“That’s true, but…”

“Besides, we can’t say the Imperial Capital is safer with the prince there, can we?”

There were safety concerns, and she wouldn’t have much to do in the Imperial Capital anyway. Given the atmosphere there, she couldn’t even spend time with friends, and while he was on duty, she’d just be confined to the mansion, so it was better to stay and work here.

“Still…”

He let out a small sigh and added.

“Leaving you alone weighs on my mind.”

“I’ll be fine. What’s there to worry about with the entire knight order here? Plus, there’s Yolly.”

Besides, there were Darielle and Nadia. They took meticulous care of Saena, and lately, even the nanny had moved from the cottage to the castle, joining in to attend to Saena’s every move, leaving no room for loneliness.

“And yet you won’t even take one escort with you…”

If anything, it was Constantine who made Saena anxious by coming and going without any guards.

“They’re more of a burden to me.”

Constantine flatly refused, thinking it wasn’t particularly safer to travel together, and besides, the thought of having to hold onto some man’s body part every time he took the warp gate was absolutely repulsive.

Saena didn’t press further.

Even she thought the prince probably couldn’t physically harm Constantine. Poisoning might be another matter.

“Alright. But when you eat at the Imperial Palace, don’t forget ‘this.'”

Saena handed him what she had finally completed after racking her brains for several days.

She had succeeded in embedding Yuri’s special ‘poison detection’ ability as an attribute in a jewel.

“I didn’t have time to craft it into an accessory.”

Constantine’s expression was peculiar as he looked at the jewel bead Saena handed him.

“This is… sufficient.”

“If the jewel changes color when it touches food or drink, there’s a problem. Don’t eat it under any circumstances.”

While Madielle might be trustworthy, the Empress couldn’t be trusted.

Since the Crown Prince hadn’t fully secured control of the Imperial Palace yet, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

“I understand.”

As he received the jewel bead, Constantine simultaneously grasped Saena’s outstretched hand.

“Go now.”

“……”

Saena urged him on, worried it would get dark if he delayed any longer.

“Still…”

He added with a sigh-like tone.

“It seems I’m the only one getting worked up.”

“What?”

“You seem to do fine without me.”

“Even if I went with you to the Imperial Capital… you couldn’t be with me anyway.”

“Regrettably, that’s true.”

He carefully cupped Saena’s cheek with his hand.

Saena naturally buried her left face in his palm while looking up at him. Something about her demure appearance made Constantine’s throat tighten, and he swallowed hard.

“I hope… the prince is caught soon.”

“Me too…”

Living with what felt like a volcano that could erupt at any moment wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Besides, even if they were dukes, they couldn’t keep playing bodyguard forever.

Even if the person they were guarding was the Crown Prince who would soon become Emperor, it wasn’t a job for a territorial lord and Oathkeeper.

“When all this is over…”

He spoke in a low voice while slowly stroking Saena’s cheek with his thumb.

“For a long time…”

“Yes…”

“Let’s be alone together.”

“Yes…”

He pressed his lips firmly against her eyelid like a seal and pulled away. His gestures and attitude were filled with regret.

Constantine departed for the Imperial Capital, leaving behind a particularly regretful and anxious air.

“…He’s gone.”

Though she had told him to go quickly, Saena felt empty too.

Even though they were apart during the day anyway, busy with their own work, how could being in the same castle versus not feel so different?

Somehow feeling like he had gone very far away, she let out a small sigh.

—What’s with all the fuss? He’ll be back in two days anyway.

Yuri expressed irritation at their behavior.

“What would you know? You’ve never even been married.”

Saena grumbled pointlessly.

—Ha, marriage? Speaking without knowing how cold he was to his wife?

“Shut up. Don’t even mention Elizabeth.”

She didn’t want to hear about their time as husband and wife. Even if it had been just a formal marriage.

—Really, seriously…

Yuri kept muttering something about couples, but Saena ignored it.

—Why don’t you just go do your work?

“……”

This was one thing she couldn’t ignore.

And trouble struck the next day.

* * *

“…Darielle?”

This early in the morning?

Having stayed up late last night reviewing numerous documents about victim compensation and territory matters, Saena was very tired.

Though she got up hurriedly at the urgent call, she asked in a very drowsy state.

“What’s, yawn– wrong?”

“It’s terrible!”

“Hmm?”

“They say a plague has broken out!”

She was instantly wide awake.

