Chapter 78
Chapter 78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Family Matters (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By the time the sky had darkened.
I finally arrived at the capital's eastern district in the early evening.
I boldly entered the grand imperial palace.
Soldiers raised their spears warily at the sight of my silhouette.
But.
As my face came into view, they snapped back to attention.
"You've all been working hard."
Perhaps because my reputation as Tau's master was already well-known.
Regardless of whether I was their junior or not, they began showing me proper respect.
"What brings you here...?"
An eastern knight asked cautiously.
I approached him leisurely with my hands behind my back and replied.
"I've come to see Her Highness Lydia. Has she retired to her chambers?"
"No, she should still be in the garden."
The garden must be that secret one belonging to the imperial consort from a few days ago.
"Mind if I pay her a quick visit?"
I pointed toward the palace lobby with my finger.
The guard knights nodded impassively.
"Sir Veil said to open the gates for you anytime."
They stepped aside from the main entrance.
Thanks to them, I could come and go from the palace as comfortably as my own home.
"Much obliged."
A rookie knight watching me suspiciously from behind.
He looked displeased that a mere defensive knight like me was receiving preferential treatment over him.
"No matter how I look at it, he seems like a junior. Do we really have to bow to him...?"
"He's earned the princess's trust. And he's Senior Tau's master, so show respect."
The junior bit his lip.
He knew Tau's reputation well within the eastern knight order, so he reluctantly agreed.
"Understood... "
In the meantime, I traversed the long corridor and arrived at the secret garden.
The fragrant scent of grass wafted from the entrance.
I stepped quietly onto the lawn, inhaling that aroma.
And at that moment.
A familiar woman's sigh came from beyond the bushes.
"Haaah..."
I stepped back briefly and watched Lydia sitting at the garden table.
A few days ago, it had been filled with a banquet, but now the table was piled high with documents.
The princess sat before them, reviewing various state affairs from the east.
"Ten incidents at taverns this month already...? I should issue a prohibition on alcohol...!"
Lydia tossed down her pen.
Then, she stretched languidly and yawned alone.
"Huuuuh—."
Her lips parted wide enough to reveal her canines.
Soon, as she lifted her head, she spotted a black cat perched on the documents.
"You. How many times have I told you not to wander the palace as you please?"
The insolent creature trampling state documents at will.
Lydia rose to catch the cheeky cat.
"Do you have any idea how many people's fates hang on that paper you're stepping on?"
Lydia spread her arms like a leopard.
Then, she lunged at it in an instant.
"Ah...!"
But the cat deftly dodged.
It settled on another stack of state papers and leisurely licked its paw.
"Slipping in and out whenever you feel like it—who does that remind me of!"
Lydia's face soured.
She began pursuing the fleeing cat in earnest.
The cat noticed and lightly jumped under the table.
It darted around the corner, brushing past me.
"Stop right there—!"
Lydia chased after it around the corner.
And in the moment she reached out excitedly like a child.
"I'll hug you so tight you can't escape!"
She unwittingly grabbed my waist firmly.
"..."
The princess froze as if time had stopped.
Her trembling eyes looked up at me intently.
"V-Veil? Why are you here...?"
"Uh, well... I have something to discuss briefly."
I cleared my throat lightly.
At that, the youngest princess's face flushed red.
"What do you think you're doing, showing up at the palace without a word?"
Embarrassed, she started shouting in a loud voice.
"Her Highness ordered the knights to let me in without report."
Lydia recalled the command she'd given her knights and steadied her voice.
She whipped her head away and said.
"F-Fine, but next time, send a messenger bird first!"
Still facing away, the princess glanced down at herself.
Her face hollowed by dark circles.
Even the black nightgown she'd slipped into, planning to sleep right after reviewing documents.
Her utterly defenseless appearance seemed deeply embarrassing.
"Why at a time like this... "
She muttered quietly.
At that sight, I rose slightly on tiptoe and asked.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing."
The princess turned back toward me.
And in that instant.
The fluffy cat paw she'd so desperately wanted to grab touched her cheek.
"I've captured the culprit who dared disturb Her Highness."
"Ahh..."
The cat that had passed by me moments ago.
While Lydia had her back turned, I'd caught it and presented it before her face.
"Grrr..."
The cat glared with its large blue eyes, furious at being caught by me.
But upon meeting my lifeless black gaze, it deflated instantly.
Thanks to that, it had no choice but to offer its soft paw to Lydia.
"As expected of a knight. How did you catch this sly little devil?"
The princess fiddled with the cat's paw with trembling hands.
Feeling the soft fur and texture, she lifted the corner of her mouth in a smile.
"Where I grew up, there were lots of stray cats, so I'm good at catching them."
"I see. No wonder you two look so alike."
The princess cradled the cat.
She stroked it gently, wearing a soft smile.
"Pardon? You say I resemble a cat?"
I asked with a puzzled expression.
But the princess didn't answer, merely turning her head away.
"No—I was just talking to myself."
She returned to the table with a prim expression.
"So, what brings you here at such a late hour?"
Lydia sat in the leather chair, still holding the cat.
She sorted the paw-printed documents with one hand and spoke.
"It's a very urgent matter."
"Urgent...? Has war broken out or something?"
I sat across from her.
From my bosom, I handed over the copy of the crown prince's decree I'd received from Ekina.
"If it's war, it might as well be. It's a rebellion brewing in the east."
Lydia read the decree.
Her fine brows furrowed as she said.
"Hakim... He's finally stirring up trouble again."
The eastern lord who had long lost trust in her own kin.
