“Austin!”

“Duchess.”

He wore a friendly smile, his blond hair now neatly slicked back.

“Princess Serin is not in her room.”

“She’s gone again, I see.”

He let out a deep sigh as if this was a common occurrence. Watching him, Rohana began to wonder if she had overreacted, but something didn’t feel right.

“Austin, if she’s not in her room, where could the princess be?”

Seeing her urgent expression, Austin’s face grew tense as he strode into the inner chamber with long steps.

“Your Highness! Please don’t hide. I completely understand why you’re upset from earlier. The duchess is here to see you as well.”

Austin’s booming voice filled the empty space.

At that moment, the relaxed expression Austin usually wore hardened to an unfamiliar, stern look.

“Duchess.”

“Yes?”

“Did you… perhaps open the window?”

“The window?”

A suffocating sense of dizziness overcame her.

The low window in the bedroom was open.

“No.”

Following Austin, who swiftly moved to the window, Rohana answered anxiously.

The ominous feeling solidified into certainty.

Austin began tracing the surroundings with his hands. A faint blue light flickered as he appeared to use magic. Beads of sweat quickly formed on his forehead.

“What’s going on?”

“Duchess, go to Lord Delcliff. Right now.”

His deep voice trembled slightly.

“I’ll handle the report.”

Austin nearly knocked her over in his haste as he shouted out a command.

“Lock down the entire castle! Not just the palace, but the whole fortress!”

Servants immediately began rushing around.

Rohana felt the blood drain from her entire body.

“Duchess!”

Serin’s voice echoed in her mind. Her sweet, lovely face too.

No way.

Rohana ran.

“Duchess!”

“Duchess, you must head somewhere safe!”

The path to the banquet hall felt unusually long and far. As her heart pounded, the image of her brother flashed through her mind.

Again.

Again!

Her vision blurred and her breath caught, but she had to remain calm.

Stay calm.

She arrived at the banquet hall almost at the same time as Austin. Even before Austin could make his report, Rohana’s gaze locked onto Brandt, who was seated among the guests. She roughly pulled him to his feet.

“W-what’s going on, sister?”

“Where is she?”

His wide eyes grew even wider as if he had no idea what she meant.

“What have you done?”

Brandt, shocked, stared down at her as if he truly didn’t understand what was happening.

“Rohana, what’s going on…?”

Kaiden rushed over and grabbed her.

It was then that they heard a tapping sound from the window.

A messenger bird.

It was the red-feathered bird.

Rohana released her grip on Brandt’s collar and irritably opened the window, causing the glass to rattle loudly.

“Sister, what in the world is…?”

The messenger bird flew straight to Brandt as if it had been planned.

At that moment, Austin’s voice reverberated through the hall. Upon hearing news of the princess, Queen Isla nearly collapsed, but Heath quickly caught her. The queen slowly sank into her chair.

“Open it.”

With slightly trembling hands, Brandt untied the note attached to the bird’s leg. Before he could even fully comprehend its contents, Rohana snatched it from him.

As her eyes scanned the message, her face grew even paler.

“You…”

“Sister, I swear I had nothing to do with this.”

“You really…”

Could rubbing salt into a wound be more painful than this? First, with Aurelia, and now again, an unarmed innocent…

“Where is she?”

Brandt, unable to believe what was happening, let out a bitter laugh.

“I truly don’t know. I was just told to check on you, that’s all.”

“Kaiden!”

At Rohana’s call, Kaiden, who wasn’t far away, approached and took the slip of paper from her hands. His face immediately darkened with a murderous intent.

“Sister!”

“Heath.”

With skilled magic, Heath restrained Brandt, causing him to fall with a loud thud that echoed through the hall.

The soldiers’ rapid reports and hurried footsteps spread in a flurry. Rohana glanced at the soldiers dragging Brandt away, then turned her gaze to Queen Isla.

The queen’s eyes, so similar to Princess Serin’s, remained fixed in shock, completely still.

“Your Majesty.”

“Duke Delcliff.”

Without responding to Rohana, the queen called Kaiden with a trembling voice.

“Show it to me.”

Kaiden respectfully handed over the slip of paper.

[We have received internal information linking Princess Serin’s disappearance to R.D. In light of this, the empire declares its intention to deploy forces for the benefit of the continent.]

Though one might have expected her to scream or panic, the queen remained calm.

