Since it had been such a hassle to heat the water, Jedrier had only meant that it would be more efficient if they washed together. But the moment the words left his mouth, Henry’s eyes sharpened and he scolded him.
“Jeri, how can you ask to bathe together with a man you’re not married to?”
“Huh?”
“I’m not yet brave enough to see you naked, Jeri.”
…That was not what he meant.
No matter how fond Jedrier was of Henry, there was no way he would have suggested that they strip naked and bathe together. He had meant that they should wash their faces together….
And how exactly are you an ‘unrelated man’?
Jedrier blinked and stared at Henry’s cold expression.
Just what does Henry think of me?
‘…A terrible master?’
Thinking back on all the little things he had done until now, Jedrier supposed it was understandable for Henry to misunderstand him like that. Which was why he could not offer any excuse.
“Mmm, sorry.”
Right. This is all my fault anyway….
He wanted to add that he did not have the courage to see Henry naked either, but held it in because it would probably sound too pathetic.
“I’ll go wash.”
After that misunderstanding that was not quite a misunderstanding, Jedrier left the bedroom together with Henry.
Nothing had changed at all, to the point that it was hard to believe an intruder had broken in during the middle of the night. Dust still lay thick on the window frame, and nothing appeared to be broken. Seeing it all in daylight only made that even more obvious.
‘What was that about last night?’
If the person had come here with some kind of purpose, they would not have left without doing anything.
There were only two powerless people in this palace, after all.
But saying they had simply taken a wrong turn did not make much sense either. Wasn’t this place far too secluded for that?
Jedrier tilted his head at the unresolved question.
But no matter how much he thought about it, no answer came to him.
“Henryyy….”
“Yes.”
“About that… last night….”
A thief? An assassin? A lunatic?
What was he supposed to call them?
“That bastard, you know.”
Jedrier settled on a term broad enough to cover all three.
“Why do you think he came all the way here?”
“I’m not sure…. I don’t really know.”
It seemed Henry did not know either.
Jedrier decided to think positively.
Nothing was missing, and nothing had happened.
Wouldn’t it be enough to start locking the doors properly from today onward?
But that positive mindset shattered the moment he opened the kitchen door and stepped inside.
Jedrier screamed and clung to Henry’s arm.
“W-what is this?”
How could something like this happen?
How could anyone commit something this atrocious?
Jedrier stared blankly at the completely empty food storage room.
That room had been filled with ingredients bought with money that was practically Henry’s blood.
It had definitely been more than half full just yesterday.
Now there was nothing.
Not even a single wilted scrap of greens.
Even the chipped axe was gone.
‘They broke in during the middle of the night and stole the food and the chipped axe?’
If Jedrier had known that, he would never have hesitated. He would have gone downstairs and fought them hand-to-hand.
He would have stopped them from taking anything.
The tip of his nose stung from the sheer unfairness of it.
Unable to believe what he was seeing, Jedrier squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
Nothing changed.
Regret flooded over him.
He should have just gone down to get the chipped axe yesterday.
Then, at the very least, he would not have handed everything over so helplessly.
“Henryyy….”
His misery rose all the way into his throat.
“Jeri.”
“What do we do now?”
Whoever had done this was clearly insane.
Completely and utterly insane.
Of all things to steal, they had taken that precious stuff….
Wasn’t it obvious at a glance that they had practically nothing?
The bastard who had robbed this palace was definitely some kind of psychopath incapable of feeling human emotion!
Just wait until I catch you.
Just wait until I get my hands on you!
Jedrier ground his teeth and cursed the unknown culprit, then tightly grabbed Henry’s hand.
‘No. Get a grip!’
He steeled himself.
If he could avoid trouble, he wanted to avoid it for as long as possible.
But if circumstances did not allow that, then of course he had to face it.
Jedrier took a deep breath, held Henry’s hand, and stepped outside.
“Let’s go!”
“Where are we going?”
“I need to collect some money!”
It was time to go collect the dignity allowance he had never received.
Jedrier puffed out his chest as though telling Henry to leave everything to him.
He had neither money nor power, but at the very least, he wanted to be a dependable master to Henry.
* * *
The imperial palace was a place that was always bustling with activity.
But if there was one department that was ‘less’ busy than the others, it was the office responsible for determining budgets.
