14. A Thief Who Would Empty the Palace Treasury!

‘Why is he so late! Could he be any slower!’

Hailey grumbled as she noticed the tall figure of the Crown Prince entering the room.

‘What brings His Highness here?’

‘Is he really interested in the trial of a mere apprentice maid?’

Questions arose on the faces of those in the room. Their gazes instinctively turned to Kincaid, but the Crown Prince merely nodded his head. He even made eye contact with Hailey but quickly turned away without acknowledging her.

‘Ugh, what a personality…’

The Crown Prince, accustomed to commanding others, spotted his grandmother, the Empress Dowager, and lightly bowed his head.

“What brings the Crown Prince here?”

The Empress Dowager greeted Kincaid with a forced smile.

“I heard you gathered to discuss the verdict of the recent theft incident at the Summer Palace, so I came to see you.”

“You must be quite busy to waste your time here. I’ve already decided to have that shameless maid executed.”

“Isn’t it too early to render a judgment?”

As Kincaid responded with a frown, the Empress Dowager’s expression hardened.

“As you know, I am the highest authority responsible for the management of this palace. Your Highness should not involve yourself in such trivial matters and focus on state affairs.”

The Empress Dowager launched the first attack. The Crown Prince shrugged his shoulders and immediately countered.

“As Your Majesty is aware, the palace’s security is the responsibility of the guard. And since I am the one in charge of that guard, I too have a responsibility to be involved in this verdict.”

‘What a cheeky guy, not backing down at all!’

Wrinkles formed on the Empress Dowager’s face, and every close aide standing beside her clearly saw the emotion flicker across it.

‘Is this what they call a battle between a snake and a mongoose?’

Hailey thought as she observed the tense standoff between the two.

‘In the palace, these two are natural enemies.’

The Empress Dowager, who had never fully accepted her daughter-in-law, Empress Delphina, and that rejection extended to Delphina’s children as well.

In fact, rumors swirled that she favored the illegitimate children born of the Emperor’s concubines—like Duchess Siela—more than her legitimate grandchildren.

‘And His Highness the Crown Prince isn’t exactly the type to tolerate the Empress Dowager’s blatant favoritism either.’

In the end, the two, who were in a grandparent-grandchild relationship, found themselves politely growling at each other every time they met.

“Fine, have it your way,”

The first to back down was the Empress Dowager. With a weary expression, she waved her hand dismissively.

“If you want to waste your time on this obvious matter, feel free. The conclusion has already been reached anyway.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Kincaid left a lukewarm expression of gratitude before striding over to take a seat. His deep red eyes turned towards Annie, who was kneeling on the floor, and then he gazed at the guard who was waiting.

“Explain in detail what happened that night from the beginning.”

“S-Sorry to trouble Your Highness. I’ll now report what occurred that night in full.”

The guard who had arrested Annie in the palace garden began to narrate the incident with great enthusiasm.

“I see. I understand.”

Kincaid listened to the report with an impassive expression, nodding appropriately.

“How fortunate that His Highness has stepped in,”

The Grand Duchess, who had been anxiously watching the situation, let out a sigh of relief.

“His Highness is a man of compassion. I’m sure he’ll save Annie.”

“Indeed, this is a blessing,”

The head maid, who had also been worried, chimed in.

‘A compassionate person, huh… Sigh… If he were that compassionate twice, the whole palace would probably be in chaos.’

Hailey clicked her tongue inwardly as she recalled Kincaid mercilessly pressing a blade to her throat that night.

‘When will this delusion finally wear off?’

Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager fanned herself with a sulky expression.

“Ha, what a waste of time…”

She was unhappy with the situation, as she had intended to take advantage of this opportunity to deal with the thieving maid and simultaneously corner the thorn in her side, Grand Duchess Eleonora.

“The Crown Prince has once again stepped in for the Grand Duchess.”

Duchess Siela, standing nearby, whispered quietly.

“It’s not just once or twice; every time something happens at the Detached Palace, His Highness intervenes… At this rate, the discipline of the palace will soon collapse.”

It wasn’t just Duchess Siela who was gossiping. Whispers flowed among other royals gathered near the wall.

“With His Highness coming out like this every time, suspicious rumors circulate within the palace.”

“Rumors? You mean… that indecent story…?”

Just as the gossip was about to continue…

“That’s enough.”

