The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 67

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 67.

Sibi Ho, seated across from me, reached for an apple on the table.
Crunch.
She bit into it skin and all with such casual composure it was infuriating.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?”
“Saw what?”
“What the maid threw up.”
Sibi Ho’s jaw stilled for just a moment.
“…… Yes. I mean, yes. I saw.”
I sank back against the sofa and studied her.
She’d been following me all day under Concealment—she couldn’t have missed it.
“That was Helbayne, wasn’t it?”
……
At my question, Sibi Ho began working the apple over in her mouth, deliberately avoiding my gaze.
“What? Can’t answer that either?”
Then she let out a small sniff and muttered under her breath.
“Sorry.”
……
I nodded quietly at that response.
“So that’s a yes.”
……
Sibi Ho’s shoulders twitched ever so slightly. Confident now, I let a thin smile play at my lips.
“If it had nothing to do with Helbayne, you’d have denied it right away. But you’re connected—and you’re too worried your head might explode to risk opening your mouth carelessly.”
……
Hit square in the center, Sibi Ho bit down on her lip. Her eyes wandered aimlessly, searching for escape.
I lowered my voice and asked quietly.
“What exactly are you Guild people doing?”
……
“Never mind the answers. Just look at me.”
……
My voice had lost its usual warmth, and at that tone, Sibi Ho stopped mid-bite. She trembled and reluctantly met my eyes.
“Helbayne came out of a maid’s mouth in the Foreign Princess’s palace. That means there could be Guild people hiding under the Emperor’s own nose, swallowing Helbayne too, yes?”
……
For a moment, Sibi Ho’s eyelids fluttered.
‘Bingo.’
I tapped the sofa’s armrest with my fingertips and asked again.
“Is Helbayne something the Guild manages directly? Or……”
……
I fixed her with a cool, piercing stare.
“Is there another force behind the Guild?”
……!
Sibi Ho swallowed hard.
‘Excellent reaction.’
I pressed the advantage and threw another question at her.
“…… Helbayne isn’t a plant poison, is it? Was it made through magic, perhaps?”
That was when it happened.
After a long stretch of silence and dry swallows, Sibi Ho suddenly burst up from her seat.
“I really don’t know that far!!!!!”
Then, glancing at my reaction, she slipped quietly back down.
“…… sir.”
……
Truly, Sibi Ho was an assassin whose truth and lies were transparent as glass.
Yes, she wanted nothing more than to spill it all herself, but couldn’t—so how unbearable that must feel.
With an understanding expression, I nodded generously.
“I know. Calm down. That’s enough for now.”
……
At that, Sibi Ho’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Only belatedly did I realize I’d been testing his reaction.
Sibi Ho set down the apple she’d been holding, fingers twitching slightly against the table.
“That grim fellow—Aizen or whoever—he had a point.”
“About what?”
“You’re exactly the talent the Investigation Bureau needs! Why not just bury yourself there completely?!”
…….
Sibi Ho turned her head away sharply, as if sulking.
I regarded her with cool indifference before speaking.
“Never mind. For now, stop trailing after me and stay close to the Foreign Princess at her residence.”
“……Why me?”
“One of the Foreign Princess’s handmaidens had Helbayne. There could be another maid I missed, or the Guild might send someone new.”
The way they sent you to me.
Sibi Ho tilted her head at my words.
“What about you, then?”
“Me?”
“Yes. If something happens to you and you die? Then who removes this creature in my skull? ……?”
Sibi Ho pressed her fingertips against her temple as she asked.
“Don’t worry.”
I smiled coldly, meeting her gaze directly.
“Even if something happens to the Foreign Princess, that creature in your head will stay there forever.”
“……Oh, for goodness’ sake!”
Sibi Ho burst with exasperation and jumped up from the sofa, her form slipping smoothly out of sight again.
“Fine! I’m going!”
Her voice echoed from empty air, then faded.

***

Two hours later.
