At Queen Rhea’s words, carrying the faintest of smiles, Blair looked carefully at the boy standing there fidgeting.

Curly brown hair, chestnut eyes, freckles scattered like sugar. There was something oddly familiar about him.

He must not have been in the palace long.

His uncertain posture said he was a newcomer who hadn’t yet learned all the royal protocols.

The queen of the Kingdom of Eiron and a stable apprentice who had barely arrived. Under normal circumstances, their paths would almost never cross.

And yet for some reason, the Queen was introducing this boy to her.

Going by what she said just a moment ago, it must have something to do with Duke Brienne……!

A sudden premonition flashed through Blair’s mind as her thoughts reached that point.

“Don’t tell me……”

The corner of the Queen’s mouth curved upward slightly, and Blair was certain.

“Amon?”

Marie, Olivia’s maid, killed by Duke Brienne. The boy standing before her bore a strong resemblance to Marie.

“His name is Luke now. The fact that you know his previous name tells me you already knew he had come to the capital and bought a new identity.”

“Your Majesty, how did this come to……”

Blair looked back and forth between the Queen and Amon, now Luke, with a stunned expression. And then Ernst’s words came back to her all at once.

‘It’s certain that Marie’s younger brother came to the capital and bought a new identity. But the strange thing is, the trace of it has vanished completely.’

Ernst had said he couldn’t find a record of the identity transaction anywhere. Like someone had deliberately concealed it.

“Was it you, Your Majesty, who erased that boy’s trail?”

Blair asked, still unable to believe it.

“You knew this boy was Marie’s younger brother? No, more than that, how did you even……”

Blair had never once mentioned Marie’s younger brother to Queen Rhea. Not because she didn’t trust her, but because there had been no need to say it aloud in a palace full of watching eyes and listening ears.

The surprise had not yet faded when Queen Rhea, who had maintained that same ambiguous smile throughout, slowly opened her mouth.

“It was entirely by chance. That evening I happened to want to go riding at night, and the negligent stable keeper had left the stables to a young apprentice and gone off to drink. And that young apprentice was writing a letter with tears in his eyes.”

She had had no choice but to ask about the boy’s situation, the Queen added.

“At first he said it was nothing, but soon he hesitated and asked me something. He asked how he could get a letter to you, Blair.”

That was when Queen Rhea had sensed this was no ordinary matter.

“I insisted on seeing the contents of the letter. It wasn’t even half-written, but even those few lines were enough to understand. It was something that absolutely could not fall into Duke Brienne’s hands.”

She said no more, but the weight in her eyes said it all.

“Marie had been hiding something.”

Luke’s shoulders, tense as he stood there, gave a small flinch. Queen Rhea sent him a reassuring look, then continued.

“I burned the letter immediately. If it had been a finished letter, I would have delivered it to you myself, Blair, but……”

The Queen shook her head slightly.

“You did the right thing. If it couldn’t be delivered properly, burning it was the safest course.”

A letter from a stable apprentice reaching the princess consort directly was nearly impossible. It would inevitably pass through someone’s hands, which meant it would somehow reach Duke Brienne’s ears.

“I told the boy not to think about writing any more letters. I asked him not to tell anyone about this until I called for him. And then I erased, one by one, the traces he had left when he entered the palace.”

Queen Rhea said it while looking at Luke, who was staring down at his own feet.

“This boy is brave and sharp. He came to the capital to bring you the truth, bought a new identity, and got himself taken on as a stable apprentice. But that alone wasn’t enough.”

“So you personally erased the records of the identity transaction and any other traces. To keep the boy hidden.”

Kalintz’s words came back to her, that this was not the work of a child.

“It was only possible because Duke Brienne was away in Valia at the time. The timing was fortunate.”

True. If the Duke had been present, it would have been much harder for her to act so directly.

“In any case, we were lucky. And the Duke is currently consumed with the matter of Vivian and spreading scandal about the two of you. With any luck, this could be a good opportunity to bring him down.”

