PSD Chapter 74

In that instant, Jenny’s mouth fell open at the beautiful sight of her head being tinged with a golden light from the light particles. She belatedly asked, “A-Are you okay?! Little Mistress?”

“I’m fine. I don’t feel anything.”

Was it warm? She stared at her hand as if possessed for a moment, then looked at the spot where the child had been.

“Jenny, is it too much for me to go out and look for the person myself right now?”

“If you’re worried about it, I’ll contact the Master right now and have him send people out. You cannot move on your own! Okay?”

The child felt so close, yet Millena had to put away her conflicted feelings when she saw Jenny’s expression. She turned her reluctant steps around.

“Let’s go back. Ash will be waiting. And tell Lexion to search the area around this alley.”

“Yes! I’ll do that! Thank you, Little Mistress.”

Was this something she should be thanked for? Jenny kept thanking her for following her wishes. Millena, who was faintly smiling, got into the carriage and looked back at the alley where the child had disappeared with a sense of regret.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t told Lexion what the child looked like. She got into the carriage with the thought that she had to tell him.

. . .

“Heli!”

The child, who was blinking her big eyes as she watched the carriage move away, looked up at the woman calling her.

“Where did you go? I told you to stay put. I told you how dangerous the capital is.”

The child’s spirit sank at the woman’s worried voice, and she opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“No one saw your hair, did they?”

The woman carefully put the hood of the robe over the child’s head. The child, who had made eye contact with a certain woman, squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“Lariette.”

When the man appeared without a sound, the child flinched and clung to Lariette’s body. The man’s chilling red eyes scanned the child up and down.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

“I hear Grand Duke Kallion Luxen has arrived in the capital?”

“Ah.”

Lariette, who had been holding the child’s hand, flinched. Her expression hardened for a moment, then her lips twisted.

“Ha.”

A crooked smile appeared on Lariette’s face. It was a look that didn’t suit her beautiful face, which was once praised as a goddess.

“It must be because of Millena. That girl is of no help at all in my life. I was going to go back to the North on my own. She just had to make a big deal out of it.”

The man, as if used to Lariette’s complaints, changed the subject.

“What about the Grand Duke?”

“Leave him be. He needs to be punished a little. If I meet him now, he’ll just try to lock me up in a greenhouse.”

“What about your son?”

Lariette thought of Ashdel, whom she had seen in front of a doll shop, and spoke in a heavy voice.

“…He seems to be doing well, so it’s fine.”

Wouldn’t Millena, who was especially weak for children, have taken good care of him? That’s why even when she was under a mind-control spell, Ashdel was never the target of her tyranny and violence. His innate nature was too strong to be broken by magic.

Lariette, as if to shake off her gloomy mood, smiled even brighter and said.

“Now, my child. We’re going to play hide-and-seek now.”

“Hide-and-seek?”

“Yes, until the seeker finds us. We’ll hide carefully, and then at the crucial moment, ta-da—we’ll appear.”

The child’s eyes lit up at the word ‘game.’ Lariette, who was speaking at the child’s eye level, looked like a woman with maternal love, but well. The Tower Master, as if it didn’t matter what she looked like, held out his hand. Lariette smiled faintly and took the gloved hand of the Tower Master.

“Now, let’s go. To our nest.”

The child also smiled, following her, and holding Lariette’s hand, they disappeared into the darkness.

It was a bustling day. Carriages from each family were lined up, entering the Imperial Palace for the regular meeting. It was a meeting where the heads of the families who ruled the vast regions of the Empire would gather.

“Is Grand Duke Luxen still absent?”

“Did you hear the rumor? The North was temporarily blockaded. Everyone was surprised, thinking a war had broken out.”

“I heard. They say the Grand Duchess’s body disappeared.”

“It sends shivers down my spine just hearing about it. It’s not normal that he neglected his wife’s body instead of burying it in the first place, is it? The rumor is that he’s completely gone mad.”

“Shh. Be careful. The Northern families are coming in now. Aren’t they a bunch of sticklers? If they hear you talking behind their backs, a brawl will break out immediately.”

Everyone who was whispering turned their gaze to Count Vizel, who was acting as the Grand Duke’s proxy.

Archer Pluid, the acting head of the Silbert family, who was quietly listening to the nobles’ whispers, made eye contact with the count and gave him a nod.

