After their bath, the group headed toward the dormitory wing.
“I still have to go serve Her Highness the Princess, so I won’t be returning to the dorm with you,” Phil suddenly said, stopping in her tracks.
“Eh…? You…” Tii looked surprised, only to see Phil grinning smugly at her.
“Since the princess currently has no personal maid, she specifically asked me to serve in the meantime! Tii never did that job well anyway. It should’ve been mine a long time ago.”
She deliberately dragged out the word “me,” as if she was saying it just to provoke Tii.
Walking ahead, Karsanna froze for a moment. Even Pom, behind her thick glasses, seemed to sense the tension and her small eyes flicked nervously.
“I also need to help the princess dress tomorrow morning, so can you take care of cleaning the hall for me, dear Tii?” Phil continued, pressing further, clearly trying to get a rise out of her.
“Mm, I understand.”
Tii, however, remained calm, her warm smile unwavering. There was no hostility in her emerald eyes. As if nothing had happened, she simply waved to Phil and continued walking to the dorms.
Tii was a girl so gentle she seemed almost fragile.
Su Ling instinctively thought this. Although she had already known Tii’s mild temperament, right now she seemed unusually accepting, even submissive.
Su Ling couldn’t help but worry about how Tii must be feeling inside.
Just then, a heavy set of footsteps broke the silence. The group quickly turned toward the sound. Seban slowly approached, his face deeply wrinkled and his expression grim, sending chills down their spines.
Pom clutched Karsanna’s sleeve nervously. “It’s Lord Seban. Why is he suddenly here underground…? We should bow quickly.”
Though reluctant, Karsanna followed Pom and Tii in bowing their heads.
Seban ignored them and continued walking, seemingly lost in thought. Midway, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and swept a cold gaze over them.
“You—have any of you seen anything suspicious lately?”
Pom trembled in fear and stammered, “N-No, Lord Seban, we haven’t…”
Seeing Seban’s gaze shift, Su Ling and Karsanna quickly shook their heads as well. Then Seban turned to Tii.
“And you?”
Tii’s face remained composed.
“My apologies, Lord Seban. I haven’t seen anything either. As maids, we’re usually so busy with our duties that we rarely notice anything outside of work.”
Seban frowned, clearly dissatisfied with their responses, but said nothing further. He turned and continued walking without pause.
Only once the steward’s figure vanished down the corridor did everyone let out a breath of relief.
Su Ling asked Tii cautiously, “His face looked so serious just now… did something big happen?”
“Eh? That was scary…”
“Shut up, coward,” Karsanna said bluntly, covering Pom’s mouth with her hand.
“It’s best not to discuss this,” Tii said seriously—a rare expression for her. “We’re just servants. We need to remember our place, or we’ll only bring trouble.”
“I agree with Tii,” Karsanna added, waving dismissively as she stretched.
“Even if something is going on, let that old man deal with it himself. Doesn’t concern us. Let’s go sleep.”
“Mm… right…” Pom echoed, as if to avoid the issue.
The maids didn’t speak any further and quietly returned to their quarters.
“Still no leads…”
Seban had finished inspecting the underground area and sighed heavily in frustration.
His steps were steady as he climbed back up to the main hall of the castle.
Moonlight streamed through the window slits, casting a pale glow over his weathered face.
He slowly opened his palm. Inside lay a button.
But this was no ordinary ornament. Engraved on it was the totem of the Witchfolk—a soaring eagle with its wings spread, perched above a delicate shield.
Tiny script surrounded the design: the secret language of the Valivadan Kingdom, legible only to spies and high-ranking officers.
That morning, a guard had discovered the button inside the inner wall and handed it to Royal Guard Captain Toms.
Though Toms couldn’t fully decipher the script, he recognized the eagle’s connection to the Witchfolk tribes and had Seban deliver it to Sista.
Sista immediately recognized it as an enemy spy’s identification marker. But not wanting to alert the infiltrator, she ordered all informed parties to keep the matter secret and conduct a discreet investigation.
Toms was tasked with searching the military corps within the castle.
Seban, on the other hand, was to investigate the servant staff.
The study door creaked open. Seban stepped in. Princess Sista sat quietly at her desk, her expression thoughtful. Her black hair was pinned up high, her gaze deep and distant.
Seban approached and spoke in a low voice, “Your Highness, I’ve come to report on the matter of the button.”
“Any discoveries?”
She sipped a cup of warm milk just handed to her by her personal maid.
“My apologies. I’ve yet to uncover any leads.”
“Hmph. I figured you’d say that.” Sista looked up, a sharp glint in her eyes. “Putting that aside… Seban, do you think this is a plot from Valivadan?”
Seban nodded solemnly. “Yes, Your Highness. The button’s design matches the Witchfolk totem perfectly. It’s likely one of their agents has infiltrated the castle.”
Sista stood and walked to the window, staring out at the starlit sky in silence.
She knew Valivadan had always been hostile toward their kingdom. They were current military adversaries along the border.
But for someone to so brazenly drop a button like that… something about it didn’t sit right with her.
After a while, she turned and looked at Seban. “Strengthen the castle’s security, and send someone trustworthy to investigate the origin of this button. I want to know exactly what they’re planning.”
Seban hesitated briefly, then bowed respectfully. “As you command, Princess. If you need anything else, please call on me at once.”
Sista nodded. “Good. You may go.”
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