The Golden Castle was a tall building with 5 floors, not including the tower.

Leah became at a loss as to where to start looking for Eve.

At that moment, Grita, who was in the hallway, spotted her and ran over in surprise.

Leah also ran to her, feeling fortunate to have met someone who could help.

“Grita, Eve has disappeared. Her fever has gone down, but where could the child who was sick all night have gone…!”

As Leah poured out her words urgently while sobbing, Grita looked surprised for a moment, but soon held her trembling hands to calm her down.

‘I’ll look for her, so go wait in the room.’

“If I help look as well…!”

When Leah tried to step forward with an anxious heart, Grita shook her head firmly.

‘There are guests in the castle.’

At Grita’s brief words, Leah closed her mouth.

She was someone who had to thoroughly conceal her identity.

Especially since many people came and went on Sizzlon Island, she shouldn’t carelessly reveal herself.

As Leah bit her lip tightly, Grita comforted her as if telling her not to worry and led her to the room.

‘Anyway, since it’s within the Golden Castle, we’ll find her soon.’

Grita pointed to the floor with her finger as if telling her to wait here, then went back out into the hallway.

Leah paced around the room impatiently.

It wasn’t that she had fallen asleep.

Her heart felt heavy with guilt for not being able to closely look after her.

She felt like a pathetic mother.

‘Since it’s within the Golden Castle, no bad person will harm her. If someone finds her, they’ll bring her to me. It’ll be okay…’

Leah tried hard to suppress her worries.

But what if Eve got lost in an unfamiliar place and was crying?

What if she tried to climb up somewhere dangerous and fell?

What if she touched unfamiliar objects out of curiosity and got hurt?

Bad imagination kept growing.

How on earth did the sick child disappear so smoothly…

She hated herself for having to wait helplessly in the room in this situation.

“I’m hungry from fasting since last night. Would you prepare a meal?”

Eclas looked at Sched, who had shamelessly settled into the Golden Castle.

He had intended to send him to the guest villa in the city, but Sched had stubbornly insisted on going to the Golden Castle.

“You are quite shameless even after punching me, sir.”

When Eclas openly expressed his displeasure, Sched sat on the sofa and crossed his legs.

“At least I stopped at punching.”

I wanted to behead you if I could.

Sched spoke indifferently.

“And I’m in a foul mood and want to be alone. Would you kindly give me some space?”

Sched, sitting on the sofa, seemed like the master of the Golden Castle.

“I’m sorry, but that’s difficult. In the Golden Castle, we never leave a guest alone. I trust you’ll understand.”

As the wealthiest family in the world, many of the guests who visited the Bitels caused trouble.

There were those who stole items or secretly tried to dig up information they wanted.

Therefore, the Bitel family insisted on their thorough surveillance, at least within the Golden Castle.

“Then would you at least give me some space, Eclas?”

“Of course. I’m a busy person too, Lord Lester.”

Eclas replied with a smile that didn’t look friendly at all.

He seemed displeased that Sched’s unexpected visit had ruined his schedule.

Leaving two servants to attend to Sched, he went out.

Sched watched the door close with a cold expression.

He rolled his violet eyes and scanned the servants standing beside him one by one.

‘Trained birds.’

They looked like ordinary servants, but one could tell just by looking at their bodies hidden beneath their clothes.

The tightly woven muscles visible under the fabric were no ordinary sight.

“Alcohol.”

Sched flicked his fingertips once while examining the servants’ bodies.

The dutiful servants poured the welcome drink prepared in the reception room.

It was a high-quality champagne with a refreshing aroma that went well with the welcome drink.

Though they met after several years, Eclas’s eye for selection was still the same.

Receiving warm and delicate hospitality, Sched laughed as he picked up the glass.

Indeed, a greeting befitting the hospitality seemed necessary.

“Leah, I’m sorry but for the time being…”

“Viscount…”

Eclas, who had come to tell Leah to hide herself for a while, stopped speaking when he saw the empty bed.

“Where’s Eve?”

He frowned at Eve’s absence, not having received a report about her yet due to the Sched issue.

“She disappeared while I dozed off for a moment. I tried to find her but Grita…”

At Leah’s explanation, Eclas suppressed a sigh inwardly.

Of all times for this to happen, it had to be when Sched Lester came.

It was a headache, but he couldn’t just stand there sighing.

“I’ll have people search more. She’ll be safe within the Golden Castle anyway.”

“If I help look as well…”

“I’m sorry, but an important guest is here right now. They might recognize you, so please stay in this room and don’t come out. I will definitely find Eve for you.”

