The Emperor waited for his advisor, unable to sleep due to anxiety. 

 When the advisor entered to make his report, the Emperor’s golden eyes flashed fiercely. 

 “Your Majesty, we sent snow removal equipment to Kvarando, but they were driven away from the port.” 

 “……Driven away?” 

 “My apologies! However, we stationed knights at the port. The moment the knights tried to disembark, it seemed like a fight would break out.” 

 “Ha!” 

 Were they planning to go to war? 

 He couldn’t understand why their attitude had suddenly changed. 

 “I must go to Kvarando. Send word.” 

 “They also asked me to deliver this.” 

 The Emperor exhaled deeply at the letter the Advisor handed over. He didn’t want to open the letter bearing Kvarando’s seal. 

 The Emperor finally went to his desk and took out a paper knife. 

 Due to a shortage of magic stones, Kvarando cannot export for the time being, so we request that Renshad refrain from making unreasonable demands. If you come to Kvarando again without notice, we will respond with force. 

 As we know, the Renshad Empire has mines that produce magic stones, we ask that you resolve this with your Empire’s own resources. 

When they mentioned responding with force, the Emperor crumpled the letter and threw it to the floor. 

 “What about the sailing ship technicians?” 

 “Without sufficient magic stones, they’re stuck at the framework stage.” 

 “But we’re short on technicians. It seems we’ll need to find more.” 

 “Post a recruitment notice. No, order the knights who went North to bring back technicians.” 

 Anyone would follow the Emperor’s call. With appropriate compensation to be given, he thought the technician problem would be resolved quickly. 

 ‘Ah, I should quickly report that they’ve arrived in the North.’ 

 The advisor straightened his posture as if remembering something he’d forgotten. 

 But before he could speak, the Emperor learned that the divine beast had arrived in the North. 

 Though somewhat late, the Emperor felt relieved. With the divine beast accompanying them, finding Isabelle would be quick. 

 ‘Sending Isabelle to Kvarando wouldn’t be bad either.’ 

 He already had Narankas’s sailing ship blueprints in hand, so now he just needed to send Isabelle where needed. 

 He remembered hearing that Kvarando’s king had two children. While it would be a shame to send Isabelle away completely, it would be fine to test the waters and make a deal. 

 “Your Majesty, and the divine beast has arrived in the North.” 

 The Emperor gestured for him to continue speaking. The advisor watched his reaction as he continued. 

 “It seems they haven’t found the holy power tree. Perhaps due to heavy snow, they couldn’t find any traces.” 

 “Tell them one holy power tree is enough. We’ve been to the North before but never found any, so there must not be any.” 

 The important thing now was magic stones. He was anxious because they needed to look elsewhere. 

 “Find ways to obtain magic stones.” 

 “Yes, I’ll look into it right away.” 

 Though he said that, the advisor knew they couldn’t get them the way the Emperor wanted. He was getting a headache. 

 ‘It might be possible through illegal routes but……’ 

 “No matter the cost, inform me if you find somewhere that can supply magic stones.” 

 “……Yes, yes!” 

 The advisor seemed to realize what he’d been thinking and tried to erase the thought. The Emperor nodded at him, no longer able to read his inner thoughts. 

 “By the way, hasn’t the Grand Duke noticed?” 

 “He went around the mountain range, so he shouldn’t know.” 

 The Emperor couldn’t understand why he felt no presence at all. 

 “Send a message ordering them to search thoroughly, as they must be in the North.” 

 Suddenly he felt a power similar to the divine beast. It was very similar to when he had forced it to submit. 

 ‘Surely they haven’t made a contract with the divine beast.’ 

 The Emperor was anxious. Since Isabelle had abilities, she could contract with the divine beast. 

 The Emperor had forced the divine beast to submit when he couldn’t win its heart, but with Isabelle it would be different. 

 She was born with the ability to capture people’s hearts. Her beautiful face and pure golden hair made anyone who saw her gasp in admiration. 

 The moment they saw her eyes pretending innocence, their reason would disappear. 

 He was the one who had raised Isabelle that way. He had raised her to be loved by everyone. 

 He hadn’t known it would come back to bite him. 

 ‘I spoiled her too much.’ 

 When he brought her back this time, he would have to teach her properly. 

 She could have abilities because she inherited his blood. 

 If she had just quietly married the Grand Duke, these complicated matters might not have happened. 

 To think he had to deal with two such arrogant people. 

