“Lucas, you are to reflect for a while. Don’t come out to parties and stay cooped up in the Crown Prince’s palace!”

“Father!”

“Elder brother, do as father says. You must pretend to regret what you did to Kanta, pretend to repent, pretend to be sad. Only then will you have some excuse when the worst situation occurs.”

Lucas exploded in anger, but he could not refuse the king’s order. Joseph V summoned the knights and ordered.

“Guard all entrances so the Crown Prince cannot leave once he enters the palace. If anyone tries to enter the Crown Prince’s palace, even if it’s just one ant, report it to me!”

+++

Elise’s vision went white. The moment she heard the words of the Hovben Islands envoy, she nearly collapsed, forgetting where she was.

‘Roxiana wasn’t sold? She’s still on this continent? Safe and sound?’

The dense green forest pressed down on her. The forest, so dark it was suffocating with not a sliver of sunlight, choked Elise’s breath.

Elise was still unable to escape Roxiana’s gaze.

‘No, it’s okay. What is there to be afraid of? What can she do now?’

Though she luckily avoided being sold to the Hovben Islands, the reality that Roxiana had nothing left remained unchanged. Roxiana was now just a woman branded as a slave, no longer a princess or anything else. Even if Torkan had banned the slave system, other countries had not.

They deliberately branded her in a visible place. As long as that brand existed, Roxiana would not be free.

So there was no need to be afraid. Roxiana, who was no longer a princess, could not reach her.

With the king suddenly leaving, the business in the audience chamber also ended. While the ministers remained whispering among themselves, Elise fled the audience chamber and headed for the Jade Palace.

Hunter, who had returned after assessing the situation, said:

“His Highness the Crown Prince has entered the Crown Prince’s palace and locked the door.”

“…He’s been confined. It must be the king’s order.”

The Lucas that Elise knew was not a man who would lock himself away in the palace, avoiding parties. He enjoyed showing off his beautiful appearance to many people and hearing their praise.

“It’s not the time to attend parties.”

She had prepared a lot for this party. She even took out a loan from the bank to prepare dresses and accessories to overwhelm any women who might set their sights on Lucas, but there was no time to regret such things now.

‘While Lucas is confined, I should pretend to be so upset that I can’t eat or drink. That way, I’ll have something to say to Lucas later.’

Elise organized her thoughts and said to Hunter:

“Quickly prepare for our return. As soon as we get to Kingteren, I need to contact Retrochika.”

+++

It was in early to mid-April when Floyd sent word that he would return soon, and since then, for some reason, the knights who had remained in Selshar City became busy. The gaze of the knights who came to guard the Lily Palace also changed.

“When His Grace the Grand Duke returns from subjugation, he brings back loads of monster byproducts. People from various places send representatives to buy them. Since a large number of unspecified individuals gather, we cannot neglect our vigilance. Oh my, this pie is really delicious.”

Persi exclaimed with wide eyes.

“Is it to your liking?”

“It’s more than that. This is really… too delicious! If you took this to the market, it would sell like hotcakes.”

Most of the dishes contained water, and water imbued with water spirits elevated the quality of the food to the heavens. Although Roxiana’s cooking skills were still immature, the taste was so good that even chefs would be amazed.

“Princess, you truly have a talent for cooking. If there’s a god of cooking, that god must have blessed your hands.”

It wasn’t quite a ‘god’ but spirits were indeed involved, though Roxiana didn’t explain and only smiled. Hexten, despite appearances, was tight-lipped and hadn’t told his wife about Roxiana’s truth, known only to Floyd and the knight commanders.

Those who knew what Roxiana had accomplished in the forest thought her ability was not handling spirits, but holy power or magic, or something similar.

Roxiana asked Persi, who was pondering whether there really was a god of cooking:

“But don’t monster byproducts emit magical energy? I thought they could only be used after being purified by a priest.”

“Monsters touched by His Grace’s fire no longer emit magical energy, they say. So they can be sold immediately without separate purification. Small items are sold at auction houses, while the good ones are sold directly to buyers at the Grand Duke’s palace.”

Persi explained that magicians from the magic tower, in particular, were almost desperately eager for them.

