IDGM 15

Chapter 15

“What were you thinking, following people like that? Do you have any idea what could have happened?”

“Don’t you know how dangerous those people are?”

The maids were scolding me because I had recklessly followed Calias’ subordinate after noticing he had dropped a bracelet and wanting to return it.

‘And soon I’ll be leaving with those very people… and they dare say this to me?’

Judging by their tone, they weren’t worried about my safety. More likely, they were scared they’d almost come face to face with Calias’ men because of me.

I ignored their nagging and thought about the bracelet I had returned to its owner.

‘It looked so much like the one Cal always wears.’

It had a very similar color and shape to the bracelet Cal always had on his wrist. He once said that bracelet was deeply meaningful and precious to him.

So the moment I saw Calias’ subordinate drop it, I followed him without hesitation.

Thinking about how grateful that red-haired subordinate had looked made me feel proud.

‘He was actually kind of cute once we started talking.’

From afar, he’d seemed as tough as a rock and as intimidating as a lion, but up close, he seemed a bit clueless and naive.

‘He looked young too. Maybe 18 or 19?’

When he realized what had happened, he had panicked, jumped off his horse, and received the bracelet with both hands so politely—it was funny. His hands were so much bigger than the bracelet, he had to cup them tightly together to hold it carefully, which made me laugh without meaning to.

Even the young palace servants weren’t that transparent with their emotions.

‘But that bracelet… wasn’t it from Ronhaim?’

If that was true, how did Cal come to have one?

‘And that phrase about blizzards always ending… now that I think about it, that was strange too.’

In Arental, where snow is rare, blizzards are an unfamiliar phenomenon. But Cal always used to mention blizzards as if they were common.

And now, after hearing Calias—who is from the North—talk about blizzards, it struck me as odd that Cal, supposedly from the South, would say such things so often.

‘Wait… is Cal really from Arental?’

Now that I thought about it, I’d never once asked him about his background.

I’d just assumed he was an ordinary boy living somewhere in the capital.

‘Hold on. What if Cal is actually from the North?’

That would explain why he resembled Calias, his speech habits, and even the rare northern-style bracelet—things we wouldn’t usually see in the South.

‘Could that be why he was so willing to go North with me?’

If he had ties to the North, it would’ve made that decision easier.

‘I really have been careless.’

Despite receiving so much support from him, I never tried to learn more about who he was.

‘I’ll have to ask him directly someday.’

But after that day, Cal didn’t visit me for quite a while, so I never got the chance to ask.

His visits were always unpredictable anyway. We weren’t in a position to make plans and meet freely.

Still, I believed he would eventually find a chance to come see me again—and so I waited.

Meanwhile, the day I had been waiting for—my chance to secure funds for revenge—finally arrived.

After the engagement ceremony, Calias insisted on returning to Ronhaim as soon as possible, so preparations for the wedding had been rushed.

Of course, only the people around me were busy. I, who had no control even over the wedding process, remained idle as always.

I felt no regret about a wedding that completely ignored my wishes.

‘It’ll be canceled anyway, and the marriage will happen without a ceremony.’

Because of an unfortunate event that was about to take place in the imperial palace.

‘It should be happening any time now…’

I left my room, pretending not to notice the maids’ annoyed looks, and wandered near them.

To me, the maids were my only connection to the outside. The news I was waiting for would surely come through them.

So with a secret purpose, I paid close attention to their conversations.

Just then, a maid who had been out on an errand came rushing back with a shocked face and whispered urgently to her companions.

“Did you all hear?”

“Hear what?”

“His Majesty fell off his horse while hunting!”

“What?!”

The maids began to fidget and whisper amongst themselves.

I couldn’t hear them clearly from where I was, but the words “His Majesty” and “fell” were more than enough.

‘It’s today!’

The emperor’s riding accident—this was the event I’d been waiting for.

‘Tonight, Kabala will leave the palace.’

The emperor’s injuries were serious enough that Kabala would stay by his side through the night.

And because of that, the Empress’s palace would be left empty—and that’s when another incident would occur.

With the emperor gravely injured, the whole palace would be thrown into chaos, and during the momentary lapse in security, a thief would break into the Empress’s palace.

I remembered it all clearly—how the entire palace was thrown into turmoil.

‘Starting tomorrow, the Empress’s palace will be under much tighter security because of it.’

If I didn’t act tonight, when the thief moved, I’d lose my only chance to steal Kabala’s treasures.

For the record, I didn’t have to worry about the thief stealing everything first.

Unfortunately, the thief would escape empty-handed anyway.

Because Kabala’s treasures were stored in a magically locked vault that couldn’t be opened easily.

‘Thanks to that thief, I know the security is weak tonight, and I know exactly where the valuables are kept.’

The palace guards had been so lax that the thief was never caught.

I remember the maids whispering about how her wanted posters were plastered all over the capital and the palace, yet no one ever found her.

‘She had such a striking appearance, yet somehow never got caught. Strange.’

I had seen the wanted poster too.

The bold thief was a woman with eye-catching red curly hair.

Whether that depiction was exaggerated or not, the curls on the poster were vivid and voluminous.

‘Well, she has nothing to do with me anyway.’

Tonight, that unlucky but lucky thief would miss her chance and escape with nothing. But I would be different.

‘As long as I can get my hands on the magical key that opens the vault, the rest will be easy.’

I smiled confidently.

I had a pretty good idea where the key was.

I’d seen it once before—it was unlike any ordinary key. It looked more like a large, heavy hexagonal die.

‘If you didn’t know what it was, you’d never guess it was a key. And it’s way too big to carry around all the time.’

Just realizing it was a key was like unlocking the first invisible lock.

And the reason I knew about it… was because that key used to belong to my mother.

Meaning that most of the gold and jewels inside that vault weren’t even Kabala’s—but my mother’s, the former Empress.

After my mother died, Kabala shamelessly took everything for herself.

‘So this isn’t theft. I’m just reclaiming what I should’ve inherited.’

The treasure vaults in each palace weren’t easily accessed even by the head butlers. The keys were personally managed by the vault owner.

Which meant that a key too large to carry must be stored in the most private and secure place: Kabala’s bedroom.

‘Other areas might be accessed by court staff, but not her bedroom—not even her closest maids can enter freely.’

And Kabala was a magician.

I’d heard that magicians are extremely sensitive about their personal space and privacy.

I was certain that the key was tucked away safely in her bedroom.

‘Once I find that key…!’

Even if Kabala later discovered that the treasures were gone, she’d naturally suspect the thief who slipped in that night, not me—perfectly hiding my crime.

‘I feel a little bad for framing her, but she’s never going to get caught anyway.’

In many ways, this was a perfect opportunity for me.

As long as nothing went wrong, my plan for a flawless heist was already set.