‘Perhaps it all began with the accident involving both of them?’

Dana Rowen reflected on the mysterious accident that had claimed the lives of the late king and queen—a sudden and perplexing carriage accident.

The young king, who had ascended the throne hastily, was powerless, and naturally, the influence of the nobles grew stronger. Even when it seemed excessive, Dana couldn’t voice any objections. She felt responsible for her parents’ deaths and the resulting situation.

It might have been from that point that the southern nobles began to control everything in Rowen.

‘Could the one who harmed my parents also be involved in the poisoning of Prince Ergart?’

It might have been an overthought. However, somewhere in this kingdom, there was surely someone who had killed the late king and queen and a force that had colluded with Heinz and the crown prince, leading to the kingdom’s downfall. Although the former had already happened and the latter was yet to occur, as long as such people existed, it could happen again at any time.

When another such dangerous situation arose, Rowen would need the strength to defend itself.

‘Rowen now is weaker than the future I remember.’

The divine beast of Taras was of a lower rank and couldn’t play a significant role, and Dana hadn’t even contracted with a divine beast. It was a situation ripe for someone to disregard the royal family of Rowen and harbor ill intentions.

Currently, the social and political scene in the capital of Rowen was entirely dominated by the southern nobles. They were the ones King Taras was closely associating and communicating with. At the same time, they had been the ones who, during the war, were frightened by Heinz’s invasion, surrendered, opened the way, and put the kingdom in danger.

‘Even if I tell my brother to keep a distance from them, he won’t listen to me.’

However, Dana believed she needed loyal subjects of Rowen, not those people. She needed subjects who would be loyal to the royal family and Rowen and who would lay down their lives for it.

‘I will go to Khalid. I need to meet Lord Vicar there.’

Countess Vicar was a cousin of the late queen. The Vicar couple was like an aunt and uncle to Dana.

‘The beginning of Rowen was originally in the north, in Khalid.’

It was where the first king, Daischultz, initially contracted with a divine beast and where the Rowen Kingdom began.

Although the capital and all authority and culture had moved to the south, the north was undeniably the historical starting point of Rowen and the home of the divine beasts. The Khalid royal castle would have extensive materials on divine beasts, and in the north, there were knights protecting Rowen. Even though she was now a powerless princess who hadn’t contracted with a divine beast.

‘Let’s start there.’

Let that place be the foundation to protect this kingdom and build strength. Dana decided on this course of action.

* * *

The preparations for the princess’s journey to the north were made quickly.

Since it seemed like she was fleeing from an unfavorable situation, she couldn’t leave with a large entourage and fanfare. She prepared as quickly as possible, and the departure date was set for the earliest possible time.

“I’ve taken care to prepare the knights. The road to Khalid could be dangerous,” Taras said as he came to see her off in front of the royal castle. Dana understood what he meant. It was the road where the late king and queen had perished, naturally seen as dangerous.

However, Dana wasn’t particularly worried. Even at ten years old, she had survived that road. Perhaps it was because she was a powerless and non-threatening princess, and it was still the same now.

“Here is what you requested. With this, everything in Khalid is yours to use freely while you recuperate.”

At Taras’s gesture, an attendant handed over some documents. Hilda, who stood next to Dana, accepted the papers.

Currently, the ducal title of Khalid was vacant, and the property and management rights of the Khalid family had been reclaimed by King Taras. Taras had written a certificate granting those properties and rights to Dana, with the king’s seal on the documents. It was something Dana had requested from Taras in advance.

It would have been ideal if she could become the Duchess of Khalid and take all those rights, but she was not yet an adult, and there was a reason why she shouldn’t do so. Therefore, she had no choice but to choose the method of having the authority delegated by Taras for now.

“Thank you, brother.”

Dana gave her final farewell to Taras.

“May Yurhemia’s breath accompany you on your journey.”

As Taras and the queen bid Dana Rowen farewell, wishing her a peaceful journey, she climbed into the carriage with her closest lady-in-waiting, Hilda. In addition to them, two other maids were set to travel with them to Khalid, though they were expected to return to the capital afterward.

“Are you really okay with this, Hilda? Even if it means going to the north?” Dana asked.

