11.

It was an emergency.

The baron had buried his head in his hands.

Though he hadn’t been through everything under the sun, he prided himself on having faced his share of issues while managing the merchant guild.

But this… was new.

“I didn’t expect them to stay so long…”

He had never hosted guests of such high rank and fame in his estate before. And on top of that, ones who didn’t get along.

If he had known beforehand and told his friends, “Guess what? Sir Leo fric and the king’s emissary will be visiting my house! And Sir Leo’s bride, too! And it seems like the three might fight! Haha!” his friends would have surely patted his back with pity, saying, “Haha! You’ve truly lost it, my friend!”

The baron had been sworn to secrecy. Count Zellered had very explicitly impressed upon him the importance of silence. Naturally so.

At first, he was shocked. Part of him was also fascinated, as though he were getting a rare glimpse into the private lives of the nobles.

In any case, the commotion caused by those exalted figures wasn’t the true emergency for the baron.

The problem was that they were staying longer than he had expected.

“Meals…”

He’d assumed it would last no more than a day.

Thus, he had only prepared fine teas and refreshments.

Yet, Count Zellered had hinted vaguely that they might stay longer, and as for Sir Leo fric… he hadn’t even managed to approach him yet.

Now, let’s see…

There were Count Zellered’s knights, Sir Leo fric’s knights, and the young lady who was supposedly his bride…

Furthermore, whispers from the maids and servants hinted that the young lady might be from Ledetian.

The baron sighed deeply, then raised his head and summoned a servant.

“Contact the merchant guild. Tell them to send over some high-quality provisions meant for the capital. Make sure to include any ingredients or goods from Ledetian, if we have them!”

Well, as things stood…

This was now business.

Perhaps this was a gift from the heavens.

The baron resolved that whether it was Count Zellered or Sir Leo fric, he would make sure to establish connections with both. He was determined to leave them fully satisfied.

The young bride was a bit of a gray area, but she might just be an undervalued investment. She could very well end up marrying Sir Leo fric after all.

He recalled the scene of that bride attacking Sir Leo fric and briefly felt some doubts, but quickly shook his head. No, no. If he neglected her now and she did marry him, wouldn’t he regret this decision for the rest of his life?

Alright, he thought. I’ll make this investment a success!

“Oh! Make sure the three of them eat separately!” he instructed his servant, having finally made up his mind.

* * *

Light slipped in between her eyelids.

She cracked her eyes open, instinctively squinting at the brightness. The pillow and bedding felt pleasantly crisp.

A pillow?

Ateira sprang upright.

Where was she?

She quickly scanned the room, momentarily forgetting where she was in her sleepy haze. It had been a long time since she’d woken to sunlight. In the Thornfeld royal castle, she had been kept in a nearly sunless cell.

The fact that she had slept so deeply came as a shock. Last night, she had remained on guard, sitting on the sofa beside the bed until late. Only after the knights in the room left and she sensed that they were merely standing guard outside did she finally rest her weary body.

She had drifted off without realizing it.

The room was empty save for her, and quiet. She could hear the faint sounds of people moving about outside.

Ateira walked toward the terrace. When she looked out, the horizon was still a little dim. It seemed the sun hadn’t been up long. She hadn’t slept for that long after all. The fact that she hadn’t lowered her guard too deeply while being alone here offered her a small measure of relief.

Dermin.

As soon as she regained her senses, her brother’s name came back to her.

Could he still be alive? If he were, surely he would try to reach out to her.

Was Dermin safe? Where was he? Was he alone?

There were countless questions she wanted to ask the count.

Could he be in the royal palace? Were they treating him as they had treated her? Ateira began biting her nails in nervousness, then stopped herself.

“Sister, that’s a bad habit.”

I know, Dermin.

Thinking of her younger brother, who used to chide her for her habit of biting her nails when anxious, brought tears to her eyes again.

