* * *
Early in the morning.
A small, entirely black creature was walking briskly across the mansion’s lawn.
Onyx, who had his fill from breakfast, was in a very good mood.
He enjoyed walking on the dew-covered lawn and appreciated the plenty of food available at the Duke’s mansion.
Compared to the Count Monad’s mansion, the Duke’s mansion was vast.
The baby dragon had a big pink flower in his mouth.
It was a fresh peony he had specially found for Juliet.
Onyx hoped his master would accept it and forgive the mishap he caused yesterday.
Yesterday, Onyx had climbed a shelf, wrecked it, and almost aroused Juliet’s suspicion.
The baby dragon didn’t want Juliet to hate him.
Although Onyx didn’t fully understand human speech, he had extraordinary perceptiveness and memory.
– I only raise him until his wings are fully grown.
Onyx clearly remembered Juliet saying that.
By now, Onyx was smart enough to understand what ‘wings’ were.
Flap, flap.
Unintentionally moving his back muscles, Onyx realized something.
He had wings on his back. And Juliet seemed to dislike ‘wings’.
Because she said ‘until they’re fully grown.’
Does Onyx’s wings look ugly in the eyes of his master?
“Peep…”
Onyx hung his head low.
In truth, when reflected in water, Onyx thought his wings looked quite splendid. But if Juliet disliked them, he would too.
Right now, Juliet might hold him close and say, ‘Pretty, cute,’ but would she still think he’s pretty once she knew about his grown wings?
So, Onyx was careful not to let his master find out about his wings.
Holding the large flower stem in his mouth, Onyx quickly swelled with hope.
Juliet loved flowers, so perhaps seeing this would improve her mood and she would overlook his grown wings.
So, in a way, the flower was like a bribe.
“Squawk!”
Suddenly, Onyx stopped in his tracks.
A strange noise came from the other side of the lawn. A strange creature barked loudly at Onyx.
…Dog?
The young dragon’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Not far away stood a four-legged beast.
It was a hunting dog kept at the mansion.
Thanks to the mansion owner’s love for hunting, there were several hunting dogs at the Duke’s place.
These hunting dogs, optimized for hunting beasts rather than regular hunting, were quite large.
In front of these purebred hunting dogs, the few-months-old Onyx looked as small as a cute rabbit.
However, seeing the large hunting dogs for the first time, Onyx approached without fear.
Growl.
As Onyx approached, the chains holding the dogs tightened.
To the hunting dogs, the small black baby dragon seemed like easy prey.
“Arf! Arf arf!”
The chains around the dogs’ necks strained as if they might break.
The dogs barked fiercely as if they would pounce any moment, but Onyx wasn’t startled. Instead, he observed the barking dogs and then looked around.
Since it was early, no one seemed to be watching. The baby dragon dropped the pink flower he had been holding onto the ground.
And then, a moment later.
Whine. Whimper…
The hunting dogs, who were aggressively barking moments ago, now desperately tried to get away from the fence, whimpering.
A servant, alerted by the commotion, came out a moment later to check on the dogs but was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice the baby dragon hiding in the bushes beyond the fence.
Satisfied, Onyx picked up the large flower once more.
He then merrily trotted toward the annex where Juliet was waiting.
However, the remarkable baby dragon failed to notice that the mansion’s owner was watching the scene from his office window.
“Your Highness.”
Lennox, who had been gazing out of the window with a neutral expression, turned his head slightly.
Milan placed something on the desk in the office.
Lennox looked at the object before him with indifference.
“Is this it?”
“Yes, it is.”
Roll.
A round metallic sphere rolled a bit before stopping. It was the mysterious smoke bomb that had recently been driving beasts mad.
Acquiring the smoke bomb was not difficult since those under the patronage of the Second Prince were spreading them all over the continent.
“We haven’t figured out which ingredient drives the beasts mad yet.”
Milan cautiously added.
“All we know is that it’s a hallucinogenic substance that hasn’t been used before.”
A never-before-used substance.
The Second Prince shouldn’t have the capability to get his hands on such a rare hallucinogen. It wasn’t hard to guess who might be behind this.
“It must be the work of that snake.”
