A Master of Changing Faces

Firth did not know how Ellie had discovered him.

As a “professional” who often entered the palace at night, he could skillfully avoid the guards here and quietly make his way in without anyone noticing.

Yet on the day they first met, and again today, this Second Princess had sensed his arrival.

The first time was still understandable.

After all, he had not been particularly cautious.

Although he had intended to quietly pass by without disturbing the two people in conversation, anyone without some ability would probably still have difficulty noticing him, even when Solor had entrusted him to “go take a look at how my sister is doing.”

But this second time now…

…How did she notice me?

Although Firth’s expression did not change much, a question mark had already appeared in his mind.

Clearly, he had not made any sound when he arrived.

Amid the sound of the night wind rustling the leaves, he could easily conceal his footsteps.

Yet this princess, who looked somewhat timid and introverted, had precisely detected him standing beneath her window?

Could she be someone who hid her abilities deeply?

Firth lifted his head to look at Ellie, but her gaze had already passed over him and landed on the tightly bound “mission target” behind him.

Firth noticed this and shifted slightly to the side, letting Ellie see more clearly.

“It’s inconvenient to talk down there.

Bring him up.”

After leaving these words behind, Ellie turned around and returned to the room.

Seeing that she did not close the balcony door after leaving, Firth lowered his head and glanced at the still-unconscious man.

He had actually already returned to the Knights once, delivering the confiscated weapons.

To prevent the man from waking up and disturbing his quiet infiltration of the palace, he had directly fed him some sleeping medicine and carried him all the way over.

Now that the Second Princess had left him a door, it was obvious she wanted him to carry this man from the window up to the second floor and into her room.

It felt somewhat improper to enter the princess’s bedroom like this, but rules were made by the royal family themselves.

If she said it was fine, then it was fine.

So Firth hoisted the man he had just put down back onto his shoulder again, acting as a porter for the entire night.

After taking a deep breath, using the nearby tree and the protruding structure of the balcony, he forcibly brought the man up.

When they entered the room, Ellie did not light a lamp.

Firth directly threw the man into the moonlight, allowing Ellie to clearly see his face.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

As Firth patted the wrinkles out of his clothes, Ellie had already handed him a cup of warm water.

There was nothing added.

It was just a cup of warm water.

“……”

Firth looked at Ellie and quietly froze for a moment, but still accepted her kindness.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Hearing this, Ellie said nothing, merely responding with a polite smile.

Then she walked over to the man, bent down, and looked at his face under the moonlight.

Standing to the side, Firth took a sip of the warm water to soothe his throat, which had grown dry and sore from all the exertion, while watching the direction of Ellie and the man.

Strange.

She showed not the slightest trace of fear.

For a bandit to become a leader, years of living by his nature would naturally shape his appearance into something fierce.

Even though he was asleep now, it was still hard to hide the viciousness of his features.

Combined with the scars on his skin and his powerful build, he was completely the type of terrifying figure that noble ladies would avoid at all costs.

Yet this little girl whom Solor had described as “introverted and shy” showed no fear at all.

Instead, she carefully examined him under the moonlight.

…That was rather novel.

There was not even a hint of fear or anxiety on her face.

Instead, there was a calm smile.

The curve of her lips was not large, but when the moonlight fell upon her, it was very clear.

This did not look like an introverted, shy young lady at all.

If she had the ability to wield weapons, Firth felt she might even go become a bandit leader herself.

Bringing this man over this time even carried a faint sense of business competition.

Firth’s thoughts drifted, and he even recalled his encounter with Ellie earlier that morning.

Her pleading appearance back then truly looked like that of a kind, timid little girl.

But this current 모습—

“Mm, it’s him.

Thank you for your hard work.

You did very well, Firth.”

In the next second, Ellie straightened up.

Firth’s gaze followed her rising figure upward, finally settling on her smile.

It was a confident smile.

Thus, Firth could not help but suspect that the shyness from the morning had all been an act.

It was merely to make him accept this task.

“As long as you are satisfied, Your Highness.”

Firth set down the cup of water in his hand.

Only then did he realize that because he had been paying attention to Ellie the entire time, the water in the cup had already been unconsciously drunk dry.

He had merely been biting the rim of the cup with his teeth.

“Next, could I trouble you to take him back to the Knights?

Just lock him up.

Provide normal meals during this period, and do not mistreat him or forcibly interrogate him.”

“……”

Ellie’s arrangement left Firth somewhat confused.

Logically speaking, after capturing the enemy of one’s friend, shouldn’t the next step be immediate punishment?

Although the Knights indeed did not advocate torturing prisoners, if the person was truly heinous, the knights would often turn a blind eye.

After all, such people brought it upon themselves.

It was the price they had to pay.

Thus, it was generally tacitly allowed that victims could “take advantage of the guards not paying attention” to vent their anger on the criminal—of course, only if the criminal was truly evil, and as long as things did not get too out of hand.

Before coming here, Firth had even wondered whether Ellie, being afraid to act herself, would ask him to do it for her.

The sword at his waist was still there.

But he had not expected the complete opposite.

This kind of handling was no different from “treating him well with food and drink.”

Firth even wondered if he had caught the wrong person.

But judging from their conversations, their clothing, and the equipment in the tent, he was indeed a bandit.

“Would that be too much trouble for you?

Please, Firth.”

Seeing Firth standing there without speaking, Ellie changed her expression again.

She adopted a pleading look, making Firth raise an eyebrow.

He thought to himself how quickly this Second Princess could change faces.

But that pleading expression was truly sincere.

Especially under the cold, lonely moonlight, it added several more layers of pitifulness.

“I will follow your instructions, Your Highness.”

Although he was puzzled, since this was a task directly assigned by a royal princess, as a knight, his foremost duty was to obey orders.

Thus, he had no objections at all.

He respectfully placed the empty cup back on the table with both hands and bowed.

“Then I will first take him back to the Knights and await your subsequent orders.”

“Mm.

Alright, thank you.”

At the end of the conversation, there was still a smile.

After that smile, there was no more dialogue, clearly signaling “seeing the guest out.”

Firth was a decisive person.

He turned around and carried the man away again.

In just a few breaths, when Ellie leaned out to look beyond the window once more, Firth’s figure was already gone.

“Hoo…”

After closing the balcony window, Ellie returned to the bed.

“It went quite smoothly…”