83. Surveillance

2023.12.22.

The maid assigned to Yuan was Trin, a middle-aged woman with a sturdy build and an obstinate look about her.

Trin was a low-ranking maid in charge of the detached palaces, and judging by her clumsy manner compared to the servants of the Black Mansion, she had no experience serving high-ranking individuals up close.

Yet, having apparently received specific orders from the head maid of the Empress’s quarters, she watched Yuan’s every move with a sharp, stern gaze throughout her service.

Yuan did not particularly call out her behavior, but she had quickly grown weary of Trin’s reluctance—within mere days—whenever she requested newspapers or books to be brought from outside.

Since that day, Bollonico had given no word, as if he had completely forgotten about Yuan.

When Yuan asked Trin what Bollonico was doing, the reply was curt and singular:

“How would someone like me know?”

The only information she could gather was Trin’s occasional explanations about the detached palaces she frequently visited.

Including the one where Yuan stayed, there were nine detached palaces within the Empress’s residence.

These palaces were rarely opened as guest rooms, except during major events such as the Founding Ceremony or New Year’s Festival.

Some palaces were used to host noblewomen for music or literary salons, while others were frequented by the court dressmakers responsible for the Empress’s attire.

In other words, not all palaces were meant to accommodate long-term guests like Yuan, and dedicating an entire palace solely for her—plus cleaning and staffing it—would require a significant amount of labor.

The palace Yuan occupied was the smallest in scale, but the closest to the main Empress’s quarters, and its layout was suitable for residential use.

At the same time, this place seemed primarily intended to store various artworks, decorative items, practical books, and foreign texts.

Gruffly, Trin explained that gifts presented to the Empress were temporarily stored here until decisions were made on whether to transfer them to the Empress’s private storeroom or send them to her family in the southern region.

Thus, each room offered plenty to observe, and having received the Empress’s permission to freely explore the palace, Yuan was conducting her own investigation.

She wanted to learn the names of those who sent gifts to the Empress.

Among those seeking the Empress’s favor, there would surely be someone like her uncle—someone who had sworn loyalty to Bollonico and offered up their own daughter.

And among such individuals, there must certainly be potential threats capable of obstructing Clade’s path.

The Empress was always busy with the selection of maids, and judging by the long queues of people moving toward the main palace through the windows, Yuan could estimate just how many gifts would arrive at this detached palace each day.

It was during the time before dinner, while observing the busy servants carrying gifts from the top floor, that Yuan first felt Noel’s gaze.

Yuan’s room was on the fifth and topmost floor of the detached palace.

According to Trin, Noel used to roam the entire palace as freely as if it were his own private chambers, but ever since Yuan occupied the top floor, he only ventured out when she was confined to her room.

However, Yuan had been quite active since arriving at the palace, wandering through every nook and cranny, so it took her some time to understand Trin’s words.

It meant that Noel was now essentially confined to his room because of Yuan, an unwelcome guest.

In fact, Yuan was exhausting herself so much that she often grabbed freshly baked bread or sandwiches and chewed them absentmindedly while circling the garden endlessly.

If the prince was being kept indoors for that long due to her presence, it was rather inconvenient.

While waiting for Bollonico’s contact, Yuan had been restlessly pacing around out of frustration, but from Noel’s perspective, an unwanted intruder was ceaselessly rummaging through his personal space.

Thus, Yuan understood that the gaze she first felt could only have been filled with resentment.

In fact, the situation felt strangely familiar.

In both the Pelliese manor and the Black Mansion, she had always been the unwelcome guest.

Anyway.

On the day Yuan first sensed Noel’s gaze, he had been on his way back to his bedroom with a stack of books from a fourth-floor room filled with practical texts when he spotted her and quickly retreated, seemingly hiding.

But the poor young prince, seeing that she remained standing at the fifth-floor landing with no intention of stopping her sightseeing, stood watching her for a full thirty minutes before finally slumping his shoulders and turning back the way he came.

Similar situations repeated themselves for several days.

Yuan, already in a position where she couldn’t move freely, was beginning to grow increasingly irritable as Bollonico remained silent, as if he had forgotten her entirely.

Yuan sat in a well-landscaped garden, sipping lukewarm tea from a tea set that Trin had grumbled about preparing.

A dark-colored mosquito gently landed on her arm from a cluster of lush ornamental shrubs exuding the essence of spring.

