like choosing a bunch of colorful decorations out of Floria’s jewelry box.Caesar raised his chin with a proud expression.“It’s my birthday banquet, so it’s the least I can do, and Evelyn has beautiful hair, so it looks good with it all up.”“Ha, but the hair is frizzy and pretty, so tying it down…!”“Yeah, the frizz does look good on her.”“It does, doesn’t it?”Floria’s eyes shone with anticipation. Caesar held up the ribbon again.I was baffled as to why they were arguing about the hair when I clearly owned it, but Caesar didn’t seem to want to stop.“Did you bring this with you?”“Yes…”“Hmm…”After thinking for a while, he handed the ribbon to Floria.“It’ll look good on you.”Floria’s shoulders sagged, though it was probably Caesar’s own compliment.“But, I was going to wear the same accessories as Evelyn…”“You can’t do that.”“Why?”This time the question was out of my mouth. It had never occurred to me that Caesar would care if I wore the same accessories or not.Besides, he was the Crown Prince, and it wasn’t the time when he was concerned about the hair of a maid.“Well, then, it’s as if she belongs to the Princess Palace. Evelyn is now a maid in the Crown Prince’s palace.”Floria glared at Caesar. As if he hadn’t already flipped a switch on her, thinking I had been stolen by the Crown Prince’s palace.“Your highness, please calm down-”I hurriedly tried to stop the quarrel, but Floria was faster than me.“But Evelyn likes me more!”