Chapter 76

Recognizing the familiar voice, Lirika muttered in a dazed tone.

"Mother?"

At Lirika's words, Fjord was shocked. How could she be calling someone who was cursing so fiercely 'Your Majesty'?

He had never seen her like this before. Attil and Veil came out of the door.

Attil asked,

"What's going on?"

"It seems Mother has come..."

"What?"

Attil was taken aback. At that moment, a voice cursing came from outside.

Attil was also shocked.

"Is that Aunt?"

"Yes."

Lirika, who was used to that voice, nodded, and Veil also nodded.

Veil looked troubled.

"Looks like we've been ignoring her for too long, oh dear."

"Did you ignore her?"

Lirika turned to him, and Veil smiled.

"I didn't want to meet someone so high and mighty. I knew they'd act all superior."

It was obvious.

He snorted and shouted,

"Just let her come in!"

The moment his words ended, the door burst open, and Rudia rushed in.

"Lirika? Lirika!"

"Mother."

Rudia, who had been looking around, ran over and hugged Lirika tightly.

"Oh, Lirika. I was really worried about you."

"I'm fine."

Lirika patted her mother. Altears, who had followed, sighed deeply, looking at the troublemakers.

It was a sigh because their rare date had been interrupted.

Veil asked him,

"Did you kill anyone?"

"No, I didn't."

Altears made a gesture as if drawing his sword from his back.

"I hit her with the flat of the blade, so she's probably just broken, not dead."

"That's a relief."

At that moment, Rudia grabbed his collar.

"Coaxing my innocent child into such a place? You scoundrel, I knew from the start! Ever since you proposed to take Lirika as your adopted daughter—"

Veil looked displeased.

"Coaxing? I was just moving her to a safe place. And the proposal was the same."

"What?"

"Have you ever been in your right mind?"

"!!"

Rudia's momentum faltered. Lirika ran over and hugged her.

"I said no. Why are you saying that, Uncle?"

Veil smiled at Lirika.

"You're right, Lirika refused."

Rudia let go of his collar and hugged Lirika. Veil straightened his disheveled collar and said,

"It's nice to meet you like this. Let's keep your identities secret for safety."

Altears stared at him.

From the moment he mentioned taking Lirika as his adopted daughter, his mood had soured.

Who does he think he is?

Moreover, he didn't like that Rudia and he were talking about some past he didn't know.

"Veil."

Altears called, and Veil approached with a tense face.

"Explain what happened."

Attil was wondering where to start, whether to begin with Lirika's escape from the palace, when Veil said,

"If you don't mind, I can explain. My eyes and ears can provide a more objective account. And—"

He looked at Rudia.

"You also have something to say, I think."

Rudia narrowed her eyes. She had begged to meet, but he had ignored her completely.

Veil remained unperturbed, despite her glare.

What could she do? Kill him? That was the typical bravado of the slums.

Rudia cleared her mind.

There were many things she needed to know.

"Alright, we have a lot to talk about."

Rudia took off her headscarf and threw it at him, as if challenging him to a duel. She untied her hairpins and let her hair down in one swift motion.

Her long golden hair cascaded down, and Rudia dominated the atmosphere.

She was no longer disguised in modest clothing but appeared as the proud Empress.

Rudia knew how to use her appearance well. She looked at the children.

"First, we need to send the children back..."

"They can handle it. We'll take good care of Lirika. She has an artifact too."

Altears began braiding her hair. Rudia frowned. Altears didn't like that she had let her hair down.

"What do you mean, 'handle it'? What's going on?"

"Plaiting your hair. Attil and Veil are enough to protect Lirika. Lirika has an artifact too."

"That's a relief."

Veil nodded. Rudia pointed to the door they had broken down.

"My subordinates will guide you to the entrance."

Lirika called out,

"Uncle."

Veil's expression softened.

"It's fine."

Lirika nodded deeply. She had learned her mindset from him since she was young, so he was like a teacher to her.

"Thank you."

He smiled at her heartfelt words.

"You're welcome."

Rudia looked at Lirika.

"I want to stay with you, but the conversation might be long. And it's not something the children should hear."

Children should play and run around without worries.

Rudia hoped her daughter could do that. She didn't want her to worry anymore.

Lirika hesitated but then nodded.

"Let's go."

Attil took her hand, bowed, and left the room. Fjord followed beside him. Outside, a man with a scowl limped over and guided the children to the entrance.

It wasn't difficult to get out of the slums from there, so the three quickly returned to the square where the festival was taking place.

The square was filled with noise and lights, as if nothing unusual had happened.

Lirika, staring blankly, said,

"I feel so tired."

"Me too."

Attil also stood there, staring blankly at the lights. Fjord felt the same.

It was like standing at the boundary between reality and fantasy. Lirika asked,

"What did you talk about inside?"

