Chapter 6
“Raise your heads, all of you. Excessive ceremony is unnecessary.”
At the Emperor’s low voice, Harriet and everyone else lifted their heads as if under a spell.
It was a gentle voice better suited to a lecturer or a scholar.
Yet beneath that calm tone lay an undeniable dignity and authority that made it all the more persuasive.
As Harriet raised her head, she unconsciously looked higher toward the face she had yet to see.
A breathtakingly handsome face filled her vision.
Beneath slightly tousled silver hair, a pair of icy blue eyes—eyes that seemed utterly uninterested in anything in the world—were fixed on her.
His delicate features bordered on beautiful rather than merely handsome. A beauty so extraordinary that even the moon would hide in shame, and fish would sink beneath the water, embarrassed by the comparison.
Even Harriet, who already had every reason to resent him, forgot her bad impression for a brief moment, and her heart skipped a beat.
He’s even more handsome than the illustration…
Only after several long moments did she realize she had been making direct eye contact with the Emperor.
Harriet flinched and quickly lowered her gaze.
Now her heart hurt for an entirely different reason.
He’s the Emperor! Pull yourself together!
That’s the very man who trashed my precious novel! The one who claimed reading it cured his insomnia!
The moment she remembered that, whatever goodwill his handsome face had earned evaporated instantly.
Harriet lowered her gaze to the Emperor’s chest.
His voice sounded right in front of her.
“Which way is the bedchamber? I’d like to change out of my traveling clothes first.”
She knew perfectly well he wasn’t speaking to her.
Even so, for a split second, it felt as though those words had been directed at her.
“I shall guide Your Majesty.”
The head maid stepped forward.
Before anyone realized it, the Emperor was already following behind her.
Many of the attendants, guards, and servants who had accompanied him followed after him as well.
Only after all of them disappeared did Harriet finally let out a sigh of relief.
Now all she had to do was leave and return to her room.
She could finally get away from that infuriating Emperor.
If something happened in the palace, she’d undoubtedly be summoned again—but at least she’d have a little distance from him for now.
Just as she turned to leave, someone stopped her.
“You there. Brown hair.”
…He couldn’t possibly be talking to me, could he?
Harriet quickly thought about how many brown-haired people were still in the room.
There were plenty of brown-haired servants in the palace.
But most of them had scattered back to work the moment the Emperor left.
Sadly, at this exact moment, she was the only brown-haired person remaining.
Why don’t you just go change already? Why stop me?
Though exhaustion showed on her face, Harriet once again painted a radiant smile across it.
The relief of believing everything was finally over had loosened the tension in her legs, making them feel ready to collapse. She steadied herself before gracefully turning around.
A handsome man—though nowhere near as striking as the Emperor—was looking at her.
His gaze slowly swept over her from head to toe.
“A maid?”
“I am Harriet Brown, the maid responsible for managing Cinnia Palace. If it is not discourteous, may I ask your name and title? It is simply part of the proper procedure for assisting our guests, so I hope you will forgive the question.”
“You’re rather formal with your manners. I’m Baron Bellen.”
His title might only be that of a baron, but the fact that he had personally accompanied the Emperor meant his status was far from ordinary. Besides, there was a world of difference between a baron of the Empire and one of the Kingdom.
Harriet maintained her smile.
“Thank you. May I ask why you called for me?”
“Do you know an author named Elliot Dark?”
The smile on her face shattered in an instant.
Knock. Knock.
“Your Majesty, Baron Bellen requests an audience.”
The Emperor, who had been quietly giving instructions to his attendant Elvin, shifted his attention toward the door.
The head maid, who had awkwardly lingered instead of excusing herself, also turned her gaze toward it.
She subtly looked away.
If she kept staring at the door, it almost felt as though they would suddenly remember she was still in the room.
The Emperor stared toward the other side of the door without saying a word.
His long, slender fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of the sofa.
“Your Majesty. Baron Bellen requests an audience.”
“Let him in.”
Only after a long silence, when Elvin spoke once more, did permission finally come.
