Chapter 19
The secret funds were said to be in a hidden storage connected to the prince’s room floor. Therefore, the top priority was to naturally infiltrate the castle, and somehow the first goal had been achieved.
…Though it seems there have been some side effects.
Haa, Sian was familiarizing herself with the castle’s structure visually while her mind was tangled with other complex thoughts. A deep sigh escaped between her teeth involuntarily.
…So, from the beginning, he had anticipated that ‘such’ things would happen and that’s why he was so angry.
Moreover, she had been very short-sighted to argue back, asking how he could make more of a fuss about it.
We’ll need to change clothes and sleep too, what should we do… Thinking this and recalling that white neckline, her face turned bright red again.
Is a young person causing a storm in a gentle lady’s heart by being unnecessarily too handsome?
Sian shook her head vigorously.
If things turn out like this, there’s no helping it. The best strategy before an even more embarrassing situation occurs is to achieve the intended goal as quickly as possible and leave this castle.
‘Ivarid Castle is made up of 3 floors in total, and I used the entire 3rd floor, with my bedroom and office there.’
Sian recalled Carl’s words. As she walked, following these various complicated thoughts, she found herself in the castle lobby.
The spacious lobby on the first floor had staircases extending on both sides, encircling the circular shape. The curved staircases merged at the midpoint of the lobby and then extended in a straight line to the second floor.
It was exactly as Carl had described when he had drawn the internal structure of the castle beforehand. The structure up to the second floor was quite open, making it not difficult to approach, but the problem was the third floor where the prince’s room was located.
‘There is a secret passage, but… For security reasons, it’s made so that you can’t enter from the outside. There’s only one way to get to the third floor. Of course, it’s also the most heavily guarded place.’
Sian looked up at the stairs leading to the second floor, recalling Carl’s words. In short, it meant that from the second floor onwards, the only option was to break through by taking down the guards.
‘There are separate personnel assigned to patrol just the third floor. Two stair guards protect the entrance from the second to third floor, and they change shifts every six hours. …If you want to use plenty of time, it would be best to aim for right after the shift change, but the question is whether the third floor’s security protocol will be the same even though I’m not there.’
The only hopeful aspect to consider was that security might be lax since the prince was absent. In any case, she needed to accurately grasp the number and system of guards blocking the third-floor stairs.
Sian put her hand on her chin seriously.
It would be good to go up to the second floor, but there were many watching eyes. Even as Sian stood in the middle of the lobby, deep in thought, maids in their uniforms were busy moving to the kitchen and cleaning rooms.
In contrast to the first floor, which was crowded with spaces for less important purposes such as cleaning rooms, maid rooms, kitchen, reception rooms, and guest rooms, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the second floor was almost entirely a space for internal personnel who conducted official business in the castle.
It was not a place where Sian, who was clearly seen as an outsider, could freely enter and exit.
Sian glanced sideways at a maid passing by. It seemed to be a laundry maid, carrying a basket full of laundry.
‘I’ll need to get a maid’s uniform.’
Sian’s eyebrow twitched. Maids would work at night too, so it seemed she could find the laundry room during the day to prepare a maid’s uniform, and then move around at night.
* * *
“I’m back. It’s almost time for the assembly, so we should slowly…”
Sian returned to the room. Because she had run out as if fleeing when she left, she had no choice but to maintain a careful and modest posture when returning.
She felt somewhat uncomfortable with her own suspicious behavior, which anyone could see was clearly conscious of the other person.
I hope he doesn’t make a big deal out of it…
Sian earnestly hoped, but even to herself, it didn’t seem like a very realistic wish. If she was so obviously conscious and blushing, only a fool wouldn’t notice her personal liking or more than that level of interest.
If he asks, what should I say to cover it up?
Sian returned with a heavy heart, but as always, the reality that confronted her exceeded all expectations.
Carl hadn’t taken off his wig, and his shirt front was still unbuttoned almost all the way, just as Sian had seen when she left.
Despite her emphatic instructions to lock the door tightly, the door wasn’t locked, and Carl was lying on the small bed with his eyes closed.
“…What, are you asleep?”
Because the room itself was created for maids, the bed was much smaller than usual. Carl had curled his tall body on the bed that looked more like a day bed.
“He looks like a princess who borrowed a dwarf’s bed…”
As much as she had been bothered by her own unnatural behavior earlier, Sian, now completely deflated, looked down at Carl with her lips pursed.
