With a start, she lifted her head as a carrier pigeon flew in with a fluttering of gray wings, landing on a nearby branch.

Amy skillfully caught the bird and retrieved a note from the small container attached to its leg. She quickly read through the contents. A moment later, a smile appeared on her face.

The Second Prince was curious about what was going on but held back. Amy had promised to explain everything after they left the capital.

“Amy, is everything going well?”

But he couldn’t resist asking this question. Although Amy had remained composed throughout, he knew from his innate sense and experience that she had been extremely on edge lately.

‘And she injured her ankle too.’

He felt dejected thinking it was all because of him.

“Yes, everything is going very well.”

Amy smiled softly and reached out to gently fix the Second Prince’s disheveled clothing.

The Second Prince stared at Amy without blinking. It was a smile he hadn’t seen since she suddenly barged in a couple of months ago and declared she would become his head maid.

‘When she was my brother’s head maid, she used to smile often at least…’

He had been blaming himself for becoming her shackles. But seeing her smiling so brightly now… it seems a bird had flown into his small heart as well. The fluttering sound was loud.

The Second Prince’s procession left the imperial palace. Having dismissed the few maids he had, his close attendant was only the head maid. Other than that, there were just three coachmen and two servants for menial tasks.

The Emperor, worried people might think the Second Prince was being mistreated, offered to assign imperial guards as if doing him a favor.

But the Second Prince maturely declined, saying that since he was going to the distant and harsh north, he couldn’t take guards whose duty was to protect the imperial palace. It was an extremely reasonable and sensible answer.

‘Since when did the Second Prince speak so well?’

Someone thought something was odd, but soon forgot about it.

The north was so harsh that survival was the top priority, with severe cold in winter and drought in summer. How long could a young prince last in such an environment? In fact, he was practically walking into certain death.

It was a profitable deal for the empire, as they would now receive stable annual tributes in exchange for recognizing as a principality a land where they couldn’t even properly collect taxes.

‘Lady Esmaine is clever indeed.’

It was Lady Esmaine who suggested making the Second Prince’s territory an independent principality. She cited the barbarians beyond the northern mountains, who had been on bad terms with the north for generations.

‘There have been 23 disturbances over the past 10 years, with increasing frequency recently. Although there have been no casualties yet, this level of unrest means war is imminent. If we keep the Second Prince’s territory as a dependency of the empire, we might have to fight the war on behalf of the empire. But if we make it fully independent as the Second Prince’s, the Grand Duke’s principality, even if war breaks out, it will have nothing to do with the empire.’

It wasn’t wrong. Moreover, they added the condition of paying annual tribute, so if they neglected it, the empire could simply reincorporate the territory.

With this matter, Lady Esmaine clearly made an impression on the Emperor. In fact, all these ideas came from the mind of Esmaine Duke’s aide. So when they tried to commend him, the aide declined and requested to retire to the countryside, citing health reasons.

‘You’re of foreign slave origin, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it be better to just stay attached to our family?’

Lady Esmaine didn’t particularly intend to insult anyone. She simply discriminated against and insulted foreigners as naturally as breathing, with a sense of superiority as an imperial citizen, especially as a pure-blooded aristocrat. She wasn’t even aware she was doing it.

‘My health is poor… *cough* Actually, I suspect it might be an epidemic…’

When the aide coughed with a pale face, Lady Esmaine immediately kicked him out of the mansion. He headed to the bustling district with a meager retirement pay. Then he entered a pre-booked inn and wrote down the recent situation, sending it off with a carrier pigeon.

That was the very pigeon that had just landed in Amy’s hands. In other words, it meant that she was the one who had drawn up this entire plan.

The Second Prince tilted his head.

“Is it that important for me to become a Grand Duke and for the north to become a principality rather than a dependency of the empire?”

From ancient times, people of the empire believed that the harsh north was barely surviving under the empire’s wings. So Amy’s actions to break away from that might seem strange.

Amy smiled brightly.

“Of course. Just trust me. I’ll make Your Highness’s principality the wealthiest country on the continent.”

“If Amy says so, then it must be true.”

The Second Prince nodded without a hint of doubt. Amy looked at the boy admiringly and thought.

‘Only by separating from the empire can the gold nuggets and jewels we’ll collect in the future remain fully owned by the principality.’

She had planned everything for today several months ago when she returned through regression. And this was just the beginning.

“It’s time to go, Your Highness.”

“Alright.”

