CHAPTER 27.
Her Highness the Princess’s Preferences
“Just wait. I’ll make Prince Orent bald just like the Duke.”
The serial hair-killer grinned mischievously at me.
“I-I’m not into getting rid of other people’s hair!”
“Oh right. Our princess isn’t into hair… she likes blowing up other things.”
Other things…?
I didn’t get it at first. Then it hit me.
“No way!”
I shouted, and Ancelot burst into laughter, clearly amused.
‘So he’s having fun teasing me now.’
Just moments ago, he’d looked irritated, but now every little jab made him chuckle.
“You said you were waiting for my feelings to change.”
“Waiting without effort is foolish, you know.”
“So making Orent and the Duke bald is your idea of a bribe to win me over?”
That idea was so ridiculous, I couldn’t help but giggle.
Then I noticed Ancelot staring blankly at me, and I tilted my head.
“Huh? Ancelot?”
“Oh.”
He blinked quickly, snapping out of it.
“Sorry, I zoned out for a moment.”
He changed his expression instantly, as if nothing had happened.
“Well, I won’t reject the bribe. But no matter how many you give me, I won’t be swayed.”
“Wow, so principled for no reason.”
Ancelot grumbled at my firm refusal to continue his little scheme.
“Of course. I am a member of the Azester imperial family.”
“Then how about this?”
Ancelot pulled something out from his coat.
My eyes widened the moment I saw it.
“This is…!”
An unused Beginner Demon Horn Whistle!
“Where did you find this?”
“It was stashed in a hidden compartment inside Duke Hamilton’s bedroom.”
“……!”
Ancelot smirked and added,
“Found it while I was there to pour the baldness potion on him.”
“……!”
I was too shocked to speak, my mouth just flapping open.
‘Why would Duke Hamilton have a demon whistle…?’
A terrifying thought suddenly crossed my mind.
No way.
Orent and my sister Gloria were rivals for the imperial throne.
Recently, Orent had gained popularity by subduing monsters at the border. After that, no more monsters appeared, and his reputation rose even more.
Gossipers were even predicting he’d be named the next crown prince.
‘So… the monsters didn’t retreat naturally out of fear of Orent…’
My expression froze as I stared at the whistle in Ancelot’s hand.
‘They summoned monsters to a place where there shouldn’t have been any… just to stage a show.’
And after that fake monster subjugation, since no new monsters appeared, people assumed Orent had resolved the crisis and praised him for it.
The Duke must’ve helped spread the rumors…
‘That… bastard!’
Even if imperial power is important, how could they sacrifice innocent citizens?
Before Orent’s subjugation, the small villages at the border had suffered many casualties.
Now it made sense why so many beginner demon whistles had been piled up on the dark guild market.
He probably didn’t dare use the intermediate whistles. Orent wouldn’t have been able to defeat stronger monsters.
I still didn’t know if Orent and Duke Hamilton were truly involved with the system administrator or not.
But I couldn’t ignore this.
I wasn’t someone particularly righteous, nor did I want to meddle in the succession fight between Gloria and Orent.
But if someone like Orent became emperor…
The Azester Empire I love would fall apart.
How could I tell Mother about this?
I couldn’t just barge in without proof and tell her the truth.
First, I need to let her know about the demon whistles. And then…
As I bit my lower lip, trying to figure out the best way to expose the truth, Ancelot asked me,
“So? This time, was that a good bribe?”
“Yeah!”
I grabbed Ancelot’s hand that held the whistle and nodded.
“The best bribe ever, Ancelot.”
He froze for a second, then chuckled softly.
“I’m honored to be of help to Your Highness.”
He let out a gentle purr of laughter as he handed me the whistle.
Meanwhile, Duke Hamilton—now bald and in distress—had no choice but to proceed with his scheduled audience with the emperor, despite his condition.
He found a wig that somewhat resembled his original hair, but rumors had already spread. Everyone whispered when they saw him.
He tried to ignore the stares and kept walking, but then a breeze blew.
Whoosh—
His wig flew to the floor with a soft flop.
“Gasp! My lord!”
His attendants and knights rushed toward him in panic.
“What are you all staring at like it’s a spectacle!”
Face turning bright red, the Duke quickly snatched the wig and stormed away.
Upon entering the audience chamber, Emperor Christine sat atop the high throne and greeted him with a slight nod.
She was in her mid-forties but still radiantly beautiful.
