“If we spread the story of the men who had intimate relations with Elise right now, Elise Hailis would never be able to become the Crown Princess again, even if she were reborn.”

When Nelly spoke again, Roxiana nodded.

“Of course. But if that happens, what about Lucas Pelur?”

“Pardon?”

“Lucas will pin all the crimes that have shaken this world onto Elise Hailis and extricate himself. Everything my family has suffered will be blamed on Elise Hailis, and they’ll think they’ve fulfilled their responsibility by holding Elise accountable and casting her out.”

“Ah…”

“They’ll lay all the blame on Elise, and the Pelur royal family will wash their hands clean. If that happens, it’ll be harder for me to reach Lucas.”

Meddling with a nation’s crown prince would become an international issue. Roxiana wanted to guide Lucas onto a path of self-destruction without directly intervening.

But Lucas was still the crown prince. He was surrounded by wise people, and if necessary, Joseph V would even beat him to guide him onto the right path. It was clear that the various obstructions Roxiana planned would be scattered, unable to reach Lucas, blocked by the shield of the Gania royal family.

That’s why Elise was needed.

Even if Elise used all sorts of tricks to become the Crown Princess, there would be no one in the Gania royal family who would truly care for her. They would feel humiliated and curse the fact that a woman from the colony of Kanta had become the Crown Princess.

Elise would try to win people’s hearts, but…

‘With that impatient personality, she won’t be able to endure till the end…’

Elise must safely become the Crown Princess. Only then would Elise’s actions hold Lucas back and drag him down the path to hell.

“For now, keep this matter under control and just gather information. Focus on identifying the men closely associated with Elise and collecting evidence.”

“Understood, Master.”

Roxiana relaxed her shoulders and picked up her teacup. The tea that had been in the cup throughout their conversation was now lukewarm.

“How’s the seafood distribution going, Nelly? Do you think it’s sufficient compensation for the information you bring me?”

Nelly grinned.

“More than enough. To be able to catch and cook fish from the sea while they’re still thrashing about on the continent. It’s worth every penny. We’re backlogged with orders. I’ve never had such high monthly profits in my entire life.”

After Nelly left, still chattering about how she planned to expand distribution, Roxiana prepared to go out.

In a few days, there would be a party at the Eledrun Hills’ estate, and Roxiana had received an invitation. She wasn’t in the mood to attend parties, but since she had decided to settle in Torkan, she needed to mingle with the nobles.

‘There shouldn’t be nobles who view the immigration of Kanta citizens as a thorn in their side.’

As soon as Roxiana recovered, she returned to the place where she had eliminated the rift and spent days purifying the entire area.

The people of Kanta would likely settle on the land that had been abandoned due to the rift, but even that might become an issue for some nobles. So it seemed best to make acquaintances and establish good relationships with the nobles at this party.

Since she didn’t have a suitable dress for the party, she decided to go get one fitted today. She could have called for a tailor, but she wanted to stroll outside for a change.

“Princess, I’ve prepared the carriage.”

Petria, who was going out with her, said in a cheerful voice. Petria was excited that Roxiana was finally going to choose a dress for the party.

As Roxiana walked out of the building with Petria, who was chattering about how nice the weather was, she felt a gaze and turned her head. Something large and black was perched on a big tree in the garden, looking down at Roxiana.

Roxiana, who was startled by the large black figure at first, relaxed when she realized it was an eagle.

‘That eagle is really big.’

She had seen eagles flying in the sky a few times before, but this was the first time seeing one up close. Petria, following Roxiana’s gaze, exclaimed, “Oh my!”

“That eagle is really big.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’ve never seen such a large eagle before. How frightening… Should I ask the knights to chase it away?”

“It’s alright. It’ll probably fly away if we leave it alone.”

“Then if it’s still here when we return, I’ll ask the knights. Eagles sometimes attack children. An eagle that big might even attack you, Princess.”

“If it attacks the Princess, I will protect her.”

At Robert’s quiet words from behind, Petria exclaimed “Oh my!” again.

“Sir Chenare. I-I didn’t know you were here. You startled me.”

Robert, who always quietly followed a few steps behind Roxiana, smiled gently.

“I’ll keep her safe, so don’t worry, lady.”

“My goodness, ‘lady’… You can just call me Petria.”

Robert nodded slightly.