The Second Prince nodded at Amy’s words and boarded the carriage without lingering. It was incredibly dry for someone leaving the place where he was born and lived his entire life. As Amy followed him onto the carriage, she turned her head to look around the imperial palace one last time.

She thought she had found a family here and devoted her youth to him. But this place had taken her life.

Perhaps that’s why her departing steps felt light.

‘I’ll bring down the Crown Prince and serve the Second Prince with utmost loyalty.’

She turned her head again, renewing her determination. The splendid imperial palace was no longer of any concern to her.

“Amy, where are we going now?”

The Second Prince, who had been looking out the carriage window, turned and asked. Amy, who had been checking a bundle of documents, raised her eyes and gazed outside.

“The Central Market.”

“The Central Market? That’s in the heart of the capital. Weren’t we supposed to leave the capital?”

“There are a few things I need to buy. And some business to take care of.”

“I see.”

His curiosity satisfied, the Second Prince turned back to sightseeing with barely concealed excitement. Amy tapped her cheek with the pen she was holding, lost in thought.

‘Come to think of it, has he never been out in the capital before?’

She wasn’t sure. She had only started serving the Second Prince a few months ago, so honestly, she didn’t know much about him. She knew mountains about the Crown Prince though…

‘That bastard gets athlete’s foot every summer, and in winter he goes around with a runny nose…. When he was young, he once hid carrots he didn’t want to eat in his shoes and walked around wobbling….’

As memories surfaced, she felt anger rising anew.

‘No, what was Lady Esmaine thinking, trying to pair me with such an inadequate person?’

Moreover, whenever the Crown Prince did something stupid, the Empress would beat her. Each time, the Crown Prince would cry and apologize to her, but as soon as he turned around, he’d completely forget and repeat the same mistakes. That’s why her calves were never unbruised when she was young.

‘Are they crazy? How could they think I would love such a person as a man?’

As Amy shuddered with anger, her quill trembled. Just then, the Second Prince asked softly.

“Amy, what’s wrong? Are you hungry?”

His amber eyes were full of concern as he looked at her. It’s a universal truth that seeing a cute and handsome face calms anger, regardless of time and place. Amy relaxed her expression and said.

“I just remembered an unpleasant memory. But Your Highness, are you feeling peckish?”

“Umm… a little?”

The Second Prince smiled awkwardly. Amy smiled back. Oh, it’s good for children to eat well. Although the age difference between Amy and the Second Prince was only three years, perhaps because he hadn’t eaten well growing up, the Second Prince was smaller than his peers.

That’s why Amy often treated him like a child without realizing it.

“Once we leave the capital, it’ll be hard to see such a well-organized market again… Shall we look around a bit? We can try some market food too.”

“Is that okay?”

Expectation rose on his small face. Amy nodded, trying to hold back her laughter.

‘I heard rumors all over the palace about how prickly he was, but he’s just so gentle. Indeed, you really have to experience people to know them.’

Not long after, they arrived at the market. They left their carriage and luggage at the carriage storage and entered the market holding hands like siblings.

The central passage was teeming with street vendors and people. Amy glanced back, worried about the Second Prince’s safety. The mercenaries she had hired were already surrounding them. It was worth the high price. Reassured, Amy started walking again, when the Second Prince, clearly excited, tapped her hand.

“Amy, look at this. What a strange-looking flower.”

“Amy, did you see that? How can a person breathe fire?”

“Amy, Amy. Can’t we buy that outfit we just saw? I think it would suit you well…”

Amy felt like her ears were about to fall off. It seemed like she was hearing a lifetime’s worth of calls in one day. The Second Prince kept calling her name tirelessly.

“Amy, you know~”

“Yes, Your Highness. Amy hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Amy replied with a look of enlightenment, making the Second Prince giggle. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he tilted his head.

“By the way, is it okay to call me ‘Your Highness’ in a place like this?”

“Ah, you’re right. I made a mistake.”

“I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s just…”

Suddenly, the Second Prince couldn’t meet Amy’s eyes and started mumbling. Amy furrowed her brow. Why was he acting like this?

The Second Prince said shyly.

“Just… if you could call me Noah…”

“…Pardon? But that’s Your Highness’s childhood name.”

Amy, who had been wondering whose name Noah was, suddenly realized and waved her hands in alarm. Traditionally, a royal’s childhood name could only be used by parents or a spouse.

The Second Prince looked up at Amy with moist eyes.

“Everyone who used to call me that is dead now. I’d like it if you called me that, Amy.”