Yuan quietly stared at the mosquito.

The insect inserted its long proboscis into her pale arm, then suddenly twisted its body as if being roasted alive, collapsed flat, and fluttered away as if fleeing—only to fall lifelessly moments later.

The mosquito landed on the neatly trimmed grass, right atop a small hill formed in a cone shape by the corpses of its predecessors.

Yuan stared indifferently at the black mound, then abruptly lifted her dark eyes forward and sighed.

“Enough. Come out now.”

With a sharp tap, Yuan set down the small book she had been reading and crossed her arms.

She had noticed the presence she’d sensed earlier at the window moving, shifting, and finally stopping behind the willow tree that cast shade over her resting spot.

She could somewhat understand if he had awkwardly fled upon passing by, but outright surveillance?

At this already tense moment, her patience had reached its limit.

“I noticed you watching me from the third-floor sculpture room onward, so please come out.”

The silence, undisturbed by even a breath of wind, finally broke. The sound of fine leather shoes brushing against coarse grass approached, and soon a presence emerged at her side.

Noel peeked only halfway from behind the willow tree, his face flushed red, glaring at her.

It was as if sunlight were being focused through a lens directly into his eyes—pure, tireless hostility.

Yuan sighed and extended her arm, inviting him to sit.

“Since you’re here, have some tea.”

“W-why would I have t-t-tea with you?”

“Then at least explain why you keep running away every time you see me. I’m a person too, you know—I feel quite unpleasant about it.”

“A-anyway, I’m watching because you’re just so strange. W-what are you really up to? B-brother brought you here and then immediately went h-hunting. And you? You just stay here, anxious, not even calling a doctor.”

“Prince Bollonico went hunting?”

Startled by the sudden news of Bollonico, Yuan felt her blood rush backward.

But, aware of Noel staring intently at her, she quickly composed her expression and tried hard to recall the city’s map.

Cielo had no dense forests or deep valleys suitable for hunting.

The city had developed so thoroughly that there was no more space to expand, and even existing mountains and woods were being cleared away.

To hunt any decent game, one had to leave the capital entirely.

Yuan was utterly stunned to hear that Bollonico, who had seemed ready to use her at any moment, had left the capital without a single word.

As Yuan’s face turned pale, Noel cautiously approached.

Not that he moved far—only a few steps from the tree trunk—but he stood a little closer, studying her complexion.

Yuan seized the moment to question him.

“But where did you hear this news? From what I understand, the Prince refused personal attendants and maids, just like me, and had almost no contact with the outside.”

“Y-you were spying on me?”

Yuan fell silent.

Noel, despite having spied on Yuan himself, seemed unable to believe it and stepped forward abruptly, his face reddening again.

“H-how can you spy on me? W-what did I do wrong?”

“I merely stated what I saw. Please don’t get so agitated.”

“D-does it look like I’m not agitated? I-I just saw a short article in the newspaper saying the Emperor and my brother went to the northern monster hunting grounds—that’s all I know. R-really, I’m speechless.”

Noel trembled as if deeply insulted and glared with wide eyes.

Yuan stared back at him, expression unchanged, watching the seemingly wronged young man.

‘Newspapers have been arriving at this detached palace all along.’

Did Trin know? Or did she know but deliberately chose not to show them to her?

And northern region, at that? Not just some casual outing to a nearby forest, but a full-scale hunting trip? Then when exactly would he return?

While Yuan was lost in thought, Noel, apparently feeling somewhat embarrassed, looked around uncertainly.

The servants of the Empress’s quarters had already come and gone, carrying piles of gifts, leaving no one nearby who could assist him.

Yuan pondered how best to persuade the young prince before her to hand over the newspaper and finally spoke.

“If you’re someone who reads even a single short article so diligently, why are you cooped up here in this detached palace doing nothing? Prince Bollonico always laments that the country can’t function without him. Does the Second Prince have no intention of helping him at all?”

“W-what did you say?”

“Exactly. Are you just chasing rumors about your brother through the newspaper? Just like you’ve been spying on me? If I were in your position, I’d leave this palace and diligently handle state affairs during Prince Bollonico’s absence. No one has been formally named Crown Prince yet, correct? So why must you constantly worry about Prince Bollonico’s opinion? The Emperor must surely want to see the Second Prince’s capabilities too. There are plenty of things you could be doing—even tasks that don’t require explicit permission.”