Vic cautiously glanced at Rory's face and noticed that the king narrowed his eyes, his expression increasingly displeased.
Bailey, this time, didn't even bother with greetings. She strode towards the Serene Pavilion without sparing a glance at Rory.
"Your Majesty, I'll go check on the queen consort."
"What's there to check on? She won't die anyway. To think she dares to disrespect me is outrageous!
Brenna, with her head, lowered, sobbed softly. "It's all my fault, causing the queen consort's displeasure. I feel so ashamed. Maybe I should take Lilly and kneel outside the Serene Pavilion until the queen consort's anger subsides."
Rory felt somewhat annoyed at the sight of her tears.
However, he couldn't bring himself to get angry with Brenna. He patted her head gently. "Alright, let's consider this matter closed. Please don't dwell on it. The queen has been irritable lately. You do not need to seek confrontation, especially since I can't bear to see you kneeling before her. Go back, and from now on, avoid her."
While Rory soothed Brenna, Danny informed Vic about what had happened a moment ago.
Vic expressed his surprise upon hearing the story.
Then king brüshed aside such a significant matter! No wonder the queen consort was so upset.
Vie couldn't help but sympathize with Bailey. "Your Majesty, you have always been wise and fair, showing compassion even to the servarits. Why do you treat the queen consort so... unfairly?""
Rory gave him a cold, piercing gaze. "Vic, are you daring to challenge me on her behalf? Have you grown weary of your life?"
"Your Majesty, I believe the queen consort also has difficulties, especially considering today's events. There's hardly any woman who wouldn't mind."
"Vic, you say I treat her unfairly, but because of her I married someone I don't love. Is that fair to me, then? There will always be a divide between her and me. There's no need for you to persuade me further."
"Ah! Bailey, that wicked woman! I've been waiting so long, hoping to see her utterly humiliated today, unable to hold her head up again. I never expected that she would escape unscathed while I'm left in a mess!"
As soon as Brenna returned to the Shoreline Pavilion, she couldn't contain her anger any longer and began smashing things in frustration.
Lilly, who had just been scolded, lay on the bed whimpering.
She sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "Ms. Mack, the queen consort's actions are truly malicious. The Emperor wouldn't have reprimanded you if it weren't for her."
"Master must be infuriated as well.
"Didn't he say there was no chance of failure? How did things end up like this?" Brenna yelled.
"The queen is so cunning. It's not easy to deceive her," said Lilly.
Bailey clenched her fist tightly. "Bailey! I swear, I will make her pay!"
Meanwhile, Vic delivered a pill called Flutanoin to Bailey in the Serene Pavilion.
Taking the Flutanoin pill in a small gulp posed no harm to her.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry. The king cannot let go of his past with you."
Bailey responded with indifference. "I just feel disheartened. Rory's excessive leniency towards the concubine makes me doubt his intelligence. Even if Brenna saved his life, he shouldn't be foolish enough to let her cause harm."
Vic also voiced his complaint. "His Majesty has always been clear-minded in handling other matters, yet showed no principles regarding the concubine. Anyone who doesn't know better would think his judgment has been clouded."
"Clouded judgment?" Bailey suddenly had a thought. She recalled the peculiar scent emanating from Grant that day.
How could a mere house cat have such an eerie fragiarice? It seemed more like something sinister.
"Have you ever heard of something called 'Emotion Enchantment'?"
"Emotion Enchantment? I think I've come across it in a book before. It's said that if someone wants another person to love them completely, they can leave an enchantment in their body and use a living creature as a vessel for the inducement. This causes the enchanted person to depend on the enchanter strongly."
Bailey nodded. "Indeed, most inducements have a subtle fragrance that is hard to detect. The person under the enchantment appears healthy and shows no other symptoms. The closer they are to the vessel, the more at ease they feel. It's challenging to uncover the presence of this enchantiment."
"Your Highness, why would you mention this suddenly?"
Bailey sat up straight. Her expression was grave as she looked at him.
"I have a feeling that there's something off about the scent on Grant."
Vic took a deep breath. "This... this is no small matter. Are you suggesting that the concubine has used 'Emotion Enchantment' on the king? But the king already favors her, so why would she need outside help?"
"What if she doesn't seek affection but rather control?" Bailey's thoughts drifted to the Fifth Prince, and her heart sank.
Was Brenna even in love with Rory?
After all, she hesitated to give herself to him. There had been suspicions of her collaboration with Sidney, which makes it difficult to comprehend her true intentions.
"Vic, let's not mention this to anyone for now. I have an idea to test the validity of our suspicions."
It was Lilly who discovered the following day that Grant was missing. She knew well that the cat served a more important purpose than a mere pet.
Grant had a high status and always stayed indoors, under the watchful eyes of the servants.
