Genoa, who had been listening quietly to Mel’s words, curled up one corner of his mouth and said,

“You’re quite adept at negotiating for someone who’s alone in the middle of enemy territory.”

“Wasn’t it the Duke who asked me to exist as a proper princess of Reibritton?”

“Ah, yes, I did say that.”

He was silent for a moment. Mel never avoided his gaze as he quietly looked at her. If he could really cure his insomnia because of Mel, he would probably grant her request.

“But only as long as the princess is helpful to me.”

“Of course. If all of this turns out to be mere coincidence, please pretend you never heard it.”

The best way to get what you want from Genoa was to prove your usefulness to him. Mel hadn’t yet been able to help Genoa as a princess.

If she could really alleviate his insomnia, that alone would greatly increase the things she could demand from him. After all, this was Genoa, who could be so kind even to a mere slave, to get what he wanted.

“Go ahead and tell me.”

As Genoa’s permission fell, Mel’s shoulders, which had unconsciously risen, lowered. After choosing her words in her mind for a moment, she spoke in a careful voice.

“Do you remember that maid I mentioned before?”

“Ah, yes……”

Genoa’s eyes narrowed as he recalled the previous night. He might not remember the exact situation when he had just fallen asleep, but he thought he would remember enough of the conversation they had before entering the room.

“You mean the maid who ran away?”

“Yes.”

Mel nodded, feeling something pricking in her chest.

“I want you to find her.”

The runaway maid is the real princess. The true noble princess of Reibritton, not the fake Mel. The one Genoa truly needs.

At Genoa’s question, Mel recalled the face of her real master who had fled. Just as Mel had assumed her identity, Amelia had assumed Mel’s. The identity card issued by the Kingdom of Reibritton was made so that Mel could go anywhere, which was convenient when she’s running errands for her.

Although it might not be of much help during the war, if she could avoid the eyes of the imperial army well, she could use that identity card to escape to another duchy or kingdom.

“Why?”

Genoa’s eyes sparkled with interest. Mel knew well how dangerous he was when his eyes lit up like that.

“……”

Mel was silent for a moment.

Why wouldn’t she understand how dangerous it was to ask Genoa to find her runaway former master? If Genoa found Amelia, the real princess, and heard the truth, Mel didn’t know what would happen to her.

The crime of impersonating royalty. The crime of deceiving and misleading Duke Ivanstein. The crime of running away from him in the past.

No matter how he tore Mel apart, his anger might not be appeased. If that happened, Mel predicted that she would not die peacefully. However, despite such risks, Mel had a reason why she absolutely had to find Amelia.

“She took something precious when she ran away.”

Mother. Just mentioning it choked her heart. Her mother, who would be struggling day by day in Amelia’s grasp.

Until now, Mel had endured the heavy weight of her difficult life solely because of her mother’s existence. At some point, Mel couldn’t distinguish whether she was enduring this life for her mother, or whether she had to endure this life because of her mother.

The one thing that was clear was that her mother was everything to Mel, and Mel was everything to her mother. If Mel’s mother was not in her life, all the moments of choice she had made throughout her life would be negated.

Even when she had to run away from Genoa, even when she was beaten as the princess’s punching bag maid until her blood clotted, even when she was dragged to the old emperor instead of the princess and faced a deadly fate, it was because of her mother that Mel couldn’t make the choices she truly wanted.

‘How could I abandon my mother after all she’s done for me. I must protect her.’

That’s what she thought as she endured all these years. So her mother had to stay by her side. If her mother disappeared, Mel would have no reason to survive so desperately.

If her mother hadn’t existed, Mel probably wouldn’t have run away from Genoa that day, and when she found out in advance that the princess was going to use her as a substitute, she would have disappeared without any lingering attachment.

“I really want to find her.”

So losing her mother was more frightening to her than the real princess who might be alive somewhere, or even Genoa, who hadn’t yet realized that Mel was a fake.

“If you could just find out where she is, I’ll take care of the rest myself.”

The princess’s fleeing party was very small. That’s why she was more worried about her mother who would be in her grasp. Her mother’s health wasn’t good to begin with. Thinking about her living on the run with the princess with her poor health made Mel’s breath catch.

“That’s a losing deal. I can personally drag the maid back and punish her.”

“No, I can’t trouble Duke Ivanstein with such a trivial matter.”

Mel swallowed a deep breath inwardly and smiled brightly at Genoa. She tried to appear as if she wasn’t too concerned about the trivial matter of finding a runaway maid.

“Of course, I’ll move only after you grant me freedom, so don’t worry about me failing to fulfill my role.”

“If that’s what you want.”

Mel subtly observed Genoa’s softened expression. Although his face was unreadable, he didn’t seem displeased with her proposal, fortunately.

“Now then, princess.”

Genoa rose from his chair and extended his hand to her. Then he wiggled his fingers as if telling her to take it. Mel stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before reaching out. Genoa’s long, slender fingers then intertwined with Mel’s, pulling her forcefully towards him.

“Will you come to my bedroom tonight?”

Mel froze, her upper body half-raised from her seat.

“What’s wrong? Are you not confident?”

At Genoa’s words, Mel’s eyes shook uncontrollably. A red flush spread upwards from below her neck.

“…What.”

Genoa laughed softly as he watched the princess, who couldn’t even pull her hand away, rolling her eyes.

“You need to put me to sleep.”

The princess’s face was as tempting as a ripe fruit. It was quite amusing to see her trying to lower the corners of her mouth, seemingly attempting to regain composure.

“Since you slept well today, won’t you be fine for a while?”

“That’s quite a cold-hearted thing to say.”

He stepped back one step and nodded. Seeing the princess quickly follow right beside him, Genoa moved with a satisfied expression.

As he opened the door and headed outside, Bane was waiting with the doctor.

“I’m going to the office with the princess, so take the doctor with you.”

“…Yes.”

It meant not to interfere with his conversation with the princess. Bane looked at the princess for a moment with sharp eyes, but soon bowed politely and stepped back.

The doctor, who had been called out unexpectedly, looked curiously at the princess beside Genoa, but quickly lowered his eyes at Bane’s glance.

“Let’s resolve personal matters slowly tonight, and now shall we talk about the princess’s usefulness?”

“…Alright.”

Mel’s shoulders tensed as she followed behind Genoa. It was a serious conversation to have while walking down the corridor, but Genoa didn’t seem to mind. It was a casual attitude stemming from his complete control over the mansion.

He asked without looking back at Mel following him.

“Do you know what brings the greatest benefit in war?”

“Money and honor, perhaps?”

“No.”

Genoa paused for a moment and looked at Mel as he spoke.

“It’s people.”

When Mel said nothing and just looked at him, Genoa shrugged and continued.

“When people come, not only their labor force, but also their accumulated foundation and wealth follow.”

“Are you planning to draw the kingdom’s people into the empire?”

“If that could happen, it would be perfect, but it’s impossible to accommodate all of them within the empire’s territory.”

“Then?”

The Raon Empire was one of the smaller territories on the continent. Especially compared to its long history and longstanding reputation. Instead, they exerted great influence on the continent based on their overwhelming military power and abundant wealth.

Until the deceased emperor ascended to the throne, the Raon Empire was also respected by other kingdoms and principalities for its noble honor and beneficial justice. As a result, as the number of people wanting to become citizens of the empire overflowed, the empire now faced various problems. For instance, phenomena like the shortage of residences due to the influx of people into the empire.

“In fact, His Majesty was only interested in getting his hands on the princess completely, and didn’t care about other peripheral matters, but others didn’t think so.”