“…What are they doing?”

Jurgen’s gaze, which had been silently turning pages of documents while sitting in the office chair, suddenly turned towards the window.

In response to that voice, tinged with a strange longing and irritation rather than genuine curiosity, his aide Millard raised an eyebrow and answered nonchalantly.

“It seems Her Highness Princess Vanessa is about to demonstrate divine words. Everyone must be curious about the divine words of life. I’d like to go see it too.”

“……”

Jurgen merely ignored Millard’s questioning look that seemed to ask, ‘Aren’t you curious?’

Watching Jurgen, who couldn’t take his eyes off the window despite his attitude, Millard inwardly clicked his tongue and snatched the documents from his hand.

As Jurgen frowned and turned around, Millard waved the documents in his hand and said calmly.

“Go and see, I’ll finish reviewing these.”

“…No, I need to investigate this myself. Give it back.”

“Isn’t it just a matter of looking over the records of the Blessed Ones for the past 50 years? What’s so difficult about that?”

“It’s not just about looking it over. I need to find out if there are traces of intentional concealment.”

“With Vüs’s power?”

“Yes.”

As soon as the documents were handed back, his eyes glowed with a brilliant golden light. Staring intently at the stigmata that appeared in them, Millard cautiously posed a question.

“…Is the reason you want to marry Her Highness because you foresaw that she would receive Vinea’s blessing?”

Very rarely, the Blessed Ones experience a phenomenon called foresight. Commonly referred to as future vision, but strictly speaking, it’s a kind of oracle, closer to the god whispering in advance about major events that will occur in the future.

Millard had been curious for a while. What was the reason Jurgen wanted to marry the queen of a fallen country?

If he had known her value in advance through God’s grace…

“It’s not like that. The fact that she received a blessing is not important.”

“…Then why? Have you really fallen for Her Highness?”

No sooner had he probed lightly than a sharp gaze flew at him like an arrow. Millard shrugged, avoiding his gaze. Geez, what can’t I say? After keeping his mouth shut for a moment, he skillfully changed the subject.

“I’ve finished my share of the work, but if there’s nothing else you need help with, may I take a short break? I want to see it too. The divine words of life that Her Highness will demonstrate.”

“……”

Of course, asking for permission in a subtly teasing tone was intentional. Jurgen remained silent for an alarmingly long time before answering with what sounded like a sigh.

“Fine. Go take a break.”

“Thank you.”

Millard bowed with a grin and left the office with a triumphant gait. Perhaps because he had succeeded in teasing Jurgen like a younger brother for the first time in a while, he felt good.

He suddenly recalled the time when he first met Jurgen.

[You’re the leader of this mercenary group? You?]

[I’m Jurgen Drake. You filthy drifter.]

[Who are you calling a filthy drifter? I’ll have you know I’m the second son of House Graven.]

At that time, Jurgen was in the midst of his growth spurt, so he was shorter than Millard, who was an adult. Nevertheless, he was exuding a tremendous aura.

Millard was convinced that this boy mercenary would become great. So he joined Jurgen’s mercenary group, volunteering as a strategist while also taking charge of accounting duties.

The reason he looked after and cared for Jurgen like a younger brother was probably because he overlapped him with his own dead younger brother.

Of course, Jurgen was someone who didn’t need anyone’s care at all, without a single cute aspect…

Still, Millard stubbornly thought of him as a younger brother.

It was the same with the princess. Of course, he was concerned about the love life of someone he considered a younger brother.

‘There’s definitely something between the princess and Jurgen, but Jurgen keeps his true feelings tightly hidden and doesn’t reveal them.’

Jurgen had a strangely defensive aspect when it came to his own heart, especially his deep inner feelings.

Perhaps that’s why. It was quite refreshing to see him react differently than usual when it came to matters related to the princess.

‘I guess I should have insisted on bringing her out after all… Hm?’

Millard stopped in his tracks as he was walking down the corridor. A familiar figure was rushing towards him. It was one of the knights who had been sent far away to investigate Escal Drake’s whereabouts.

“Mr Aide!”

At that urgent voice, Millard instinctively felt a bad premonition. Wiping the smile off his face, he opened his mouth with a rather serious attitude.

“Yes, what is it?”

After receiving the search results report from the knight, Millard also relayed the detailed contents to Jurgen.

“Escal has taken refuge with the family of the former Duchess of Drake. The Count of Frambert family, that is.”

“……”

“And somehow, he seems to be receiving considerable support from that family, though I don’t know how he managed to persuade them.”