Since Taras didn’t pay much attention to Dana, her maids were chosen and sent by the queen. Compared to the queen’s own maids, these young ladies came from families with less influence. Among them, Hilda was from the Baron Haiman family, which had a territory in the central region, and she had been with Dana the longest.

In the future Dana remembered, Hilda had married a southern noble before Dana’s wedding. Even after her marriage, she continued to serve as Dana’s maid in the royal palace, and her married life seemed uneventful, although Hilda’s husband had surrendered and fled like other nobles during Heinz’s invasion.

‘Still, if she follows me to the north, won’t Hilda’s future change too?’

Dana wasn’t sure if that would be okay. Watching Dana worry, Hilda smiled.

“Of course. My mother was pleased to hear that I’m going north.”

“Really?”

When Dana asked with wide eyes, Hilda covered her mouth with her hand and whispered in Dana’s ear.

“Yes. They say northern men are strong.”

“What?”

Dana saw Hilda crinkle her nose and grin mischievously.

“Anyway, I can’t expect much if I stay in the capital, so I might as well follow you to the north and gain some experience in the social circles there. Who knows? I might fall in love with a sturdy northern knight.”

“Oh, my.”

Dana laughed in disbelief. Seeing this, Hilda laughed too. It had been a while since the princess’s lips had turned upwards, and dimples appeared on her cheeks. Hilda, looking even more excited, teased her.

“Why? Could it be that you’re going to Khalid for the same reason?”

“That’s nonsense. No.”

“We’ll see about that.”

With a coy expression, Hilda quickly shifted to a meaningful look and said, “What if the northern knights fall for you and start throwing gloves at each other every day? You should hold as many gentlemen’s hands as possible and dance with them before choosing.”

Watching Hilda’s teasing face, Dana turned her head with a similarly coy expression.

“There’s no need to hold many gentlemen’s hands.”

Hilda’s eyes widened at Dana’s words. She asked with an excited face, “What do you mean? Do you already have someone in mind?”

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

Dana thought Hilda’s intuition was frightening, even as she avoided her gaze. How could she seem to read her so well?

Dana tried to change the subject, but Hilda pretended to scream silently.

“No way, who is it? How could you keep this from me?”

Dana didn’t answer and just looked out the open window of the carriage. Hilda leaned in eagerly and asked, “Who is it? How do you know a northern knight…”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and the maids who were to accompany them entered the carriage. Hilda closed her mouth and sat up straight.

The sudden quietness puzzled the two maids who had just entered. Dana glanced at them briefly before turning to Hilda and saying,

“Well, my match will be decided by His Majesty anyway. I can’t let the northern gentlemen waste their time.”

The two maids tactfully averted their gazes, while Hilda stared intently at Dana’s profile.

In the past, she had genuinely thought that way. Dana had made a contract with a divine beast at her seventeenth birthday banquet and had gotten engaged to Prince Ergart the following summer when she was eighteen. Since it was natural for Taras and Queen Bridget to decide everything for her, she hadn’t formed any special relationships or close male friendships. It was only natural that no men approached a princess destined to marry a foreign prince and leave.

Thus, she became an adult and married Prince Ergart a year later. During the four years of their engagement, she had never actually seen the prince’s face, but she had naturally assumed he would be her husband.

‘But this time, it shouldn’t be like that.’

This time, it couldn’t happen. In this life, Prince Ergart of Heinz and Princess Dana of Rowen had to live as complete strangers.

Dana heard the sound of a horn outside, signaling their departure. The carriage began to move.

“Could you close the window? It’s a bit chilly,” Dana asked the maids. As they left the royal palace and headed towards the capital, the people of the kingdom would be able to see the princess’s procession. She thought there was no need to show them the face of a princess supposedly fleeing in despair after failing to make a contract with a divine beast.

The maids silently closed the carriage windows, leaving only the light coming in through the open skylight.

“I should get some rest. I’ve been up since early, and I’m tired.”

At Dana’s words, Hilda placed a soft cushion behind her head. Dana leaned back against the cushion and closed her eyes.

Even though she was leaving the capital, there was no time to linger on memories or indulge in sentimentality. The journey from the capital, Larnas, to the northern Khalid was long.

However, knowing that the invisible path ahead of her was even longer and more challenging, Dana didn’t feel daunted by the journey. It was a path she needed to reach quickly and draw closer to.