# Chapter 101
This time, Eden couldn’t answer right away. As he quietly studied the map, he finally spoke with difficulty. That incident remained a trauma for everyone.
“I didn’t find everyone, so I don’t know exactly. I didn’t see it directly either.”
“…”
“But Suos-ssi was the only one I could contact.”
The answer was ambiguous for a question about whether they had died, but Arden could understand the implication. Some people had died. Though he had prepared for this, hearing it as fact was completely different from merely anticipating it.
The strength gradually left the hand that had been gripping the armrest. Arden consciously thought of Suos. That at least one person was alive, that regardless of how their end had been, it meant something that they had gotten out of the palace.
Sometimes in life, even obvious facts could be called into question. Before such disbelief could continue, Arden calmed himself.
“Ah, you’re here.”
At Eden’s voice, Arden looked up to see Rite who had just opened the door and entered. The tips of his hair were wet, as if he’d been doing something. Droplets hanging from his hair fell onto his white shirt, creating dark marks.
“I’m a bit late because I was washing up.”
“That’s fine. The map is almost complete. Come take a look.”
Rite brushed past Arden and headed to Eden’s desk.
“This is the starting point.”
Arden also got up and approached them. He glanced once at Rite and then stood between Rite and Eden. Eden was pointing to the back door of the Noah Wing.
“All cargo carriages stop here. You can hide in the innermost part of the carriage, and when about half the cargo has been unloaded, pretend to be a servant, pick up a suitable load, and get off.”
“Even if it’s someone they work with, will really no one be suspicious?”
“Ah, I haven’t told you yet. Don’t worry about that.”
At Eden’s words, Arden raised his eyebrows. Eden narrowed his eyes, looking into the void as if trying to recall the past.
“It would have been shortly after Arden left. The palace has a serious manpower problem. There’s frequent turnover among servants and even ministers. Engineers and knights are no exception.”
“The knights are short-staffed?”
“Yes. The Sun Hawks and the number of formal knights have greatly decreased.”
The knights were essentially the Emperor’s power. An organization that followed only the Emperor’s orders and served as his legs and eyes. Yet their numbers had decreased.
“Even those loyal to the Emperor are wavering. So the number of those who aspire to join the knights has also decreased significantly. Most of the apprentice knights remaining in Rosmunt have been there for well over three years but haven’t received the Emperor’s call. Moran is also short-staffed, but they can’t completely withdraw the knights from Rosmunt.”
Arden inwardly sneered. He had been uneasy because everything seemed to be going well. Though various things had happened so far, it had been relatively smooth compared to what he had prepared for. That had only increased his worries.
It was all an illusion. They hadn’t easily passed inspections because they were lucky. There were simply many gaps to exploit. The country lacked the capacity to monitor each region, and the knights were always insufficient. It was understandable that knights who had to remain as apprentices for a long time without compensation wouldn’t have passion or a sense of responsibility. Their negligent attitude was understandable.
“Many servants also feel anxious and quit overnight. The practice of hastily hiring people as needed is rampant. Moreover, it’s the Foundation Festival. It’s busier than usual, so even if an unfamiliar face appears, no one will be suspicious. Though Arden should be careful since his photo has been circulated.”
Eden, after checking Arden’s face once, turned his attention back to the map.
“After entering the palace, first we need a place to hide until nightfall.”
“The Noah Wing attic.”
Arden’s finger pointed to a staircase near the back door.
“Was this staircase the one that led directly to the attic? If I remember correctly, it was a space with no particular use.”
“It still is.”
“This seems most appropriate. It’s safer to hide nearby rather than moving too far.”
The map had many colored areas. Eden pointed to one of them.
“Arden probably already knows this, but you should memorize the locations of all staircases besides this one. I’ve marked them all with the same color.”
“What’s this?”
“Balconies. There are balconies on the east and west sides of both the second and third floors. If you need to attempt an external escape, going through a balcony is the simplest.”
Eden explained in response to Rite’s question, turning the page to show maps of other floors.
“Among the hidden passages, the one that will be most useful to us starts here.”