Whenever someone came to complain about their assigned budget, all they had to say was, ‘If you have a complaint, please take it to His Majesty the Emperor.’
At that, everyone would immediately stop complaining and disappear.
It was truly a dream job where one could get paid for doing practically nothing.
Taking advantage of that, the man had been embezzling funds—sometimes modestly, sometimes boldly.
If things continued like this, he would be able to buy himself a large mansion near the capital.
‘Another profitable day.’
Every day was happy.
And it was all thanks to the man who had recently entered the palace carrying nothing but the title of ‘concubine.’
He had never actually seen him, but judging by the rumors, the official had assumed the concubine would either be thrown out or have his head chopped off before long.
Since he was not going to live very long anyway, pocketing the budget allocated to him was only natural.
No—anyone would have done the same.
And sure enough, even though the concubine had not received a single coin of his dignity allowance, he had never complained or come looking for answers.
“Idiot.”
He was grateful for that, though.
Please survive until next month.
No, until the month after that.
The longer he lived, the more money would fall into the official’s hands.
The man whistled as he put both feet up on his desk and leaned far back in his chair.
Then—
“Excuse me….”
At the cautious knock and the sound of the door opening, the man straightened his lazily slouched body.
At the very least, he had to pretend to be working in front of other people.
“Yes. What brings you here?”
Then he raised his head.
His mouth fell open without him realizing it.
He had worked as an official in the imperial palace for quite some time, so he had assumed he had already seen every sort of beauty imaginable.
He had been wrong.
How could a person possibly be that beautiful?
“I wanted to ask something….”
Normally, he would have immediately said what he always did.
‘Please direct all complaints to His Majesty.’
But in front of the beauty standing before him, he could not say anything at all.
He could only open and close his mouth like a fish.
“I heard that the concubines are given a dignity allowance every month. Is that right?”
He answered in a daze.
“…Yes.”
“But I still haven’t received mine….”
How could something like that—
Wait.
The man snapped his mouth shut.
The rumors had said the concubine was extraordinarily beautiful.
So this was that ‘concubine.’
Which also meant that the embezzlement he had committed was about to be exposed.
He should have kept embezzling small but bold amounts like usual.
Why had he taken the entire budget this time?
And now this disaster had happened.
‘He’s beautiful.’
The concubine’s appearance could not be explained with a simple word like ‘beautiful.’
He drew people’s attention and made it impossible to look away.
Looking at him made one want to protect him, made one feel as though they could do anything just to remain by his side.
The official had thought the rumors must have been wildly exaggerated because he was a member of House Olson.
That had been his mistake.
If anything, the rumors had failed to capture just how striking he was in person.
His pink hair gleamed beneath the sunlight so brilliantly that even though it was still winter, it made one think spring had already arrived.
Clear green eyes, a straight nose, and small lips all came together in perfect harmony.
The official had been staring blankly at his face when those gentle-looking eyes, now filled with obvious dissatisfaction, turned toward him.
His heart began pounding with nervousness.
‘He looks nothing like Count Olson.’
This was bad.
If the Emperor so much as laid eyes on this beauty, the thing rolling across the ground would not be the concubine’s head.
It would be his own—the head of a man who had repeatedly embezzled funds and illegally lined his pockets.
There was no question about it.
This concubine would absolutely catch the Emperor’s eye!
Like any bureaucrat skilled at rapidly finding a way to save his own skin, the man sprang to his feet.
“Th-there seems to have b-been some kind of m-misunderstanding.”
“Right?”
“Yes. Of course. Haha. Would you please sit here and wait for just a moment?”
The man flung the door open.
The instant he closed it behind himself with trembling hands, he slid down to the floor.
Fuck, fuck!
This was seriously fucking bad.
What was he supposed to do?
How was he supposed to get out of this situation?
No matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not see a solution.
He wanted to tear out his own hair.
Ah, if he had known things would turn out like this….
He should have embezzled in moderation.
But what was done was done.
The water had already been spilled.
At this point, the only option was to put the money back.
Then everything would be perfect.
He had already spent a considerable amount, so he would have to cover the difference with his own money….
Still, that was far better than having his head chopped off and rolling across the floor.
He could make up for this loss later by skimming someone else’s budget.
Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
The man barely managed to clamp both hands over his mouth.
If he had not, his scream would have shaken the entire building.