As he watched her smile slightly despite being told it would be very painful, Adrian clenched his fists tightly.

‘Yes, this is it! This princess is absolutely killer in moments like these!’

Roxiana did not see Adrian mouthing these words, but Kirshan sitting across from her did. Kirshan swallowed a sigh and said:

“I understand. Then I’ll prepare to minimize the pain as much as possible. The process will start with cutting away the flesh, then applying herbs to regrow the removed flesh. It will take some time for the flesh to fully regenerate. I think it will take about a month. We need to be careful as the weather is getting warmer and the wound could become infected.”

“We will enter Kanta as soon as the scar completely disappears.”

Floyd responded to Kirshan’s words.

“So quickly?”

“Even that is late. Isn’t that what the princess desires most?”

“That’s true… Will you take me along as well?”

“Of course we must go together. You’ll want to see it with your own eyes. But it won’t be a pleasant sight. It will be more horrific than you can imagine.”

Floyd had much experience dealing with undead who were not placed in Adelia coffins and wandered the earth tainted by demonic energy. The reactions of people who saw their loved ones as undead, walking around without reason even as their bodies rotted, were always the same.

“It may feel like your family has come back to life. And we, trying to kill them with Adelia’s weapons, will look like evil spirits harming your family.”

As she listened to Floyd’s calm explanation, Roxiana lowered her eyes.

She had expected that much. Of course it would be like that.

She had imagined pulling her family out of the well hundreds, thousands of times. She never indulged in vain hopes that they would be safely alive. She only imagined the worst, and even worse than that. That way she wouldn’t break down when faced with reality.

If she saw her family moving despite their flesh rotting after being dead for so long, if she confirmed that there was no longer any warmth in the eyes of her family looking at her.

‘It would be more painful than seeing my family die.’

But she would not avoid it. She would clearly see with her own eyes the terrible despair that had befallen her family and engrave it deeply in her heart. And she had to directly confirm her family returning to God’s embrace.

“How could I see Your Highness as an evil spirit? God turned His back on me and my family, but Your Highness shared in my anger. Your Highness is my salvation and my god, so I will not resent anything you do.”

Salvation and god, she said.

At those radical words, the knights’ eyes widened and Floyd’s face reddened. However, Roxiana, who had shocked everyone, said resolutely:

“I must see with my own eyes my family’s bodies die once more.”

No one could speak in the face of her desperate resolve. Silence fell for quite a while.

It was Cain who broke the silence.

“On the way back, I received word that an envoy from Hoburn visited Gania around early April. After the envoy left, Joseph V confined the crown prince to the crown prince’s palace and ordered that even if an ant entered, everything must be reported. It seems the envoy from the Hoburn Islands dropped quite a bombshell.”

‘The Hoburn Islands envoy dropped a bombshell?’

Roxiana recalled how she had nearly been sold to the Hoburn Islands.

What was it the slave trader had said back then?

– “The king of Hoburn has agreed to buy you for a very high price.”

Then how did the king of Hoburn know about me and agree to pay a high price? Though she had never bought slaves herself, she knew the general methods.

There were largely three ways to trade slaves.

Slave auctions. Door-to-door sales. And requests from buyers.

Slave auctions were where buyers personally attended and participated in the bidding. Door-to-door sales involved slave traders bringing slaves directly to show and sell at a good price. Lastly, requests were when buyers summoned slave traders and said, “I want to acquire this type of slave,” and the slave trader would procure and provide a similar type of slave.

And the way Roxiana was to be sold to the king of Hoburn did not fit any of those three methods.

‘Come to think of it, they said the king of Hoburn paid a good price without ever seeing me. That means Lucas must have specifically requested to send me to the king of Hoburn.’

But there was no exchange between the Kingdom of Gania and the Hoburn Islands. Then how did Lucas come to know the king of Hoburn?

– “If only Father would give me a chance, I could wipe out that bastard completely.”

Roxiana recalled words Lucas used to say habitually. Since Lucas rarely used the terms “Floyd” or “Grand Duke Ratean,” she hadn’t known exactly who “that bastard” he referred to was. She had only thought, ‘This man sure has a lot of people he wants to wipe out.’

