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Chapter 184: The woman who will steal the prince (4)

I was feeling guilty about not doing the dishes for Sand but unfortunately, I was forced to return home.

I decided to at least treat him to a nice feast of meat in the future.

*

The next day brightened. We were immediately summoned to the Empress Palace after breakfast.

“The incident in the alley yesterday was quietly settled. There are no talks among the commoners about seeing his Royal Highness or Prince Jesse.”

Vice Captain Élisabeth reported while standing at attention.

Her eyes that had returned to their original ash-color were sparkling intelligently.

“As for the original actress who was supposed to play her Holiness, the Pope in the parade, she was found tied up and asleep in the circus troupe’s lodging.

“Tsk.”

The Empress clicked her tongue. She seemed discontent despite drinking coffee that was not too hot.

“The business card lists Victoire D’Andresy. The reports indicate this is the same name that has been left behind until now. However, it is very likely that this name was created without any meaning behind it. The Count’s House of Andresy has, early on, denied that this person had any relation to them and it has been confirmed that no such person is listed in their family tree.”

Captain Duhem explained.

‘It is written as D’Andresy but it is the Count’s House of Andresy? Is there a preposition in front of the family name?

Then I guess the territory name and the family name is the same, like the House of Sarnez.

The French style was still difficult for me to understand.

I paid close attention to the report from the Imperial Guard and looked around.

This was my first time in the salon of the Empress Palace but everything was large and luxurious as expected.

The walls that were decorated with gold and jewels had the portraits of the past rulers of Riester on them.

‘If that is the late Empress Céline, then the left is……Is that the war lord of Claire Plaza, Romero Riester?’

The man was handsome with bright blonde hair and blood-red eyes.

For some reason, everybody in that family was handsome or beautiful. It made sense because they were the family of the male lead of a romfan, but…

“The noble who was the first to be harmed by her is Baron Savanier, whose territory is next to the Andresy territory. A portion of the storehouse in the Lord’s Castle was looted, and the looted goods were given away to the poor commoners. The Baron became extremely angry and sealed down the territory to do a thorough search, but he was unable to catch the culprit. That happened in May of this year, your Majesty.”

“How foolish.”

Vice Captain Élisabeth commented and the Empress dryly responded.

Crack, crack. The flames were peacefully crackling in the wall furnace.

As for me, I was cautiously cutting a Bouchée à la reine that an attendant placed on my plate with a knife.

The crust of this perfectly sized dessert gently crumbled like a blanket.

The truffe, button mushroom, chicken, and pieces of octopus that were drenched in white sauce slowly flowed down.

‘It smells amazing. I’m sure it’ll be delicious as well.’

“After that, multiple locations have been hit. However, there is a large period of time in between each incident, and her characteristic is that the scale of her theft grows as she goes. Most recently, the Holy artifact of the Marquis’ House of Cissé, the Saddle of the Late Empress, has been stolen.”

‘A bizarre thief is running amok lately in the nearby territories but this place is as relaxed and peaceful as its name.’

I suddenly recalled the letter Chantal sent from the Sérénité March.

The thought I had last night while going through the files was that only the Imperial Capital had been quiet.

“I heard about that as well. Apparently the item is not showing up even in the black market.”

Cardinal Boutier sipped her coffee before commenting.

The Empress peeked toward her before grumbling.

“And this time she is aiming for the Prince?”

“……That does seem to be the case, your Majesty.”

The Captain and Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard answered at the same time.

Everybody seated at the table turned to look at me.

I froze in place in the middle of moving my spoon. Christelle was quietly chuckling.

‘…Am I not allowed to eat……?’

“Eat as much as you want. Our chef has been waiting for the day you come, my little Prince.”

My teacher warmly commented. I felt relieved and consumed the snack.

I thought the only seafood here was octopus but I could taste pieces of plump shrimp as well.

The way the seafood and meat mixed together was amazing.

After I tasted the smooth and not greasy at all sauce, the soft pastry revealed its presence.

Dipping the bouchée top was quite delicious in its own way. ‘I’m having at least five of these.’

“……How did the search go?”

Crown prince Cédric looked at me as if I was an idiot before taking a sip of his espresso and asking.

I continued to chew as I internally sneered at the punk.

