CHAPTER 186: THE TREASON OF A HANDSOME SMIRK

[Osric’s Pov—Imperial Palace—Dawnspire Wing—Lavinia’s Chamber]

As I walked toward Lavinia’s chamber, I caught sight of His Majesty stepping out, the door closing shut behind him with a soft but final click. Ravick followed in silence, his expression unreadable.

I halted mid-step, straightened, and bowed low. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Emperor’s gaze fell on me—icy, distant, and sharp enough to cut. He lingered, watching me for several breaths that stretched far too long. Then, at last, he moved forward, his cloak brushing against the polished floor.

"She has gone to sleep," he said, his voice flat.

I nodded. "Then... I shall visit her tomorrow."

He stopped, turning his head slightly. "What did you find?"

"The carriages leave the palace walls in perfect condition, Your Majesty," I replied carefully. "It is only once they reach outside that the exchange takes place."

He gave a short nod, but his eyes glinted coldly.

"It seems," I continued, "someone is replacing the carriage drivers. Yet no new hirings have been recorded within the palace walls."

Emperor resumed walking, and I followed a step behind. "Did you catch the bastard, then?"

"My knights are closing in, Your Majesty," I answered. "The driver responsible for transporting food out of the palace has been arrested. But the one who swaps the carriages outside—we have yet to lay hands on him."

His Majesty gave a curt nod. "Good. Catch that rat... and until then, see to it that no rumors reach the ears of the people."

I bowed deeply. "As you command, Your Majesty."

He moved forward again, his footsteps echoing down the vast corridor. Then, suddenly, he halted.

My heart lurched.

"And, Osric..."

I lifted my head. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

Emperor turned, his eyes colder than I had ever seen them. "Do not forget—you are only my daughter’s protector. Her shield. Beyond that..." His lips curled faintly, cruelly. "...you are nothing."

The words hit like a blade, sharp and deliberate.

Then, with his cloak sweeping behind him, he walked away, his voice trailing back through the silence of the hallway. "Do not forget your position."

I stood frozen, rooted in place. My hands curled into fists at my sides, though my face betrayed nothing.

What did he mean by that?

The memory of my whispered confession burned in my chest. Could it be... did His Majesty discover that I confessed to Lavinia?

But no. Only she knew of that moment.

Still... doubt gnawed at me.

Did something happen? Did my gaze linger too long on her? Or... was His Majesty testing me?

No,I’m overthinking.

I exhaled slowly, a sigh that felt heavier than the armor on my shoulders. "I should look for that rat," I muttered under my breath, forcing my thoughts back to the matter at hand.

***

[Lavinia’s Pov—Dawnspire Wing—The Next Day—Princess’s Office]

The next morning, in the quiet of my office, I was already buried beneath mountains of parchment.

My eyes flicked over the last sheet, my hand dragging my quill across the margins with a sigh. "Is that all, Sera?"

Across the desk, Sera adjusted her parchment and leaned in, double-checking the pile with the precision of a hawk. Finally, she nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. Every single document checks out. The supplies are accounted for, and the records are clean. There is no way we are receiving spoiled food from inside the palace."

I leaned back in my chair with another long, theatrical sigh and let my legs stretch under the desk. "So... everything is clear. Our people are innocent."

Sera clasped her hands together and nodded firmly. "Which means everything must be happening beyond the palace walls, Your Highness."

I tipped my head back until I was staring at the ceiling. "Perfect. Then Osric must have found that rat by now."

When I glanced back at her, Sera was staring at me with a curious little smirk tugging at her lips. "You really do put an awful lot of faith in Lord Osric, don’t you, Princess?" she asked lightly.

I blinked at her, confused by the question. "Of course. Because I trust him."

Her smirk bloomed into a grin. "Mmm. Trust, yes. But perhaps there’s more than just trust there... am I right, Princess?"

My chair squeaked as I nearly slipped sideways, clutching the desk to stop myself from tumbling over. Heat rushed up my neck. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Out of the corner of my eye, Marshi, who had been happily sniffing the potted herbs by the window, sneezed a puff of smoke—and promptly set a forgotten stack of scrap parchment aflame.

