Chapter 5
“Then… are you saying someone really stole it?”
“Doesn’t it seem that way?”
“But the security there is so tight! Even I, a maid, wouldn’t dare sneak in.”
As I tried to blend in naturally with the maids by following the ones I saw, I ended up overhearing their conversation.
“But don’t you think it’s strange that things are so quiet for a jewel going missing?”
It seemed the maids were talking about Cleia’s Tear.
Since I still couldn’t quite give up on it, I found myself listening closely to their conversation.
“Actually, what if the cause of this whole commotion is His Highness the Third Prince?”
“Huh? Prince Michael?”
“Come to think of it, most of the ridiculous incidents in the imperial palace come from the Third Prince’s residence.”
“Well, he did use the imperial genealogy as firewood once. And wasn’t he the one who threw mud at the portrait of the late emperor?”
“They even joke that whenever something happens in the palace, you should check the Third Prince first.”
“If something like this happened and everyone’s staying quiet… that’s even more suspicious, right?”
So there was a troublemaker here too. It seemed the palace’s biggest problem child was the Third Prince.
Actually, this jewel incident had been caused by me, so I felt a little sorry for him being suspected.
But still… I couldn’t feel guilty about people doubting him because of his usual behavior.
While nodding along to myself and continuing to walk, I suddenly ran into something.
Thud—!
I fell straight onto my backside.
“Ow…!”
It felt like there was a stone right under me. My tailbone shot with pain like an electric shock.
I lifted my head to see what I had bumped into.
“Who are you? This is the Crown Prince’s exclusive laundry area.”
Uh-oh. I must have followed them too far while listening.
But what should I say?
While I hesitated, someone pointed at the ground and said,
“Huh? Isn’t that the snake that was brought yesterday as food for His Highness the Crown Prince’s pet?”
Among the maids was the one who had brought the snake yesterday. Because I had fallen, the snake had popped out of the box and was now slithering across the ground.
“S-so…”
If I hesitated any longer, they would get suspicious.
Where should I say I work? The Emperor’s palace? The Empress’s? The kitchen? Cleaning staff? The stables?
Where could I say that wouldn’t overlap with them?
My mind refused to work quickly despite my urgency.
Then a familiar maid clapped her hands.
“Ah! Are you the new maid who’s supposed to take care of the pets?”
“Uh… y-yes! That’s right!”
I answered instinctively.
My unexpected savior smiled proudly, pleased that her guess was correct.
“I heard you might not be able to come, but you already arrived! Your uniform looks perfect too, so I guess you’ve already met the head maid.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I nodded with the most natural smile I could manage.
“I was wondering who it would be. Nice to meet you. But why are you at the laundry area?”
“I got lost. I’m still not familiar with the palace.”
I scratched my head awkwardly as I stood up from the ground.
“That happens. Where were you trying to go? Oh—wait, isn’t the snake running away over there? Is that okay?”
At the maid’s words, I turned to look.
There was the snake—my complicated companion—slithering away quickly.
“…You little…”
Seeing its determined escape filled me with mixed emotions.
You promised we’d leave together…
Well… actually that promise had been entirely one-sided.
Still, I felt a strange sense of betrayal that it was leaving alone… along with guilt that I hadn’t treated the little guy better after it helped me.
Goodbye. Live well and stay healthy.
I silently said farewell to the snake with whom I had formed a strange emotional bond.
Still, thanks to that snake, I had managed to get through a crisis.
“It’s fine. The weasel didn’t like it anyway, so I was going to release it.”
I answered shamelessly.
“The weasel is picky about food?”
One of the maids tilted her head.
“Yes. It’s a very gourmet weasel.”
“Huh… never heard of that before. Oh right, my name’s Ella.”
“Hello. I’m Rosha.”
“Rosha? That’s a pretty name.”
I probably should have used a fake name.
Without thinking, I had said my real one.
But since I’d never see them again once I left the palace, it probably didn’t matter.
“I’m Lianne, cleaning staff for the Crown Prince’s palace, and this is Pianne!”
The maids introduced themselves warmly.
I bowed awkwardly and said I looked forward to working with them.
“But why is the Crown Prince suddenly raising such a strange animal?”
“Yeah. From a distance it looked ugly.”
Ugly… UGLY?!
Pianne’s words made me flare up internally.
What do you mean ugly?! I’m adorable!
Did you even look properly?!
I can’t tolerate people failing to recognize my cuteness!
“No way. Up close its eyes were round and black—it was cute. Its nose was moist too.”
My head turned toward the speaker.
