#53. You Have to Breathe.
This wasn’t something that had happened in just any place—it had occurred in the princess’s palace. And Olivia, being the one who had almost been assassinated, could have crushed anyone if she had wanted to. Well, at the time, Cryer hadn’t left any traces either. But Bonita, who didn’t know the full backstory, spoke toward the woman who was waiting for her orders.
“Bring information that allows us to replace the investigator handling the case.”
“Yes.”
After the short reply, the woman disappeared, and Bonita moved on as well. Emerging from the underground, she immediately entered the deepest part of the mansion. As she drew out her mirror, a flash of crimson appeared in her field of vision, and Greta’s figure emerged.
“Lady Greta.”
“Ah, Bonita. Looks like this side’s work will be delayed longer than expected.”
Even though Greta brought up the matter abruptly, Bonita, seemingly accustomed to it, asked in return.
“Has the altar’s completion been delayed? If there’s anything missing, I can handle it myself…”
“No, there was a minor accident, but it’s nothing serious. It’ll just take a bit more time.”
A large hole had appeared in the nearly finished temple wall, but it wasn’t someone’s doing—it was just a small piece of stone that had fallen away. In the meantime, a woman from Tarenga had disappeared without a trace, but it didn’t matter—any of the architects who had caused trouble and stirred up ominous rumors had been eliminated, so at least one lingering worry was taken care of.
“What about the princess’s palace incident?”
“My apologies.”
Without a single excuse, Bonita bowed her head, and a shadow fell across half of Greta’s face. Tilting her head slightly, Greta spoke.
“I suppose we should be grateful that trouble came to this side as well.”
Even in her sarcastic words about failure, Bonita only bowed her head deeper.
“Thank you.”
Greta waved her hand as if her mood had cooled.
“Enough. My schedule for going to the empire has also been delayed, so make sure to plant someone firmly in the princess’s palace before I leave.”
“Yes. But one thing.”
“Yes?”
“Is planting someone in the princess’s palace for purification purposes?”
Though Bonita was executing the plan, she didn’t fully understand its purpose, which led to the question.
“Such an uncharacteristic question from you.”
“I need to carefully choose the person I insert.”
“Ah, pick someone diligent and trustworthy to plant in the princess’s palace. They don’t need to be by her side from the start. Even if it takes time, they must gradually build a foundation to become the dagger that will be used in the end.”
“The dagger…?”
“You need to teach them the price of reaching for something unattainable. Ah, of course, it’s necessary for the purification work too. After all, the empire is the place that will shed the most blood.”
Greta smiled like a radiant flower, her gaze distant as if envisioning Cryer before her, yet her voice was as sharp as a dagger. Even with Greta’s vague words, Bonita silently lowered her head without reply. She served the “magician” closest to the ancient god, not Greta. So no matter what Greta was thinking, as long as the grand goal of summoning the ancient god to purify the world remained unchanged, Bonita would faithfully assist Greta until that goal was achieved.
Eventually, Greta’s gaze, which had been dreamily unfocused while thinking of Cryer, returned.
“Oh, and one who serves the god will soon be born.”
Her tone was as casual as if she were talking about dinner tonight, but the content was far from ordinary.
“You mean… a new person will emerge as the one who bears the mark?”
“Exactly. Well, they’ll be something like a stand-in for Lord Cryer.”
Greta added the remark casually before ending the conversation. Left alone in the dim room, Bonita stroked the mirror and traced the day when this dirty world would be purified.
Eagerly leaving her office, Olivia soon identified a servant with a distinctively colored ribbon. Since she had already been informed of the person’s expected movement, it wasn’t difficult to locate them. But the real problem was… spying required certain steps. Broadly speaking, it was about observing the target; more specifically, it was about noting their actions, conversations, gestures, voice, and who they interacted with. Actions and companions were easy enough to track—the daily routine of palace servants didn’t vary unless there was leave or a special event. However, the content of their conversations was the tricky part. While gestures and expressions gave a rough idea of the mood, precise details were unattainable. If she failed to gather anything useful, it would make her investigation pointless. She hadn’t come all this way just to return empty-handed. That would reveal, all too clearly, that she had fled from the subtle atmosphere—precisely the kind only she seemed to notice.
