Droisen, the capital of Heinz Kingdom.

In the royal palace, Queen Cladimien sat in her chair in the audience chamber, looking at the nobles who had come to see her. Standing in the center of the vast audience chamber, the nobles asked the queen with agitated faces.

“What are we supposed to do about this situation? What in the world is going on?”

“Heinz launched a preemptive attack on Rowen, but we ended up losing the battle, and now even the Etrang Kingdom has joined in!”

“Will you say nothing about this situation, Your Majesty? Have you just been sitting idle while things got to this point!”

Cladimien looked at the nobles with a hardened face.

‘Cunning bastards.’

After what the Rowen soldiers had done to Heinz soldiers, was Heinz attacking Rowen soldiers really the important issue here? Was being wary of Etrang more important?

The nobles gathered in the audience chamber were supporters of Crown Prince Friedrich. Those who wanted to promote Friedrich as king were trying to pressure Cladimien by using the danger to Heinz and Rowen’s challenge. How could this make any sense?

‘If Heinrich were alive, would they dare speak like this?’

When the kingdom and its soldiers had been insulted, was criticizing her more important?

Cladimien spoke in a cold voice.

“So you’re saying we should have ignored it when Rowen falsely accused our Heinz of sending monsters and sent Divine Beasts to Heinz territory? Rowen attacked first! Above all, haven’t you heard what Rowen’s knights did to our knights?”

Cladimien’s anger shifted direction.

“More than anything, I myself am shocked by Etrang’s intervention. Does the Crown Prince have nothing to say about this?”

All eyes turned to the man standing in the middle of the audience chamber. He was the Crown Prince of Heinz, Friedrich von Heinz.

Friedrich was a young man with light brown hair resembling the late King Heinrich, and blue eyes like the late Queen Yvonne. His gentle nature resembling the late queen, his soft and courteous manner, and his dignity seemed to prove that he was royalty born of Vican’s light.

Friedrich stood with a calm face, unwavering even under Cladimien’s questioning. Cladimien asked in a cold voice.

“Am I the only one who remembers discussing harmony with Etrang when the Crown Prince married Crown Princess Charlotte? Then isn’t this harmony broken when Etrang drove our Heinz soldiers to their deaths?”

Cladimien continued, unable to contain her anger.

“When the conflict with Rowen arose, I heard that Rowen’s queen sent a letter to Crown Princess Charlotte. Did the Crown Princess know about Rowen and Etrang joining hands?”

Receiving Cladimien’s sharp gaze, Friedrich answered.

“Neither I nor Crown Princess Charlotte knew about the King of Etrang sending the giant soldier. When Crown Princess Charlotte learned of this, she was very surprised and contacted Robert III, and received an answer about it.”

“What did he say?”

“The Crown Princess wishes to answer that herself.”

Cladimien narrowed her eyes as she looked at Crown Prince Friedrich. Friedrich stood without the slightest change in his expression or posture, simply waiting for the queen’s response. Cladimien finally nodded.

Friedrich turned around. Walking across the audience chamber, he extended his hand to the woman standing behind the open door. The woman placed her hand on Friedrich’s, and entered the audience chamber one step at a time.

The woman with black hair characteristic of the Gallois royal family and black eyes resembling Robert III walked across the audience chamber under everyone’s gaze.

Charlotte von Heinz. The woman who was originally Charlotte de Gallois was the Crown Prince Friedrich’s wife, a princess of Etrang, and Robert III’s third daughter. She walked to Queen Cladimien holding Crown Prince Friedrich’s hand. Wearing a blue dress, she lifted her skirt slightly and curtsied.

“I apologize for causing concern. The danger that has come to the kingdom keeps me awake every night. If I am in such a state, I wonder how it must be for Your Majesty.”

Charlotte’s Vicanthus, coming from Etrang, flowed much more eloquently than the Vicanthus spoken by the northern Heinz people with their rough accent. Cladimien answered in Vicanthus with a strong accent that retained traces of the ancient Ritz Kingdom language.

“What happened?”

Standing straight, Charlotte answered.

“When the conflict with Rowen began, Queen Bridget of Rowen sent me a letter, but there was nothing in it related to this conflict. I brought the letter, thinking you might be curious. As for the personal contents my sister wrote about, I hope you’ll kindly overlook them, as they’re rather embarrassing.”

Charlotte pulled out a letter from her long sleeve. A servant standing behind Queen Cladimien quickly came down to receive the letter and presented it to Cladimien.

Cladimien unfolded the letter and read its contents. The letter contained disparaging remarks about Cladimien, who would have an inferiority complex toward Heinz’s late Queen Yvonne, and criticism of Charlotte for failing to restrain Cladimien.

Cladimien lowered the insulting letter and raised one corner of her lips in a smile.

“I see. Indeed, there is nothing related to this conflict.”

Charlotte smiled faintly.

“Why would I lie in front of you?”

Cladimien folded the letter and held it out to the side. The servant took the letter again and walked over to give it to Charlotte. Holding the letter in her hand, Charlotte continued softly.

“Upon hearing of Etrang’s intervention, I urgently contacted my father in Etrang, and he replied that he was deeply concerned about the conflict between two neighboring kingdoms where he had sent his daughters. He said that thinking about this conflict growing to where two daughters could not wish for each other’s well-being was such a terrible situation that he could not ignore it, so he had no choice but to step in despite the burden.”

The nobles beside her nodded with very sympathetic faces. Charlotte took one deep breath, then continued.

“Above all, since this conflict was an unprovoked one initiated by Heinz, Etrang’s giant was regrettably forced to raise its sword against Heinz soldiers, and with wishes for peace and stability on this continent, he said he could not sit idly by. As a friend to both excellent monarchs, he wished to mediate between the two kingdoms.”

During Charlotte’s long explanation, Cladimien sat quietly with a very faint smile on her lips. Talk of mediation was laughable. To speak of mediation after specifically targeting Heinz soldiers. To discuss peace and stability after deploying such a powerful giant.

‘While also threatening that Etrang will step in if this conflict doesn’t stop?’

It was cunning how they were creating their own justification to intervene by saying there was no justification.

‘Idiots. That’s why they shouldn’t have made the preemptive attack.’

Cladimien inwardly cursed the knights who had fallen for Rowen’s provocation. However, the Heinz nobles beside Charlotte were nodding their heads.

After a moment’s pause, Queen Cladimien spoke with wide eyes and a surprised face.

“Oh. My friend Robert… I had no idea he loved peace so much and cared so deeply for bloodlines.”

Cladimien looked at Crown Prince Friedrich. The Crown Prince simply stood quietly beside Charlotte. Charlotte answered instead.

“What parent in this world doesn’t cherish their child?”

Cladimien looked at Charlotte with only the corners of her lips raised while her eyes didn’t smile at all. After watching her quietly, she nodded as if understanding.

“Yes, that’s right… Then I too, considering the position of my son, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, should resolve this conflict and calm the disturbance at this point?”

Charlotte smiled brightly at Cladimien.

“I can only be grateful that you think so.”

Cladimien also smiled brightly at Charlotte.

On the surface, they looked like a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with a good relationship.