The moment his side was stabbed, Merton’s mouth clamped shut.

Erdene, not seeing Telma block his mouth, looked at Merton silently before frowning.

“And, what else?”

Merton shook his head and gave an awkward smile.

“Nothing. We were only worried about how Your Highness was doing.”

Erdene, who had been staring at him intently, chuckled with a deflated expression.

“What’s there to not be well about? Eating, sleeping, and waiting for time to pass is all I do here.”

At her answer, the expressions of all three sank simultaneously.

They had to acknowledge that Erdene here, Erdene who had become the queen of Betor, was different from the person they knew, and couldn’t help but be different.

Erdene, as if trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere, stood up and cleared her voice.

“It’s not like there aren’t any good points at all, so don’t look so gloomy. By the way, how did you come? There’s no way Tenek would have let you come willingly.”

“Who do you think we are?”

As Telma boasted, Merton added.

“Captain Telma bewitched His Majesty Tenek with his silver tongue.”

It was a scene one could easily imagine. Erdene burst into laughter and nodded, saying.

“Anyway, since you’ve come all this way, I should stretch my body a bit tomorrow.”

The three, with pale faces, pretended to cling to Erdene’s clothes.

Erdene, dismissing her old subordinates’ exaggerated actions with a snort, left the place leisurely after telling them to rest well.

When the door closed, the impatient Aiman punched Telma’s shoulder.

“Why did you stop Merton? Shouldn’t Her Highness know about this too!”

“Lower your voice, Captain Aiman. Even if Her Highness knew about it right now, what could she do? Don’t you know she’s the type who would rush to Hirschsten right away if she knew there was something suspicious about His late Majesty’s death? If that happens, the problem would become unimaginably serious.”

Merton nodded.

“Telma is right, Aiman. Earlier, I too… seeing Her Highness, my emotions welled up and I almost spoke first, but it’s not something we can tell in this situation without a plan. And think about it. Emperor Tenek and that Atelgardis cleverly worked together to win over all the imperial nobles. Not only that, they sent official documents throughout the empire drastically reducing taxes, causing even public opinion to turn against Her Highness. What could Her Highness do if she knew the truth in this situation?”

Telma nodded as if agreeing.

“Unless clear evidence comes out, it’s just our suspicion for now, isn’t it? She’s already frustrated enough in this dull place, we’d just be adding fuel to the fire.”

The three, who had been silent, sighed simultaneously.

Erdene, who had been listening to the conversation resonating from behind the door, clenched her fist and trembled, feeling as if all the hair on her body was standing on end.

Suspicious points.

When she heard the news that her father had suddenly passed away, she was busy fending off and chasing after Binotin’s soldiers who were suddenly appearing from everywhere.

Erdene, who never tolerated half-hearted retreats, had been frantically searching for hidden ambush units, traversing the complex ravines for a full week without properly eating or sleeping.

And just before the third full-scale battle that she could never back down from, an hour before deployment, that tragic news struck her.

She couldn’t withdraw the soldiers. She couldn’t leave alone either.

Tenek’s letter, which showed neither grief nor sorrow, contained the message ‘Don’t worry about the emperor’s vacant position and return with news of victory.’

‘And I had to come here without even seeing Father’s coffin.’

A fishy, sticky blood seeped through her tightly clenched teeth, but Erdene didn’t even feel it.

Now she could understand all those events a little.

Things that went wrong as if cunningly calculated, while she was tied up on the battlefield, Tenek seized the empty throne, and when she returned, the entire empire was in his grasp.

Where to start, whom to interrogate, how to go about it.

It seemed she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, pondering over these questions.

The next morning, Erdene asked Sophia to find her the most comfortable clothes to move in.

“Even clothes worn by servants are fine.”

If it had been someone else, they would have pretended to faint and muttered about ‘the queen’s dignity’, but Sophia followed the order without any additional comments.

At first, Erdene harbored slight suspicion about Sophia’s too compliant attitude.

It was true that she wanted Sophia by her side, but as Sophia had said, she couldn’t trust her completely.

Sophia didn’t try to stop Erdene’s actions with unnecessary advice.

Only occasionally, when Erdene used harsh words, she would add one or two comments like ‘It might be better to use less radical words’, which was an incomprehensibly generous attitude for Erdene, who had somewhat grasped Betor’s picky and cunning noble culture.

