Cain shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t want to know.”

Adrian grinned.

“She does have a pretty face. If a woman like that smiled and seduced me, maybe for one night… Ouch! Why did you hit me, Hexten!”

“You have no filter in front of the princess.”

“Ah, I apologize, Princess. My mouth runs away with me.”

Despite possibly facing a dark mage, the knights’ attitudes remained unchanged. They were neither particularly afraid nor cautious.

“There’s no need to worry, Princess. Dark magic is ultimately similar to dealing with magical beasts, so we’ve developed some immunity to it.”

As Arsen calmly explained, Kirshan continued.

“It’s only Lord Chenare that I’m worried about.”

“No need to worry about that. I’ll protect them both.”

At Hexten’s words, Robert’s face turned red.

“There’s no need to protect me, Hexten.”

“No need to be shy, Robert. On the battlefield, we protect each other.”

Hexten patted Robert’s shoulder, but Robert’s expression darkened at the fact that he, a knight escort, was considered someone who needed protection. Watching this, Kirshan spoke.

“I have a hypothesis. Recently, when knights face magical beasts, they seem to get injured less than before. I wonder if it’s thanks to the Princess’s juice.”

“My juice?”

“Yes. At first, I thought it was just faster recovery, but as I watched carefully, there were cases where even effective attacks couldn’t wound the knights.”

“My juice…”

It was a plausible hypothesis that since the power of spirits countered magical beasts, a drink blessed by spirits might offer some protection against magical energy to those who drank it.

“That’s right, that’s right. The Princess has also healed people affected by magical energy before. So if we consistently drink juice infused with the Princess’s power from the start, we might not suffer much damage from magical energy.”

Nodding at Adrian’s words, Roxiana said,

“That could be possible. Why didn’t I think of it that way… Alright. I’ll diligently make juice whenever I have time.”

“You only need to bless it anyway. When you’re here, it’s better not to make it directly and focus on what you need to do, Princess.”

Agreeing with Kirshan’s words, Cain stepped forward.

“Yes, Princess. Please don’t worry about us and focus on your work. That will be the meaning of our coming here.”

To them, it might have been an insignificant desire for revenge. They had no connection to the Franche royal family.

Yet, the warmth in her chest grew at the attitude of the knight commanders who treated it as if it were their own affair. The wariness and tension that had been weighing on her shoulders since coming to Gania gently eased.

“Then I’ll be counting on you all.”

+++

While Roxiana was away from the reception room, the wolf, with the otter perched on its head, pushed open the terrace door with its front paw. As soon as the wolf went out onto the terrace, the eagle that had been circling in the air descended and perched on the terrace railing.

“They say there might be a dark mage near Elise. Whether it’s Lanian, or someone who’s erased Lanian’s presence, it’s surely connected to Lanian.”

The otter nodded its head vigorously.

“Minne, El. You two go and look around Elise.”

“What will you do?”

At the otter’s question, the wolf sighed.

“If dark magic is involved in Engis Brisa’s disappearance, it will be difficult to find with just Roti’s power. I’ll try to find Engis Brisa.”

The three animals met each other’s gaze and nodded solemnly. The maids who had come in to clear away the teacups watched the animals conferring on the terrace and thought,

‘The Princess’s wolf certainly makes diverse friends.’

+++

Late at night, Elise snuck out of the palace wearing a black cloak with a hood, went to the Litten Salon, and met with the dye businessman. Despite the urgent meeting, Elise handed over 1,800 gold to the businessman who had rushed over.

Perhaps because it was money borrowed against land documents that weren’t even hers, she didn’t feel regret about handing over such a large sum.

‘It will come back as an even larger amount anyway.’

Tomorrow, Floyd and Roxiana are coming to the Queen’s tea party.

Elise didn’t want to lose to Roxiana. She wanted to show that she was living more lavishly and happily than her.

According to Madame Histine, it seemed the Torcan people were planning to stay in Gania for more than six months.

‘In a few weeks, another interim settlement will come in. Even if only 10 percent of 2,300 gold comes in, that’s 230 gold. And in three months…’

She could have over ten thousand gold in her hands. By then, no one would dare treat her carelessly.

‘Then first I’ll find and return the land documents, and with the rest of the money…’

Happy fantasies filled her mind.

