The Silver Fox's Lair
She could never have escaped alone. As the empire’s only princess, even foreign nations kept their eyes fixed solely on her.
Besides, Cayena did not possess an ordinary appearance. Her beauty was so overwhelming that she was bound to draw someone’s gaze wherever she went.
To run away, then, she needed another person’s help. Who could possibly assist Cayena in leaving the capital?
‘Someone who has no desire to claim her as a sister—whether as a tool for the throne or as a beautiful woman.’
Anyone not of the same sex would likely harbor some selfish motive toward her. The likelihood only increased if that person possessed enough power to aid an imperial princess.
In that sense, one man satisfied every condition: Raphaelo. If Cayena’s true aim was to vanish from this place without a trace and if she had genuinely given up on him.
‘Then it’s highly likely she made some sort of offer to Raphaelo. But what in the world could Cayena possibly negotiate with?’
Once he thought about it that way, the idea fell apart. There was simply nothing Raphaelo could want from Cayena.
The only thing that left a bad aftertaste was how drastically the relationship between the two had changed lately. It mirrored his own situation. Since Cayena had changed, it was only natural that her relationships would shift as well. And the new Cayena…
Rezef stopped his thoughts and scraped his fingernail along the pistol’s smooth surface. The sight of Raphaelo inside the carriage—utterly detached from the world, every ounce of his attention locked on his sister—drove Rezef nearly insane with irritation.
“Here you were.”
Raphaelo turned his head and met Rezef’s gaze.
“I showed Your Highness to the physician I brought first.”
Raphaelo stepped down from the carriage and stood before him.
“Aside from mild indigestion, he says she is fine.”
“I see.”
Rezef studied Raphaelo. Why had he thrown himself so aggressively into the search for Cayena?
‘They met at the Imperial Academy and the kidnapping happened immediately afterward, so it makes sense that he would lend a hand.’
Yet something about the situation felt strangely off, pricking at his instincts. He concealed his true feelings and offered praise with a deceptively mild expression.
“I plan to send Henverton Gillian to the imperial palace’s underground prison. Thanks to you today, we were able to rescue my sister safely.”
With that, he extended his hand.
Raphaelo stared at the offered handshake for a moment before grasping it. Though Rezef tried to hide his emotions, the hostility and suspicion directed at him cut sharply across Raphaelo’s senses. He could also feel a bizarre obsession aimed at Cayena.
It was strange. Had the crown prince cherished his sister this deeply?
‘Is that why the princess came to me for help?’
Raphaelo had heard every word of Henverton’s mockery. While others dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic, Raphaelo found the statements disturbingly meaningful.
On the surface, Rezef and Raphaelo appeared perfectly calm, yet each observed the other with keen intensity.
“The Gillian viscount family will need to be reorganized and given a new master, so I must summon Duke Kedrey to the palace. Or I hear the duchess is currently in the capital.”
“I will go.”
This was a matter of handling a vassal house. No matter how confirmed a successor he might be, such authority belonged to the head of the family, not the heir. Rezef’s expression turned puzzled.
“How could you?”
Raphaelo answered as though it were trivial.
“As of today, I am the head of House Kedrey.”
Only then did Rezef understand why Raphaelo had been able to lead the knight order and storm the temple. One of the privileges held by the military house that upheld the empire was the right to mobilize troops at will within the empire when the imperial family faced crisis. Naturally, only the family head could exercise that right.
‘The duke and duchess were in the middle of a divorce suit.’
Since Rezef had planted agents inside the Grand Temple as well, such news should have reached him. Yet he had heard nothing. That could only mean Raphaelo had succeeded to the title after Cayena’s kidnapping.
Was there any reason to go this far?
Rezef’s eyes grew colder still. But he quickly made full use of his gentle demeanor, curving his eyes into soft arcs.
“I apologize for not receiving the report, Your Grace. Allow me to congratulate you on your succession.”
Now that Raphaelo had become duke, Rezef could no longer speak to him casually and therefore used formal address.
“Thank you.”
They exchanged another brief handshake. Rezef glanced at the carriage and said,
“My sister must return to the palace at once and rest, so let us end our conversation here.”
“Then I shall visit soon.”
Rezef climbed into the carriage where Cayena lay. He felt Raphaelo’s gaze settle on her collapsed form. With a face as cold and devoid of warmth as ice, he slammed the carriage door shut.