To succeed here, she would have to deal with Cryer directly… Yes. This was work. She needed to focus. Her heart wouldn’t flutter with arrhythmia like before. And if it did, she’d just consider it arrhythmia. Olivia calmed herself and glanced at Cryer, who had now moved close to her, and asked.
“Can you hear anything?”
Though the question lacked subject or object, Cryer gave a precise answer.
“They need to replace the curtains, but the preparation isn’t done yet. They’re deciding whether to go elsewhere to rest or just wait.”
As the servants’ conversation flowed effortlessly, Olivia was momentarily at a loss. She hadn’t expected such an immediate response. Blinking rapidly to collect her thoughts, she whispered.
“They’re talking about the curtains, but their complexion seems pale.”
“It’s shifted to the scent of madeleines baking in the palace kitchen this morning.”
“But even talking about madeleines, their face still looks… off.”
Olivia’s attention snagged on the servant with the distinct ribbon, whose pale expression seemed odd.
“What about the murder incident?”
“None of them mention it.”
“Well, that’s how they were trained. Hmm.”
A murder had indeed occurred in the princess’s palace. Were they uneasy? Still, they had been trained to hide such feelings. Perhaps the servant with the different ribbon had failed to maintain composure… Olivia couldn’t pinpoint the cause. In the meantime, the servants continued their idle chatter.
Once the servants began moving, Olivia and Cryer followed. As the uniquely ribboned servant split from the others, Olivia instinctively moved closer. Then, the ribboned servant grabbed another servant’s arm and shook it.
“Huh? Why stop…?”
At that moment, Cryer’s strong arm wrapped around Olivia’s waist and pulled her toward the wall. The movement was so sudden and natural that Olivia only realized her situation when her back hit the cold wall. Eyes wide like a startled rabbit, she inhaled sharply.
“W-what are you—ugh!”
Before she could finish speaking, Cryer’s large hand covered half her face, cutting her off completely. Looking down at her, Cryer slowly turned his head to focus on the servant with the distinct ribbon, just a few steps away.
“Ugh, ughhh!”
Olivia squeaked, wondering what he was doing, but understood escaping from his grasp was as futile as an ant trying to push a boulder. She didn’t struggle. Cryer’s gaze lowered to her, and he spoke.
“Breathe.”
He didn’t press a finger to her lips, but the single word conveyed enough to hush her, making her eyelashes flutter rapidly. Though she complied, curiosity made her eyes dart around. Yet everywhere she looked—up, down, left, right—was only Cryer. His steel-like body blocked her completely against the wall. Realizing this, Olivia’s mind went blank, and she instinctively tried to step back. But her back was already pressed to the wall, so she could only slam her heels against it. Cryer tightened his arm around her trembling waist, watching the ribboned servant walk away. He traced her path mentally as he heard the slow steps. Olivia’s brows drooped as she failed to step back, her whole attention drawn to the rough, dry palm pressed against her lips. The sensation made her unconsciously hold her breath. Noticing her frozen state, Cryer’s gaze returned to her, eyebrows furrowed. Olivia blushed slightly but still didn’t exhale. This made it impossible to look away for even a moment.
“You have to breathe.”
The low, almost suppressed voice reached her ears, and only then did Olivia realize she had been holding her breath. Cryer’s palm lifted just slightly, and she finally exhaled in a rush.
“Huuu…”
As she breathed, her previously foggy mind felt completely cleared. Olivia deliberately inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, letting her breath trail over his rough palm. Her warm breath tickled his hand, sending a shiver up his spine…
“Ugh?”
