CH 65.2

‘Ah, it’s so delicious.’

After taking a bite of the strawberry sandwich cookie, I was hit with a sweet taste that made me crave milk.

Then a stranger approached Collen. He was a man in a suit with a gold frame.

“Hello, Your Excellency.”

Collen pushed me aside and hid me behind him.

“Aren’t you the king’s dog? Did you follow me all the way here?”

Huh? He seemed like someone you know. Can I say that?

“I had urgent business. His Majesty the King has a message for you.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I went to the mansion and was told that you had left with your daughter to Gallery Street. There is an ‘incident’ that you need to check.”

I perked up my ears at the man’s whisper.

‘If it’s an incident, what happened?’

He handed out a note to Collen with utmost sincerity.

“Read it, and if you’re not interested, you can refuse.”

Collen waved his hand as if it was troublesome.

The man in the white suit disappeared as quietly as he came.

“Dad, who was that guy?”

“He’s the King’s personal bodyguard. He doesn’t even show his face when it’s necessary, but he goes around doing errands for the King and spreading rumors. He’s useless; he couldn’t do anything when there was a fire in the royal palace.”

Collen licked his tongue and then unfolded a note.

“I think we should make a quick stop somewhere.”

I looked at Collen with curiosity.

“There was a big problem at the county Bartoli in the center og the city. Let’s go see it for fun.”

Collen took me and we got on a carriage.

The House of Count Bartoli was a large building in the center of the city. The servants let us in right away.

‘It looks like a rich family. Hmm. What do you call this feeling? A feeling of nouveau riche?’

It wasn’t a nice feeling, so I felt sorry after thinking about it.

But it was true. The whole house was openly displaying wealth.

‘There are gold coins on every corner of the corridor. There are so many chandeliers.’

My head was hurting because of all the sparkling things. I secretly called this house the ‘Shining House’ in my mind.

‘But the atmosphere in the house is a bit strange.’

Should I call it messy? The maids avoided eye contact with us, and doors throughout the house were left open.

“Oh, come here. I am the butler of this house.”

The old butler ran out at that moment. After greeting us, he explained the situation in a hurry.

“There was a robbery last night.”

“Looks like it.”

“Yes, that was a very terrifying band of bandits. Nine people? Ten? Anyway, a dozen or so bad guys suddenly came in and stole the jewels that Countess Bartoli cherished. How much are those jewels worth? Huhu, those bad guys.”

“Hmm… I heard that Countess Bartoli is the best jewel collector in the country.”

Collen muttered as he stepped on the ground.

“So, what about Countess Bartoli? She must be very upset.”

“She fainted at the scene and was taken away.”

The butler led us to a room.

‘Looks like you’ve already heard a story from the royal family.’

Did he hear that Collen would solve this?

“It’s the treasure room,” the butler said.

Hm, is this the scene of the crime?

“The Countess keeps all of her most valuable jewels stored here. However, these thieves are quite clever. All of these locks were useless, and they took everything,” he continued.

A theft crime, you say? I felt a sense of curiosity rising within me.

“And?” I asked sneakily.

The butler’s eyes widened in surprise, “You must be the rumored genius princess.”

Collene cut in, “Anyway, keep talking. Was anyone killed?”

“No, no one was killed.”

Collen looked annoyed. The butler continued, oblivious to his impatience.

“Strangers appeared out of nowhere, quickly ransacked the place, and disappeared from the roof in no time.”

It was a strange incident. They disappeared?