13. Confusion

13. Confusion

The Aurantian royal siblings were planning to lure Mr. Fisalis out and kidnap him.

Whoa, I just overheard something huge! I was so shocked I stopped breathing for a second.

We were right outside of the big hall where the party was being held. Unlike the crowded scene inside with all the partygoers, the royal siblings and I were probably the only ones here. To make matters worse, I was sure things would go really badly for me when they found out I had (accidentally) been eavesdropping on their evil plot.

Now, I’ve just gotta use my carefully cultivated stealth skills to their fullest and become one with the wall. Doing my best to stay silent, I moved myself to an even darker spot. Thank goodness the moon wasn’t out tonight. Aside from the light spilling out from the hall and the braziers scattered about, it was pitch black out there!

And so, I held my breath as I stuck myself as close as physically possible to the wall and disappeared into the darkness. I needed to listen in case they said anything else important! But despite all the care I was taking, that had apparently been the end of their secret chat. Both of the siblings just returned to the main hall without any further fuss.

“Whew~ That was a shock.”

I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

...No, there’s no time to waste waiting for yourself to calm down, Viola! Mr. Fisalis is in trouble right now! I need to tell him... Or actually, I need to tell anyone!

This time, I sneaked back into the hall myself. I couldn’t let them know I had been outside up until now! I cracked open the glass door, observed the area for a while, and slipped inside once I was sure no one was looking. Luckily, I did manage to get back inside without anyone noticing, but what should I do now?

...There’s no way I’m going to be able to handle things all on my own, so I should tell one of the knights. And thinking of knights I knew, Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates from the former Special Operations Squad were the only ones who came to mind. According to Mr. Fisalis everyone had happily(?) transferred to the royal guard, so it wouldn’t be unusual for them to be handling security around the hall.

Ahh, but they kind of have a special job ensuring public safety rather than guarding the royals specifically, so they might be taking care of the entire palace’s security instead.

Oh, but the guy who came to fetch Mr. Fisalis a bit ago was disguised as a waiter. Wait...then... Could that mean the whole squad might be scattered around the entire venue in disguise?! Or maybe they’re actually doing their cover jobs and guarding the important people here? Which one is it? Gah, you guys are making this way harder than it needs to be! Oh, I guess that’s actually their job, so I shouldn’t be complaining.

Anyway, if they were disguised, then I figured I should be able to find one in here. Once inside, I casually looked around the venue for waitstaff. There might not have been that many guests comparatively, but the crowd was still fairly large. That’d mean they’d need quite a few servants to take care of them all. In their uniforms with white jackets and navy blue slacks, they were easy to find in the sea of fancy dresses, but...

...I’d never seen any of these people before in my life.

The waiter (or rather, knight) that had whispered in Mr. Fisalis’s ear had left the hall with him. I was pretty sure I examined the face of every single servant in the party venue, but I didn’t recognize any of them. That must’ve meant that everyone aside from that guy was an actual servant—which also meant I shouldn’t go blabbing super important things to them! I needed to take a different approach.

My next targets were the people who were very obviously associated with the knights, like the captain of the royal guard on standby beside the king, or a few others I could see. Since I’d never met them before, it’d take a bit of courage to go up to them, but this wasn’t the time to be a wimp.

But... Though they were wearing burgundy uniforms and had swords at their hips, they were all positioned in really inconvenient places... The captain was right behind the king, while the other knights were behind the seats for the guest of honor. There was no way I’d be brave enough to jump in there!

Plus, since those were the guest seats, of course those two were sitting right there, as if they hadn’t just been outside whispering to each other about some evil plan. They’re really pissing me off!

If I went up and tried to whisper in the captain’s ear, they’d know in an instant. And if they got suspicious, that’d put Mr. Fisalis in even more danger! Wah... It’s all over! I’m really in a pickle now. My only option is finding someone from the royal guard outside of the hall!

Doing my best to hurry while still looking elegant, I cut through the hall on my way to the door leading out to the hallway.

“Miss Viola? Is something the matter?”

“Ah, I’m just a bit overwhelmed by all of the people... I’ll just be heading outside for a moment to calm myself down.”

I heard Miss Iris address me just as I was about to leave, but I just gave a simple answer since I was in a hurry. And because of that...

“There...really aren’t enough people here to overwhelm you like that...”

Miss Iris’s muttering didn’t reach my ears.