 “Prepare for Isabelle’s return with the divine beast.” 

 “……Yes, my lord.” 

 The Emperor’s golden eyes flashed as he gestured for the advisor to leave. 

 He had a feeling he would need to take action soon. 

 ❖ ❖ ❖ 

 Cedric and I took our positions to receive the guests. 

 If Father hadn’t sent the divine beast, we wouldn’t have had to go this far. 

 I finally decided to join Cedric’s plan. Though there were risks, with the divine beast present, monster traps alone wouldn’t be enough to bind them. 

 So I waited with Dame Alita for the knights, ready to guide them into the trap. 

 There was no problem since the animals were giving us real-time updates on their movements. 

 “Kyu!” (They’re here, they’re here!) 

 When the knights reached the marked position, the rabbit hopped over to me. 

 Then it wiggled its bottom as if ready to dash out at any moment. 

 “Not yet, wait a little longer.” 

 At my words, the rabbit perked up its ears and its red eyes sparkled. 

 ‘I hear footsteps.’ 

 Since they would be getting closer soon, I nodded at the rabbit. 

 The rabbit immediately hopped toward the white bear waiting in position. 

 “Kyu, kyu!” (Now!) 

 At the rabbit’s urging, the white bear suddenly appeared. The knights coming over the snowy hill saw the white bear and stepped back in surprise. 

 “A-a white bear!” 

 “Don’t retreat. We have the divine beast.” 

 “Grrrroar!” (Yes, I’m a white bear. You need to go that way!) 

 The white bear roared, trying to drive the knights toward the pre-discussed path. 

 I felt relieved when I confirmed the divine beast standing before the knights. There was one dragon that I had seen before. 

 The dragon, exhaling steam, lifted its head and looked around as if sensing my energy. It seemed to be looking for me. 

 ‘It’s me. I need your help.’ 

 Communicating with divine beasts was possible without speaking aloud. So I hoped my thoughts would reach it. 

 ‘……It’s that human from before. Why should I help you?’ 

 Fortunately, the dragon responded to me. I looked at the dragon with sparkling golden eyes. 

 The knights, tense because of the white bear, were still in a standoff. 

 ‘Because it will give you a chance to break free from the Emperor.’ 

 The dragon looked at the knight pulling its reins in front. 

 ‘Human, tell me what to do.’ 

 ‘Thank you. Just follow where the white bear leads. There will be a trap. You need to fall into the pit.’ 

 ‘Simple enough.’ 

 ‘Sorry, but you’ll need to fall in with them. That way they won’t be suspicious.’ 

 The dragon exhaled steam. Though it didn’t seem pleased, it appeared interested in the chance to mess with the knights who were treating it roughly. 

 ‘Alright then, run wild!’ 

 At my words, the dragon began flapping its wings. 

 “Ah, ah! Calm down! His Majesty said there wouldn’t be any problems.” 

 “Grrrroar!” (Run humans! Run for your lives!) 

 The white bear put on quite a show. Soon after, a leopard appeared and charged at the knights. 

 “Roar!” (Still not running?) 

 Only after the leopard appeared did the knights scatter in panic. Even the divine beast was startled and flew up into the sky. 

 “Aaaack! Aack!” 

 “This, use this……” 

 Thud—

 The golden object in the knight’s hand fell onto the snow. The white bear and leopard looked at each other and chased after the knights with excitement. 

 “Kyu! Kyu!” (They’re heading toward the trap.) 

 The rabbit hopped excitedly. Alita was still staring at the white bear running in the distance, seemingly amazed by what she was seeing. 

 “His Highness the Grand Duke might feel a bit deflated when he finds out.” 

 “His Highness planned this, didn’t he? I just helped a little.” 

 Father sent the divine beast, so I just took appropriate measures in response. 

 “His Highness the Grand Duke said he would bring knights as soon as he heard the sound.” 

 “We just need to wait a little longer.” 

 I nodded while looking at the hawk in the sky. 

 “Screech!” (The trap is close!) 

 At the hawk’s words, I brushed off my skirt and stood up. My work was done, now I just needed to wait. 

 “Dame Alita, let’s head back to the Grand Duke’s residence now.” 

 “What? But we haven’t confirmed if they’ve fallen into the trap yet.” 

 “It’s fine.” 

 I smiled and walked ahead toward the Grand Duke’s residence. Alita looked back several times anxiously. 

 “Now.” 

 Along with my words, 

 “Aaaack!” 

 A scream was heard from behind us.