“A… plague?!”

“Yes. It’s in a village only about two hours from Castle Cream, so if we don’t take immediate measures, this place could be in danger too.”

“What in the world…”

The suddenly arriving problem was so huge that her mind went blank for a moment.

‘I… I need to stay calm.’

Saena squeezed her eyes shut and steadied her breathing.

“First…”

Haah. After taking a deep breath, Saena’s eyes snapped open.

“Explain it to me again. Slowly. In detail.”

“Yes, well, this morning a village chief came urgently saying he needed to see the lord…”

Darielle’s explanation went like this.

A village about an hour away by horse at full speed from Kramer’s central territory, or two to three hours by carriage.

Located at the foot of a mountain, it was a place where various people lived together—herb gatherers, hunters, and farmers who tilled the fields.

But from yesterday, people started suffering from severe stomach pains one by one, and now more than a third of the village’s population had collapsed.

Not only that, but during the night, dozens of people who were originally in poor health and the elderly had died.

“They suddenly fell ill yesterday and dozens died within a day?”

“Yes. At this rate, I’m worried it might spread instantly… We need immediate measures. Ah, should we contact His Grace?”

Something seemed odd about how a disease could spread so quickly.

“For His Grace…”

Though it was an urgent matter, he would be back tomorrow anyway, so was there really a need to call him urgently?

What if the prince attacked during that time and something happened to the Imperial family?

Even as a ducal family, they wouldn’t be able to avoid responsibility.

“No, don’t tell him.”

‘One day without him should be fine…’

Besides, Saena had experience dealing with plagues as a lord’s wife. The Hollander territory was so lacking in proper facilities that plagues would break out at the slightest provocation.

While those weren’t particularly pleasant times, it seemed fortunate now that they could be of help.

“First, since the situation is urgent, I need to see it with my own eyes.”

“In person? But… if you catch something, His Grace might have us killed.”

“He would go himself too. As his representative, I should do the same.”

“…But still.”

“I need to see it. We need to know the cause before we can fix anything.”

Though Darielle looked very anxious, when Saena took a firm stance, she closed her mouth and nodded.

“First, prepare wagons and load them with necessary supplies. I’ll write out a list of items soon. Have the butler cross-check it too, just in case there’s anything else needed.”

“Yes.”

“Call the castle physicians, explain the symptoms, and request their company, and have the apothecaries check available medicines and prepare as much as possible.”

“Yes.”

“Get the knights ready, and prepare my horse too as I’ll be riding.”

“You’ll ride yourself?”

“Yes, since taking a carriage would make me sick.”

Actually, riding Yolly would be instantaneous…

But since that couldn’t be revealed yet and there were various restrictions, even though there were advantages, she couldn’t use them.

“Bring lots of servants with the wagons too. We’ll need to distribute food.”

“Yes.”

“And I need to prepare for going out right away. Please help me.”

“Yes!”

Saena came down to the porch after preparing as quickly as possible.

She had barely washed her face and changed into riding clothes. She wore no makeup and her attire was very simple without any adornments.

Ah, she only wore the bracelet Constantine gave her and one weapon ring just in case.

“Madam!”

When she went outside, there was a welcome face.

“Sir Rupert?”

As far as Saena knew, Sir Rupert should have been in training. It was Saena who had allowed him to receive training in dealing with demonic beasts while he was in Kramer territory.

“I could go with another knight…”

“I should be the one to escort our Madam. Please mount your horse quickly, I’ll help you.”

As previously instructed, her horse was waiting.

Saena mounted the horse with Rupert’s escort.

“Where is Commander Wesley?”

Saena asked after mounting.

She thought it strange that he wasn’t there, as she expected him to come along given the gravity of the matter.

“He just received word about a problem with the defense line and rushed off. That’s why he entrusted you to me.”

Ah, so that’s why Rupert came. She hadn’t called him specifically because he was in training.

“But what do you mean by defense line? Don’t tell me it’s another demonic beast?”

“It seems so. But he said it’s fine since it’s in the opposite direction from where we’re going. Don’t worry too much, we have plenty of people here if needed.”

True, they weren’t going to solve the plague with force anyway.

Besides, even without the commander, there were over ten knights assigned as escorts. So it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

She was more worried about the defense line, but since there was nothing she could do to help, it would be better to hurry with what she could do.

“Alright. Let’s hurry.”

With time being of the essence, Saena urged them to move quickly.