“Tell everyone not to panic.”

In contrast to the cries, murmurs, and rapid footsteps of soldiers, the queen stood as a queen should.

Her face was pale, as though she might faint at any moment, but she maintained her upright posture.

Brandt’s voice tangled with the chaos around him as he was dragged away.

Rohana squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. The one who was more terrified than anyone else was Queen Isla. She must not appear more flustered than Isla; she didn’t have that right.

Rohana racked her brain, retracing her memories.

What kind of person was Bardi Rentworth?

A series of events flashed through her mind, causing her heart to race. Her crimson lips trembled slightly.

“I…I don’t know.”

Her voice cracked.

“I’m sorry, I needed you.”

Lazar’s voice seemed to echo from a distance.

“You must be the one to make things worse.”

Even words she had never said.

The knuckles of her clenched fist turned white.

At that moment, a low voice echoed in her ear.

“R.D. wouldn’t do something like this. The empire received the information too quickly for such a thing.”

Kaiden walked towards Isla as he spoke. Tears glistened in the queen’s green eyes but did not fall; they merely swayed slowly.

A flock of messenger birds took flight from Heath’s hands.

“I will save Serin. It seems she felt Rohana was insufficient.”

“Is that the starting point for war?”

Isla, looking at Kaiden for a moment, spoke in a hoarse voice.

Kaiden slowly drew his sword. Their eyes locked again.

“It seems Bardi wanted to send a warning to the kingdom, provoke me, and communicate something to Rohana all at once.”

Isla sighed softly.

“He won’t easily let the princess go, given how much he has at stake.”

“I only need Serin to return.”

Isla turned her gaze to Rohana. Although she thought she had become accustomed to it over time, the look of resentment in Isla’s eyes made Rohana flinch involuntarily.

“It’s time to go home, Duchess.”

Rohana quietly listened to her words, then bowed her head and turned to leave.

“We have initiated a pursuit on our side. The troops have also departed from Nopthal.”

Heath’s voice echoed in her mind. Rohana slowly turned back.

“I’ll handle the exit.”

Kaiden said.

“You stay by Queen Isla’s side. Remain at Shatonwell until you receive contact.”

Heath nodded briefly.

Kaiden sheathed his sword as a gesture of his vow and strode out of the banquet hall with a rough and swift pace.

In that moment, he caught sight of a familiar back—Rohana was already moving quickly away from them.

“Damn it.”

Cursing, Kaiden informed the captain of the guards at Shatonwell to prepare for departure.

In just a few swift steps, Kaiden caught up with the running Rohana and nearly lifted her off the ground. As soon as she saw his face, Rohana opened her mouth.

“I’m going.”

“Rohana, right now you…”

“I’m going to the capital.”

Kaiden swore and grimaced.

“Don’t be foolish. We don’t have time for this.”

“Kaiden!”

At Rohana’s first shout, Kaiden paused for a moment.

“Think rationally. Don’t complicate the situation when there’s a simple solution.”

Kaiden’s brows furrowed.

“Not a chance.”

“Are you going to be stubborn in front of a mother worried about her child?”

“Can’t you see that Bardi is seeing right through you? Look at this incident, which is similar to what happened with Jody, and how he sent a message to pin the blame on Brandt.”

Rohana raised her voice, her brows knitting together in frustration.

“If I go, it’ll all be over. If necessary, I’ll send a messenger bird to Queen Isla…”

In an instant, Kaiden pulled Rohana into the garden behind the hallway. She struggled against him, but it was useless.

“Kaiden!”

“Calm down.”

Rohana refused to give up, trying to push away.

“Are you really this foolish? Get a grip.”

Rohana’s face flashed with anger, or rather, with fear.

“If something happens again because of me…”

‘Where did it all go wrong? Why did it end up like this?’

She just wanted to quietly live apart from the original story.

At that moment, a commanding shout echoed in her ears.

“It’s not your fault!”

A rough sigh escaped from Kaiden.

“Are you and I supposed to be shaken like this because a mad emperor did something he wouldn’t even do during wartime?”

His harsh voice and distorted face loomed over Rohana.

“I will save Serin, no, we will save her.”

His low voice rumbled. As Rohana opened her mouth to protest again, Kaiden stepped closer, closing the distance between them.

“It’s not your fault. You shouldn’t be in this situation.”

Rohana’s heart raced, nearly bursting from her chest.