Zenon was skilled at pretending to remain rational no matter how furious he became.
Today, however, it was nearly impossible. Inside the speeding carriage he spat curses.
“Damn it, damn it! That fucking bastard!”
Had Cayena noticed something and hidden the maid? Everything had begun to unravel from that point.
‘Raphaelo Kedrey…!’
He ground his teeth so hard they creaked.
It was true he had deliberately left the aftermath of the kidnapping sloppy so the fact would be discovered. He had not, however, expected it to be uncovered this quickly.
Just who was Raphaelo to throw himself into the search for Princess Cayena with such desperate frenzy?
“Fucking son of a bitch!”
He had never imagined the man would pour so much money into the Grand Temple and the smaller temples across the south. The sum was large enough to inflict real damage even on House Kedrey.
At any rate, the truly urgent matter lay elsewhere. He had to silence Henverton Gillian.
The carriage racing through the capital’s outskirts at night came to a stop. The area held little of note beyond an old temple, its rear crowded with a sprawling slum.
Zenon stepped down from the carriage. He was wrapped head to toe in a dark hooded robe.
A short walk behind the old temple led to a small inn. On the surface it appeared to be an ordinary establishment serving food and drink, but in truth it was a contractor’s agency.
“Welcome, sir.”
The bartender, polishing a cup, greeted the new arrival. A few men played poker inside while another drank alone at the bar.
Zenon sat at the counter and passed the bartender a commemorative coin minted by the fallen Kingdom of Madrena. The currency of that ruined nation was no longer accepted in legitimate trade, yet it remained a token used for contract work.
“Oh ho.”
The bartender’s eyes gleamed as he examined the coin. It was a method frequently employed by high-ranking nobles who wished to conceal their identities.
“A distinguished guest indeed. Allow me to escort you to a private room.”
Zenon followed the bartender past the bar. Long partitions divided the space; beyond them stood a thick door. The room was clearly soundproofed.
“Here we are.”
The bartender opened the door. Zenon left his attendant outside and entered. Inside, a man wearing an ostentatiously ornate fox mask sat in a chair.
He spread both arms wide in theatrical welcome.
“Come in, my esteemed guest!”
Zenon flinched at the sight of him. The fox mask covered only the bridge of the nose, leaving the lower face completely exposed. The refreshing smile and the silver-white hair visible above the mask suggested no ordinary beauty. Zenon knew exactly one man who matched those features.
“Yester Heinrich?”
The man winked. “For the moment, I am Count Zodiac.”
“Why are you here…?”
Zenon began to question him, then his face twisted violently.
“Don’t tell me this contractor belongs to you as well?”
“Correct.”
Yester Heinrich let out a bright, delighted laugh.
“Well, while I was observing how events were unfolding, the princess kidnapping looked so entertaining that I decided to get involved. But I never dreamed the second son of the Evans marquis family would be connected to it!”
Of all the rotten luck—to think this contractor belonged to that insane scoundrel…
“The job ended rather unfortunately. Truth be told, I was in quite an awkward position myself.”
Yester had received a report from his subordinate about the princess’s words. That fascinating woman had threatened that if they failed to help her return to the imperial palace within twenty-four hours, she would reveal the location of their secret organization to Prince Rezef.
‘Did she truly say that because she knows something?’
Had she genuinely anticipated a day like this would come? Moreover, she had predicted that one of the swindlers planted in the kidnapping would be his man. For the first time in a long while, Yester had been left stunned, feeling as though he had been struck from behind.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Raphaelo had brought the situation to an end before he could intervene, yet the entire affair left him with the distinct impression that the princess had played him like a puppet.
“Princess Cayena has made quite a few of us swallow bitter water, hasn’t she?”
Zenon swallowed a curse, thinking how nothing seemed to go his way.
“My, my. Even if we can’t be on friendly terms, there’s no need to show your disgust so plainly.”
Yester rose from his chair and approached Zenon with a slick, oily demeanor.
Zenon demanded, “How did you know I would come and wait for me?”
Yester shook his head slowly, as though scolding him for missing the point and uttering nonsense.
“That isn’t what’s important right now.”
He gazed at Zenon with golden eyes. Even with his form hidden beneath the robe, the man’s rage and confusion were unmistakable.
“Isn’t the most crucial matter the fact that I now hold a weakness over Zenon Evans?”
A sneering smile curved Yester’s lips.
"The Villainess is a Marionette"