“A body hit by a carriage has been discovered.”

It was the message about Anika that the courier had spoken of. Ophelia suppressed the nausea rising inside her and asked.

“Are you certain it’s the Lord of Lohos?”

“The face was confirmed.”

The royal courier knew Anika’s face.

Unable to respond as she still couldn’t believe it, the courier took something out from within and held it out. Seeing the ring she presented, Hael muttered in a trembling voice.

“It’s the Lord of Lohos’ ring.”

“It was found on the body.”

If the body had even been wearing the lord’s ring, there was no more room for denial.

Looking down at the stained ring, which seemed to have been preserved as it was found at the scene, Ophelia asked.

“… How was her body handled?”

“As the servant who accompanied her was unable to find her master, we entrusted the remains to the servant. News should reach Lohos territory soon.”

Thinking about who was in Lohos territory, Ophelia remembered how Anika had seemed quite close to her mother.

When talking about her mother in the garden, affection had seeped through Anika’s tone and gaze. It was the sparkle that only someone who had been loved as much as they gave love could show.

Moreover, Anika was the only daughter of the former Lady of Lohos. One couldn’t even imagine how preciously that mother must have raised Anika. It was a weight felt all the more clearly because she herself knew nothing of parental affection.

And now to deliver news of the daughter’s death to such a mother.

For a moment, her vision blurred. Ophelia shook her head slightly to dispel the darkness and took the ring from the courier. The moment the cold metal entered her hand, an urge to run away welled up. She wanted to hide anywhere. If only she could buy even a moment’s reprieve before accepting the immediate situation…

But there was nowhere for her to hide. Knowing this, Ophelia silently gripped the metal. She was now the one ultimately responsible for what had happened. Hael was looking at her, and the courier was also waiting for words to come from her mouth. When news reached Lohos territory, Anika’s mother would also come looking for her.

But where could she possibly go?

Hoping her face wasn’t as deathly pale as it felt, Ophelia blinked a couple of times. Thoughts of wanting to run away or hide were of no help whatsoever in this situation.

First, she needed to cool her head and think. Ophelia carefully retraced what had happened. Anika was dead. This was the second time someone who had been alive in her previous life had died. First Starlet, and now Anika.

The only change for both of them was that she had interfered. Because of her interference, Starlet had been captured by Gilrod. Anika had come to Edegrun because of her, and had gone outside Edegrun to do what she had persuaded her to do.

Ophelia knew she had quite intentionally confided her past to Anika. The past she had buried with the pretext of not wanting to hurt or be misunderstood by Idren flowed easily from her mouth when she thought of drawing the woman to her side.

As a result, Anika came to see her as a pitiful victim, and she used that to entrust Anika with a task she didn’t want to handle herself.

This was the result.

Hael had said Anika had many enemies normally. That she had made enemies of them by exposing the corruption of the southern lords.

But that had happened in the previous life as well. Though she didn’t remember the exact circumstances clearly, in her past life Anika had sued her own father. Idren had said he used that as a pretext to execute the former Lord of Lohos. So the emotional rift with the southern lords must have been even deeper in the past.

Nevertheless, in her previous life, Anika had lived until she herself died.

So the current calamity was entirely her fault. There was ample evidence before her eyes to support that fact.

But more urgent than self-reproach now was finding out who killed Anika and with what motive. Ophelia retraced one by one the people who had been displeased with her so far.

However, unlike her previous life, she had been careful in her actions this time for the sake of Idren’s reputation, so no one in particular came to mind.

She hadn’t caused any trouble with the southern lords, and even the lords of Edegrun, though they might not like her, had no reason to hate her.

Except for Gilrod Nevel and his forces, who had originally been at odds with the royal family.

Gilrod even had a motive. Because she had distributed the grain collected from Anika’s territory to Edegrun, affecting his finances.

But something was lacking to be certain. Gilrod clearly disliked her, but this wasn’t his style.

Before Starlet was captured, Gilrod had come to her directly and given warning. Using that disgusting metaphor about preparing a gift.

The next day, Gilrod had presented her with the blue necklace taken from Starlet as a so-called gift. It was the necklace with the empty space of the small jewel bead that Starlet had sent in the letter still intact.

For someone who had mocked her so blatantly then, Gilrod had been too quiet lately.

Moreover, the last people Anika had met were the southern lords.

The nobles of Edegrun and the southern lords do not cooperate with each other. That was almost like a long-standing tradition of Aglante. It was because the emotional rift between them had been deep even before Idren’s ascension to the throne.

Something was suspicious. Reaching that point in her thoughts, Ophelia realized that rather than wracking her brain alone, she needed to find a more efficient method. Surely there must be a way to handle things at times like this.

And there was only one person she could consult about the rules of the castle that she didn’t know. Ophelia said to Hael, who was looking at her with bewildered eyes.

“Summon Salode Chesa.”

Despite the late hour, Salode was awake. Ophelia said to the man who appeared before her without the slightest dishevelment:

“The Lord of Lohos is dead.”

As if it was unexpected news, Salode’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Ophelia added an explanation.

“I think she was murdered.”

“… Where was the body found?”

“Near the inn where she last stayed. Officially, it will be recorded as a carriage accident.”

“A typical disguise method.”

“The last people the Lord of Lohos met were the southern lords. The lord had met them on my orders.”

“Do you think they are the culprits?”

And Salode shook his head. I misspoke.

“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have called for me. Is there someone else you suspect?”

He was a quick-witted man, but there was no suitable answer to give. Ophelia considered how to explain to the man. No, there’s no one I particularly suspect. But in my opinion, it seems she was clearly murdered because of me.

Then Salode Chesa would ask. Is there a reason you think so?

If she were to answer him, “Because she was definitely alive in my previous life,” Salode’s expression would be worth seeing. He might even bring out the psychiatrist Idren had prepared.

If only Idren were here instead, she could have said all sorts of irrational things. After briefly recalling the absent man, Ophelia said:

“The southern lords lack motive. Even if they acted directly, there must be someone who pulled the strings behind them.”

Salode didn’t ask further and replied:

“I will dispatch an investigation team. We’ll send an official letter with the royal seal to Lohos territory, which will receive this sudden news of death. If you wish to send separate condolences, please let me know.”

It was then. Someone urgently knocked on the door from outside.

“Your Majesty the Queen, urgent news has arrived!”

The voice that came through was familiar. Ophelia hurriedly approached the door, recognizing the voice of the guard left behind by Hazel when she left the castle to escort Sianna. Behind the opened door stood a knight with a familiar face and a man breathing heavily.

Salode, who had approached the door following her, said:

“Aren’t you the courier dispatched to the border region? The castle gates should have been closed, how did you get in?”

“I had to urgently inform you of something, so I unavoidably asked for the gates to be opened. I will accept punishment for the violation later.”

And the courier pulled out a letter from his chest. As he handed it to Salode, he said:

“There was internal strife in the army. His Majesty was not greatly harmed, but he said he was worried about the capital and sent me. By now, the same news should have been delivered to the Nevel side as well.”

Before she could fully understand what those words meant, Salode, who had opened and read the letter sent by the courier, ordered with a pale face:

“Wake everyone who’s asleep and prepare for a siege!”