Maxim looked up indifferently at Jansen.

He wondered why Jansen had been lingering and pacing around, watching him nervously.

“If you have something to say, say it quickly. Don’t waste time acting coy.”

Maxim thudded his quill down on the desk and folded his arms, looking at Jansen leisurely.

Jansen, who had been blowing dust off a bookshelf, turned to him with a nonchalant expression.

“Me? Something to say?”

Maxim narrowed his eyes at Jansen before picking up his pen again.

“If you don’t have anything to say, leave. You’re in the way.”

“Ah! It just occurred to me…”

Jansen rushed to Maxim’s desk at lightning speed, scratching his chin as if deep in thought.

“I’m a little concerned about Her Majesty being left alone in the castle while everyone’s out hunting.”

“And?”

Maxim asked without lifting his head.

“So, I was thinking perhaps the queen could also…”

Maxim cut him off before he could finish.

“No.”

“But, Your Majesty!”

“What do you think this is? A pleasant picnic outing where we escort her in a carriage?”

“A carriage? But she’s quite good on horseback.”

Maxim stopped what he was doing and raised his head. He looked at Jansen with a sidelong glance.

“Did she ask you?”

“No, not exactly.”

“She’d just be a burden if she came along. She’s not in the best physical condition.”

“I figured as much.”

Jansen readily admitted, dropping the matter.

“I knew you wouldn’t allow it, but I couldn’t help worrying.”

“Worrying?”

“If we all leave the castle, she’ll be left with that man. The one who killed someone in prison and escaped. He’s probably still somewhere in the castle.”

Maxim’s gaze wavered slightly but spoke as if it were nothing.

“There are guards with her. Don’t concern yourself with unnecessary worries.”

“Who was it? I recall Count Monte was killed by a bodyguard he hired, wasn’t he?”

“Jansen.”

Maxim shot Jansen a warning glare, causing him to back down eventually.

“Understood. I’ll take my leave now.”

Jansen turned dejectedly toward the door, but Maxim’s low sigh and blunt voice stopped him.

“See if there’s a horse she can ride.”

Jansen responded in an upbeat tone as if he’d expected this.

“Yes!”

Left alone in the room, Maxim stood up and walked to the window.

He had allowed it reluctantly, but now that the decision to take her was made, the discomfort he had been feeling eased slightly.

In the days leading up to the hunting trip, something had been nagging at him, weighing down his chest.

After what happened last time, the thought of leaving her alone in the castle was a constant worry in the back of his mind.

He figured it was better to keep her where he could see her, even if inconvenient.

“She is a woman who makes me worry.”

It was the first time in his life that he’d been so preoccupied with someone. The unfamiliarity of the feeling left him a little drained.

Even during the last battle, he had been distracted, her face constantly flashing through his mind as he swung his sword.

“What’s wrong with me?”

Maxim’s brow furrowed slightly. As he looked down at the garden, his gaze followed someone slowly.

With the young maid Natalie, she was there, picking flowers in the garden.

Laughter rang out, bright smiles blooming on both their faces.

What could be so amusing?

“Hah!”

Maxim let out a disbelieving scoff.

Uneasy thoughts had plagued him for the past few days because of her. Seeing Rosé’s carefree, radiant laughter only made him feel more irritable.

But Maxim wasn’t the only one watching them.

In another building, two figures loomed by a window.

“We underestimated that Stern fox,” Katriona said, looking down at Rosé.

“I don’t know what she’s scheming.”

Chancellor Pieri shook his head, recalling his humiliation in the council hall not long ago.

What shocked him more than being reminded by her that Katriona was a foreigner was when she uttered the word “emperor” in front of everyone.

He had long known that his nephew Maxim Lankert harbored grand ambitions, but even Maxim had never declared his desire to be emperor before his uncle.

Yet somehow, she had spoken openly and boldly encouraged Maxim to become emperor, as if stoking the fire in an already smoldering hearth.

Could it be that Maxim trusted her enough to have such conversations with her? Maxim, who never revealed his true feelings to anyone?

Pieri let out a frustrated sigh, unable to understand.

“She’ll end up just like that Olivia woman,” Katriona spat venomously.

“That girl’s trying to win over the common folk with her cheap charity.”

Katriona seethed with fury over the humiliation and disgrace she had endured recently.

The castle she had carefully shaped over the years was changing by the day.

Ever since that Stern fox arrived, the castle had become frivolous, losing its dignity. Even the maids were running wild.

All the time, effort, and devotion she had poured into restoring the authority and order of the castle without a mistress—gone! Katriona couldn’t stand it.