“Yes?”
Juliet had mentioned that the Second Prince, Cloff, had some designs on the Duke’s house.
However, Lennox wasn’t particularly concerned about whatever schemes the Second Prince had. What he targeted was the head of the snake hiding behind it all. If the Second Prince posed any threat, Lennox would simply crush him. It was that simple.
But Juliet’s thoughts seemed to differ.
“Miss Juliet is concerned about your safety.”
Milan said cautiously.
“She’s even prepared her own countermeasures.”
Juliet said that if the prince doesn’t notice, she can render his trap useless. It meant that while the Second Prince was complacent, she would approach him and destroy the trap he had prepared for her.
Her solution was simple and intuitive. But there was one problem.
For Juliet’s plan to succeed, someone had to sneak into the Second Prince’s residence.
The Second Prince might be naive, but he wasn’t completely stupid. By now, he would be on high alert.
Although Duke Carlyle had loyal and competent subordinates, their expertise was not in sneaking around.
Someone capable of executing Juliet’s orders without getting caught was needed.
Lennox suddenly asked:
“What does the Deputy Knight Commander think?”
“I think it’s worth trying.”
Milan, caught off guard by the abrupt question, hesitated but answered properly.
“It’s a bit reckless, but the risk is worth it. If successful, the Second Prince won’t dare to touch the Duke’s house again.”
Lennox pondered for a moment.
He knew Juliet as well as she knew him.
Juliet Monad usually behaved modestly and politely, but once she set her mind on something, she never looked back.
“So she just dives headfirst without thinking,” Lennox muttered, seemingly annoyed.
Milan, standing across from him, gave a wry smile.
“Fine. Do as she wishes.”
He finally sighed lightly and nodded.
He wasn’t thrilled about it, but it was a relief to see Juliet so engrossed in something. At least she would stay by his side for now.
* * *
“Oh my!”
“Miss, look at this.”
Maids gathered around the dressing table, holding a hairbrush, were buzzing. A rare, large flower lay before them.
“It’s a peony.”
Juliet smiled brightly at the pale pink bloom.
“Peep!”
From a distance, Onyx proudly raised its head.
Onyx, who roamed the mansion as if it were its own, often brought Juliet flowers, large leaves, or fallen fruits.
“How adorable,” said the maids, brushing her hair, laughing.
The baby dragon was adored by the mansion’s maids. Although they treated it more like a peculiar-looking cat than a majestic creature.
“He’s even better than humans,” Juliet murmured, hugging Onyx.
The baby dragon purred and cozied up to her.
Knock knock.
“Yes?”
“Miss Juliet.”
It was Milan knocking.
“Do you have a moment?”
“Come in.”
Juliet gladly invited him in, and the others made room for him.
Onyx was also briefly ushered out.
“I’ve just met with His Highness.”
Milan presented Juliet with the same object he had shown to Duke Carlyle earlier.
“As you can see, it’s a commonly produced smoke bomb.”
It looked like an ordinary metal ball on the outside.
It was probably made to look ordinary to avoid detection…
“That’s fortunate.”
Juliet said, smirking.
“Can you make smoke bombs that look the same?”
“Of course. As many as you need.”
Soon, the Second Prince would regret scattering such common smoke bombs everywhere.
“And we need to find out where the Second Prince keeps that evidence…”
Milan lowered his voice.
“To do that, we need to enter the palace at least once.”
“So we need an excuse?”
“Yes, especially an excuse to approach the Second Prince.”
“That shouldn’t be hard.”
Juliet had already received a letter of concern from Fatima.
While it was under Fatima’s name, the Emperor’s instructions were clear. The letter, which began with greetings, ended with an elaborate invitation to visit the palace as soon as she was well.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Emperor felt indebted to Duke Carlyle more than Juliet seemed not a bad idea.
“And for your mission, I’ve shortlisted a few capable individuals.”
Indeed, the Deputy Commander of the Duke’s Knights.
Juliet admired Milan’s efficiency.
“All of them are equally outstanding, so anyone you pick would…”
Crash!
Suddenly, a loud noise from outside interrupted their conversation. It sounded like something collapsing.