That neckline was stretched out even whiter and smoother than when she first saw it, due to his curled-up posture.
Men can be so immodest.
At the somewhat erotic sight, Sian cleared her throat unnecessarily and looked for a blanket.
Since his body hadn’t fully recovered yet, it seemed good to let him rest when possible.
Thinking this, Sian rummaged through her trouser pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. Fortunately, there was still some time left until the assembly time that Yurian had announced in advance. Since the wig and makeup weren’t disheveled, it seemed they could just tidy up their clothes and leave when the time came.
Until then, I’ll let him rest.
Sian covered Carl’s shoulder with the blanket and sat down on a chair a little distance away. She intended to use this time to plan her strategy for sneaking into the laundry room to steal a maid’s uniform.
‘…Is that the extent of your meddling, Sian?’
Sian was about to take out the internal floor plan of the castle that Carl had drawn for her. At the voice buzzing in her head, Sian’s hand stopped abruptly as she was unfolding the floor plan.
‘I know well that the light you saw in the mud pit left quite a strong impression on your life, but the master of Idelin is not a light you should aspire to.’
“…I know that too.”
Sian frowned and muttered softly in response to the voice full of affectionate concern. Then she looked at Carl, worried he might have heard, but Carl, covered up to his chin with the blanket, didn’t move at all.
He was clearly in a deep sleep.
“Well, it’s not like I’m being overly ambitious. It’s pitiful that he was attacked by that vicious dagger, and sad that he’s been falsely accused… Above all, it’s just a transaction since he said he’d pay me.”
Sian, feeling relieved, spoke as she spread out the rest of the floor plan on the table. But even to herself, it sounded more like an excuse than an explanation.
‘I’m warning you because it seems your interest is turning into something more, Sian. I know you’re materialistic, but be satisfied with just looking with your eyes.’
“…You’re being too blunt, calling me materialistic.”
‘You can’t resist pretty and handsome things, and you love money even more. What other human word could more accurately describe you?’
Sian was left speechless by the voice in her head. When put so bluntly, there was nothing she could say in response.
‘…Idelin is surveying the surroundings. Beyond the vicinity of Ivarid, all the way to the corrupted Red River.’
Sian, who was about to say something like a worm that had been stepped on, once again froze her hand in mid-air.
‘It seems to be to monitor the movements of Nathan and the other dragons, but the problem is that I don’t know how long I can deceive Idelin’s eyes.’
Sian unconsciously turned her head to look at the sleeping Carl.
She had just said that they only needed to show Idelin’s appearance to the entire Ivarid region, but it seemed the prince had other intentions to grasp the movements of other dragons.
“Is Idelin… that impressive?”
‘Of course. He’s a descendant of Yggdrasil. He’s like a prince even among dragons.’
Sian pouted at the voice in her head that answered readily.
‘Idelin is in the same predicament, falsely accused of assassinating the Dragon King, so even if he finds out, he won’t do anything right away… But you know, right? If my existence is revealed here, everything you’ve done so far will all turn to bubbles.’
The voice in her head added.
‘Just like that day.’
The words, sounding ominously like a threat, were nothing more than an affectionate warning rather than a malicious threat.
Nevertheless, Sian bit her lip tightly at the voice stirring up memories that seemed to smell of old mold.
‘You were nothing.’
A night so black that even the moon didn’t rise.
‘You were never born into this family, Aira. We will erase all records of you.’
She couldn’t remember what her mother’s voice sounded like when she said those words, or what her expression was like. It had been that long ago, and it was also the result of her constant efforts to forcibly erase it from her memory because it was too sad and painful to keep holding onto.
Sian clicked her tongue lightly at the old memory that felt like dust filling her chest.
“I got it, so stop nagging. Old man with unnecessarily good memory for trivial things. …You’re making me think about trivial things when I already have a headache.”
And Sian casually scratched the back of her neck as she deliberately turned her attention to the floor plan.
The voice in her head didn’t chatter anymore. It was unclear whether it had accepted the rebuke to stop, or if it had nothing more to say.
With the voice that had been chattering and interfering with her thoughts gone, she could concentrate more easily on planning her route to sneak into the laundry room.
Sian, like someone preparing for an important exam, focused on other thoughts while pointing with her index finger from the location of the maid’s quarters where she was to the path to the laundry room.
“…Is talking to yourself a hobby?”
“Shut up.”
midori
thanks! mm hm, seems that she has a dragon as well