Chapter 17
“Cold.”
A chill ran through my body, making me curl up.
I fumbled around to find a blanket, but my arm wouldn’t move as I wished.
My shoulder and hip could feel the hard, cold floor.
Now that I thought about it, the arm pinned beneath me was numb, and the back of my neck throbbed as if I’d been hit.
Wait—a moment—I had been hit and passed out!
“Gasp.”
I flinched and snapped my eyes open.
“Where am I…?”
I instinctively looked around to grasp my location.
Contrary to what I expected, I wasn’t in a dungeon or some underground cell.
The red marble walls and black furniture gave the bathroom a classic, elegant look—and I realized where I was.
This looks like the bathroom attached to Kabala’s quarters.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but I had been caught due to some magic or something similar, mistaken for a thief.
But then why had the guards locked a thief in the Empress’s private bathroom?
And what’s that smell?
I frowned at the pungent, sharp scent that pierced my nose.
The bathroom was filled with burning incense, likely left behind by someone, but even all that fragrance couldn’t mask the fishy stench lingering in the air.
Blood?
That’s what it seemed like, though I couldn’t be sure.
I’d never encountered such an overwhelming smell of blood before—enough to fill an entire room.
Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I scanned the area and spotted suspicious items on the sink.
A knife?
Small blades the size of my palm were neatly arranged by size and shape.
They looked ceremonial or ornamental rather than practical.
Why are there so many knives in a bathroom? What are they for?
I had no idea.
But that’s not what matters right now.
If I had been mistaken for a thief because of some kind of magic, then perhaps no one knew I had infiltrated the Empress’s quarters.
That means… I still have a chance to rob the storage room!
But first, I had to deal with the shackles on my wrists and ankles.
Somehow, I felt like I could get them off.
Compared to others, I was abnormally thin—my wrists, hands, even my bones were narrow.
In short, the shackles were rather loose on me.
It seemed the restraints were made for someone with a larger frame than mine—probably the real thief.
I twisted my wrist inside the loose shackle, trying to slip free. It was close—but not quite.
Not easy.
I might have managed if I had a bit more strength, but that was the problem—I didn’t.
After struggling and thinking for a while, I noticed a bottle of perfumed oil on a shelf near the bathtub.
With all these scented items, why does this room still smell so awful?
Thinking that, I wiggled like a caterpillar over to the oil bottle.
Panting from the effort of dragging myself, I managed to raise my upper body.
Breathing heavily, I held the bottle with my mouth, pulled the cap off, and poured the oil onto my wrist.
A strong scent spread as the oil slicked my skin—my hand slipped right out of the shackle.
Yes!
Using the same method, I freed both my wrists and ankles.
Time to get out of here.
I tiptoed to the bathroom door and pressed my ear against it. I didn’t hear anything.
Noticing the lock was on the inside, I gently turned the handle—and surprisingly, it opened easily.
Let’s see… where am I—
I stepped out of the bathroom and looked around—then froze in shock.
This is Kabala’s bedroom?!
A large and lavishly decorated room with an antique style.
Anyone could tell at a glance—it belonged to the Empress.
The room was filled with even more burning incense than the bathroom, lighting up the space without any need for lamps.
I stood there, dumbfounded.
Why had they thrown me—a thief they mistakenly captured—into the Empress’s bedroom and bathroom?
What is going on…?
Something felt very wrong. What could it be?
No matter what theory I came up with, I couldn’t make sense of this.
I don’t get it.
Whatever it was, though—it was certainly fortunate for me.
My goal was to sneak into Kabala’s bedroom—and they just dumped me right here!
While listening for any sounds from outside, I quickly began searching through her belongings.
Finding the magic key didn’t take long—it was in the very first drawer next to her bed.
Sloppy, isn’t she?
But that was a misjudgment.
Grasping the fist-sized, cube-shaped key, I peeked outside through a slit in the curtain to gauge the time—then realized.
The window’s sealed by magic…?
When I reached near it, my hand was repelled.
I tried the doorknob—same thing. My hand bounced off weakly.
Kabala hadn’t been careless about storing the key—she had hidden it in the safest place possible.
And now, I was trapped inside her magically sealed bedroom.
If I’d tried breaking in on my own, I’d have failed miserably.
She must really hate anyone entering her private quarters.
Why else would someone cast such powerful magic on a bedroom?
Even the Empress’s palace wasn’t this secure.
I looked out the window again.
Though it was still mostly dark, I could make out faint outlines—it must’ve been just before dawn.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been unconscious for too long.
I need to get out before Kabala returns.
But how, when every single door was sealed with magic?
I stood calmly before one of the walls.
There was a reason I had assumed things would be easy once I found the key.
I knew the layout of the palace’s secret passages.
They’re one-way—they don’t allow entry from outside, but you can leave through them.
I had often used them to sneak out of my quarters, unnoticed by the maids.
I activated the hidden mechanism in the wall.
The door to the secret passage opened smoothly and silently.
Kabala probably never imagined such a passage was connected to her room.
Only past emperors and empresses knew about them.
My mother broke the rules by telling me this secret.
Thinking back, perhaps my mother had suspected the Empress and Crown Prince were after our lives.
I slipped out of the Empress’s room through the only unsealed door.
The secret passage was poorly maintained and lacked sunlight—far from a pleasant place.
The walls reeked of mold, and the floor was slick with who-knew-what—mildew or moss, maybe.
When the door closed behind me, I was swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
A primal fear of this unfamiliar, shadowy space crept over me.
But I forced my eyes open and shook it off.
I don’t have time to be scared. I have to move, gather whatever I can—anything that can contribute to Kabala and Andrea’s misfortune, and to my own happiness.
What terrified me more than this darkness was the thought of those who had made my life so miserable living happily.
Clenching my jaw, I cautiously descended the stairs leading deeper underground.
I groped along the damp walls. Something slippery smeared onto my hands, and a shiver of disgust ran down my spine.
But I kept chanting to myself inwardly.
I’m not a hothouse flower. I’m not weak. I can do this.
Eventually, my hands found a torch and flint hanging on the wall.
Every entrance to the secret passage was equipped with these.
Click! Click!
After some effort, I managed to light the torch—albeit clumsily.
Let’s head for the exit nearest the treasure vault.
In the maze-like passage without signs or directions, I relied purely on instinct to move forward.
And finally—
Treasure!
Safely hidden in the vault, I looked ahead to see countless neatly arranged jewels sparkling before my eyes.