After a brief nap, I pressed the Ring again to don Ive’s face and headed for the Investigation Bureau.
My eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
‘Haaaa…….’
Gods, I was tired.
I trailed behind Aizen’s broad back, stifling a yawn that threatened to split my jaw.
Tears pricked my eyes.
Aizen glanced back over his shoulder.
“Did you sleep?”
“About two hours.”
“Enough not to drop dead, then.”
“Your concern is overwhelming.”
“If you understood, keep your wits sharp. Where we’re going is the Kitchen—the busiest place in the Imperial Palace, with the most servants and handmaidens.”
“Understood!”
I answered briskly and matched his pace down the corridor.
In any case.
‘Floria has to be somewhere in this Palace right now.’
In the original story, Floria entered the Imperial Palace as an apprentice maid to earn money for her sick brother’s medicine.
She started in the Laundry Room.
But when I’d searched the Laundry Room while investigating Eleonore’s bedding, I found no trace of Floria.
So what about the Kitchen?
As Aizen said, it was the place in the Imperial Palace with the greatest need for hands, where new apprentice maids came and went constantly.
‘The odds seem better there.’
With that expectation in mind, I headed toward the Kitchen.
The moment we arrived, I could see the Kitchen staff frozen in terror at the sight of Aizen.
Having received advance notice from the Investigation Bureau, dozens of cooks, servants, and handmaidens stood in a line to greet us.
While Aizen lined up the Kitchen staff and interrogated them with a fearsome expression, I quickly scanned the faces of the handmaidens gathered to one side.
Strange.
‘……She’s not here either?’
There was no maid matching the appearance described in the original story for Floria.
It was odd.
I’d come here fully expecting to finally meet the original story’s heroine, but now that she wasn’t here, a peculiar relief bloomed in my chest.
I rubbed the space over my heart and tilted my head in confusion.
‘…What was that?’
This strange feeling I couldn’t explain in words—what was it?
That was when Aizen turned to look back at me.
“Search the grounds outside.”
“Yes, sir!”
I left the Kitchen at Aizen’s command and inspected the Backyard.
Boxes of ingredients for today’s use were stacked everywhere.
I found nothing particularly suspicious in the foodstuffs.
I sniffed them, tasted them too, but my nose and tongue detected no toxins whatsoever.
Then, quite suddenly, I spotted trash bins lined up along the wall.
‘Hmm…’
Was this the inescapable fate of an Imperial Investigator?
Without hesitation, I overturned a trash bin and began to rummage through it.
Though I wasn’t a true Investigator, a genuine member of the Investigation Bureau would certainly have rifled through garbage without a second thought.
Gripped by an inexplicable sense of duty, I brought all my concentration to bear, sifting through the waste methodically.
Rotted cabbage, fish heads already crawling with maggots, mushy fruit scraps, and shattered crockery.
‘Careful with those sharp pieces.’
I gingerly cleared away the broken shards and dug through to the bottom of the bin with genuine enthusiasm.
That was when—
“…What are you doing, Newcomer?”
I heard Aizen’s voice from behind and turned to find him gazing at me with an expression of bewilderment.
I met his eyes with an earnest look and answered confidently.
“I was searching through this trash bin with the resolve that I mustn’t overlook even the smallest clue!”
“…”
At that, something hardened in Aizen’s eyes.
They didn’t so much show surprise as the gleam of discovering an unpolished gem.
“…That resolve is truly admirable. Looking at you, I’m reminded of the days when someone claimed they’d found a single piece of evidence by crawling through Wyvern droppings piled high as a mountain in the Stables for four days and nights without rest—practically licking the ground.”
“…Yes? No, I wouldn’t go that far—”
“There’s no need for modesty. As I said yesterday, you’re exactly the kind of person our Investigation Bureau needs! It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered talent with such promise!”
“…But even so, there’s no way I’d ever lick Wyvern droppings—”
“Such extraordinary determination that makes me want to take you on as my direct subordinate! This is praise, so feel free to accept it with joy!”
