“Reveal your identity!”

The captain of the Special Guard of the annex palace drew his sword and shouted, aiming at the neck of the man crouched on the wall.

The man, with half his body inside the annex palace and the rest outside, quickly surveyed his surroundings. Soldiers had already chased and surrounded him beyond the wall to prevent escape.

Moreover, the man had no intention of running away. He had to appear to be trying to escape without arousing suspicion, but his goal was to be caught in the annex palace without going far.

‘Never let yourself be caught easily. That way you won’t arouse suspicion.’

That’s what Grace had said when she tossed a pouch of gold coins to the young soldier.

After hesitating for a moment, the man jumped from the wall to the outside, but was soon restrained by the rushing soldiers. After pretending to struggle a few times, the arrested man was dragged back into the annex palace by the guards.

“Is this the man who escaped from the lady’s quarters?”

“Yes! I saw it clearly with my own eyes. He jumped down from the balcony on the second floor of the eleventh candidate’s quarters.”

“That’s right. When I shouted after seeing him jump down from the second floor like a thieving cat, he started to run away.”

The captain of the guard asked the maids who had first discovered the man and shouted, and they nodded vigorously.

“The eleventh quarters, that means…”

“Yes, it’s Lady Arabel de Saincre’s quarters.”

When the captain of the guard hesitated with a troubled expression, Grace’s maids simultaneously raised their voices to answer.

Candidates and maids who had woken up from the commotion that turned the quiet night annex palace upside down began to gather by the pond.

“The second-floor balcony is only connected to the lady’s bedroom.”

As one of Grace’s maids added as if telling a secret, the sound of women holding their breath could be heard from the crowd. However, the women who had momentarily lost their words in shock soon began to buzz like a swarm of hornets.

“So you’re saying that at this late hour, a strange man was caught escaping from the balcony of Lady Arabel’s bedroom?”

“Yes, I remembered the blanket I had left on the outside chair, and when I came out, well, a dark shadow jumped down from the second-floor balcony… Oh my, my heart is still pounding.”

“Goodness… How could such an outrageous thing happen in the quarters of an empress candidate?”

“We must inform His Majesty the Emperor and the competition committee immediately! I don’t want to stay in the annex palace even for one night with an immoral woman. This is a matter of honor for all of us.”

None of the candidates or maids gathered by the pond believed this situation at face value, but they couldn’t miss a good opportunity to eliminate a competitor.

Honestly, among the women who had seen the emperor with their own eyes, who could harbor feelings for any other man? Even if it weren’t for the emperor’s position, comparing other men to Emperor Maxwell was meaningless.

In short, the men of the world were divided into two types: one was Emperor Maxwell, and the other was all the rest.

Moreover, Arabel was the only candidate who was receiving the emperor’s favor. Clearly, someone among them had plotted to tarnish Arabel’s honor and eliminate her from the competition.

And… whoever plotted this… would be the owner of the quarters to which the maids who first discovered the man belonged.

Nine candidates lowered their gazes and secretly glanced at Grace, who was standing behind without saying a word. Even though they had noticed, not one of them raised an objection, and instead made a fuss about starting an investigation right away.

The captain of the guard roughly pulled off the hood of the resisting man.

“That man… isn’t he one of the guards at the entrance of the annex palace?”

As the handsome face of the young man was revealed under the removed hood, one of the ladies pointed and shouted. The arrested man, as if he had given up everything, squeezed his eyes shut and did not react.

“Why did you run away from Lady Arabel’s quarters at this late hour?”

When the captain of the guard thundered, Grace, standing far away, corrected him.

“Ask specifically about Lady Arabel’s bedroom.”

Ahem, ahem, clearing his throat, the captain asked again.

“Right, why did you run away from Lady Arabel’s bedroom? No, what were you doing there? Were you stealing?”

“What kind of theft… He’s wearing tight, thin clothes without even an outer garment to hide stolen goods… He must have been stealing the lady’s heart all night.”

As one of the maids cut in with a sneer, the women giggled, covering their mouths with their hands.

“What nonsense is this?”

Vera, who had come running breathlessly, shouted loudly as she stepped forward in front of the captain of the guard. Dina and Rosa also elbowed their way through the gathered women.

“This man came out of our lady’s bedroom? I’m shocked. Tell us it’s not true!”

Vera spoke threateningly, as if she was about to grab the young man by the collar, panting heavily.

“Tell us the truth quickly!”

Rosa and Dina shouted simultaneously at the man who was standing without saying a word.

The captain’s eyes also wavered with bewilderment as he looked at the young soldier who wasn’t even denying it, just keeping his mouth shut. In cases like this, even if it were true, one would usually deny it unconditionally, but this guy wasn’t making any excuses at all.

Grace’s maids put their hands on their hips and raised their voices.

“We saw it clearly with our own eyes. That man coming out of your lady’s bedroom. So stop your futile efforts.”

“He was caught at the scene, so he can’t even make excuses, right? You three who have been hiding your lady’s secret meetings until now are accomplices too. Criminals!”

As the trio of maids stepped closer with glaring eyes,

“What did you say? Don’t speak nonsense just because you have a hole in your face. We won’t stand by and let you tarnish our lady’s name!”

Rosa shouted, clenching her fists tightly.

“Captain Cassidy, don’t waste time here, investigate the scene immediately. There must be evidence left in the bedroom.”

As Grace spoke in a calm tone, Captain Cassidy hesitated with a troubled expression.

“We cannot enter the ladies’ quarters without permission. First, we need to get permission from the commander of the Imperial Guard, and a female investigator must accompany us. I’ve sent someone now, so please wait a moment.”

