WBRS 13

Chapter 13

Killis, who had calmly received the handkerchief from Kin, fell into thought. What should he write here so that Rusellin would understand his intention?

After a moment of contemplation, Killis pulled out the fountain pen tucked into Kin’s jacket and drew a tongue on the handkerchief.

“…Your Highness, what exactly did you draw?”

“A tongue.”

Though he answered confidently, the drawing looked rather clumsy.

This is a tongue? It looks more like a worm…

At that moment, Kin realized that while his lord was perfect in every way, drawing was definitely not one of his talents.

He had served him for over ten years, but never imagined he’d discover such a weakness.

“…Do you think Lady Rusellin will understand what this means?”

“Of course.”

With absolute confidence, Killis neatly folded the handkerchief and handed it back to Kin.

Swallowing dryly, Kin looked down at it with a troubled expression.

“There’s no way…”

“Stop talking and go put it there.”

“Your—”

“Your mouth.”

Meeting Killis’s cold gaze that warned him not to say another word, Kin had no choice but to return to the carriage.

Once again putting on his top hat and becoming “Batis,” Kin managed, after some difficulty, to shake off the coachman and place the handkerchief inside the carriage.

Not long after, he returned looking utterly exhausted. Killis, unfazed, pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against.

“We’re heading back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Killis cast a brief glance toward the plaza where Rusellin would be, then climbed into the prepared black carriage.

It was completely plain—no emblem, no decoration—a carriage meant for covert travel.

No one would ever guess that the crown prince of a nation was inside as it sped toward the imperial palace.

“…Huh?”

After following Hailey and impulsively buying a perfume said to enchant others, I returned to the carriage.

I hadn’t planned on buying anything, but the shopkeeper was just too persuasive…

But something was missing.

No—rather, the sack was still there, but Mangdeok was gone. If it disappeared, shouldn’t both be gone? Why was the sack still here?

I had poked plenty of holes in it, so getting out wouldn’t have been difficult. But leaving the carriage should’ve been impossible.

No way Mangdeok has the ability to turn invisible and slip past the coachman…

…That’s ridiculous. I must be losing it.

Then… did someone deliberately steal him?

But that made even less sense.

Who in their right mind would dare approach a carriage bearing the Erbel family crest with ill intent?

If caught, not only their life but even their relatives wouldn’t be safe.

“Coachman.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Staring blankly at the empty carriage, I called out. The coachman answered calmly.

“Did the carriage door open while I was gone?”

“No, my lady. I was guarding it the whole time. I would’ve known if it had.”

“…I see.”

He had served the Erbel family for a long time, and I could easily tell he was telling the truth.

Climbing back into the carriage without any answers, I sank into deep thought.

“Then what on earth happened?”

Everything about Mangdeok was strange. From beginning to end, not a single thing made sense—

“Hm? What’s this?”

As I turned my head with a sigh, I noticed a small yellow handkerchief lying on the floor.

It wasn’t mine. Most of mine were white.

Curious, I picked it up. It felt incredibly soft.

And… was this gold thread? It looked very expensive. Why was something like this here?

Unfolding it, I saw black ink staining the center, clashing with the luxurious gold thread.

“…Uh… what?”

What is this supposed to be?

“…A tongue?”

A snake’s tongue? It looked like a long worm, but the split tip…

Either a snake’s tongue or some kind of two-headed worm.

Why would someone draw something like this on such a valuable handkerchief? Could it be something Mangdeok left behind?

“What does this mean?”

Did he leave it as a farewell? Or… was he just teasing me? Like, “I’m leaving, goodbye, human”?

“My lady, we’re departing!”

“Oh—okay.”

The carriage began moving again toward the Erbel estate.

I decided to keep the handkerchief. It looked too valuable to just throw away.

“Still… I couldn’t kill him. If I knew he’d run, I would’ve…”

…Maybe it’s better that he’s gone. I couldn’t kill him even if I wanted to now.

Every time I saw Mangdeok, my thoughts and actions didn’t align. Logic and emotion kept clashing, giving me a headache.

No matter how clever he was, at his core he was still a beast. I hadn’t expected him to obediently stay in the carriage…

But I also didn’t expect him to vanish without a trace.

If I had, I would’ve locked the door.

“…Will he come back?”

As the estate came into view, reality settled back in.

I had planned to erase the mark today, but it had fallen through so easily…

Because of the marking pain, the cycle requiring us to meet had been reset.

I guessed it was around fifteen days, but since it differed by individual—and I didn’t know Mangdeok’s exact cycle—I felt uneasy.

The thought that I might not see him for a while made my spine tingle.

And the crown prince’s birthday banquet was coming up…

“…It can’t be helped.”

I’d just have to wear dresses with lots of decorations on my wrists.

And besides, I probably wouldn’t see the crown prince anyway, as usual.

“This time… I really don’t want to see him.”

If I accidentally revealed the mark, everything would be over.

Even knowing he likely wouldn’t appear, I couldn’t shake the worry.

In a week, the crown prince’s 24th birthday would arrive.

“I’ll need to prepare myself.”

“My lady, we’ve arrived.”

After stepping out, I handed the perfume I impulsively bought to Letty and went straight to my room.

For some reason, my eyes kept drifting to the dagger under my pillow.

“…Why do you have to look so cute… making me hesitate.”

Even if I wouldn’t see Mangdeok for a while, it felt safer to keep it there.

Just in case an assassin came—I’d have to deal with it myself.

“…How did I even start thinking like this?”

I had never once thought about “intruders” before.

But Mangdeok had easily bypassed the estate’s security…

It made me question how secure it really was.

If they couldn’t even catch a bright white snake, what about a person?

And Dean entered my room easily every time, too.

Sure, they were unusual, but still…

I couldn’t exactly report a snake and a wolf for trespassing.

What a headache.

Knock knock.

Letty knocked and peeked in.

“My lady! The perfume bottle you bought is really pretty. Maybe we could place it on the table as decoration?”

“Go ahead. I probably won’t use it anyway.”

With permission granted, Letty quickly set the pink bottle on the table.

“Are you going to sleep already?”

“Yeah. I’m tired from going out.”

“I’ll turn off the lights, then.”

After saying goodnight, she quietly left.

Once the room fell silent, the day felt like a distant memory.

Thinking about Mangdeok, my eyes slowly closed.

Tap.

Tap, tap.

Late at night, a familiar sound drifted into my ears.

Tap tap… tap…

I tried to ignore it, but the sound persisted.

Just like the noise Mangdeok made when he came last night.

“…Wait. No way.”

I jolted upright.

Looking at the window—

A small white head was repeatedly knocking against the closed glass.

Knock knock.

Knockknockknockknockknock—

The little head was aggressively headbutting the window, almost skillfully now.

“…Where did you even learn to lead with your head like that?”

Faced with the absurd sight again, I let out a hollow laugh as the tiny white snake kept banging on the window, demanding to be let in.