"Did you know what would happen to you if you followed those people?"
"Don't you know how frightening those barbarians are?"
I was being scolded by the maids for having chased after Callius's subordinates to return a bracelet one of them had dropped.
How dare you say such things to me—someone who will soon be leaving with 'those people'?
Watching them lecture me with such false concern, it was painfully obvious they weren't worried about my well-being at all.
They were simply afraid of coming into close contact with Callius's men—and resented that I'd forced them to worry about it.
I ignored the maids' nagging and thought instead of the bracelet that had found its rightful owner.
It was so similar to Karl's.
The bracelet had been remarkably similar in color and shape to the one Karl always wore on his wrist.
Karl had once told me that his bracelet was a very meaningful and precious item.
So the moment I'd seen Callius's subordinate drop it, I'd followed him without hesitation.
I felt absurdly proud when I remembered how grateful that red-haired knight had been.
He was actually quite endearing when we talked.
From a distance, he'd looked as hard as stone and as intimidating as a lion. But up close, he'd seemed somewhat innocent and naive.
He looked young. Maybe eighteen? Nineteen?
It had been amusing to watch him dismount his horse in a flustered rush, clasp his enormous hands together respectfully, and accept the bracelet with exaggerated care.
His hand had been so large compared to the delicate bracelet that I couldn't help but smile when I saw him holding it with all ten fingers pressed tightly together.
Even the young servants in the palace didn't display their emotions so honestly on their faces.
By the way... was that bracelet one of Ronheim's traditional accessories?
So how had Karl come to possess one?
The way he talks about snowstorms is strange too, now that I think about it.
In Arrental, where snow was rare and snowstorms even rarer, such weather was an entirely unfamiliar concept.
But Karl always spoke of snowstorms as if it were a habit—a natural turn of phrase.
After hearing Callius—a northerner—use the same reassurance about snowstorms eventually stopping, it struck me how unusual it was for Karl, a southerner, to use such imagery.
Karl is from Arrental, so why does he talk about snowstorms so often...?
I thought it was peculiar, then stopped myself mid-thought.
But... is Karl really from Arrental?
Come to think of it, I had never actually asked about Karl's origins.
I had simply assumed he was an ordinary boy from Arrental, living somewhere in the capital.
Wait. Could Karl be from the North?
When I considered that possibility, everything suddenly fit together perfectly.
His resemblance to the northerner Callius. His manner of speaking. His unique accessories not commonly seen in the South.
It all made sense.
Is that why he said he'd go north with me?
If Karl had ties to the North, wouldn't it be relatively easy for him to make such a decision?
I'm really terrible, aren't I?
I had always received emotional support from Karl, but I had never truly tried to learn more about him—about where he came from, who his family was, or what his life had been like.
I'll have to ask Karl directly when I see him next.
But Karl didn't come to visit me for quite some time after that day.
He had always been an unpredictable visitor. We weren't in any position to make appointments and meet at scheduled times.
I waited for him, trusting that—as always—Karl would find an opportunity and come to me when the time was right.
Meanwhile, the day I had been waiting for—the day to raise funds for my revenge—finally arrived.
After the engagement ceremony, the wedding preparations were rushed forward at breakneck speed—Callius had insisted we leave for Ronheim as soon as possible.
Of course, it was only the people around me who were frantically busy. I, who had absolutely no say in the wedding preparations, remained as idle as ever.
I had no regrets that the wedding wasn't reflecting my wishes at all.
The wedding will be canceled anyway. There won't even be a ceremony.
It was because of the unfortunate incident that would soon occur within the palace.
It's almost time.
I left my bedroom and loitered near the maids' quarters, pretending not to notice their annoyed glances.
For someone as isolated as me, the maids were my only connection to the outside world. The news I was waiting for would be delivered through them.
I kept checking the maids' expressions periodically, concealing my true purpose.
At that moment, one of the maids—who had gone out to run an errand—returned to the servants' quarters in a rush, her face pale with shock. She whispered urgently to her colleagues.
