Chloe, The Thief Lady - Chapter 15

“What are you doing!”

 

Startled, Rayleigh grabbed Chloe’s fist that was thrown at him. Held by a hard grip, Chloe couldn’t lift her hand no matter how hard she tried.

 

“Hey, you bastard!”

 

“Roy! It’s me. Wake up!”

 

“How dare you, you bastard!”

 

“Wake up! The moon has set.”

 

“What does the moon have to do with me……the moon has set?”

 

The idea of scolding a pervert evaporated at once. Chloe’s heart began to pound when she felt that she was in a strange situation.

 

“What’s wrong with the moon?”

 

“……You fell asleep.”

 

“Did I?”

 

Rayleigh didn’t answer, but his silence couldn’t be anything but an affirmation.

 

“Why, why didn’t you wake me up?”

 

“I tried. It’s really hard to wake you up, maybe because you fell asleep after eating Illuminem.”

 

“You can call me loudly!”

 

“You don’t think I can scream to my heart’s content, do you?”

 

Chloe’s face was distorted by Rayleigh’s smile, hitting the blanket with his finger. His lips, which were close enough to brush her ears, were meant to wake her up! Chloe let out a silent scream. Oh my God, he has no shame!

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Your Highness, but I was also surprised…!”

 

Roy, who felt heat on the back of her neck, suddenly was surprised and cried out softly.

 

“Devon Writer!”

 

“Looking for Devon, you’re really wide awake now, aren’t you?”

 

“I’m leaving!”

 

“Wait.”

 

As soon as she was out of words, Roy tried to jump out of her seat, but Rayleigh who held her was one step faster. Tch, her body was reeling from rebound as her wrist was being grabbed.

 

“Let go! If I don’t go fast!”

 

“I’ve sent him a letter. Calm down.”

 

Roy’s movement, her hands shaking nervously, stopped.

 

“Sent it?”

 

“I sent it.”

 

The appearance of not knowing what to do subsided calmly. Her stiff wrists were stretched out gently, and her wide open eyes regained their shape.

 

“Oh, I was really surprised.”

 

Rayleigh, who while watching Roy was smiling at the end of her speech, then he suddenly frowned. It felt like throbbing inside, similar to tingling.

 

“Your Highness?”

 

As if surprised by the sudden hardening of his complexion, Chloe moved a bit closer, but Rayleigh pushed her, letting go of her hand.

 

“I didn’t mean to come.”

 

“What?”

 

“Go ahead. Soon the sun will rise.”

 

Rayleigh stretched out his hand as if to stop her approaching.

 

“Huh?”

 

Chloe, who shifted her gaze from the stretched hand to his face, twitched her lips.

 

“What do you hate so much. So embarrassing, I’m going! See you in ten days, Your Grace.”

 

“A week later.”

 

“……Yes yes, I will.”

 

At the end of the remark, Roy disappeared, but the discomfort remained unmoved until the sun rose. For some reason, the thumps lingered.

 

Maybe it’s because it’s her second time. She didn’t feel so dirty when seeing Rayleigh who hates to see her smiling face.

 

“Oh my God, seriously am I used to this because I have nothing else to adapt to?”

 

While running like a fly, Chloe looked at the palace, which is now far away.

 

“Take care, Theodore!”

 

Chloe’s middle finger stood straight up like a stick, while she was running through the gray dawn air. However, she was huffing after a while, Chloe squeezed out her last burst of strength and ran desperately.

 

Daybreak was coming!

 

Rosie knew she would be sleeping, so she had to go back quickly. Maybe because she just woke up, her mind was not clear.

 

“I’ve got a lot of things to do. Really.”

 

Clicking her tongue, Chloe kicked the ground and began to run. Through the streets of the quiet townhouses where everyone was asleep, the sound of running was loud…..

 

***

 

“Oh, my. Really.”

 

Chloe crawled onto the terrace of her room and gasped.

 

“There is no princess as bad as me. Oops.”

