Chapter 33
I was puzzled that Viscount Pelsus had simply left.
‘To have planned something so outrageous, only to just leave?’
He was a man incredibly persistent when it came to matters of personal gain.
You could tell just by the fact that he tried to kidnap a member of the imperial family.
‘There’s no way he acted alone.’
He must have had some kind of backing if he dared try to take me.
But the fact that he had left so easily felt off.
‘Still, there’s no reason for Kallias to lie about Pelsus Viscount.’
If Kallias had firmly assured me that the man wouldn’t return, he must’ve had reason to say so.
‘I don’t know exactly what happened, but I can breathe a little easier for now.’
I had been so on edge, worried something terrible might happen.
I thought I was being dragged back to that hellish past life.
I closed my eyes and felt the cold air wrapping around me.
The icy northern wind that seeped through the walls reminded me constantly that I had escaped the inferno that was once my hell.
But I still couldn’t completely relax.
I knew there were still many chains shackled to my ankles—ones that could pull me back into that hell.
‘I need to cut off every one of Kabbalah’s puppet strings.’
Turning today’s crisis into an opportunity, I decided to begin that task immediately.
* * *
“What do you mean by that, Your Highness?”
The hallway was noisy.
Brentian, who had been discussing tomorrow’s itinerary with Hawick, turned toward the noise to see what was happening.
Chloe was standing before the door of her newly assigned room on another floor, facing off against imperial knights.
‘What are they doing among themselves? Some kind of division?’
Brentian could’ve just walked past and ignored it—but instead, he deliberately stood in a visible spot, becoming an obvious spectator.
To shame the Arental knights.
As Brentian began to watch openly, his subordinates slowly gathered beside him.
One of the imperial knights shouted at Chloe.
“Are you doubting our loyalty to the House of Idelian?”
The knight’s tone was so aggressive that Brentian expected the delicate-looking Chloe, who resembled a glass doll, to tear up and run back into her room at any moment.
But surprisingly, Chloe stood firm, glaring at the knight and responding assertively.
“Loyalty? Fine. Then I’ll ask in the name of loyalty—what exactly were you doing while an intruder snuck into my room?”
“That is…”
The knights, about to answer, grew angry when they noticed Kallias’s men lined up along the hallway watching.
“What are you staring at? Is this a spectacle to you? Huh? You think this is funny?”
They waved their hands as if trying to shoo the onlookers away, but Chloe stopped them.
“They’re simply following Marquess Rodrian’s orders to protect me. Leave them be.”
“Your Highness, but…”
The imperial knights frowned, baffled that Chloe was defending the Ronheim soldiers.
It was obvious that Kallias’s men had gathered just to watch them get scolded.
Chloe spoke coldly.
“If they leave, who will protect me from the next intruder?”
A clear rebuke referencing what had just occurred.
An intruder had brazenly walked in with food, entering and exiting the princess’s room while the imperial knights remained completely unaware.
They had neglected their duty—failing to detect the intruder who had hidden on the 4th floor from the beginning—and had even been distracted, smoking at the hallway corner while the intruder wandered freely.
Still, the knights didn’t acknowledge their failure and instead clung to their pride.
“We already told you, Your Highness—the only reason that happened was because Marquess Rodrian’s men kept interfering with us.”
But their voices were barely audible now.
They themselves knew how weak and pathetic that excuse sounded.
And surrounded by their rivals who were eavesdropping, they didn’t have the guts to say it any louder.
Chloe scolded them.
“If you’re not going to speak honorably, then don’t speak at all!”
Brentian, who had been observing Chloe suspiciously, raised an eyebrow.
‘Wait—is this a setup? A public execution?’
Listening to Chloe’s next words, his suspicion quickly turned into certainty.
“You had only one mission. To protect me. Yet even that single duty you failed to perform.”
“…”
“So answer me—was your loyalty bought? Or are you just incompetent?”
“…!”
Kallias’s men exchanged glances, silently cheering.
This couldn’t have been more thrilling.
The imperial knights, who hailed from good noble families in Arental, couldn’t bear being treated this way.
“Your Highness! That’s going too far!”
Chloe pressed on.
“Seeing your reaction, I now have my answer. Your loyalty was bought. Am I wrong?”
“What nonsense…!”
“So you assisted the intruder to ensure he wouldn’t be discovered?”
“That’s outrageous, Your Highness!”
Brentian was surprised by how far Chloe was pushing this.
She was clearly furious.
‘Well, if it had been the princess in the room instead of a maid, who knows what might’ve happened.’
Still, he had expected her to defend the imperial knights and blame Kallias’s men instead.
This was unexpected.
But Chloe was relentless.
“I hereby accuse you of betraying the House of Idelian, colluding with the enemy, and endangering the life of a royal.”
The imperial knights were so stunned by the accusation, they stood there with their mouths agape.
Then, coming to their senses, they began to yell at her.
“This is insane!”
“You’re being unfair, Your Highness! That’s an absurd accusation!”
Brentian and his fellow soldiers began watching Chloe more carefully.
How could knights be so disrespectful to the one they served?
It was unthinkable.
‘Is this how things are done in Arental? Or do they simply look down on the princess?’
Initially, they had been indifferent about who won the argument.
But the knights’ ridiculous behavior swayed everyone to Chloe’s side.
Her words may have been a bit extreme—but they weren’t wrong.
Given the circumstances, it was reasonable to suspect that the knights had been bribed.
Especially since, according to what Alex had told them, these knights didn’t even personally know Chloe.
‘They should be groveling in apology—and instead they’re trying to argue? I feel sorry for the princess for having to keep men like that around.’
The bystanders couldn’t help but root for Chloe now.
She didn’t blink at their protests and instead issued a new order.
“Before I decide your punishment, you will apologize to Marquess Rodrian’s knights for your disgraceful behavior.”
“Ohhh!”
“Wooo!”
Kallias’s men couldn’t hold back their cheers.
Brentian realized Chloe had deliberately orchestrated this confrontation in public.
It really was a public execution—meant to win the people’s favor.
As Chloe quickly brought Kallias’s men over to her side, the imperial knights were left without support.
They now understood clearly that the rumors about Chloe being mentally unstable were wrong.
Not just the knights—everyone present could see that.
No one would dare call her mad anymore.
“Hmph.”
“They sure are taking their time.”
Kallias’s men crowded even closer, glaring at the imperial knights.
Trapped in the tall shadows of the Ronheim soldiers, the two imperial knights finally caved under pressure and bowed their heads in apology.
“We… apologize for our earlier behavior.”
“We were wrong. Please forgive our foolishness.”
The Ronheim soldiers beamed at the sight of the bowing knights.
They looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted off their chests.
Brentian clicked his tongue internally as he noticed how quickly his comrades’ views of Chloe had flipped.
‘Tch, such shallow guys.’
The fact that a Kabbalah agent could be so clever… wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Brentian made up his mind to watch Chloe more closely.
Just then, Chloe turned to Hawick and asked,
“Sir Hawick, can you help me carry out appropriate punishment for them?”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Hawick ordered his men to escort the imperial knights away.
“W-We’ll walk on our own, so let us go!”
“Where are you taking us? Your Highness! Your Highness!”
The imperial knights thrashed as they were dragged off.
Brentian watched the same arrogant men—who had acted like they were everyone’s superior—being hauled away by their peers and thought,
‘Still, watching that unfold felt pretty damn satisfying.’
