IDGM 19

Chapter 19

“What did you say? Tell me in detail. Did you at least see the thief who still hasn’t been caught?”

The maids huddled together, whispering closely.

I perked up my ears, pretending not to listen.

“Not exactly. I think I saw someone stop while putting out the fire and slip a gem from the floor into their pocket.”

‘Huh. I thought it was going to be something serious, but it’s just about some sticky-fingered palace worker.’

I quickly lost interest.

But the maids, as if it were juicy gossip, became even more excited.

“What? Who was it? Did you see their face?”

“It was so dark and chaotic, I couldn’t see.”

“Why didn’t you shout then?”

“Well… I wasn’t sure if it was really a gem or something else…”

“True, if you made a report without being certain and it turned out to be a misunderstanding, your life at the palace would’ve become difficult.”

“Exactly. With so many jewels scattered around, honestly, I bet a lot of people took a few.”

Even in that urgent situation, the maids took the chance to badmouth the palace workers who had secretly grabbed some gems.

But their faces weren’t full of scorn—they were full of envy.

Someone murmured:

“By the way, I heard Her Majesty the Empress was deeply distressed. She hasn’t even eaten.”

I thought of my dream from last night and secretly smiled to myself.

“Aaaahhh!”

Kavala shrieked in rage and swept everything off her desk.

The sharp sounds of things breaking and tearing filled the air in her office.

The floor was already littered with broken objects she had thrown.

It looked as if a hurricane had passed through.

Kavala’s maids, terrified, clung to the walls. None dared stop her.

Though they had done nothing wrong, their faces were those of guilty criminals.

Kavala screamed toward the door.

“Drenev! Where’s Drenev!”

Even before her voice had faded, the door slammed open and an attendant rushed in.

“H-He’s arrived! The Marquis of Blansko is dismounting now!”

The attendant had rushed in as soon as he saw Drenev’s shadow, eager to deliver the news.

Drenev wasn’t even at the office yet—just arriving at the courtyard. But the attendant reported quickly, hoping that would end the chaos.

Kavala snapped.

“Bring him in, now!”

“Yes, right away!”

The attendant rushed back out to fetch Drenev.

But before the door even closed, Drenev appeared, panting heavily.

“Sister.”

Kavala didn’t even give him time to catch his breath.

“That gypsy girl—did you find her? Why is your report so late?”

Drenev, who had been running around the palace all night looking for the red-haired woman, hung his head in shame.

“We haven’t found her yet.”

“How can you not find a single lowly girl?!”

“I’m sorry, Sister.”

“Didn’t you say she was just a worthless gypsy? How did a gypsy sneak out of my chambers? How did she know about the magic key?! What were you doing while she was rummaging through the storage room?!”

Kavala stormed toward him with glaring eyes.

Then, without warning, she slapped Drenev hard across the face.

Smack!

The blow was so strong that Drenev’s body swayed.

The maids flinched and shut their eyes.

Kavala grabbed Drenev by the collar.

“Did you betray me? Did you set her free and tell her about the key?”

Drenev fell to his knees before her.

“Never, Sister! I swear!”

“The only people who knew about that magic key were the late Empress and you!”

“Please believe me. It’s true I made a mistake, but I never imagined this would happen.”

Two long scratches from Kavala’s nails bled on Drenev’s cheek.

Kavala clenched her teeth as she looked down at him.

“Ugh! Why is this happening! Why!”

She couldn’t contain her fury and began throwing things again.

Then she accidentally nicked her finger on something sharp.

“Ahh!”

She grabbed her injured finger.

Drenev immediately crawled closer and examined her hand.

A small bead of blood formed at the tip of her finger.

Compared to the wounds on Drenev’s face, it was almost nothing.

Still, Drenev shouted as if it were a big emergency.

“Bring medicine and bandages, now!”

One of the maids quickly ran to fetch a first-aid box.

“Please be careful, Sister.”

Despite being struck by her, Drenev only worried about her wound.

He gently sucked the blood from her finger.

Kavala looked down at him silently, breathing heavily.

“….”

A stillness settled over the Empress’s office.

Kavala gazed at Drenev as he tended her wound, then lifted his chin to look at her.

“Stand up, Drenev.”

Her voice had softened.

Drenev slowly stood and faced her.

Kavala tilted his face slightly, inspecting his wounded cheek.

“It’s bleeding.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It still needs treatment.”

Kavala took the medicine box brought by a maid and personally applied ointment to Drenev’s wound.

Her touch was gentle and caring—completely different from just moments ago.

The maids sneaked glances at the two, then quickly lowered their eyes, mouths shut tight like dolls.

By the time she finished treating him, Kavala had calmed down and returned to her usual composed self.

In her usual elegant tone, she asked:

“I heard many of the jewels from the storage are missing. Did that gypsy girl take them?”

“We’re investigating. Some have been recovered, but the ruins of the burned building haven’t been fully cleared yet, so I can’t give a full report.”

Kavala pressed her forehead with her hand.

She held back her rising anger and asked quietly:

“What about that item?”

Drenev swallowed hard.

He signaled the maids to leave the room.

Only once they had left did he begin.

“We’re looking for it. I’ve ordered the debris cleared starting from the area where it was last seen.”

Kavala clenched her fists, her hands trembling.

“Forget the rest. That one must be found. Do you understand? It must be found.”

“Yes, understood. Even if the other jewels were stolen, that one probably wasn’t. It doesn’t look valuable at all.”

Drenev tried to offer some hope.

“To anyone else, it’s just an old, worn-out chalice.”

“True,” Kavala agreed, nodding.

“Find it quickly—before anyone else does. You must be the one to retrieve it.”

“Yes, Sister.”

“We’ll find the key to awaken it through Chloe. As long as she persuades the Marquis of Rodrian, we’ll succeed.”

Kavala’s eyes gleamed with greed.

“You know how hard I’ve worked to uncover how to activate that relic. If we can use it, we’ll gain something far more valuable than any jewel.”

“You’ll surely succeed, Sister.”

“Yes, I must. Assign trustworthy people to accompany Chloe when she leaves.”

She glared at him sharply.

“This time, no mistakes like yesterday’s. Understand?”

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

Kavala ground her teeth, still thinking about the chalice.

“And don’t forget to find that gypsy girl. I won’t rest until I tear her apart with my own hands.”

Just moments ago she’d said the relic was worth more than the lost jewels—yet now she seemed utterly fixated on them again.

Drenev consoled her gently.

“I’ll do my best to recover both the girl and the jewels you cherished, Sister.”