episode_0220

Episode 220 Imperial Conference (5)

Whether they are princes or princesses, the Emperor provides his children with palaces. Even if they are young, children of age need their own space.

The Second Prince’s palace is the same. This place is a personal space just for him. Naturally, the structure and appearance of the room are imbued with his tastes, making it the perfect place to hide something.

However, even a personal space has limitations when it comes to hiding secrets. No matter how great the magic or technology used, there will be unnatural parts.

“Found it.”

A thin thread caught on my finger. It’s so thin that it’s almost invisible. I can barely feel it with my fingertips.

I moved along the thread. I moved carefully, not knowing what kind of device might be behind it. I also mixed in some tricks to avoid being detected along the way, so it took some time to reach the end.

The end of the thread was above the ceiling. The connection was cut off right there. I secretly spread mana and explored the area.

“As expected of a prince, he used something high-level.”

The magic installed in the ceiling was quite surprising. It almost perfectly blocked everything beyond.

Well, being a member of the Imperial Family, he has more money than he knows what to do with, so it’s not a problem, and it would be stranger if he didn’t spend money to hide his secrets.

“Magic from the Magic Tower, and the wizard who created it is an 8-circle….”

I unravel the magic based on my experience and information. No matter what level the opponent is, it’s not very difficult. My skills were enough to figure it out.

As I was working on the magic for a while,

Click.

A small vibration was heard from the ceiling. Sensing that the lock had been released without any problems, I turned my head upwards.

A tiny gap is visible. The length is less than 1cm. How are you supposed to find it when it’s made like that? Even a knight would have a hard time finding it.

I approach the ceiling, raise my index finger, and insert my fingernail into the gap. And then I pull it down.

Click.

Whether it was a switch or something, I heard a sound of something being activated. Immediately afterwards, the floor in front of me opened without sound or vibration.

The secret space finally revealed itself. I went straight down without wasting any time. As I did, I examined the space.

Swish, I sweep the floor with my palm. Not too old dust comes off. In addition, there are numerous footprints on the floor and traces of something being moved. It seems that something was recently moved from here.

“A few hours ago, too.”

If I had come a little earlier, I could have gathered evidence. But the only time the Second Prince moves away from the palace is during dinner.

“If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have attended the conference.”

If I had, I could have come here during the conference. But it’s too late to regret. It’s important to focus on the present.

I moved inside, going against the footprints. Each time, the darkness deepened and confused my senses. I thought it was only like that outside, but the inside was properly defended as well.

And it doesn’t end there, I can feel some kind of presence in the darkness. They were souls being manipulated by Rayan Tianis’s [Soul Manipulation].

Those things spread everywhere are meant to stop intruders. But it’s not a problem at all. His ability is no different from black magic in principle. It’s just a little less evil.

Swish-

Black magic blooms from my fingertips. The souls did not recognize the black magic that was perfectly assimilated with the darkness, and I spread it in all directions. And then I went forward without hesitation.

Souls that don’t react even when I pass right in front of them. They must see me as one of their own now.

As I moved, I reached the end before I knew it. And a huge cave is visible.

“He hid it well under the Imperial Palace.”

It’s amazing that he hasn’t been caught yet. Of course, considering the way I came here, it would be stranger if he was caught. That’s how secret this space was.

“Hmm….”

As expected, most of the space is empty. The only things left are the remains that seem to have been used for some experiment.

And there was one thing I wanted to say after seeing that sight.

“You idiot. Do you think you can hide it by doing this?”

There’s been a saying since ancient times. Mana remembers everything. Unless the concept of mana itself is eliminated, what happened here cannot be undone.

I started using magic to extract the memories contained in the mana of this space. And I saved the scene being played in front of me on a memory stone I bought from the store.

As soon as I finished my work, I left the secret space. There was no need to stay here any longer.

After organizing everything like that, I disguised myself and left the Second Prince’s room as if I had come here. I wasn’t caught by anyone this time either.

“Whew….”

I was able to breathe a sigh of relief only after getting outside the palace. I’ve done this kind of infiltration countless times, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

I transformed back into Ariel’s maid. Then, unlike before, I saw nobles gathering around the palace.

“Is the banquet over….”

I slapped my mouth at the sudden change in my tone. I was already starting to be influenced by the woman’s 말투. At the same time, self-loathing also swept over me and tormented my heart.

“I need to finish this quickly and put it in the subspace….”

I muttered that and returned to the appearance of a maid. After my 말투 and demeanor returned to normal, I moved my feet.

As I passed through the entrance of the palace and passed through the outer garden. Someone grabbed me.

A thick hand completely covering my slender arm. It’s a man’s hand. My weak body was dragged away by that rough hand.

“A maid I’ve never seen before. Are you new?”

A strong smell of alcohol wafting from his mouth. His face is also flushed red from drinking like crazy at the banquet. It seems he came to the Second Prince’s palace after drinking like crazy at the banquet.

“Didn’t I ask you? Are you a new maid?”

I ignored him. Then I tried to remove this rude noble’s hand. No, I tried to remove it. But with the strength of a weak woman, I couldn’t shake off the man’s hand.

