Chloe, The Thief Lady - Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Don’t Go Today
This is difficult. When she woke up, her ankle was fully swollen. Chloe rubbed her face roughly while looking at the distinctive difference between her two feet. She’s in trouble. She even announced that she’d rob Baron Gionel today.
“Ugh!”
Just in case, she turned her ankle slightly. She was in so much pain, enough to make her start to sweat.
“Oh, what should I do?”
“…Is this how you treat your body?”
Rosie, who wasn’t there just a second ago, suddenly pushed her head and began to look at her swollen ankle.
“Turn it, please.”
“I don’t think I broke a bone.”
“Try it.”
She didn’t want to move because it was hurting enough to make her back sweat, but Rosie’s expression was quite firm. Chloe took a deep breath and turned her foot around. Although Rosie must have seen her clench her teeth, she only stepped down after looking enough to satisfy herself.
“Fortunately, your bones aren’t damaged.”
“I told you so.”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s okay.”
Rosie took a bandage out of her pocket and binded it with skilful hands.
“You can’t move for at least a week.”
“What?”
Rosie whispered tenderly to Chloe, who looked perplexed.
“You’re not gonna be able to walk anyway because it hurts.”
“Oh, wait a minute. That will be a problem.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll move the documents over here.”
“No, no. Wait. I’m hurt, right?”
“Thank God it’s not your hand.”
As if teasing Chloe, who was upset, Rosie left the bedroom with bouncing steps.
“Evan! Please send someone to the office! I need to carry some desks!”
Even her voice was cheerful.
“Oh. What should I do?”
Chloe was the only one left to suffer.
* * *
The conference room was quiet. All you can hear is the sound of papers being handed over. Normally, Count Gillot would have raised his voice as he walked around the conference room, but this time he just accepted the agenda and said nothing.
Today’s agenda was about Lady, a serial thief to the aristocrats. It was not until 15 days ago when Baron Clant was robbed, that people found out about a thief named Lady. At that time, everyone thought Baron Clant’s escort was a mess. But it didn’t take long to realize that was a mistake.
The thief, named Lady, robbed aristocrats starting with Baron Clant. “She” even gave notice, but instead of catching her, they had to watch every time as she boasted about her loot. That’s not all. After stealing, Lady gave away gold coins and jewels to the slums as if making fun of them. Someone did it only for self image. In other words, as the recent civil unrest broke out in various parts of the Empire, the righteous one jumped in with an ‘intentional’ imitation.
It was a shame, but that was all. No matter how many guards and traps they set, it was useless in front of Lady. Last night, news spread widely in the capital that Count Antre, who was pointed out as the sixth target, was also robbed of his “Flame.”
“…….”
There was no one in the capital who did not know that Count Antre had cried. The situation was too unusual to be dismissed as a mere thief. How lucky can she be to avoid all the swords and flying arrows? Was it only because of luck she can sneak in without a sound? People began to panic when the only reason that could be given was “Because she was lucky.”
”Are you sure it is a woman…?”
“I call a woman a Lady, what do you call her?”
It was the Marquis of Shillot who responded with irritation. His was the fourth place Lady visited.
“Were she really alone?”
When Marquis Shillot opened his mouth, the person at the end of the table said carefully.
“She was alone.”
“…does she happen to leave several men of similar build?”
As if it were the last hope, the question was raised again, but the Marquis of Shillot shook his head firmly.
“No, absolutely not. Just in case dozens of knights don’t see them?”
Because his fifty knights failed to catch the thief, Marquis Shillot had been mocked for some time. The Knights of Marquis Shillot was criticized for not being able to catch the thief, and the Marquis was laughed at for not having proper knights. That day’s disgrace made Marquis Shillot’s face turn red, and he grinded his teeth.
“She was alone. She was light and tall. And….”
“And?”
“She’s familiar with aristocratic manners.”
“…….”
“I don’t know who the hell taught her, but they taught her very well.”
Ugh.
“Marquis Shillot. I will be glad to receive your gift.”
A greeting that was made by gently bowing. It was an elegant figure that would have been admired if it weren’t for such a situation. It’s uncomfortable to think about, and he can’t stop sniffing.
“Well…it just came to my mind.”
A hand came up from the end of the table.When being looked at closely, it was Dayburn, who received the seventh notice.
“Why don’t we go through the etiquette’s teachers first? First of all, you won’t know the manners of an aristocratic family until you learn. She must have learned it somewhere.”
“I see!”
Gillot, who had been quiet all this time, jumped up from his seat and made a fuss.
“If you talk about etiquette’s teacher, can’t you count them in one hand? It will be faster if we call them all right now and check them out. All you have to do is to find out who taught the common people!”
The conference hall, which had been quiet all along, began to get noisy.
“Maybe it’s a trap, isn’t it? A man with that kind of skill might have been secretly raised by a guild.”
“Who’s going to take responsibility if you miss it?”
