15. Even if the penalty is death?

The beautiful brow of Duchess Siela furrowed with a rush of embarrassment, but she forced a bright voice nonetheless.

“I apologize for the concern I’ve caused. I merely accompanied Her Majesty the Empress Dowager for a brief visit. I was just about to take my leave.”

“Duchess Siela.”

As she hurriedly turned around, Kincaid called the Duchess back.

“I’ve heard rumors that the items from the Summer Palace are being sold at high prices to collectors in the capital…”

“!”

“Do you happen to know anything about this, Duchess?”

Kincaid’s truly sharp gaze was directed at the Duchess. Siela’s brow furrowed again, but she managed to smile and replied.

“Oh my, I’m completely unaware of such things. How unpleasant that such rumors are going around. I’ll be sure to look into it.”

“You should investigate thoroughly. The little rat sneaking around the Summer Palace might next steal the Duchess’s honor.”

The ruthless remark aimed at the Emperor’s most favored concubine froze the expressions of everyone in the room.

‘What a personality… Fortunately, he’s on our side for now.’

Seeing such blatant signs of a future tyrant in the Crown Prince, Hailey couldn’t help but think sincerely.

“Duchess Siela, you don’t seem well. Perhaps you should take your leave and rest.”

Reluctantly, the Empress Dowager intervened, having been watching the situation unfold. Siela felt a surge of anger but quickly assessed the situation.

‘He’s the Crown Prince, the heir to the throne.’

Moreover, he was the next heir who was trusted by the Emperor and the citizens of the Empire. She, who hadn’t even received the title of Empress, was up against a formidable opponent.

‘If my son Fabio had been officially recognized as the Crown Prince, I wouldn’t be suffering this kind of humiliation.’

Grinding her teeth inwardly, the Duchess ultimately had no choice but to bow her head.

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. I shall take my leave now.”

Without being able to utter a single retort, the Duchess left the room with a pale face.

“Apprentice maid of the Detached Palace.”

Kincaid’s gaze shifted back to Hailey. She quickly responded.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Have you seen the senior maid who delivered the vase to you that day before?”
“No, Your Highness. It was my first time seeing her.”
“Do you remember what she looked like?”
Though he asked the question, Kincaid didn’t seem to expect much of an answer. But Hailey spoke up as if she’d been waiting for the moment.

“She was about a hand taller than me and had a rather sturdy build.”

“Hmm.”

“Her hair was a dark brown with some gray at the crown. Her eyes were a dull gray, and she had faint freckles on her cheeks. Her cheekbones were low, the corners of her mouth were downturned, her nose was high, but her nostrils were plump, and her face was overall flushed.”

As Hailey’s description flowed fluently, Kincaid seemed momentarily speechless.

“Oh, one more thing. She primarily used her left hand to hold things, so she was left-handed, and she had a small pin with a pearl on the right side of her head.”

“You remember all that about someone you met in such a short time?”

Kincaid questioned, as if he found it unbelievable. Hailey smiled and replied.

“I never forget the face of someone I’ve met, just like you, Your Highness.”

Of course, His Highness probably only remembers women’s faces, but she didn’t finish that thought. Kincaid seemed to catch her underlying meaning and frowned.

“Can you guarantee that what you said is true?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“And if what you say is wrong, would you be willing to lose your head for it?”

‘Ha, seriously… Does he have a hobby of beheading others?’

Despite the blatant threat, Hailey raised her head confidently.

“If I’m wrong, you may take my head.”

“…What?”

Kincaid let out a baffled sound at her bold reply.

“Instead, please find that despicable senior maid who deceived us and framed us. I beg you, Your Highness.”

Hailey bowed politely to the Crown Prince.

“I ask you as well, Your Highness.”

Soon after, a gentle and soft voice followed. The Grand Duchess Eleonora, who had been calmly observing the scene from the corner, stepped forward.
“I sincerely beg you to clear the names of the children of the Detached Palace, who have been falsely accused of theft.”
“Your Grace, the Grand Duchess.”
Kincaid, who had been wearing a cynical expression the whole time, finally reacted.

“This all happened because I failed to care for them properly. They are still young and inexperienced, so I ask for your mercy.”

Having earnestly pleaded with Kincaid, the Grand Duchess then bowed deeply toward the Empress Dowager, who was standing at a distance.

“Haah… What a mess this has become.”

The Empress Dowager openly expressed her irritation at the situation not proceeding as she wished.

“Finding a plump, left-handed maid in this vast palace? We’d have better luck finding a needle in a haystack.”

As the Empress Dowager muttered with a frown, she suddenly fell silent.

‘…Let’s see, a maid with freckles and a stout build with brown hair? Could it be…?’

At that thought, the Empress Dowager suddenly flinched. Kincaid’s sharp gaze did not miss that moment.

