Episode 71

Chapter 71. I Played a Little Trick

“Have we… met before?” I asked him outright. The man nodded without hesitation.

“Her Majesty once allowed me a piece of bread.”

“Bread?” As I thought about it, something abruptly came to mind.

“Wait—was it that pie shop in the city?”

“I’m surprised you remember.”

I remembered now. This man was the one I met at the pie shop I stopped by briefly on the way to Mary’s house.

—You’re not planning to take all the pies, are you? He was just someone I brushed past, yet his eyes and voice had stuck with me in an odd way.

—You’re more polite than the rumors say. I hope we meet again. Somehow, I’d wondered at the time if he already knew who I was. It seemed he had.

“Isaac, right?”

“I’m honored you remembered.” He gave a graceful bow as he spoke. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was leaning on a cane. The handle was adorned with a golden cat ornament.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” I smiled lightly. “Come to think of it, didn’t you say your older brother works in the palace? Have you seen him yet?”

“Not yet, but I’m planning to see him soon.”

“I see. Well, it was nice seeing you again. I should be going now.”

I said goodbye and passed by him.

But then—click, clack.

Click, clack.

More footsteps sounded, and I realized someone was naturally following me.

I glanced back over my shoulder.

Isaac, who looked like he was asking if there was a problem, tilted his head.

“Why are you still following me? Didn’t you say you were going to see your brother?”

“I have a feeling I’ll meet him if I stay close to Her Majesty.” He said with a sly smile. “I have pretty good instincts.”

…What is it with everyone wanting to follow me around?

Maybe I have another unexpected talent.

“Her Majesty?”

Just then, a welcome voice called out.

“Cedric. Fancy seeing you here.”

Perfect timing.

“What have you been doing here?”

“Oh, just looking for treasure.”

He seemed to be taking part in the treasure hunt too.

“I didn’t expect you to be so interested in treasure.”

“It’s not that I’m interested in the treasure itself, but…”

“But?”

Cedric hesitated, then shyly confessed.

“There’s someone I want to find it for.”

“Is that so?”

I was curious who Cedric wanted to gift the treasure to, but I didn’t ask directly because he looked so bashful.

“By the way, Leonard isn’t here.”

Cedric looked around, noticing the absence of the knight who always guarded me.

He must have found it odd.

I thought I even heard him muttering something quietly about ‘another woman…’ but it was so faint I wasn’t sure.

“He probably left for an urgent matter. I heard it’s related to managing the treasure hunt event.”

“I don’t think so.”

The unexpected reply came from Isaac.

“You don’t?”

“No. I played a little trick.”

He nodded with a sly grin.

“He’s probably wandering off in the wrong place by now.”

At that moment, Leonard was walking down the east corridor of the palace.

He was moving at a speed close to running.

In his hand was a letter, just delivered moments ago by a soldier.

‘Contact from that guy at a time like this…’

Normally, he would never leave the Empress’s side just because of a letter from an acquaintance.

But this time, there was no choice.

The message was that urgent.

‘Has he gotten into some ridiculous trouble again?’

Leonard had a suspicion.

The palace was bustling with royalty and nobles from across the continent, all gathered to celebrate the founding festival.

Moreover, the palace gates were officially wide open.

It was actually strange if no incidents occurred.

And if it was that guy, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he was caught up in some absurd trouble.

‘If it’s beyond his control, could it be a conflict with foreign royalty? Hopefully it hasn’t escalated to a sword fight.’

Given his circumstances, he inevitably came into contact with various foreign dignitaries.

Among them, many were of questionable character.

He himself wasn’t particularly patient either.

‘Whatever the incident is, let’s resolve it quickly and return.’

Right now, Leonard’s mind was solely on Helena.

He felt uneasy leaving her behind at the event.

He had thought it would be a quick matter, so he hadn’t said much, but maybe he should have asked her to wait a moment.

No, he just needed to resolve it quickly and return.

He arrived at the location written in the letter.

‘Where the hell is this guy?’

The person who had called him was nowhere to be seen.

He searched the nearby area but found no trace.

Leonard furrowed his brows.

He needed to get back to Helena as soon as possible.

Just thinking of her made his heart race and filled him with unease.

Something bad felt like it was about to happen.

Then, from the far end of the corridor, a familiar face appeared.

“Conrad?”

“Commander? I heard you’d be by the Empress’s side today. What are you doing here?”

“I heard there was a big incident here—a key figure got involved in a dispute.”

“What? A big incident?”

Conrad looked as if he had never heard of such a thing.

Leonard’s frown deepened.

The feeling was not good.

“So there was nothing?”

“There were minor incidents, but just small disputes.”

“What about a clash between an important foreign dignitary and a local magnate?”

“If that happened, I wouldn’t be unaware. Who’s spreading such nonsense?”

Leonard ground his teeth.

‘That guy…’

“I played a little trick. He’s probably wandering off somewhere strange right now.”

“What?”

What did I just hear?

I stared at Isaac, completely dumbfounded.

“Are you saying you lied? To Sir Leonard?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what I said.”

Despite his calm expression, my face turned pale.

Does this man even realize what he’s done?

“Why would you do such a thing?”

“Because I wanted to be alone with Your Majesty.”

His nonchalant answer left me speechless.

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious about Your Majesty.”

“And what about the consequences?”

Do you even know who you’re deceiving? The Empire’s Knight Commander?

If that’s the case, why wouldn’t I be worried? That man may look decent, but inside, he’s pitch black.

You’re deceiving the very mastermind who might bring ruin to the Empire!

“Consequences…”

Isaac tapped his chin thoughtfully, as if it never occurred to him.

For some reason, even his pondering felt like an act.

In short, there was no sincerity in his expression at all.

“Well, it’ll work itself out somehow.”

“The backlash won’t be good.”

I warned him clearly. Don’t say I didn’t.

“I suppose.”

“Why are you so calm about this?”

“I’m naturally optimistic.”

“Even so…”

“You deal with things when they come. Right now… just being alone with Your Majesty is enough.”

“Wait.”

At that moment, Cedric stepped in front of me.

Isaac raised an eyebrow when he saw him.

“Oh, you’re here too.”

“No matter what tricks you’re trying, I won’t tolerate anyone disrespecting Her Majesty.”

I opened my eyes wide at his words.

Cedric. I didn’t know you could be so firm.

Usually, he’s a gentle soul who only cares about flowers, so seeing him try to protect me from Isaac felt surprisingly refreshing.

Despite Cedric’s warning, Isaac smiled politely.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Guardian of the Verdant.”

“……”

Watching him closely, I thought to myself,

‘Is this an act too?’

Even with his mask on, I could clearly tell what expression he was making. It made me think he was quite a remarkable person.