CHAPTER 23
“I’m doomed. I should’ve gotten caught earlier when the aides were still here. Of course—there’s no fooling the eyes and ears of someone with dragon blood.”
My vision went dark, but I opened the closet door and stepped outside anyway.
Aldensis shot me a look filled with contempt.
The gentle and kind mask he wore in front of others was nowhere to be seen. Flames of cold fury blazed openly in his blue eyes.
“I never believed a word that lady said, but did you really have to prove it was all a lie this quickly?”
“……”
The pressure was suffocating.
He had to know just how overwhelming it was for an ordinary person like me to be this close when he released his energy like that.
Whether he was too angry to notice or was doing it on purpose, either way, consciously or unconsciously, it meant he didn’t care if someone like me shattered into pieces.
‘How could I ever have had a crush on someone like this?’
Any affection that might have existed was now utterly gone. And I was scared.
‘He really could kill someone with just a flick of his hand.’
Clinging to vague fear, I scraped together every last bit of courage I had.
If he realized I was scared of him, I had the sinking feeling he really would reduce me to dust on the spot.
‘I must not let him find out.’
I looked straight into Aldensis’s eyes and opened my mouth.
“I won’t make excuses.”
“You can’t make any, more like.”
“Nope. I won’t. You wouldn’t listen anyway.”
Once I said it, I got angry. The surge of emotion gave me a little more courage, and I looked him square in the eyes.
“Your Highness, do you know you’re suffering from a serious illness? Prince syndrome—ah, wait, you are a prince. No, axe syndrome. Do you know what that is? It’s a really serious condition where a man believes every woman in the world is after him.”
By now, he must’ve noticed that I was acting differently than usual.
Before, I always tried to win his favor and only lashed out when ignored. I had never come at him so directly right from the start.
Aldensis snapped, utterly exasperated.
“How can every word and action from you be so vulgar? You truly have no shame until the bitter end!”
“The one who should be ashamed is you, Your Highness. For pushing your delusions onto me and making baseless accusations. You’ll be ashamed of this moment for a long time.”
Though I spoke clearly and calmly, as if I weren’t afraid, I was slowly edging away without drawing attention.
But then—I nearly ran into someone standing right outside the door.
“Aldensis? Lady Aristina? You were here?”
That casual voice froze me in place. Even the crown prince stiffened.
“Ruelian?”
A tall man with black hair and violet eyes stood there, a gold-trimmed jacket slung over one shoulder.
As if it were his trademark to appear out of nowhere, Ruelian was suddenly just… there.
“You disappeared after saying the ball was boring, so I thought you went home. Guess you were still in the palace, huh?”
The fury and contempt in Aldensis’s eyes vanished like smoke.
Though Ruelian and the crown prince were supposed to maintain formality, they had known each other since childhood, so they were relatively relaxed in private.
“I came to check on something. But this guy here was looking for the lady…”
Ruelian turned around.
A plump man popped out from behind him. I frowned.
“That’s the jeweler from earlier.”
“Yes, yes.”
After bowing to the crown prince, the jeweler turned to me.
“About the lumber merchant you asked me about earlier—turns out he’s been imprisoned on bribery charges, trying to bribe the finance ministry. No wonder you couldn’t find him anywhere in the palace.”
The prince’s expression changed.
Wait—my innocence is being proven just like that?
For a moment, I found the chubby, chatty jeweler quite adorable.
“Did you hear that, Your Highness? Do you believe what I was doing now?”
“It was a misunderstanding.”
He admitted it plainly, though his eyes still shot me a frosty glare.
“So, the two of you wrapped things up? I have something to talk about with the lady as well.”
Ruelian said with a lazy smile.
Aldensis in front, Ruelian behind—I could hardly breathe from the pressure.
But thinking positively…
Better to have them both here than to be alone with either of them. At least I could try to use this situation.
I spun around and held out my hand to Ruelian.
“Fine. Since you’re begging, I’ll stop playing hard to get and accept your date invitation.”
Ruelian’s expression shifted slightly. He probably hadn’t expected me to turn the tables so suddenly.
“Hm?”
Aldensis stared in confusion.
“Date invitation?”
“Exactly that. His Highness asked to get closer to me.”
“Lady, that kind of trick won’t work. As a divine representative who must love and cherish only his destined partner—”
“Ah! Right! That!”
I cut him off as if just remembering something.
“No wonder it sounded so fake. You were trying to use those sweet words to drag me back into the holy order, weren’t you? So determined to make me repent that you even sat next to a wicked noble lady like me! You really do take your job seriously. But now that I know your real motive, I won’t be fooled again.”
“No, I…”
“Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to repent.”
Pretending not to understand him at all, I slammed the door shut—figuratively and mentally.
