Episode 30
“…A valuable asset, you say?”
[Well, it depends on whether you recognize its value. I’m busy, so I’ll have to hang up now. I hope you’ll treat her well.]
Click. The light on the communication device blinked. The Crown Prince chuckled, looking at the vanished Tower Master.
“Judging by his words, there might be something interesting. I’ll go meet that woman as soon as the preparations are complete.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He would be a fool not to take the bait dangled right in front of him.
‘I hate the Crown Prince. I really hate him.’
I cursed the Crown Prince repeatedly. Cesar’s loose clothes were gone, replaced by the extravagant attire of the noble ladies I had seen at the banquet hall.
I fidgeted, sitting in the reception room. The maids had told me to wait patiently, but I was bored. Even though I was human, it felt like I was trapped in a large birdcage.
But since I still couldn’t put much weight on my legs, I had no choice but to wait.
“When is that ill-tempered Crown Prince coming?”
“Did you call for me?”
The Crown Prince appeared as soon as I badmouthed him. I quickly feigned innocence, remembering my precarious situation.
“…Of course not, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince, sitting down casually in front of me, pointed out my lie.
“Isn’t it ridiculous to lie so obviously?”
I cautiously observed his reaction. Fortunately, he didn’t seem too displeased. Breathing a sigh of relief, I waited for him to speak.
“While you were getting dressed, I received a message from the Tower Master.”
‘Oh, the Tower Master? He finally contacted you?’
My eyes lit up at the welcome news.
“He asked me to deliver this to you. I was quite surprised when it appeared right after the connection was cut. I’ve restricted the use of teleportation magic within the Imperial Palace, yet he blatantly ignored it and sent it directly to my office. He’s the Tower Master, alright.”
Sighing, the Crown Prince handed me a shimmering mana stone.
“A mana stone…”
I felt my resentment towards the Tower Master lessen slightly and accepted it. The mana stone was absorbed into my body and disappeared as soon as I touched it. The Crown Prince’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Indeed, there’s a reason the Tower Master cherished you.”
‘I feel a little misunderstood. But it’s better to appear like I’m something special than to be seen as nothing and get my head chopped off.’
After absorbing the mana stone, I stood up for a moment and checked my legs. They were still a bit unsteady, but I could walk without any problem.
“It seems you have strength in your legs now.”
At the Crown Prince’s words, I glanced at Arenz, who was standing silently behind him.
“…Yes. I apologize for the trouble I caused.”
Arenz smiled reassuringly at my meek voice, and the Crown Prince spoke,
“It’s fine. Now that your legs seem to be working, you can do what you need to do.”
“What I need to do?”
“Yes. The place I brought you to is the former servants’ quarters.”
I had guessed as much, considering its modest appearance compared to the glamorous Imperial buildings.
“There’s a sealed monster there.”
“Sealed?”
“Yes. A monster that the Tower Master, who happened to be staying at the Imperial Palace, kindly sealed for us. The Imperial family expressed their gratitude for his kindness with a generous reward.”
The way he rubbed his fingers together implied they had spent a fortune.
My trust in the Tower Master was already rock bottom, but his words reminded me of his prominent position.
“Of course, after that, the servants who lived there staged a protest, saying they couldn’t stay there because of strange noises every night, so the building has been abandoned.”
‘Figures.’
My trust in the Tower Master plummeted to zero again.
“So, I was about to request someone to unseal and eliminate the monster.”
“Ah, I see.”
‘That probably won’t be dealt with until the latter half of the novel.’
The plot points related to the monster flashed through my mind. In the latter half, the Crown Prince, having eliminated the Second Prince’s followers, would accuse the Second Prince of assassinating the Emperor and attempt to execute him.
But the Second Prince, facing imminent death, would release the sealed monster in the Imperial Palace and escape.
In the end, the monster would be dealt with, the Second Prince would be killed, and the story would end with a happy ending…
‘To think the cause of that incident is the Tower Master. Is he the final villain, after all?’
It was a very plausible theory. My trust in the Tower Master hit rock bottom once again.
‘But wait. He said I had something to do. Don’t tell me…’
“I’m entrusting you with the task of dealing with that monster.”
“Pardon?”
“Why are you so surprised? Didn’t he tell you?”
“No…”
“That’s how the Tower Master operates. I’d like to put you to work on other tasks, but there are many places in the Imperial Palace where you shouldn’t wander freely.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that he wasn’t going to exploit me as he had threatened, or bewildered by the sudden task of eliminating a monster.
But he continued speaking, as if my reaction didn’t matter,
“Since you have a request, you can stay in that building and take your time dealing with it. I’ll pay you in advance.”
Thud. A heavy pouch was placed in front of me.
“Goodness.”
I didn’t know the exact monetary value in the novel. But I didn’t think the pile of gold coins was a small amount.
