“Why did he do such a thing, knowing he might run away?”

“If this merchant were such a person, the Duke wouldn’t have saved him.”

It was a reasonable statement. Tucker was bowing towards Sicar with admiration bordering on banging his head on the ground.

“Thank you for saving me.”

It was the most significant expression of gratitude Tucker could muster, but Sicar’s face was only annoyance.

And indeed, he was genuinely annoyed.

“No need for thanks. I didn’t want my wife to see someone die for my sake.”

Sicar’s words made Tucker bow his head towards me this time, expressing his gratitude to the point of banging his head on the ground.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving my life.”

I grabbed Tucker’s head, which was bowing towards the ground.

“Enough. Saving your life was due to the loyalty you showed us. Why did you pretend not to know us when you saw us?”

“My grandmother used to say that those who don’t appreciate kindness can’t even achieve as much as a golden tree.”

Looking at his shyly scratching head and smiling face, he seemed to have completely forgotten the almost fatal incident in the fighting match a while ago.

Although his timid nature would have been frightening, I was grateful and impressed that he had kept his loyalty. However, the situation wasn’t ideal, so I couldn’t just smile.

When Tucker got back on the carriage, he had to wear handcuffs again.

He wasn’t a criminal yet, but as a suspect who might have committed a crime, and with the uncertainty of when he might escape, he couldn’t walk around without handcuffs.

The nominal reason was that he had to wear handcuffs, no matter what.

Leidox handed Kian to Sicar, expressing concern with a worried expression.

“Do you plan to leave for the Duke’s residence? How about staying here for the time being?”

“Are we going to show them that we are resolutely leaving? Anyway, the king seems to know everything already. It seems like the king is planning to attack Blake as soon as the Duke leaves.”

“Even if the Duke leaves, Blake will still be there.”

Leidox swallowed his bitter words.

“That’s true.”

When Sicar saw Kian moving uncomfortably in his arms, he skillfully comforted Kian and put him back to sleep.

Despite the harsh stories going back and forth, Sicar’s appearance putting Kian back to sleep was undeniably fatherly.

“You, immediately summon Germina. Send an urgent letter to Yukandar, telling them to return as soon as possible, in case Gillian decides to attack the Duke’s residence.”

“Understood. Is there anything else I need to do?”

“There’s no time. I have to find Veronica quickly, so I’ll leave for the north as scheduled in three days. During that time, make sure to protect Blake and Yukandar.”

“King may send someone, so be careful.”

“Don’t worry unnecessarily. I haven’t weakened to the point where I need your concern.”
Sicar didn’t show any signs of weakness, but I could sense what Leidox was worried about.

A curse.

It must have been because of the increasingly frequent signs of the curse lately.

“He went to Yukandar again…”

Gillian’s expression, upon receiving the report from the captain of the guard, was grim.

Leidox was well-known for educating the twins well among the nobles. Even though the twins behaved oddly at home, they couldn’t be more mature and polite in public settings.

At first, when Sicar entrusted his child to Leidox, I thought it might be one of the reasons.

Since Sicar knew that Sicar’s loyalty was not expected from the beginning, considering Sicar’s desire for revenge against the former king.

Sicar also promised to protect the royal family if he didn’t oppress Blake.

From the moment Gillian became convinced that Leidox was not supporting him, he ordered to keep an eye on the Duke’s residence every day.

So, even when Gillian initially built a friendship with Leidox, who didn’t seem to consider him a king, he didn’t have significant suspicions.

Even when receiving the twins as wards for the first time, there was a sense of skepticism.

But now, knowing that there were women with black eyes around them, Gillian could no longer trust Blake.

As someone who knew that parts of Sicar’s body were frozen due to a curse, Gillian couldn’t erase the suspicion that there might be some connection.

When the thought went that far, Gillian became suspicious of the child Sicar brought in as a ward.

The queen, putting down the red wine glass she was drinking, laughed coldly.

“How about searching the Duke’s son? Why not check if there’s a royal emblem?”

“I’ve already checked, but nothing was found.”

“It’s easy to hide the royal emblem. After all, it’s something a magician can do anytime. And finding it is also something a magician can do. Ask Pashium to search.”

“It’s not that I didn’t know that. It’s difficult for Pashium to search the Duke’s son without a proper reason. If, by any chance, I suspect Blake without any apparent hostility, it will be more difficult, and it will cause more trouble if the Duke of Blake goes mad.”

The queen nodded as if understanding.

“Well, it would be difficult if we picked on the Duke’s son without a good reason. It could be worth it if the Duke’s curse has progressed significantly. I heard that the queen danced with the Duke not long ago. How did he look?”

“He seemed fine. That Duke looks perfectly fine on the surface, doesn’t he? But that doesn’t mean we should just keep watching him. His actions are too suspicious right now.”

Gillian, seemingly frustrated, grabbed the hand of the queen, who was pouring another glass of wine by herself, and poured the wine for her.
“Of course. No, not really. So, that’s the plan this time.”

“How?”

“If we execute Veronia, he’ll surely show some reaction.”

“You’re saying you’ll execute Veronia?”

“Yes.”

The queen smiled with a cold expression, as if it wasn’t a bad plan.

“That’s an interesting plan. To catch a big fish, you have to use the right bait.”

The queen laughed and clinked glasses with Gillian, but Hersia, who was eavesdropping outside, couldn’t find it amusing.

‘Execute Princess Veronia?! I need to inform everyone of this right away!’

At that moment, the sound of the guard captain’s boots echoed in the corridor.