The guard behind her continued his explanation.

“A carriage driver saw a masked man entering this man’s confectionery in the early morning.”

“……”

Shiloh’s eyes widened at the guard’s words.

There had been a witness.

“Could you give us a moment? I have something to say.”

The guards exchanged glances, gave her a brief nod, and stepped back.

Once they were fully out of sight, Shiloh fixed her gaze on Denis inside the bars and said flatly.

“Let’s talk.”

Only then did he lift his bowed head, stand, and come to stand before the bars.

Shiloh stared at Denis with a stiff expression.

“……”

He stood with his mouth clamped shut like a stone statue.

There was a witness, but Denis hadn’t confessed yet, which meant he might deny everything to the end.

Up close, she could see what appeared to be a bruise at the corner of his mouth, likely from being hit by Kyle.

The circumstances pointed to him as the robber.

“Why did you do it?”

Shiloh asked with a hard face.

Her voice trembled as the memory of that night came back.

The terror and the grief of being threatened by a robber in a foreign land, in another world entirely……

Denis’s lips moved several times before he finally managed to speak.

“I didn’t intend it from the start. I’m not someone who lives that way……”

He let out a heavy sigh.

“Are you making excuses?”

Shiloh pressed him sharply, and Denis couldn’t even meet her eyes.

He hesitated and scratched the corner of his mouth.

“It was my fault.”

Unexpectedly, he confessed his wrongdoing almost immediately.

“Why did you do it, of all things?”

When Shiloh asked with reproach, Denis squeezed his eyes shut and muttered as if lamenting.

“The egg tart tasted too powerful……”

“And so?”

“I wanted to find out what the secret ingredient was……”

“……”

Shiloh stared at him in silence.

“I couldn’t find anything that looked like a special ingredient, so I was going to eat a few pieces of bread and leave……”

“……”

“But even after I turned to go, the bread kept calling to me. That yellow cheese pound cake, the cheese fragrance kept…… and then I lost my head and it came to this……”

Denis sighed as if the floor might cave in and bowed his head.

“……”

The yellow cheese pound cake was one of Shiloh’s own favorites.

Her yellow cheese pound cake in particular was characterized by a generous drizzle of yellow cheese glaze that maximized the sweet and salty flavor.

“Eating the yellow cheese pound cake made me reflect. Just because she started baking later than me doesn’t mean she’s less skilled……”

“……”

Denis pressed his lips tightly together.

“I was going to go back and start over with the same passion I had at the beginning, doing proper research……”

“So what do you intend to do now?”

Shiloh asked without expression, looking straight at him.

“Do I have a choice…… there’s a witness now anyway……”

A bitter smile flickered at the corner of Denis’s mouth and was gone.

“I was only holding out because I couldn’t face the situation. I suppose I’ll have to take my punishment…… and I will……”

He rubbed his face dry and answered in a resigned voice.

“What about your son?”

“My son? Ha……”

Denis paused at the mention of his son.

His bowed chin showed the strain of holding back tears.

“You may not be able to work as a baker anymore.”

When Shiloh said it plainly, Denis looked down and gave a small nod.

It was not uncommon for the baker’s guild to expel members who committed unfair acts against one another.

And having robbed another confectionery, being expelled from the guild was a foregone conclusion.

“If you give up baking, what will you do?”

“I’ll close the shop and think things through slowly.”

Shiloh looked at him quietly for a moment, then drew in a deep breath.

“Would you come closer?”

“……”

Denis shuffled forward at her gesture and leaned his face slightly toward the bars.

Shiloh leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

A moment later, Denis lifted his head with wide eyes and stared at her.

*

Flip flip.

Document pages turned rapidly.

Kyle had a provincial estate inspection scheduled for the afternoon.

He needed to see the situation in the northern region firsthand after the cold snap and put together a response plan.

The servants had been busy packing the emperor’s things since morning in preparation for the trip.

Kyle, a perfectionist by nature, disliked having his pre-arranged plans disrupted.

He had decided to get through the documents he needed to review that morning quickly, so work wouldn’t pile up before his departure.

