Tee-hee. Despite trying to hide it, she kept laughing. She felt like shouting with joy.

But she quickly composed herself. She knew she shouldn’t be caught by anyone, and that accidents tend to happen to people who get too excited and careless.

‘Now I need to earn money.’

With the departure date set, all that remained was to earn travel expenses.

Reibella planned to secure funds by selling information to Duke Vicheravali. The information was exactly what anyone who dealt with money would want: the location of a magic stone mine, so there was no way the deal wouldn’t go through.

That information would be worth an astronomical value. But Reibella would only ask for enough to cover her travel expenses to the Kingdom of Baribe and to buy a small house there. After all, there was no benefit for a child to possess a large sum of money.

‘Once I secure the money, I’ll hide away and live quietly.’

Quietly enough that even when she disappeared, he wouldn’t immediately notice she was gone.

To do that, she needed to avoid adoption at all costs.

And……

‘I should really avoid running into Royan now.’

She needed to be especially careful around Royan. The fierce aura he displayed whenever they met felt as if he was saying not just that he would hurt her if she made him uncomfortable, but that he would ‘make sure she never heard sounds in this world again.’

If she lost her life before leaving, she could assert with certainty that the culprit would be Royan, not the Emperor.

So, she had to be careful. She had promised herself never to encounter him again, but…

‘Why do you keep appearing before my eyes?’

There stood Royan, the very person she needed to be wary of, right in her path back to the annex.

Standing alone in a gloomy place where not even moonlight reached, he was swinging his sword.

‘Why is he doing this here? The knights’ training ground was so nice.’

Perhaps because it was a military family that prioritized swordsmanship, the knights at Vicheravali were treated exceptionally well. Even Felicity was known for providing excellent welfare to servants and knights, but Vicheravali’s support exceeded all expectations.

The building where the knights stayed was clean and spacious, meticulously maintained. Even the training swords gleamed brightly, and their clothes showed no signs of wear.

It seemed that because Vicheravali was constantly mobilized for war, they wanted to ensure perfect comfort during the knights’ stay at the mansion.

With such support and a perfect training room available, why would he train in a place like this?

‘Ah, because of the adults?’

Well, he would want to avoid them if he could. No matter how well he might overcome it in the future, he was still just a child now. The process of overcoming trauma that wasn’t described in the novel must exist for him too.

‘Looking at him like this makes me feel sorry for him again.’

She could understand why Royan hid the fact that he had been abused in the past. After all, those who stand before others should not show weakness. That was something Reibella, who had studied to succeed Felicity, knew well.

Suddenly, she worried that he must be very struggling and lonely. After all, when Reibella was living as Felicity’s young duke, she too had endured pain that she couldn’t share with anyone, gritting her teeth and working hard to maintain her position.

There were definitely times when she felt tired and overwhelmed, wanting to give up, but the weight of people’s expectations made her unable to do anything but cry.

Still, Reibella had her father and mother back then. And numerous retainers who cheered and supported her.

That’s why she could endure despite the difficulties.

But Royan…?

‘He probably doesn’t have anyone.’

Since he had lived with his maternal family from a young age, he wouldn’t have loyal retainers to rely on, and his father……

Reibella recalled the interactions between Duke Vicheravali and Royan that she had observed since arriving here.

Royan, who hadn’t shown himself when they first arrived at Duke Vicheravali’s mansion. Royan, who moved to the annex right after Duke Vicheravali arrived.

And the reaction the two showed when they encountered each other.

‘That was truly the worst.’

A father who looked at his son like a stranger and a son who looked at his father with disgust.

‘The two separated when Royan was very young.’

But what made them become even worse than strangers?

‘Well, I suppose they have no reason to consider each other family.’

People who know nothing might say, ‘How could you abandon your family?’ but that’s something only said by those who have never been betrayed by their own blood.

Royan might feel betrayed by his father, Duke Vicheravali. Because the person who should have protected him didn’t fulfill that role and wandered outside instead. Because he wasn’t there to care for him when he needed it most.

To the point where it might be better to think he had no family at all, Duke Vicheravali might have become an object of hatred for Royan.

‘Still, Duke Vicheravali isn’t a bad person.’

Could the two never become close again?

If Royan became friendly with his father, it would help with his trauma about adults, and ultimately, he could avoid the ending where he commits patricide.

‘If they spent time together now, could things change?’

It was still before the start of Part 2. Even if they couldn’t forgive everything that had happened, if they could clear up some misunderstandings, there might be a possibility for change.

Reibella thought as she took her eyes off Royan.

She hoped the two would encounter each other often. She thought that if they at least saw each other’s faces frequently, they might develop some closeness.

And the next day, Reibella was able to witness with her own eyes the result of the ‘meeting between the two’ that she had hoped for.

* * *

An unexpected problem arose for Reibella as she prepared to go to the Kingdom of Baribe.

It was her physical strength.

‘The Kingdom of Baribe is quite difficult to travel to. We have to cross rugged mountains, and there are quite a few demonic beasts along the way.’

Tony had said yesterday as they returned to the castle.

‘Most people can’t endure the journey. I wouldn’t be surprised if that merchant group is full of former mercenaries.’

Physical strength was essential to go to the Kingdom of Baribe.

So Reibella pondered deeply about her health last night. Would she have the stamina to go to the Kingdom of Baribe?

The answer was ‘no.’

Having frequently been exposed to poison while working as a food taster, and with the most dangerous ‘Emperor’s poison’ still remaining in her body, she was weak, not healthy by any means.

Reibella couldn’t help but worry.

……What if she died on the way?

She was fleeing to survive, but dying from lack of strength would be nothing short of a miserable death.

It would be an even worse outcome than staying in the Empire.

So Reibella decided to build up her physical strength starting today.

Efficiently and quickly!

For that, she needed the help of knights who were experts in this field. Simply running and walking alone would help improve her stamina, but not as much as learning from professionals.

So she asked Cleo and Tony, but the two expressed reluctance.

‘Our lord won’t allow it.’

‘That’s right. We can’t do it without our lord’s permission.’

She had brought them along just yesterday, grateful for their lack of sensitivity, but the two were not only insensitive but also rigid.

Even when she asked them to train her secretly, just a little, they said it was useless and that they needed their lord’s permission. So Reibella decided to meet Duke Vicheravali again today.

She was told he was at the training ground for practice, so Reibella went to find him there early in the morning.

And she discovered:

“Aaaaargh!”

Royan charging forward with an enraged cry, and,

“Pathetic.”

Duke Vicheravali deflecting his son’s wooden sword with a languid voice.

“Is this what you call swordsmanship that you’ve learned?”

The Duke was blocking all of Royan’s swift attacks while holding the wooden sword with one hand. His expression was that of boredom, and his voice was utterly dry.

Then suddenly, he gripped the wooden sword properly and began attacking Royan.

At first, Royan blocked his attacks quite well. But as time passed, he gradually failed to block some attacks. First his side, then his leg, thigh, arm.

Finally, when Royan fell, unable to endure anymore, Duke Vicheravali looked down at him with a cold gaze.

“The name of Vicheravali is wasted on you.”

How chilling that voice was. Even Reibella, watching from a distance, could feel its coldness.

‘……Is this the same person?’

Was this the same Father who had seemed like the stoic but inwardly kind Grand Duke of the North?

Just yesterday, he had been furious about her injured ear and ordered all the trees to be uprooted. But today’s Duke Vicheravali wore an indifferent face despite the numerous cuts on Royan’s body.

In other words, he looked like the ‘villain’ as described in the novel.