 

Chloe was the only princess of the empire and a noble woman who was only lower than the Empress Catherine.

 

But she runs and rolls around every night?

 

She even steals.

 

It’s only for a moment, but she was lost in the question of ‘how on earth did I get to this point?’ But the unexpectedness was a shock, and what was urgent was urgent.

 

Chloe quickly changed her clothes and washed her face to remove the smell of sweat.

 

Chloe was struggling to quickly change her clothes and wash her face to remove the smell of sweat. When she crawled into bed and lay down, she sighed with relief.

 

“I’m alive…”

 

Mumbling with a soft blanket in her arms, Chloe was exhausted. Her senses were still far away, but she felt her body calming. Maybe it’s relaxing. Chloe slowly blinked as she looked out the dim window.

 

It was a long night brief as it was, it was great. And today will be the same.

 

Soon, will Rosie come by in the morning…?

 

Lying on her back watching the brightening window, Chloe’s eyes were more fuzzy than ever.

 

“Hoam….”

 

There were three or four small yawns. By the time Chloe thought her eyes were closing, Rosie called her.

 

“Lady?”

 

“Huh?”

 

She opened her eyes at once, and Rosie’s expression was unusual. Chloe was irritated by the way she wrinkled her forehead.

 

No way, did she get caught going out last night? She made sure to put her hunting clothes away, and to erase the smell of sweat!

 

“… are you?”

 

Chloe was cut off by Rosie’s words.

 

“Huh? What?”

 

But her voice was weird. There’s a hoarse sound from being asleep for a while. She thought she just closed her eyes, but she slept again?

 

Chloe tried to raise herself to avoid any reasonable doubt, but Rosie came closer and pressed her shoulder down first.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Don’t get up.”

 

“It’s my ankle that’s hurt, but my waist is fine.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It means I can’t lie down and look at the papers.”

 

“……what are you really talking about?”

 

Suddenly, Rosie screamed. Chloe couldn’t understand what was wrong with Rosie.

 

“Your fever is burning up, what kind of paperwork is there to do!”

 

“Am I?”

 

“You can say some bullshit when you have a fever, but it’s so high that I’m overwhelmed.”

 

What do you mean fever…?

 

Chloe was tilting her head when she suddenly remembered that she didn’t feel anything. Illuminem! The drug was effective for half a day more.

 

She didn’t know how she’s doing because she didn’t have any sense. Only then did Chloe understand the reason for her hoarse voice.

 

“But what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

 

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden. I must have gone too far because I worked too much at once.”

 

It was a facetious way of speaking, but Rosie looked very worried while making the covers more comfortable and putting a wet towel on her forehead. Her face made Chloe’s heart flutter. So Chloe raised her voice.

 

“Rosie. Why do you think I’m the first hunter? Last night was just barely enough to warm up.”

 

“Then what? Is it because of your outings every night?”

 

“No, isn’t it a work fever? You know how hard I looked at the documents yesterday.”

 

Speaking of which, it seemed plausible.

 

“Work fever?”

 

“Yes, a fever from working too hard. Oh. Come to think of it, I think I have a splitting headache. Call a doctor, Rosie.”

 

Chloe was clutching her head that didn’t hurt and groaning.

 

“Cough, cough. Oh, I’m sick. It hurts a lot.”

 

She didn’t forget to force her cough.

 

“Yes, a work fever, my Lady. I’ll get a doctor soon, so can you hold on until then?”

 

Eventually, Rosie forgot to worry and left her seat with her tongue clicked. Maybe it’s because she heard it, and felt hurt. It’s hard to open her eyes for no reason and she felt like her body was sinking.

 

“Oh……. I’m afraid of the night.”

 

If the Illuminem effect wore off, it is not like the gates of hell are going to pop open, is it?

 

As she muttered, she felt like she was going to stay like that. But the grave feeling didn’t last long. Regret is tied to the past, worry is for the future which has yet to come. So Chloe was always trying to live ‘in the present’ faithfully. That’s why.

