Episode 70

Episode 70: The Treasure Hunt

The night of the Foundation Day festival was more extravagant than ever.

Glittering decorations, lavishly dressed guests, and soft music floating through the air.

The banquet hall was full of warmth and laughter.

Except for one person.

Me.

Ever since the event began, I’d been caught up with one question.

‘Who planned this event?’

From the moment I heard that both the Empress and the Crown Princess would host events on the same day—

No, from the day of the Foundation Festival itself—

I had firmly decided not to prepare anything.

Because I didn’t want to compete with the heroine, the Crown Princess.

But then what?

My venue, which should’ve been dull and bare, had transformed into a magnificent winter palace, with radiant ice sculptures and a veil of magical mist.

And obviously, I hadn’t ordered any of it.

Then who did?

Come to think of it, Leonard had said something earlier:

— “Perhaps it was people who care about Your Majesty who took it upon themselves.”

I’d completely forgotten that while chatting with the noble ladies.

Hmm. People who care about me, huh.

I turned to Countess Chloe and asked if the ladies-in-waiting had prepared the event.

But the answer that came back was completely unexpected.

“This event? Lord Leonard planned it.”

My eyes went wide in surprise.

“Lord Leonard planned it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

So when he said “people who care about Your Majesty,” he meant himself?

“Why would he do that?”

Countess Chloe chuckled behind her hand at my reaction.

“He said Your Majesty didn’t seem particularly interested in the event, but he couldn’t just stand by when your name and honor were at stake.”

He even knew I wouldn’t care?

How?

No, more importantly—planning something of this scale must’ve cost a fortune…

Well, worrying about his money might actually be unnecessary.

Leonard was an incredibly resourceful man.

He’d once run off saying he wanted to learn business, then returned after suddenly purchasing several prime shops in the city.

And more than that, he was the hidden mastermind in the original story.

Leonard—the wealthiest man in the empire.

Still, doing all this without a word…

Well, not that I wasn’t grateful.

“When he asked us for help, he said he wanted to give Your Majesty a gift.”

“A gift?”

What kind of gift?

It wasn’t a holiday or anything like that.

It wasn’t even Helena’s birthday.

Almost unconsciously, my fingers brushed against my lips.

Could it be…

“I’m not sure what his reasons were. All I know is that he wanted to support Your Majesty
and discreetly asked Lord Cedric and us for assistance…”

“Where is Lord Leonard now?”

I looked around.

He had been by my side just a little while ago, but now he was nowhere to be seen.

“He received a message from another knight and said he’d be stepping away briefly.”

“Is that so?”

He would pick this moment to disappear.

A bit disappointing, really.

“Perhaps he went ahead to help with the next event?”

“The next event…?”

“Yes, the treasure hunt, Your Majesty.”

Ah, that’s right.

There were two major events scheduled for tonight’s Foundation Festival.

One was the masquerade ball hosted by me, the Empress.

The other was the treasure hunt, hosted by the Crown Princess.

There had been some ceremonial speeches and dedications earlier, but nobody really cared for those, so they could be left out.

“Now that I think about it… a lot of people have left.”

The guests who had once filled the banquet hall were slowly trickling out as evening approached.

The nobles had finished their meals and were now moving on to the next venue.

“I suppose I should head over too?”

Might as well find Leonard while I’m at it.

I really should thank him.

And honestly… I was a little curious to see the imperial concubine’s event.

It had sounded so fantastical when I read about it…

I waved off the attendants who offered to accompany me, and headed to the imperial concubine’s event.

The treasure hunt was being held in the main palace.

The moment I stepped in, I couldn’t help but gasp.

“Oh… it’s water.”

If my venue had featured ice as its theme, then hers clearly revolved around water.

A garden of water, so to speak.

A stunning artificial stream had been created using water drawn from the palace’s fountains.

It flowed gently through the garden, accompanied by the sounds of trickling water, allowing guests to enjoy the trees and flowers along the way.

Magical lighting and decorative fountains added to the scenery.

“It’s really beautiful here too. A water garden, huh.”

“I heard Her Highness the Imperial Concubine designed it with the hope of bringing abundance to the empire and its people, who’ve suffered from drought.”

Murmurs of the surrounding nobles filled the air.

“It’s refreshing and all, but… it’s kind of underwhelming.”

The sentiment behind it was admirable, but the reactions were surprisingly lukewarm.

“Maybe it’s because we just came from the Ice Palace. It doesn’t feel… new.”

“The Ice Palace was just breathtaking.”

