Chapter 11: Blood, Milk, and Steam
The first thing anyone noticed in the capital of the Suncrest Empire was Crownspire Palace.
Even late at night, people walking along the main street could still see it standing at the heart of the city.
White stone. Gold tiles. High spires, long corridors, arched windows, and wide terraces caught the lamplight and shone with a cold, costly glow.
White and gold had always been Suncrest’s favorite way of showing itself.
Wealth.
Honor.
Power that stood above other power.
The palace was huge as well.
When Crownspire Palace was first built, Empress Aurelia Valemont divided it into three main areas: the residential wing, the administrative wing, and the leisure wing.
Each area had its own use.
Who could enter.
When they could enter.
What kind of work could be done there.
Everything was written down. Everything had rules.
And in Crownspire Palace, rules had teeth.
No one treated the administrative wing as a place to sit around. No one wandered into restricted areas just because they were curious. Aurelia had always been strict about that.
Every attendant and maid in the palace knew the same thing.
Even a careless mistake could bring punishment.
And punishment in Crownspire Palace was never pleasant.
The carriage reached the palace just before the wind grew worse.
Its wheels rolled down the wide stone driveway, the sound bouncing through the empty night. Kael led the horse into one of the stables and settled it inside while the animal snorted out white breath.
Only after that did he carry the still-squirming Puff toward the residential wing.
Zera followed behind him.
She walked lightly, hands folded in front of her, shoulders tucked in. This was the inner palace. Even though she worked here as a maid, that didn’t mean she could walk around the way Kael did.
Whenever she passed a wall lamp, she lowered her head a little, like the sound of her footsteps alone might wake someone she wasn’t supposed to wake.
Kael didn’t care about any of that.
He strode ahead with Puff in his arms, his clothes still stained with blood and milk, his face so sour it looked like the whole palace owed him money.
Curled in his arms, Puff wriggled every now and then. She tugged at his clothes, then lifted her head to stare at the shining walls and bright corridors.
"I’ll take her back first."
Kael stopped and pointed toward the nearby maid resting area.
"You. Go report to the head maid."
Zera stopped, troubled.
"Master Kael, I’m supposed to follow you and report to Her Majesty too. If I go back first, Her Majesty will punish me."
Kael looked at her.
Zera lowered her head at once, already preparing herself for a scolding.
But Kael only clicked his tongue.
This time, he didn’t chase her away.
He tightened his hold on Puff and kept walking toward his rooms.
Since he didn’t seem to object, Zera hurried after him.
"Da... da."
Puff called out.
Kael looked down.
"Hm? What is it, brat?"
Puff scrunched up her little nose.
She sniffed herself, lifted her face, and said one word with great seriousness.
"Stinky..."
Kael’s eyelid twitched.
Then he looked at the fur-lined officer’s cloak wrapped around her.
Before all this, the cloak had been thick, clean, and warm. But after the mess outside the city, it was stained with blood from the men in black.
The smell hadn’t been obvious in the wind.
Now that they were inside the warm palace, the heat pulled the blood scent out bit by bit.
Add the milk Puff had smeared all over it, and...
Well.
It was bad.
Kael’s brow tightened.
"Tch. We’ll get you cleaned up later, dummy."
"Oh..."
Puff settled back into his arms without arguing.
Kael took two more steps.
Then he stopped.
A second later, he turned around and carried Puff toward the royal baths in the leisure wing.
Zera followed behind him. She wanted to say something, but Kael was walking too fast, so she swallowed the words back down.
The entrance to the royal baths was closed.
A sign hung outside.
In Use.
Kael paused.
He looked at the sign.
Then he looked down at himself and Puff.
His last bit of patience was gone.
He raised his hand and knocked.
Hard.
The thick bathhouse door gave a deep, muffled thud.
"Hey! Anyone in there?"
His voice echoed down the hall.
Behind him, Zera’s face went pale.
She almost called out to stop him.
This was the royal bathhouse.
This was not a place where just anyone could knock on the door and shout questions.
Her hand lifted halfway.
Then froze.
She didn’t dare touch Kael.
For a moment, the inside was quiet.
Then a familiar voice came through the door.
"Little Kael?"
Kael’s hand froze in the air.
"...Mom?"
For the first time that night, the irritation on his face cracked.
Then he realized what he had done.
He had just interrupted someone he really should not have interrupted.
Empress Aurelia Valemont was inside.
And yes.
It was too late to regret it now.
A moment later, the bathhouse door opened.
Warm white steam poured through the gap, spilling over the threshold and into the cold hallway. It carried a clean, soft fragrance that took the edge off the night air.
Aurelia stood just inside.
She wore a long white bathrobe, her black hair still damp. A few loose strands clung to the side of her neck.
Steam curled around her under the lamplight.
The moment she saw Kael, the relaxed look on her face disappeared.
First came relief.
Then worry.
"Little Kael, you’re back!"
"M-Mom!"
Kael went rigid.
One arm held Puff. His other hand was still raised in the air, and his face looked even worse than it had when Puff was crawling all over him earlier.
He turned his head away and glared at the wall.
His ears were getting redder by the second.
"Where did you go, Little Kael?" Aurelia asked. "It’s so late. Why didn’t you come back sooner?"
"I—uh, I didn’t go anywhere!" Kael forced out through clenched teeth. "And—Mom, put some clothes on! Have some shame!"
Puff heard the last word and copied it like it mattered.
"Sha... me!"
Kael lowered his head and glared at her.
Puff looked back up at him, having no idea what she had done wrong.
Only then did Aurelia notice the small girl in Kael’s arms.
Her gaze fell on Puff.
Then on the blood-stained fur cloak wrapped around her.
The smile on Aurelia’s face faded a little.
"Little Kael... who is this child?"
"Mom, she’s—"
Before Kael could explain, Aurelia stepped aside.
"Enough. Come in and tell me."
She gave him no chance to keep talking in the corridor.
Reaching out, she pulled Kael—and Puff with him—into the bathhouse.
Outside, Zera lowered her head and stayed where she was, not daring to follow.
The door closed in front of her.
The thick panel cut off the hallway wind and kept the warmth inside.
"Hey! Mom—!"
The moment Kael was pulled in, he stepped back toward the door. Aurelia had barely closed it before he was already looking for a way out.
But after locking the door, Aurelia turned back to him.
Her brows drew together.
She looked at him for a long moment.
She didn’t scold him.
She didn’t tease him.
She didn’t even tell him to stand still.
She looked worried.
Kael could tell.
She had really been afraid something had happened to him.
The relief in her voice when she heard him was real.
And now that she had seen the blood on his clothes, the worry in her eyes was real too.
