ATPL 47

“So, that thing is definitely made of metal…”

“Done.”

Abel turned around casually, holding the broken lock in his hand. Judi gasped.

Who would be crazy enough to rip that off with their bare hands?

Indeed, no matter how upset the Empress was with Abelard, and no matter how firmly Elliot refused to assign him guards, Abelard Brosuhart was still the empire’s only heir.

If the Empress didn’t have someone she trusted completely, she’d never have dared send Abelard anywhere without a single guard.

Abelard Brosuhart managed this because he possessed extraordinary strength. He had trained since childhood to control it effortlessly.

“W-well… Good. That’s fortunate. We won’t need a pickaxe, then…”

“Right. Let’s open it. But what’s that in your hand?”

“Oh, I was going to offer you some water for your trouble…”

“Don’t need it.”

Judy quickly set down the glass of water she was holding.

Abelard slipped the tip of his sword into the crack of the safe and twisted. The unlocked door creaked open with little resistance.

And there it was, the jewelry box Judy had longed for over the past six months.

“Eek! My jewelry… I mean, my lady’s jewelry box!”

“Hmm. This looks expensive. But there’s no key.”

“Ah, the young lady probably has it.”

“Is that so? Then how are we supposed to put the engagement ring inside?”

Judi flinched, then forced a smile.

“We agreed to ask Lord Cesar.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Give it here. I’ll run it down to Reims real quick.”

“You?”

Abelard smirked and pretended to press the jewelry box protectively against his chest.

“Come on. A scrawny girl like you walking around with this? You’d get robbed and die.”

“I-I’ll be fine. It won’t happen. I know Reims like the back of my hand.”

“Knowing it or not, there’s only one road. I’ll go.”

“No, really, it’s fine.”

Judy’s desperation showed. She reached out, but Abel shrugged her off.

“Nope.”

“You’re unusually persistent. I said I’ll do it.”

“…I hate to say this, Abel.”

Judy fought to stay calm. She had to get that jewelry box from him, no matter what.

She also had to run without looking back. Her tongue moved faster than her thoughts.

“Honestly, how can I trust a man I’ve only known for two days with the young lady’s precious jewelry?”

“Oh?”

“Besides, you’ve only been her guard for what, three days? Four?”

A mocking grin spread across Abel’s face. Judy had expected that. She took a deep breath.

“Ah, is that so? Then how long have you worked here?”

“I’ve been here my whole life!”

“How old are you?”

“T-twenty!”

“Ah, so you’ve worked here for 20 years?”

“Yes! I’m much more trustworthy than you!”

Right then, Abel’s grin faded. His face turned cold.

“That’s what she says. What do you think?”

Judy spun around. Her heart sank.

Standing there was the one person she didn’t want to see at that moment.

Anais Fleur.

Her lovely face smiled sweetly, almost angelically.

“Oh, young lady. I thought you were out for a walk?”

“Yes. Anais was planning to.”

Anais answered with a soft smile.

“But then Anais thought, wasn’t the field Anais was going to walk through looking a little messy? Like a useless man and a girl with sticky fingers had been rolling around there this morning?”

“S-sticky fingers? Young lady, there’s been a misunderstanding—”

“Would you like to explain this misunderstanding to Anais? Anais is very curious.”

Cold sweat prickled down Judy’s back.

But she still believed she could talk her way out of this again.

That useless man behind her was an idiot, and…

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine.

No. He wasn’t an idiot. Just look at what he’d said to Anais earlier. This useless man was clearly working with her.

Well, technically, Anais owned the jewelry box, so maybe “in cahoots” with her wasn’t the right phrase but that’s exactly how Judy saw it.

That damn good-for-nothing was colluding with the master’s girl.

They’re making a fool of me.

Or testing me?

Judy dropped to her knees before Anais with a loud thud.

“Miss! Please believe me. I was just trying to give you something that would make you happy.”

“Yes, I see. And this is something that would make Anais happy?”

“Of course. Your engagement ring is inside, miss. I was going to take it to Lord Cesar to make you happy…”

“I see. Alright. Thank you. Could you give me that jewelry box?”

“Yes, yes!”

Judy turned quickly, but Abelard beat her to it. He walked over and tossed the jewelry box to Anais.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, well. So you can say thank you.”

Anais gave Abelard a sharp glare. He chuckled and dropped onto a nearby sofa.

The jewelry box was larger than both of Anais’s hands and quite heavy, but there was no way to tell what was inside. Even shaking it gave nothing away.

“So, you’re saying my engagement ring is inside?”

“Uh, yes!”

“I see. Good job.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, miss…”

Judi clenched her teeth. Her hands were sweating against her apron.

Damn it! That was my ticket out of this life!

But the jewelry box was already in Anais’s hands.

Nothing I can do now. I’ll just have to steal something from it later… Even a gemstone the size of a fingernail would cover my gambling debts…

Judy bit her lip as she kept glancing at the box in Anais’s hands.

“But how did you know there was an engagement ring inside?”

“Well, I-I saw it, so I knew.”

“I see~.”

Anais tilted her head and blinked sweetly.

An old habit. She always did that around people who adored her.

Now, it just felt like mockery. Judy knew exactly how ugly her face must look under the mask.

No eyebrows, wild hair. And her skin, covered in scars…

“Miss, really, I’m not a bad person. You know that. I just wanted to see you happy…”

“I know, of course. That makes sense.”

Anais nodded.

“So you secretly asked Anais’s guard to break into the safe?”

“Yes, exactly! If I had been planning to steal it, why would I ask your guard for help?”

“Right, yes. That logic is flawless.”

“Isn’t it?”

Anais curled her lips into a soft smile.

“Yes. But what does the engagement ring look like?”

“…Pardon?”

“Anais’s engagement ring.”

Anais blinked at her.

“Anais is curious about her ring. Ever since childhood, Anais wanted a ring with an emerald the same color as her eyes. It must have been a very large, clear emerald, right?”

Judy faltered, but quickly nodded.

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

The box didn’t have a key anyway. And the girl claimed to have lost her memory. Opening it now was impossible.

“But this won’t open~.”

While Judy was calculating her options, Anais casually shook the box.

“Don’t you know where the key is?”

“No, I don’t. Only you would know that, miss…”

Judy forced a smile.

“It’s unfortunate that you lost your memory…”

“Indeed. Anais is very sorry too. Anais is so curious about that emerald ring. It must be beautiful.”

“Y-yes. It was very beautiful.”

“What was the cut like?”

“T-the cut?”

Anais gently cradled the jewelry box in both hands and crouched in front of Judi.

Her checkered skirt spread out gracefully around her. Her posture was elegant like those snobby nobles.

Anais smiled with serene warmth.

“The shape. Was it heart-shaped, square, that kind of thing?”

“H-heart-shaped!”

“Oh my, heart-shaped? Was it lovely? As lovely as Anais?”

Shameless girl.

Still, Judy clasped her hands and flattered her with a smile.

“Of course. It was as beautiful as you, miss.”

“I see~. But without the key, I can’t look at it. What should I do, Judi?”

“Well, what can we do? Without the key, there’s nothing we can do.”

Abel answered before Judy could. He sounded completely at ease.

Anais sighed with regret and handed the jewelry box back to Abelard.

“Keep it safe. We’ll open it when I find the key later.”

“You’re really going to look for it?”

Judy’s eyes widened.