“Do you want to go that much?”

In response to that sudden question, Kalian raised his eyes slightly and looked at Ver.

“What are you talking about?”

“On the weekend, Baron Aster and I will go to the temple with just the two of us.”

Ttug-

The quill Kalian was holding was broken. 

Kalian clicked his tongue, discarded the broken quill, and took out a new one.

“Why are you asking me that again? Isn’t it already decided that the two of you are going?”

“Well, it looks like Your Majesty really wants to go.”

Ver stretched out the end of his words and then smiled.

He didn’t know what he meant, but with a very unpleasant smile, Kalian put down his quill and the document he was looking at and looked at Ver.

“What do you want to say?”

“Nothing in particular. I just want to hear Your Majesty’s sincerity.”

“You know already. What else do you ask?”

‘I want to go.’ That was Kalian’s sincerity.

Ver, who couldn’t be unaware of that, tilted his head slightly and asked.

“Why do you want to go that much?”

“That’s because it’s dangerous to let just the two of you go. Neither you nor Leila can use a sword.”

“It is forbidden to carry weapons when entering the temple, Your Majesty.”

“I’m not talking about a real sword. I’m saying you two don’t have the ability to protect yourselves.”

Leila, of course, as well as Ver, had never learned how to wield a sword or any self-defense techniques.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have taught you some self-defense techniques.”

Ver raised both hands and responded.

“I hate doing something that uses my whole body. Whether it’s dancing or swordplay, I hate everything.”

“I know.”

He was also well aware that the reason stemmed from Ver’s dark past.

“That’s why I’m more worried. Who will protect you if there’s an emergency?”

“I will pray that nothing happens.”

“If everything can be resolved just by that, there will be nothing in the world to worry about.”

At Kalian’s point, Ver scratched his cheek.

Ver was also worried about going to the temple alone with Leila. And it was even more so because Leila seemed to have other ideas.

He wished she could tell him what she was thinking, but Leila stubbornly refused to open her mouth.

“Why don’t you have the Imperial knights or Crowd Knights waiting around the temple, Your Majesty?”

If he did that, Ver could prepare for the second-best option in his own way.

“So that if something happens to us, we can deal with it right away.”

“How will they know?”

“I will take a flare. If something happens, I’ll pop it right away.”

There were still some things he wasn’t quite sure about, but it was definitely a good plan.

Kalian accepted Ver’s offer.

“Let’s do that.”

As the temple’s matter was done, the reports that had stopped for a while continued.

Ver reported seriously, and Kalian’s expression as he listened to him while looking at the documents was sharp and careful.

Near the end of Ver’s report, knocks were heard.

The one who came was an official working in the Marshal Department. He bowed his head in greeting to Kalian and politely presented the document he had brought with him.

Kalian, who checked the document, burst into laughter.

Why is he laughing like that?

Curious, Ver pulled out his neck like a giraffe and checked the document Kalian was looking at.

[Aldor Hutton was wounded during the joint pirate operation. Left leg amputation. As we judged that it was impossible for him to fight anymore, we quickly…]

*****

Tuk tuk, tuk, shwaaa-

The sudden downpour of heavy rain seemed to wet the world.

While people were rushing to finish their work, sounds of rough breathing could be heard from inside the luxurious blue tent.

“Haa, haa.”

Her originally coveted blonde hair was in a mess because it hadn’t been washed properly for several days.

Her originally white skin was full of scars, and dirty water was dripping down from it.

The clothes she was wearing were also rags that only street wanderers would wear.

“Haa, haa, haa, haa.”

It couldn’t do its job properly though because it was torn more than half. 

There was a lot of blood on her almost exposed chest. It was the same with her face and her hand, which was holding a knife.

“Haa, haa, huu.”

Taking a deep breath, Cecily wiped the blood on her face with her non-blooded hand. Then she looked at the man lying on the ground with his chest stabbed with great contempt.

“How dare a scum like him to touch me.”

A baron. He was also a petty official in charge of escorting criminals.

Cecily was very disgusted and annoyed that such a b*st*rd tried to touch her.

Of course, to get out of the bug-infested moving prison where rain couldn’t be avoided, she seduced this man first, but it was still disgusting.

“I have an eye for everything.”

Cecily clicked her tongue out of anger and threw the dagger she was holding onto the ground. Then she stood close to the tent door and looked at the outside movement.