She carelessly set the read decree on the table.
"You won't punish him? You could nip it in the bud now."
Lydia shook her head at my question.
"No justification yet. Arresting without clear evidence would provoke backlash from the homeland."
Samad, the eastern kingdom, her mother's homeland before Vanessa married into the empire.
Due to their tradition favoring the eldest son, they still trusted Hakim.
Without clear 'justification' for execution or life imprisonment, we couldn't prevent his release.
"If we don't cut off his lifeline at once, he'll harbor even greater vengeance and go into hiding."
The princess's red eyes flashed sharply.
The weary girl who'd been playing with the cat amid state affairs was long gone.
"You need solid justification to lock him away completely."
"Exactly. I've been searching his hideout myself, but it's not easy to find."
By now, the cat had fallen asleep on her plush thigh.
"Strange. His hideout should be within the territory—easy to track with gold... "
"Right? It feels like someone knows but is deliberately withholding reports."
Lydia gently stroked the cat's back.
Then, with a conquering king's fierce gaze, she said.
"That means there are still internal enemies loyal to Hakim."
The cat sensed her killing intent.
It slipped away subtly and hopped to the floor.
"I want to root them out and execute them immediately, but no way to do it."
The lord sighed deeply.
And sighed again, still ignorant of who the internal enemies were.
"It's not that there are no methods at all."
I said to her obliquely.
Lydia's red eyes widened round.
She looked at me curiously and asked.
"Got a clever plan?"
At the princess's question, I raised a finger.
Then pointed to the tavern assault report on the table.
"I know the regular tavern frequented by his bodyguard. We grab him there and find the hideout."
Lydia eyed my smoothly unfolding plan with suspicion.
As if wondering how a northerner like me knew that tavern.
To that, I slapped on a brazen face and laughed heartily.
"I went for a meal in the east a few days ago. Spotted a guy causing a ruckus, bragging he was Hakim's guard."
Lydia crossed her arms alone upon hearing me.
She stared at me with a sullen expression.
"..."
'Is she suspecting me of being on Hakim's side...?'
As I swallowed deeply.
The princess parted her pink lips.
"You came to the east alone recently?"
"Yes."
Surprisingly, she didn't suspect me.
But her follow-up question threw me off quite a bit.
"You came to my land but went to a restaurant alone? Why?"
"...?"
Is eating alone the problem?
I'd just stopped by on my way back after training Tau.
As I offered no reply, Lydia pouted her lips.
She narrowed her eyes and whipped her head away.
"If you're in the east, of course you should pay respects to me and go together!"
"...?"
'Do I have to go with her every time I visit the east...?'
"I'm sorry."
I apologized with a bewildered expression for now.
Then, the princess quietly grumbled.
"This is my territory, so next time, get my permission and I'll accompany you."
"Understood."
Do I really need to travel with the lord?
But she seemed upset, so I nodded.
Only then did the princess revert to her lordly gaze.
She continued discussing the plan I'd proposed.
"Anyway, you've identified his bodyguard's regular tavern."
"Yes. With your permission, I'll stake it out tonight and arrest him on sight."
The princess approved.
But with a condition.
"Good. But you'll need a disguise."
Since I'd been in and out of the east, my face was somewhat known there.
If internal enemies had leaked my identity to Hakim, going in plain would get me spotted immediately.
"Understood. My hair's already black, so it won't be hard."
I rose in agreement.
As I prepared to leave and buy disguise clothes.
The princess's hand gently tugged my sleeve, stopping me in my tracks.
"And take me with you."
"Pardon...? No. How can I bring Her Highness to a place where things could go wrong?"
I persuaded her as calmly as possible.
But the princess countered with serious eyes.
"Even if we catch Hakim by luck, without a witness, I can't convince the kingdom's elders."
She snapped her fingers.
Two attendants waiting at a distance approached slowly.
They held an outing robe and a chador to cover her face and hair.
"So, if I step up as the key witness, even the kingdom's old fogeys can't argue!"
The princess extended both arms.
The attendants began dressing her in the recognition-lowering magic robe.
"Still, no. Send Tau or Batsu instead."
I shook my head firmly.
If she got taken hostage, I'd be in real trouble too.
But Lydia didn't hesitate.
She gripped my wrist tightly, her red eyes flashing from within the robe.
"Didn't you promise me?"
"What did I promise?"
I tilted my head.
Then, the princess grinned and rustled her robe.
"That when you come to my territory, you'll always go with me—."
The princess, robed like a witch, circled me gleefully.
That reminded me of her earlier order to the knights, and I couldn't help but scoff.
"Very well, let's go together."
The princess whipped around at my reluctant acceptance.
Giggling like a little devil, thinking she'd conquered me.
In response, I lifted the corner of my mouth slyly.
"Then, shall we start by forging some identities?"
I began saying something the princess never expected.
"Let's go with siblings. I'll be the 'big brother,' and Your Highness the little sister."
Oppa.
At those embarrassing two syllables, the princess's red eyes flashed like a cat's.
"W-What...?"
Even Hakim, she only called that bastard or that jerk.
Calling her guard knight, just a year older, 'oppa'?
The sudden word hit her like a freight train; her lips gaped, speechless.
"Well, what can we do? We're a young man and woman—no other fitting cover besides lovers or siblings."
I turned away indifferently, ignoring her.
Then, smirking, I said.
"I couldn't possibly impersonate a lover with Her Highness, could I?"
'I bet that's enough for her to get it.'
Lydia had a strong sense of pride even in her past life.
With lines like that, she'd have no choice but to back down on her own.