Three hours before Carlisle summoned Roelia to the cabin.

Carlisle received Kuz’s report. The mention of a curse on the divine beast that he heard in a Wintergrass tavern struck him as suspicious, and he ordered Kuz to investigate. It was no easy thing for the spies embedded in Wintergrass to make contact out at sea, but it was possible because Kuz was a mage.

“The phrase ‘the Wintergrass divine beast has been cursed’ originated from the imperial palace?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain it was the imperial palace that used the word ‘curse’?”

“Yes. It is a rumor spread by agents working for the Duke of Carpes, who came out of the imperial palace.”

The moment Kuz finished speaking, the expression drained from Carlisle’s face. Kuz stepped back a pace and waited while Carlisle read through his report. When the pages stopped turning, Maili, who was watching, added her own thoughts.

“It does not seem like a common expression. For the same word that spread through Astrux to be circulating in Wintergrass as well.”

“That is true.”

The sound of a finger tapping the desk continued. With Carlisle lost in thought, neither Kuz nor Maili could speak.

How much time passed?

The steady tapping stopped, and Carlisle raised his head, his eyes gleaming with sharp intensity.

“Find the traitor within the empire.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Maili answered immediately. But Carlisle did not stop there.

“Since the word leaked from the Wintergrass imperial palace, there must be a connection to Astrux as well.”

“Of course. Has she not always insisted that Your Majesty must certainly be under a curse? It cannot be a coincidence.”

“Naturally, the Empress Dowager is the first to be investigated.”

In two days they would arrive in Astrux. Some of his knights, having received word, were already waiting at the harbor, and Carlisle’s party planned to move to the imperial palace in secret.

“And Eli?”

“She is on the deck.”

“She likes the sea.”

Carlisle liked the sea as well. Looking out at the open, unobstructed horizon in particular had a way of bringing him a peace of mind he could not quite explain. The sea was the one refuge that kept the noise of his thoughts at bay.

“What is that maid doing?”

Kuz answered the question that followed about Cecil.

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Is that so?”

“Since boarding the ship, she has shown no sign of attempting to contact anyone outside. She does nothing but hover around Lady Eli.”

Kuz answered promptly. Even so, Carlisle found himself vaguely unsettled by Cecil in a way he could not quite name. She felt like someone who did not fit into his plans. It was only a feeling, but there were times when this irrational sense saved his life, and so Carlisle did not lower his guard.

‘Is it truly nothing more than coincidence upon coincidence?’

He could not let his guard down to this extent. He knew Kuz’s investigation could not be wrong, but Carlisle was not so easily reassured. The woman named Cecil, who never left Roelia’s side, grated on him right now.

Even if she were a maid devoted entirely to Roelia, that was a problem. There was no telling when she might whisper in Roelia’s ear and plant the idea of returning to the Wintergrass Empire.

“Well.”

A sudden thought made Carlisle’s expression harden. Roelia held the power of the divine beast, which made her the rightful heir to the Wintergrass imperial throne.

If such a person were to take refuge in the Astrux Empire, Wintergrass could end up absorbed into Astrux. But thinking of it the other way, those who sought Roelia out would also begin to emerge.

The expression left Carlisle’s face.

Right now Roelia was in the position of a fugitive, but if it became known that the emperor who inherited the Wintergrass imperial throne was half-witted, the situation would certainly change.

“Kuz.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Did the new emperor of Wintergrass say she would send an envoy after the coronation ceremony?”

“No word has come yet. However, Your Majesty, since you crossed paths with the Duke of Carpes at the harbor, will Wintergrass not be sending an envoy before long?”

“I suppose so.”

Whether that envoy delegation would be coming to attend the new Wintergrass emperor’s coronation and convey their congratulations, or whether they would be infiltrating the empire to carry out some other scheme, that remained to be seen.

On top of that, with this confrontation, could he properly protect Roelia, whom the Duke of Carpes pursued, within the Astrux imperial palace?

‘She needs a status that even a foreign duke cannot lay a hand on.’

An ordinary noble or an escort mage could disappear from the Astrux imperial palace at any time without raising suspicion.

There were those who vanished at Carlisle’s hand, and those who vanished at the Empress Dowager’s hand. Surviving in an imperial palace where two factions stood in tense opposition was no easy thing for someone of ordinary standing.

“The position of Empress is vacant.”

Kuz and Maili heard the quiet murmur and their eyes went wide in surprise. But they had nothing they could say, and so they chose to stay silent. It was a well-known story within the Astrux imperial palace that Carlisle openly declared he would choose his own Empress, and that this sparked a war of words between him and the Empress Dowager.

