Chapter 92
Beyond affection, a terrifying obsession
Calix personally took the fox and, in disguise, slipped out of the palace. He regularly left the palace to go on covert outings, so he blended into the crowd naturally.
Using the palace’s intelligence network was too risky. The palace was already full of people loyal to the Emperor and the Empress, so he couldn’t trust it.
It was much safer and more reliable, even if it cost more, to investigate through an external information broker.
As she was safely held in his arms, Lea was busy looking around at the city streets. Now that she thought about it, even before her regression, the only time she’d ever left the palace was when she’d been invited to a noble household.
The scenery was different from the village where she’d lived with her clan as a child, so her gaze wandered everywhere. She was so busy taking everything in that soft laughter fell above her head.
“It must all be so fascinating, Luna.”
“Kyaang.”
Mindful of the many people around, she let out a small cry, and his expression changed subtly. At some point, the way he looked at her had changed.
His gaze had become more intense, almost possessive.
“Since you seem to be enjoying yourself so much, I suppose we should stop by the market after we take care of business.”
“Will you, sir?”
Calix nodded at Ilion’s question and pulled the hood of his robe down even further, covering his head completely.
Calix and Ilion passed through the bustling market and moved deeper inside. As the loud voices of people began to fade, an unpleasant smell wafted in from somewhere.
Her keen nose, carrying much information, caught the scent. Not liking it, she twitched her nose, and he tucked her completely inside the robe.
Poking her face out just a little to look around, Lea felt a bit disappointed, but at least less of the smell got in, so she could bear it.
Moreover, inside the robe, it was filled with nothing but his scent, so she even felt a kind of bliss. She was afraid he would despise her again, but at the same time, it was laughable how her body reacted to these little things.
She had always loved him, but after spending the night together, she found herself wanting more, which was troublesome.
But she absolutely couldn’t reveal her feelings. Just from seeing the look in Calix’s eyes the other day, she’d realized enough.
She wasn’t worthy of even the tiniest piece of his heart.
“Here we are.”
“Yes, I’ll go in first.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“But, Your Highness…”
“Tsk, there you go again.”
“Ah, so— I mean, I’m sorry. Young master.”
“Kang?”
Lea was startled by the word ‘young master’. Even outside the palace, that was still…
“…Just leave off the title.”
“Yes… But when things get urgent, I might accidentally use the more formal title, so I’ll just keep calling you young master as much as possible.”
“Haa…”
With a deep sigh, Calix seemed to go inside somewhere. The noisy place suddenly fell silent, then began to buzz again.
Then, it grew quiet once more. Only the sound of Calix’s and Ilion’s footsteps echoed, and soon, as if entering another space, the sounds ceased.
“Thank you for visiting our information guild. What brings you here today?”
At the sound of a woman’s voice, rich with seduction, Lea’s ears perked up. Calix asked in a hard voice.
“I want information about the origin of the Empress of the Cantabria Empire.”
“…It’s your first visit, but the level of your request is quite high, isn’t it?”
“I heard this place is the most famous information broker in the Cantabria Empire. If you can’t find out, tell me now. I don’t like to waste time.”
Lea knew well how efficiently he used his time. But she also knew he wasn’t the type to live busily every day.
She had once heard a story about geniuses. That geniuses could achieve in three tries what others needed a hundred tries for.
The first try was for preparation, the second for rehearsal, and the third—the real thing—was a perfect success.
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