Attil frowned.

"Things I'm not sure I should talk about."

"Then, tell me when you can."

"Sure."

Fjord asked,

"Shall we go for a drink?"

Both agreed. It was a shame to return to the palace just like that.

'Well, Aunt didn't tell us to go back immediately.'

The three headed to a proper shop instead of a stall and took their seats.

The streets were bustling with people late into the night during the festival period.

The autumn night was pleasantly cool.

The three sat silently, drinking their tea. Attil sighed deeply.

"We haven't even started the festival yet. It's a shame."

"But I'm too tired to enjoy it now."

"Me too."

Attil raised his hand slightly, and a wooden teaspoon began to spin on his palm.

He looked at Lirika proudly.

"How's that?"

"It's amazing."

"Isn't it?"

Attil grinned. He caught the spoon with a snap.

"Feels great, really."

Feeling a bit smug, Attil said,

"Since we're here, why don't we stay out all night?"

"Hmm—"

Lirika was thinking when Fjord laughed.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? What's the problem?"

"What do you think?"

Lirika was startled by a voice from behind. She jumped up from her seat and slowly turned around.

Raub stood there.

Gritting his teeth, he said clearly,

"Don't even think about running. Plus, using Lirika as a shield this time, you've really learned a lot."

"Hmm, yeah."

Attil responded casually. Now that he could use his power, there was no need to run around hiding.

He was eager to use his newly regained power.

'Should I try to run?'

How fun would it be to run now?

Then Lirika tightly grabbed Attil's hand. He looked down, and Lirika shook her head.

"..."

Attil swallowed a groan and held Lirika's hand.

"Alright."

Lirika smiled softly.

The two were surrounded by people who seemed to be both guards and spies, and they got into an unmarked carriage.

To their surprise, the Chancellor was sitting inside.

"All the way to Rath?"

Lirika asked, surprised. Rath sighed.

"I followed on the Emperor's orders."

"Oh!"

Lirika nodded vigorously. Attil climbed in and sat down.

"What? So Sir Tan didn't come for us?"

"That's right."

Attil's eyes narrowed.

"Wait, does that mean our location was exposed because of Tan?"

Rath smiled.

"Is that what you think?"

"Raub would definitely come looking, and since Raub and Tan are both Wolves."

Rath nodded.

"Close enough. Thanks to you, we were exposed and had to flee like this."

"The Emperor doesn't need protection, right?"

"He's human too."

Attil's eyes widened in surprise at Rath's words, then he closed his mouth. Seeing his thoughtful expression, Rath smiled faintly and turned to Lirika.

"I didn't expect the Princess to cause such a commotion."

"Well, it was..."

Lirika glanced at Attil and said,

"But it was really fun."

Rath laughed.

"Was it?"

"Yeah, really. There were some scary moments, but..."

"Oh, I saw that."

Rath's words startled Lirika.

"You saw the fight?"

"No, the aftermath."

"Oh."

Lirika nodded. Then the carriage door opened, and Tan climbed in. Rath frowned openly.

"Let's ride horses. It's getting cramped with you here."

"Cramped? This carriage is huge."

"You're suffocating me with your bulk. And you smell like an animal."

"You smell fishy."

Before Rath could retort, Tan quickly spoke to Lirika and Attil.

"I didn't expect you two to cause such a commotion. I've never seen Raub so pale before."

"Well, I feel a bit guilty about Raub."

"It's a common experience for those who look after children."

Tan knocked on the wall, and the carriage started moving. He smiled wryly.

"And now we're being chased out."

"We are."

Rath muttered. Tan asked the two,

"Why did you go into the slums?"

"I suggested it."

Attil said.

"Out of curiosity. I thought Lirika knew the place well and could guide us."

He wanted to keep the information about human trafficking a secret.

Rath and Tan looked at each other strangely. When their gazes turned to Lirika, Attil reached out and covered her face.

"Wait, Attil?!"

Lirika, surprised, fumbled with the hand covering her face.

"No, I wanted to meet the shoe-shiner..."

"The shoe-shiner?"

Tan was puzzled. Attil removed his hand, and Lirika nodded.

"He's been taking care of me since I was little... I haven't seen him in a long time, so I wanted to check on him."

"I see."

"That's understandable."

The two nodded with a strange satisfaction.

'No, it's definitely not the shoe-shiner you think it is.'

Attil looked at Lirika. His sister, who had answered their questions without lying, smiled at him.

'Even if it's the truth, telling only part of it can make a completely different story.'

Attil, reflecting on this, was asked by Tan,

"Then, what about those battle traces?"

"Well, it's like this."

Attil explained the situation, and Tan and Rath frowned.

"Can we really leave it to the Emperor alone?"

"Let's go back."

Rath tapped the ceiling, and the carriage stopped.