The elderly count was muscular. He looked so solid that many said he must have the blood of a warrior, and that he had a belligerent personality.

“Silbert also sent an acting head. Our lord should have attended personally. He went to an inn on the outskirts.”

“Be quiet. Too many people are listening.”

Count Vizel hushed the mouths of his vassal families and looked at the Silbert family’s acting head. Although both were proxies, Archer was only a viscount.

He had the nickname ‘Silbert’s gigolo,’ but no one ever underestimated him. He looked easygoing with his brown hair and gentle impression, but he was a hunting hawk. When he found someone eyeing his master’s position, he would grip their neck with his sharp talons and never let go. He would even take their life and offer it to his master.

Furthermore, he was an unparalleled genius when it came to handling affairs, so everyone who raised an objection to Silbert’s words would tuck their tails and shut their mouths.

“Everyone, please rise. His Highness the Crown Prince is coming.”

The bodies of those who were lost in their different thoughts flinched.

‘What did we just hear? Who’s coming in now?’

Everyone who had been seated at their respective tables and waiting for the chairman to start the meeting thought they had misheard.

The pitiful Crown Prince, who was with women every day and had no interest in state affairs, was coming here? It was a meeting that even the Emperor hadn’t attended for a long time. The chairman, who was to come in on behalf of the Emperor, was also awkward and nervously walked into the meeting room.

“What are you all doing? Show your respect!”

“…”

A handsome man, who was like the personification of light and shone golden, appeared before them.

Even though the highest authority of the imperial family after the Emperor had appeared, the nobles just awkwardly stood up and froze in place. It showed how much the prestige of the imperial family had fallen.

“It seems everyone has forgotten my face.”

The first to speak was Archer Pluid, who was seated closest to the head of the table.

“I greet the most exalted little sun.”

When he bowed his head respectfully, the families on the side of the Crown Prince all followed him.

“We greet the little sun.”

The golden eyes that were quietly looking down at them narrowed slightly.

“Hey, Chairman.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“From today on, I will be presiding over the regular meetings.”

It was natural for the Imperial Authority to attend meetings. However, they had long abandoned their duties, and the central nobles had come to take it for granted.

What on earth had gotten into the Crown Prince to make him decide to take on work?

Even those on the Crown Prince’s side hadn’t heard about his attendance. Everyone was in a state of confusion at his sudden action.

No one knew that this was a prelude, a way for him to confirm and understand the raw reactions of the Emperor’s faction, the nobles’ faction, and even the Northern powers with his own eyes.

The nobles of the Emperor’s faction were exchanging glances. Those planted by the Crown Prince were whispering in the ears and covering the eyes of the Emperor’s faction’s leader.

“Now, shall we begin? I can’t take up any more of your valuable time. Scribe, make sure to write everything down.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

When the scribe replied, the chairman looked at the Crown Prince and began the meeting.

“Then, we will begin the state meeting. The first to speak is…”

The Crown Prince cut off the chairman, who had just begun the meeting, and raised his hand.

“I will speak first. I brought an interesting agenda.”

The Crown Prince’s beast-like eyes turned toward the Northern families.

“Something very amusing happened in the North, didn’t it? Did everyone hear the rumor? The Grand Duke blockaded the Northern territory to find his disappeared Grand Duchess. Without even getting the Imperial Family’s permission.”

“Th-that was only for a moment! The Grand Duke also had his reasons…!”

He was a person who didn’t know when to speak and when not to. The head of a Northern vassal family, at the chilling gaze, became flustered and shut his mouth.

“You, did I give you permission to speak?”

Count Vizel stepped forward as the representative to stop the hostile atmosphere.

“I apologize, Your Highness. He is a person who is not yet used to the capital and is not familiar with the Imperial etiquette.”

It was a ridiculous excuse. Everyone here knew that the Northern vassal families had been stationed in the capital for several years and had filled the seats of the regular meetings every time. The Crown Prince also knew this fact.

“Hmm, is that so. Etiquette must come from the heart. It seems you people have no respect for the Imperial Family. Don’t you agree, Count?”

The Crown Prince was determined. The elderly count swallowed a groan inwardly at his subtle tone. Everyone felt the majesty of the ruler with their skin. He had been hiding his true self until now.

The predator, who had been crouching and waiting for its prey, slowly revealed its true form.