Encounter and Urgency

Uri had lived in the palace for a long time. He had witnessed how little Kenneth grew up until the prince finally grew into an extraordinary person. Uri had lived in the palace long enough that he had memorized the layout of the royal palace from the outside and inside. And now, Uri intended to use his knowledge to find the safest escape route for him and Emma.

As Uri walked around, the servant made himself look calm and appear as natural as possible. The special clothes of a prince's personal servant also helped him a lot to be able to walk around safely. As long as it wasn't Leroy himself who found him, Uri was quite sure that no one would dare to disturb his time walking around.

After Uri had walked around the palace for quite a while, the servant's feet finally stopped walking at one point. His eyes stared seriously at one point. The bushes in front of him might seem like an unimportant place to others. However, Uri knew that behind the bushes, there was a secret path that Kenneth had managed to find several years ago.

After Uri had finished making sure that no one was following or watching him, Uri approached to remove the bushes that had grown wildly in the unkempt corner of the palace. The servant heaved a sigh of relief when he found that the entrance to the secret passage was still there. All he needed to do after this was bring Emma there and escape together. It would be difficult to persuade Emma, who would not listen to anyone other than King Ducan and sometimes Kenneth. Even so, Uri knew he didn't have many options at that point.

After confirming the escape route, as well as double-checking the palace guard's patrol schedule, Uri finally felt that his preparations were complete. Uri walked quickly to return to the Ruby Palace. Before the sun set, Uri hoped he would be able to leave the palace grounds with Emma.

SWOOSH!

Uri's steps stopped when he heard the sound of rustling leaves not far from where he stood. Although the royal palace was so large and not all areas were patrolled by the palace guards, Uri could be sure that no large wild animals could enter the palace grounds. The only explanation for the rustling sound he heard was that a human was making the sound.

Uri prepared himself with vigilance. With a calm movement, Uri was ready to use the small knife under his clothes to attack whoever made the sound. If he found out that someone was following him without his knowledge or caught him by accident, Uri would be forced to kill them to ensure the smooth running of his plan.

"Ugh!"

"Your Highness?!"

However, as soon as Uri saw that it was Princess Abigail who came out of the bushes, the servant immediately released his hand from the knife that he had hidden well. Uri helped Princess Abigail to stand up straight again after that. In his heart, Uri couldn't stop wondering why someone who should have been watching over his father's funeral procession would be in a neglected corner of the palace at this time.

"You... aren't you Kenneth's servant? That... your name is Uri, right?"

Although Uri rarely appeared together with Kenneth, Princess Abigail seemed to be able to recognize Uri at a glance. Uri nodded honestly in front of Princess Abigail. Out of the entire royal family, Uri would probably only trust Princess Abigail when it came to matters concerning Kenneth.

"Yes, I am Uri, Your Highness. If I may ask, what are you doing in a place like this, Your Highness? You are not even accompanied by your attendant."

Princess Abigail immediately remembered what she had heard from Leroy when she heard Uri's question. The princess's body trembled when she remembered it. Princess Abigail knew she had to get as far away from the royal palace as possible.

"I... I have to leave this palace. I'm sorry, but can you keep this meeting a secret from everyone?"

"Is there someone chasing you, Your Highness?"

Uri's expression immediately turned serious when he asked Princess Abigail that. Although it was only a glimpse, Uri clearly remembered that Kenneth had also asked him to make sure that Princess Abigail was okay before he left. After Uri recalled the conversation between the servants he had heard earlier, perhaps Princess Abigail's condition was not as good as he had thought.

Unlike her usual appearance, Princess Abigail was only wearing a simple black dress without a single servant following her. Princess Abigail's expression did not look good either. Perhaps, Uri thought. Prince Leroy had made the initial move that dragged Princess Abigail into it.

"I..."

Right now, Princess Abigail is in an unprecedented situation. It made her very confused, and at the same time, she was scared to a whole new level. Princess Abigail didn't want to believe that her father had to die for that reason. However, because Princess Abigail heard it personally, she knew that what she heard was the reality that she had to accept.

"Leroy... Prince Leroy will kill me if he finds me. Please, I have to leave the palace right now."

Princess Abigail started to cry as she begged Uri, who was only a servant. Princess Abigail had never been in a threatening situation in her entire life. For Princess Abigail, who had always been protected by her father, what was happening right now really scared her to death.

"Then, please come with us, Your Highness. We also intend to leave the palace today. His Highness Prince Kenneth has ordered us to go meet him in Audoran Forest."

