I AM THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

You thought - no, I thought - that the ducal estate was big, And it was. But not compared to the behemoth that was the palace. 

"Wow. Everyone got one-upped so bad." I said, walling down a random hall. At this point, I had stopped trying to decide where to go and just followed Zal - through too many hallways to count. They all looked the same anyway. 

No wonder the Ruthim empire had been able to dump their junk here - it probably took the servants all day just to find someone. You'd need a map of this place to get from one side to the next. 

"Oh! By the way, what excuse did you use?" I asked, and Zal sighed. "I said I was going to dance with the crown princess, and I stopped walking. "But don't you hate the crown princess with a burning passion?" I said in amazement. Zal stopped walking too. "how do you know that?" he asked, frowning, and I shook my head. "Oh, never mind! You're sacrificing yourself for me!!" I said excitedly, patting Zal on the head. "Thank youuu!" I said happily. This also meant that he wouldn't go into the west wing. "Yes, so we should split up now. I have to go. The garden you wanted is right out that door." Zal said, nodding at two large and polished oak doors and turning around. "Good luck~" I called, waving, before running to the door. "Levi! Let's go! We don't have any more time!" I said, opening the doors. 

"Hey, this garden is closed-" A voice said, and I looked this dude up and down. Brown hair, check, Big nose, check. Muddy shoes, check. Yep. This was the guy she had originally kidnapped Zal. I leaned forward. "Mister, I have something to tell you. I don't know where Dad went." I said, my voice fluctuating into a voice so sweet it would make a dentist scream. "Oh? And who's your father?" The dude asked, and I smiled. "I don't know." Levi was holding a hand over his mouth - to stop from laughing. "Shut up!" I hissed. 

"It looks like she's a noble." The dude said to another smuggler, who had walked over. Good. 

"Oh, there he is! Goodbye!" I said, turning around after jabbing a finger at some rando butler passing by. Sorry, butler dear, but I need to use you as a scapegoat for now. 

As we and Levi walked off, Levi sighed into his hand. "What was the point of that?" he asked, and I didnt say anything. As we continued walking, I opened a back door - into what was probably the stinkiest room I had ever been in. The waste. Eeeeeeeeew. 

holy cow. Bog breathed. Holy cow indeed.