Magnolia bought men's clothes for Syring so she could disguise herself as a man. They disguised themselves as guards and entered the palace. Inside, the three of them split up to find the queen. Magnolia saw a general coming toward him and tried to hide, but the general had already seen him.
"Guard Magnolia, what are you doing here?"
Magnolia quickly made an excuse. "I was searching for you. I need to talk to you about something urgent."
The general immediately replied, "Come with me." He took Magnolia to his chamber.
Meanwhile, Syring saw the queen talking to someone. She tried to listen carefully. "Just a few more days, and your goal will finally be achieved," the queen said.
Syring tried to see who the person behind the curtain was, but she accidentally knocked over a vase. The sound made the queen turn around.
"Who is there?"
Syring had no choice but to come out. "Queen, it's Princess Syring." She greeted the queen.
The queen looked at her in confusion, clearly startled by her male disguise. Syring quickly explained, "Queen, forgive me for coming here like this. I had to disguise myself as a man."
The queen stepped closer to her. "I'm glad you are alive."
Syring nodded.
"Did anyone see you coming here?" the queen asked.
"No. I was hiding, so nobody knows I'm alive," Syring answered.
The queen smiled. "Why did you want to see me?"
"I want to know who killed my family."
The queen filled a teacup and handed it to Syring. "Why do you think it was murder and not an accident?" she asked while staring at her.
Syring looked around the room. Small plants filled every corner, unlike any she had ever seen before in the entire Gladiolus.
"Because how is it possible that no one tried to escape when the fire broke out?"
The queen stood up. "Finish your tea. I'll send someone to investigate privately."
At the same time, Magnolia sat with the general in his chamber.
"I'm worried about all the deaths that have happened in the last six years," Magnolia said.
The general listened seriously. "So you're worried the South will be next?"
"Yes. That's why I came here to talk to you."
"Then what do you want?"
"I want to meet the queen urgently."
"Wait here. I'll call you later," the general said.
"Okay."
Meanwhile, Amaryllis wandered around the palace searching for Syring and Magnolia, wondering where they had gone. Then he heard that someone had infiltrated Anemone's chamber and tried to kill him. He hurried to find Magnolia, but instead saw Marantaceae fighting with the palace guards.
Amaryllis became worried. If Marantaceae did not escape within a minute, he would be captured by the guards. Without wasting time, Amaryllis killed one of the guards and grabbed Marantaceae's hand.
"We have to leave!"
Marantaceae looked at him in confusion, wondering why Amaryllis was helping him. As they ran, Laurel called out,
"Amaryllis! What are you doing?"
Amaryllis was running while holding Marantaceae's hand. He turned his head and replied, 'I'll explain later. First, help me get out of here!'"
Laurel did not understand what was happening, but he still helped by distracting the guards and sending them in another direction. Yet one thought kept troubling him—why were Marantaceae's fighting skills so similar to Anemone's?"
Meanwhile, Magnolia hid from the guards while searching for Amaryllis. Suddenly, a palace guard caught him.
"Who are you, and why are you hiding?"
Magnolia was about to answer, but the guard suddenly fainted after Syring struck him.
"Did you kill him?" Magnolia asked.
"Hurry, let's leave," Syring replied.
As they hurried away, they bumped into Amaryllis and Marantaceae.
"Amaryllis!" Syring called.
"Hurry, this way!" Amaryllis shouted.
At that moment, a palace guard spotted them running and called for the others.
"They're here!"
Syring threw a knife at the guard, and he fell to the ground.
"Why are you killing everyone?" Magnolia asked while staring at Syring.
Amaryllis grabbed Marantaceae and said, "This way!" He led them through a secret gate.
While running, Magnolia thought, If he already knew this hidden route, then why did he ask us to enter through the front gate?
They all ran toward the jungle, but by then the alarm had spread everywhere. The palace army was already searching the jungle for them.
While running, Amaryllis accidentally slipped down a hill, dragging Marantaceae with him.
They fell into the river and drifted to the shore. Amaryllis opened his eyes and found himself lying on top of Marantaceae. He quickly checked if he was alive.
"Oh, thankfully, you're alive," he said.
Amaryllis dragged him away from the water and laid him near a tree while trying to figure out where they were. A few moments later, Marantaceae woke up.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Oh, you're awake," Amaryllis replied. "I'm still trying to figure that out."
Marantaceae looked at him suspiciously. 'What were you doing with the South Palace's head guard? Do you know him?
"Not really."
Marantaceae's expression became serious. "You said you were a businessman, so how are you so good at fighting?"
"It was just luck," Amaryllis answered.
Marantaceae suddenly placed his sword against Amaryllis's neck. "Tell me who you are—and who that woman is."
"I should be the one asking you that," Amaryllis replied calmly. "What were you doing inside the palace? And now you're pointing a sword at me?"
Marantaceae interrupted him. "How is that woman so skilled with knives?"
Amaryllis slowly stepped forward. "Put the sword down, and I'll explain."
"Don't you dare move," Marantaceae warned. "That woman even knows your name."
"She has nothing to do with me."
As Amaryllis tried to negotiate, Magnolia and Syring arrived. Magnolia thought Marantaceae was trying to kill Amaryllis, so he rushed forward and pointed his sword at Marantaceae from behind.
"Drop your sword!"
Marantaceae turned to look at Magnolia.
"How dare you threaten a prince? You deserve capital punishment," Magnolia said angrily.
Marantaceae looked at Amaryllis in shock.
Amaryllis quickly knelt before Magnolia, trying to cover up his lies.
"Please forgive him. He wasn't hurting anyone inside the palace."
Magnolia stared at him in disbelief, thinking, How can a prince kneel before someone?
"You're a prin—"
Amaryllis cut him off before he could finish. "Even though I'm only a normal guard from the South Palace, I'm begging you on his behalf. Please let him go."
Magnolia did not understand what Amaryllis was trying to do, but decided to play along.
"Fine. I'll spare him this time." Then he looked at Marantaceae. "But don't let it happen again."
"Don't worry," Amaryllis said.
"So you're not a businessman after all," Marantaceae said while staring at him.
"No, I am a businessman," Amaryllis insisted.
Marantaceae looked at him in disbelief. "I'm leaving."
Amaryllis immediately became worried. "You'll get lost if you go alone through this jungle."
"The jungle is far better than traveling with liars."
Without another glance, Marantaceae walked away.
Amaryllis turned toward Magnolia, who was sitting on the ground exhausted, and Syring, who was standing nearby with the plants still in her hands. Both of them looked at him as if he had just been rejected.
Amaryllis silently walked toward Syring and asked,
"What are those plants you're holding?"