"Eep——！？"

  Shiri, who had planned to sneak past the men quietly, was startled when her name was called.

  "?"

  Her strange reaction made the three pause, looking at her in confusion.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Ah——! I-I-I......"

  Shiri stammered.

  "That’s right! I’m not feeling well, so the head chef let me go home early......"

  "......Oh, so you’re just unwell. I thought you were up to something bad."

  "......"

  Shiri’s face turned pale instantly, her hands clutching her clothes tightly.

  "Uh...... You look really pale. Seems like it’s serious—hurry home and rest!"

  "Yes......"

  Shiri replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, but she didn’t leave immediately—she just stood there frozen.

  "Alright, let’s get back to our business!"

  Fortunately, the three didn’t suspect her odd behavior.

  They walked straight toward the back kitchen.

  "Wait...... No!"

  Shiri’s body stiffened again just as she was about to move.

  "You got away with the ticket thing just now!"

  "Tch! You caught on that fast?"

  The man clicked his tongue and suddenly ran away.

  "That guy! He’s escaping!"

  "Chase him—he must have extra tickets! Catch him——!"

  The other two chased after him.

  "......"

  After they left, Shiri’s legs almost gave way and she collapsed to the ground, as if all her strength had been drained.

  She then carefully identified the direction and stumbled toward the exit of the mansion......

  "Hulim, you really love sweet food. The clerk at that dessert shop yesterday was shocked by you."

  Inside the mansion, Hulim and Miko were wandering around.

  "Is it that exaggerated? I only added a little extra sugar."

  "Ah??? "

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Miko stared at Hulim in shock.

  "......Can half a cup be considered 'a little'?"

  Okay, maybe it was a tiny bit too much......

  "Hmm? Is this the back gate of the mansion?"

  Before they knew it, the two had reached the back gate.

  "Let me check...... Yes, this is the back gate."

  Miko nodded after looking around.

  "In that case, let’s go out from here directly."

  "Of course! But what are we going to do today?"

  "Hmm......" Hulim thought for a moment. "Are there any other famous dessert shops in Helinks?"

  "Uh...... Can we not go to a dessert shop......"

  The guards opened the gate. Just as Hulim and Miko were about to leave, an adult woman walked toward the back gate.

  When she saw Miko and Hulim, she panicked and lowered her head quickly.

  "G-Greetings, Your Highnesses!"

  "Hmm, are you leaving too?"

  Miko asked casually.

  "Y-Yes. I’m done with my work here, so I’m going home."

  Shiri replied with her head down.

  "I see......"

  Miko lost interest and pulled at Hulim’s sleeve.

  "Hulim, let’s go."

  But she didn’t pull Hulim away.

  Hulim’s gaze was still fixed on Shiri.

  "Hulim, what’s wrong?"

  "......Nothing."

  Hulim shook her head.

  "Let’s go."

  After leaving the mansion through the back gate, Hulim and Miko walked in the opposite direction from Shiri.

  As they walked, Hulim turned around to glance at Shiri again.

  "Is there something wrong with that person?"

  Miko asked curiously.

  "I’m not sure."

  "I just...... have a sense of deja vu."

  That’s right. From Shiri, Hulim felt a similar aura to someone she’d met before—and that person had ended up in prison......

  Hulim looked away and continued walking forward.

  "?"

  Miko, following behind, had a big question mark over her head.

  "Deja vu? What kind of deja vu? Hey, wait for me—tell me!"

  ......

  Shiri had no idea how she made it back. When she came to her senses, she was already home.

  "This is...... my home. Am I back already?"

  "How did it go?"

  Suddenly, a voice sounded inside the house.

  "What——"

  Shiri was shocked, but quickly recognized the voice.

  "It’s you! Why are you here?! "

  "Why am I here? To wait for your news, of course~."

  Still wearing the hood that covered his face, the man walked out from the depths of the room.

  Shiri looked at him, clutching her fists tightly. The anger in her eyes seemed almost tangible.

  "I......"

  In the end, she loosened her fists and said weakly:

  "I did what you asked. Can you return my son now?"

  "Don’t be in a hurry."

  Shiri’s eyes widened instantly.

  "You’re going back on your word?! "

  "Hehe~, I didn’t say that. But since it’s a deal, it’s common sense to pay the final installment only after seeing the result, right?"

  "......"

  "Don’t worry. As soon as we confirm that everyone in that mansion is poisoned, we’ll reunite you with your son immediately."

  "......Can you tell me how long the confirmation will take?"

  "It won’t be too long—just in a day or two. You can use this time to think about where you want to go next. Of course, that’s only if...... you really did what you said."

  "......You won’t lie to me, will you?"

  "Hehe~!"

  The hooded man shrugged.

  "Don’t overthink it~!"

  "Alright, now that I’ve confirmed, I’ll take my leave~!"

  With that, he passed Shiri and walked slowly out of her house.

  After he left, Shiri squatted down slowly and burst into tears, hugging her head.

  "Why...... Why did this have to happen to me?! "

  ......

  White Cat Clan’s mansion.

  Mirei sat bored in the courtyard, swinging on a swing.

  "So boring. I’ve been here for days—why won’t Dad let me go out?"

  Squeak! Squeak!

  Only the sound of the swinging swing echoed in the courtyard.

  Grumble~!

  Squeak——!

  The swing stopped suddenly.

  Mirei rubbed his stomach.

  "I’m hungry."

  "But it’s not dinner time yet......"

  After about three seconds,

  Mirei jumped off the swing and walked toward the kitchen, as he remembered it.

  Since Bars wouldn’t let him run outside, he’d been wandering around the mansion these days. Thanks to that, he’d roughly memorized the layout.

  After some time, Mirei reached the kitchen.

  There were still two or three people working inside.

  Mirei peered inside cautiously, then dropped to the ground and crawled in carefully. He didn’t want to be caught sneaking food—otherwise, he’d get scolded by his father again.

  Because he was small, and the kitchen staff were all busy with their work, no one noticed him sneaking in.

  Mirei searched around the kitchen and soon spotted a plate of exquisite pastries that had already been made.

  He checked his surroundings carefully, confirming no one was watching, then quickly crawled toward his target......