PCS 20

~Chapter 20~

The room itself was nothing extraordinary. Like any other room in the palace, the walls were decorated with the finest wood and gilded ornaments. Expensive furniture matched the dignity of the space.

What caught her attention, however, were the objects scattered across the table.

“What is all this?”

Eugene carefully got up and stepped forward so as not to accidentally push the baby tiger, Kun, too hard.

The little tiger, who had been deprived of its toy, growled softly, “Kyahong, kyahong,” and chased after her.

Eugene approached the table stacked with piles of paper. In addition to the papers, there were all sorts of materials she couldn’t identify.

Tall and round glass bottles contained liquids of various colors, though Eugene wasn’t even sure they were truly liquids.

“Magic… potions…?”

Some seemed to bounce around inside the bottles as if alive, while others bubbled rhythmically as though breathing.

Next to these peculiar bottles lay scattered sheets of paper as if they were still in use, and on the far right, stacks of papers piled up about two to three feet high.

‘Wow, that’s a lot.’

The piles were filled with handwritten text, densely scribbled across the pages. Eugene, curious, glanced at some of the writing and widened her eyes.

“Th-this is…!”

Her gaze rapidly swept across the other sheets of paper. There was no doubt about it.

‘My goodness!’

Caught up in her excitement, Eugene clutched her chest without realizing it.

While she was lost in admiration, a strange voice came from the door that had silently opened.

“Who are you?”

In the game, Princess Raphaella had a color scheme complementary to the prince. If Prince Michael had silver hair, Raphaella had golden hair; if Michael’s eyes were gold, hers were silver.

Looking at it in the illustrations, it seemed like simple color coordination, but seeing the striking colors in person, Eugene was almost hypnotized by her gaze.

Princess Raphaella’s stunning features mirrored those of the prince, as if insisting she was his twin.

Eugene sensed a familiar sense of ownership in her presence. Her cold, almost marble-like beauty conveyed perfection to the point of being inhuman.

Eugene immediately recognized who the princess was, but her words betrayed her excitement:

“Author…?”

“Oh?”

The princess’s eyes widened at the unusual title from the intruder.

Raphaella calmly studied the small intruder who had dared to sneak into the princess’s quarters at the heart of the palace.

Her white hair, unusual for someone so young, gave her a strange impression, and her round, cute face held black eyes that sparkled as if seeing a rainbow for the first time.

‘Huh?’

Then Raphaella noticed the seal around the child’s neck.

The necklace Michael had put on Eugene as a restraint bore a platinum emblem of the white tiger—Michael’s own personal seal.

Realizing the identity of the little intruder, Raphaella nonchalantly asked her a question.

“Who are you?”

“Eh… um?”

Eugene was still too overwhelmed to respond properly, still lost in the thrill of meeting someone she had admired.

The princess quietly led her to the parlor.

“So, the scent I smelled when I opened the book The Sea of Blue Flowers…! I never imagined it would actually be mentioned at the very end!”

Raphaella observed the girl, who chattered excitedly without pause.

“Yes. Try some more of this.”

“Ah, thank you! And the girl who appeared in the middle—who knew she would play that role later? I never imagined it was foreshadowing before…!”

Raphaella nodded politely as the girl eagerly explained how impressed she was by the magical picture book—how the magical effects brought the story to life, how novel and engaging the narrative was—while constantly feeding Eugene small snacks.

‘How amusing.’

Raphaella felt a rare sense of joy. Though she had initially been surprised by the child suddenly entering her secret workshop, she thought that such a delightful meeting with a cute reader wasn’t a bad surprise at all.

“Oh?”

“Why?”

When the girl, who had been happily munching on the treats, suddenly paused, Raphaella’s delicate brow furrowed.

Had she brought a snack the child didn’t like? If so, that incompetent cook no longer had a place in her palace.

Suppressing thoughts of quietly frightening someone, Raphaella calmly asked,

“Not to your taste?”

Eugene, her mouth already full, couldn’t answer immediately. She shook her head while chewing and eventually said,

“This is so delicious!”

“Oh?”

The princess’s eyes lifted slightly at the sight of the girl’s sparkling excitement. Outwardly composed, she even showed the faintest blush.

“Well then, have more.”

The girl stuffed her cheeks like a little tiger cub and eagerly took the remaining snacks Raphaella brought her.

“This is spicy and really tasty!”

“Is it? That’s from the Kala fruit. It’s sprinkled with a little sugar and pickled. There’s still plenty in the storage, so you can have as much as you want.”

“Really?”

Eugene’s eyes shone with delight at the tangy, spicy-sweet treat. Raphaella, pleased with her reaction, smiled gently and said,

“Shall I take you to my storage? There are even sweeter fruit drinks in there.”

She noticed the girl’s empty cup and asked, prompting Eugene to nod enthusiastically.

Raphaella imagined how excited Eugene would be to see the storage piled high with treats and personally led her out of the room.

As they walked down the corridor through the open door, they overheard the palace maids talking.

“So, all the kids in that palace are in a frenzy right now.”

“What? Why?”

“Apparently, the prince’s ‘puppy’ has gone missing.”

“Puppy? What does it look like?”

“Not an actual puppy.”

A maid from the princess’s palace was relaying the news to her colleague. Eugene flinched at the mention.

“Uh…”

Seeing Eugene stop mid-step, mouth agape, Raphaella raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm?”

“I-I… I should probably go now.”

Raphaella looked down at the small, nervous girl and spoke as if stating what she already suspected:

“So, you’re from Michael’s palace, huh?”

“Yes.”

Unconcerned, Raphaella continued to escort Eugene out.

“I’ll take you there myself.”

Eugene’s expression relaxed at her words. The princess added,

“I also have something to say to Michael.”

Head Butler Bartel, assigned to the prince’s palace, considered himself lucky. Among all the palaces, being stationed at the prince’s quarters was far preferable.

The emperor’s palace was the center of all imperial power, and though it had previously been the most desirable post, ever since the current emperor ascended the throne, frequent bloodshed occurred there on a whim.

By contrast, the prince’s palace, while busy, allowed considerable authority and safety—Michael never harmed his subordinates unnecessarily.

So far, nobody had truly faced mortal danger there.

“Still?”

“Your Highness… that matter…”

No one had died in the prince’s palace so far.

“I lost something of mine.”

For now, at least.

“It feels like I ordered you to find even the smallest clue ages ago, yet you’ve found nothing…”

But perhaps today would be the last day.