Eclas calmed Leah, who was trembling with anxiety.

Leah seemed to have a lot she wanted to say, but couldn’t bring herself to plead with him further.

“I should have looked after Eve properly…”

“You must have been tired from staying by the child’s side all night. You barely got any sleep, Leah. It’s not your fault.”

Eclas gently stroked her hair once and smiled as if to reassure her.

Leah tightly gripped the hem of her clothes.

“Then I’ll go and have people look for Eve as well.”

After comforting Leah, Eclas quickly turned and left.

His long legs swiftly crossed the corridor of the Golden Castle.

It was a day when things were getting rottenly tangled.

So, when Eve opened her eyes, she saw a new world.

After being sick all night and sleeping soundly, Eve looked around the new space with wide-awake eyes.

“A princess castle!”

The room was so splendid it made her eyes go round.

The blanket was soft like a cloud and had pretty pictures drawn on it.

Quietly leaving her soundly sleeping mother, Eve got down from the high bed with grunts.

The flowery patterns on the walls, the shimmering gold decorations.

Strange objects with unknown uses hung on the walls, and the red carpet was soft like rose petals.

‘Where is this place?’

After wandering around the room for a while touching things, Eve stood in front of the door and blinked.

She became curious about what would appear if she opened this door.

Eve got on tiptoe and pulled the doorknob.

The locked door creaked open, revealing the world beyond.

The scene unfolding outside the door was truly amazing!

Walls decorated with colorful paintings, windows letting in rainbow-like rays of light, and moreover, a long corridor stretching endlessly even if she ran with pitter-pattering steps!

To Eve, who had lived on Janna Island all her life, the Golden Castle was a huge playground and a dreamland.

‘Could it be that my mother was a queen!’

Eve thought of the beautiful queens and princesses from fairy tale books.

Stepping into the corridor with her small feet, Eve’s eyes went round when she saw her reflection in a decorative armor.

The sleeves of the clothes she was wearing for the first time had white frills, and various kinds of flowers were embroidered on the collar.

Eve rubbed her new clothes with her palms and twirled around like a princess.

Then, as if by instinct, she ran along the long corridor with pitter-pattering steps.

Just running around the pretty castle made Eve so excited she couldn’t contain herself.

Eve ran to her heart’s content, touched and looked at strange flowers growing in pots, imitated the poses of weird statues, and even picked out which painting was the prettiest among the numerous paintings hung on the walls.

The long corridor was so wide that Eve also practiced the tumbling she had wanted to show her mother.

However, the tumbling didn’t go well because when she raised her bottom up, the white skirt would flip over.

When she reached the end of the corridor like that, a staircase with a beautiful railing appeared.

Eve tapped the railing with her chubby fingers without hesitation.

Then, holding the railing, she went down the marble stairs covered with a carpet, step by step.

“Smells delicious!”

Just then, a delicious smell wafted up from downstairs. It was a very, very sweet smell she had never encountered before.

Her stomach growled.

Eve went further down, following the smell.

When she reached the lower floor, another long corridor stretched out there.

Eve looked around for something to eat, getting distracted whenever something new appeared, and wandered the corridor.

And just as the sweet smell was getting closer, someone grabbed Eve by the scruff of her neck.

At the same time, Eve’s body rose lightly into the air like a fluff of cotton and flew.

“Waaah!”

Surprised but excited, Eve shouted as her body came to an abrupt stop in mid-air.

Only then did Eve see the grim face at eye level with her.

It was an uncle who looked like he would get angry and swear at children, with a very bad temper, but had pretty purple eyes.

“Who are you?”

Eve asked while dangling from his one hand.

She became a little scared and wanted her mother.

At Eve’s question, the uncle’s brows furrowed deeply.

Eve swallowed a hiccup-like breath in fear.

Then, a terrifying wolf-like voice flowed out of the uncle’s mouth.

“And who are you…?”

At the scary voice, Eve held back tears that threatened to fall.

“I’m Eve…”

Eve answered in a sobbing voice.

But the uncle still stared at Eve with a terrifying face.

Only then did Eve realize that she had wandered around a strange place recklessly.

‘It must be a villain’s castle, not a princess castle…!’

She thought her mother was a hidden queen, but her guess was wrong.

Though it was too pretty to be a villain’s castle, there was no rule that villains had to always live in dark and gloomy castles.

“Did the villain capture Mommy and Eve…?”

Tears gradually welled up in Eve’s eyes.

For a moment, the villain uncle’s brows furrowed even deeper.