<To the esteemed Crown Prince Kaiden Istazio,

Thanks to the now pleasantly warm weather, pink blossoms are falling in the Crient Territory.

Fortunately, arrangements have been made to import food from Bellenios, which borders Istazio to the east.

The main items are flour, cornmeal, and potatoes to be cultivated in Istazio’s farms.

If there are no major issues with cultivation, it should be enough to feed about 3 million people for four months.

This way, even if wheat production drops by half, we can somewhat mitigate the impact.

Our preparations are proceeding smoothly, so all that remains is for Your Highness to successfully navigate the tasks ahead.

If you need anything, please communicate with me through a letter.

Until we meet again, I wish you good health.

― From a citizen of Istazio, Ellen Crient.>

“To actually import that much food…”

Kaiden looked at the letter in his hand with astonished eyes.

Who would go to another country and import such an amount of food based solely on personal predictions?

Moreover, the fact that this was accomplished in such a short time meant that she had already gathered all the information and accurately selected her targets.

What kind of information and how much of it does she have in her head to make such judgments possible?

“Her ability to execute is truly remarkable.”

Kaiden opened the drawer where he kept stationery and envelopes.

“Then, in respect of that ability, I should write a reply….”

He dipped the pen in ink and began to write a reply in a very elegant script.

<I gratefully accept your kindness. Let us meet at the previous hotel as soon as possible.

― Kaiden Istazio.>

He poured wax in a habitual motion, then tilted his head at a sense of déjà vu.

Something seemed to be on the verge of coming to mind.

Kaiden frowned slightly and looked closely at the envelope.

‘Now that I think about it, Lady Crient’s….’

He finally realized the source of the déjà vu he felt.

He had recently seen something faint like this, and his thoughts soon connected to the fact that Ellen’s hair was exactly this color.

‘That woman manages to make her presence known even in such a subtle way.’

He dropped the seal with a thud, thinking of Ellen, who had been a source of stress for him lately.

How could such a distinctly present woman have lived so quietly and unnoticeably until now?

What should he do with this woman full of mysteries?

With such thoughts, Kaiden finished sealing the letter.

Just then, the sound of the chamberlain returning after finishing some errands was heard as the door opened.

“Ah, just in time. Go and send this off.”

Kaiden ignored the chamberlain’s loud protests—Your Highness, your posture! What if someone sees!—and got straight to the point.

“The letter. Now. Quickly.”

He pointed with the pen he held to the corner where the letter was placed.

The chamberlain eventually went out to send the letter with a tearful face, and a few days later, a note arrived at the Crown Prince’s palace.

<At the usual place.>

A letter written with just four words, much shorter than what Kaiden had sent.

* * *

The expressions of the knights, swept up in the Crown Prince’s tyranny and helping with his unofficial outing today, were not very good.

“When will His Highness ever give up this recklessness….”

Sir Cheshire Terriard grumbled, intending for everyone to hear.

“Stop the irreverent talk and endure, Ted.”

Sir Coenheim Morris scolded him.

However, he too did not deny that the Crown Prince was an incredibly reckless person.

“…Both of you are quite disloyal as subjects. I’m not going out to do anything bad; I have my reasons for the empire.”

“But, Your Highness, while you say that, do you not consider us, the subjects of this empire?”

Terriard exclaimed in disbelief at Kaiden’s supposedly sharp retort.

He kept complaining that it was tearful to have a superior who called them at whim, regardless of holidays. He continued to grumble until Morris, unable to bear it, said a word.

“Please, Your Highness. It’s not too late even now!”

“Terriard!”

“…Alright, both of you stop.”

Kaiden sighed, exhausted.

Regardless of the commotion inside, the carriage heading to its destination soon arrived at the meeting place.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

As the carriage stopped, a neatly dressed man stepped out, opening the carriage door.

The man glanced around briefly and met the eyes of a woman sitting on the hotel terrace.

“Oh, Ted?”

Ellen called out to him in surprise, and he smiled with a sunny expression, as if forgetting the quarrel inside the carriage.

“Ellen.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve met like this.”

“Indeed. Last time, we weren’t in a situation to exchange greetings.”