It didn’t occur to her that the interest on the money borrowed from the loan shark was 30 percent per month. No, she was thinking about it, but she believed she could easily pay off interest of 30 percent. Since the interest could be carried over, she could pay it all at once.

The fact that Roxiana was nearby clouded Elise’s vision like a fog. Having lost her composure, Elise couldn’t see far ahead and only pursued the immediate gains before her.

The coachman of the carriage she had hired earlier in the day when she went to the shopping district stopped near the palace.

“We’ve arrived.”

Elise, who got out of the carriage, generously pulled out 1 silver and handed it to the coachman, then walked lightly towards the back gate of the palace. It was a place easy to slip in and out unnoticed by the guards, as it connected to the forest.

Elise quickly moved her steps after confirming that there was no one outside the back gate. And the moment she set foot inside the back gate.

“Stop!”

Along with the cold shout, torches were lit here and there. Having been in darkness for a while, Elise fumbled, unable to gather her wits in the suddenly pouring light.

Cheng- Chajaeng-

Sharp sounds like swords being drawn rang out from all around. Someone walked saba-saba towards Elise, who was covering her ears and crouching down.

Elise, crouched and huddled, stared at the elegant shoes that stopped in front of her.

“You seem very busy, Elise.”

An icy voice poured down like frost. Elise looked up abruptly to see Queen Christine standing there with a cold sneer.

“Your, Your Majesty… What is this all about…?”

Christine stared at Elise for a long time as if she didn’t even want to mingle words, then said,

“We need to talk.”

+++

As she followed Christine towards the Queen’s palace, Elise’s heart pounded heavily, thump, thump.

‘It’s okay, there’s no problem. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ll just say I invested a small amount for Gania’s sake. I’ll say I was planning a small business, that I just wanted to grow it to strengthen the royal finances. That’s all I need to say.’

After entering the reception room of the Queen’s palace, Christine gestured to the maids and knights to dismiss them all. Now that only the two of them remained, Christine glared at Elise for a while without saying anything. Elise was anxious but waited without speaking first.

“You seem to have been busy sneaking around lately. Do you have a man hidden outside the palace?”

Her heart sank.

“Your Majesty! That’s too much. How can you say such a thing? You know that I only have the Crown Prince.”

“Well. I thought so, but it doesn’t seem to be quite the case.”

“Pardon?”

Christine smirked.

“Don’t you know? With all your busy comings and goings outside the palace, have you never heard the rumors surrounding you?”

Her chest felt tight. Madame Histine hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t even hinted at it.

Judging from Christine’s attitude, Elise had an idea of what kind of rumor it might be, but she thought it couldn’t be possible.

She had made sure to keep everyone’s mouths shut, and no one would dare open their mouth if they didn’t want to die. Who would dare say they had shared a bed with the Crown Princess?

As Elise was racking her brains, Christine watched her with a look of disgust, then slowly approached and reached out towards Elise’s belly. Elise flinched but didn’t avoid it. Christine’s hand lightly caressed Elise’s swollen belly, moving down and stopping at the most protruding part.

Christine’s blue eyes stared directly at Elise.

“Is what’s in here really our Lucas’s child?”

The sound of the sky crumbling was heard. Although she felt dizzy as if hit on the back of the head by a broken piece, Elise neither averted her eyes nor gasped.

Hiding the mind-splitting confusion, she cried out,

“How can you say such a thing? I know you don’t like me, but you shouldn’t say that. You’re a mother too, how can you say such a thing to me? How can you doubt the child in my womb? You shouldn’t do that!”

“Oh my.”

Despite Elise’s outburst, Christine’s expression didn’t change. She removed her hand with a cold smile and said,

“Do you think I want to doubt? Do you think I want to say these things? But what can I do? Even the children in the shopping district are singing songs about how the men who have brushed against the Crown Princess’s legs could form a country.”

Everything went black before her eyes. Elise felt like she was about to faint but barely held on. Clenching her fists and putting on a tearful, wronged expression, she said,

“Your Majesty. Don’t you know that when foolish people hear sensational rumors, they spread them everywhere without even checking if they’re true?”

“So I’m foolish too?”

“That’s not what I meant, Your Majesty. Surely this is a story spread by those who resent me. It must be a story leaked by those who are jealous and displeased that I, from Kanta and not even from a good family, became the Crown Princess. I’ve been working hard to grow Kingteren, and since entering the palace, I’ve been busy with relief center work… How can even Your Majesty not believe me?”