I hoped they both realized I’d become a bit harder to handle.
“……”
A brief silence followed.
Then, Ruelian’s face lit up with a cryptic smile.
“You’re right. The lady is absolutely right.”
He said that and turned away with a casual spin.
His air of confidence was unsettling—like a predator that had already eaten but was playing with prey for fun, then lost interest.
“Wait, Ruelian. My mother said she wanted your thoughts on the latest prophecy interpretation…”
Even Aldensis, who had been watching with a blank face, followed after him.
He had stalked me relentlessly all evening, yet now left with a satisfied look?
‘Could it be…?’
As soon as they were out of sight, I checked my bag.
Just as I feared—my pouch was gone.
I had it before coming in here, so it must’ve been taken when I nearly bumped into Ruelian.
He played it cool because he’d gotten what he wanted.
‘So Ruelian was after it. He suspected I picked it up. And it was important.’
All my maybes turned into of courses.
If he feels the pouch, he’ll think it’s that silver shard. Only when he opens it at home will he realize he’s been tricked.
But what can he do?
‘Oh no, the pouch I stole didn’t have the thing I was looking for!’
He can’t exactly complain. He’ll just fume in silence.
And I’ll just keep playing dumb.
‘Serves you right. Totally deserved.’
Once again, I had narrowly escaped disaster.
I brushed off my hands and stepped outside.
Though I’d hit a few snags, I’d managed to clean up quickly enough.
“Good work, jeweler. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Thank you, milady!”
The only source of the rare maple wood had landed in jail tonight? If that’s not a conspiracy, even a passing dog would laugh.
Still, not the worst outcome—no one else got it either.
No time to mope. Time to look for another way.
‘Out of my way! This music box business is mine!’
As I strode toward the office, exchanging fierce looks with other S- and A-rank merchants…
I saw someone lingering in the front courtyard.
It was our only employee—Benjamin.
“Boss!”
He ran up as soon as he spotted me.
“I found another lumber merchant with maple walnut in stock!”
“Oh? Benjamin, you really do earn your paycheck!”
“But there’s a problem…”
“Tell me on the way!”
I hopped into the carriage Benjamin had prepared. It took off immediately.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“Apparently, some other merchants tried to sign a deal too, but the owner flat-out refuses to sell. Says he won’t let his carefully crafted wood be used for frivolous luxury goods like music boxes. One guy even tried to lie and got kicked out without a refund.”
“What’s wrong with luxury goods? What a weirdo.”
“Should we just turn around? Seems like a waste of time.”
“No!”
What choice did I have? That was the only supplier left. I had to try something.
In the carriage, Benjamin and I prepped a contract.
Soon, we arrived at the lumber merchant’s workshop.
“This is the place.”
As soon as we entered, something flew at me and hit me in the head.
“You brats! Caused a mess while my back was turned and ran off again? Why can’t the guards ever catch you!”
It was a crumpled piece of paper the old man had thrown. Benjamin kicked it aside.
“Sir, we don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just here to buy wood.”
The old man’s scowl deepened when he looked at us.
“More of those music box people, huh? Get out! I’ve decided not to sell to your kind! Even if you offer ten million perels for wood worth a hundred thousand!”
Did he die from getting hit by a music box in a past life or something?
He was as stubborn as they said. Money wasn’t going to work.
‘What do I do? Money’s all I have.’
I took a few steps forward and glanced around. My foot crunched something.
It was the paper the old man threw earlier.
Curious, I picked it up. It was a flyer from some religious protest group.
“Elf Church,” the text said. A familiar name.
‘Oh yeah, that cult.’
They were the ones who showed up when I was tried for picking an Amarantia flower.
They called for my execution for “plant cruelty,” then got chased off by reporters.
They walk around wearing only leaves, surround strangers and sing, and treat anyone who touches plants like a murderer.
No way they’d leave a woodworker alone.
Their posters were plastered all over this place, putting him high on their blacklist.
‘No wonder he crumpled it in rage and threw it away.’
As I stared at the flyer in disbelief, an idea hit me like lightning.
‘Maybe this could actually work?’
At least it was worth trying. I squared my shoulders and made my move.
“Old man!”
Striding out from between towering stacks of lumber, eyes gleaming red like a villainess from a legend—I had to look pretty terrifying.
The stubborn old man flinched for just a moment, but quickly hardened his expression again.
“I told you—it’s useless! Even if you offer ten million, twenty million, I won’t sell!”
“What about a hundred million?”
A hundred million perels for something worth a hundred thousand?
The watching clerk hiccupped in shock. The old man blinked in disbelief, then—
“Still no way! Once I say no, it’s final! Even for a hundred million—I’m not selling to you people!”
I smirked and scoffed.
“Who said I was giving that hundred million to you?”
