The celebration banquet ended in complete chaos.
Since there were more than a few witnesses who saw the wyvern destroy the Crown Prince's palace and roar ominously atop it, all manner of speculation and rumor ran rampant both inside and outside the palace.
An uneasy atmosphere hovered over the palace, and the banquet was temporarily suspended. It would have been better if it had been completely cancelled.
The interesting thing was that in the midst of this, people were making wild guesses that "the Resurrected One was in the banquet hall, which is why the monster changed direction," regarding the wyvern's sudden turn after approaching the venue.
At the center of these speculations were the priests, and while Samuel looked somewhat complicated, he quietly kept his mouth shut. However, he reduced his visits to my detached palace in order to discipline the overexcited priests.
Today as well, he had gone to supervise the priests who went out to conduct a special sermon announcing the Resurrected One's exploits at the capital temple.
Their zealous behavior was actually quite helpful for now, so I was content to simply watch from the sidelines.
'You should have listened moderately when I told you with words.'
I was currently receiving real-time updates about the atmosphere in the imperial palace through the animals, and it was quite a fascinating situation.
The once-arrogant emperor, now with fire on his own doorstep, seemed to be harrying only the innocent mages and the royal guards.
They had launched an investigation without sleep to figure out why a wyvern had flown into the heart of the capital.
However, quite naturally, there was no significant progress in the investigation.
'How did it fly here? I called it, so it came.'
Maxell was said to be bedridden, apparently quite shocked that his palace had been attacked, and the Empress was said to be having serious meetings with the priests.
Thanks to that, the revenue earned was said to have exceeded that of a small city, reaching the level of donations from medium-sized cities.
'At this point, shouldn't they be giving me a commission?'
I considered making such a remark but gave up. If I did, Samuel would take it seriously and discuss it with the priests.
Even without receiving a commission, wealth was already piling up at my detached palace to an extent incomparable to before. These were bribes sent by nobles from all directions who had witnessed the monster.
Be that as it may, having only met Heinley recently, I heard that bribes were starting to flow into Heinley's palace as well.
According to the crow's testimony, nobles requesting late-night meetings were also increasing.
At this rate, even if I left, it seemed Maxell wouldn't easily recover.
After all, with flocks of crows gathering over the destroyed Crown Prince's palace, wouldn't anyone who considered supporting Maxell end up giving up?
I found out later that there had been a rumor that Maxell had gone mad.
When I had joined forces with Palides at the Owen flower farm to torment him, he had returned trembling for a while, claiming he had seen "the headless Annelie."
After such an incident and now with this event where a monster destroyed the Crown Prince's palace, people seemed to gossip even more.
Especially since this time there were so many witnesses that they couldn't silence everyone, it must have been even more troublesome.
'Will he become a deposed crown prince faster than I thought?'
As I sat with my chin in my hand, imagining Maxell being driven out, Heinley, who was sitting across from me drinking tea, asked a question.
"How fares the item you are searching for?"
"Ah, as a matter of fact, my subordinate sent news through a mouse."
Minte was reportedly going through every single room of every building in the imperial palace, excluding the detached palace where I resided.
And from among them, he had selected several candidate locations where the key might be.
I also heard that he had been caught by palace people once or twice during the process, and had acted cute like an adorable cat to dispel their suspicions.
[Minte, doing aegyo!]
Bark, who still hadn't met Minte despite his appearance, kept pounding the ground, lamenting his imprisoned state.
Because of that, the palace people were startled saying the Dullahan had become violent, and when I soothed Bark, they were amazed at the Resurrected One's dignity, and again rumors spread...
I decided not to silence the palace people. I'd just be a great Resurrected One, I suppose.
"If you tell me the location, will I be able to enter?"
"With the atmosphere these days, they'll let you in anywhere."
That was true.
When I nodded in agreement, Heinley smiled and sipped his tea.
Seeing that he wasn't surprised at all by the mention of receiving news through a mouse, Heinley seemed to have adapted as well.
It felt like just the other day that he wouldn't even touch tea after seeing a gray mouse intrude during tea time.
"Ah, and I heard Lilia went on another night excursion."
"I've already assigned people for that. Dekin personally went out, so he'll bring back solid evidence."
"Did he come up to the capital?"
"Thanks to you, all the plans were moved up."
Hearing about Dekin, I naturally thought of Zenon.
It had been several days since I heard he was in the capital, but I didn't know if he was still there.
Should I have told Minte to visit Zenon when he asked? If I had left even a note, that man would be waiting. Or perhaps he had joined his older brother Dekin.