Youngest of the previous emperor’s twelve children, she had risen to the throne thanks to her extraordinary abilities.
After becoming emperor, she exiled her elder siblings from the capital and established a strong centralized rule under her authority.
Duke Hamilton had once been one of the noble candidates considered as her husband in his youth.
But the Emperor had declared she would never marry.
And she kept her word—though she had children with certain nobles, she granted only her children royal status, giving no affection to their fathers.
After giving birth to Princess Ruibell, she no longer took men to her bed at all.
Thus, Duke Hamilton had no choice but to abandon his dream of becoming emperor consort.
Instead, he devoted his life to putting Orent on the throne.
That’s why, during the recent birthday ball, when the emperor gave the sacred Azester Sword to Princess Ruibell, he had been the most vocal in his protest.
Still, he had once admired the emperor, and thus was reluctant to show her his bald head.
“I greet the most radiant sun of the Azester Empire, Your Majesty.”
“Very well.”
The emperor responded curtly, looking down at the duke with a disinterested expression.
Her attitude made it clear she didn’t want a long conversation.
She had already been annoyed by his protest at the ball, and his delay in attending the scheduled audience only worsened his standing with her.
Trying to recover her favor, Duke Hamilton presented his gift.
“A small token of my respect for Your Majesty.”
Although the emperor had just received birthday gifts two days ago, she was not known for rejecting presents.
Her chief attendant accepted the gift and opened it before the throne.
And inside was…
“A demon whistle?”
“……!”
The Duke’s heart sank.
A demon whistle had somehow ended up in the gift box for the emperor.
Why is that in there?
Today’s gift was supposed to be an ordinary accessory.
Even if the box had somehow been switched, that whistle was the one item the emperor must not see.
The whistle was something he had obtained through black market connections, used to summon weak monsters.
He had used it to bring monsters to the border and let Orent and their knights subdue them to boost Orent’s reputation.
If the emperor discovered the truth, Orent’s succession would be ruined—and their lives might be in danger.
“What is this?”
The emperor raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
She seemed puzzled by the whistle’s worn and unimpressive appearance.
But he couldn’t say it was a mistake—not to her.
Giving the wrong gift to the emperor could be seen as mockery.
“This, Your Majesty, is a whistle carved from the bone of a beast Prince Orent personally defeated.”
Thankfully, the duke was quick on his feet.
“As the mother of Prince Orent, I thought Your Majesty might appreciate her son’s war trophy…”
He blurted whatever came to mind to cover the mistake.
The emperor’s raised eyebrow slowly returned to its place.
“Though it may be too humble a gift for Your Majesty. If you would allow me, I will prepare a more fitting one—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
The emperor cut him off and gestured to her chief attendant.
“Is there somewhere suitable to display the Duke’s gift?”
“There’s space in the Third Parlor.”
“Then take it there and store it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The attendant carried the whistle away.
The duke could barely focus on anything after that, nerves frayed from the scare.
He didn’t even bring up the Azester Sword issue he had originally come to discuss.
If the emperor learns the true nature of that whistle, it’ll be a disaster.
Christine was sharp.
She didn’t seem to have caught on yet, so he had to retrieve the whistle quickly.
After the audience, Duke Hamilton rushed to find Orent.
“This is bad, Orent. The whistle…”
Once he explained what had happened, Orent leapt to his feet in shock.
“How could you be so careless with something so important?!”
“This isn’t the time to scold me. We have to get it back before the emperor finds out!”
In the end, the two risked everything to steal it back.
They snuck into the Third Parlor—a room only direct royals had access to.
Officially, it was where the emperor met with non-immediate royal relatives. But since most of Christine’s siblings had been exiled from the capital, it hadn’t been used in nearly twenty years.
Security was lax.
Thanks to Orent’s royal status, they slipped in without much trouble.
The whistle was neatly displayed on a shelf.
They quickly grabbed it and tucked it into a sleeve before making a swift exit.
To their surprise, it went smoothly.
As they finally caught their breath while walking down the corridor—
Step, step.
Footsteps echoed from the opposite direction—more than one person.
The duke and Orent quickly tried to turn away—
“Brother Orent?”
—but were too slow.
A stunning woman with cherry-blossom pink hair addressed Orent.
Princess Ruibell, the Third Princess. And…
“Duke Hamilton? What are you doing here?”
Emperor Christine.