It frustrated her that her tears, which she thought had long dried up, kept welling up once more, so she pressed her fingertips firmly against her eyes.

She couldn’t appear desperate. She didn’t even have solid information—just a suggestion that Dermin might still be alive. If she clung to that, she’d lose any room for negotiation.

So why had they let that information slip?

“Do not act out again, princess. If you pull another stunt like today, or if you foolishly play at dying, without my permission…”

Ateira calmly replayed Count Zellered’s parting words in her mind, seeking to understand his intentions. She couldn’t expect to turn the situation in her favor, but she could at least try to minimize her disadvantages.

Don’t cause trouble. Don’t die.

The fact that she still held some value, even after wounding him.

What value could that be? Did it mean the engagement still held?

Even though she, the would-be bride, had tried to harm her intended, the marriage proposal was still valid.

Had ‘he’ specifically requested her?

Ateira’s brow furrowed. So, he was the heartless war demon they said he was.

It made sense—there was no more fitting war prize than the princess of a defeated empire. Did he want to possess her as a trophy? Such a crude indulgence.

Yet, if he truly wanted her, he would have already claimed her, or stormed in to berate her for stabbing him.

Ateira pondered other possibilities.

Was it the opposite?

She stopped in her tracks as she paced the room, struck by a new thought.

Could it be that the desire for this marriage was entirely one-sided, coming from the royal palace? Was it Wintran’s doing? But why?

The theory seemed plausible, yet she didn’t have enough information to be sure. The uncertainty made her sigh quietly. She had no choice but to wait until the count returned.

Knock knock.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door.

Ateira’s head whipped around.

“You’re awake, I see.”

The maids had entered. Relief and disappointment crossed her mind simultaneously.

Though they hadn’t been warm even before, ever since Ateira’s attack on Leo fric, they had seemed more tense around her. Some of the maids’ eyes looked red and swollen.

It seemed they had gone through a rough time.

It wasn’t surprising.

Ateira guessed that, for a man like Count Zellered, it was well within his nature to vent his frustrations on others when she acted out. Even on the day they escorted her here, if she so much as slowed her pace, they would badger the maids instead.

It seemed that the maids who had been near her at the time had been made into scapegoats.

After bowing their heads in greeting, the maids silently placed the tray of food onto the table.

“We’ll bring fresh clothes after your meal.”

Ateira nodded quietly.

Once they left, she glanced down at the food they had brought, and her heart ached anew.

Bread and a hearty meat soup—simple fare. But the tea beside them caught her eye. There was no mistaking it.

It was Hogen tea from Ledetian.

She stared at it, wrapping her hands around the teacup. The faint aroma was unmistakably familiar.

Alone in this utterly foreign place, she held onto the teacup for a long while.

* * *

“Oh, light of Thornfeld. Have you been well?”

“May Akalem’s glory be upon you. Thanks to Akalem, I am in good health. And you, priest—you look well.”

Wintran greeted the priest warmly, his smile as warm and gentle as ever. He was a man whose reputation as the king who brought spring seemed perfectly fitting.

The priest looked slightly bewildered, not entirely sure why he had been summoned. The royal messenger had only conveyed that His Majesty wished to meet him, without giving a reason.

“Even though the war is over, there’s still so much work to be done. Things are still unsettled, so I haven’t been able to visit the temple properly. We’re so busy that we haven’t even had time to celebrate the victory.”

“Haha, is that so? The important thing is that you have returned safely. All else will fall into place.”

“Thank you.”

Wintran’s smile grew slightly darker and more intense. There was something he was keen to learn—the reason why the Holy Temple of Akalem was planning to send its high priest to bestow a hero’s blessing upon Leo fric.

“Ah, now that you mention it, I’ve heard that the high priest of Akalem’s Grand Temple will be visiting us soon. It is indeed a great honor. Is there anything we can assist with in preparing for his arrival?”

The smile lingered, but it had deepened and darkened noticeably.