If so, did he come to the capital in the first place to meet Dekin?
"Is that mage alone?"
"What if he's not alone?"
"No, I just thought he might be with his younger sibling."
He might have come to the capital to meet Dekin and happened to discover the Dullahan by chance. If that were the case, it would explain why he suddenly appeared in the capital.
Then again, maybe he's not waiting for me.
"Annelie."
I, who had been lost in thought, raised my head a bit late. Heinley was looking at me with subtle eyes.
"Do you have somewhere to go when you leave the imperial palace?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"This detached palace might remain empty even if you leave. If you wish, I can ensure you can return anytime."
I involuntarily furrowed my brows. Even though he must have seen my expression, Heinley continued speaking firmly.
"I know you dislike the imperial family. But if you're not returning to Roam..."
"Do you think I have nowhere to go except Roam or the imperial palace?"
I thought I had explained sufficiently that I was going to leave. At my sensitive question, Heinley let out a deep sigh.
"I'm saying this because I felt I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't at least try."
Having completely set down his teacup, he gazed at me with quite serious eyes.
"I can give everything to you."
"Heinley-nim."
"It's not because you're the Resurrected One. I obtained an opportunity thanks to the Resurrected One's blessing, but even without that, I harbor feelings for you. If you have things to do outside, you may go out as much as you please. But is it that you cannot return to this place?"
I didn't answer and simply gazed at Heinley. Heinley's eyes were so moist that I was worried tears might burst forth.
"Do you truly dislike me that much? Is there really not even a bit of possibility for me?"
"Annelie Roam, who strove her whole life to live as empress, is dead. That means the woman you loved is dead, Heinley-nim."
"Annelie."
The second daughter of Roam, or the agent of death. All of them claimed to be me and held me back. Many people who remembered the past me sought the past me.
But I was living in the present, not the past.
"It's right for me to leave. The me who is in front of Heinley-nim right now is just a woman who has fallen into distrust of humans."
"If you distrust humans, then why do you keep that one by your side? How is he different from me?"
"That one?"
Looking at Heinley's somewhat resentful face, I asked back with an expression of disbelief.
"Sir Samuel?"
"No."
"...Are you speaking of Zenon?"
Heinley affirmed with silence. At his unexpected observation, I frowned as I refuted, frozen in bewilderment.
"He's not by my side right now."
"Even though he's not by your side, he occupies the space beside you."
"What?"
"Haven't you realized yet? Even though that one is not by your side, you mention him. It means you think of him often even in a situation where you don't know how your future companionship will turn out."
I felt like I'd been hit in the back of the head by those words. As I was looking blankly at Heinley, he asked in a sorrowful tone.
"Did you think of me like that when I wasn't by your side?"
"Well..."
Of course not. What reason would I have to think of Heinley from time to time?
Seeing me unable to open my mouth easily, Heinley seemed to have guessed the answer. He let out a long sigh and rose to his feet.
"I won't come for a while. If you have any message to convey, send a palace servant anytime. When you go to find the item, I'll arrange it so you can move alone without any problems."
"But for me to move within the imperial palace..."
"The Emperor was greatly startled by the wyvern. If you say you're planning to move to purify the evil energy, he won't stop you."
No, moving alone would actually be convenient for me.
Leaving me sitting there in bewilderment, Heinley said he was leaving now and turned away. I remained seated at the outdoor table for a long time even after he left.
That I thought of Zenon from time to time...
Well, I had hired him, and he was a man who worried about every trivial thing, and he had happened to find Minte and send him to me, and since he was in the capital, perhaps he was waiting for me.
'Even I think I treated him a bit specially.'
Come to think of it, the ghost at the monastery had said the same thing. That I was lenient toward Zenon.
[Captain.]
It's just that he cooks well, takes my side, and is cute, so I became a bit lenient. Besides, he's a rare gentle soul in these times who prefers small words of thanks over money.
[Captain?]
So if I don't look after him, he might get hit in the back of the head somewhere without knowing. Of course, the gallant Nesi guards his side, but Nesi can't manage human relationships for him.
He's a magic tower mage ignorant of worldly ways, so if he were to meet a scammer for no reason, it would be big trouble, so since he's wandering around anyway, I'm taking him along and looking after him.
[Captain!]
At Bark's loud shout, I lifted my head abruptly. Bark, pressed close to the bars of his cage, was staring straight at me.
[It's the mouse Minte sent!]
Only then did I discover the gray mouse on the table.
"Ah, um, yes."