Floyd, who had come out of the conference room, realized he hadn’t seen Roxiana for a while. Since he would be away from the Grand Duke’s palace for a long time next week, he thought it might be good to see her face once before then.

‘It’s suspicious that she’s been so quiet lately.’

Roxiana had spoken as if she would go to the dead forest right away and revive the area. Worried that she might sneak out, he had people assigned to watch her, but he heard that after visiting the head maid’s mansion once, she had been holed up in the Lily Palace.

Given how quiet she had been until now, there was a good chance she had given up on that nonsensical idea.

‘Reviving that forest.’

Had she forgotten that she almost died trying to save just a few people? Floyd felt chills down his spine just thinking about it. That cold that penetrated even Floyd’s flames, the pale skin that seemed to have lost life long ago.

He never wanted to see Roxiana in that state again.

“My lord.”

Cain and Kirshan followed closely behind Floyd as he walked quickly.

Cain spoke.

“A raven has come from Kanta.”

“What does it say?”

“It says that after Lucas took the throne, he announced to the people of Kanta. He said that all of the Franche royal family had died and their bodies were placed in Adelia’s coffins and buried in the Franche royal family’s graveyard.”

“Ha! He’s acting as if he’s done some great favor by doing something so obvious.”

“Indeed. Well, he probably wanted to show how generous he is. Usually, they’re put in Adelia’s coffins and burned.”

“As if the people of Kanta would see that as generosity. He’s the reason their country suddenly fell.”

“Exactly. Anyway, now that Kanta has become a colony of Gania, he said that those who attempt to flee, regardless of status, will be killed on the spot and left without even being put in Adelia’s coffins.”

Floyd frowned.

“He showed consideration by burying the Franche royal family in the graveyard, but threatens to not even put fugitives in Adelia’s coffins? Why is he doing such a crazy thing?”

“He’s probably trying to prevent anyone from escaping. Even with Kanta’s abundant resources, he needs labor to use them.”

Floyd felt something was off.

He could understand using the extreme measure of not putting them in Adelia’s coffins to prevent the people of Kanta from leaving, to use them like slaves. But he couldn’t understand why they would announce that they had properly buried the Franche royal family’s bodies while also making such a cursed declaration.

“Wouldn’t it have a stronger effect to threaten not to put them in Adelia’s coffins if they had just said they dumped the bodies somewhere?”

“No, that could actually cause a great backlash.”

It was Kirshan who answered.

“If their king wasn’t even put in Adelia’s coffin and was just dumped somewhere, the people of Kanta wouldn’t stand for it. They would try to retrieve the king’s body and put it in Adelia’s coffin, even at the cost of their own lives.”

“I see. If they witnessed their king wandering as an undead, it would ignite a flame in the hearts of the subjugated people.”

“Yes. Besides, there’s no long-standing grudge between Gania and Kanta, so there’s no need to do such a horrible thing. The threat to kill deserters and leave them without putting them in Adelia’s coffins is probably just an empty threat.”

“Right, that must be it.”

As Kirshan said, Gania had only attacked Kanta out of greed for its fertile land and abundant resources. There was no hatred, so they wouldn’t do such a terrible thing to its people.

Even when killing enemies, they put them in Adelia’s coffins. They wouldn’t treat the people of a country that fell due to mere scheming so harshly.

Cain said,

“They say that once the holy knights finish clearing out the monsters in Kanta, Gania will send a governor.”

“Has it been decided?”

“It’s not confirmed, but there’s a high possibility it will be Casar Pelur.”

Casar Pelur was Lucas’s younger brother, and also Floyd’s half-brother. Floyd smirked.

“So he plans to put Casar there during the chaos, then take it for himself once things stabilize. Casar’s discontent will only grow.”

Lucas and Casar had never gotten along since childhood. Lucas was wary of Casar, anxious that he might take his position at any time, and Casar knew that Lucas would crush him at any moment.

Kirshan said,

“If Casar acts wisely while he’s the governor of Kanta, he might be able to gather his own troops. Perhaps Casar could become a small spark for our Torkan.”

Floyd snorted.

“What can we do with such a small spark? Forget it.”

Cain interjected.

“Oh, and there’s one more strange piece of information. When Lucas attacked Kanta, there was a woman with him.”

“A woman?”

“Elise Hailis. She’s said to be the daughter of Duke Aliksen Hailis, who was the Minister of Finance in Kanta until about 10 years ago.”

