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Chapter : 10
Because I knew the internal layout like the back of my hand, getting to the Imperial Palace itself wasn’t difficult.
Getting inside, however, was another matter entirely.
“Did you say Princess Diel Yekaterina?”
Seeing the knights blocking my way made my heart sink.
So it really is one obstacle after another.
Even if I had come properly escorted by knights, meeting the emperor would have been no easy task.
And since I’d come without even a single maid, their reaction was only natural.
“Hmm. If it’s truly Her Highness, the Imperial Palace’s direct knights should have gone to escort you.”
“They’re probably still waiting for me at the entrance to the Sophea Palace.”
The Princess’s Palace was a male-restricted area.
In other words, only a maid could come fetch the princess—only then could the knights meet her.
Since Emma had interfered along the way, the Imperial Palace knights would still be waiting endlessly.
And then they’ll say I was late because I didn’t come.
“Also, yesterday a maid from the Imperial Palace guided me. She saw my face clearly, so she should be able to vouch for my identity.”
A memory of the maid I’d seen yesterday suddenly surfaced.
She had seen my face properly, and we’d spoken—she should remember me.
“Is there a maid named Bella in the Imperial Palace?”
“Bella? No. There’s no maid by that name in the Imperial Palace…”
The knights shook their heads as they spoke.
There’s no Bella?
I was certain the name displayed in her status window yesterday was Bella, and her affiliation was the Imperial Palace.
“That’s suspicious. She managed to get this far, and her appearance does resemble a noble lady… but perhaps she’s mentally unsound or something.”
“She doesn’t seem dangerous, but her story keeps changing. It’s unsettling.”
“Keep her restrained until we confirm her identity.”
As the knight who gave the order turned away, the others approached as if they were about to bind me.
This insane novel!
Just how many times is it going to put me through hell?!
Should I just control them?
I wavered when I saw the control windows floating above the knights, but I shook my head.
Intervening would change the outcome somehow and create new problems.
Outside, maybe—but inside the imperial capital, with nowhere to escape, I had to be careful.
“Hm? What brings you all the way here?”
The knight who had issued the order suddenly stopped.
He bowed politely to someone, even greeting them formally.
“Lady Bella.”
Bella? You said there was no Bella.
I reflexively turned my head—and there stood a woman.
Oh—yes. It’s her.
It was the same woman I’d seen yesterday.
Strangely enough, this time she didn’t look like a maid, but a knight.
That black uniform felt familiar, but it wasn’t the Imperial Army’s.
Where have I seen it before?
“Why is Her Highness in this state?”
When the woman looked at me, a status window automatically appeared.
[Bella, Rank C, Knight of Rom]
Wait—Rom was the knight order of Grand Duke Ferzen…?
“W-What? Her Highness? That person really is the princess—ugh!”
Thud, thud!
The knights collapsed as the sound rang out.
Bella had kicked their shins without hesitation.
“Insolent fools. How dare you force Her Highness to kneel.”
As I was trying to process the situation, Bella strode up and knelt before me, extending her hand.
“My. Goodness. What. A. Coincidence.”
What kind of terrible acting was this?
Still, Bella seemed desperate to emphasize that it was just a coincidence.
“You must remember me from yesterday. I am Bella, a knight of Grand Duke Ferzen’s castle.”
I alternated my gaze between the status window above her head and her face.
It was definitely her.
But the information was different—specifically, her affiliation.
Is she a twin? No… even twins wouldn’t have the same name.
A double spy between the Imperial Palace and the Grand Duke’s estate? And one who strutted around this openly?
“If you’ve come to see His Majesty, I will escort you inside. Coincidentally, I also have a letter from the Grand Duke to deliver to the Imperial Palace.”
Seeing that even the Imperial Palace knights didn’t dare object, her presence was clearly formidable.
That was only natural, given that she belonged to the Rom Knights, directly under Grand Duke Ferzen.
“Thank you for your help. I was in quite a predicament, since I wasn’t even properly assigned a maid.”
As we passed through the Imperial Palace, those who had stared at me suspiciously lowered their gazes the moment they saw Bella.
Or rather, the moment they saw the Rom uniform she wore.
“If you wait here, His Majesty’s maid will come to escort you.”
We stopped at a reception room before yet another corridor.
“I’m armed, so I can’t go any farther. I’ll escort you only this far.”
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I managed to get through a difficult situation.”
“The honor is mine. I’ve wanted to meet you in person at least once.”