Hahaha! Aizen laughed heartily without waiting for me to finish and turned away.
I watched his retreating back, shook my head, and moved on to the next trash bin.
“…He never listens to a word I say.”
And so that day passed.
Nothing suspicious emerged from our search of the Kitchen.
But the investigation couldn’t stop there.
I diligently combed through various locations alongside Aizen.
The Garden and the Greenhouse, the back of the old Archives, the servants’ quarters and all manner of Storage rooms, even the filthy floor of the Stables—we turned everything inside out and interrogated servants and maids alike.
Yet strangely, no one matching the description of Floria appeared. Despite my travels through every corner of the Imperial Palace following Aizen.
One day passed, then two, then three.
Time flew, and already five of the seven days we’d promised the Emperor were slipping away.
As time wore on, my own interest in finding Floria naturally waned.
It was because Varcan sent Medicinal Herbs materials from outside every day for me to forward to Dylan, and my work at the Investigation Bureau had grown busier.
After finishing the increasingly familiar duties of an Investigator, I headed toward the Separate Palace.
Upon returning to the Separate Palace, I spotted a massive silhouette standing before the window in the antechamber.
“Your Highness…?”
It was Varcan.
The hem of his black Cloak bore faint traces of cold earth dust and the metallic scent of blood from the night air.
As I stepped into the bedchamber, Varcan turned to face me, his brow furrowing with displeasure.
“Are you getting proper sleep?”
His voice was cool and soft.
It was a reproach, but perhaps because it had been days since we’d last met, even this scolding sounded pleasant.
I smiled softly.
“How can I sleep when we only have two days left before the deadline with the Emperor?”
I stripped off my outer robe and moved closer to Varcan.
“And you—are you sleeping properly? Your eyes are pitch black.”
“They always are.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“…”
It seemed I was severely sleep-deprived. The nonsense coming out of my mouth was proof of that.
When I rubbed my eyes, Varcan gestured to Roan.
Roan then placed a thick stack of documents on the table.
“What is this?”
“Documents concerning secret organizations that were operating illegally within the Empire.”
“……What?!”
At my startled expression, Varcan stood looking down at me with his arms crossed.
His narrowed gaze fixed upon me.
“Why so surprised? You sent me away precisely to pursue this.”
“…….”
I obediently closed my mouth. It seemed Varcan had seen through my scheme—if one could even call it that.
Varcan moved slowly toward the desk and continued speaking.
“At first I thought it was coincidence, but it wasn’t.”
He retrieved another document from the desk and dropped it onto the table with a soft thud.
“Cross-species slave trafficking, hallucinogenic herb smuggling, forbidden ancient texts circulation, unlicensed spice smuggling, black market dealers and illegal mercenary bands, and even illegal monster trading organizations.”
Through the addresses I had provided, Varcan had found and arrested every last one of the illegal organizations without exception, he said.
‘I’d hoped that even three out of seven locations would succeed, and he managed all of them?’
While I marveled at his ability, Varcan’s eyes watching me grew only darker.
“At the exact time you wrote down, when one goes to the Herb Shop at that address, impossible things invariably occur in the vicinity.”
“…….”
“And in dealing with those incidents.”
Varcan’s keen gaze moved to the documents once, then returned to my face.
“I naturally became entangled with Marquis Bientra.”
“…….”
Fixing his steady gaze upon me, he posed a question I had never anticipated.
“……Is this coincidence?”
“…….”
“How exactly do you know such things?”
How does a Foreign Princess from an enemy nation, confined to the Grand Duke’s Estate, know the address of an Herb Shop—and what of these precise times?
Varcan’s black eyes bore down on me, demanding an answer.
Rather than evade his gaze, I met it directly.
Then, with a playful narrowing of my eyes, I smiled.
“Your Highness, what if I were to say…….”
“…….”
“That I know the future—would you believe me?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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