Elvin opened the door.
As it swung open, Emperor Kallis casually turned his gaze elsewhere.
It lasted only a moment, but his eyes briefly swept over the head maid.
A baron wearing a refreshing smile entered.
Just as he was about to perform the proper formalities before the ruler of the Empire, Kallis spoke first.
“Well? Have you brought me anything interesting?”
His voice carried no trace of genuine curiosity.
If anything, it sounded thoroughly inconvenienced.
The baron scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Won’t Your Majesty at least allow me to pay my respects first?”
“If I skip hearing your greetings once or twice, will the world come to an end? Just give your report.”
“I investigated as ordered regarding the author Elliot Dark.”
“Did you find anything?”
For the first time, Kallis, who had been reclining deeply in the sofa, turned his head toward the baron.
His tone, however, remained emotionless.
His voice was gentle enough to sound as though he were reciting poetry, yet the complete lack of inflection made it impossible to tell what he was really thinking.
His expressionless face only made him harder to read.
“If discovering that he’s considered a mystery even within the Kingdom counts as progress… then yes.”
Baron Bellen nodded, recalling a maid named Harriet Brown.
Rather amusingly, despite her surname being Brown, not a single stray hair escaped from the tightly coiled brown hairstyle she wore.
The instant she heard the name Elliot Dark, all the color had drained from her face.
She had politely but firmly claimed to know nothing before practically fleeing.
The other maids had reacted much the same way.
They had all seemed warm and willing to chat until they heard the name Elliot Dark.
Then they immediately shook their heads, insisting they wanted nothing to do with the author who had supposedly enraged the Emperor.
The only information he had managed to obtain was that no one seemed to know anything about him.
“What remarkable progress.”
Kallis replied flatly.
His tone hadn’t changed in the slightest, making it impossible to tell whether he was joking or mocking him.
Pretending to inspect the curtains while standing by the window, the head maid’s eyes darted back and forth.
Her thoughts raced.
Searching for Elliot Dark… Was it really true that the Emperor had flown into a rage after reading his novel? Since he’s already in the Kingdom, is he planning to capture the author personally? Should I report this to His Majesty the King?
The conversation came to a halt.
Kallis looked away as though he’d already lost interest in the topic.
Baron Bellen cleared his throat twice.
Only after glancing toward Elvin, who remained standing by the door, did the head maid understand the situation.
It wasn’t that they had forgotten she was there.
They had simply been waiting for her to leave.
Only after the head maid quietly excused herself did Baron Bellen continue.
“He’s hidden his identity even more thoroughly than expected. Even the magazine currently serializing his novel receives manuscripts only through anonymous letters. They aren’t sent through the post office either—they’re placed directly into mailboxes, making them nearly impossible to trace. And he hasn’t even collected the royalty payments waiting for him, which must be claimed by check…”
“Get to the point.”
“In short… I believe we’ll need more time to uncover his identity.”
Considering the investigation had only begun half a day earlier, the progress was actually quite impressive.
The Emperor, however, offered no praise.
Instead, he remarked on something entirely different.
“She certainly moves her eyes a lot.”
“Pardon?”
“The head maid. Even with her head lowered, her eyes are so large that it’s easy to see them darting around.”
She’s probably wondering whether she should report everything she just heard to the King.
He didn’t particularly mind if she did.
If it helped locate Elliot Dark even a little faster, he’d welcome it.
Kallis had already decided that, for Elliot Dark’s sake, he was willing to accept a few sacrifices.
“Did she catch Your Majesty’s eye?”
“I merely stated an observation.”
“If she has, perhaps…”
“At this rate, you’ll answer every one of my words with ten of yours.”
“Well… Your Majesty has long since reached marriageable age, yet there isn’t a single woman in the palace. Naturally, everyone is curious.”
At Elvin’s added comment, faint lines appeared around Kallis’s eyes.
“Listen to yourself. None of you ever pay attention when I complain, yet when it comes to making excuses, you’re as slippery as eels.”
For the first time, unmistakable irritation colored his otherwise emotionless voice.
