‘…The Emperor.’

Naturally, access to the scriptures was easy for him. The current Emperor was merely a regent until Elizer came of age.

So, he wouldn’t hesitate to use all kinds of underhanded tactics to undermine Elizer. One such tactic was giving Alonso’s scripture to Clemens.

It was the sole reason Clemens had once been good to Elizer.

Clemens had the power of the twins, and he himself could translate ancient languages.

If he understood the principles of black magic, controlling the world using the twins’ power would be trivial.

‘Clemens mustn’t get Alonso’s scripture.’

Though I had already planned to reject his proposal, my resolve was now firmer.

Just then, an auction house employee came running from behind.

“Wait, please wait! Customer!”

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, the item you just paid for has disappeared!”

If it was the item Clemens paid for, it was the silver snake!

“It disappeared?!”

I asked involuntarily, and Clemens followed up.

“What do you mean it’s gone?”

“Just that. Our employees are looking everywhere, but it’s nowhere to be found. I’m really sorry, customer.”

“Since I’ve paid, it’s my item. Find it.”

“Yes, yes. Of course! Please wait a moment. We’ll find it for sure.”

“Diane, go ahead to the carriage. I’ll follow shortly.”

Clemens seemed eager to leave this place. As I walked towards the carriage, my mind was racing.

‘The divine beast disappeared?’

Earlier, the divine beast had hardly moved.

The thought that a beast, whose tail had merely twitched earlier, had now escaped on its own seemed implausible.

I remembered the auction house audience that was fixated on the white fox. They couldn’t afford it and failed to get what they had so desired.

There was only one thing they could do in this situation.

‘Someone might have stolen it.’

Someone even offered Alonso’s lost scripture to get the white fox they desired.
No, even if it wasn’t the Emperor who promised to give me the Holy Grail, others could have coveted it and stolen it as well.

‘Or like before, the Holy Grail might have actually hidden itself.’

There was nothing certain.

In hiding, even when it showed me the scene where I was tailing the robber last time, the Holy Grail said it had used its ability to hide so that others couldn’t see it.

‘Maybe the Holy Grail didn’t run away this time.’

It could have just used its ability to hide while remaining motionless in the small cage.

Just when I stopped moving, Sophia asked me.

“Your Highness, why did you stop?”

‘Should I ask them to bring the cage that had the Holy Grail?’

I pondered for a moment but couldn’t risk exposing the already endangered Holy Grail.

Feeling a bit guilty, I lied to Sophia.

“Sophia, I’m thirsty.”

“What should we do, we have nothing to drink right now…”

“We still have the juice from earlier, I want to drink that!”

“Ah, just a moment.”

Sophia flagged down a passing auction house employee and spoke to him before turning back to me.

“Then, I’ll go get it quickly. Please wait for a moment.”

“Okay!”

After Sophia disappeared, I gave Ian a slight nod. Ian willingly bent his knees to match my height.

“Do you have anything to say?”

Full of regret, I tightly grabbed Ian’s hand.

‘Good Ian…’

“My lady?”

Though question marks visibly floated across Ian’s face, I turned my head away.

“I’m sleepy, I’m going to sleep.”

“Yes, I’ll wait outside.”

“Okay!”

I quickly climbed into the carriage.

“Rest.”

The carriage door closed with a thud.

I had to go back with Clements, so the carriage wouldn’t leave immediately.

I quietly listened to the outside noises. It was quiet now, but I was certain.

In places like this, someone is bound to create a big commotion.

“Who do these people think I am!”

My prediction was correct. A man’s rough voice rang out not too far away.

I quickly opened the carriage window. It was barely wide enough for me to squeeze out.

But I had overlooked one thing. The carriage window was much higher than I thought.

As soon as I stepped out, my body tilted forward.

“Ouch!”

“Ah! Let go of me! Can’t you let go?!”

Fortunately, my scream was masked by the man running away.

I quickly got up, passed between the carriages, and sprinted.

‘I should find it before Clements arrives.’

I know where the Holy Grail could possibly be. It won’t be hard to find.

A woman opened the door and stepped in. Her wobbling gait, the reddishblack spots appearing on her body, were symptoms appearing after longterm exposure to drugs.

“Welcome!”

The doorman greeted the guest warmly. Such guests were an endless source of revenue for them.

“What would you like today?”

The woman rubbed her palms together and cast a brief glance at the employee’s face.

Just when she was about to request the same thing as yesterday, a commotion erupted.

“Ah, if you get caught, you’ll end up losing a limb. That’s why they say lightpocketed people don’t know the value of their own lives, right?”

The woman’s gaze, which had been following the running man, suddenly fixed on one spot.

“That kid.”

“A kid? Where is there a kid here?”

The employee didn’t see it, but the woman saw it clearly. A child with black hair.

Ah, yes. Even in a crowd, she was unmistakable. Wasn’t this the child she’d been tired of seeing for the past several years?

‘My daughter.’

A wide grin split the woman’s lips.