The moment Diarob’s gaze pierced through.

Pretending not to have seen anything, I jumped out without anyone’s escort.

“Aagh!”

A groan involuntarily escaped due to my foot that actually twisted when I only meant to pretend.

Because of that, the groan that came out of my mouth was quite natural, instantly completing a plausible act.

Thanks to my excellent acting skills, everyone rushing over had genuinely concerned expressions.

“Your Highness!”

The captain of the Wolfdor Knights and several others hurriedly tried to support me.

The nobles were also busy worrying about me while watching Diarob’s reaction.

But among them, the one person who should be most concerned about me had an utterly cold gaze.

Casius was looking down at me with an indifferent gaze.

‘In the past, you would have rushed over before anyone else and made a big fuss…’

Now, such a man was nowhere to be found.

The nobles, too, though they didn’t say it, seemed surprised at the unchanged relationship between Casius and me.

Amidst all this, Duke Diarob’s displeased expression stood out prominently.

Towards Casius, who was staring at me as if looking at an insect, Diarob shouted.

“Your Majesty!”

Regardless, Casius spoke while looking at me with an unpleasant gaze.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re badly hurt, so stop making such a fuss.”

He looked at me as if I were leftover food to be disposed of, then turned his head and said in a low voice.

“It would be better for Bi to rest in the carriage. She’d only be a hindrance if she came on the hunt.”

The cold gaze felt like it was sharply cutting my skin, but that wasn’t the problem right now.

‘Stay in the carriage…?’

If that happened, Diarob might send someone else to fetch the item instead of me.

Above all… if I couldn’t enter the mansion, all my plans would fall apart.

It meant I might not get another chance to secure the reinforcement stone.

I couldn’t let that happen.

‘Why did I go to the extent of twisting my foot for this?’

But was there a need to step forward now, even at the risk of going against Casius’s mood?

The one most heated up right now is Diarob.

It might be better to remain silent rather than unnecessarily making myself look like I’m on the same side as Diarob in Casius’s eyes.

If he just acts up properly.

As expected, Diarob moved not long after.

“How can we put Your Highness in such a cramped carriage?”

“If she’s such a precious daughter, why don’t you take her back to the Imperial Palace yourself?”

“Your Highness is not only my precious daughter but now also Your Majesty’s consort.”

Casius burst into laughter as if he had heard something amusing.

That laughter was tinged with his characteristic madness, causing everyone to flinch and be unable to utter a word.

The words that came out of his mouth in an instant were utterly resolute.

“Oh, so. Are you suggesting we cancel the hunting festival now?”

The atmosphere instantly froze at Casius’s chilling tone.

At this rate, I would end up returning to the Imperial Palace without even getting a glimpse of the Rosemary mansion.

‘Damn it.’

At this point, there was no choice. I had to step in.

“The pain is too severe, I think I need to receive treatment quickly.”

In a situation that had escalated this far, it was clear that my father, as the lord, would not ignore the Crown Princess.

After all, mistreating a guest who had come to one’s domain meant lowering the status of that domain.

I didn’t like having to involve my father like this again, but for now, there was no other way.

Casius glared at me with eyes that clearly said he could never allow an impurity like me into the Rosemary mansion.

In a flash, my father appeared at the center of the nobles.

His eyes rolled quickly as if trying to assess the situation.

Towards my father, Duke Diarob shamelessly pressed on.

“Does the lord of Rosemary treat guests in this manner?”

It was clear he had shifted his target to my father, knowing full well that protesting to Casius would be futile.

‘What kind of life does one have to live to become such a monster?’

To speak such harsh words to my father, who should be grieving the loss of his daughter, and after taking away the position of Crown Princess no less.

Anger boiled inside me, but I could do nothing.

That fact ignited the fire within me once again.

Around us, the nobles, divided into Diarob’s faction and the Imperial faction, murmured among themselves about this issue.

What cut through that was Casius’s roar-like voice that shook the ground.

“Duke! Watch your words!”

“Your Majesty, I was merely concerned for Her Highness’s well-being…”

Diarob’s words seemed to infuriate Casius, as his face was instantly filled with rage.

His face, frozen cold without a single expression, looked like a grim reaper who had crossed the river of the underworld.