‘I’m certain that this punk’s personality ended up so bad because he only drinks espresso.’

“First, no traces of blood were discovered anywhere. Sir Geens simply shot a warning shot. She also did not fall very far, making us believe that she landed without any major injuries.”

Captain Duhem answered. I looked at Sir Johann and smiled.

His drooping eyes curled up before he answered back saying it was nothing.

His gaze had been so vicious last night that I was scared he was really going to kill her. But as expected, Gerrit’s dad was a pure soul.

“That’s amazing. Based on the fact that she didn’t even have a dagger, she is probably not a swordswoman. I have also heard rumors that she is not a mage. That should mean that she just used her physical abilities to jump across roofs and disappear like smoke……”

Christelle was drinking an Iced Americano despite it being cold as she gasped in admiration.

She had been extremely angry at me last night because she was worried about me, but she seemed to be feeling better now that a day had gone by.

I rinsed my mouth with some cherry blossom tea and broke the silence.

“I believe that she is most likely a commoner. It is highly likely that she is a member of the circus troupe his Royal Highness had called over to Juliette Palace or is involved with them in some way. She could be one of their friends.”

Everybody’s gazes gathered on me once again. I felt embarrassed but couldn’t find many spots to look at.

The Empress opened her mouth.

“Alright. We called the entertainers to the Imperial Palace at your request. You are going to meet with them one by one to check?”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“That is definitely an efficient way. Explain.”

Her cherry-colored eyes sharply sparkled.

An explanation was essential as I had requested outsiders into her palace.

I nodded my head and continued to speak.

“There is no guarantee that the woman who tried to abduct me is Victoire herself. She could be one of her subordinates. However, what is clear is that she showed movements similar to that of an acrobat.”

I had shared the same deductions with Vice Captain Élisabeth prior to returning to the palace.

She immediately arrested all members of the circus troupe in the parade as well as the old women I met and the couple having their secret rendez-vous in the alley.

As for the rumors that she even interrogated the stray cat that meowed at me…… That was quite shocking.

The Imperial Guard was truly thorough.

“Of course, it is possible for a noble young lady to learn such movements. However, that person used her own vocal cords to mimic Dame Sarnez’s voice. She could have perfectly copied the Dame’s voice had she used a magic tool, but she did not do so. And although she was covered by a robe, thinking back on it now, her clothes and boots did not seem high-end.”

I organized my thoughts as I continued to speak.

Christelle was extremely entertained at the fact that the culprit had mimicked her voice.

“She probably does not have the money or the identity to buy magic tools or expensive clothes to camouflage herself. She simply used her abilities to mimic Dame Sarnez as much as possible. She is also lacking in high-end information, as she has stolen a precious holy artifact but is unable to put it out in the black market.”

Marquis François Duhem, who was seated on the other side, smiled.

‘I guess this incident is to his liking.’

“Furthermore, any noble of the Empire is bound to leave traces whenever they move around. If they ride their carriage, there would be records of them going through the territory boundaries. It would be the same if they use a portal. If Victoire was a noble, her movement route and looting records would create a pattern that would have made her easy to catch. However, the reality of the situation is that her traces are ambiguous despite her movement throughout the Empire. I presume she paid a luggage carriage or a mail carriage to hitch a ride or moved as a group. In that case, she could hide herself. However, this is not a method that a noble would choose. Most nobles can’t even imagine getting on a carriage with a commoner.”

“Ha.”

The Empress laughed out loud. If I was to analyze the way she was looking at me, she seemed to be saying something along the lines of ‘look at this punk.’

She leaned her cheek in one hand and tapped on the table with the other as she spoke.

“I’m happy to see that there is no issue with my young Marquis’ head.”

“……Thank you very much, your Majesty.”

Suddenly, the crown prince looked at his mother and I with an odd gaze. ‘What?’

“However, there is a flaw with your deduction.”

Her mouth curled into a smile. I sat up out of reflex.

“She could just be waiting for the attention to die down before she puts it out on the black market. Although it is accurate that the nobles of the Empire put a lot of importance on face and authority, there are lots of exceptions as well. Like yourself.”

The Empress’s index finger pointed at me. I quickly figured out what she was saying.

