When Elise finished her bath and came out, Lucas had already left Jade Palace. The maid who was helping Elise with her grooming said,

“His Highness the Crown Prince asked to have lunch together at the Crown Prince’s Palace.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Elise spent her time drawing in front of the lit fireplace.

Gania was colder than the Kingdom of Kanta, so cold that one would shiver unless near a fireplace. While the people of Gania were accustomed to this cold, for Elise who had lived in Kanta, Gania’s winter was terrifying.

When it was time for lunch, Elise checked her appearance once more and headed to the Crown Prince’s Palace. As she opened the door to the dining room and pretended to cough, Lucas quickly ran over and embraced Elise.

“Gania’s winter seems too harsh for you. I should have warm food prepared.”

“No, Your Highness. I can eat anything well.”

“I have no intention of letting you eat just anything.”

Lucas called someone over and instructed them to bring only warm dishes, then seated Elise in a chair. Warm and fragrant dishes were served one by one.

While eating, Lucas said,

“Elin, I received Father’s permission today.”

Elise stopped her fork and turned to Lucas. Lucas smiled beautifully like a painting.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would definitely get permission. Father also recognized your great contribution and said he would give that much reward.”

“Does that mean…?”

“Yes, you are now the lord of Kingteren.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Elise stood up abruptly and ran to sit on his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.

He laughed heartily.

“Are you that happy?”

“Of course I am. How can I not be joyful when my master has listened to my humble wish and fulfilled it?”

“Master, you say. You really have a way with words.”

He kissed Elise and then said regretfully,

“But have you really made up your mind? I would like you to stay in this palace and become my wife.”

“Of course, I want to stay close to Your Highness and serve you every day. But if I become the Crown Princess like this, there will be voices of dissent.”

“Who would dare oppose my will? When I decide on my own wife.”

“I’m from Kanta, after all.”

“That’s not a problem at all. Do you think I can’t protect you alone?”

“Of course, Your Highness can protect me and more. However, Your Highness, I want to be a woman who is not just relying on you, but a source of strength. If I develop Kingteren and contribute even a small power to Gania, someday I might be able to hold my head high by your side.”

He seemed very pleased with Elise’s sweet words and smiled. Elise watched with relief as admiration and affection settled on his handsome face.

“You are so clever. That’s why I like you.”

“More, Your Highness. Love me more.”

The pleading voice tickled Lucas. Although this was the dining room, Lucas didn’t mind and laid Elise down on the table.

Elise’s voice whispering love to him was cute, but her eyes were shining blue and cold.

‘I won’t die living as a woman trapped in Jade Palace waiting only for Lucas’s visits. I will climb higher and shine brilliantly.’

Like Roxiana. Like the princess of Kanta who was loved by everyone just for her existence.

‘Kingteren City will be a stepping stone for that. I need to make money there and create my own people.’

Elise was determined to do anything to become the highest and noblest woman in Gania.

‘And if I receive help from that man, I might someday become the most brilliant and noble woman on this continent.’

Elise did not hesitate to leave Jade Palace.

As soon as she received the certificate of becoming the lord of Kingteren, she packed her bags and boarded the carriage. Although Lucas was reluctant, he assigned a few intelligent people and knights to help Elise.

The luggage carriage loaded with numerous dresses and jewels Lucas had bestowed upon Elise, along with the carriage Elise was riding in, set off towards Kingteren City.

Elise, who had been dozing off in the carriage she was riding alone, suddenly opened her eyes when she realized someone else was in the carriage. She smiled brightly upon discovering a man sitting on the opposite seat, wearing a deeply pulled-down hood.

“Letin.”

The man called Letin grinned.

His name was ‘Retrochika’, a black magician secretly employed by Lucas and kept by his side. Few people knew that he had laid the groundwork for the destruction of the Kingdom of Kanta by moving magical beasts with his power.

“My lady has finally achieved what she wanted.”

“Yes, it’s all thanks to your advice.”

Retrochika had advised Elise, “To win the Crown Prince’s heart, you shouldn’t just focus on your appearance.” He also provided information that “Kingteren City is not large, but it has the potential to grow as it becomes a transportation hub.”