Ella had apparently observed me carefully during that brief feeding moment.
Finally, someone with proper eyesight.
“I haven’t seen it yet!”
“Let’s go look when we go clean.”
Unfortunately, they’d probably never see me again.
“Oh right, Rosha. Since you’re the animal caretaker, you must know a lot about animals, right?”
Suddenly Ella grabbed my arm.
The sparkle in her eyes made me uneasy.
“Could you maybe help me with something?”
Of course—an inconvenient request for someone trying to escape.
“Um… I’m kind of busy—”
“The Third Prince’s dog has been sick since yesterday, and the maids are getting grilled because of it. Since you’re an expert, could you take a look?”
“A… dog?”
“It’s usually very lively, but suddenly it’s been weak. The whole Third Prince’s residence is in chaos.”
“Uh… well…”
“Please. Just think of it as saving me once.”
Ella’s eyes were desperate.
Of all times…
Why did a dog have to get sick at such a critical moment?!
But aside from the plea, the rumor I’d just heard about the Third Prince possibly taking Cleia’s Tear kept lingering in my mind.
The Third Prince…
What if he really had taken it?
“…Fine. I’ll take a look.”
I sighed and accepted the request.
Really, it was only because the dog was sick and I felt softhearted.
Really.
* * *
I followed Ella to the Third Prince’s residence.
Unlike the Crown Prince’s palace, it was loud and bustling.
“What on earth did it eat to be vomiting like this?”
“It soaked the blanket again! It threw up all the medicine we gave it!”
It seemed the dog’s condition was genuinely bad.
In the garden of the Third Prince’s palace was a large doghouse.
The dog lay on a thick blanket in front of it.
Even in such a wide yard, it looked completely limp.
Clearly something was wrong.
“You see the situation.”
Ella sighed deeply.
I nodded and approached the dog.
“Here! This is the new animal caretaker from the Crown Prince’s palace! I happened to run into her and brought her!”
“Oh! That’s good!”
The maids who had been caring for the dog welcomed me and stepped aside.
I crouched down in front of the dog and examined it.
“When did the dog start like this?”
“Hmm… exactly yesterday, right?”
The maids looked at each other, trying to remember.
“I think it started yesterday morning.”
I reached out toward the dog.
Soft brown fur brushed against my fingers.
“Whine…”
The dog looked up at me weakly.
“What’s its name?”
“Ludwig Spencer Verdi the Third.”
“….”
So it was you.
One of the animals that contributed to the Crown Prince’s ridiculous naming sense.
Well… more accurately, your owner.
I slowly ran my hand from the dog’s head to its neck, then down its back and belly.
“Hm.”
Second ability of beast-people: affinity with animals.
Those with strong affinity could sense their energy.
Especially pain or discomfort—it naturally transmitted itself.
I had once considered becoming a veterinarian because of this ability.
But feeling their pain so directly was too hard to bear, so I gave up the idea.
“It seems to have eaten something wrong. Not food… something it shouldn’t have…”
As I sensed a foreign object inside the dog, I was about to ask what it had eaten yesterday.
But then a thought suddenly struck me.
Wait… could it be…
Did this dog eat Cleia’s Tear that I dropped?
“Was the dog only in the Third Prince’s residence yesterday?”
“Well… Ludwig Spencer Verdi the Third ran all over the palace yesterday, so we have no idea what it ate. And because we couldn’t control it properly, things have gotten even worse…”
While a maid explained, a sharp voice suddenly rang out from the distance.
“Are you telling me you still don’t know why Ludwig Spencer Verdi the Third is sick?! Do you all want to be thrown out of the palace?!”
At the sharp voice, my head automatically turned.
“We greet Your Highness the Third Prince.”
As the maids bowed, I hurriedly bowed too.
He was about the height of my waist.
Fluffy short golden hair curled around his head.
Sharp eyes—whether naturally so or because he was worried about his dog.
His chubby cheeks contrasted with the prickly expression.
“Who are you?”
The Third Prince had already approached and asked me.
“We greet Your Highness the Third Prince.”
I awkwardly mimicked the maids’ greeting.
The prince still looked at me suspiciously.
“This maid is an animal expert who recently arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace.”
Expert? That description was escalating fast.
“An expert?”
At the explanation, the prince’s sharp gaze softened slightly.
“Yes, Your Highness. I heard the dog’s condition was bad, so I came to examine it.”
“Is that so? Then what’s the problem? It’s not some fatal disease, is it?”
The Third Prince seemed quite impatient.
Jumping straight to death already?
I lifted my head to answer.
