Clang——.

  "Hmm?"

  The sound of clinking bowls and plates made a kitchen staff member look up. He glanced around in confusion but found nothing suspicious.

  Thinking it might be his imagination, he bowed his head and continued working.

  As soon as he did, a pair of small hands that had just withdrawn from the counter stretched out again. This time, the hands were extra careful—without making a sound, they lifted a plate of pastries and disappeared under the counter.

  It wasn’t until the kitchen staff finished their work that someone noticed something was wrong.

  "Strange—isn’t there a plate of pastries missing here?"

  "Is there?"

  "Definitely! I remember clearly—King Bars ordered this for a guest. No one in the White Cat Clan likes things this sweet!"

  "Huh? What do we do then? Could someone have stolen them? Should we ask the guards if they saw any suspicious people?"

  "What kind of thief steals food instead of money!? Let’s not make a fuss. We still have some time before dinner—hurry to find the head chef and figure out how to make another plate."

  "Right! Let’s go now!"

  On the other side......

  Mirei, who had stolen the pastries, sneaked back to the courtyard with the entire plate.

  "Um...... I’ve never seen these pastries before. What do they taste like?"

  He picked up one pastry, took a bite, and his face immediately twisted into a frown.

  "So sweet——! What is this?! It’s almost sickeningly sweet!"

  Mirei stuck out his tongue, staring at the plate of pastries in his hand with a look of disbelief. He had no desire to take another bite.

  Grumble~!

  His stomach growled again.

  "Why did this happen......"

  After all that trouble—sneaking around and risking being scolded—he’d stolen a plate of pastries that he couldn’t even eat. It was all for nothing!

  Mirei reluctantly set aside the plate of "inedible pastries" and started swinging on the swing again. He had no intention of going back to the kitchen now—he might as well wait for dinner.

  ......

  Time passed quickly, and evening arrived.

  "King Bars, dinner is ready."

  "Understood. Go notify Miko and Hulim to come eat. By the way, where’s Mirei? He’s nowhere to be seen again—find him too."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "Yes."

  After the servant left,

  Bars stood up from his desk and walked toward the dining hall.

  When he arrived, a hearty dinner was already laid out on the table.

  "Father, good evening!"

  "Good evening, Mr. Bars."

  Miko and Hulim walked into the dining hall at that moment.

  "Good evening. Please sit down."

  Bars gestured for them to take their seats,

  then sat down at the head of the table himself.

  "Did you enjoy yourselves today?"

  The three didn’t rush to eat—instead, they chatted casually.

  "Yes, thank you for your hospitality these past few days, Mr. Bars."

  "You’re welcome. Compared to what you’ve done for us, this is nothing......"

  "By the way, Mirei still hasn’t come? Send someone to look for him again."

  Bars turned to a servant.

  "Yes!"

  The servant replied and walked toward the dining hall door.

  But before he could reach it, a guard rushed in frantically.

  "It’s an emergency! King Bars! It’s terrible—Prince Mirei he......"

  ......

  Some time later.

  In the medical room of the White Cat Clan’s mansion.

  A healer was silently examining Mirei, who lay unconscious on the bed.

  Inside the room, Bars, Miko, Hulim, and several guards stood quietly.

  The atmosphere was eerily tense.

  After a few minutes, the healer stood up and faced Bars.

  "How is he?"

  Bars asked as calmly as possible, but beneath his calm tone, a volcano seemed ready to erupt.

  "King Bars, the poison Prince Mirei ingested is not lethal. His life is not in danger for now, but he may remain unconscious for some time."

  Upon hearing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Bars’ mood also calmed slightly.

  "Find a way to wake him up as soon as possible. Also, prepare some magic potions to counter such poisons."

  "Yes, I’ll do my best immediately!"

  After instructing the healer, Bars turned to the guards.

  "Have you brought them?"

  "Your Majesty, they’re here."

  "Let them in!"

  "Yes!"

  Soon, several people walked in—they were the chefs on duty that night, including the head chef.

  "Explain this."

  Bars walked to a table, picked up a plate of pastries, and showed it to them.

  The chefs looked at each other in confusion.

  Finally, a pastry chef stepped forward.

  "Your Majesty, this plate of pastries...... I made them......"

  "You made them?"

  Bars turned to a guard beside him.

  "Tell them."

  "Yes!"

  The guard replied, then revealed something that chilled the chefs to the bone.

  "After Prince Mirei was poisoned, we immediately inspected all the dinner food. We found traces of the same poison in most of it."

  "What!?"

  "T-This! We’re innocent, Your Majesty! We didn’t do anything!"

  The chefs panicked and pleaded their innocence.

  "I know you didn’t."

  Bars said.

  "If you had, you wouldn’t have come here willingly."

  "I called you here to ask—did anyone act suspiciously in the kitchen today?"

  "T-This......"

  The chefs racked their brains but couldn’t think of anyone suspicious.

  "Mr. Bars."

  Hulim suddenly spoke up.

  "May I ask them a question?"

  All eyes turned to Hulim.

  "Of course. Feel free to ask whatever you like."

  With permission, Hulim looked at the chefs.

  "I want to ask—was there a woman working in the back kitchen who left the mansion this morning?"

  "T-There are a few women in the back kitchen......"

  "But no one pays special attention to who enters or leaves the mansion......"

  The chefs murmured, not sure who Hulim was referring to.

  At that moment, the head chef thought for a moment and said:

  "Could the person you’re asking about be Shiri? She did leave the mansion early this morning, but it’s because she wasn’t feeling well."

  "Shiri? Do you know anything about her family?"

  Hulim pressed further.

  "I do know a bit. Her husband died in an accident a while ago. She’s raising a child alone—around eight or nine years old. They live in a neighborhood east of here......"

  It must be her......

  Hulim had her answer.

  But she needed further confirmation.

  "Was she alone in the kitchen at any point today?"

  "I don’t think so. But come to think of it, she did come back very late from purchasing ingredients today...... Ah, but she’s not a bad person! On the contrary, she’s always been very nice—they can all testify!"

  The chefs nodded in agreement, clearly not believing Shiri could do such a thing.

  "How can you be sure she wasn’t alone in the kitchen? Were there people there the entire time?"