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~Chapter 16~
This Time Will Be Different (1)
‘This is interesting, really.’
The royal family of the Fredericks Empire was definitely unique.
Cain was openly challenging, while Stella, wearing light armor, acted friendly as if she knew nothing.
‘I heard they were the Empress Dowager’s children…’
Regina felt more uncomfortable under Stella’s gaze, so she kept her eyes on Cain instead.
Maybe it was because she’d never dealt with someone as genuinely friendly as Stella. Regina found her a bit overwhelming.
Conrad waved his hand, telling them to leave, but Stella hesitated and didn’t step back.
Just as Conrad’s brows began to furrow, Cain moved toward Regina first.
“Do you even know what proper respect is? Do you really understand it?”
Regina almost laughed out loud at the way he looked straight at her. She barely held back a smirk.
Then she calmly rested her cheek on her hand and tilted her head.
“No one knows what will happen in the future, but for now, you’re a prince of Fredericks, so I should treat you like royalty.”
In other words, she was saying: you might lose your position, so you should behave while you’re still a prince.
Cain forced a smile as if he was grinding his teeth.
“My future sister-in-law is saying some interesting things.”
“Interesting?”
Regina stepped forward.
Her boldness made Cain instinctively take a step back but then stopped, realizing he would look foolish.
‘Did I just lose my nerve to this woman?’
He had always heard she was a sheltered girl from a humble family, completely naïve.
A foolish woman, so clueless she got caught in Conrad’s trap.
If she’d heard any of the rumors about how other noblewomen died in the palace, she wouldn’t act so confident.
Cain’s face turned red as he tried to warn her again.
“No one risks lives for fun.”
A gentle voice, like a spring breeze, reached Cain’s ear, but the words were cold as ice. For a moment, Cain thought he’d misheard.
But when he looked into Regina’s calm blue eyes, he saw a cold blue flame burning inside them.
“Huh, really…”
Cain felt the warning in her voice, and his shoulders stiffened.
It was hard enough to deal with Conrad, but now even the future empress didn’t seem easy to handle.
‘Looks like I’ll have to change my plan. I thought I could just scare her a bit.’
Cain’s face slowly returned to its normal color.
Regina looked at him indifferently, but Cain didn’t notice—lost in his own thoughts.
He’d been told many times not to show his feelings, but it never worked.
Raised under Chloe’s protection, Cain never learned to control his expression.
‘Well, I just came to see what kind of woman she is, so there’s no need to be too strict.’
Trying to hide his nervousness, Cain finally spoke.
“It’s a gloomy future for Fredericks when the future empress speaks so carelessly about life and death.”
“Oh my. If you can save hundreds of lives by risking one, that’s a decision a ruler must make.”
Regina’s smiling eyes were full of coldness.
Feeling a chill, Cain decided it was time to report to his mother.
He had figured out what kind of person Regina was. Chloe would know how to handle her.
“Ahem! I have business with the knights, so I’ll be going. I just came to say hello.”
With a quick bow, Cain turned and left.
Stella, left behind, looked at Conrad, then handed Regina a small box.
“This is a gift.”
“…Thank you.”
The box was plain, without even a ribbon—just like Stella’s personality as a knight.
Regina looked down at it, and Stella scratched her head.
“I hope you like it.”
“The important thing is that you prepared something.”
For the first time, Conrad spoke directly to Stella.
“R-Really?”
“Yes.”
Blushing, Stella smiled, and Regina smiled back.
As Stella walked away, Regina watched her, thinking,
‘Conrad seems to really care for his little sister.’
She’d thought he would be distant because of Chloe’s bloodline, but it was unexpected.
Regina decided she should investigate Cain and Stella.
She gripped the box tightly and looked up at Conrad.
Then, as if it was a separate issue, Conrad spoke coldly.
“Can you use purification magic?”
“Of course.”
Before she even finished answering, Regina used the purification spell.
Red magic surrounded the box, then the lid popped open and magic swept over the item inside.
Regina closed her eyes tight.
‘My magic flow isn’t smooth. I almost made a mistake.’
Purification magic could have turned into an explosion. Sweating a little, Regina waited until the magic faded and then looked inside the box.
“It’s a cute doll.”
‘Not my style, though.’
Regina looked at the rabbit doll Stella had given her, wondering what she meant by the gift.
“I’m sure she meant no harm. She really just wanted to give you a present.”
“…I see.”
“Stella’s just like that.”
She looked pretty grown up to be called a child, but Conrad smiled like he was talking about a little sister.
‘Is he really close to his half-siblings, even with Chloe as a threat?’
Was that possible?
“There’s nothing wrong with Stella’s gift itself. But the hands it passed through are the problem. Even if she bought it herself, she couldn’t have carried it the whole time.”
“…”
Conrad didn’t doubt Stella at all. The real reason for using purification magic was to protect against others, not her.
‘That’s not easy to believe…’
Even in Permang, royals constantly watched each other, fighting for the throne.
Regina had come this far by struggling too.
Fredericks was surely no different. Even after Conrad became emperor, there must be battles under the surface.
Stella, as the current Empress Dowager’s daughter, could also become his enemy.
Conrad stepped closer and took Regina’s hand.
Feeling a gentle warmth and the flow of magic, Regina relaxed without realizing it.
Ever since the wedding at the temple, Regina could feel the magic flowing between them with even the smallest touch. She took a deep breath.
“Stella has openly declared she doesn’t want the throne.”
“But even if she says that, it doesn’t erase her legal claim to be the next ruler.”
Regina quietly warned him. Conrad pulled her hand and nodded to the surroundings.
The moment the two royal siblings left, more eyes began to watch them.
It was time to start acting again.
Conrad lowered his lips to the back of Regina’s hand.
His lips brushed her hand, then her cheek, then her ear. His warm breath made her grip his hand tighter.
Her fingertips tingled, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Regina steadied her breathing.
Conrad spoke in a low voice.
“After she became an adult, Stella rarely came to the palace. She leads her own subjugation force, just like I do.”
He added, she was more of a comrade than a rival.
“So that’s why she was wearing light armor.”
“Yes. But the people around her are the real problem.”
As long as Conrad had no children, Princess Stella was still first in line for the throne.
Even if she’d said she didn’t want it, she never fully gave up her royal status.
She knew that if she gave up her claim completely, it would pass to her brother Cain.
If Cain, protected by Chloe, became first in line, the palace would become even more chaotic.
“Oh, so that’s why…”
“But now that you’re empress, things will be different. Stella will be able to feel a little lighter.”