Only then did Diarob stop speaking.

The surrounding nobles also closed their mouths and averted their gazes at his appearance.

Casius strode forward through their midst.

His long, etched footsteps blew a cool breeze into my heart.

Having narrowed the distance with Duke Diarob, he muttered something low.

I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the Duke’s expression instantly contorted.

Given how rarely the Duke’s expression changed, his current expression was truly noticeable.

It was to the point where I suspected Casius might have cursed at him without anyone knowing.

However, Casius, who returned to his place after leaving the contorted Duke Diarob behind, was actually as calm as could be.

After that, for a moment, a thick silence fell over the space along with a tense atmosphere.

The silence was broken when my father opened his mouth.

“We will escort Her Highness to the Rosemary mansion. Please have a comfortable visit.”

At my father’s words, Casius’s face changed completely differently from when he was looking at Diarob.

After showing an almost restless appearance, he finally grasped my father’s hand.

“There’s no need for that.”

“It’s fine. You are guests who have come to my domain, so of course we should do this.”

My father seemed to want to resolve the situation quickly, lest it cause trouble for Casius.

Casius, sensing this, reluctantly accepted his words.

The incident was thus barely concluded.

‘I was worried about arousing suspicion by trying so hard to get into the Rosemary mansion…’

Fortunately, no one seemed to be looking at it that way.

They just seemed to think that Diarob was causing this commotion to assert his status and show extreme concern for his daughter.

After that, there was a brief explanation about the hunting grounds, and the nobles each mounted their horses.

The sight of dozens of well-trained black and white horses filling the forest was truly spectacular.

Among them, my father, without mounting a horse, gave a formal greeting.

“I have made some meager preparations, but I’m not sure if they will be to your liking.”

Casius even dismounted from his horse to approach my father and pay his respects.

After that, he conversed with my father for quite a long time.

Naturally, there was a stir among the nobles watching the sight of the two friendly men.

The Crown Princess and her father, Duke Diarob, were being ignored while he was talking only with Count Siron. And wasn’t he the father of Rachel, who was the Crown Prince’s lover long ago?

It was obvious what kind of talk would circulate.

Needless to say, Diarob’s expression among them was rotting away.

Regardless, Casius’s warmer-than-usual appearance seemed to mock him.

Even though it was not a good situation when I remembered that it was also a dismissal of me.

The sight of Casius’s warm expression and my father’s occasional smile was enough to stir my heart.

The complicated, tangled feelings melted away, and a sense of peace filled that space.

*

As the sound of horns echoed through the sky of Rosemary and the hunt began.

I boarded the carriage with the support of a Rosemary knight.

Since there was some distance from the hunting grounds to the mansion, I naturally had time alone in the carriage.

My father, seemingly uncomfortable with boarding the same carriage as me, was seen silently riding a horse.

‘I heard his health wasn’t good…’

I was worried, but there was no other choice for now.

‘Even suggesting it would probably make him uncomfortable.’

In contrast to the situation that naturally drew a sigh, the outside scenery was incomparably beautiful.

Rosemary, known as the warmest domain in the empire, was already beginning to bloom flowers, displaying beautiful colors.

Even though it was a familiar sight I had seen for decades, subtle emotions stirred inside me.

How much time had passed like that?

As the carriage that had arrived at the mansion came to a stop, I entered the interior of the mansion.

The long-extending garden was the same as always. The barrier that my father had installed when he saw me being struck by lightning while training magic circles in my childhood was still in place.

The memory of how much trouble he went through to install the barrier, having to remove all the marble from the mansion, flashed through my mind.

On the opposite side, purple lavender flowers were in full bloom.

As my gaze was fixed there, my father said with a faint smile.

“It’s the flower my daughter used to like.”

My father’s eyes were moist as he said those words.

Misunderstanding my silence as I lost my words, afraid I might cry, my father quickly apologized.

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No. It’s beautiful. So very beautiful.”

Trying hard to ignore the emotions welling up inside, I entered, and at the entrance of the central door, there was a huge wooden sculpture I had never seen before.

This wooden sculpture, which rather hindered the aesthetics, boasted a crude form as if decorated by an unskilled sculptor.

“What… is this?”