I yelped, snatching the documents and flapping them wildly until the fire died out, while Marshi gave a guilty snort and curled up, pretending to be asleep.

Sera’s grin only widened, her eyes glittering with mischief. "You know exactly what I mean, Princess. Don’t play so innocent with me."

"I’m not playing anything!" I huffed, cheeks warm, hastily stuffing the singed papers under another pile as though that would erase the evidence. "It’s simply trust—nothing more!"

"Of course, of course," Sera said sweetly, but her knowing look said otherwise.

I narrowed my eyes, then jabbed a finger at her like a prosecutor catching a thief red-handed. "You... you... YOU! Are you perhaps—" I paused for dramatic effect, squinting harder, "—trying to slack off?"

Sera blinked at me, head tilting like a confused puppy. "Slack... off? Me?"

"Yes, YOU!" I declared, leaning forward across the desk until my nose nearly touched hers. "Don’t play dumb with me, Sera! Didn’t I give you a very specific order yesterday?"

She blinked again, this time slower, as if her brain was buffering. "Order...?"

I crossed my arms, smug. "The list, Sera. The list of nobles we could invite to the tea party."

Her eyes widened, then narrowed, then her jaw dropped like a curtain in a tragic play.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, nooo—" She grabbed her head, gasping. "Agghhh!! I completely forgot!"

Before I could even respond, she sprang to her feet, knocking her chair back with a dramatic slam as though the floor itself had wronged her.

Marshi, startled by the noise, sneezed another puff of smoke into the air and rolled off his plant perch with a grumpy squeak.

And just like that—Sera bolted for the door, flailing her arms. "I’ll do it right now, Your Highness! RIGHT NOW!"

The door slammed shut behind her.

I blinked at the sudden silence, then slumped back in my chair, a chuckle escaping despite myself. "...Heh. She’s so cute when she panics."

Marshi snorted, as if in agreement, then went right back to chewing on my curtains like an unrepentant criminal.

I narrowed my eyes. "You... are you losing control of your power again?"

He froze mid-bite, ears twitching, then very deliberately rolled onto his back and shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

And then...

Knock knock.

The door creaked open and in stepped Osric, his usual handsomely dashing smile plastered on his face.

"Greetings, Your Highness," he said smoothly.

I immediately stiffened, nearly choking on my own spit. With the speed of a guilty child, I grabbed the nearest document, fanned it out dramatically, and hunched over it as if I were solving the empire’s greatest crisis.

"Go—good morning," I stammered, eyes glued to the paper that was, in fact, upside down.

He walked in leisurely, every step annoyingly confident. "Are you busy?"

"Yes. Extremely. Always. Forever busy," I rattled off, nodding like a machine.

Osric chuckled under his breath, that low sound curling around me like it had no right to. "I came to inform you that we’ve caught the carriage driver... but not the one who swapped with him outside the palace."

I peeked up at him, relieved to finally focus on something serious. "Yes, Papa already informed me during breakfast." Then I leaned forward, brow furrowed. "So... what should we do?"

That smirk. Oh heavens, that smirk. It slid onto his face like sin itself, making my stomach flip. "Let’s catch him red-handed, Lavi."

Why? Why was even his smirk absurdly handsome?! Who allowed that?! This was an act of treason against my fragile heart! And more importantly—why was I staring like a lovesick goldfish?!

I slapped my cheeks lightly, muttering under my breath, "Snap out of it, Lavi, snap out of it."

Then I shot to my feet, pointing like a tiny general. "Then let’s catch him red-handed!"

His brows lifted, amused. "Are you saying you’ll leave the imperial palace again?"

"Yes!" I declared, puffing my chest. "Let’s go! We’ll ask Papa for permission!"

Osric tilted his head, his grin widening, and for some reason, it felt like I’d just challenged the devil himself.

And that was how my totally normal day of paperwork turned into a scheme to catch a criminal with a dangerously handsome man.

But who would’ve thought... while doing that... we would cross paths with Eleania again. And this time...

...she wouldn’t just be near Osric.

No.

She would be very close to him.