So, upon hearing about the entrance to the palace, she had guided Amber on the way to the queen’s bedroom.

Just in case Amber needed to find the queen.

Fortunately, Amber was quick-witted, and she safely delivered Renève’s letter to the queen.

And the queen’s response was a bit of a gamble.

“Oh, right. I’ll return this to you, my lady.”

Amber rummaged through her pocket and showed a ring-shaped ornament.

“This looked extremely fancy. At first glance, it seemed like a tremendously expensive accessory. I showed it to the knight, and he guided me straight to Queen Hwangbi. Is this a type of item that can prove one’s identity?”

The ornament that Amber described was what Renève had received from the queen when she promised to leave as Vashkur instead of the princess.

“Yes, Queen Hwangbi’s initials are engraved here.”

“Ah…”

As Renève explained, Amber seemed to understand, nodding her head.

“Welcome, my lady.”

As Renève entered the mansion, the butler bowed respectfully.

“His Majesty is waiting.”

At the butler’s words, Renève stopped in her tracks.

The return to the mansion took much longer than expected.

Even without that, she was quite busy. Worries about being kept waiting for a long time overshadowed her thoughts.

“…How long have you been waiting?”

Saying that, Renève inadvertently averted her gaze.

And at the end of that gaze was Ikar, standing at the highest point of the spiral staircase, looking down at them.

“Your Majesty…”

“Since you just arrived at the mansion, there’s nothing to worry about. More importantly…”

As Ikar smoothly descended the stairs, he placed his arm around Renève’s waist and pulled her towards him.

“…I came to see you for a moment, just in case it would be troublesome for your work if you didn’t see Lady Yeongae. I hope you don’t mind going back.”

Renève quickly nodded.

“There’s no way I would mind. I wanted to see you too.”

Ikar’s eyes narrowed slightly, and then he sighed.

“Ha… You’re really driving me crazy.”

As Ikar’s large hand swept down Renève’s dry face, she blinked rapidly.

‘Did I make some verbal mistake?’

Whether he knew why Renève was acting this way or not, Ikar looked down at Renève through the gaps between his fingers.

Just as Renève was about to ask why he was acting like that, Ikar slightly lowered his waist.

Then, in a soft whisper in Renève’s ear, he said, “Let’s go.”
“I was just planning to see your face briefly, but if Yeongae acts so cute, it’s hard for me to go back to Vashkur.”

“…….”

“Tonight.”

At Ikar’s whispered words that followed, Renève’s cheek tingled with heat.

Quickly blushing her cheek like an apology, she looked cute, and Ikar’s eyes curved gently as if finding it adorable.

He pressed his lips to her forehead, then pulled away, saying, “Shall we go upstairs and finish talking?”

Renève nodded slightly, meeting eyes with Ikar.

“…You must have missed me a lot. It seems like things haven’t been going well.”

Even though the subject was omitted, Ikar understood perfectly and responded.

“Is that what you call saying it? It seems like Yeongae doesn’t know how difficult my situation is right now.”

Renève looked at Ikar with surprise.

“What’s happening in Vashkur?”

“Well, it’s really difficult for me because Yeongae is nowhere to be seen in my eyes. Things are not going well.”

“…….”

“When Yeongae was in the Vashkur palace, I could relieve the fatigue of the day right away. But not now.”

Hearing those words, it felt as if she had become some kind of human vitamin.

Renève blushed her cheek quietly and climbed the stairs more busily than before.

“You went to the palace, didn’t you?”

As soon as they entered the reception room, Ikar asked.

It seemed that Ikar had heard from the butler where Renève had gone.

‘Should I tell the truth?’

She wasn’t alone anymore.

If something happened, she needed to discuss it with Ikar. That’s what being a couple meant.

So, she took a moment to organize her thoughts on what to say.

At that moment, the sound of knocking on the door echoed.

“What’s going on?”

“Miss, I brought some tea.”

It was Amber’s voice.

“Come in.”

Ikar looked at Renève, asking, “Can you tell me why you went to the palace?”

His gaze was directed at Renève, but it seemed that the target of the question wasn’t her.

Until now, he had never questioned Renève like this.

“Lady Hwangbi harassed you!”

Entering the reception room just now, Amber, who didn’t know Ikar’s intentions, smoothly transitioned.

“…….”

Renève looked at Ikar with a bit of surprise.

“Tell me in detail.”

In a lowered voice, Ikar growled.

Frightened by the sudden change in his atmosphere, Amber shivered and stepped back.

Then, she looked at Renève, asking with her eyes whether she could answer.

Renève gestured with her head, indicating the entrance.

“Your Majesty, I’ll tell you.”

Ikar withdrew his gaze from Amber. Now, it seemed like Amber wasn’t the one he was questioning.

“Queen, let me tell you.”

After Amber left the reception room just now, she had gone through a lot of fuss, expressing that what Lady Hwangbi did to Renève at the palace today was unfair.

So, when Ikar asked the question, there was a good chance she would exaggerate the unfiltered truth while explaining.

Renève looked at Amber, slightly tilting her head. Then, she gestured toward the entrance.

“I’ll tell you, Your Majesty.”

Ikar shifted his gaze from Amber to Renève. Despite the question in his eyes, he didn’t say anything.