“Of course, since your stay might be inconvenient, I’ll assign an Imperial maid and Sir Karlas, the Captain of the First Imperial Knights, to assist you.”
Arenz, who was standing behind him, bowed his head slightly.
I wondered what the Tower Master had said to make the Crown Prince, who had been threatening me, act so amiably.
Besides, I didn’t have a single penny to my name. With this much compensation, I would have no problem living comfortably.
It was a good opportunity. He didn’t seem to know I was once a bird. And as long as I stayed within the Imperial Palace, I wouldn’t run into Cesar.
But there was one problem.
‘I don’t know how to eliminate monsters…?’
It seemed like the Tower Master had scammed the Imperial family again. More accurately, he had scammed the Crown Prince.
“Then we’re done discussing the request… Let me ask you something else.”
“Is there something else?”
‘I’m already bewildered because I don’t know how to eliminate monsters, and he’s asking me something else?’
I inwardly complained, but I looked at the Crown Prince with a polite expression. It wouldn’t do me any good to offend him.
“The Tower Master asked me to protect you. What kind of trouble did you cause?”
‘Huh, protection? Why would I need that?’
I tilted my head. Feeling a little thirsty, I picked up the teacup in front of me. As I slowly brought the tea to my lips, the Tower Master’s words from the Magic Tower flashed through my mind.
‘My angry disciple will be barging into the Magic Tower soon.’
I wondered why I would need protection. If the reason for sending me to the Imperial Palace, instead of keeping me at the Magic Tower, wasn’t because my owner was furious about me running away…
A cold sweat broke out. Feeling my throat tighten, I quickly gulped down the tea and choked.
“Cough, cough!”
After coughing for a while, I realized the atmosphere had turned cold.
I had just choked and spat out the tea. On whom? On the Crown Prince right in front of me.
Drip, drip.
The sound of dripping tea felt like a death knell. I saw his chillingly gleaming red eyes as he brushed the tea off his clothes. Arenz, standing behind him, reached out as if flustered, but the Crown Prince stopped him.
Clutching the innocent teacup, I thought,
‘…I might be executed today.’
A chillingly low voice escaped the Crown Prince’s lips.
“So, are you done?”
The sound of tea dripping from his clothes echoed loudly in my ears. I felt like the thread of my precarious life was about to snap.
“…My life?”
“You seem to understand.”
The Crown Prince wiped the tea stains on his sleeve with a handkerchief. Then, he suddenly sneered.
Male leads only smiled in two situations. In front of the female lead or when they were about to kill someone.
‘…Is it just my imagination that I’m the latter?’
“Do you know what you’ve done?”
‘I don’t know. And I don’t want to know.’
“You dared to spit your tea on my clothes.”
“…”
“What do you think of your crime?”
I spoke in a barely audible voice,
“I deserve to die…”
“Are you sure?”
The Crown Prince’s sharp red eyes glinted.
“No. I think you should show mercy. Please spare me!”
I honestly confessed my true feelings. The Crown Prince looked at me in disbelief.
“Your attitude changes quickly.”
I felt a little wronged at his words.
‘I thought you would actually kill me if I said I deserved to die… But how can I ask you to kill me?’
They say you can survive even in a tiger’s den if you keep your wits about you. But if you spit tea on the tiger, even if it was an accident, I didn’t think you could survive.
As I trembled, waiting for the Crown Prince to speak,
He reached out to me. His hand, calloused and rough, unlike that of royalty, touched me.
“I just want to hear your answer to my question. If you keep trembling like that, I might actually want to kill you.”
‘…Kill me?!’
I saw his cold eyes reflected in my terrified ones.
‘The Crown Prince is more merciless and scarier than Cesar! I can see the budding signs of a tyrant!’
His fingers, tapping my chin, felt like a predator toying with its prey. It was terrifying, as if he would crush me, not just eat me.
‘Calm down. I have to think of something to say. There’s no way Cesar could find me, anyway. I’m not a cute little bird anymore; I’m a human. How would he find me? The Tower Master asking for my protection must just be a coincidence.’
Having organized my thoughts, I looked up and met the Crown Prince’s gaze.
“There’s nothing like that. The Tower Master just cherishes me, that’s all.”
“Is that so? If you need protection, it’s because you’re being chased by someone. For example, because you committed a crime.”
The Crown Prince was demanding some kind of answer. Before I could deny it, he spoke first,
“Even if it’s the Tower Master’s request, I have no obligation to protect you, a foreigner who might have committed treason.”
His words, driving the point home, made me realize I had to make a choice. Whether to maintain the lie or to subtly reveal the truth to defuse the situation.
After a brief hesitation, I spoke.
“…I didn’t commit a crime. But I am being chased by someone.”