Her smile was anything but ordinary. It almost felt like she knew Diel.
How many princes and princesses have been cast out of the palace? There’s no way she’d remember them all.
Unless Diel’s mother had been an empress from a powerful family—but she wasn’t.
“By the way, Bella. Weren’t you the Imperial Palace maid who guided me yesterday?”
“W-What? Ah! You fainted yesterday, didn’t you? That must be why your memory is… unclear.”
Hmm. She doesn’t seem to realize how bad her acting is…
“That corridor is where one undergoes a final inspection by a priest before entering the palace. You collapsed just before that, so I escorted you.”
Was that so?
But I’d been locked in a dark place before ever meeting a priest.
Right. There were three maids guiding me at first. Once I entered the dark place, only Bella was there.
It made no sense for two maids to suddenly disappear.
Unless Bella had appeared in the middle and diverted me to another space.
“Either way, you were the one who helped me.”
“W-What? Ah, no. I merely acted under orders…”
Bella smiled shyly and bowed.
“The head maid will arrive soon. I’ll take my leave, lest I attract unnecessary scrutiny.”
“Alright. I hope we’ll meet again.”
“We will. Oh—and this too… may be of help. Let me put it on you.”
Suddenly, she fastened a necklace around my neck, a red gem gleaming.
Her hands were so quick and precise that I couldn’t even refuse.
After Bella left, I didn’t even have time to think about what it was.
“Now then, are you ready to meet His Majesty?”
The head maid had entered immediately.
“Yes.”
Ready for what? You just walk in and get torn apart.
The Imperial Palace lay still far beyond that point.
Seeing it only through a screen at headquarters, it was hard to grasp its true scale.
It’s enormous.
Seeing it in person, the sheer magnitude was undeniable.
How many inner gates did we pass through after that?
Just as the head maid stepped aside behind me—
“Offer your greetings to His Majesty the Emperor.”
At the chamberlain’s voice, I knelt.
“May Baron Shin’s boundless blessing and radiant protection remain with the Sun of Elvenard.”
Who would’ve thought I’d actually get to use those praise lines I’d once had to listen to without a skip button?
Because the chamber was dim, I couldn’t see the emperor clearly.
I could tell roughly where he was standing, though.
“Bate.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I lifted my head slightly, then quickly lowered it again.
“Who was that child’s mother again?”
“It was Olivia, the only daughter of Baron Nilsson.”
“Is she still alive?”
“No. She is deceased.”
“Hmm… Baron Nilsson, you say.”
Even with the chamberlain feeding him the answers, the emperor seemed unable to recall.
“If you hear that it was the land of Elsen, located on the northern frontier, perhaps you’ll remember.”
“Ah! The spirit mage’s daughter? Yes—now I remember.”
The emperor rose from his seat and descended the steps.
“That’s right. Duke Lekaten took that girl with him.”
The chamberlain gestured for me to raise my head.
By my seventh year, I knew the details well enough: raise your head, but keep your eyes lowered.
“Hm, yes! Now that I see your face, I remember clearly. Olivia! She was among the most beautiful of my empresses.”
I could feel the emperor drawing closer.
What had headquarters said again?
A stunningly handsome man with a twisted personality—black hair and red eyes.
“I’d heard her father was a renowned spirit mage, so I thought Olivia would be the same. But she wasn’t.”
“……”
“Whether man or woman, beauty alone is utterly useless. Especially in House Yekaterina.”
As I gathered my thoughts, his figure came fully into view.
“Welcome, my daughter.”
[Roman Mieser Yekaterina, Rank A, Emperor of Elvenard]
Shing.
A sword was drawn, and its blade pressed against my neck.
“I know your kind well. Once you come of age, you grow greedy for the title of princess. That’s why you dared wag your tongue while holding the crown prince’s life hostage, isn’t it?”
He’d just called me his daughter, yet now he was pointing a sword at me—but I wasn’t surprised.
I already knew what kind of man the emperor was.
“Even so, I summoned you because there is something I wish to ask. Since when have you been living with Duke Lekaten? And with Evan Lekaten, the young duke?”
At that moment, the emperor’s red eyes—so intent on devouring me—shifted strangely.
“Wait.”
A large hand touched my neck.
The ferocity that had seemed ready to strike vanished.
“This necklace…”
The emperor stared at the necklace around my neck for a long moment.
“It belongs to Grand Duke Ferzen, does it not?”
A flicker of interest crossed his face.