Uri knew he shouldn't have made such a reckless decision. But every time Uri remembered that Kenneth loved Princess Abigail as much as he loved his mother, Uri tried to justify the decision he made. Bringing Princess Abigail would increase the risk of danger that he would have to face. Even so, Uri felt it was wrong for him to let a princess who was always protected leave the palace alone.

"Kenneth is still alive?!" Princess Abigail repeated in disbelief. But as soon as Princess Abigail realized that she shouldn't have said that sentence clearly, the woman immediately covered her mouth tightly. Luckily, there was no one else besides them in the place. Uri let out a long sigh. As he expected, he couldn't leave Princess Abigail alone with her personality.

"I apologize, Your Highness. But I don't think this is the right time to explain everything. I'm sure you're also racing against time right now. Let's go back to the Ruby Palace for now. I will prepare everything, and we can leave right after that."

Princess Abigail was relieved that Uri was not angry with her. The princess immediately nodded, then followed Uri to go back after that.

Only in a situation like this, for the first time, Uri was grateful that the Ruby Palace was as quiet as usual. He could easily sneak back with Princess Abigail. But when the two entered the Ruby Palace, Uri somehow had a bad feeling about the room inside the palace being too quiet.

The place seemed to be deserted. Even if Emma usually just daydreamed all the time, she loved to hum and sing the song she used to sing to Kenneth when he was a child. But Uri couldn't even hear Emma's breathing. His alertness increased rapidly. The maid subconsciously furrowed her brows. Uri was afraid that something bad had happened inside the Ruby Palace.

"Are you okay?"

Uri looked at Princess Abigail, who was also worried because of the change in expression on his face. Uri didn't say anything for a while. But in the end, Uri could only say a few words to the princess.

"Please stay behind me, Your Highness."

Princess Abigail nodded easily, then followed behind Uri like a chick. Uri walked carefully as he walked through the too-quiet Ruby Palace. Uri wanted to check on Emma first. There was nothing more important than making sure that the woman was okay.

Uri and Princess Abigail went towards Emma's room, and Uri began to feel strange when he did not hear the sound of the rocking chair moving like usual. Uri opened Emma's room door quickly. And in the next moment, Uri could only hear Princess Abigail's muffled screams, while he could no longer make any sound.

In Emma's large room, Kenneth's mother was hanging in the same way as King Ducan. Near her body, there was a note that Uri believed was Emma's original handwriting.

[I go to accompany my love to the next world.]

Uri's hands trembled as he read what was written on the paper. Uri should have known that he should not leave Emma when King Ducan had just died. Uri underestimated Emma's obsession with the king. For Emma, ​​King Ducan was the reason she kept on living even if she was no longer King Ducan's favorite. Without King Ducan, there would be no reason for Emma to stay alive in the abandoned Ruby Palace.

From time to time, Emma would wake up and sneak away to visit the main palace when Uri was away from the Ruby Palace. From the maids working in the palace, the woman finally learns that her lover has met a tragic end because of his obsession. Emma had planned his death for a long time. But only when Uri left was she finally able to fulfill her last wish without any interference from anyone.

Uri failed to protect Emma, ​​and that overwhelmed him for a while. Uri continued to remain as still as a statue. Only when Uri heard Princess Abigail's panicked voice did he finally come back to his senses.

"Uri, I see some royal knights coming this way! What should we do now?"

Everything happened faster than Uri expected. Coupled with Princess Abigail's presence, Uri wasn't sure he could survive if he didn't leave with Princess Abigail. Uri stared at Emma's body. If Uri was asked to choose between saving those who were still alive or bringing those who were already dead, then the answer was clear to Uri.

"There's no more time, Your Highness. Go first to where we met through the back of the palace. I'll catch up with you right after this!"

Although Princess Abigail was afraid that Uri would leave her alone, the woman wanted to trust Uri just this once. Princess Abigail ran through the back door without turning back. Meanwhile, Uri ran to his room quickly to grab all the money he had as well as some items that would be useful for their long journey.

After finishing putting everything away, Uri could see that the royal knight had arrived at the Ruby Palace courtyard. Uri bit his lip nervously. The servant tried to move as carefully as he could, then slipped out like what Princess Abigail had done earlier.

CRASH!

By the time the royal knights managed to break down the door of the Ruby Palace, Uri had managed to sneak out and approach Princess Abigail, who was waiting anxiously for him. Uri even forgot his courtesy to the royal family in that pressing situation. He grabbed Princess Abigail's hand to follow him before they entered the secret passage that he had checked earlier.