“Release the bonds of that apprentice maid. We will postpone the judgment until we find the senior maid who handed over the stolen goods.”

At Kincaid’s firm conclusion, a member of the royal family objected.

“But, Your Highness, what if the words of that apprentice maid are false?”

“This is no mere theft case. It’s a scheme meant to disgrace Grand Duchess Eleonora and the Detached Palace. We’ll be reopening the investigation from the beginning—thoroughly.”

Kincaid declared, turning to provocatively look at the Empress Dowager.

‘There’s no way the Empress Dowager would allow this.’

Everyone present thought the same, but…

“If that is the Crown Prince’s intention, then this old woman has no reason to oppose it. I will leave this matter entirely to the Crown Prince’s discretion.”

To everyone’s surprise, the Empress Dowager willingly stepped back, causing gasps of astonishment. Only Kincaid twisted his lips into a sneer.

“Annie!”

Without waiting any longer, Hailey approached her friend and grabbed her hand.

“Hailey….”

Annie looked at Hailey with teary eyes. Hailey tightly embraced Annie’s shoulders.

“It’s all over now. You can relax.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Annie nodded repeatedly with her tear-stained face. The involvement of Crown Prince Kincaid had brought a new turn to the jewel theft incident in the Detached Palace.

“Find the plump, brown-haired senior maid.”

Following Kincaid’s orders, the palace guards thoroughly searched all personnel in the palace, but no one resembling that description appeared for several days. Separately, it was reported that one of the maids from the Empress Dowager’s palace had suddenly left the palace due to illness. Kincaid, upon hearing the report, responded with nothing but a cold smirk.

***

“So, if you grab the lion’s nape and twist it with all your might, the lock on the door will release, and the secret entrance will open.”

As soon as Hailey finished speaking, Kincaid’s sharp gaze turned toward her.

‘Whoa.’

Feeling as if he could snap someone’s neck at any moment, Hailey instinctively flinched and averted her gaze. Kincaid then twisted his lips in amusement and gestured for her to continue.

‘Hah, let’s calm down. He wouldn’t actually eat me, would he?’

Following Kincaid’s orders, Hailey had returned to the underground hot spring to demonstrate the secret passage’s opening mechanism in front of the crown prince’s closest aides.

“Oh wow. That’s a really interesting way to open a door,” said Burnett, the prince’s aide, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

“So you’re saying if you slice—no, twist-the lion’s neck, the door opens? Can I give it a try?”

“Of course.”

As Hailey stepped back, Burnett approached the lion statue and vigorously twisted its neck.

Clunk-clunk-clunk.

A subtle vibration ran through the walls. Then, a thick piece of molding protruding from the wall suddenly slid backward, revealing a dark hidden space.

“Oh, it opened!”

Burnett exclaimed with excitement. At that, Kincaid, who had been reviewing documents, and the guard standing behind him, sharply glared at the secret passage.

“This is how you open the door.”

As Hailey cautiously explained while watching Kincaid’s reaction, he opened his mouth with a cold expression.

“Where does that passage lead to?”

“You know the broken fountain in the backyard of the Crown Prince’s Palace? It connects to the floor beneath that.”

“I’ve seen that fountain for over a decade, and I had no idea it had a mechanism like this.”
Once again, Burnett was in a frenzy.

‘Well, in the original novel, it was classified as top secret, after all.’

The round table room where Crown Prince Kincaid holds secret meetings with his trusted aides, the chamber where all sorts of secret documents inherited by the heir to the throne are organized, and so on. All those hidden places were bound to have secret passageways.

‘Who knew that reading the original would be this helpful?’

“I see. So, how did you come to know that?”

Kincaid asked Hailey again, his tone devoid of emotion. But Hailey wasn’t fooled.

“It’s a sort of secret passed down among maids for generations.”

As she spoke calmly, Kincaid raised an eyebrow.

“A secret?”

“Well, you could say it’s an emergency exit to carry out tasks smoothly even in urgent situations.”

In fact, in the original story, it was the secret passage that a senior maid used to convey urgent matters to Kincaid, so it wasn’t a lie.

“Fortunately, I’m the only one who knows about this secret passage right now, so you don’t have to worry about it leaking.”

Hailey cleverly replied, having already noticed Kincaid’s concerns about the secret passage….

“Ash!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Kincaid commanded his loyal guard with a furrowed brow.

“If anything ever happens to me, don’t hesitate—behead that girl first.”

Ash Klair, the knight who had been granted the title of the Empire’s best swordsman and was closest to the Crown Prince, bowed respectfully at his lord’s command.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At those words, Hailey wanted to jump up in frustration.

‘Seriously, is chopping off people’s heads really your hobby or something?!’