The moment Steward Taleon’s gaze fell on her, Elliope felt a sharp sting, as if she had been stabbed with a needle. She took a deep breath. 

“Tsk, the so-called legitimate wife…”
“Baron, she might be nearby. What if she hears us?”
“Let her hear. His Grace is in frail health, so securing an heir is urgent.”
“But hasn’t he said he’ll accept no one but Princess Leanne?”
“It’s the Grand Duchess’s duty to seduce him and fulfill her responsibility as his wife!”

He had always been one of those who found fault with Elliope at every opportunity. The Baron and his wife, the head maid, took turns criticising her. 

“Your Grace, you’ve come all the way to the far north to be a bride, and yet you struggle to complete a single piece of northern embroidery?” 

“I am sorry. I haven’t had time to learn embroidery properly.” 

“Ah, I heard you were born out of wedlock?”

“……” 

Her words had always been sharp and her contempt for her unmistakable. 

“Well, it’s no surprise. Hands that washed rags and scrubbed the palace floors every day wouldn’t be suited for embroidery.”
“Oh dear, Stewardess, you’re going to embarrass the Grand Duchess.”
“Did I say anything wrong? Her hands are far too rough to befit a princess. It seems I was slow to realize it.”

The fact that she was the Grand Duchess had only ever given them a reason to attack her. It would likely be the same this time.

‘I must not let myself be swept away.’

Though she had been dragged back here, she was determined not to endure the same humiliations again.

As Elliope rubbed at the stinging sensation in her chest and tried to steel herself to meet Baron Taleon’s gaze directly, the man, who had been relentlessly hurling criticism and insults at the baron, turned his attention to Elliope and Kallian.

“And who do we have here?”

He was as tall as Kallian, but more slenderly built. 

With light, wheat-coloured hair and deep brown eyes, the man possessed an almost androgynous beauty, though every word he spoke was sharp and biting. 

“I heard you openly clashed with our side yesterday, Dog of Ilmos?” 

Elliope belatedly recognised his accent. It matched the tone of the curses hurled at her and Kallian as they raced through the gorge the day before. 

“So you’ve been quiet for a while. Is this what you’ve been up to, hmm?” 

“…….” 

“I heard you had a woman with you.” 

The man, continuing his mocking approach, suddenly turned his gaze to Elliope. 

“Have you finally developed a taste for women?” 

As the man’s sharp gaze lingered on her, Kallian tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. 

“Your vulgar manners remain unchanged, Ambassador.” 

“Vulgar? Coming from a brute like you, who resorts to swinging swords instead of settling matters through words and negotiations…” 

“Words and negotiations, you say.” 

A faint mocking smile tugged at the corner of Kallian’s lips. His eyes turned cold, the same icy gaze that reminded Elliope of how he had looked at her in her former life. She winced involuntarily. 

“How long has the Seor embassy been established here? Three months? Half a year?” 

“And what about it?” 

“Ah, so it’s been half a year. At that time, you ambushed us as ruthlessly as you did yesterday, attacking our side without provocation. Although, admittedly, it was your side that suffered the losses.” 

The so-called ambassador’s brow furrowed, irritation flickering across his face. 

But Kallian didn’t stop. 

“And when brute force failed, your side, like the defeated cowards you are, came crawling under the pretence of settling things with words – offering to establish an embassy here for ‘diplomacy’.” 

“…….” 

“And now it was your side that set up an ambush in the borderlands to try and slaughter me.” 

“What?” 

“And when that failed, here you are again, scurrying back to accuse us of not knowing how to settle things with words.” 

“Well, look at that.” 

The Ambassador grinned openly, his lips curling in mockery. 

“Didn’t you usually keep your mouth shut, as if someone had glued it shut, no matter what I said, Kallian Icerick?” 

His gaze shifted back to Elliope and lingered there with pointed intent. 

“But in front of your wife, you…” 

Thud! 

Before he could finish, a sharp noise pierced the air. 

The ambassador staggered back slightly, his mocking words cut off in mid-sentence.

The next moment, the Ambassador was sprawled on the floor. 

It had happened so quickly that no one present could tell how or why he had fallen. Blood was already trickling from the corner of the Seor Ambassador’s split lip. 

“Cough!” 

“If you can’t control your reckless tongue, you should be more careful, Ambassador of Seor.”

“And you think you can do this to me, an ambassador of a sovereign state…!” 

“Do you really think you can insult Her Highness, Princess of the Kartan Imperial Family, without repercussions? If you want to escalate this into a diplomatic incident, be my guest.” 

At these words, not only did the ambassador freeze, but even Baron Taleon, who had been watching their heated exchange with a satisfied grin, stiffened. 

Baron Taleon’s eyes slowly shifted to Elliope, who was standing there, wrapped in the oversized cloak. 

A few servants watching the scene quickly scurried away, presumably to report the situation elsewhere. 

“Then… could she be… the one who was reported missing yesterday…?”

Taleon murmured, his voice tinged with realisation as he pieced it together. 

“…….” 

“Her Highness, Princess Leanne?” 

Elliope jumped at the name. Come to think of it, everyone in the Grand Duke’s mansion must have been expecting Leanne. 

What came next made her let out an involuntary, bitter laugh. 

“The servants have been desperately searching for Your Highness. Even His Grace the Grand Duke personally organised a search party…” 

“Ah, no wonder.”

The ambassador snarled, his tone dripping with contempt as he rose to his feet.