“What do you mean take responsibility!”
“Come on, calm down.”
People who kept their mouths shut like clams and were just watching were now talking with veins popping up on their necks. Count Gillot is the most vocal among them. People don’t know, but all the places Lady visited were secretly lined up for Gillot. Clant alone caused a headache, but after six consecutive rounds, Gillot was on the edge of his seat.
“We must catch her!”
It was at that moment, when Gillot raised his voice with his eyes bulging out that a sound of tapping could be heard on the table.
“Please calm down.”
The Crown Prince, who had been silent all along, called them.
“Your Highness, what do you mean calm down? This is not the time to say that.”
Gillot distorted his face and spoke in a disciplinary tone.
“Calmly, Count.”
“Your Highness! Now–.”
“I told you to be quiet, Count. Are you giving me orders now?”
“…No, Your Highness.”
Gillot’s gaze moved and fell on the emperor’s empty seat. His eyes were very fierce, as if he were displeased with the absence of the emperor, who would take his side. Rayleigh snorted inside looking at Gillot who could be read like a book, but at least his outward expression was smooth.
“Your Majesty is concerned about this too. Hani, take the imperial court orders with you. I want you to bring in all the etiquette teachers in the capital right now.”
“Oh! The Imperial Court gives out an order!”
The atmosphere of the meeting room, which seemed to be calming down, was heightened to the fullest at Rayleigh’s words. They had a blood blister that they needed to drain, but it was not normal to summon an etiquette teacher for noble families. He was worried about how to call them in, but the imperial family came first. People’s faces were brightened. Among them, especially the voices of those who Lady had visited, and those who already received an announcement. Rayleigh’s eyes, who looked at them briefly, shined coldly.
She didn’t mean to save Illuminem for this specifically. Chloe sighed and put three Illuminem pills into her mouth. Even though she didn’t move from the bed all day, her ankle didn’t get much better. Rosie gave her a hot plaster, so the swelling went away quite a bit, but when she stepped on her feet, she felt unbearable pain. Chloe, who skillfully dressed up in Roy’s costume, waited for a while for the medicine to work. Before long, the pain in her ankle faded, as well as the feeling of numbness in her fingertips.
“…….”
She turned her ankle, but she did not feel anything. As expected, it was great medicine. But it’s not a cure. If she used her body like this, it would definitely get worse. She didn’t want to say anything to Theodore, but after work today, she had to ask Rayleigh for a few days of leave.
“Oh, get in shape.”
She let out a big sigh, her shoulders went up and down, then Chloe moved to the palace as soon as her senses were completely gone…
“Your Highness, can I take ten days off?”
“Why?”
As soon as Chloe saw Rayleigh, she straightaway got to the point. Her nights were always busy, so she couldn’t afford to sit around and talk. Rayleigh turned his head in surprise when she suddenly rolled up her pants, but Chloe didn’t let him look away.
“I’m hurt.”
“…You don’t have to show me.”
“No, you have to see. I’m telling you it’s real, not an exaggeration.”
“It’s enough to tell me, so stop it.”
“Look properly. Don’t say something else later. My ankle is really swollen.”
“You…”
His gaze, looking in the distance, fell on her white ankle for a short time, then shifted away quickly.
“Did you see it?”
Rayleigh’s expression was horribly stiff.
“With this leg…”
“Huh?”
“Did you get hurt yesterday?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“What happened?”
“I was making fun of Count Antre, but then I lost my footing.”
Talking about it reminded her of Count Antre, who cried yesterday with tears and a runny nose. It made Chloe smile quietly.
“Are you smiling now?”
“Because the count’s crying face was hilarious.”
“…….”
“Your Highness should have seen it. While screaming behind the Knights, I showed him the ‘Flame’ and said “Thank you for this” he started to cry.”
Chloe, who was embarrassed by Rayleigh’s glare at her, murmured softly, “It was really funny.”
“How did you get here? You look like you can’t even walk.”
“From last time, there was Illuminem left.”
“Left?”
“Back then, I cut back on my meds a couple of times. I took it today.”
“Don’t go today.”
Chloe’s eyes opened wide at the unexpected words.
“I gave out a notice today, how can I not go?”
“Tell him you can’t make it.”
“…I don’t even correspond with you, how can I contact him?”
“A letter… is there any need to look like an assassin?”
It was Chloe who was dumbfounded, but why is Rayleigh glaring at her? It was amazing, but today Rayleigh looked really bad. Instead of arguing as usual, Chloe closed her mouth and brooded on what he said. ‘Like an assassin’……. At that moment, she remembered Rosie grumbling.
“They threw a bottle with Cloves’ poison in it.”
“Your Highness, do you have a bow or something?”
“What about a bow?”
“To send a letter to the Baron. I’m not just a mere assassin, I’m Lady.” Chloe held out her hand and chuckled, “Give it to me quickly.”
The clenched white fingers moved in a cute way.
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