It was easy getting out into the hallway, since people were coming and going throughout the whole party. Once I heard the footmen quietly close the doors behind me, I looked around for someone from the royal guard, but...

“Huh? Seriously?! Do they really not have anyone out here?!” I couldn’t help but complain to myself when I saw the situation.

There wasn’t a single knight out here guarding the doors! The hallway was completely empty save for the luxurious chandelier hanging above. The beautifully polished marble floors shone in the light, making the hallway seem even bigger.

Hey, don’t slack on the job—oh, wait. The hallway wasn’t actually completely empty. The knight guarding the door just wasn’t directly beside it, but instead standing a ways away where the hallway turned. Maybe they don’t want the party to look like it’s too heavily guarded? I dunno.

The knight was wearing burgundy, but they weren’t one of Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates. Wah, I’m kinda nervous now. I’m not really shy, but it’d be easier to talk to someone Mr. Fisalis knows about something as delicate as this.

But this is no time for hesitation! Gripping my hand into a fist and pumping myself up, I stepped towards the knight.

“Oh, if it isn’t Duchess Fisalis. What are you doing out here?”

With excellent (or maybe horrible?) timing, the door opened behind me and someone started to speak.

Wait. I have nothing but bad feelings about this. An icy chill ran down my spine.

Since whoever it was called me by name, I had to respond. Grudgingly turning around, I saw the crown prince of Aurantia standing in front of the closed door.

I knew it! I was super careful leaving the hall, though, and you were in the middle of a conversation in the guest seats! What are you doing out here now?! You are absolutely the last person I wanted to see!

Freezing in place, I couldn’t do anything but stare. He had a smile plastered on his rugged face, and our eyes met.

His lips are smiling, but his eyes sure aren’t! He was smiling at me just like he had at the last party. Is he trying to kill me with his gaze?!

No, I can’t let him get to me here. Danger warnings were going off loudly inside my head. I gotta evacuate, stat!

Forcing my face, which wanted very badly to contort into a grimace, to smile instead, I responded, “I, um, just wanted to go see the gardens!” I gave him a ladylike little bow as I tried to take my leave, but...

“The gardens aren’t this way,” he chuckled.

Ohh. That was a decent retort! I know very well that it isn’t! Dammit, Viola! Think of a better excuse!

I thought I was calm, but I’m actually starting to panic right now... No, no, I don’t have time for this.

“Ah...ah hah hah! Right! Here I am going the wrong way, since I’m not familiar with the palace. Okay, bye!”

“Are you feeling ill? You look a bit pale.”

I tried to laugh it off, but he wasn’t buying it. I’m pale and grimacing because of you!

“I’m just a bit overwhelmed by the crowd...”

“That’s not good. Ah, why don’t you have a rest in one of the waiting rooms they’ve prepared.”

“I’m fine!” I replied quickly. I don’t have time to rest! Although, since I’m talking with one of the people concerned, it might be okay to take a tiny breather... Wait, no! Ahh, I really am panicking!

Even if this guy (I’m not even gonna bother referring to him properly anymore☆) is here, one of his underlings might be going through with the kidnapping as we speak. And the guy was inching closer to me as we spoke. I really didn’t know why.

“I’ll be fine after I rest a bit—don’t worry!” I tried politely... No, very strongly rejecting him while backing up to keep the distance between us, but he was having none of it.

“Oh, don’t say that,” he chided, reaching towards me.

He’s not buying it! And at this rate I’ll be caught, too! This is bad!

The royal guard at the corner had to have noticed our back and forth, and walked towards us asking, “Is anything the matter?”

“Um...” I couldn’t really tell the guard that Aurantia’s crown prince was planning on kidnapping my husband right in front of the prince in question, so I stood there flustered, trying to think of what to say.

“I’m just taking care of her since she feels a bit ill. Nothing’s the matter,” the prince answered, putting an arm around my shoulder and hiding me from the knight.

The guard isn’t going to see that I’m actually Duchess Fisalis like this!

“I’ll bring her to one of the rest areas.”

“Oh...they’re a bit farther in.”

“All right.”

After getting directions from the knight, the crown prince started steering me towards the rest areas.

Wait, wait, w a i t! At this rate, I’m gonna get kidnapped too! I mean, better me than Mr. Fisalis, but I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about the danger if that happened! I need to run!

Shaking his hand off my shoulders, I bolted off at my top speed away from him. But wait! This is away from the royal guard!