“Are you resisting? How cute.”

The grip becomes even stronger. Unlike his fat appearance, he must have trained in his younger days, his strength is strong.

“Ugh….”

As a result, it felt like my bones and muscles would be crushed at any moment. It was useless to resist. Currently, there was that much of a difference in strength between me and the other party.

Of course, if I took off my leather clothes, killing a guy like that would be easier than anything else. But there were quite a few eyes watching, so it wasn’t easy to do that.

“You’re drunk. I’ll bring you some water, so if you rest in the garden….”

“I want to eat you more than water.”

At the same time, his other hand grabbed my butt. The soft skin of a woman began to be kneaded wildly by his hand movements.

Snap.

At that moment, I heard a sound of something breaking in my head. It was the string of reason. I had been barely holding on to it, but it broke with the opponent’s continued actions.

‘Should I kill him? Yeah, let’s kill him.’

A guy who only does this kind of molestation has no value in life. It would be much better for the world to just kill him and get rid of him.

After all, the world doesn’t care about a human like this who doesn’t even know his name. What does it matter even if he’s the head of a family or an important position? There are plenty of people to replace him.

‘So….’

If I lead him to a quiet place and kill him secretly, no one will know. I’ll be suspected, but what’s the big deal. Currently, I was Ariel’s exclusive maid, and even if I killed a guy like this, she would protect me.

“Why don’t you say anything? Are you embarrassed?”

The guy asks back. As he did, he looked around and whispered to me, coming closer.

“I don’t know what family you’re from, but it’s not hard to get rid of you. So, without further ado….”

“You’re the one who….”

I interrupted his words and said. Even if I wasn’t in the form of Kyle Arden, I couldn’t be pushed around by a bastard like this.

“Put me down when I’m talking nicely. I’m Ariel’s….”

“What’s going on?”

It was then. A familiar voice was heard in my ear. I immediately turned my head in the direction the voice came from.

“I, I greet the Princess….”

The guy hurriedly moved away from me and greeted Ariel. Ariel approached him with a somewhat angry look.

“I asked you. What’s going on?”

“Ah, nothing happened. Just to the maid….”

A crack appears on Ariel’s face at his denial. She raised her voice and shouted.

“Liam Grenville! I saw and heard it! How dare you lie in front of me!”

Ariel’s angry cry pours out on him. The gazes of those wandering around gather here.

“A noble who should be setting an example is not only molesting a woman but also threatening her! Are you really a noble of the Empire!”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Princess Ariel…!”

“No, there’s no need to bow. I will tell His Majesty the Emperor about this and beg him to punish you. And….”

Ariel hid me behind her and continued speaking.

“She is my exclusive maid, appointed by me. So look forward to it. I will never forgive you for messing with my people. Charlotte, let’s go.”

“Yes, Ariel-nim.”

She turned her body towards her palace. As a maid, I followed her. Behind us, a desperate cry was heard.

“No, that’s not it, Ariel-nim! Misunderstanding, it’s a misunderstanding! Please appease your anger…!”

Ariel and I ignored the cry. Ariel was so angry that she glared at the noble with a annoyed expression and moved her feet again.

That’s how we returned to Ariel’s palace. She didn’t say anything until we arrived at the room. And as soon as Ariel came into the room, she rushed at me.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yes, I’m okay. Except for being touched a little.”

“Haa, that’s a relief.”

She sighed in relief. And then she apologized to me.

“I’m sorry for making you go through this. That noble, he had a bad reputation when it came to women, but I never thought he would do that in the Imperial Palace…. I’ll punish him somehow, so don’t worry….”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her restless appearance. Could it be that she’s forgetting who I am? I sat her on a chair with a mischievous mind.

“Ariel-nim.”

“Why, Charlotte?”

Judging from her answer, it seems she really forgot because of what happened just now. I made eye contact with her and continued speaking.

“To be honest… I almost fell in love.”

Not only the timing of her appearance, but also her conduct as a superior being, everything is perfect. Just now, I was really captivated by the existence of Ariel Tianis.

Of course, this feeling is temporary. A woman’s body is easily immersed in emotions. But excluding that, even if I think about it rationally, she is full of charm.

“That, Charlotte… I’m grateful for your words. But I, I like men, not women….”

Ariel was flustered, as if it sounded like a confession. At that sight, I slowly approached her. And I whispered to Ariel, facing her face right in front of her nose.

“Ariel-nim, it seems you’re misunderstanding something….”

I continued speaking and released my disguise. The appearance of a woman named Charlotte Gray disappears from me. I return to the appearance of Kyle Arden.

“I’m not a woman. I’m a man.”

“Ah, ah….”

She makes a blank expression. She can’t continue her words, her mouth gaping from the shock. Soon after, shame washed over her, and her face turned red. It was redder than any red thing I had ever seen.

After that, she came back to reality and shouted at me.

“F, forget what happened just now! Never remember it, never!”

“Yes, Ariel-nim.”

“Aaaaah…!”

Her appearance of tearing her hair out in self-loathing was truly a sight to behold.