“Lady, do you happen to be going through a lot? Or, did something unfortunate happen today?”

Kiernen asked, placing a teacup in front of Ranev. Ranev blinked for a moment, then sipped the tea.

Kiernen’s consideration towards her, evident in the perfectly warm but not too hot tea, was apparent.

“Would you mind telling me what happened?”

“I wasn’t aware, but maybe it was a bit challenging.”

In truth, today felt strangely suffocating. It seemed anxious and tense.

It was the first time she had experienced such an unfamiliar sense of unease.

“Well…”

Considering whether to tell Kiernen about her current state of mind, Ranev soon stopped.

“I was just resting and suddenly had to take on a big responsibility, so I was a bit tense.”

“If you would, have a bite to eat and take a break.”

Kiernen pointed to the tarts on the silver tray with a concerned expression.

Feeling a bit hungry, Ranev used a fork to delicately sample the surface of the tart. The sweetness of sugar lingered on her tongue.

Although Ranev usually didn’t enjoy sweet foods, this one suited her taste. After having a bit more of the tart, she asked, “Amber hasn’t returned yet?”

As if responding to her words, Amber returned at that very moment.

“Miss, I’m here…”

Amber walked over with her shoulders drooping.

“You’ve worked hard today too. Please enjoy the dessert and tea.”

Kiernen promptly comforted Amber.

Observing the two happily sharing dessert, Ranev headed to the bathroom.

Despite Icarus being gone, the Emperor’s bathroom was always equipped with hot water for use at any time, and Ranev was taking full advantage of it.

As she soaked her body in the warm bath, it felt like the fatigue of the day was melting away.

Ranev enjoyed the serene silence, complemented by the sound of water falling heavily.

However, not long after, various thoughts surfaced.

From past events to today’s occurrences, and the tasks for tomorrow. Among all these things, the most worrisome was undoubtedly the news of Icarus’ injury.

‘What if he’s seriously hurt?’

She had been concerned throughout the afternoon, and although she had asked Dehan about it, he only mumbled vaguely and didn’t give her a proper answer.

That made Ranev even more anxious.

‘Maybe he’s seriously hurt…’

It was frustrating. Then, a sudden question occurred to her.

Why was she so preoccupied all day with Icarus’ injury?

The answer was quickly found.

Icarus was the Emperor of Basker, and she was a hostage of Basker.

Although it was unlikely, if Icarus were to be seriously injured or even killed, she couldn’t predict the future at all.

Not knowing was frightening.

Perhaps this anxiety about the future was something she didn’t have in the original work or before the regression.

Thinking like that, she felt a sudden pain in her chest.

Icarus might die.

As she thought about it, a sharp pain, like a dagger, pierced her chest again.

Not only that, her heart beat rapidly, and it felt as if her chest sank heavily.

Ranev frowned.

‘Why is this happening…’

Ranev decided that consulting with Melita would be a good idea and sighed.

And she vowed to inquire about the extent of Icarus’ injury from Dehan tomorrow.

The next day, as Ranev entered her office, Dehan, as if waiting for her, handed her a document.

“Lord Dehan. What is this?”

“Since you seem to be going through a lot, I thought of bringing in someone to help. What do you think? I’ve already selected a list.”

Ranev took the document and checked its contents.

The list contained names, and beside each name were descriptions of their personalities, floating rumors, specialties, and so on.
Moreover, the influence of the Baskerk family to which she belonged and the relationship between that family and Icarus were also detailed.

They were generally individuals from noble families with a friendly relationship with Icarus.

“To decide based on documents alone may pose difficulties, so I’ve also prepared portraits.”

As Dehan said, portraits of noblewomen were arranged along one side of the office wall.

“Ah…”
At first, I was somewhat pleased by the fact that someone capable had come to help, but Renev soon realized.

“It’s for me to see a maid now!”

Unlike Princess Laina of Baskerk, who had a maid, Renev didn’t have one.

Since she was going to leave soon anyway.

Knowing her nature, which couldn’t easily sever ties once formed, she decided to handle it that way.

Moreover, it seemed that Dehan was trying to encourage Renev to develop more affection for Baskerk.

Thinking that way, Renev’s gaze at Dehan became involuntarily sharper.

He couldn’t easily erase the thought that Dehan was subtly trying to control him according to his taste.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

Dehan asked in confusion, and Renev hesitated for a moment about what to do.

It was indeed difficult to handle the affairs of the entire country alone.

Moreover, Renev had shown Dehan a lack of concentration on his work recently.