In the middle of his busyness, a thought kept pushing its way up, and his brow furrowed.

“If she was the one who ended the call first because she was busy, shouldn’t she call back? Ha…… not even thinking about the person waiting……”

In truth, since he had told her to contact him when she was in danger, Shiloh not using the communication device meant nothing was wrong.

If anything, it meant she was fine, which was a relief.

Even thinking about it that way, something in a corner of his chest remained unsettled.

Kyle pressed his brow in irritation and muttered.

“Should I eat some bread……”

At that moment,

Zing.

The pendant hidden inside his clothes vibrated faintly.

“It rang.”

Kyle exclaimed under his breath and quickly pulled the pendant from his shirt and pressed it.

But through the pendant came Shiloh’s trembling voice.

—Your Majesty. Something urgent has come up. Could you come?

“Something urgent?”

—The robber has been caught, and I think I need to see you and explain in detail.

“……”

—Are you busy, Your Majesty?

“……”

Kyle’s expression hardened and he tapped his index finger on the desk.

Shiloh’s voice through the communication device trembled faintly.

—If you’re busy……

“I’ll come.”

Kyle answered quietly.

‘What’s happened?’

She was someone who almost never contacted him first.

She found it difficult to ask others for help, so it was clearly not something trivial.

Kyle turned off the communication device and stood up.

He was heading quickly for the door when he heard a sound.

Knock knock.

The door opened and Lemiere appeared.

“Your Majesty, the luggage is packed and the carriage is ready.”

Kyle let out a small sigh with a stiff expression.

“I’ll be postponing the northern region inspection.”

“Were we not set to depart in two hours? This is quite sudden.”

Lemiere’s flushed face fell open.

“……”

“Your Majesty. The palace schedule is directly tied to trust. Making such an impulsive decision……”

Kyle dropped onto the sofa and rubbed his eyes.

“I think the constant late nights have pushed my stamina to its limit. I feel I need some rest before going.”

Lemiere stared at Kyle with his eyes closed, his lips moving as if about to say something, then closed them again.

“I apologize. I was giving you needless lectures when you’re exhausted. Please rest well, Your Majesty.”

After Lemiere withdrew, Kyle breathed out in relief and carefully approached the door, locking it firmly.

‘That should do it.’

He drew in a deep breath, then stood straight on the floor where the warp gate had been installed.

Pop.

Kyle’s body vanished in an instant.

*

‘Will he grant my request?’

Shiloh waited for Kyle with an anxious expression.

“Shiloh?”

She rose from her chair at the sudden sound of Kyle’s voice, turned, and bowed.

“Thank you for coming when you must be so busy.”

Shiloh pressed her hands together and greeted him politely.

“The robber has been caught?”

“Yes.”

“Is the culprit certain?”

“He confessed to me. He was a baker who runs a nearby confectionery.”

Shiloh kept her gaze down and spoke calmly, suppressing the urge to let her heart leap out of her chest.

“That must have been a shock. But what’s so urgent?”

She pressed her fingertips together and moved her lips, then worked up the courage to look at Kyle.

“Could I ask you to make a statement that this baker is not the culprit?”

Kyle let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“The robber has been caught and you want me to say he’s not the one?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Kyle kept letting out hollow breaths.

Shiloh had expected this reaction to some degree.

“I’ve already made a statement that he’s probably not the culprit. But it may not be enough……”

Shiloh glanced at him and let her voice trail off.

Kyle bit his lip.

“You want me to help? In the middle of all this?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kyle looked at her with a serious frown, and Shiloh shuffled backward.

“Someone who commits a crime should be punished. That’s only right. Have you forgotten? He was the one who tried to hurt you.”

At his rebuke, Shiloh waved her hands.

“I don’t think he meant to cause harm. It seems he just came to spy on a competing shop. That baker has a son with a disability, so he must have been under twice the stress over his sales.”

Her defense of a criminal made Kyle’s voice rise.

“Why are you so naive? You believe everything people tell you? How are you going to pay back my investment if you’re this soft?”