More than anything else, Carlisle was unyielding on the matter of the Empress, and no one could compel him. The Empress Dowager, wielding her formidable power, pressed him, but nothing changed. She ultimately resorted to pressuring nobles into not sending their daughters to Carlisle, and as a result, the number of nobles claiming neutrality grew.

‘If the one who holds the Wintergrass divine beast becomes Empress, it would be no different from a merger between Astrux and Wintergrass.’

Whatever Roelia’s own intentions might be, they were not what mattered to Carlisle right now. He would not have brought Roelia along if it had not been to the benefit of the Astrux Empire.

“Her status is that of imperial blood, so even the Empress Dowager would have no grounds to find fault with her breeding.”

Kuz, unable to endure any more as Carlisle continued, let out the words.

“Your Majesty, I cannot help but feel this position is far too elevated to give to a royal of another nation.”

It sounded respectful, but it was laced with the prejudice that allowing someone who was not a citizen of Astrux to wear the Empress’s crown was simply wrong. Carlisle’s grip tightened and the report crumpled.

The air turned cold in an instant and bore down on Kuz, leaving him unable to draw a proper breath. Maili was no different.

“I believe I told you clearly to rid yourself of narrow-minded thinking.”

“I, I was wrong.”

“To be a pillar that supports the empire, one must not become consumed by a single way of thinking.”

“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

His complexion darkened and Kuz bowed his head hastily. Carlisle said nothing more and looked at Maili.

“What is your opinion?”

“A sword has no opinion, Your Majesty. Simply give the order.”

Maili’s answer brought a look of satisfaction to Carlisle’s face. Accepting Roelia, a member of the Wintergrass imperial family, as Empress carried significant risk. If word leaked from here, there was no telling what leverage the Empress Dowager might seize upon.

Kuz and Maili were Carlisle’s most trusted subordinates, but he tested them without cease. It was the same as the weight of the crown worn by one who sat upon the imperial throne. A position in which one could not fully trust those around them. That was what the imperial throne was.

“The fact that Eli is a member of the Wintergrass imperial family is to remain secret for the time being.”

“We receive your command.”

Both Maili and Kuz bowed deeply before Carlisle.

“Then go and bring her.”

Kuz and Maili left Carlisle’s temporary office. Left alone, Carlisle thought about Roelia.

Whether there was anything he might be overlooking.

‘A fugitive Empress.’

Perhaps the first of her kind among all the Empresses of the Astrux Empire.

The sudden thought made Carlisle let out a quiet laugh as he leaned back in his chair. The reason he had not taken an Empress all this time was his plan to keep from adding more of the Empress Dowager’s people to the imperial palace.

The nobles under the Empress Dowager’s influence were relentless in their attempts to test the divine beast’s power.

“At least in the bedchamber of the Empress’s quarters, I’ll be able to rest easy.”

Carlisle rubbed the back of his neck, stiff with tension, and murmured to himself without a care.

How long had it been?

Since his father, the late emperor, died, Carlisle was unable to escape the unceasing gaze of surveillance, and he hoped this would be the turning point that changed the imperial palace a little.

‘Getting the signature is not the problem. It’s what comes after that is.’

If Roelia’s identity as a fugitive were exposed, it was obvious what the Empress Dowager would do. Roelia needed a false identity. One so flawless that even the Empress Dowager could find no fault with it.

* * *

“The empire is in sight!”

A shout from the deck reached all the way into the cabin. The excitement in that joyful voice was enough to make anyone’s spirits lift, but that feeling did not reach Roelia.

The last words she and Carlisle exchanged two days ago were still echoing in her ears.

“Everything is ready, my lady.”

“Ah, yes.”

Roelia changed into a dress of the kind noble ladies often wore and put on the robe that marked her as a mage over it. She murmured the story she and Carlisle worked out together and slowly exhaled.

Once they set foot on Astrux soil, Carlisle would return to the imperial palace first, and Roelia would follow with Kuz and Maili.

“This way, my lady.”

Following Cecil’s guidance, Roelia walked at an unhurried pace. Just as in Wintergrass, mages were rare in Astrux, and simply entering the empire was enough to earn a noble title. Roelia decided to go through the same process as any other mage.

“You are quite late, my dear.”

The warmth in Carlisle’s voice made Roelia’s eyes go wide for a moment before she steadied herself. It was not just the tone of his voice that changed, but his choice of words as well.