The maids and servants laughing in the hallways, kitchens, and stables felt like taunting echoes.

Every other sentence was, “Our Queen, Her Majesty.”

Whenever she heard someone praise that Stern woman, Katriona wanted to rush over and yank her by the hair, throwing her to the ground.

And those who once trembled before her now eagerly ran to greet Rosé Lankert with bright smiles. It was infuriating.

Katriona watched every change with growing disgust.

“It’s time to take decisive action.”

Her words were firm and deliberate as if reaching a final resolution.

Chancellor Pieri’s eyes widened with shock as he stared at his wife.

He glanced around hurriedly to check if anyone was nearby, then approached his wife urgently.

“What do you mean by ‘a decisive action’? Surely you’re not thinking of that again!”

Lady Katriona lowered her gaze, deep in thought, instead of answering.

Pieri knew that expression well. Her mind was filled with ruthless thoughts whenever she wore that face.

“No. Don’t do anything reckless! This is completely different from when Olivia Lankert was involved.”

“I know. It’s a worse situation now.”

“There’s no need for you to act this way. Let’s let things be for now. Maxim will soon tire of her and cast her aside.”

“I know. She’ll eventually be discarded, left to rot in some cold back room like a forgotten puppet.”

Pierce and Katriona had watched Maxim grow up, and they understood his nature well.

He hated being tied down, grew bored quickly, and lacked empathy. He was cold and would turn his back on someone with the swiftness and precision of a blade.

The chancellor and his wife firmly believed Maxim Lankert wouldn’t stay interested in her for long.

“So stop with the dangerous schemes. If anything goes wrong, we could all end up dead.”

“……”

Without replying, Katriona stared out the window at Rosé with a piercing gaze.

****

“Ahh… mm… hahh…”

Sasha’s moans escaped as she clung tightly to Kasiax, their bodies intertwined.

Even after spending several days and nights tangled together at the crown prince’s villa on the outskirts of the capital, the thrill of pleasure inside the speeding carriage was something new altogether.

The air inside the carriage grew stiflingly hot from the intensity of their passion.

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves echoed noisily from outside the carriage.

Kasiax pulled his lips away from Sasha’s neck, where he had been showering kisses. Sasha, who had been lost in the moment with her eyes closed, opened them at the noise.

The cold air seeped between them as Kasiax pulled away from her.

Sasha, lounging on the soft, cushiony seat, quickly straightened her disheveled clothing.

“Your Highness…?”

Kasiax irritably stuck his head out the window.

Behind his carriage, several other carriages were rapidly approaching.

Squinting at the approaching vehicles, he noticed a familiar crest. It looked like the emblem of the Etoile family.

“Are those Etoile family carriages behind us?”

He asked one of his guards, who confirmed it immediately.

“Yes, Your Highness. They are from the Etoile family.”

“Stop the carriage.”

At his command, the carriage came to a sudden halt.

This secluded forest road was the only path from the imperial villa to the Solstern border.

Kasiax was curious about why these carriages would be on this road.

Sensing his intentions, the guards quickly blocked the path ahead to stop the approaching carriages.

“What’s going on, Your Highness?”

Sasha looked at Kasiax with anxious eyes, but he was too focused to respond.

He slicked back his disheveled hair and buttoned his coat.

“Your Highness, we’ve stopped the carriages behind us.”

Peering out the window, he saw a steward from the Etoile family dismount and bow respectfully to him.

“I greet His Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“What brings the Etoile family’s carriages here? This road leads toward the border.”

“We are returning from Hellevant under orders from Count Jared.”

“Hellevant?”

“Yes. We were delivering Lady Rosé’s belongings.”

“Rosé Etoile?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The steward answered with the utmost deference, careful not to offend the crown prince.

“She volunteered to go to the northern regions, but now it seems she’s regretting it.”

Kasiax curled one corner of his lips in a mocking smile.

“So, how was she?”

“Lady Rosé appeared to be unwell.”

Kasiax nearly let out a triumphant chuckle but quickly rearranged his expression into one of concern.

“The Count and Countess Etoile must be worried about their only daughter.”

Misinterpreting Kasiax’s mockery as genuine concern, the steward shook his head and hurried to explain.

“I asked her myself, and she mentioned she had a brief fever but is recovering.”

Seeing Kasiax narrow his eyes in doubt, the steward quickly added,

“Her complexion seemed peaceful, and the servants treated her with the utmost respect. She is clearly being well cared for and doing well.”

Kasiax’s face darkened as his expression turned cold.