Out of nervousness, I spoke up. “Your Highness, if we go straight to the mansion, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before the imperial knights catch us.”

    I glanced behind me. Strangely, there wasn’t anyone staring at us, but the noises around us made me feel uneasy. On top of that, this place, which had been empty earlier this morning, was now crowded with unfamiliar faces.

    Something about it felt off.

    “I called them on purpose.”

    At those words, my mind froze for a moment. “You called them on purpose?”

    Ardion nodded casually. “I thought it would be faster this way.”

    “But wasn’t this supposed to be a place no one knew about? If the fact that this is your mansion gets out...”

    “Laila, this isn’t the only mansion I have. This one just happens to be close to the capital.”

    Suddenly, I realized the extent of Ardion’s wealth. When he was younger, his inheritance was restricted by age. But now that he was an adult, it seemed like he had inherited quite a fortune.

    Then again, Ardion was from the imperial family. It wouldn’t be strange for him to own more than one mansion.

    “Laila, you’ve revealed the truth during the trial, so now it’s my turn to reveal how absurd my crime is.”

    “So, what do you plan to do?”

    “First, we’ll wait here for the imperial knights to arrive. Then we’ll get on their carriage and go meet Rowell to negotiate.”

    “You’ll take my evidence with you, right?”

    Ardion nodded. By now, we had entered through the back door of the mansion, and he opened the door for me. The garden inside the mansion was peaceful, unlike the outside world. It felt like a separate world, existing all on its own.

    Ardion took my hand and guided me inside. As soon as we were fully inside, I removed my cloak.

    “I still feel uneasy,” I said in a worried tone.

    Ardion calmly embraced me. “There’s no need to worry since Rowell won’t be able to kill me. There’s the prophecy.”

    His low voice rang in my ear.

    But just because Rowell couldn’t kill Ardion directly didn’t mean his underlings couldn’t. Plus, Rowell had Aridion’s necklace.

    Just then, the butler came rushing in. “Your Highness, Rowell’s knights have arrived.”

    Ardion nodded and headed towards the door. “Laila, I’ll be back soon. It’s safe here, so don’t worry.”

    Ardion gestured to the butler, who nodded and followed him out. I ran to a nearby window. The knights had surrounded Ardion, so he was no longer visible.

    At that moment, Derol climbed up onto the windowsill. “Master, if you''re worried, should I follow Ardion?”

    I thought for a moment, then reached out to Derol. “I think I need to follow him as well. He’s going to Rowell, and the necklace should be around there.”

    “But, Master, if you go too, it could be even more dangerous.”

    “Derol, weren’t you the one who said we should go earlier?”

    “Well... I was trying to sacrifice myself for you, not put you in danger.”

    “I feel the same way, Derol. I don’t want you to be in danger.”

    “But there are too many variables if we follow Ardion. Besides, we don’t even know where the necklace is, do we?”

    “Derol, if it were you, where would you hide the most precious thing to you?”

    I quickly walked towards the door, then headed to the back of the mansion, where we had entered earlier with Ardion.

    But the door was locked with a heavy iron lock.

    “It was open earlier.”

    “It’s probably locked because there are people outside now.”

    Derol’s explanation made sense. I scanned the surroundings. The wall was too high to climb over, and approaching the front door would draw too much attention.

    While I was thinking about it, Derol jumped down. “Master, I’ll try to open this lock.”

    “Can you do it? This is an iron door.”

    “It’s okay. Didn’t we also open the iron lock at Duke Orchid’s mansion?” Derol raised two small hands.

    I looked around again and said hurriedly, “Derol, then please.”

    “Okay, don’t worry.”

    I supported Derol with my hands so that he could climb up easily. He turned his head here and there, then pulled something hard with one hand.

    I looked around again. Fortunately, the area was quiet. This was at the back of the mansion, so I guessed the servants didn’t come here often.

    At that moment, I heard a clicking sound. Derol waved one hand, and after a moment, the door creaked open.

    “Thank you, Derol.”

    “I don’t think there should be a lock like this on the way my master goes.”

    I opened the door with a smile and hid the lock inside. It was to make it easier to come back later.

    I walked quickly as soon as I left the door. Ardion’s mansion was far from the capital, and I had to take a carriage nearby. However, I only had a few coins in my pocket.

    After thinking it over, I headed to the nearby market.

    I remembered what the fruit shop owner had said. She said that there was a fruit wholesale market on the outskirts of the capital. If it was there, there would definitely be a carriage that delivered to the capital.

    It wasn’t hard to find the wholesale market. This place was already famous for the fruit wholesale market, so all the surrounding signs were centered around it.

    I followed the signs and almost ran. Thanks to that, I arrived at the wholesale market in a few minutes.

    There were many carriages parked around me. Everyone was busy moving and unloading boxes.

    “Is this the end of going to the capital?”

    “Oh, let’s go now.”

    I turned my head in a hurry at the word capital. The nearby carriage was already ready to leave. Just then, the coachman pulled the reins.

    I quickly looked around. No one was paying attention to the leaving carriage. I quickly opened the carriage door. There were so many apple boxes piled up inside that there was no room to sit down, but I quickly got inside and closed the carriage door.

    The carriage then started to roll along.

    “Master, Ardion will be very angry if he finds out about this. This place is...”

    “There’s nothing I can do. But isn’t the scent of apples fragrant and good?”

    “That’s true, but...”

    “I’ll definitely have to bring a lot of money later.”