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Chapter 10
The day of the victory celebration arrived.
The Caesar Knights rode in procession on horseback.
Flags sliced through the wind all at once.
Sunlight poured over gleaming armor, while the rhythmic clash of steel and horseshoes echoed across the boulevard.
Flower petals scattered over the road as the knights passed, and the cheers of the crowd spread like waves.
“It’s Grand Duke Caesar!”
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live Lord Caesar!”
Declan Caesar.
Countless people shouted his name in admiration.
The hero who had restored the Empire’s might.
Amid the roaring cheers, he slowly guided his horse toward the gates of the Imperial Palace.
Today was undoubtedly a meaningful day for him.
“Your Grace.”
At that moment, an aide discreetly approached him.
“As ordered, I investigated the registered individual named Renia Pelt.”
Declan, who had been looking ahead, briefly turned his gaze toward the aide.
“There were twelve registered holy power users with the name Renia Pelt.”
Renia Pelt.
An incredibly common name.
“However, among those twelve, not a single one had pink hair and pink eyes.”
Declan recalled the moment the woman had given him her name.
Those pink eyes, trembling anxiously and unable to focus.
As expected.
So she had lied?
“She doesn’t appear to be officially registered.”
“That’s illegal.”
The man who had been laundering black money until recently spoke calmly about the law.
“Or perhaps she didn’t tell you her real name.”
At Declan’s casual remark, the aide stiffened with tension.
“To dare deceive Your Grace. I will investigate again.”
“No need.”
Declan smiled faintly.
“If she dislikes me that much, there’s nothing to be done.”
“…”
“If it’s fate, we’ll meet again someday.”
Despite having ordered the investigation himself, Declan acted as though he had already lost interest.
His indifferent expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
“Understood, Your Grace.”
This was hardly the first time Declan had acted unpredictably.
As long as they prioritized “the plan,” that was enough.
“As instructed, all preparations have been completed.”
Declan lifted his gaze toward the Imperial Palace.
White spires gleamed between the clouds.
It looked like a radiant holy sanctuary—
or perhaps an enormous funeral altar.
The sight, tangled between light and shadow, was strangely and ominously beautiful.
Prina flinched.
She hurriedly steadied the supplies she was carrying. She had nearly dropped them.
“W-Who did you say was passing by?”
“Careful, Prina! We barely managed to stack those on the cart! Don’t knock them over!”
“S-Sorry…”
Hearing that Declan was nearby startled her so badly that she almost toppled the carefully stacked food supplies.
This was the supply warehouse behind the Imperial Palace.
Inside were mountains of meat and seafood, sacks of flour and vegetables, and crates of spices.
‘Declan Caesar is passing nearby?’
She could vaguely hear the sounds of marching in the distance.
But this place was buried so deep in the corner of the palace grounds that there was no way to know what was happening outside.
‘Better not to know forever.’
Because soon, bloodshed would erupt.
On the final day of the three-day victory celebration banquet.
‘That’s when the assassination attempt on Declan will happen.’
But why was it called an “attempt” rather than an assassination?
Simple.
Because it failed.
According to the original novel, a knight resembling Declan would drink the poisoned wine in his place.
Seriously, what crime had that poor knight committed?
If someone had to die, it should have been Declan.
That insane mastermind would eventually flood the Empire with demonic energy and offer it whole to the evil god.
Because of him, the protagonist would endlessly repeat time, suffering through countless regressions in order to protect the Empire.
Seeing Prina pale at the mention of Declan, her coworker Hannah started complaining.
“Ugh, our lives really are miserable. I should’ve known back when we were suffering together at Daisy Hall dealing with those nightmare customers. They drag us here for the victory celebration, and all we do is haul boxes all day.”
“Seriously! The Grand Duke is passing outside, and we’re stuck in this corner where we can’t even catch a glimpse of him!”
“…Did you hear? They say noble ladies faint just from seeing his face.”
“No, apparently noblemen faint too.”
“Hey, what if you girls faint too when you see him?”
As the conversation suddenly turned to Declan, Prina held her breath.
The coworkers who had come from Daisy Hall sounded disappointed about missing the parade.
‘Girls! We’re actually in the safest place possible!’
If they ran into Declan by chance, they could easily get swept into the chaos brewing inside the palace.
“You lazy worms! Stop dragging your feet and move faster!”
A sharp, irritated yell suddenly rang overhead.
“You idiots are so slow that the kitchen work is piling up!”
The man foaming at the mouth while screaming at them was an imperial chef. During the celebration period, he had been assigned to supervise the temporary workers hired from Daisy Hall.
Prina only had one goal.
To quietly hide herself away in a corner of the palace kitchen throughout the celebration, collect her pay, and leave unnoticed.
‘Stay invisible.’
But life never goes the way you want.
‘This is seriously too much!’
The fact that the first day wasn’t even over yet already terrified her.
“What are you standing around for?! Run already!”
The man who demanded people sprint while carrying sacks of flour.
“What is this?! Why are you using so much water?!”
The man who insisted a single bucket of water should be enough to scrub giant grease-covered cauldrons.
“Hah! We’re all sweating from hard work, but look at you without a single drop on your face!”
The man lecturing a worker who had just come back from the freezing storage room, claiming lack of sweat was proof of laziness.
“…Psycho.”
The person muttering “psycho” under their breath. Ah, that one was Prina.
The imperial kitchen was full of all kinds of horrible people.
Work continued without pause.
By the time the sun finally dipped below the horizon—
“Everyone, hurry and carry the dishes to the banquet hall!”
Servants working in the banquet hall entered the kitchen to retrieve food.
“Which one is the main dish? We’re short on manpower right now, so we can’t carry everything at once. We should take the main dishes first—”
“What? These are all part of one set! The decorations are the entire point!”
“But we can’t possibly move all of this right now—”
No matter where you went, kitchens were always filled with shouting.
“Hey! You carry it!”
Prina ignored the argument and poured hot water into a giant pot. The grease wouldn’t come off easily.
“Hey! You there! Can’t you hear me?!”
Now then, what removes grease stains best…
“You! Prina!”
She nearly jumped.
“Yes?”
“You’re helping carry the food!”
Prina blinked in shock.
So in other words—
They wanted her to go to the banquet hall?
Where Declan was.
And where, in two days, murder would occur.
Absolutely not.
“What are you waiting for?! Move already!”
But there was no way to refuse.
‘…It should be okay. Nothing happens today.’
After hesitating, Prina finally stood up.
“If you make even one mistake, you’ll regret it. Understood?”
“I-If you think I’ll mess up, maybe don’t send me…?”
“Just go already!”
Before she knew it, food had been shoved into her hands.
A servant carrying dishes walked ahead as though leading the way, and Prina quietly followed behind him.
‘Declan is in the banquet hall.’
It felt like walking straight into a typhoon.
Though people did say the eye of the storm was the safest place.
The problem was—
she felt like she was inside the storm’s mouth instead.
Like she was about to be swallowed whole.