Blair looked at the boy still standing there restlessly.

Amid the thick, heavy clouds, it felt as though she had finally caught hold of a single thin ray of light.

❀❀❀

“Her Majesty the Queen?”

Ernst couldn’t close his mouth.

“We were truly fortunate. If Duke Brienne had caught wind of it first, that boy would have followed his sister.”

Kalintz murmured, sounding equally surprised.

“Thank goodness. We need to speak with that boy Luke as soon as possible.”

On the day she had spoken with Queen Rhea, Blair had sent Luke back for the time being. Bringing the boy to the prince’s palace without care, with Duke Brienne’s eyes and ears spread everywhere, was too dangerous.

“I’ve already placed some trustworthy people in the stable where he works. Luke won’t be losing his life without warning.”

Luke had been assigned to the central palace stables, which managed the horses of the royal guard and the knights.

It was known as the largest and most demanding of the stables within the palace grounds, which meant there was always a shortage of apprentices. In other words, it was the ideal place to plant guards disguised as apprentices.

“We’ll need to find an opportunity to have Luke transferred to the prince’s palace stables.”

“But as you know, the central stables are always short-handed. Getting him out naturally would be……”

Ernst was frowning in thought when his eyes lit up as though a good idea had struck him.

“There’s a perfect opportunity! The joint cavalry training!”

“Wait a moment, Sir Werner. How is that a good opportunity? During cavalry training, stable hands from all the other palace stables get pulled over there too, don’t they?”

Blair asked with a puzzled look. During cavalry training, the horses needed to be in peak condition, which naturally meant the hands who managed them had to follow.

“Indeed. That day would be ideal.”

“Pardon?”

Even Kalintz nodded in agreement, and Blair understood even less.

But two days later, she found out quickly enough why it was such a good opportunity.

❀❀❀

“I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness. Today with the joint cavalry training, Verona isn’t here……”

Ric, a servant of the prince’s palace, had been in a dizzy state since morning because of the prince and princess consort heading to the stables.

And understandably so, since all the experienced hands who managed their horses had been pulled for the joint training.

“Hmm. I need to ride Nox today. For that I need someone to check his horseshoes. Same for Fitz.”

Kalintz looked at Ric, who was flustered and at a loss, and continued.

“I believe stable apprentices aren’t called up for joint training.”

“Pardon? Ah…… that’s true, on a day like today there’s no place for apprentices, but the prince’s palace stables don’t have any apprentices, and besides, entrusting Your Highnesses’ horses to a mere apprentice……”

“It’s fine. It’s just a simple check, so bring a few apprentices from the central palace stables.”

Ric broke into a sweat with a flustered look, but he had no way to disobey the prince’s order.

“……Luke will be coming. Along with the disguised guard apprentices Sir Werner planted.”

Blair murmured, watching Ric dash off.

“This is simply the most natural way to meet the boy directly.”

Kalintz said it with a shameless smile, stroking Nox’s mane.

“Willer Brienne has an almost terrifyingly sharp instinct. Anything less than this and he’d catch on immediately.”

Blair nodded and gently stroked Fitz’s cheek, glad to see him after so long. Standing there like that, she suddenly recalled the riding wager she had made with Kalintz, and a small laugh slipped out.

“You must be thinking the same thing I am.”

Her heart gave a foolish flutter at the sight of Kalintz smiling, the corners of his eyes curving warmly.

“Um……”

A small, hesitant voice came from near the entrance.

A brown-haired boy peeked his face through the half-open stable door.

“They said you were looking for me……”

Blair was about to tell him to come in when the servant who had brought him came rushing in behind.

“You fool, bow your head first before you go standing there staring.”

The servant hurriedly pushed Luke’s head down to make him bow. Behind him, other apprentices appeared one by one. They all had notably solid builds, which made it clear they were the guards planted as apprentices to protect Luke.