Chapter 196 - Time To Finish Playing House (1) (1/2)

Ch. 196 Time To Finish Playing House (1)

Batori had been living in the Imperial Palace and serving Elena for some time when he was secretly issued an order.

[Find out what happened the night Carlisle was attacked.]

After reading over the contents of the note, he placed it in his mouth and swallowed it. He then swept his chin with one hand in thought and murmured to himself.

“…Hmm. This is unusual.”

Even before he read the note, he had already been monitoring Elena’s movements and knew of the ambush planned for her and the Crown Prince. Empress Ophelia and Paveluc were close allies, and so Batori already figured out how many troops were to be dispatched on the mission.

‘How did the prince get back alive?’

While Elena may have survived, he was certain that Carlisle should have fallen. In the end, Elena was injured, and Carlisle returned to the palace without nary a scratch on him. What did this mean?

“Something is bothering me.”

Batori had an unerring instinct, and his gut told him that he was missing something important this time. Something simple that was easily overlooked.

His pondering brought him no results, so he stood up scratching his head. First, he had to find a witness from the reinforcement unit that was sent to support Carlisle.

‘I saw a person move to the Empress’ side, and I can’t be too late to report it to the Duke.’

Empress Ophelia and Paveluc maintained friendly relations both publicly and privately, but that was not necessarily the truth. Information was another form of power, and Batori did not intend to lose to anyone.

A knight making his way to his quarters caught Batori’s eye, and the spy quickly plastered on his usual smile.

“Hello? May I ask where you’re headed?”

*

*

*

Mirabelle got up from bed and decided to make a long-anticipated visit to the palace. She knew her sickness worried her father and brother, but she couldn’t tolerate staying cooped up inside any longer. Besides, she hadn’t seen her sister Elena’s face in a long time.

“Huh? I can’t meet my sister now?”

Mirabelle had come to the palace with cheerful expectations, but her heart sank as the nanny looked down at her with a regretful expression.

“I’m sorry, but she’s not feeling well.”

“What’s wrong? Is she hurt?”

“Well…no, but she has a cold, and she asked if you could visit later when she is feeling better.”

The nanny had no choice to but deceive Mirabelle. Those with deep intelligence networks in the Imperial Palace knew that Elena was injured from a surprise attack, but otherwise, the story was not widely known.

Even the Blaise family was completely unaware of the news. Elena did not want to cause unnecessary anxiety to her family about her condition, and asked the nanny to delay the meeting for another time.

Mirabelle looked on in puzzlement.

“You mean she has a cold in this warm weather?”

“Yes. It’s not impossible to catch one in the summer.”

“Yes, but…”

Mirabelle turned crestfallen. There was so much she wanted to say.

Her gaze fell on Kuhn, who was standing just a short distance away. She had wanted to talk to Elena about her newly realized feelings for him, however, she had no choice but to come again at a later date.

“Alright. Tell her to take care of herself, and I’ll come visit her again.”

“Yes, Young Lady. Her Highness has missed you greatly. I’ll send someone to fetch you as soon as she gets better.”

“Yes…thank you.”

“Take care of yourself.”

Mirabelle plodded back towards Kuhn, and he looked at her in curiosity.

“I thought you were going to meet Her Highness?”

“Oh, my sister has a cold, so I can’t see her today.”

“…Cold?”