Daniel, on his way back to his quarters, slowly retraced the moment he had met with Evelyn.

Although they had exchanged nothing more than a few insignificant words, it wasn’t entirely unproductive for him.

At the very least, he had confirmed that Evelyn was doing a decent job of impersonating Princess Ophelia in Bait.

That meant, for now, he didn’t need to be on edge about her identity being exposed.

It was a relief, but that didn’t mean he could rest easy.

As time passed, Evelyn’s inadequacies would inevitably begin to show.

No matter how much cultural differences between nations might explain some things, there were always lines that couldn’t be crossed.

Daniel had never expected Evelyn to perfectly embody a princess’s fundamental qualities anyway.

“Was there no reply from His Majesty the King?”

Daniel, sounding impatient, addressed the other envoys.

But they, too, had yet to receive any response.

When everyone shook their heads, Daniel let out a deep sigh.

Just then, he heard the flapping of wings nearby.

He turned his head toward the window with a flicker of hope, and saw a hawk, small and slender, fluttering just beyond the window.

Daniel’s gaze shifted to the small box tied to the hawk’s ankle.

There was no doubt.

The hawk had brought a reply from Hesta.

Daniel quickly flung the window open.

The hawk darted inside and soon perched nearby.

Daniel approached the messenger bird and untied the box from its leg.

Inside the box was a small note.

“What does it say?”

One of the envoys asked Daniel.

“Shh!”

Daniel hastily raised a finger toward the envoy.

Then, worried someone might have overheard, he quickly scanned the surroundings.

He didn’t stop there—cautiously, he walked over to the door, opened it, and peered down the hallway.

Fortunately, the corridor was completely empty.

Relieved, Daniel quietly closed the door and returned inside.

“Let’s take a look now.”

With a tense expression, Daniel looked down at the note and slowly unfolded it.

Upon seeing the drawings inside, he let out a low hum.

There were three small illustrations on the note.

One showed a bow with an arrow nocked. Another was a horse. The last was a skull.

The message these three drawings conveyed was all too clear.

***

After Daniel left, Evelyn let out a long sigh.

Although Martin had remained in the drawing room with her, meeting one of Hesta’s high-ranking figures still left her frightened and trembling.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that Hesta still had her life in their sights.

Even she could admit that, from Hesta’s perspective, she was someone who should not be alive.

Just the thought of not knowing when or how they might attempt to take her life made it hard for Evelyn to breathe whenever she faced Daniel.

Seeing her take deep breaths to calm herself, Martin dismissed everyone else from the drawing room. Then, in a low voice, he tried to soothe her.

“You did well.”

“Did I… really do well?”

All she had done was feign ignorance as Princess Ophelia and play along with Daniel’s words.

She wasn’t sure that qualified as doing well, so she looked to Martin for confirmation.

He met her gaze steadily and nodded.

“You said only what was planned. You did well.”

“…Yes.”

Evelyn answered in a small voice, then suddenly looked up at Martin.

“He’s not just going to leave, is he?”

Her voice trembled with anxiety.

She wished, even if just out of politeness, he would say that Daniel would leave, but Martin, seemingly unconcerned with Evelyn’s feelings, affirmed it without hesitation.

“He probably won’t. He won’t be able to stay long, but he won’t leave empty-handed either.”

“And that ‘gain’ is my life, isn’t it?”

“Yes, most likely.”

Martin’s unflinching answer only made Evelyn more uneasy.

She had no idea how to deal with this.

‘Should I increase the number of guards and be wary of everything I eat and drink?’

It was true that killing Evelyn within Bait’s imperial palace wouldn’t be easy for them.

So, she would have to navigate things carefully until they could no longer remain in Bait.

The problem was that she had to endure until then.

“But would they really attempt something that easily? One wrong move, and their own lives could be at risk too.”

Would you like help interpreting the meaning of the symbols on the note next?

“The Empress’s point is certainly valid, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay idle. You know this, don’t you? They don’t yet realize that we’ve uncovered the Empress’s true identity. So they’ll likely try to eliminate Her Majesty before her identity is exposed.”

“But if something goes wrong, it could provoke a war instead. They must be aware of that risk too.”

“Well, when you think about it, it’s all the same in the end.”

“Pardon?”

“Whether war breaks out because Her Majesty’s identity is revealed, or because someone harms Her Majesty—the only difference is in timing, not in consequence. Still, the latter carries a slightly lower risk, so they might prefer to take that chance.”

He was right.

If a war broke out between the two nations, Hesta would undoubtedly be the one to lose.

If war was inevitable either way, then attempting something might still be the better choice.

“Sir Martin, if Hesta were to make a move, when do you think it would be?”

“Well…”

At Evelyn’s question, Martin raised the arm he had crossed and rested his chin on his hand.

“If they were to try anything, it would likely be during the upcoming hunting competition.”

“Ah, if it’s then…”

During the hunting competition, no matter how much attention was paid to security, Evelyn would be exposed to the outside world, which meant vulnerabilities were inevitable.

“…What should I do? If I don’t attend the hunting competition…”

“That would be difficult. The hunting competition is a major national event. Still, we’ll put as much effort into security as possible, so try not to worry too much.”

“Yes.”

She replied as if she understood, but she couldn’t shake off her unease.

“Anyway, since you have a schedule tomorrow as well, how about getting some rest?”

Already dispirited from meeting Daniel, Evelyn slumped her shoulders even further as she replied.

“I’ll do that.”

Her schedule for the next day was to meet Greta Emmett.

Once a week—an arrangement made as a result of a conversation between Duke Emmett and Reynard.

She already had a headache dealing with the Hesta envoy, and now she had to face the troublesome Greta as well.

But if even Reynard hadn’t been able to refuse the meeting, there was no way Evelyn could either.

“You will be with me again tomorrow, won’t you?”

Evelyn asked Martin hopefully.

He had become someone who, like a teacher, offered her help after they came here.

Just having him in the same space eased some of her anxiety.

But contrary to her hopes, Martin furrowed his brows and shook his head.

“I won’t be able to assist you then.”

“What? Why not?”

Evelyn asked, startled.

“Your counterpart is Greta Emmett, the daughter of Duke Emmett. It wouldn’t be appropriate to host someone like her with a watchdog like me present.”

“Still, if you were there, I’d feel a bit less nervous.”

“That’s not possible. What if it raises suspicion? If that happens, it won’t be me who’s in trouble, it’ll be Her Majesty.”

She had already learned, even if vaguely, just how much influence the Emmett family held in Bait.

If Greta began to suspect Evelyn’s identity, things could unravel in an instant.

“…You’re right.”

In the end, Evelyn couldn’t argue and let out a long sigh.