“I will accept anything. If you cannot forgive me, I will even step down from the position of Crown Princess……”

“What are you saying! Why would you step down from being Crown Princess? You are my wife. I am that child’s father!”

Elise smiled while prostrating, and Kristin’s lips tightened.

Lucas quickly bent down to support Elise and help her up.

“You’re being too harsh, Mother. The Crown Princess is not alone right now. She is carrying my child. How can you be so cruel? Mother, you’ve been pregnant before……”

At her son’s reproach, Kristin’s expression darkened further.

As Elise stood up, the smile was no longer on her lips. Elise was silently shedding tears, and the sight was so pitiful that it even softened Joseph V’s heart.

Usually, pregnant noblewomen wear dresses with wide skirts to hide their protruding bellies, but Elise deliberately wore a dress that revealed her slightly swollen stomach. Seeing the slightly bulging belly, Joseph V’s gaze softened even more.

In any case, what was inside was a child inheriting the blood of the Pelur royal family.

Although the fact that Elise Hailis, from Kanta and the daughter of a great criminal, was the Crown Princess was infuriating, her attitude of asking to be punished to protect Lucas was pleasing.

Perhaps because of her unfavorable background, she might become an even wiser and more cautious Crown Princess. She might have an even stronger mindset to be loyal to Lucas and Gania.

“Well, since she has become the Crown Princess and everyone knows about it, there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

At Joseph V’s words, Kristin’s eyebrows twitched.

This is why men are no good. Their hearts soften when a pretty and delicate woman carries their bloodline.

“But the timing is not good. The Braisa family will turn their backs, and the world will point fingers. So.”

Joseph V glared intently at Lucas and Elise.

“Please stay quiet. Stay so quiet that people forget you even exist.”

It meant not to show off that they were married. It meant not to do anything that a Crown Princess should do, could do, or was entitled to do.

Lucas seemed displeased, but Elise responded gratefully, saying she understood. And Kristin, watching Elise, thought.

‘I must kill her quickly.’

+++

Joseph V announced that he had permitted Lucas and Elise’s marriage due to Lucas’s deep feelings for Elise and Elise’s overflowing loyalty towards Gania. He added that they hadn’t married in secret, but given the circumstances, they had held a modest wedding ceremony with just family members as a sign of self-restraint.

Thus, Elise officially became the Crown Princess of Gania.

“Bucks, are you there?”

As Elise, spending a leisurely time in the Crown Princess’s palace, called out in a whisper, Ranian revealed himself.

No one knew that Elise had brought Ranian into the palace. Ranian knew how to hide in the shadows, moved without sound, and had no scent.

Ranian moved for Elise, but no one noticed him.

“The Queen will try to kill me. She’ll probably hurry. She’ll need to deal with me before I give birth.”

Ranian silently gazed at Elise, and Elise was now used to Ranian’s silence.

“She might use poison, or maybe disguise it as an accident. She might send an assassin or have me kidnapped. Being the Queen, she probably has countless people in this palace. But I have you, Bucks.”

Ranian was one of the few allies Elise had here. Retrochika was there, but he couldn’t stay by her side all day like Ranian, and Hunter couldn’t even have a proper conversation with Elise after entering the palace, being conscious of Lucas’s gaze.

And Lucas.

‘Pathetic man.’

His attitude in the carriage returning from Kanta was shocking. He tried to blame everything on Elise without giving her a single chance. He turned his back on Elise at the moment when he should have protected her the most, and abandoned her so easily.

If he weren’t the Crown Prince, if he weren’t someone who could help elevate her status, she would have left him long ago.

Elise lovingly gazed at Ranian, who was looking only at her.

“Can you protect me?”

“Of course, Master. I will check all the food you taste first. I will handle any killing intent directed at you. Don’t worry, Master.”

The fact that a powerful dark mage was by her side took away Elise’s fear. Elise had no intention of acting as the King and Queen wanted.

What do I have to rely on.

Lucas was a man who could abandon her at any time. Even those who used to flatter her, calling her ‘my lady’ when things were going well in Kingteren, all turned their backs when the Franche royal family’s problems were revealed.

Now she clearly knew where people’s affection and loyalty came from.

Power and authority.

There was no unconditional affection or loyalty.

So now that she had become the Crown Princess, now that she had grasped at least some power, she had to build a foundation. A foundation that wouldn’t be abandoned.