Kincaid raised a hand toward the guard who was recounting the events. Then, he turned his gaze toward the nobles.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, those who had been gossiping let out a short gasp. Although Kincaid was far from where they were seated, making it impossible for him to hear their voices, he cast a cold gaze as if he knew exactly what they had been saying.

“Speak clearly. Are you truly saying you didn’t steal the jewel?”

Turning his gaze from the trembling royals, Kincaid interrogated Annie in a sharp voice.

“No, Your Highness. I am not a thief. I could swear on my parents and siblings.”

Annie prostrated herself again, pleading with Kincaid once more.

“You weren’t the first to receive that vase, were you?”

“That is… actually…”

Annie trailed off, worried that her words might bring trouble to Hailey as well.

‘She’s still worried about me first, even now…’

Hailey let out a silent sigh and stepped forward.

“I was the first to receive the vase.”

At Hailey’s statement, Kincaid turned his head toward her. However, as soon as he saw Hailey, he noticeably scrunched his face in displeasure.

‘That attitude again… Honestly, I don’t want to be on the same side as you either, Your Highness.’

Hailey sighed internally and opened her mouth.

“That day, a senior maid working in the main palace instructed me to deliver the vase. However, I had to tidy up the study at the time, so I asked Annie to run the errand on my behalf.”

“Hmm. Then it seems the necklace thief is you, not that girl.”

Duchess Siela sneered, cutting Hailey off before she could finish.

“Or maybe you two conspired together.”

At that remark, Kincaid’s sharp gaze tilted upward in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, Duchess, but that’s absolutely not the case.”

“Oh? Do you have some clever excuse you’d like to share?”

“Actually, I want to become rich, so I’m saying it’s absolutely impossible.”

Hailey’s sudden statement brought silence to the room for a moment. She calmly continued.

“Even if I were to dispose of a necklace as stolen goods, splitting the money would not yield a significant amount for me. Considering the risks, it would be a business where I wouldn’t even break even.”

“Wh–what did you just say…?”

The Duchess stammered at Hailey’s nonchalant reply.

“If I had ulterior motives, I would have prepared a plan that yields a much larger profit. Instead of stealing a measly necklace, I would have aimed to take the entire jewelry box at least.”

“Good heavens, Hailey…”

Even Grand Duchess Eleonora muttered in astonishment at Hailey’s bold statement.

“That’s right. Someone with your cunning nature would have devised a more devious scheme to steal the palace’s treasures.”

Kincaid, who had been leaning back with his chin in his hand, ground his teeth and muttered.

“You seem like the type who would rob the entire treasury of the palace.”

‘Uh… You do remember we’re on the same side here, right?’

Hailey could feel the heat of the Crown Prince’s fierce gaze burning into the back of her head.

‘Anyway, back to the main point…’

Hailey deeply bowed her head toward the Empress Dowager.

“Your Majesty, esteemed Empress Dowager. Annie and I are nothing more than lowly apprentice maids. We neither have the intent nor the means to steal Her Grace the Grand Duchess’s jewels.”

“Then why did such an incident occur in the Detached Palace?”

“What is clear is that the senior maid specifically chose me among the many maids in the Detached Palace to carry the vase containing the stolen goods. I am too dull and foolish to understand the reason behind this.”

As if she didn’t know the reason…

The Empress Dowager scoffed inwardly at Hailey’s feigned innocence.

The goal of the person who orchestrated this incident was likely to tarnish the Grand Duchess’s honor and narrow her standing within the palace.
Whoever it was, the Empress Dowager was more than willing to use that scheme.

‘It was all going so well!’

Looking at the Grand Duchess, who maintained her elegance even in this situation, the Empress Dowager frowned.

“How dare you! How could you speak such nonsense to the Empress Dowager?”

The Duchess of Siela, watching the Empress Dowager’s expression, quickly stepped in to scold Hailey. But then—

“Duchess Siela.”

Kincaid, still sitting with a slouched posture, called out to the Duchess with an indifferent voice.

“I’ve been wondering, why are you here at this moment?”

“Your Highness, I… that is…”

“The royal regulations state that only members of the royal family may intervene in the internal affairs of the palace, you know?”

At this blatant order to leave, the Duchess of Siela’s expression hardened. She often claimed to be a member of the royal family, but that assertion had no legal basis. In truth, she was merely one of the Emperor’s many concubines.

‘He just had to hit her where it hurts most!’