The lights flared back to life, the fire‑elemental crystals rekindled, and the hall once more bathed in radiance. The guests searched frantically for the masked thief, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as though the darkness itself had swallowed him whole.
Noelle, in the guise of the half‑elf maid, stepped to Andras and Christina. She gently took Andras's hand and spoke firmly:
"The masked thief cannot have gone far. Come, Young Wolf, let us pursue him!"
"Got it! Let's go after him!" replied Noelle, still wearing the Young Wolf's form.
Christina sighed in frustration, adjusting her festive gown.
"In this dress I can't move properly. I'll leave the chase to you—I'm returning to our table. Catch the thief!"
"Leave it to us!" said Andras, disguised as Noelle, nodding resolutely.
Chaos reigned in the ballroom. The King summoned every guard and the royal knights on standby. Swords clashed, armor rattled, and all rushed in pursuit of the masked thief. Guests screamed and pulled aside, the musicians' instruments lay silent, as though the celebration itself had ended.
Noelle and Andras, however, used the confusion to slip quickly into the empty chamber they had visited before. There they hastily deactivated the magical device that had caused the crystals' short‑circuit. The spell fell silent, and both of their forms returned to their true selves.
No disguises, no illusions—only two allies who understood that the masked thief, Liverpool, had been nothing more than a diversion. The real game was only just beginning.
In the silence of the empty chamber, Andras and Noelle finally breathed freely. Chaos raged outside in the ballroom, but here, behind the walls, all was calm.
"Mission accomplished," Andras declared, his voice tinged with satisfaction.
Noelle leaned closer with a mischievous smile.
"You stole the Princess's panties too?"
"Only as a diversion," Andras replied with a shrug. "See how they're running around like headless chickens?"
Noelle burst out laughing.
"Indeed, hahaha!"
"Was the dancing good?" Andras asked, settling into one of the room's chairs.
"Not bad," Noelle answered. "First I danced with Amelia for half an hour, then with Floralys for fifteen minutes. After that, I was supposed to dance another fifteen with Christina, but only managed five before the lights went out. The rest you already know."
"Anything else I should know?" Andras asked, frowning slightly.
"At the start of the dance, Annerose Redwood slapped Amelia Silverwood," Noelle explained.
"What? Why?" Andras exclaimed in surprise.
"They quarreled over you," Noelle said, a touch of mockery in her tone.
"A catfight over me? What did I miss…" Andras sighed, his eyes gleaming playfully.
"Because of the slap, Annerose was punished—she wasn't allowed to dance with you… or rather, with me," Noelle clarified. "Other than that, nothing else happened."
Andras rose to his feet and nodded firmly.
"Very well, let's return to our table."
"Got it!" Noelle replied, and together they headed back into the bustle of the ballroom, where the chaos was slowly subsiding, though the guests still whispered about the disappearance of the masked thief.
The Princess and Eris hurried to the chamber, where the guards stood steadfastly on either side of the door. Anabella stormed into the room, her gown rustling as she angrily rushed to the cabinet beside her bed. With a single motion she yanked open the first two drawers.
"This cannot be true!" she cried, her voice filled with despair. "All my panties are gone!"
Eris looked around grimly.
"The guards are at their posts… could he have come through the window?"
Anabella's trembling hand reached for the third drawer, then suddenly froze.
"Wait! No… don't do this to me! It's not here!"
"Is something else missing, Anabella?" Eris asked, stepping closer with concern.
"He stole my diary too!" the Princess screamed. "It contained all my secrets!"
"Your diary?" Eris exclaimed in shock. "What kind of secrets were in it?"
"My own secrets…" Anabella answered, her voice breaking. "Secrets the entire Kingdom will know… I'm finished, it's all over for me."
Eris tried to calm her.
"Come now, Princess, surely the diary isn't that terrible."
But Anabella raised her fist toward the heavens, her eyes shining with tearful fury.
"Damn that thief's hands, Liverpool!!!"
The chamber walls echoed her cry, as though the palace itself shared in the Princess's despair. The mysterious Magical Thief had stolen not only garments, but her most guarded secrets—and with them, the fate of the Kingdom was thrust into new peril.
The King paced nervously before the grand doors of the ballroom. His footsteps echoed across the marble corridor, his face flushed red with fury and shame. Captain John of the Royal Knights hurried forward to deliver his report.
"Well? Have you found his trail?" the King growled, his voice thundering through the air.
"My men are combing the entire castle grounds," John replied grimly. "If he is still hiding within the castle, we will find him. But if he has already escaped, we will not be able to catch him."
The King clenched his fists.
"If we capture him, I will have him executed! If he has fled, then I will place a bounty upon his head! Magical Masked Thief, Liverpool! The whole Kingdom shall hunt you down, villain!"
John continued cautiously.
"What of the ball? Shall we call it off?"
The King halted, his gaze flashing like lightning.
"What disgrace for the royal family. Everyone will laugh at us behind our backs. A thief entered my castle and stole my daughter's panties before the eyes of all. This is absurd! Where is Master Albert?"
John scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Well… Master Albert… drank a bit more than he should have, and…"
"Do not continue," the King cut him off, his voice dripping with contempt. "Cancel the ball."
The command left a heavy silence in its wake. The Royal Knights immediately moved to end the evening, which had turned from splendor and celebration into one of the greatest scandals in the Kingdom's history.
At the Wolfwood table, the chaos slowly subsided. The Young Wolf, Andras, Noelle, Christina, and Floralys sat together, while the guests still whispered about the disappearance of the masked thief.
Christina leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"You weren't able to find the thief's trail, Young Wolf?"
Andras shook his head grimly.
"He left no trace behind."
Floralys spoke thoughtfully, her voice soft yet serious.
"He said he was a magical thief… then perhaps he is a mage who turned to thievery?"
"He slipped into the castle far too easily," Andras replied. "It's possible a royal mage was behind the mask."
Christina's eyes widened as the weight of the thought pressed upon her.
"That could be. A mage here would know every corner of the castle. Perhaps we should tell the King."
Floralys nodded, her gaze shining with solemnity.
"I see. If a royal mage is the culprit, then he never needed to flee the castle. He could have simply returned to his chamber and changed his clothes."
"Then his disguise might still be hidden in his room!" Christina exclaimed, excitement in her voice.
Andras, however, countered calmly.
"Or he destroyed it. He may have already burned it."
Christina leaned back, thoughtful.
"True… I hadn't considered that."
A tense silence settled around the table. Each of them felt that the masked thief's identity might be far closer than they had imagined. The shadow of suspicion slowly fell upon the royal mages, and those seated at the Wolfwood table knew: if they were right, then the enemy was lurking within the palace walls.