However, after a night's sleep, the cat was nowhere to be found.
"Keep searching! If you can't find it, don't bother returning!" Brenna was infuriated. Nothing seemed to have been going well recently, and now even a cat was causing trouble.
Bailey didn't dare to keep the cat in Serene Pavilion.
Firstly, Rory would suspect her, undoubtedly leading to a thorough search. Secondly, she had deduced from Vic's hesitant words that Rory had stationed undercover guards around her.
"Hah, he truly is absurd. He should investigate his concubine instead of wasting his energy on me."
Vic replied, "Hence, from now on, Your Highness, you must be cautious. Otherwise, you will surely face his anger if His Majesty catches you with evidence."
With Grant being unreliable, Bailey had no choice but to focus on Vic.
"Under normal circumstances, you don't reside in the palace so no one will suspect you. How about taking Grant back home with you for a few days?"
Usually, Vic would refuse to accept such a troublesome responsibility, but Bailey insisted it was for Rory's sake, Hence, he had no choice but to agree,
At night, Bailey used her spiritual power to summon Grant and let the cat sneak out, with Vic waiting outside the mansion.
s a result, Brenna's search team spent the whole day in e mansion but found nothing.
earfully, she shared the news with Rory, who quickly arrived at Serene Pavilion.
Bailey observed coldly as Rory, accompanied by a group of subordinates, searched her courtyard and even her chambers. The leader bowed to Rory and said, "Your Majesty, nothing has been found."
She sneered, "What are you doing? Do you suspect a thief has infiltrated the palace and come to me, thinking I stole something?"
Since that day when they parted ways unhappily, she never talked to him respectfully again.
Rory suddenly felt a surge of suffocation. It amazed him how a simple word could cause him displeasure. He honestly struggled to control his temper.
"Has Grant been here?"
"Grant lost, huh? What's the deal with Ms. Mack? She used to ignore it when her subordinates harmed the cat.
And now that it's gone missing, she pretends to be all affectionate towards it. But deep down, we all know she doesn't truly care."
"Shut up!" Rory felt a sudden chill. "Did you hide Grant as revenge against Brenna? Otherwise, why would I search the entire place and not find it? Grant has always been well-behaved and understanding. It wouldn't just disappear for no reason."
"All the blame falls on me for the bad things, but the good things go unnoticed. What kind of logic is this?"
Bailey glanced at the servants who had been rummaging around earlier. "Put everything back in its place. If anything is misplaced, no one is leaving."
Rory raised his hand and held her chin, forcing Bailey to meet his gaze.
"You better not let me find out that you're up to something, or else..."
Her fingers suddenly covered his hand, and Rory paused, feeling the cold and soft touch.
Before he could pull away, he heard her challenge him. "Or are you going to kill me for the sake of a cat? How interesting. I'll be waiting."
He quickly let go of her hand, but memories of her earlier cold and proud smile flashed through his mind.
Seven days had passed, and there was still no trace of Grant.
For the first three days, Rory felt an unexplained restlessness, and as time went on, his patience wore thin.
Tears consümed Brenna's days, and Rory would comfort her while urging others to scour the streets in search. On numerous occasions, his patience waned, leading him lose his temper, even going so far as to punish a guard for a minor matter, leaving the entire mansion apprehensive.
Vic, seeing his troubled state, sought out Bailey. "There's something wrong with the king."
He had never displayed such anger in the past, even when someone went missing. It was just a simple cat, regardless of how much he cherished it. It shouldn't have provoked such a strong reaction from him.
"That's right. I can now confirm that Grant is under the influence of a love charm. Rory has been enchanted," Bailey Noel said.
"How could the concubine do such a thing? I thought she was a decent person," Vic said, infuriated. He wanted to go and expose her to Rory.
However, Bailey stopped him. "It's pointless. Until the love charm is broken, Rory will greatly rely on her. Even if he knew she had issues, he would never harm her. And more likely, he won't believe us."
"So, we're just going to let the king be manipulated?"
Bailey frowned. She wasn't concerned about Rory's well- being, but if this issue weren't resolved, it would be detrimental to her situation.
Brenna could exploit this bond repeatedly to cause trouble for her. No matter how often, Rory would always side with that woman.
What a tunning move. A cat's life was limited. As long as Grant was around, everything remained peaceful. But what if Grant were to pass away?
Like a slow-acting addictive drug, silently concealing its deadly intentions.
Rory might have gone insane under the long-term influence of the spell.
Bailey instructed Vic, "Quietly bring Grant back. Until we have a solution, let no one else know about the charm.
Just as Vic was about to leave, the room door suddenly swung open, and Bailey immediately sat up straight.
It wasn't kicked or pushed open but forcefully shaken by an internal force. It was Rory.