PRKE 81

CHAPTER 81…………………………………………..

Kitchef was flustered by the stern look on his face.

“Well, it’s because I didn’t think it was important…”

“From now on, report to me immediately regarding that woman.”

“Yes, understood.”

Giovanni frowned.

“Why is the princess going to such lengths?”

The charges against Igrene were unclear.

Of course, technically she was a collaborator since she was cooperating with them, but no one had noticed it yet.

The only grounds to persecute her were the one-sided claims of Aris Dolencia.

“Perhaps it’s because she dislikes that woman.”

“….”

“It seems she hasn’t gotten over the incident with the assassins in the shadows. Just look at what she did to us by the lake. And… the princess likes the crown prince, doesn’t she? Maybe she noticed that he favors that woman.”

Giovanni furrowed his brow deeply, as if he hadn’t considered that.

Kitchef clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Since the princess has singled her out, that woman’s life will be rough. Before it gets more troublesome, we should also disengage. Otherwise, we might get implicated too.”

They had a history of diverting various items from the kingdom.

None of them were national treasures, but if anyone became suspicious, it would be quite awkward.

“That woman will be my subordinate.”

“For just a subordinate position…?”

“Talented people are not easy to come by.”

“But in the end, she didn’t really help the crown prince. We provided the help, and Randolph agreed to cooperate with us. For finding the Empire’s underground water source, he’ll be more useful than her.”

Even as he spoke, Kitchef felt uneasy.

But Igrene could no longer fulfill her obligations in the relationship.

Then it was natural to let go—but somehow, it felt like something was wrong. He had an unsettling feeling.

‘She was never to my liking anyway… I’m grateful she healed me, though…’

Unconsciously frowning, Kitchef watched as Giovanni rose to his feet.

Startled, Kitchef looked up, and Giovanni said,

“Let’s go.”

“Excuse me? Where are you going?”

“Where else?”

“…You’re joking, right?”

Without answering, Giovanni swung his cloak, and Kitchef jumped in surprise.

“We don’t even know where she’s been exiled!”

“If it’s near the kingdom’s land, it’s likely the desert. A woman raised only in the kingdom will find it unbearable. Moreover, since her plans failed unexpectedly, the assassins in the shadows might target her. Time is critical.”

“But we don’t even know where she is…”

Before he could finish, Giovanni strode ahead, and Kitchef followed his retreating figure in stunned silence.

It was the first time Giovanni acted so recklessly without considering the consequences.

Meanwhile, at the ducal estate of Legatan, Karsatuna’s room was spacious and clean, yet somehow desolate.

She had suffered from insomnia all night, and only by dawn had she finally fallen asleep, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

“Ugh…”

Her face twisted as she turned from side to side, deep lines etched across it, sighing in torment.

A maid, who had just come in to check if her mistress was sleeping peacefully, was startled and rushed over.

“Milady! Milady!”

Even as she shook her shoulders, Karsatuna did not wake.

Her moans grew louder, and when tears began streaming from her furrowed eyes, the maid’s anxious voice rose in panic.

“Milady!”

Perhaps the maid’s desperate calls reached her. Suddenly, Karsatuna’s eyes snapped open, and the maid nearly had her heart leap out.

Her dilated pupils held a dark, ominous aura.

“Milady!”

When the maid called again, Karsatuna’s gaze focused.

“Huff… huff…”

Heavy breaths escaped her lips, and the tears that hadn’t yet flowed ran down her cheeks and temples.

“Another nightmare?”

The maid quickly helped her sit up and handed her warm tea with sedative properties.

Still, Karsatuna could not calm herself.

Her worsening insomnia worried the maid more with each passing day.

Though things had improved slightly after she became Princess Laratou’s playmate, sleepless nights had never completely disappeared.

“The nightmare is always the same…”

Karsatuna murmured in a daze.

Her nightmare was unbearably consistent.

A peaceful, warm scene that would bring tears to one’s eyes—humans and animals playing together in an unrealistically beautiful setting—was shattered by a piercing scream echoing across the meadow.

Crunching sounds. Flesh being devoured. Blood flowing, madness trying to consume more.

Humans devouring humans.

The scene was unspeakably horrifying—but it would have been bearable if that were all.

But Karsatuna knew the identity of the “human” being hunted.

Marta.

Goddess Marta.

‘It’s agony. I feel like I’m going insane.’

How could a kingdom citizen have such a blasphemous dream!

Her nightmares, unspoken even to her father since childhood, had eaten away at her from the inside.

Today’s nightmare was even more terrifying than usual.

‘Why does Marta have Igrene’s face?’

In the barren desert, a small, incongruous house stood amid the sand.

A dilapidated, large roof that barely offered shade from the scorching sun, and nothing notable otherwise.

This was the exile’s waiting space, a prison without bars.

Even without guards or bars, the prisoner could not escape.

Without food delivered every other day by a messenger, she couldn’t survive even a single day.

The desert prison—hot by day, cold by night—became especially lonely at dawn.

The unfamiliar surroundings made sleep elusive.

‘I must have felt the same way if it weren’t for Tairin.’

She looked away from the endless, barren horizon.

Tairin’s tail swished irritably, filling the small room.

「How long must I stay in this hot place?」

The voice was sullen.

Tairin was as usual, but her pale sky-blue body now seemed dim, unlike when she was in the kingdom.

“Stay still. You said talking drains your energy.”

Even my voice sounded weak.

The water delivered by the unfriendly messenger barely filled an ordinary glass—not enough to wash properly or quench thirst.

I could use incantations to make up for the lack of water, but the food—just a hard piece of bread and a little cheese—wasn’t enough to keep up strength.

‘I’d rather be in the kingdom’s prison, dirty though it is.’

Hmm, except if it’s a flea-infested cell.

‘How many days has it been since I was locked up here?’

At least two weeks, it seemed.

Even the foul-smelling guard was missed. Losing Tairin, the only companion, was unthinkable.

“If I lose more energy, I won’t be able to maintain my form.”

「Gather the scattered spirit’s power. Then I won’t disappear anywhere. Hurry up already.」

Even Tairin’s grumbling voice was weak, making it somehow pitiful.

「I can’t manifest, but if you collapse, that’s the bigger problem. How long do I have to stay here?」

“Until the Empire’s spy is caught.”

「So they want to dry you out to death.」

“I wouldn’t say it’s certain.”

It didn’t seem like they intended to kill her—but suspicion was growing.

「Didn’t your friends catch the tail of that human?」

She remembered the letter from Chui.

“They found the hideout where Zac stayed. There were traces of the priest’s corpse and torture, so it must be right. But they haven’t checked the hideout recently, so he’s probably moved elsewhere.”

She clicked her tongue in frustration. If they had found him sooner, she wouldn’t be suffering now.

“As long as he’s in Amtein, we can catch him again. I hope so. I can’t just be exiled like this.”

The remaining spirit power in the kingdom was one thing.

Her lips twitched.

“I’ll take all the wealth I stashed away.”

Humans in Amtein always keep a hidden stash, just in case.

It was different from being devoted to the Count of Lorenst.

Imagining losing the gold and treasure she had accumulated in secret accounts made her vitality surge.

Anger.

“Try to just swallow my money. I’ll come back and take double.”

After grinding her teeth once, she immediately regretted it.

The desert heat seemed to rush into her nose more when she got angry.