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~Chapter 44~
To Whom, Exactly?
“Ah, that cravat.”
It was something Regina had once decided to make as a gift for her father. The Emperor of the Permang Empire had weak magical power, so he was often looked down on by his ministers.
‘In the end, I couldn’t give it to him.’
Because of Hereis‘s interference, she couldn’t even go before the Emperor. When she was older, she gave it to her subordinates instead. She thought it would be better for it to be used by her subordinates dispatched to Fredericks than to remain dormant in the Permang Imperial Family’s treasure vault.
“Hmm.”
[What should we do?]
“I’ll think of a way to use it without feeling awkward. If worse comes to worst, I can give it to the Emperor as a gift and then take it back.”
[Is that possible?]
“What good is a magic tool that boosts magical power to the Emperor? It doesn’t strengthen his Aura.”
It was a persuasive point, but Schyren hesitated to answer through the communication tool.
Regina was about to ask a few more questions when the sudden sound of the bedroom door opening cut off her magic.
At the border of the Permang Empire.
Daniel, who couldn’t find Regina’s trace in the magic circle embedded in the barrier, crossed over with Hereis‘s help. However, even after searching the land full of monsters beyond the barrier, he couldn’t find any trace of Regina.
“It will be a problem if this area is empty too…”
As he muttered, he suddenly felt a presence and turned his head with a sharp whoosh. But nothing appeared in his view.
“Did I sense wrong?”
Given the presence of the magic barrier and the abundance of monsters, it was impossible for just anyone to come and go in this area. Even if a common person had set foot here, they would have been killed by the monsters already. If it were a knight, the strong smell of blood from ceaseless fighting would alert him, so he couldn’t have failed to notice.
Still, just in case, Daniel carefully looked around. But he still didn’t feel any other presence.
“Is something the matter?”
One of the knights, finding Daniel constantly looking around strange, asked him.
“No, nothing.”
Daniel finally shook his head.
They were knights secretly dispatched from the Permang Empire. It had been days since they started relying on various magic tools to survive. Except for when they went down to a village to restock food once in a while, they had been continuously carrying out their mission in the monster zone.
“Still no trace found?”
“Here!”
One of the knights searching the bushes shouted.
The knight found a blood-stained robe and reported that it belonged to the deposed Princess Regina. The emblem symbolizing the Commander of the Magic Division on the robe proved it.
“It must belong to the Princess.”
“Princess? What nonsense! That is the wrong title for a traitor who committed a crime against the family.”
“…”
Daniel, who had disliked Regina even before her death sentence, spoke sharply to his subordinates.
“Address her properly as ‘Traitor.‘”
“Ah, understood.”
The knights, who respected unreachable martial prowess, secretly acknowledged Regina. Although mages and knights were like oil and water, unable to mix, a mage was a special existence to the Permang people. Some who secretly admired Regina even thought she had been framed for treason. They had seen firsthand how the Imperial Family had treated Regina over the years. Quite a few believed the decisive and clever Regina was more fit for the throne than the despicable Hereis.
“We are here to confirm whether the traitor is truly dead. To see if the criminal who murdered the gentle Empress met a miserable end befitting her crime!”
Daniel, who was fully aware of the knights’ skepticism, repeatedly emphasized that Regina was no longer royalty, but a mere condemned criminal who had died. He stressed that a traitor would not be allowed any courtesy or rights.
‘That’s enough.’
Since he found the evidence to give peace of mind to the uneasy Hereis, he could return to the Permang Empire.
The deposed Princess’s robe was torn and soaked in blood. Judging by its state, the deposed Princess must have been torn apart and eaten alive by monsters. With this, His Highness would be able to accept why Regina’s body hadn’t been found.
“We are returning to the Empire.”
The Permang people, who had been sleeping in the forest and continuing their search for days, rejoiced at the command. Too relieved, they didn’t notice that someone was following them.
Conrad sensed the flow of power through the bedroom door and realized Regina was using a communication magic tool. He waved his hand at the knight who was about to announce his arrival and listened closely. The door was heavy, so very little sound leaked out, but by focusing his Aura, he heard a few words: ‘Magic tool,‘ ‘Cravat,‘ and ‘Gift.‘
It seemed like she was going to give the magic tool-cravat to someone as a gift.
‘To whom, exactly?’
Conrad’s brow furrowed. Was there a man around her she would go out of her way to buy a gift for? He couldn’t think of anyone. He felt suddenly annoyed. The idea that there might be an unknown man around Regina, whom he didn’t know, made his forehead feel hot.
Conrad gave up on listening further and flung the door open.
Regina, who was sitting alone on the sofa, turned to face him.
Conrad inwardly clicked his tongue.
‘I should have put someone by her side after all.’
Royalty should have a secret escort, but given Regina’s true identity, Conrad couldn’t easily assign people to her. Although Mir, his direct guard, was looking for a suitable person after learning Regina’s secret, he hadn’t found anyone yet.
‘Still, the Empress has no one watching over her.’
Thinking that this was impossible, Conrad raised his head.
Regina’s calm expression, showing no sign of surprise, made Conrad’s mood turn sour.
“Hmm. What conspiracy is my Empress plotting now?”
“Plotting a conspiracy? I was just figuring out a way to get the financial rights back from the Grand Empress.”
Conrad’s lips curved slightly at Regina’s soft reply. Today, her theatrical use of honorifics felt like she was drawing a line, which bothered him.
“Why don’t we start speaking comfortably now? There’s no need for us to be shy anymore.”
“…Suddenly?”
Regina tilted her head slightly in confusion, then raised an eyebrow and agreed.
“Well, alright.”
Since he asked her to speak comfortably, there was no reason to refuse. Conrad stepped closer to Regina, who answered readily. He reached out to her face, which was merely looking through documents without any sign of nervousness even in his presence.
“Ugh!”
Conrad grabbed Regina’s chin and turned her head. He paused at her faint gasp and loosened his grip.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No, I was just a little surprised.”
Relieved by Regina, who shook her head dismissively, Conrad asked.
“You said you would take the exam?”
“Yes, because that will be much faster. I must get the financial rights now. After completing all the Empress’s training, it will be too late.”
Regina’s cold, firm assertion was exactly what he wanted in an Empress.
“That’s true.”
“The Grand Empress will try to use her own people as examiners. So, at least fill the supervisor positions with our people.”
Regina said that taking the test was no problem, but she was worried about the process. Conrad shrugged.
“You don’t doubt at all that you’ll pass the test?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Regina widened her eyes and looked directly at Conrad.
Conrad, who was quite pleased with his reflection in her long eyes, drew a deep smile and reached out. He grabbed her long, cascading hair, which reached her waist, and lowered his lips to the end of it.
“You must have received quite a training in the Permang Empire.”
“It wasn’t what I wanted, but…”
Regina lowered her gaze.
