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Chapter 29
In the end, I decided to give up on taking off the ring for a while.
There was no way to do it right now, so it couldn’t be helped.
Instead, I wondered if there was any way to deal with this design that radiated such immense presence on my hand.
Chobi brought over some curious fabric leftover from making a cloak to conceal appearances and wrapped it around the gem.
“Can’t we just cover the ring completely so it can’t be seen?”
“Then it would look like the saint’s fingers were cut off and floating around.”
That would be a little problematic.
Thanks to that, the flashy gemstone ring became a band ring.
It still looked expensive because there were gems on the band, but I was satisfied enough with this.
“Helly should be in the kitchen now, right?”
The dessert competition finals were tomorrow.
The preliminaries were held by submitting pictures of the desserts we would enter along with a description of their taste.
I had been worried that passing the preliminaries would be decided without tasting them, just from the description, but thankfully, I passed.
Hehe. I’m confident about the finals.
Soon, a thousand gold coins will be in the hands of Helly and me!
Helly would handle the demonstration for the finals.
Even though there was Chobi’s dye, I didn’t want to expose my facial features in front of strangers…
And more importantly, sneaking out of the palace could cause trouble for His Majesty.
The cost of the statue is fine, but
I shouldn’t do anything that would put my beloved (body) in danger. Absolutely.
So all I could do now was support Helly, who would participate in the finals tomorrow!
“Helly, are you ready? …Huh?”
I came to the practice kitchen where we always trained, but Helly wasn’t there.
The counter still had traces of practice, so it seemed she had been here just a moment ago.
“Maybe in the main kitchen?”
It was about 7 PM now.
Since dinner service was over, the palace kitchen was probably finishing cleanup.
I should go find Helly.
I turned my body around.
And my vision went dark.
“Did you check the floor too?”
…Cadien’s voice?
My consciousness cleared just enough to be aware.
From the murmured conversation I heard, it seemed to be at the palace gate checkpoint.
But I couldn’t open my eyes or move my body.
‘Cadien! I’m here! Cadiiaaan…!’
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of hitting the wooden floor echoed, tickling my skin.
I must have been lying just under that floor.
“Yes. Nothing unusual.”
“You may pass. Next.”
Then I heard the sound of carriage wheels rolling. My consciousness slowly faded into darkness.
When I regained it, at least I could lift my eyelids.
Dim vision.
I was lying on a hard floor.
‘Ugh. Where is this place?’
I tried to sit up but collapsed back to the floor.
Looking closer, my wrists and ankles were tightly bound with ropes.
“….”
What is this situation?
So…
I had gone to Helly’s kitchen, heard Cadien’s voice, and when I came to, I was here.
‘I think I heard them pass the palace gate when I briefly came to my senses.’
Then this is outside the palace?!
Suddenly realizing the situation, I slammed my shoulders and head against the floor to push myself upright.
It was dark enough to just make out the outlines of objects.
There were many things around, so it seemed like a storage room where no one lived.
Kuuul… kuul…
“Eh?! Helly!”
I heard someone breathing behind me, and when I turned, Helly was lying on the floor asleep.
Was she captured along with me?
“Helly, Helly. Wake up.”
I tapped Helly with my toes. My hands were tied behind my back, so I couldn’t do much.
Even shaking her shoulders, Helly didn’t move.
She seemed to be in a sleep so deep that no one could have carried her away without knowing.
‘Is it night now? Or early morning?’
I didn’t even know how much time had passed since leaving the palace.
Judging by the fact that I wasn’t starving, it probably hadn’t been too long.
First, I need to figure out how to get out of here.
I focused on my hearing to see if I could tell where we were by listening to outside sounds.
“…Do you know how hard it is to bring two people outside the palace? Hey, Kuize. You have to calculate all of that too.”
“One of them came along on your own, didn’t they? And Wick, you approached claiming there was a carriage perfect for getting someone out, and now you’re talking about money, money?”
I heard the voices of two men.
Their names were… Kuize and Wick? Who are they?
They brought people out?
Gasp. Could it be that the saint was kidnapped?
Helly came along because of me?
Helly, I’ve caused such a huge inconvenience…
“Why did you bring the maid? You only needed Montblanc.”
“She’s the maid participating with Helly Montblanc in the competition. If Montblanc can’t enter the finals, the maid would take her place. That’s why we brought her.”
“Ohhh. Wick, you’re seasoned.”
The extra was me?!
From listening further, it seemed the finals hadn’t started yet.
Then this must be the night before the finals or early dawn.
“Helly Montblanc. That’s why you stayed cooped up in the palace. Why try going outside?”
Kuize sneered.
From their conversation, it seemed that Kuize, who had been a chef alongside Helly in the Imperial City, was jealous.
Helly entered the palace, thinking the Imperial City was now his domain, but learning that Helly would participate in the competition annoyed him.
So he kidnapped Helly to prevent her from entering the competition.
That seemed to be the gist of the situation.
‘They’re not that smart, apparently.’
