The two intruders dragged before the gates of Growen were a man and a woman, one of whom had a strangely familiar face.

They were kneeling in the clearing, their upper bodies bound.

Both had faces too refined to be typical intruders, though their clothes, tattered from crossing the ice wall, were an exception.

At Raymond’s gaze, the man in dark blue robes desperately turned his head. Johan didn’t recognize him, but Raymond immediately knew who he was.

“You’re a priest from the temple. I thought we handed over the criminal, so is there something you left behind?”

“The temple, you say?”

Johan, taken aback, questioned. At that, Ubbus, the temple priest, gave an awkward smile, as if he could no longer hide.

“We meet again, Your Excellency.”

“Spare me the pleasantries. Didn’t a criminal from your temple recently sneak into Growen and cause trouble? I’m thoroughly fed up with intruders.”

Raymond coldly dismissed Ubbus, as if he found such courteous greetings distasteful.

One could clearly sense his frustration, having been pulled away from peaceful family time by this disturbance.

Ubbus, unaware of these circumstances, quickly realized that the lord of Growen did not welcome him.

“We know we’ve been rude. But please hear us out regarding why we risked our lives to cross the ice wall.”

“Am I supposed to welcome intruders?”

“That’s not what I mean…”

Ubbus trailed off, frozen by the sharp words. He kept glancing at the face of the person who had infiltrated Growen with him.

It was as if he were demanding an explanation for this situation with his eyes. Then, as if resigned, a young man gave a slight smile and spoke up instead.

“Greetings for the first time. I am Dreon Lun Kerast, the Seventh Prince of the Kerast Empire.”

“…A royal?”

Suspicious eyes turned toward the one who introduced himself as a prince. He had short red hair and strikingly vivid purple eyes.

The current Kerast Empire was known for having an abundance of royals.

The emperor, alongside the empress, had several consorts, and beneath them were not only their children but also numerous unofficial offspring who weren’t formally recognized.

The Seventh Prince, though acknowledged as the emperor’s child, was likely far removed from the power struggles.

“Indeed.”

“What reason could a prince have for crossing the ice wall?”

Not a hunter poaching mythical beasts, but a royal? The reason for invading Growen was even harder to fathom.

Moreover, the relationship between Growen and the current Kerast Empire was far from amicable.

Growen was called the guardian dragon of Kerast, but that was practically an outdated tale. Still, there was a reason Kerast had to acknowledge Growen.

The continent was under attack by magical beasts, and the nearest beast lair to Kerast was nestled beyond Growen.

Thanks to Growen’s mythical beasts holding back the magical beasts, Kerast was one of the rare empires on the continent safe from their threat.

This was why the emperor of Kerast couldn’t extend his reach into Growen.

In a situation where even the emperor acknowledged Growen as an autonomous state, a prince’s intrusion could spark a diplomatic issue.

Yet Dreon smiled brazenly, showing no sign of fear.

“I’ve come, despite the discourtesy, because I have a request for the lord of Growen. Please don’t turn me away.”

At his plea to at least hear his request, Raymond tilted his head skeptically.

This was an issue that could be reported to Kerast.

Growen had the authority to summarily execute intruders, but since the other party was royalty, avoiding escalation seemed wiser.

“I have no such obligation.”

“Of course not. But if this gets reported to the imperial family, I’ll likely be disguised as having died of illness. Don’t you think that’s a pity, Your Highness?”

Dreon suddenly directed his words to Yerpi, smiling slyly. She, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke calmly.

“I heard the Seventh Prince has been bedridden with illness for a long time, secluded in the palace.”

“Exactly.”

Such a person crossed the ice wall?

Moreover, there was no rumor that the Seventh Prince was a mage. The prince before them showed no trace of illness, appearing perfectly healthy.

He was suspicious in many ways. Judging it dangerous to keep such a person in Growen, Raymond stepped in front of Yerpi to shield her.

“Are you trying to gain sympathy from my consort?”

“If I could, I would. Please look upon me with pity.”

Even in a precarious situation, Dreon remained bold, as if scheming something.

Strangely, his demeanor didn’t seem detestable.

Above all, his claim that he’d be disguised as having died of illness if reported to the imperial family didn’t feel like a lie.

More than anything, curiosity arose about what request was worth risking his life to come to Growen.

After a moment of choosing her words, Yerpi placed a hand on Raymond’s arm.

“Why not hear what his request is before deciding? I’m uneasy about turning away someone who risked their life to come here.”

Dreon’s boldness suggested he had a compelling reason.

Considering the lengths he went to reach Growen, they couldn’t ignore the hidden story.

Raymond let out a sigh. With his consort speaking this way, he had no intention of refusing.

“But if any harm comes to Growen, you, Prince, will bear full responsibility.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Confirming the sincerity in his words, Raymond glanced at Yerpi. Her soothing smile prompted his decision.

“Then I’ll invite you temporarily.”

He emphasized “temporarily,” but Dreon didn’t seem to care.

His eyes, beaming with satisfaction, held an inexplicable confidence.

In the end, the two intruders became temporary guests and were unbound.

Raymond invited them into the castle, assigning them guest rooms and saying,

“I’ll assign servants, so rest for now. We’ll meet again at the evening banquet.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

The lords of Growen walked away. Servants provided the temporary guests with clean clothes, washing water, and food.

After bathing in hot water, Dreon took a big bite of high-quality fruit. With a relaxed sigh, he said,

“Ha, now I can live a little.”

Flopping onto the bed, Dreon showed no sign of getting up, exhausted from the grueling journey to Growen.

In contrast, Ubbus, dragged along by the prince, stood in the middle of the guest room with arms crossed.

Looking at the stubborn priest, Dreon shrugged.

“See? I told you it’d work out.”

“We almost ended up in the arms of the divine! Work out, you say?”

Ubbus shouted in dismay. Even in their lord-retainer relationship, they were usually informal, but this was the first time he’d raised his voice so loudly. His pent-up anger had exploded.

Crossing the ice wall, they had truly come close to death. The bone-chilling cold was bad enough, but the mythical beasts, unseen outside, mistook the two outsiders as prey and relentlessly pursued them.

Dreon was a mage, but Ubbus was not. At best, he was a strategist, not someone suited for physical exertion.

Being alive in this moment was nothing short of divine grace and a miracle.

‘I shouldn’t have brought up the saintess in the first place. No, I should’ve stopped him.’

The priest Ubbus was born an illegitimate son of a count’s family.

Though he had long served the temple, everything changed when he met the Seventh Prince.

He was someone destined to be emperor but lacked the backing to achieve it.

Yet Ubbus never once regretted following him—except for today.

When Dreon heard about the saintess and Growen, he grew curious and ordered Ubbus to investigate Charlotte’s family.

At first, it seemed like an odd command, but the deeper he dug, the more it wasn’t.

Charlotte’s father was already out of his mind.

The temple had investigated the count, but getting information from a man steeped in alcohol was impossible.

The count, addicted to gambling, had long lost his fortune.

Ubbus assigned someone to the count and received reports that he mentioned Growen.

Also, that there was another child of the count in this mansion.

She was said to have been married off to a distant land, but that wasn’t true.

According to a maid who worked here long ago, the eldest daughter had a secret.

The count’s eldest daughter was the legendary “spice.”

She revealed that the eldest daughter had gone to Growen.