 

“I don’t know. If it hurts a lot, I’ll eat it again later tonight.”

 

Chloe awaited Rosie with her blanket pulled up to cover her eyes. She fell asleep just as she was. It was night when she woke up again, and she hurt a lot more than she thought. It hurt so much that Chloe just cried as she lay down because she couldn’t even go to get Illuminem. The physiological tear that caused the fever to rise up.

 

“What should I do, Lady? This is bad news.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Her voice was as terrible as scratching a nail on a piece of metal, it was much worse than in the morning.

 

“I’m sorry, but it is not a work fever.”

 

Rosie’s words as she changed the wet towel on her forehead were very playful. Chloe couldn’t see her face well because it was dim, but unlike her jovial words, she must be worried.

 

“There must be something wrong with your ankle. I should have called a physician that day. It’s my fault.”

 

“Why is it Rosie’s fault.”

 

“It’s my fault.”

 

“I’m clumsy……it’s my fault.”

 

Her mouth was dry and her tongue kept sticking to the roof of her mouth, so it was not easy to speak.

 

“After a few days’ rest, it will be fine.”

 

“Of course. After a few days of rest, you’ll be up in no time.”

 

“Yes, but what do I do with the documents?”

 

“Evan is taking care of it as an emergency. Don’t worry and get some rest.”

 

“Is he…..? Yeah.”

 

Chloe gave Rosie a big smile. Actually she didn’t know if she smiled properly, but she was genuinely being happy.

 

‘Good-bye to the papers!’

 

She thought so with absolute sincerity. So Chloe laughed while shedding tears over her high fever. Evan was dying, but it didn’t matter.

 

The sick Chloe was completely unaware, but the capital was in a state of chaos over the Lady.

 

“What do you mean busy?”

 

“Well, if the one who used to rob the aristocracy day by day says she’s busy, I think she’s really up to something big.”

 

“If it’s a big deal…..?”

 

People were busy talking when more than one gathered. The imperial palace was no exception. Nash’s lips were twisted by the chattering of those who were returning from the regular morning meeting.

 

“He’s not even a frightened dog. I can’t believe he’s always whining when I make eye contact.”

 

“Prince.”

 

The servant standing next to him looked around and called him, but Nash’s expression was not going away. Rather, he raised his voice a little more.

 

“Why, did I say something wrong? It’s the way you see it too, isn’t it?”

 

His loud voice drew attention from all sides at once. However, instead of turning his head or allowing it to gloss over, Nash slowly rolled his gaze and made eye contact with people one by one.

 

“Gathering together and whining.”

 

Despite his sarcasm, he looked very sweet with a slight tilt of his head. There was a strange silence on their faces as if they had been mistaken. The sound of chattering stopped and was engulfed in a breathtaking stillness.

 

“Prince Nash.”

 

The breathtaking silence was broken by the servant calling him with all his courage squeezed out.

 

“Hmmm!”

 

Then some turned around coughing in vain, and some continued their steps with a red face. However, none of them spoke to Nash about his rudeness in calling them ‘dogs’. That’s because Nash Theodore was the prince born of Empress Catherine, who was loved by the emperor, and was expected to be the next crown prince. For example, he was the second most important person to watch after the emperor.

 

“Isn’t it perfect to curl your tail?”

 

“Hwa, my prince!”

 

The grueling sarcasm shook the black face forsaken servant.

 

“Why are you calling me that? Come to think of it, you sound like my mother. ‘Nash’, ‘Nash, my prince’, ‘my prince’. I’m so sick being called too many times.”

 

“Please, my prince.”

 

He couldn’t believe he brought the empress into this and not other people, the poor servant turned blue.

 

“Stop calling me. There are people who can call me till they’re out of breath, but not you.”

 

Nash shrugged his shoulders and headed towards the empress palace. As soon as he took a step, the empress raised her voice.

 

“Nash! Nash! Our prince is here!”