It was noisy until a while ago, but now it was quiet. 

Everyone seemed to have gone somewhere to escape the rain. And even though guards were running around occasionally, that much could be avoided. Because when her kingdom was attacked, it was about like this when she went to Philen Williot’s bedroom while avoiding everyone’s eyes. It was even easier than eating cold soup.

I will never go to the Aobis Coal Mine.

I’d rather die by biting my tongue than go to work in such a horrible place and die.

And even if I died, I didn’t want to die alone.

I’ll take that b*tch with me.

Leila Thebesa.

It’s not enough to shatter her plan mercilessly, that ruthless woman even sent her to a terrible place like the Aobis Coal Mine.

When Cecily first saw Leila, she thought she would be easy to deal with because there was no response no matter how many insults she gave her, but she was wrong.

She had a thorn hidden inside her like a pufferfish. A thorn that also contained deadly poison.

She was the poor, pitiful victim that was pierced by that thorn.

I just wanted to survive.

I just wanted to be treated to a certain extent, even if it was not as much as when I was a princess. Is that wrong?

Of course, she didn’t think the plans she made were dignified. But it was them who did the wrong first.

She was living happily as a princess, but they suddenly invaded and took away everything she had, including her kingdom and her family.

She was just trying to figure out how to live her life to the fullest, and there was nothing wrong with that. After all, the only thing she coveted after losing everything was the position of a duchess!

It is unfair to be treated like this!

She hated Philen, but the one she hated the most was Leila.

If that woman hadn’t done such useless things, she would have taken the seat next to Philen with great confidence.

The thought of Leila, who had made herself like this, laughing under the emperor’s favor made her stomach churn.

Kkadeug, kkadeug-

Cecily bit her untrimmed nail.

Her blue eyes, which were clearly visible even in the dark, flashed dangerously.

“I will never forgive you.”

*****

Even if the Empire was strong, I couldn’t ignore the protest letter from the Holy See that had come twice.

So I thought I should pause the childcare project for a while until I found the blemishes on the temple, but I couldn’t. Because Kalian continued to carry out the childcare project, including repairing the childcare building.  

It would be nice to be able to accommodate the children quickly, but… shouldn’t we be paying attention to the Holy See too?

I was happy the childcare project continued without stopping, but I was also anxious. It was even more uncomfortable because of what I said in the past that I wished the childcare project would be completed sooner.

I kept thinking that it might be because of me that Kalian was pushing it.

What to do? 

I pondered all morning and came to a conclusion. 

I’ll tell His Majesty to pause the childcare project for a while.

It would delay the completion of the childcare project, but it was better than continuing to take risks.

All right. I’ll tell him at lunch.

I made up my mind, but Baron Delrond delivered unexpected news.

“His Majesty is having lunch separately today?”

“Yes.”

It’s been about three weeks since I finished Philen’s matter and returned to the capital.

During that time, we ate lunch together every day except on holidays. That’s why I was a little bewildered when he was suddenly going to eat separately.

If there was a special schedule, it was only natural, but as far as I knew, Kalian didn’t have a special lunch schedule.

“Did something happen to His Majesty?”

I asked, just in case, and Baron Delrond nodded.

“Yes.”

The look on Baron Delrond’s face showed that he knew what was going on with Kalian.

But why do I not know?

I am also His Majesty’s aide though…

My heart throbbed a little as unknown emotions swirled inside me.

Is it because of a sense of alienation? I’m not sure, but it seems to be right.

“May I know what’s going on with His Majesty?”

I thought it would relieve my frustration, but Baron Delrond just smiled and told me nothing.

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“Yes. Not yet.”

Yet, huh?

My frustration grew bigger.

“Are you okay?”

Baron Delrond asked anxiously.

“You don’t look good.”

“My stomach feels a little uncomfortable.”

“Oh my. Shall I ask the servant to bring you some medicine?”

“It’s okay.”

It wasn’t really uncomfortable, so it was no use to take medicine.

If I get some fresh air, maybe I will get better.

I thought it would be better to do that, so I got up with the documents.

“I’m going to the library.”

“It’s lunchtime soon though. What about lunch?”

“I’m not feeling well right now, so I’ll skip it.”

“You will be hungry later, you know?”

“I can eat cookies later.”

The office was always full of snacks such as cookies. So there was no need to worry about being hungry.

“See you later.”

I said goodbye to the Baron and headed straight to the library.