This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TL: I am interested how this ends and when will Serina shows up after doing that to Laila the last chapter she appeared in. Really interesting. How about you guys?
Ardion looked down at his arm. The mana light seemed to read his thoughts and erupted brightly. If Rowell saw it, he would immediately order him to get rid of that dirty ability. But in reality, he would envy this ability like crazy.
Ardion chuckled and looked at his wrist again. But for some reason, the red dot was moving outside the expected range. Just then, a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, showing Delzion’s face tight with tension, his hair slightly messy as if he had run here.
"What’s the matter?"
"Your Highness, Serina entered where Lady Laila is."
"That mansion… only the people inside would know about it, right?"
"Yes. It seems there’s a spy among the workers. We’ve been interrogating someone we suspect…"
"And Laila?" Ardion said while checking his wrist. The red dot was rapidly growing larger.
No wonder the mark is getting bigger. Ardion’s eyebrows furrowed. He slowly raised his head, his gaze sharp like a blade.
Delzion gulped nervously. After a brief hesitation, he said, "We searched the mansion late, but the princess is nowhere to be found."
"How about the rat?"
"What? Why a rat all of a sudden…?"
"You know Laila has a pet rat. Maybe she left with it."
"Then we should go right to that place…"
Ardion waved his hand. "Search the mansion's surroundings. Look for air ducts where the rat might pass through and find out where they lead."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Delzion quickly left the office. Ardion quietly looked at his wrist. The red dot was moving swiftly. Oddly enough, it seemed to be heading somewhere familiar.
It couldn’t be… Ardion smiled slightly as his boiling emotions began to settle down.
❋ ❋ ❋
Ardion’s place in the palace wasn’t very far, yet I could feel eyes glancing at me from time to time. The more they did, the more I lowered my head. Even though it was the palace, I felt like a lot of people were looking for me. After all, the imperial palace now belonged to Rowell, so there were more of his people around.
As I walked quickly, I heard a voice.
"Hey, look here!"
I ignored the voice and kept walking. But soon, the sound of someone quickly approaching reached my ears, and someone grabbed my shoulder. Startled, I stopped walking.
"Are you a mage?"
If I denied it, they would start asking all kinds of questions, from what I was doing here to how I got in…
Moreover, since Serina was looking for me, if I admitted I was Laila, they could immediately send me to Rowell. I nodded reluctantly. At that, I heard a clicking sound.
"Why do magicians dress like that these days? Wearing cloaks so people can’t even see their faces… By the way, what are you doing here? The banquet hall is this way."
"…"
"Not following me?"
I glanced around. People were giving me sidelong glances. At least if I followed along as a magician, I could avoid unnecessary attention. Depending on the situation, I could slip away without getting caught.
I silently followed the person in front of me.
"People who come to the palace for the first time often get lost. You seem like you’re from the countryside. Stop sightseeing and get to work."
I nodded silently. The banquet hall…
It felt strangely familiar. It also gave me a bad feeling. Now that I thought about it, I had entered the banquet hall before. Back then, it was to deliver apples, but now, I needed to meet Ardion. I kept my eyes forward. Soon, the large doors of the banquet hall came into view. The hall was wide open, and people were bustling around. Just then, someone came near me.
"I brought the magician. This should be the right number now."
But the person tilted his head. "Magician? Is she one of us?"
"What? She was just wandering around the palace, so I brought her."
A chill ran down my spine. In an instant, all eyes were on me. While I usually didn’t mind attention, this heavy kind wasn’t good. I quickly tried to think of a way out of the situation.
Suddenly, Derol shifted in my pocket. I quickly reached into my pocket and gently stopped his movements. If he intervened now, the situation would spiral out of control. First, I needed to resolve the suspicion around me.
"Oh, right, there have been a lot of people sneaking into the palace lately. Apparently, they’ve been stealing from around here."
"So, is she…?" A finger pointed at me.
The surrounding knights slowly began to gather. I was about to speak when…
"What’s going on?"
