It wasn’t just the king who was leaving the castle.

After the king’s departure, Anika also decided to return to her domain. Although more than half of the Rohos territory had been transferred to the queen, the villa where she had stayed with her mother still remained hers.

As much as she wanted to quickly return to the villa where her mother was – the capital was a place with many concerns – there was someone she needed to meet before that.

Anika walked towards the castle’s rear garden, which she had set as the meeting place. Near the stone ornaments stood a young man with dark brown hair.

She called out the name of the youth who had grown much taller in the past few months.

“Dahel.”

“Young mistress!”

Calling her in a delighted voice, Dahel realized his mistake and bit his lip. Anika waved her hand at the troubled young man.

“It’s fine. I didn’t hear it. Anyway, have you been well?”

“Yes, I’ve been doing well. Um, young…”

And Dahel closed his mouth again. It seemed the words he had been used to saying didn’t change easily.

Anika spoke to the young man who was struggling to find the right form of address.

“Call me Anika.”

“…Has Anika been well?”

“Yes. I’ve been doing well too. Ah, mother is also doing well. I’m not sure if it’s because her marriage has ended, but her complexion has really brightened.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I was quite worried…”

“Why worry about us? Just focus on yourself. I heard you’re soon to be adopted by another family?”

This was a fact that had been shared by a man who was the king’s financial advisor not long ago.

“Yes, thankfully that’s how it turned out. I suppose it’s better to have a proper status when working under the queen.”

“Be grateful to Her Majesty the Queen. I should have taken care of this for you.”

“Oh, no. I’m sure you made efforts too, Anika.”

But could that really be called effort?

Anika knew how cowardly she had turned a blind eye to the situation. She knew full well that her father was molesting children, yet she did nothing to stop it.

At the time, she thought it was beyond her ability to do anything. Her father was the lord, holding all the authority in the castle. She thought all she could do was provide financial support to the victimized children.

With that mindset, she fled with her mother to a villa out of her father’s reach. Anika was undoubtedly happy living there with her mother.

However, that happiness was the price of not rebelling against her father and turning a blind eye to injustice.

But had she really made an effort?

Perhaps she should have stood up against her father. Instead of just handing over money and contacting them from behind, as if that would solve the problem, she should have stood in front to protect them.

Of course, if she had done so, she would have certainly suffered consequences. Although her father never laid a hand on her thanks to her mother’s desperate protection, Anika knew that he had measured the situation to break his daughter many times.

So if she had tried to help those who were being victimized, she might have been slapped or whipped. She might have been forced into marriage or stripped of her right of succession on the grounds of defying her father.

But that was her duty. It was what the people of her domain surely expected of her, following the rights she had enjoyed all along.

And whenever she felt guilty for not fulfilling that, Anika wondered if this too was just a rationalization to ease her conscience.

Because the king had killed her father. Because the problem had been solved without her having to intervene directly, and there was no longer any real confrontation to face, wasn’t this just regret she felt to satisfy her own sense of morality?

As she was pondering these complex feelings, Dahel asked beside her.

“Um, have you ever seen a silver tea canister in the lord’s reception room?”

“A tea canister? What are you talking about?”

“It’s a canister with dried red flower petals inside. It’s made of silver, and the scent should be quite strong… Haven’t you seen it?”

“No, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that.”

Although she had temporarily handed it over to the people sent by the king, she had used the lord’s room quite often since becoming the lord. And Anika hadn’t seen the tea canister Dahel was talking about during that time. She could say with certainty, as her memory was quite good, though perhaps not as good as the young man beside her.

“That’s strange, it should definitely be there.”

And Dahel slightly furrowed his brow.

“Actually, it came from the Egelbamot Imperial Family, and since I had never seen that kind of tea leaf before, I thought we should look into its components. But you haven’t seen it…”

“I personally checked all the items in the lord’s room, and there was nothing like that.”

“But in my memory, the former lord always kept it in his office. I managed it personally.”