If they wanted to stop her from participating, there were other ways.
Yet they went as far as sneaking into the palace to kidnap her.
Either they were bold or not very bright.
So we’re trapped here until the competition ends?
Ugh. I was the one who brought up participating in the competition.
I feel bad for Helly. She worked so hard to help.
I will make sure to remember those men’s faces.
They’ll understand how terrible kidnapping is after tasting some prison food in the palace.
“Kuize, will we proceed with both of them according to plan?”
Plan? There’s another plan afterward?
Kuize answered Wick’s question:
“Of course. The maid’s unfortunate to get caught up, but what can we do? We’ll kill both of them according to plan.”
“What?!”
“….”
Ah. I had apparently shouted too loudly without realizing.
Kill them… I was startled.
The conversation stopped, and an alert silence fell outside.
“What’s wrong, Wick?”
“Wait, I think I heard something inside.”
Judging by the sound, the two were a little away from the building where we were trapped.
So the noise I made probably didn’t carry through the wall properly.
Pretend to be asleep. Pretend to be asleep.
I moved quietly and lay down beside Helly again.
“Quiet, huh?”
“Maybe I misheard.”
I heard the door open and check inside, then close again.
Perhaps due to being alert, Kuize’s voice came more quietly from beyond the door.
“So, kill them tomorrow.”
Unlike usual, it was a quiet dawn.
Allend flipped through a book, listening to the chirping of birds.
Is it today?
The finals of the competition she had prepared so diligently for.
From what he learned through Siana Pradan, the saint seemed to remain in the palace.
Maybe she went to encourage the chef leaving early in the morning.
Today, she seemed to have been pushed down from first place.
Knock knock.
Allend looked up at the sound of a knock.
Henkel wasn’t supposed to arrive yet.
[Your Majesty!]
The saint’s smiling face appeared in his mind.
Come to think of it, sometimes she knocked and barged into his study.
Was she here again to make some incomprehensible request?
Allend chuckled and rose from his seat.
“What brings you here so early…”
“Y-Your Majesty.”
Opening the door, it wasn’t the saint who appeared, but Siana Pradan.
“Siana. What’s the matter?”
Seeing her anxious demeanor, Allend furrowed his brows.
Siana Pradan.
Who was she?
Until just a year ago, Zendal’s social scene revolved around her.
Appearance, connections, wealth, talent…
Everything was gorgeous, like a fully bloomed red rose.
Shortly after the saint was summoned, she came to him:
“I want to be the saint’s personal maid.”
But there was no trust built yet between her and the saint.
He refused, and the next day she appeared with a loyalty contract in hand, pledging her life if allowed to fulfill her wish.
For some reason, Siana Pradan was sincere about the saint.
So if she kneels in front of him like this, it must be serious.
“The saint has disappeared.”
For a moment, it felt like a huge boulder crushed Allend.
But he tried to remain calm and asked Siana:
“Disappeared? Perhaps she’s just walking around the palace, as last time?”
“B-But… last night she said she was going to find Helly Montblanc, but she didn’t return by midnight… so when I went to the kitchen, it was as if everything was left undone and no one was there…”
Allend looked at Siana, clearly anxious.
Her usually tidy hair was disheveled, suggesting she had been searching for the saint all night.
“….”
It didn’t seem like a simple disappearance that would end in a fuss.
Allend hurriedly put on his coat and left the study.
“Siana.”
“Yes?”
“Contact Henkel and Evon to come to my office. And the head researcher too.”
“What are you going to do…?”
“We have to go find her. The saint has gone missing.”
His brisk steps down the corridor reflected his anxiety.
“Wow, really? That’s so cool. You’re not human, right? How can you be so amazing?”
“Cool? Kid, you know how to pick them, huh?”
“Of course! How else could you win 17 against 1?”
I gave thumbs up with both hands, and Wick became even more excited and boastful.
This uncle in the well—our king—can even fight the army and win alone.
But I had information I needed from this man.
“By the way, where did our chef go?”
“Kuize knows. He took her directly to handle it himself.”
Kuize. Wick’s client.
Handle it directly… are lives that easy for these people?
“Gasp. Our chef will die?”
“Probably. Why, scared?”
“Ah, no. Furious, actually.”
“Furious? About what?”
Wick’s eyes gleamed meaningfully.
I clenched my fists at him in defiance.
Earlier, when he rattled on about taking out liver and gall, he gave me back some freedom of movement.
Hehe. He’ll regret it.
Anyway, not the right timing now.
“Actually, I’ve had a lot done to me by the chef. I came from another place, and the territoriality here is no joke. So my wish was to smack the chef on the back of the head while she’s alive, but now that she might die, I guess my wish will never be fulfilled…”
Helly, if you’re around me, please cover your ears.
This isn’t my true intention.
“….”
Wick quietly scanned me.
A suffocating tension filled the air.
Wow. Thinking he’s a murderer is scary.
“Hey, kid!”
Bam. Wick’s rough hand struck my back.