“What are you talking about? If the evidence is destroyed, will you take responsibility, Captain? Come to think of it, the man who came out of Lady Arabel’s bedroom is a soldier under your command. Are you trying to buy time to help hide the evidence?”

As Lilibet, Grace’s rival, approached the captain’s face and spoke sharply, the other ladies nodded with fire in their eyes.

“If you don’t investigate the scene right now, our families gathered here will hold you directly responsible.”

Captain Cassidy swallowed dryly as he received the piercing gazes of the ladies from the highest families in the empire and the continent.

“How can there be such rudeness?”

“Don’t you know that even the guard needs a permit to enter an empress candidate’s quarters, and a female investigator must participate?”

The trio of maids blocked the door of the quarters, but they couldn’t stop the captain of the guard who had already made his decision.

After pushing aside the sturdy shoulders of Vera, Captain Cassidy entered the quarters and led the soldiers up to the second floor without hesitation.

As the ladies said, the captured guy was under his command.

Judging by the situation, it seems that the most handsome and popular guy in the guard had hit it off with an empress candidate and enjoyed a secret meeting… If he doesn’t investigate quickly, not only that guy but also his entire guard might lose their heads.

He had been confident that they had guarded the annex palace day and night, but for this to happen. It’s so shocking he feels like fainting. The trio of maids tried to block his way, but were restrained by the soldiers.

Captain Cassidy stood in front of Arabel’s closed bedroom door, knocked, and spoke in a polite voice.

“Lady Arabel. This is Captain Cassidy of the Special Guard of the annex palace. There is something we must investigate, so please open the door.”

“……”

When there was no answer from inside the bedroom, Captain Cassidy asked again.

“My lady, please open the door. This is a very serious matter and we cannot delay.”

“Could you wait a moment? I had already retired for the night, so I’m not properly prepared to open the door.”

As he was about to reply, “I understand,” the ten ladies who had somehow followed behind, along with their maids, occupying the narrow corridor and stairs, shouted in unison.

“What are you waiting for? Are you trying to give her time to destroy evidence?”

“If she’s in her nightclothes, it would be a great discourtesy, so I was going to wait a moment…”

As Captain Cassidy mumbled in response, overwhelmed by the ladies’ pressure, Grace stepped forward.

She glared at the captain as if displeased, then spat out in a venomous voice.

“If the captain won’t open the door, I will!”

“Lady Grace! You cannot arbitrarily open the door to a lady’s bedroom!”

Vera, who had been surrounded by soldiers and maids, rushed forward, struggling.

However, Grace’s hand had already turned the doorknob upward, throwing the bedroom door wide open for all to see.

“……”

The eyes that had been sparkling with certainty of victory froze as if they had seen a ghost.

Not only Grace, but also the remaining nine ladies and their maids who had been looking into the bedroom with expectant gazes, as well as the captain of the guard and the soldiers, all lost color in their faces and froze in place.

On the snow-white bed visible straight ahead… the figure of the emperor lying with his bare upper body leaning diagonally against the headboard came into view. Arabel sat properly dressed on the sofa next to the fireplace.

The emperor’s red eyes flashed sharply, and his red lips opened to let out a chilling voice.

“I’m sure I told you to wait.”

“We, we’re sorry, Your Majesty!”

Captain Cassidy, who had finally come to his senses, bowed his head, and the soldiers behind him quickly bowed as well.

The emperor rose from the bed, skillfully wrapping the sheet around his lower body below the navel, and slowly walked to the door.

Although it was clearly the lady’s bedroom, cozy and fragrant with a nice scent, the air in the room became chillingly bleak due to the emperor approaching with languid steps.

Just one slightly twisted, bow-shaped lip was enough to make cold sweat run down their spines.

Every time they met the red eyes looking down mockingly, there was a strange feeling of their throats tightening, making their shoulders twitch.

The ladies, who only knew how to scheme, stood trembling to their chins, encountering the emperor’s brutal atmosphere for the first time, having grown up like hothouse flowers.

Grace was no different. Paralyzed with fear, she stared blankly at the approaching emperor, not even thinking to remove her hand from the doorknob.

As the long bare feet stopped in front of the door, a long shadow fell over the crowns of the people in front.

“It seems you misunderstand that becoming an empress candidate means you’ve already become empress. That’s why you’ve committed such an insolent act of barging into a competing candidate’s quarters without permission.”

The emperor lowered his head to match the height of the ladies and whispered seductively in a low voice.

“I was waiting to tell you not to stop here out of fear. Continue to act in this vulgar manner befitting your level. Shake my principle of not interfering in the affairs of the annex palace. That way, I’ll have a justification to clean up the trash with my own hands.”

Two days ago.

The evening of the day Millie and Grace met.

“Millie.”

“My lady…!”

Arabel’s voice came from behind Millie, who was looking around trying to secretly climb over the wall.

After hearing Grace’s words about her sister, she couldn’t bear it anymore. She had to see how Adele was doing, even from afar, so she tried to secretly cross the wall to leave the annex palace and go outside the imperial palace.

Before entering the annex palace, when she worked in the east wing of the imperial palace, she occasionally did this, so there was no worry about getting lost.

The only problem was that when returning late at night, the number of sentries inside and outside the annex palace would be doubled, which could be troublesome, but she still had to go and see with her own eyes.

As Millie was about to come down, thinking she had been caught by Arabel…

“I’ll keep watch here and wait, so be careful and come back.”

Arabel whispered softly, her eyes crescent-shaped. Without asking where Millie was going, Arabel waved her hand, telling her to hurry back.

Pushing down the hot air rising in her throat, Millie nodded.