‘I wondered if she was pretending to be obedient while reporting my every move to her mother or someone else, but…’

Sophia’s image reflected in the mirror as she wrapped a long cotton string around Erdene’s waist once and tied it tightly.

Erdene was staring at her slightly bowed figure, then lightly lifted Sophia’s chin with her fingertips.

“Your Majesty?”

Sophia looked up at Erdene with a puzzled expression.

Erdene, wearing a subtle yet satisfied smile as if she might tease her, said.

“I’ve had several adjutants who would gladly pretend to die at my word, but you also please me greatly.”

Sophia, who was still blinking as if she didn’t understand, took a slight step back and lightly bent her knees.

“It’s an honor.”

“You readily follow my orders because you’re not that interested in me. Isn’t that right?”

Her intelligent-looking dark green eyes moved slowly as if trying to read Erdene’s intention.

Sophia lowered her gaze with a thoughtful expression, then showed an almost imperceptible smile.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. To be more precise, it’s not that I’m not interested, but rather I don’t think anything you do is wrong.”

“Isn’t that just your opinion?”

Sophia’s head tilted calmly.

“I can confidently say that my judgment is better than any of the Betor nobles you’ve seen so far, Your Majesty.”

Erdene laughed out loud. It was a cheerful laugh.

“I’ve never forgiven anyone who fell out of my favor. But looking at you, I think I might be able to overlook to some extent the disrespect your mother showed me.”

Sophia replied.

“I wouldn’t dare ask you to forgive my mother’s mistake of lying to Your Majesty using His Majesty’s name. However, if Your Majesty would show mercy, I would gratefully accept it.”

Erdene grinned and turned around again. When Sophia finished dressing her, Erdene’s reflection in the mirror looked no more than a young and pretty servant.

Her long hair was twisted up and firmly secured, and she wore a light shirt and loose pants with a vest.

The leather shoulder straps used to secure the upper part of the sleeves from flapping also made her look like a hunter.

“I heard Wizard asked you to let him observe today’s sparring session?”

Sophia nodded at Erdene’s question.

“Yes. Somehow he knew that Your Majesty was planning to spar with the imperial military officers today… He came to me directly and asked if I could inquire with Your Majesty. I told him that Your Majesty was asleep so I couldn’t ask right away, but to wait at the training ground tomorrow morning…”

“Well done. Experiencing it firsthand rather than just observing might be more helpful.”

Erdene turned around, swinging her arms wide, and looked back at Sophia with a low laugh.

“He’s quite tough, isn’t he? Resilient too. I didn’t go all out back then, but most people would have lost their spirit after taking that kind of beating. It’s admirable that he’s voluntarily asking to learn.”

Sophia’s shoulders shrugged lightly.

“So I gave him some extra points.”

When she appeared at the training ground dressed like a servant on vacation, Bellen Wizard and the other Betor military officers gaped in surprise.

On the other hand, Telma, Merton, and Aiman, who had arrived earlier and were waiting, seemed more familiar with her current appearance than the Erdene they had seen yesterday.

“We greet Your Majesty.”

Before Sophia could give a signal, Bellen quickly stepped forward and knelt on one knee before Erdene.

The other officers, who seemed to be the people he had brought along, had been wearing sour expressions, but seeing Bellen kneel, they hurriedly followed suit and offered their greetings.

“Has your previous injury fully healed?”

“Yes, it has healed completely. I heard that Your Majesty would be sparring with the imperial officers today, so I came to request permission to observe.”

“Do you think you can learn just by watching? Why don’t you try facing me directly before I spar?”

Bellen looked up in surprise.

Seeing expectation and competitive spirit gradually spreading in his eyes, Erdene felt satisfied for the first time in a very long while.

It was like the contentment a skilled blacksmith feels when presented with high-quality iron. The corners of her mouth rose slightly with the expectation of forging another incomparable sword by heating and hammering it to perfection.

“Aiman!”

Aiman, who had already been fidgeting with anticipation, jumped to his feet.

The Betor soldiers who had come to watch were startled by his mountain-like physique and widened their eyes.

Erdene looked down at Bellen.

“I don’t know the Betor officers well. So why don’t you choose someone to face Aiman?”

Bellen blinked, then grinned as he stood up.

“Understood, Your Majesty.”