As befitting its long history, the palace had many hidden paths. These were passages designed for various contingencies, but nowadays they were mostly used as meeting places for lovers within the palace.
Arden had only heard about various liaisons happening in such places; this was the first time he’d learned where they were located.
“Walking along the large corridor heading toward the Artalis Wing in the east, before reaching the temple, if you turn inward, there’s a corridor with residences. Arden, you know where this is, right?”
“Yes.”
“Here. The entrance to the passage is in a study between the residences. If you lift the carpet, you’ll see a handle under the sofa. Open it and go down, and you’ll find stairs leading upward.”
How did Eden know this? Arden had a fleeting question. When Eden worked with Arden, he had also been rather dull to such trivial information.
“Just to mention, it’s very narrow. It’s barely wide enough for one person to move at a time. So if you’re being chased, I don’t recommend escaping this way.”
Arden erased his thoughts and focused on the explanation. Eden’s finger now pointed to a room on the second floor.
“This path leads to two rooms in total. First, the office on the second floor. Arden will wait here and, in case of emergency, throw a bomb down to the first floor. I’m planning to prepare one that’s more about noise than explosive power.”
This was a contingency plan to divert attention if Rite encountered problems. For this purpose, Arden had agreed to risk entering the palace. Rite crossed his arms and glared at the reception room on the second floor with disbelieving eyes.
“And the third floor. The third floor is the most different from Arden’s memory.”
As Eden said, the map of the third floor was somewhat different from Arden’s memory. The structure was identical to the sketch Arden had drawn, but the text written on it was different.
“All of these. The Hawks’ bedrooms.”
The elite knights, the Sun Hawks, densely occupied the third floor.
“It hasn’t been changed for long. Recently, the Emperor’s obsession has worsened, and all the Hawks moved their quarters to the palace.”
“All of them?”
“Still, the Sun Hawks aren’t awake at night, so if you’re careful, you can avoid encountering them. Just be careful of the patrol officers circling the palace. And the biggest problem is.”
Eden’s finger pointed to a room located a short distance from the Emperor’s bedroom.
“The second exit of the secret passage is here, in the reception room. Rite will come up to this balcony, but the problem is the guards stationed in front of the Emperor’s bedroom.”
The Emperor’s bedroom was across from the reception room. The distance was close, but all around the reception room and the Emperor’s bedroom were the Hawks’ bedrooms. Making a loud noise would wake all the knights.
“The Emperor has been suffering from severe sleep disorders lately and takes sleeping pills daily, so his ears won’t be that sharp, but with knights all around, the need to keep quiet remains unchanged.”
“…”
“I’d like to find a solution today. I was thinking of using poison.”
“I know we’re not in a position to be picky, but.”
As soon as Eden finished speaking, Arden opened his mouth. Knowing how absurd his words sounded, Arden bit his lip once.
“I want to find a way for Rite to… not harm people.”
Eden looked up at Arden with an incomprehensible expression. Arden also understood Eden’s gaze. Though they had come this far to kill the Emperor, Arden hoped that Rite wouldn’t experience harming someone.
If he couldn’t give up his wish, if the Emperor absolutely had to be killed, he hoped there would be no more bloodshed beyond that.
Arden knew well that this was an untimely wish. Knowing this, Arden’s mood gradually sank. Feeling the gaze of the two people looking at him, Arden opened his mouth again.
“If there’s really no other way…”
“Do the knights use magic too?”
Rite urgently cut off Arden’s words. When Arden turned to look at Rite, Rite had already shifted his gaze to Eden.
“No. There are no knights who know how to use magic.”
“How many guards are at the bedroom?”
“Two.”
After hearing the answer, Rite looked at Arden. As if he hadn’t expected their eyes to meet, Rite looked slightly surprised.
“Two is possible.”
“What do you mean by possible… Do you have another method?”
“Binding magic. Two is definitely manageable.”
Can you use magic? Eden’s voice rose. Neither Rite nor Arden had time to answer. The yellow eyes bound Arden’s gaze. Arden bit his lip hard at the temperature contained in those eyes looking at him. Until it turned white.
Otherwise, he felt like he would unintentionally spill something out. Even Arden didn’t know what it was.