Roxiana and Petria rode in the carriage, while Robert rode on horseback. On the way to the bustling area, Petria chattered continuously, but Roxiana only responded halfheartedly, lost in other thoughts.

‘The Grand Duke must still be… angry, right?’

A few days ago, after expressing his quiet anger towards Roxiana, she hadn’t been able to meet Floyd. Or rather, she hadn’t been able to see him.

Come to think of it, it was always Floyd who came to find Roxiana, so it was natural that they didn’t meet once he stopped coming. If she went to find him, he would probably meet her, but she didn’t know what to say if they met.

I’m sorry for eliminating the rift. I’m sorry for purifying the land.

But she wasn’t sorry. She had eliminated the rift and purified the land. Although she had caused him worry, he had gained more. A large area of Torkan could now be used without worrying about demonic beasts.

Although some of the purified area would be used by the people of Kanta, the rest was all Torkan’s. Torkan would be able to make excellent use of the land that had become more fertile thanks to Roxiana’s power.

So she should have been the one more upset about not receiving proper gratitude, but she couldn’t. If only he had raised his voice as usual that day, she would have gotten angry too.

−”No matter what I say, you won’t listen, Princess.”

His quiet voice and sunken eyes made her heart ache, and she couldn’t argue back.

What did I do so wrong, doesn’t everyone suffer, I just did the same, isn’t it enough that I didn’t die in the end. Such words got stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out.

It was rather normal for the princess of a fallen country, relying on another country, to not be able to meet the monarch of that country often. She had only received excessive kindness and been overly close until now. She should have thought that they were just returning to a normal relationship, but she felt uneasy.

‘This isn’t the time to be thinking about this.’

There were many things to worry about, many things that needed to be done. She still hadn’t found the missing Lanian. Not only Floyd’s people, but also Nelly’s side had deployed many people to search for him as a top priority, but they couldn’t even find a trace of Lanian.

So Roxiana dreamed.

A dream that perhaps Elise might have spared Lanian’s life. A sweet dream that she might have kept him alive and imprisoned somewhere to use as a card against Roxiana. A dream as sweet as poison.

Even though she knew that Elise had intended to sell Roxiana into slavery at the time of the tragedy, so there was no need to keep Lanian as a good card to deal with Roxiana. Even though she knew that Elise, who had killed everyone else, wouldn’t have shown mercy only to Lanian.

Roxiana kept having these dreams.

“Haa…”

A sigh escaped her lips due to the pain and tightness in her chest. Everything was progressing steadily, but the pain like a thorn stuck in her heart wouldn’t go away.

Lanian. Floyd.

Even though she knew these weren’t problems that could be solved by worrying, she couldn’t stop the thoughts that kept coming up.

Amidst these many thoughts, they arrived at the dress shop. The dress shop was located in the center of a street lined with high-end stores in the bustling area. It was an impressive place with a street wide and clean enough for three carriages to pass, with countless carriages coming and going.

As soon as Roxiana entered, the owner came out and greeted her with a bright smile.

“The Countess Hills was so insistent that we take good care of the Princess… We would have done so even without her saying anything.”

Now even the commoners knew that the distinguished guest at the Lily Palace was Princess Roxiana Evelyn Franche of the Kanta Kingdom. What happened to Roxiana and her family was shocking and cruel enough to stir the hearts of even those who didn’t know her.

The shop owner treated Roxiana with respect, mixing sympathy for the tragic events and reverence for a woman taken in by the monarch.

Roxiana surrendered herself to the owner’s meticulous care and chose several dresses according to her advice. Now Roxiana had enough money to buy dresses without Floyd’s kindness.

Unaware of this fact, the dress shop owner thought:

‘The Grand Duke is so generous to the Princess. I guess the rumors about the Grand Duke loving the Princess are true after all.’

Unknown to Roxiana and Floyd, various rumors about their relationship were circulating in Selshar City. Songs and romance novels with only the names of the protagonists changed were already popular.

A thrilling and sweet love story where a king, duke, or count of a country saves a lady who lost her family and was about to be sold into slavery, keeps her by his side, and helps her get revenge.

The names of the protagonists were different in each work, but everyone knew who they were based on.

As the saying goes, familiarity breeds interest. Despite the stories being similar, the novels were selling like hotcakes, and songs about them were played several times a day in taverns.

A love unknown only to the two involved was burning passionately throughout Selshar City.