“This usurper of Ilmos refused to grant me an audience.” 

He spat out the words as if they left a bad taste in his mouth, then turned away, clearly irritated. Perhaps he had realised that he had no chance of winning this argument in the current situation. After all, he had insulted the Empire first – or more precisely, its princess. 

And now everyone here believed that Elliope was Princess Leanne. 

“I will return for an official visit another time.”

No one looked at him as he walked away. All eyes were on Elliope, cloaked and standing still as the air around her grew heavier with her gaze. 

‘So they didn’t say anything.’ 

The fact that the servants were desperately searching for her meant that her maids had already arrived at the Grand Duke’s estate. Yet the Duke’s vassals still believed her to be Leanne, which could only mean that her maids hadn’t informed them properly. 

Elliope stifled the crooked smile that threatened to tug at her lips. 

‘I’ll be the one left in an awkward position when the truth finally comes out.’ 

Had even Emma decided not to speak? 

Perhaps she had been intimidated by the other maids. Emma had always supported her indirectly, keeping her actions subtle and cautious. 

Remembering how Emma’s last act of kindness had ended, Elliope felt lost in the fog of her memories once again. 

“Please wait a moment. We’ll notify His Grace the Grand Duke immediately -” 

“Steward Taleon.” 

Kallian’s voice cut through, stopping the steward in mid-sentence.

Baron Taleon, eager to fulfil his duties, was stopped by Kallian. 

“I will accompany her.”

Kallian said, his voice firm. 

As he spoke, he placed a light hand on Elliope’s shoulder, causing her to almost jump. His gesture seemed to be to prevent her from running away before meeting the Grand Duke. 

‘So this is how it ends.’ 

A wave of despair washed over her as she instinctively looked up at him. 

‘…?’

Kallian was staring at her again with that strange expression, as if studying her reactions. The intensity in his eyes made Elliope swallow involuntarily. 

‘Why does this thought cross my mind?’ 

“Are you ready to meet His Grace?” 

Even his question felt deliberate, as if he was watching her for something.    

A fleeting spark seemed to flicker deep in Kallian’s eyes, so quickly that Elliope wasn’t sure if she’d actually seen it or just imagined it. 

“I…” 

“This way, this way!” 

Before Elliope could properly answer, Baron Taleon hurriedly gestured for Kallian to follow, eager to lead the way. 

Kallian gave the Baron a cold, almost chilling look before turning his gaze back to Elliope. 

“Are you ready to continue, Your Highness?” 

His expression seemed to ask her again, as if gauging her response. Just as Elliope opened her mouth to reply – 

Bang! 

“Your Highness!” 

“Oh, thank heaven! We were so worried!” 

A flurry of skirts and anxious voices filled the hall as Emma and several other maids rushed towards Elliope, their faces pale with relief. They must have heard the news from the servants who had fled earlier. 

Everyone looked completely dishevelled. It was clear that they had been driven to the brink of madness, probably fearing the consequences of losing the princess. 

“Your Highness!” 

“Princess, Your Highness!” 

Even the maids, who normally found her annoying or a nuisance, were now making a fuss, much like Emma. 

“Emma.” 

“You’re safe! After being taken like that yesterday…” 

Emma approached Elliope cautiously, her pupils trembling slightly as she spoke. Her voice dropped to a whisper, so low that only Elliope could hear it. 

“Your Highness, your clothes…” 

She asked, of course, when Elliope had changed. After all, a princess kidnapped by a man who returned in different clothes was bound to raise questions. 

Elliope couldn’t help but smile as Emma’s trembling gaze shifted to Kallian. Her sharp intake of breath was audible even to Elliope. 

“You’re the kidnapper from yesterday…”

Emma began, but before she could finish her sentence – 

Clink. 

The sound of armour shifting echoed through the hall. The knights of Ilmos Grand Manor were approaching, their steps synchronised and purposeful. 

Sensing what was about to happen, Elliope’s body instinctively stiffened. Kallian, who felt her tension through the hand on her shoulder, looked down at her without a word. 

Step. Step. Step. Step. 

Several heavily armed knights marched in with perfect discipline, their presence imposing and undeniable. Baron Taleon and the other servants stepped aside to make way, their deference obvious. 

Elliope’s maids, overwhelmed by the sheer gravity of the moment, retreated instinctively, parting like the sea to allow the knights to pass. 

Swish. 

The leader of the knights stepped forward, his polished armour gleaming in the light, and the room fell into an even deeper silence, the tension thick enough to cut with a blade. 

The knights came to a halt, then stepped aside one by one to form a path. Walking through the line of armoured men was a man she knew only too well. 

“So, Kallian.” 

A familiar and utterly despicable voice echoed through the hall. 

“I heard a man had kidnapped the princess, so I was prepared to go to war if necessary.” 

“…….” 

“But now I see you’ve gone and brought Her Highness back to me, haven’t you?”

Flowing hair of a deep, rich blue and black eyes with a faint but undeniable cruelty. 

He was dressed in formal attire, far different from his usual appearance, the ancestral sword of the Grand Duke’s family hanging at his side. 

The man she had once loved. 

The man who had humiliated her, who had slept with other women, and who had died in her bedchamber with another woman at his side. 

“Your Highness.”

He said, parting the gathered crowd as he stepped forward to stand before her. 

“Theodor of Ilmos of the Ilmos Territory greets Your Highness.”