Chapter 102
It was late in the morning, just after they had finished their meal at a brunch café.
“Jeffrey, do you remember? Back when I didn’t want to eat broccoli and secretly passed it off to you? Actually, you didn’t like broccoli either, but you ate it anyway for me.”
Reina muttered quietly, looking at the broccoli left on her plate.
Only then did she notice that both of their plates were left with just broccoli.
Jeffrey, with a blank expression, alternated between staring at his plate and Reina.
Her foolishness, mistaking him for her real brother, annoyed him.
He impulsively speared a piece of broccoli with his fork and put it in his mouth.
“I don’t dislike it.”
Even though he knew it would be easier to just keep pretending to be her brother, he defensively responded again.
As someone who had never encountered a passive enemy during missions, this was an unfamiliar feeling.
“…I see. I guess you eat it well now.”
“Yes.”
Reina forced a smile at his curt response.
After a moment, she spoke again.
“Oh, by the way, I need to go to the Imperial Palace soon.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
He asked, trying to remain calm at the sudden mention of the palace. Just as he was about to assess if she was testing him.
“Yeah. I was invited to a dinner with Kaiden. Do you mind being alone? ?”
Her bright attitude, unchanged as usual, made Jeffrey subconsciously feel relieved.
It was unclear whether he was relieved because the mission wasn’t exposed or because he hadn’t been found out to be Jeffrey, the Emperor’s son.
“Yes. Have a good trip.”
At that moment, a staff member who was bringing dessert accidentally spilled it on him.
“Oh my! I-I’m so sorry!”
“Jeffrey, are you alright?”
Reina, startled, handed him a napkin. The cake, drenched in raspberry sauce, had ruined his clothes.
“I’m fine…”
Jeffrey replied calmly, but the manager quickly approached and spoke.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, sir. If you go to the changing room, we’ll prepare a set of clothes for you. Your current clothes will be sent to your home after cleaning.”
He then gestured sharply at the staff member who had caused the accident.
“Y-You! Come over here!”
The staff member hurriedly guided Jeffrey to the changing room.
When they reached the changing room, Jeffrey immediately bowed as he noticed someone.
The man, smiling crookedly, spoke.
“Did you enjoy playing the role of royalty?”
“Commander. I’ve been waiting for your contact.”
“Well, you sure look like you were having too much fun.”
“I was just following orders.”
“I see. That’s how it should be.”
The Commander, with a snake-like smile, handed over the orders.
“Congratulations on successfully infiltrating.”
Jeffrey remained bowed as he received the orders. While checking the instructions, the Commander handed him something else.
“The Crensia couple will soon be invited to the banquet. While they are away, hide this in their bedroom.”
Upon seeing it, Jeffrey’s expression instantly hardened.
“This is…”
After Jeffrey left, the smile faded from Reina’s face.
At her signal, Arteon and Rose, disguised as guests, quietly disappeared.
A little later.
[Contact in the changing room.
The other party is unidentifiable.
Tracking scheduled.]
Reina let out a low breath as she read Arteon’s telegram.
She had been expecting that someone would approach once Jeffrey left the estate.
And as expected, the Emperor’s side had made their move without a single mistake.
This confirmed that Jeffrey had been sent by the Emperor to approach her.
‘What’s he planning?’
What did the Emperor want to do with her brother, who had lost his memory?
Perhaps they were setting a trap while the couple was away at the banquet.
Even knowing this, she left him behind at the estate, deliberately letting him think everything was going according to his plan, in order to use the key when the time was right.
An enemy’s carelessness was an opportunity.
A moment later, Jeffrey returned to his seat after changing.
“Did you wait long?”
He still looked perfectly calm, as if he hadn’t just made contact with the Emperor’s shadow.
Reina, looking as if she had never been worried, smiled warmly.
“Not at all.”
Arteon and Rose secretly followed the person who had made contact with Jeffrey.
Their sole purpose for the surveillance was one thing:
To find the base of the Emperor’s shadows.
Until now, the information about the Emperor’s shadows had been minimal.
They moved so quietly that no one could even confirm who the shadows were.
But with Kaiden’s help, they had discovered a common sign.
The Eternal Sun clock, symbolizing Meurnier, and the Shadow of the Mortal Moon depicted on its back.
There was a tattoo somewhere on the body, symbolizing them.
The person Arteon was following had the Moonlight clock tattooed on the back of his hand.
“Commander.”
And Jeffrey had referred to him as “Commander.”
Arteon kept a moderate distance as he followed him.
Thanks to Rose’s camouflage skills, their identities were perfectly
concealed.
“Eh?”
At that moment, Arteon flinched and stopped walking.
This caused Rose, who had been following behind him, to bump into his back.
“What’s wrong?”
“He suddenly disappeared.”
“What?! What do you mean?!”
Rose asked, startled, and when she checked, the alley was empty.
“You’re supposed to be good at trailing!”
“No, he really disappeared. It’s like he used some magic or something… Ah.”
Arteon stopped mid-sentence and stiffened.
He began checking the place where the Commander had vanished.
“What’s wrong? Did you find something?”
“Wow, these guys…”
He scoffed and started examining something on the ground.
“The reason tracking was so difficult is right here.”
“What? Stop muttering to yourself and explain.”
“Do you see this?”
Arteon pointed at something that resembled ash powder.
“It looks like ash.”
When Rose reached out to touch it, Arteon quickly grabbed her wrist.
“Are you crazy?! Do you know what you’re about to touch?!”
“Geez! Why are you yelling?!”
Rose frowned and pushed his hand away. Arteon awkwardly explained.
“It’s dangerous, that’s why. Sorry for yelling.”
Rose rolled her eyes as she looked at him. She hadn’t realized how exaggerated her own reaction was.
“So, what is this that you’re so serious about?”
“This is ‘Rica,’ a powder extracted from a demon’s core. It amplifies mana and can even be used to cast ancient magic if you have the right magic circle.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“No. Rica is a highly toxic and dangerous powder. If used for an extended period, it can accumulate demonic energy and either kill you or cause you to turn into a monster.”
“Yikes!”
The mention of turning into a monster made Rose take a step back.
“It seems like he used a form of teleportation magic, one of the ancient spells. No wonder it was so hard to find his base.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“I’ll analyze this powder first. Rose, you need to report everything that happened today to the Princess.”
“Yes. I’ll make sure to explain everything.”
After speaking, Arteon took off his gloves and started gathering the powder into his pocket.
His serious demeanor left Rose somewhat dazed.
She had thought he was a bit of a carefree person, but now she saw a side of him that was surprisingly serious.
Looking at him again, he wasn’t bad-looking either.
Just then, as Arteon finished collecting the powder, he playfully spoke.
“Wasn’t I a bit cool just now?”
“…”
“So, how about this weekend…”
“Goodbye.”
Rose gave a sharp salute and quickly disappeared.
Arteon, watching her rush off, chuckled. The sight of Rose hurrying away was unexpectedly cute.
In the quiet bedroom,
Reina and Kaiden sat on the edge of the bed, discussing the events of the day.
Kaiden murmured after hearing Rose’s report.
“I can’t believe they’re using Rica.”
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