“I’ve seen magicians come to the Grand Duke’s palace and follow His Grace around, trying to persuade him. Listening to them explain what the magic stones are needed for, what kind of processing they’ll undergo, and what effects they’ll show, it felt like I was at some academic conference.”

“So do they sell to the person who persuades best?”

“No. It’s all about money. They sell to whoever offers the highest amount. Very occasionally, His Grace sells cheaply to those who have impressed him, so everyone tries not to offend His Grace.”

This was one of the reasons why Torkan, once a land abandoned and overrun by monsters, quickly became wealthy and powerful. Although he might have been looked down upon for taking over a region at such a young age, he was not someone who could be treated carelessly, no matter how annoying, as he provided valuable monster byproducts in high quality.

The reason the Empire and the Temple turned a blind eye to his abilities, despite their doubts, was because there were forces supporting him. Since most of the monster byproducts caught by holy knights were monopolized by the Empire and the Temple, other countries had almost no chance of getting their hands on monster byproducts without Floyd.

‘He could have easily become a public enemy if he had made a wrong move…’

Floyd didn’t let his abilities go to waste but turned them into opportunities for power. Selling at cheaper prices to those who impressed him – what an easy and convenient way to win people’s hearts.

And Roxiana was also making efforts in various ways to create opportunities with her abilities.

Recently, nobles frequenting the Grand Duke’s palace lingered around the Lily Palace to receive cookies made by Roxiana. This was thanks to the word of mouth spread after Roxiana managed to make cookies in pretty shapes and distributed them to some nobles.

Some of the nobles who initially showed arrogant attitudes or wariness towards Roxiana now smiled and greeted her when they met.

Sometimes, noble ladies would send Roxiana invitations to tea parties. As it was important to maintain good relationships with the noble ladies, Roxiana gladly made desserts and visited their mansions.

These days, there was a saying among the noble ladies: ‘A tea party that invites the guest of honor from the Lily Palace is bound to be a great success.’

As Roxiana was busy solidifying her position among the nobles of Torkan, the last day of April arrived before she knew it.

That day, the sky was particularly clear as the rainy season had ended. As hot winds passed through Torkan, the knights who had gone out to subjugate monsters entered the capital.

The carriages that had been loaded with military supplies when they left were now full of various treasures and monster byproducts, and the knights riding horses in front and behind wore triumphant expressions.

A large crowd had gathered to welcome them. The cheers were so loud that even Roxiana, sitting in the Lily Palace garden, could hear them.

‘They’re really popular.’

Among the rulers of the countries existing on this continent, could there be another ruler loved by so many people like this? Could there be another ruler whom the people consider so gladly and closely?

Roxiana lay down, using a large wolf as a cushion.

After growing up, she had never lain down on the grass in the garden, but now she thought she didn’t care about ladylike behavior anymore.

“I wanted to go out too, but I guess it’s not possible yet?”

Hexten had offered to accompany her if she wanted to see the procession up close, but Roxiana declined. It didn’t seem good to openly show herself in a place where many people from other countries had come to buy monster byproducts.

Roxiana fiddled with the front paws of the huge, lovable wolf, imagining Floyd entering on his red horse. Would he laugh heartily and shout “Let’s drink!” to the people?

“Princess.”

Just then, a low voice came from behind. Roxiana thought she had misheard.

In the distance, cheers welcoming the entering knights were still echoing. And the owner of this voice should have been in the midst of that welcome.

“Have you been well?”

Only after another word was added did Roxiana realize she hadn’t misheard, and she raised her upper body. As she slowly turned around, a man with a huge build jumped into her field of vision.

Sunlight poured onto him, wearing armor mixed with gold and silver, dazzling Roxiana’s eyes. Even amidst that, his reddish-brown hair was vivid. And beneath it, the corners of his mouth lifted in a cheerful smile.

At that moment, although it couldn’t be possible, it seemed as if the cheers coming from far away had suddenly stopped. She couldn’t hear the sound of the wind, or the voices and footsteps of the employees coming and going in the Grand Duke’s palace, or anything else.

In that silence, all she could hear was:

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Only the sound of her own heart.

Roxiana looked up at his beautiful face blankly, holding her breath.

It felt like her heart would burst.