"Did you all hear the news?"
"What are you talking about?"
"His Majesty the Emperor fell from his horse while hunting!"
"What?!"
The maids immediately clustered together, their voices rising in agitated whispers.
Although the distance made it difficult to hear their conversation clearly, the fragmented words—"His Majesty" and "fell from his horse"—were enough.
It's today!
The Emperor's fall from his horse had occurred around this exact time in my past life.
This was exactly what I had been waiting for.
Today, Kavala will empty the palace.
The Emperor's injuries were quite serious, so Kavala would stay by his side all night—leaving her chambers unguarded.
As a result, another incident would occur in the empty palace without its mistress.
The Emperor's grievous injury caused chaos throughout the palace. And coincidentally, a thief broke into the Empress's chambers while security was temporarily lax.
I vividly remembered the events of that day—how the entire palace had been turned upside down in panic.
Starting tomorrow, security at the Empress's Palace will be strengthened several times over.
If I don't join the thief in robbing the Empress's chambers today, my chance to steal Kavala's treasures will be gone forever.
Fortunately, there was no need to worry about the thief stealing all the treasure before I could get there.
The unfortunate woman would end up fleeing empty-handed without managing to steal anything at all.
Kavala's treasures were kept secure in a vault locked with a special magical key.
Thanks to that thief, we know that security at the Empress's Palace is weak today—and we also know where the valuables are stored.
The security at the Empress's chambers must have been extraordinarily lax that day, because the thief was never caught.
I remembered the maids whispering that wanted posters bearing her likeness had been plastered all over the palace and the capital—but strangely, no one ever apprehended her.
It's odd that she left such a strong impression and yet was never captured.
I had seen one of those wanted posters myself.
The daring thief was depicted as a striking woman with voluminous, curly red hair.
I didn't know if that was her real appearance or an artist's exaggeration, but the hair drawn on the wanted poster had been extraordinarily red and luxuriant.
Well, she's not related to me.
Today, that unfortunate and lucky thief will miss her chance and flee empty-handed. But I will be different.
Once I get my hands on the magical key that opens the vault lock, the rest will be easy.
I smiled with quiet conviction.
I had a fairly accurate idea of where the key was hidden.
I had seen that magical key once before. Unlike an ordinary key, it was a heavy, large object shaped like a hexagonal die.
If you just looked at it, no one would think it was a key. Besides, it's not the kind of thing you could carry around easily.
Just recognizing the key as a key was like unlocking the first invisible lock.
The reason I knew what it was? Because the key had originally belonged to my mother.
Most of the gold and silver treasures stored in that vault didn't actually belong to Kavala at all.
They belonged to my mother—who had been the true Empress.
After my mother passed away, Kavala had shamelessly taken all of her possessions for herself.
This isn't theft. I'm simply reclaiming what I should have inherited.
The keys to the treasure vaults attached to each palace wing were normally kept under strict control—off-limits even to the palace steward. The keys were usually managed directly by the vault's owner.
If that was the case, then the key—which couldn't be carried on one's person—must be kept in the Empress's most private and secret place.
Her bedroom.
While palace attendants can enter other rooms relatively easily, even the closest maids cannot enter the bedroom without explicit permission.
Besides, Kavala was a sorceress.
I had heard that magicians valued their privacy and personal space extremely highly.
I was certain the key was safely stored somewhere in Kavala's bedroom.
If only I can find that key...!
After I emptied the vault, if Kavala discovered the treasures were missing, she would immediately suspect that the red-haired thief had succeeded in her crime.
My own involvement would be perfectly hidden.
I'm sorry to frame you for this, but I suppose it's acceptable—since you'll never be caught anyway.
It was an exceptionally advantageous opportunity for me in every way.
As long as nothing went wrong, I had a flawless plan for success mapped out in my mind.
I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves.
Tonight, I would take back what was rightfully mine.
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