The rhythmic tapping of fingers on the desk suddenly stopped.

A twisted, clearly mocking sneer appeared on Jurgen’s lips.

“The Frambert family has been suspicious of Your Grace for a while. They’ve been saying that the death of the former duchess couldn’t possibly have been an accident.”

“……”

“But… ‘that’ was indeed an accident, wasn’t it? Because that wasn’t our original plan.”

The former Duchess, Livia Frambert, died in a carriage accident while being exiled to a convent, bearing the dishonor of having committed adultery with a bard.

The public whispered that Jurgen must have killed her, but it wasn’t true. It was really an unfortunate accident. No, should we consider it fortunate…

“She died too comfortably for the punishment of the crime she committed. According to the original plan, she should have lived being treated worse than a serf in the convent and died miserably.”

Jurgen quietly agreed with Millard’s words, which were accompanied by a sigh.

The revenge he wanted wasn’t such a convenient accidental death, but a miserable end worse than that of a sewer rat.

In the end, all he managed to inflict on Livia Frambert was the shame of having committed adultery with a bard… It couldn’t be called perfect revenge.

“Anyway, no matter what explanation we give about that ‘accidental death’, they won’t believe us. Escal must have lured the Frambert family by claiming that Livia’s death was Your Grace’s doing. What he’s trying to do is probably…”

“…To strike at me under the pretext of avenging the Frambert family on their behalf.”

“That seems to be the case. …Well, if His Majesty the Emperor steps in, it would be an issue easily silenced, but we shouldn’t rely entirely on His Majesty’s power for everything. If Your Grace, as the master of the North, doesn’t pacify this directly, House Drake will find it difficult to gain the true support of the Northerners.”

Jurgen agreed in silence. Although it hadn’t been long since he destroyed Terevron, he would have to stain his hands with human blood again, but there was no helping it. It seemed to be his fate to never be free from the smell of blood throughout his life.

“…We’ll have to move up the schedule to return to the territory. And…”

“Yes, I’ll also prepare for any possible ambushes on the way back.”

He was used to fighting anyway. If the opponent wanted to see blood, all he had to do was oblige.

✦ ✦ ✦

“It’s really amazing. Ever since Her Highness bestowed the divine words on me yesterday, I’ve been feeling incredibly energetic.”

Garcia said, stretching his body with large movements. Vanessa just glared at him with narrowed eyes and clicked her tongue, without saying a word in response.

Yesterday, because Garcia had been so noisy, insisting that he ‘couldn’t believe it without experiencing it firsthand,’ Vanessa had to use the divine words on this annoying chatterbox as well.

The most basic divine word that Vanessa could use was to grant vitality to the target, improving overall bodily functions and curing minor ailments like indigestion or headaches. It also seemed to have the effect of preventing common illnesses like colds.

However, it was still unknown how long the effect would last. They would have to wait and see.

“About this vitality divine word, it would be great if it could last at least three days. It would be a big help when we set out for the Northern Front. Now that I think about it, Her Highness is truly a sai… Ouch!”

Vanessa kicked Garcia in the shin, meaning for him to stop chattering, and glared at him fiercely.

Unaware of Vanessa’s displeased feelings, Garcia just made a pitiful face and looked wronged.

“But I was just about to praise Your Highness, why did you suddenly hit me?”

“Be quiet for a bit. I have a headache.”

“If you have a headache, you could use the divine words yourself…”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Vanessa sighed deeply and got into the carriage, followed by Renee and Garcia, who boarded while watching her mood carefully.

It was quite unexpected that Jurgen had casually granted Vanessa’s request to visit the villa where she had stayed as a child before leaving the Imperial City.

Thanks to that, she was able to go out like this, but… Vanessa glanced down at her left wrist, briefly exposed under her long sleeve. A golden bracelet emitting a soft light. It was what Jurgen had put on her wrist as a ‘condition.’

‘This is nothing but handcuffs. That damn man…’

This bracelet was a magical item imbued with tracking magic, and Vanessa could never remove it by her own will. Only one person could remove it: Jurgen.

It was truly handcuffs to restrain her freedom. Vanessa was very upset, but she endured it patiently because she really wanted to visit the villa where she had stayed as a child.

‘Just you wait, Jurgen Drake. If you put handcuffs on me, I’ll put a leash on you.’

Vanessa’s navy blue eyes burned bright blue. Her plan to somehow draw this insolent man who put such handcuffs on her to her side was still valid. After all, that was how she could build the foundation for her revenge against Declan.