“Yes, beautiful….”

Casius stammered.

Truly, Casius was not like this, but he didn’t know why he became this way whenever he stood before Lenisha.

Casius drank tea to soothe his dry throat.

One thing that had changed was that the taste of tea had become very good.

Casius sighed with a flushed face.

“Casius finds it pretty?”

Lenisha spoke leisurely.

“Yes. Pretty. The hair is like flames. The pupils sparkle like the sun…… Anyway, pretty.”

Seemingly unable to find any more words to describe, Isabella laughed bashfully.

Lenisha stroked Isabella’s cheek.

It seemed as if nothing had ever happened.

As if they had returned to their affectionate family within Lotera’s fence, back to the times of growing up nobly as young princesses.

Lenisha fondly touched Isabella’s shortened hair.

“We have to grow the hair, Isabella.”

“The hair?”

“Yes. Isabella used to like growing her hair long like a doll and wearing a headband. Don’t you like that now?”

“No, I like it. Can I?”

“Yes.”

Isabella smiled brightly.

“The doctor who took care of me said that it would be better if I were a boy, Aunt. So after my hair was cut, I couldn’t grow it.”

A girl’s hair grows faster than a boy’s.

Understanding the doctor’s words, the mature Isabella had to cut her hair off in a place where nobody knew.

Lenisha hid her sorrow and smiled.

“It’s okay now. I like Isabella being a girl.”

It meant that she would keep Isabella safe so she could live as a girl.

Lenisha patted Isabella’s back.

“Linda will teach you how to make tea.”

Linda, realizing what this meant, reached out to Isabella.

Isabella obediently took her hand and left the room.

Now only Casius and Lenisha were left.

“……It seems that everyone has the same eyes, Casius. Even Isabella thinks Casius is pretty.”

“……Are you brainwashing?”

“Come on. Do you see me as a villain?”

“Since we slept in the same bed last night, it is enough to……”

What nonsense. Casius rubbed his face.

Being with Lenisha caused unreasonable things to happen, and he found himself talking nonsense.

Casius clicked his tongue briefly.

Lenisha noticed Casius’s discomfort and laughed.

“We need someone we can trust.”

Casius looked at Lenisha with his hand down.

“My father’s knights had the Emperor’s eyes.”

“……I know.”

That’s why they were able to know the battle situation and drive the Duke of Lotera to death.

“They died at my hands.”

Casius spoke, his golden eyes gleaming.

At that moment, he seemed not like a fool before Lenisha but a veteran of many battles.

Swish.

A red scar welled up on Casius’s cheek and then subsided.

“I disciplined them with military law. I showed my subordinate knights what kind of punishment awaits those who betray their lord. The Duke of Lotera was an excellent knight. He was not someone to go so ignominiously. I couldn’t have beasts who knew no gratitude under my command. None of the knights I have with me will betray me. We have rolled together on the battlefield, and we know the Emperor’s cruelty. We’ve seen how he discards his hunting dogs.”

Lenisha smiled faintly.

Fortunately, Casius seemed a better man than Lenisha had thought.

Since Casius guaranteed the loyalty of the knights, Lenisha intended to trust them too.

“If you trust them, I will trust them too. We really have a lot to do going forward.”

Casius nodded his head.

“I know.”

“When I move, the Emperor will notice me again. However, if Casius moves, the Emperor will ignore him. I’m sorry, but the Emperor probably sees Casius as a slave knight who is not worth noticing.”

Casius nodded his head with a serious expression.
He accepted it as fact, not as an insult.

Lenisha was a little surprised by that.

Casius seemed to have no inferiority complex or shame about his past.

That’s how confident he was in himself.

It was hard to have such strength.

Casius seemed to be as strong inside as he appeared on the outside.

“Go out and meet the people I told you about. You must obtain their support for Hilosha.”

“Will they help us?”

“They will.”

Lenisha reached out and neatly covered Casius’s hand, which was laid out on the table.

Casius’s eyes widened.

Lenisha touched Casius so casually.

Casius bit his lip.

Just that made him feel like a captive ensnared by Lenisha.

Casius stiffened and stared at Lenisha.

“They’ve seen the future of this royal family. Kanaria is foolish, and the Empress’s seat is vacant. Will the royal family, left only with Kanaria, function?”

Lenisha shook her head slightly.

“The smart nobles have realized it.”

“……Even so, you…….”

“They don’t think I’ve been chased away, Casius. They think I’ve stepped back. For what’s next. My downfall is their downfall. And it might also be Hientri’s downfall. That’s what I’ve built up in the Imperial City all this time.”

Lenisha’s eyes sparkled.

She had strong conviction in what she had done.

Casius looked at Lenisha as if he were bewitched.

Her eyes reminiscent of spring, her platinum hair reflecting the light.

The colors that made up Lenisha were delicate, but she was still the ruler leading Hientri.