“Honestly, I was so confused when they told us to bring heavy coats in this heat.
I never imagined that’s what was planned.”

It seemed the lukewarm reception wasn’t just my imagination.

And apparently, it was my fault.

Even worse, criticism about the Crown Princess’s water garden was harsher than expected.

“Even if it’s the Foundation Festival, this feels like a waste of water.”

“If there’s enough water for something like this, wouldn’t it have been better
to pour it into the cracked farmlands?”

“But didn’t the Empress also use ice decorations?”

“Those were just sculptures, weren’t they? Even with all the mages involved, it probably didn’t use that much water.”

“Even if it did use a lot of water, it’s fine. Wasn’t it the Empress who negotiated the water routes from the Kingdom of Calus?”

“That’s true.”

My heart stung as I listened to the sharp criticisms.

So… this whole thing was ending with the imperial concubine getting dragged?

This didn’t make sense.

In the original story, there had been some minor gossip, sure—but overall, her event was described as magical and full of praise.

Ah. Right. In the original, the villainess Helena had gone out of her way to sabotage her.

Everything from resources to manpower.

The Crown Princess had painstakingly built her water palace in spite of it all.

It was the kind of struggle that brought tears to your eyes.

But her efforts hadn’t been in vain.

Compared to the Empress’s glittering ballroom—which looked like it was coated in gold—

The Crown Princess’s “Water Garden” had an elegant and serene beauty.

There had been some complaints about wasting water, but because Helena’s event had been so extravagantly over-the-top, the Crown Princess had come out looking humble and noble by contrast—and was praised for it.

Plus, in the original story, the Kingdom of Calus hadn’t opened the water routes. So her message about ending the drought had felt even more heartfelt.

‘So it’s my fault, after all.’

It hadn’t been intentional, but still, this was the outcome.

I hadn’t meant to sabotage the heroine—but in the end, I had.

No, maybe I’d ruined things even worse than in the original.

‘How did this happen…’

It was frustrating.

I had tried not to interfere with the heroine…But somehow I ended up interfering more than ever.

Wait—do I have a natural talent for this?

A hidden skill in “accidental sabotage”?

That kind of unintended chaos where things just happen around me?

Anyway. Now what?

Should I go back to the Ice Palace and fully commit to my role as the villainess?

‘…No.’

After a moment of thought, I shook my head.

The maids had been so proud, saying they helped.

Leonard, who worked behind the scenes. Cedric, too.

Now that I knew about their efforts—I couldn’t bring myself to ruin it.

So what?

The story’s not even following the original timeline anymore. And the heroine isn’t some pure-hearted saint either.

‘It’s fine. Every now and then.’

This event, which resembled a children’s game, was without a doubt the highlight of the founding festival.

For this occasion, the imperial palace was extensively opened to the public—excluding only a few key rooms such as the Emperor’s office.

The purpose of the event was simple: to find hidden treasures scattered throughout the palace.

Naturally, the locations of the treasures were kept secret. The items themselves ranged from sweets children might enjoy to genuinely valuable jewels and ornaments. All the treasures were placed in specially marked chests; if someone touched an item not housed in such a chest, they would face strict punishment.

Of course, I wasn’t particularly interested in any treasure.

I had come here for one reason: to find Leonard.

But once I stepped into the palace grounds, I realized I had no idea where to even begin.

The imperial capital was vast enough that one needed a carriage to get around, and even within the main palace alone, there were likely hundreds of rooms I’d never seen.

Should I just go back?

As I stood amid the crowd combing the grounds in search of hidden prizes, I seriously considered returning to the imperial concubine’s quarters.

“Excuse me, do you happen to know where the treasure might be hidden?”

A calm, gentlemanly voice reached my ears.

Another noble caught up in the treasure hunt?

That was my first assumption, and I replied offhandedly.

“I’m not really sure, but maybe… the highest place? Or the very lowest?”

“The highest and the lowest places,” he repeated, as though savoring the words, mulling them over several times despite how casually I’d spoken.

“Truthfully, I don’t know where the treasure is either,” I added.

He chuckled softly at my words.

“If even Her Majesty the Empress doesn’t know what’s going on in the palace, then who possibly could?”

“I’m not all that familiar with this event, actually.”

Judging by the fact that he recognized me, he must have been one of the nobles I’d greeted at the Ice Palace.

After all, there was no way he could know who I was through this mask otherwise.

When I turned my head, I saw a man wearing a cat-shaped mask standing beside me.

“It’s been a while.”

As he spoke, his warm, smiling eyes crinkled behind the mask.

Those eyes—that gaze—felt strangely familiar.