No Entry Except for the Master - Chapter 45

“You little s**t—you think I’m your plaything?!”

Do you know how much this job is worth?! Enraged by the thought of failing such a big assignment, the man shook the rabbit violently in one hand while checking the envelope with the other.

The moment his eyes left her to inspect the contents, the rabbit bit down—crunch!—on the hand holding her.

“Aaaagh! You crazy little bastard!”

He screamed and flung his arm.

The rabbit flew through the air and crashed thud against a large rock by the pond. From the impact, she lost consciousness and slumped down helplessly.

Seeing the blood on his hand, the man stormed over with a snarl.

How dare this little runt injure me?

Clenching his teeth, he kicked the unconscious rabbit repeatedly, determined to kill her. Once he was done venting his fury, he grabbed the rabbit, intending to toss her into the pond to destroy all evidence.

But just as he raised his arm to hurl her in, an arrow came flying from somewhere and struck his shoulder.

“Urgh!”

The searing pain made him lose his grip.
Hoofbeats thundered as a group of mounted knights and soldiers surrounded him in a circle.

At the front, riding a pitch-black horse, Teia dismounted.
Without so much as a glance at the man, he went straight to the rabbit lying on the ground and gathered her in his arms.

Staring down at her unconscious form with a blank expression, Teia then turned his cold eyes toward Cesar.

Teia’s gaze was ice-cold.

Understanding at once, Cesar quickly restrained the suspicious man and secured the d**g he had been holding.

Without a word, Teia pointed toward the underground prison, then swiftly mounted his horse again.
Cradling the rabbit in his arms, he rode back toward the palace—
—and behind him, black waves of fury began to ripple in the air.

***

The invitation to the engagement party had been sent to the nobles on the Imperial Crown Prince’s side without discrimination, but it was a kind of bait.

It was an invitation meant for the Crown Prince, who had been trying in every way to confirm the rabbit’s identity ever since Lilith had been taken from the illegal information guild.

At this point, he could have boldly come himself, but when Teia openly tried to lure him into the duchy, the Crown Prince tucked his tail and hid.

Looking over the list of nobles from the Crown Prince’s faction who had indicated they would attend the party, Teia clicked his tongue. He thought it pathetic of his half-blood younger brother to be so unwilling to take risks—how could he hope to get what he wanted that way?

Even though the most important guest had declined the invitation, Teia thought he would at least send a gift. That’s why he had been paying close attention to the nobles who were usually dissatisfied with the duchy and the houses that supported the Crown Prince.

He was certain they would try something. He was curious just how bold their tricks would be, and had planned to watch their scheme leisurely and then flip the whole board at the climax.

But Teia’s carefully laid plan started to falter even before the festival began.

“Lilith is missing?” “Yes. She was at the table just a moment ago, but now she’s nowhere to be found.”

He had only recently started allowing her a bit more freedom. He frowned slightly at the report of her disappearance, but he still had some composure.

Whether it was because the rabbit’s life had become so comfortable, or because her current life was simply better than her past, Lilith had seemed more content than he had expected.

So Teia thought, “This rabbit must’ve gotten distracted playing somewhere again.” It was a critical mistake—one that contradicted his own doctrine that baseless optimism was nothing but delusion.

He ordered the servants to search the castle and headed to the dressing room to change into his ceremonial outfit. While leaving himself in the hands of the attendants who were dressing him, he raised his hand to stop one of them as they tried to attach an unfamiliar cufflink to his shirt.

“I’ve never seen that before.”
“Ah, the accessory shop said there was a missing item and sent it urgently this morning.” “It wasn’t missing—I told them to leave it out. I guess the designer didn’t pass the message along properly.”

“Then, do you have a cufflink you’d prefer?”

“I laid it out in advance. Didn’t you see it?”

The cufflinks Lilith had given him were placed in the dressing room yesterday during his outfit inspection. When Teia asked the dressing room attendants, one of them, after thinking hard, turned pale and bowed deeply.

“I received those cufflinks earlier and was about to set them out, but I thought they weren’t yours, so I put them away…”

The mistake was somewhat understandable. If Lilith hadn’t given them to him, they weren’t something Teia would have owned. To attendants whose job was solely to manage his wardrobe, it would have seemed unlikely that the item belonged to him.

The servant quickly rummaged through a basket. Though Teia told himself it would be fine as long as they found it, he still felt a strange sense of urgency.