“Your Majesty, are you saying that Victoire might be an illegitimate child of a noble or a child who has been cast away?”

“Yes. Our Empire is large and has a lot of people. However, it would probably be more likely for you to be correct.”

I nodded my head.

“There is one more thing, your Majesty. The fact that I would be observing the parade on the last day of the Harvest Festival was something that only a few people in the Imperial Palace and my friends knew about. But thinking about it……”

I trailed off and peeked toward Benjamin, who was standing in the back.

He sighed as if the world was crumbling before struggling to open his mouth as if he did not want to say it.

“When the circus troupe entered Juliette Palace, the attendants were fired up making their bets. They were betting to see if his highness would be able to observe the parade during the Harvest Festival.”

“……”

“……”

The room became completely silent as if someone had poured cold water over us.

Basically, the attendants who got a taste of losing all their emergency funds making bets in the Imperial Palace had amused themselves, betting on when the crown prince would release my confinement.

The Empress and Cardinal silently looked at Benjamin for a while.

They then looked toward their son or godson.

However, the crown prince simply raised one eyebrow as if he was telling them ‘what do you want me to do?’

‘This damn fire attribute filial bastard.’

“The palace was quite a ruckus, so anybody with good hearing would probably have been able to hear. That was the only situation where an outsider may have found out about his highness’s plans to leave the palace…… Please kill me, your Majesty.”

The pitiful middle-aged man bowed his head. The Empress let out a big snort. And then…

“……All staff of Juliette Palace will have their pay reduced for six months.”

She made it an Imperial Decree. My heart sank but there was nothing I could do about it.

It was rare to see my teacher scolding me like this as well.

“My little prince, you can’t let your people do as they please. You need to show them dignity befitting the royal family and the title of Marquis. You allowed your attendants to put their guards down that much when outsiders were in the palace?”

“I’m really sorry, your Eminence. I will try harder.”

I apologized.

Everything she said was correct, but I had never had people under me before.

Most of the attendants were still young as well.

It was still not easy properly acting as a prince.

‘I need to get better.’

“Anyway, such a reason does make sense. If she was lucky, she would have known that you were coming to the parade, but she probably did not hear that you or your group would be disguised. That is why she openly disguised herself as the little Sarnez girl.”

“Yes, your Majesty. She knew one but not the other.”

I agreed with the Empress. However, Christelle tilted her head in confusion.

“Your highness, I am asking you this because I truly am curious. How could you follow her so innocently? I had Vice Captain Élisabeth’s hair color last night. My eye color was different as well.”

I slightly bit down on the inside of my cheek. My neck instantly heated up.

I did pretty well working for a company so I had no idea why I made so many mistakes in this world.

I felt embarrassed.

“Umm…… What I usually see is pink so I had an error in judgment. It was quite a chaotic situation as well. But I did realize the truth while we were on the move.”

“Then I guess you wouldn’t have known until the end if I did not go in a disguise? Since the color was the same?”

‘……Damn, I just went up 2000 won in price. Is the inflation rate in Riester going to be okay?’ (TL: So this is a slang phrase that started in 2020. When someone is hit by facts, they say their value went up 2000 won because they also use ‘got struck in the bone’ when hit by a fact bomb. Getting hit in the bone makes the meat fall off, making you boneless, and boneless chicken costs 2000 won more, leading to this phrase. Yeah, it is weird.)

I was smacked around so much by facts that my mind was getting jumbled.

Even the crown prince and Sir Johann were looking at me as if they wanted an answer.

I buried my lip onto the cherry blossom tea to cover at least a portion of my face.

I would sound like an idiot regardless of what I said right now, so I chose to use my right to remain silent.

“There is only one conclusion. I will not give them the attention that they seek.”

The Empress looked at us and proclaimed.

“Confining the prince in the palace, openly sending out the Imperial Guard or the Imperial soldiers, all it will do is raise the fame of the criminal and fill their desires.”

It sounded as if important things were to be discussed. I put the teacup down and looked at her.

The Empress’s eyes squinted like that of a wild beast that found an entertaining prey.

“So you guys will personally play detective.”

‘……Why did the conclusion suddenly…? Excuse me?’

—

Translator’s Comments

Which famous detective will make their presence known? Hmm…