I finally came to my senses and was just about to ask why he had moved my sleeping bag when Elhardt spoke first.
“I’m so hungry I can barely move after staying up until dawn.”
Then, unbelievably, he buried his face in the pillow again.
In the end, I had no choice but to leave the room without asking a single question.
“……”
It wasn’t until I left the detached palace that my mind finally started working again.
‘What was that?’
Had he simply moved me to the bed because the floor looked uncomfortable?
It would be ridiculous to connect it to the conversation we’d had last night, wouldn’t it?
‘…He was probably just being kind. Don’t read too much into it.’
After all, nothing had happened.
We’d merely shared a bed without even holding hands.
More importantly, there were other things I should be worrying about right now.
‘How did I become so wary of Elhardt’s presence?’
No matter how similar his mana scent was, he wasn’t Mikhail.
And yet, while he’d approached me in my sleep and moved me onto the bed, I’d slept soundly the entire time. It was hard to believe.
Had I already come to trust him as much as I trusted my comrades in the expedition?
‘There must really be something wrong with me.’
I swallowed a sigh and busily set my hands to work.
My hands…
‘Huh…?’
When had I gotten to the Central Palace kitchen?
“Does the Prince have quite the appetite…?”
At the trembling voice of the kitchen maid, I looked down at the basket. It was already full of the food I’d piled into it.
“Yes, well. He hasn’t been eating properly lately.”
I gave her a vague answer and hurried out of the kitchen.
‘Get a grip. There is no time for this.’
I needed to think about when the Crown Prince would use that compound poison, the so-called “love potion.” And if I was too late, where could I find an antidote…?
‘Oh, dear.’
When I reached the dining hall entrance, I couldn’t help letting out a hollow laugh.
“You again.”
The Crown Prince was standing in precisely the same spot as yesterday.
‘There’s no way this is a coincidence…’
I tried not to let my wariness show as I greeted him politely.
“Good morning, Your Highness.”
“Yesterday was a coincidence, but today isn’t.”
“……?”
What? Had he read my mind?
“You’ve agreed to attend the banquet, haven’t you? I heard you needed a dress.”
“That’s true, but…”
The Crown Prince beckoned to a servant passing through the corridor.
“Deliver this basket to our guest at the detached palace.”
“Oh, I can take it there myself.”
“Ser.”
He addressed me with a gentle smile.
“Even if you start getting ready right now, you’ll barely have enough time.”
It was strange for the Crown Prince himself to be taking care of a maid’s dress.
He could have easily had a servant or maid handle it. So why was he doing this?
Considering what had happened yesterday, the whole thing made me deeply uneasy, but…
‘He has no intention of backing down.’
I could read the determination in his eyes and expression.
In that case, there was nothing I could do.
I’d just have to bow to his authority.
‘He won’t make his move right away.’
We’d practically narrowed down the location already, thanks to the clue about the “western corridor being closed.”
I silently handed the basket to the servant.
“……?!”
The servant flinched at the basket’s unexpectedly heavy weight, but I simply smiled as if I hadn’t noticed.
After the servant left with the basket of food, I followed the Crown Prince.
The place he led me to was none other than the Crown Prince’s Palace.
‘I didn’t think it would be easy to set foot in here.’
Should I consider myself lucky that the opportunity had come so soon?
I busily looked around, taking in the layout of the Crown Prince’s Palace and its security arrangements.
‘It doesn’t look nearly as easy to infiltrate as the Central Palace.’
The face of one of my expedition comrades, who excelled at stealth and infiltration, suddenly crossed my mind.
‘That guy could probably even steal the Emperor’s seal.’
Not that it would mean much, though.
“You seem to like that tapestry.”
As I examined the locations of the defensive magic circles firmly encasing the Crown Prince’s Palace, he spoke to me.
“Yes. Could I have it?”
“Hmm…?”
The Crown Prince’s perfectly composed smile faltered for a moment.
“The detached palace is so dreary. Hanging something like that there would brighten it up.”
The Crown Prince fell silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words, before giving an order to the servant attending him.
“Have it taken to the detached palace.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. The decorations in the detached palace belong to the Cradion Imperial Family anyway, so you won’t mind, will you?”