It was a familiar voice. I lifted my head slightly, and our eyes met.
It was Ardion.
His green eyes were shining brightly.
"Your Highness, she’s not one of the magicians we have under our service."
Ardion’s gaze shifted from me, and he turned to the person in front of him. "I called for her."
"What?"
"The banquet hall is too large, and there aren't enough magicians."
"But as far as we know…"
Ardion smirked. "Shouldn’t you be busy at this time instead of questioning her here?"
At that, the person quickly bowed. "My apologies, Your Highness."
Ardion gestured towards the banquet hall. The people around us quickly lowered their heads and entered the hall.
Ardion naturally grabbed my hand and carefully examined my face. "Laila, are you okay?"
"I’m fine."
Even though I said that, Ardion gripped my arm and examined my face more thoroughly. His expression had softened even more than earlier.
Then he gently pressed down on my wrist. "How did you undo the magic I cast?"
His voice was lower than usual. Although his face still had a faint smile, his gaze was subtly sharp. I observed our surroundings, and people, startled by our eye contact, quickly turned away. Others saw Ardion and immediately covered their mouths.
What Ardion usually did…
At that moment, he turned his head. As soon as their eyes met, the nearby people quickly lowered their heads and entered the banquet hall.
"More importantly, there’s something urgent." I grabbed Ardion’s arm.
"What is it?"
"I can’t say it here. It’s too crowded. We should go somewhere private."
"Just the two of us?" Ardion smiled.
I ignored his smile and nodded. He grabbed my hand, and I silently followed him. As we passed through a corridor, people stared at me strangely, their expressions frozen in surprise. I checked my cloak. There was nothing dirty or odd about it.
Suddenly, Ardion turned to look at me.
"Did something get on my cloak?" I pointed behind me.
Ardion shook his head.
"Then why are they staring like that?"
Now that I thought about it, Ardion had also received surprised stares earlier. As I wondered about it, Ardion looked behind him, then turned back to me.
"It’s because I’m with you."
"Do they know who I am?"
A headline from a newspaper flashed in my mind. What kind of ridiculous headline was that? But my face hadn’t appeared in the newspaper…
Ardion gently touched my cheek, and our gazes locked into each other.
"Only the nobles who were at the wedding would recognize you. Everyone else here doesn’t know your appearance." He smiled and lowered his head to my cheek. The sensation of his touch made me step back.
"Ardion!" I quickly glanced around. Thankfully, no one was looking at us.
"What’s wrong?"
"People might be suspecting me."
"Why would anyone suspect you here?"
"I…"
Then I remembered. My charges had already been cleared, so there was no need to hide anymore. It was just that Serina was looking for me. As I hesitated to answer, Ardion suddenly pushed me against the wall. The back of my head hit the wall as Ardion slid his leg between mine. His firm thighs pressed against me as he slightly lowered his head to meet my gaze.
"Laila, don’t you trust me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you think I can’t protect you?"
"It’s not that…"
"Then why are you so anxious?"
"Serina is trying to find me. No, rather than finding me, she wants to kidnap me."
Ardion frowned, but he didn’t look surprised. Rather, his expression seemed dark and angry.
Something was strange. It was like….
“You don’t know about it?”
Ardion nodded. “If I had just stayed quiet, they wouldn’t have thought of kidnapping you. It was my shortcoming. I’m sorry, Laila.”
Hearing that, I felt bad. The one who should apologize to me was Rowell. He must have ordered everything for us to suffer.
At that moment, I saw someone passing by us. They looked at us with curious eyes. I didn’t want to receive attention like this. Besides, I still had a lot to ask Ardion.
I grabbed Ardion’s shoulder. He looked at me.
“There are a lot of people here, so let’s talk in a place where the two of us are alone.”
Ardion nodded, but he still didn’t move.
“Ardion?” I said.
Ardion's expression was still hard as he looked at me with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "First, give me your answer."