Those words were a roundabout way of saying that the canister had been there. The reason why her father hadn’t let go of Dahel was not only because of his gentle nature, but above all because of his outstanding memory.

She had learned this fact when one day, a man thoroughly drunk on alcohol and hallucinogens with his friends, boasting, called Dahel and made him recite an entire book on the spot.

How frightened he had been then.

The child, much thinner and smaller than now, had recited the book to the end in a trembling voice, scared out of his wits.

Anika remembered the simultaneous burst of laughter when this child spoke the last word of the final chapter. And even the hiccup that the young boy had suppressed and finally let out, buried in that laughter.

Anika lowered her gaze as her mood dampened again. The ground, lush green due to summer, came into view.

Though probably not feeling the same as her, Dahel, who had also been silent with a serious expression as if deep in thought, spoke.

“Even if there’s no problem with the flower tea itself, the fact that it’s gone means someone has tampered with the office, so you should check it out.”

“I understand.”

“Be careful. The southern lords won’t have forgotten that you reported their misconduct to His Majesty. Of course, you know this well enough, but… those people are of even lower character than you might think…”

And Dahel trailed off. No matter what, there was a difference in status, and they weren’t on such familiar terms, so he seemed hesitant to speak of such unsavory matters.

Anika smiled at the young man who still had a youthful air if you looked closely.

“I know the former lord’s friends well too. They’re the kind of people the saying ‘birds of a feather flock together’ suits perfectly.”

Of course, not as well as Dahel. This child would have directly witnessed what acts they committed.

But even without seeing or hearing it directly, there were things one could know, which was why Anika was wary of her father’s friends. Both then and now.

She spoke to the kind young man who was worrying even about someone who had every right to resent him.

“Thank you for your concern. I’ll be careful as you said. Take care of yourself too. Her Majesty the Queen seems to be treating you well, but if you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Yes, please be careful.”

Instead of answering, Anika waved her hand and walked back the way she came. Dahel watched her retreating figure. Her high ponytail of wheat-colored hair caught his eye.

The kind former mistress looked no different from before, but somehow he couldn’t feel at ease.

Talia Runtalis-Amaren thought about slapping her sister standing in front of her.

If not a slap, even pulling her hair would do. It seemed like anything would be fine as long as it could shatter that composed attitude.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know such behavior was unbecoming.

But setting aside the fact that the home education she had received was a complete mess, it would be even more absurd not to get angry after receiving such treatment.

Rahelika Runtalis had left her standing in the rear garden of the Empress’s Palace.

In fact, just looking at that, there wasn’t particularly anything to take issue with. It wasn’t the first time they had faced each other with unpleasant emotions, and Talia had no intention of laughing and chatting with her elder sister either.

The problem lay in the fact that Rahelika had ignored her request for a visit for nearly a month, and then after a month, had accepted and summoned her here.

Making a hundred concessions, she could tolerate the location being the Empress’s Palace.

It was already well-known how much Iris doted on her eldest daughter, keeping her by her side even at that age. Likewise, it seemed possible that the daughter might consider her mother’s palace as her own.

Although that wasn’t a normal state of affairs, it was something that would only warrant a few mockeries at most.

However, this treatment wasn’t a matter of location.

Not a single refreshment table had been prepared in the rear garden of the Empress’s Palace.

Refreshments were more about the intention of hospitality than the refreshments themselves. Therefore, summoning someone to a place where not even refreshments were prepared was tantamount to openly insulting them.

That wasn’t all. It was basic courtesy to be somewhat close when having a conversation, but Rahelika was standing more than ten steps away, looking at her.

Wearing a dress made of sheer imported fabric from a neighboring country, she had half of that precious face of hers hidden behind a fan.

From head to toe, she was dressed exactly like Iris in her younger days, and Talia barely held back the urge to vomit.

She knew that Rahelika often made herself look like their mother, but this time was excessive even among those instances. Talia glared at her elder sister, who was dressed exactly like Iris before her marriage.

It was then that Rahelika lightly fanned herself.

“Didn’t you say you had something to say?”