I asked brightly, my face lighting up. The Crown Prince chuckled and nodded.
“Of course not. It’s been so long since I’ve had a guest that I seem to have overlooked quite a few things. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Wow, you’re incredibly generous. I’ll be sure to return everything on the day I leave.”
As I said that, I thought to myself:
‘You’ll regret those words.’
There were so many precious and valuable things in the Crown Prince’s Palace.
Picking out the things I wanted and having them brought over was an immensely enjoyable experience.
The head chamberlain, who came rushing over partway through, grew increasingly gloomy, but the Crown Prince remained unruffled the entire time.
‘Is he just pretending to be fine, or does he genuinely not care?’
By the time I’d crossed off about half the items on my list of necessities for a comfortable life, the Crown Prince came to a halt.
“Now, why don’t you take your pick?”
He stepped aside, revealing a spacious room filled with dresses of every kind.
“……?!”
The jewels adorning the dresses sparkled with such dazzling splendor that they nearly hurt my eyes.
“I’ve summoned maids with excellent taste, so feel free to ask for their help if you have trouble choosing.”
Was it normal for an empire to keep such an extensive collection of spare dresses?
Or…
‘Could these be the dresses of the Crown Princess who passed away?’
If I picked one of those by mistake, I could be in serious trouble. Assuming this was a trap, it was a fairly plausible theory.
‘Well, it would be foolish to believe he’s acting out of pure kindness.’
It wasn’t as if I had any good feelings toward the Crown Prince, either.
“Then I’ll see you at the banquet.”
Having already wasted quite a bit of time because of me, the Crown Prince left first, and I began leisurely browsing the dresses.
The maids he’d specially selected for me watched as I browsed, their eyes filled with tension.
‘Is there something here I’m not supposed to touch?’
I casually studied their expressions until I finally chose the dress that got the most interesting reaction.
“I’ll take this one. Is that all right?”
“O-of course.”
Their faces turned pale as if something terrible had happened, yet they didn’t try to stop me.
Come to think of it, the servants in the Crown Prince’s Palace had acted the same way.
Unlike before, I hadn’t done anything to them. I hadn’t even had the chance.
And yet, not a single person had tried to stop me, a maid from Bardia, from doing whatever I pleased.
‘Does the Crown Prince have that much control over his people?’
Elhardt had also warned me to be careful of the Crown Prince.
That meant the man who acted so kindly that he could be mistaken for a womanizer was far more frightening than I’d imagined.
“I’ll help you get ready.”
Being entrusted to the maids, soaking in pleasantly scented water, and receiving a massage turned out to be much more enjoyable than I’d expected.
‘Do maids normally give massages, too? Should I give Elhardt one?’
I also asked them to have the oils they’d used for the massages sent to the detached palace, one of each kind.
And while they were at it, a massage table and a few robes made of soft fabric.
‘This is exactly the kind of life I’d imagined having after returning home.’
So why was I enjoying it in the middle of enemy territory?
Having my makeup and hair done was a little tedious.
The dress, which I hadn’t worn in ages, was cumbersome, too.
What surprised me was that there were only a few places that needed adjusting.
It fit me so well, almost as if it were made for me, that the alterations didn’t take long.
Of course, the process of getting dressed up still took a considerable amount of time, so by the time everything was finished, it was already late afternoon.
‘Good grief. This won’t do. I can’t live like this.’
I’d limit myself to enjoying the bath and massage.
Anything beyond that sort of aristocratic lifestyle probably wasn’t for me.
“Ah, just as I thought. It suits you wonderfully.”
Perhaps someone had sent word to him, because the Crown Prince came to admire my appearance.
“May I choose your accessories?”
Are we playing with dolls here?
“Isn’t this enough? I’m only a maid, after all.”
“No.”
The Crown Prince answered firmly.
“I don’t know how things were in Bardia, but today, Ser is attending the banquet as a guest of the Cradion Imperial Family.”
Insisting that I shouldn’t refuse, he began trying various accessories on me.
“Oh, my. They’re all so beautiful. What should I do? It’s as if they were prepared especially for you, Ser.”
‘…W-what did you just say?!’
It was hard to put up with him spouting such creepy lines with a face that looked like Mikhail’s.
‘Finish this quickly while I’m still smiling.’
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