Coming to Torkan, she saw that the relationship between Floyd and Lucas seemed to be the worst, and only then could she understand that the “bastard” Lucas spoke of was not multiple people, but Floyd alone. Just as Floyd seemed to delight in grating on Lucas’s nerves, Lucas hated Floyd enough to want to wipe him out.

Then she could guess at the relationship between the king of Hoburn and Lucas.

“It seems the fact that Crown Prince Pelur tried and failed to sell me to the king of Hoburn has been revealed. My almost being sold to the king of Hoburn was not a coincidence after all.”

Roxiana said.

“It seems Crown Prince Pelur wanted something from the king of Hoburn. Since Hoburn is close to Torkan, if Gania and Hoburn joined hands and attacked from both land and sea routes, it wouldn’t be difficult to shake Torkan.”

Of course, Floyd and the knights had guessed that part as well. But they hadn’t expected Roxiana to deduce this deeply just from the words “dropped a bombshell,” so they all stared at her in astonishment.

Lost in thought, Roxiana murmured without noticing their gazes:

“Seeing how Joseph V was enraged enough to confine the crown prince, it seems what happened to me wasn’t ordered by Joseph V after all. Yes, it did seem strange. There would be nothing to gain for Gania if such an atrocious act became known…”

Roxiana chuckled.

“Joseph V must be anxious about this spreading. If what the crown prince did to the Franche royal family became known, not only other countries but the Empire and the Temple would turn their backs as well. Yes, to cover this up, they’ll create a scandal about our Franche royal family and spread false rumors far and wide. They’ll further tarnish my family’s honor.”

Roxiana’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“But I survived. My existence will be a bombshell for them.”

Even now, Gania was likely receiving poor evaluations for betraying Kanta, with whom they were to form family ties. But such heartless acts for national interests occurred frequently, so it would be forgotten after some time passed.

What happened to Kanta, to the Franche royal family, to Roxiana was just that level of incident.

‘But I’m here.’

The brand on Roxiana’s shoulder would disappear, but to them, Roxiana would become an indelible brand. Just by being alive and breathing, Roxiana could become their irreparable scar.

Roxiana organized her thoughts on what to do next and raised her head, meeting the eyes of the knights looking at her. For some reason, they all wore strange expressions, but Roxiana spoke without hesitation:

“The fact that the Temple moved to deal with Kanta’s demons as a priority means the Temple and Empire must have received something from Gania. But if what Lucas did becomes known, the Temple and Empire will turn their backs on Gania while also being unable to freely lay hands on me. Having lost both country and family, and unable to even place that family in Adelia coffins, I will become the most pitiful woman in this continent.”

Wind arose around Roxiana. Everyone watched in awe as her hair swayed gently in the breeze blowing only around her.

“Even if my unique ability becomes known, the Temple will quietly observe for a while. At least until all people on the continent no longer pity me, they won’t touch me.”

The wind suddenly subsided.

In the stillness, Roxiana said:

“So I will live as Roxiana Franche. If it’s alright with all of you, I will continue to live as Roxiana Franche from now on.”

Overwhelmed and unable to even blink, they belatedly realized she was talking about her new identity.

The best option would be to change both name and family name and live under a completely new identity. If she did that, Floyd would provide much support, allowing her to live a peaceful life without being targeted by anyone. The safest and most comfortable path.

But Roxiana chose the most difficult path.

Roxiana Franche.

The sole survivor of a fallen house from Kanta, which had become a colony of Gania.

Roxiana Franche’s survival would be a topic of interest for many, and much curiosity would bring danger. There would be watchful eyes at every turn of her path, and shining gazes trying to catch her every action.

Nevertheless, she chose the most dangerous, most noble, and most honorable path.

She did not choose the extinction of the Franche family.

And so Arsen slowly stood, placing his fist over his left chest, showing respect for her graceful and honorable decision.

“Roxiana Franche. The swords of this Arsen Chetek and the White Eagle Knights will cut down the dangers on the path Your Highness walks.”