Cain explained the embezzlement and corruption scandal involving Duke Hailis.

“It seems Kanta suffered severe damage from that incident. He embezzled enough to shake the country. Moreover, he made unfavorable deals with other countries, and it cost a massive amount just to clean up the mess.”

“And?”

“Duke Hailis was stripped of his title and the Hailis family was exiled to the countryside, but it’s well known that his daughter, Elise Hailis, remained in the palace due to the princess’s plea. The princess and Elise were close since childhood. Elise became the princess’s dedicated maid, but they say they were more like sisters than maid and mistress.”

Floyd stopped walking.

“That woman was with Lucas?”

“Yes. According to the testimony of someone who was there and survived, the princess was kidnapped by Gania on her way back after completing the pre-marriage ritual at the Grand Temple. By then, the Franche royal family had already been massacred, and Elise Hailis was sitting in the queen’s seat. After everything was over there, Lucas returned to Gania with Elise Hailis.”

Floyd tried to remain calm, but he couldn’t.

Lucas, who was Roxiana’s fiancé. Roxiana, who had offered pre-marital prayers at the Grand Temple to marry him. What Roxiana saw when she returned was her fiancé having killed her family and placed her closest friend on the queen’s throne.

He couldn’t even imagine how Roxiana must have felt seeing that. It wasn’t even his business and he couldn’t imagine it, so why was he feeling so turbulent inside?

The mad presence that had been quietly residing within Floyd until now stirred up flames in response to his emotions.

Kirshan, accustomed to this, stepped back to avoid Floyd’s heat as he spoke.

“If she grew up in the palace like family with the princess since childhood, Elise Hailis must have been Lucas’s spy. I wonder if the princess knows about her friend’s betrayal.”

“She must know. Didn’t you say that woman was occupying the queen’s seat when the princess was dragged there? The princess must have seen it.”

At Cain’s words, Kirshan let out a small sigh.

“The princess must have wanted to die. Being betrayed not only by her fiancé but also by her friend… And in a way that killed her family…”

“What are Lucas and that woman doing now?”

When Floyd asked in an ominous voice, Cain furrowed his brow.

“That’s a bit strange. At first, he brought that woman to the Jade Palace, but then Gania gave her the city of Kingteren. Now Elise Hailis is the lord of that region.”

“Ha! From the daughter of a family annihilated for embezzlement to becoming a lord. It seems that woman isn’t stupid either. Or perhaps someone is using their head for her.”

Floyd started walking again.

Floyd was so consumed by anger that he didn’t even realize how much heat he was emitting.

Why am I so angry? Why do I feel like I’m about to burst even though this didn’t happen to me? Lucas, that bastard, why am I more enraged by what he did to her than what he did to me?

No, the reason doesn’t matter.

−”If I die living like this, please don’t put my body in Adelia’s coffin, just throw it away.”

−”If you’re going to throw it in the sea, please tie a stone to it so no one can find it, and if you’re going to throw it on land, please bury it deep so no one will ever discover it.”

Now he seemed to understand a little of the feelings behind her desperate plea.

Betrayed not only by her fiancé but also by her friend, she probably didn’t even want to find peace in God’s embrace. She must have been overwhelmed by the urge to fall into an eternal abyss where she could neither see nor feel anything.

The heat that had been emitting strongly enough to make nearby people’s hair curl gradually subsided as they approached the Lily Palace. As Floyd entered the arch of the Lily Palace, Cain tried to follow him, but Kirshan grabbed his arm.

Cain turned to Kirshan, looking confused.

“Why? I want to greet the princess too.”

“You need to work on your perception, sir.”

“What perception? I introduced myself to the princess last time.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

Kirshan sighed and then pulled Cain’s arm to drag him away. Cain, unable to resist Kirshan’s strength despite being smaller and thinner, was dragged along as he spoke.

“Be honest, Shan. Are you secretly taking some strength-enhancing drug? If you have something like that, share some with me too!”

Kirshan shook his head and glanced back at Floyd’s retreating figure. Floyd was walking towards the Lily Palace as if he couldn’t hear the commotion happening right behind him.

Kirshan was also curious about how Roxiana was doing and what conversation she would have with Floyd, but he thought it wasn’t his place to be involved. Kirshan dragged the resisting Cain away from the Lily Palace.