Suddenly realizing that her purpose had always been the same, Elise smiled bitterly.

Why must I always live in fear of being abandoned? Must I live anxiously trying to make allies in a world where I have no one on my side?

“If I had family, it wouldn’t be this desperate, would it?”

Ranian’s eyes wavered at the sound that flowed out like a sigh, but Elise, staring out the window, didn’t see it.

“Roxy always had people on her side. Even when she made mistakes or errors, she was surrounded by people who would smile and say it was okay. But I……”

The Franche royal family was warm to Elise, and Roxiana gave her affection like family, but even a king couldn’t control everyone’s hearts.

Occasionally, when Elise made mistakes or was lazy, there were people who clicked their tongues. There were groups who whispered that the blood of a criminal doesn’t change.

“I have no one on my side, Bucks. No one who will cherish me no matter what I do.”

She thought Lucas would be that person. But even he easily blamed and abandoned Elise.

“But you’ll be on my side, no matter what I do.”

As Elise reached out her hand, Ranian kissed the back of it.

“Of course, Master. My soul belongs to you. Even if you stab my heart with a knife, I won’t resent you.”

A cold smile appeared on Elise’s lips as she looked at Ranian’s white hair.

“Yes, you’re mine. You could even stab Roxy’s heart with a knife for me. Right?”

“If you command it, of course.”

Feeling sadistic, Elise grabbed Ranian’s white hair and pulled it to make him look at her. She liked how that face, slightly resembling Roxiana’s, was staring at her like an idiot. It made her feel triumphant, as if she had subdued Roxiana.

Roxiana wouldn’t even dream of it. That her brother had become a bug that only looks at me. That he had become a dog that laughs when I tell him to laugh and cries when I tell him to cry, she couldn’t even imagine.

Just thinking about Roxiana, who was probably still searching for Ranian’s body without knowing anything, made her feel like she had won against her.

“She’s in Torkan, Bucks. She might have smiled in front of the well in Kanta, but she’s just as alone. She can’t trust anyone and is always on edge. Like I was in the Ider palace, she’ll be living anxiously, not knowing when she’ll be driven out, for sure.”

“……”

“Just thinking about that makes me feel so relieved. I’m also so happy that her only remaining family has become my dog, Bucks.”

Ranian smiled.

“If you’re happy, Master, then I’m happy too.”

Seeing his idiotic appearance, not even remembering his own sister, Elise felt her heart swell with joy while also feeling a slight pain. But that pain was so small that Elise easily ignored it and said, tossing Ranian aside:

“I should hold a tea party at the Crown Princess’s palace. I need to see who will be on my side, even if just for a moment.”

+++

Aiwise was sleeping with her legs stretched out under the shade of a large tree in front of the inn.

Roxiana was inwardly surprised at her relaxed appearance. She had thought Aiwise would be anxious about not getting her subordinates back.

As Roxiana stood still, feeling sorry to wake Aiwise who was sleeping lazily with her wide-brimmed hat on her stomach, Floyd lightly kicked her thigh.

“Your Highness!”

As she grabbed his arm in surprise, Aiwise opened her eyes.

“Ah, Grand Duke. My Lady.”

Aiwise, who got up without showing any particular displeasure, brushed off the dirt on her body and then reached out towards Roxiana. It seemed she was about to kiss the back of her hand, but before her hand could touch Roxiana’s, Floyd lightly swatted it away.

Aiwise, rubbing the back of her hand, asked:

“Jealousy?”

“Yes.”

“I’m a woman, Grand Duke.”

“Still.”

At Floyd’s unfiltered display of his feelings, Roxiana blushed. Aiwise watched Roxiana and Floyd with interest before saying:

“Did you come to kill me, to drive me out, or to have a conversation?”

“All three.”

Once again, it was Floyd who answered. Aiwise took a step back, saying, “Oh my.”

“Let me rephrase the question. Are you planning to have a conversation, then drive me out, and kill me if that doesn’t work?”

Floyd nodded slightly. Roxiana, standing beside him, didn’t see it, but Aiwise, standing in front, did. The sincerity in his eyes.

Still, without erasing her smile, she brushed back her fiery red hair and said:

“The sunlight in Torkan is strong. We shouldn’t let the Lady’s delicate skin be damaged, so shall we go inside to talk?”