It was thanks to Retrochika that Elise decided to use Kingteren City as her base.

“You don’t know how reassured I feel that you’ve become my ally.”

Elise spoke in a coquettish voice as she caressed his cheek. Although she felt nauseous from the bumpy skin texture, she didn’t remove the bright smile on her face.

He narrowed his eyes and moaned as if happy. Elise felt as if a bug was crawling up her hand as she whispered,

“What should I do now, Letin?”

“Just develop Kingteren as I told you, my lady. Soon, I will bring you a great gift. That child has enough potential to be much more than me… Hehe. Hehe. Hehe.”

Elise bit her lower lip, feeling chills from his strange laughter. His toad-like face was briefly revealed under the hood.

He quickly pulled down the hood to cover his face before speaking.

“That child will be your faithful dog in my stead, as I cannot stay by your lady’s side. I will educate and send the child to lick your feet if you command and crawl if you order.”

“It would be nice if you could stay by my side.”

Elise said something she didn’t mean.

She knew that Retrochika couldn’t leave Lucas and stay by Elise’s side because he had made a forbidden soul contract with Lucas.

Of course, it would be reassuring if he could stay by her side, but she couldn’t bear the thought of having to endure that ugly face and flatter him every day.

Retrochika licked his thick upper lip as if regretful.

“Someday, my lady.”

Retrochika reached out and grabbed Elise’s wrist. As his lips touched the back of her hand, Elise suppressed the urge to shake it off in disgust.

“Someday, definitely.”

+++

After the month-long grand Star Festival ended, the year changed and January arrived.

Now Torkan had entered full winter.

The people of Torkan complained about the cold and bundled up tightly, but Roxiana, who had lived in colder places, couldn’t understand this fuss. Torkan’s midwinter was like early winter in the Kingdom of Kanta.

Everyone she met said things like, “Princess, you should dress more warmly,” “You’ll catch a cold,” “It’s dangerous to dress like that on such a cold day,” so Roxiana was spending her days feeling a bit hot, wearing a thick dress with several layers of outerwear.

Meanwhile, Floyd had been busy dealing with the refugee problem from the burned forest, making it difficult to see his face, and Roxiana had been so busy that she didn’t even notice his absence.

‘The first thing I need to do is recover my health and build up my strength.’

She clearly remembered the days of suffering after being kidnapped on her way back from the Great Temple. She needed to have the stamina to not get tired no matter what happened or what situation she found herself in.

‘If I become stronger, it will be easier to use the spirits’ power.’

How spirit masters handled and used spirits was not passed down. Most spirit masters who knew these methods had died long ago, and Roxiana’s mother, who had barely maintained the lineage, only knew how to communicate with spirits, not how to use their power.

Last time, Roxiana forcibly drew Undine into her body and used its power, and she remembered what Undine had said as it was being pulled in.

−This is absurd. How can you… Roxy, you’ll really die. If you take us in like this, you’ll freeze to death!

If that was the case, there must be another way, but it seemed the spirits had no intention of telling Roxiana, with her weak body, about that method.

‘How does the Grand Duke endure it?’

Roxiana was certain that the ‘mad being’ Floyd spoke of was the fire spirit.

Roxiana had almost frozen to death just from using Undine briefly, but Floyd showed no signs of fatigue despite living with the fire spirit in his body every day.

‘Is it because of his strong physique? It doesn’t seem to be just that reason…’

Roxiana had asked the spirits several times about the reason.

−Sorry, Roxy. We can’t tell you about Floyd.

−You are different from Floyd.

−You are too weak. If we enter that weak body, your life will be chipped away.

−We want you to live for a long, long time.

The spirits just babbled what they wanted to say, not giving Roxiana the answers she wanted. Even Undine, who was occasionally summoned, would only talk nonsense before disappearing.

This made Roxiana more and more anxious.

It was clear that Lucas and Elise had a black magician with them. Otherwise, there was no way to explain how they manipulated the appearance of magical beasts to swallow Kanta.