Terriard offered his arm for escort with a gentle smile.

“I sent a letter, didn’t I? I’ve come to pick you up.”

The Cheshire family had frequent interactions with the Crient family.

As a result, they had many opportunities to meet from a young age, and the Cheshire siblings were close enough to be called Ellen’s childhood friends.

“I wondered if you were with His Highness last time, and it seems you’re here again today.”

Ellen remarked with a small admiration, placing her hand on his arm. Terriard raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

“Not by choice, but since I got to see you, it doesn’t matter.”

“Not by choice. Such tyranny.”

“I’m fine. Let’s go. His Highness is waiting.”

He carefully held the hand placed on his arm, just as he had done when they were young.

Upon reaching the carriage, Terriard lifted Ellen into the empty seat.

“Ted?”

“Why? Did you get hurt somewhere?”

“No. I just wanted to tell you that I’m now old enough to get into a carriage by myself.”

“Haha, alright. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Thinking she was teasing, Terriard chuckled and replied.

Sitting beside Ellen, he instructed the coachman to start.

The carriage running on the paved road moved smoothly without any jolts.

Ellen looked at the person sitting across the narrow space in the middle of the carriage, the one who had summoned her to the capital.

“Your Highness. Have you been well?”

“I’m always healthy. You must have had a hard time traveling such a long distance. How was it? Was it okay?”

“Yes. It was enjoyable.”

Seeing him subtly inquiring about her journey to Bellenios, it seemed he was curious about the details of the negotiation.

Ellen suppressed a smile.

‘The more curious he is, the better. He’ll value me more.’

Ellen simply gave a bright smile and changed the subject.

“But Your Highness. May I ask why you called me?”

“Ah, about that….”

Kaiden, who had been leaning against the carriage backrest, lightly pushed himself forward to sit upright.

He opened the lid of the carriage seat and handed over a bundle of papers.

“It’s based on the information you provided before, and I’d like you to point out any promising places or priorities.”

“Ah.”

Ellen lightly exclaimed and flipped through the bundle of papers she received.

Oh, they caught this. They only found out up to here. There’s a gap here. Why isn’t that there? Did they fail to find it entirely…?

As Ellen read through the investigation report, Kaiden added a brief explanation about it.

“We started from the bottom of the organization, but despite the volume, we didn’t catch any substantial core information.”

“It seems so.”

When she seriously agreed that the report lacked substance, Kaiden’s expression turned a bit odd.

“…Hmm. So what I want to ask you is to release any other high-level information you know before more time passes. Not small bits like last time, but something big.”

“What do you mean by something big?”

“Information close enough to reach the person you refer to as the mastermind.”

“That would be dangerous.”

“It will be even more dangerous if we keep licking the surface until the fruit is fully ripe.”

“If something happens to Your Highness, it will be a great loss to me as well. Please proceed safely.”

When Ellen indirectly refused, Kaiden sighed.

“Lady Crient.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“If you intend to delay like this, why did you show me such things in the first place? Did you think I would let them run rampant indefinitely?”

“…….”

“If, as I mentioned before, you’re refusing because you think you need to keep some leverage.”

He searched his pockets and pulled out a small case.

A very small case, likely containing a ring.

“Let this be the substitute for that leverage.”

Ellen silently accepted the box handed to her.

It was a familiar shape.

Seeing something familiar, it seemed like an item she had seen somewhere.

Unable to clearly recall what it was, Ellen opened the box right there.

A thick, dark green velvet cloth laid to protect the item was visible.

And in between, there was a ring set with a slightly old-looking red gemstone.

“…Is this… from the imperial family?”

“It’s a treasure of the imperial family. Originally, it would belong to the Crown Princess.”

“Why are you giving me something like this…?”

“I said it was the price for the information you provide. If you have this, at least you won’t have to worry about leverage. Cheshire and Coenheim here are witnesses.”

“…….”

Ellen was at a loss for words at his unexpected consideration.

Her face hardened at the fragment of the past she had unwillingly confronted.

‘For this ring to return to me in this life as well.’

To her, it was an unforgettable item.