“So in the end, it was out of whimsy that they sent you off under the guise of Princess Ophelia.”

“I think that’s the most accurate way to put it.”

When Evelyn readily agreed, Reynard let out a hollow laugh.

“The king of Hesta is unbelievably careless. Even if he dislikes you, how could he think of sending a fake to handle affairs between nations?”

“Perhaps he thought it would be fine if I were killed?”

Had Reynard not appeared at just the right moment, Evelyn would have surely met her end at the hands of Hesta soldiers disguised as bandits.

If that had happened, even Reynard would have had a hard time discerning whether or not Evelyn was the real Princess Ophelia.

Of course, as long as the real Princess Ophelia was alive, the secret couldn’t be kept forever—but who knows if the King of Hesta had thought that far ahead.

“Was that explanation sufficient?”

Evelyn asked him, believing she had finished explaining everything.

“For now.”

Reynard gave a short reply, then quietly looked down at her.

Only now did he feel like he could understand the shadow that always lingered on her face.

“Was your mother always like that?”

“…Yes.”

It was a question she wanted to deny, but couldn’t bring herself to.

To her, Glenna had always been a consistent person.

“She prioritizes the princess over me. No, honestly, it’s questionable whether I even rank on that list at all…”

As her words trailed off, Reynard’s hand, which had been resting on her shoulder, rose to her cheek.

Just as she was wondering what he was doing, his thumb gently stroked her cheek.

Only then did Evelyn realize she had been crying.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Startled, Evelyn wiped her tears with the handkerchief she had been holding.

“No, it’s fine. You can cry in front of me.”

Strangely, Reynard’s kind words struck deeply in Evelyn’s heart.

But she also knew well enough that this wasn’t the time to cry.

At the same time, she felt flustered because she couldn’t understand what Reynard meant by his words.

‘‘You can cry in front of me’—what does that mean?’

It could have been just a simple, meaningless remark from Reynard.

It was something Evelyn might have said herself if she saw someone crying in front of her.

And yet, strangely, Evelyn found herself thinking that he might have meant something more.

But she quickly dismissed the thought.

She realized it was just her reading too much into it.

It was probably just because he had a kind personality.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Gathering her emotions, she expressed her gratitude to Reynard.

Reynard merely gave her a quiet nod in response.

“That’s about all I know. Was it helpful?”

As Evelyn finished speaking, she looked up at him.

Reynard furrowed his brow as if in thought, then soon opened his mouth.

“More than enough. At least now I understand Hesta’s position. Like I said before, after interrogating Hesta’s diplomatic envoy and confirming what you told me, I’ll lead the army to occupy Hesta. But before that, I’ll need to deal with the situation inside Bait.”

“What do you mean by deal with?”

“Duke Emmett and his followers will soon make their move. I plan to take that opportunity to eliminate them.”

Evelyn involuntarily thought of Greta.

She didn’t know much about Duke Emmett.

All she knew was Greta.

But the Greta she had come to know so far wasn’t a bad person.

Thinking that something bad might happen to Greta because of Reynard’s plan left her feeling uneasy.

Not that there was anything she could do to help Greta, though.

“There’s something I’d like to ask, if that’s alright.”

Evelyn cautiously asked him a question.

Reynard tilted his head slightly, as if to say, “Go ahead.”

“I heard that His Majesty the Emperor…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say “killed” and paused briefly to find the right words.

“That he rose to the throne after pushing aside his brothers.”

“I did.”

Reynard answered plainly with a nod.

“Couldn’t you have dealt with Duke Emmett at that time?”

If the imperial family had gone so far as to mobilize the military to kill two imperial princes, then surely dealing with Duke Emmett would have been within their power.

Even Evelyn, who didn’t know much about politics, could guess that much.

Yet he hadn’t done it.

Why?

What she was curious about was the reason.

“Of course, I could’ve dealt with Duke Emmett as well. I certainly had the power to do so. But I didn’t have enough justification to kill him.”

“Justification?”

“Yes.”

Evelyn tilted her head, unable to fully understand.

It was strange to her that someone who killed his brothers to ascend the throne would be concerned with justification.

“You seem confused.”

“…Yes.”

Evelyn nodded, unable to bring herself to deny it.

Reynard gave a quiet laugh, as if he’d expected it.

“Understandably so. It’s a complicated issue. To put it simply, the reason I wasn’t branded a tyrant despite killing my brothers is because I spared Duke Emmett.”

“What does that mean?”

“Duke Emmett was the former emperor’s closest aide and was also set to become the father-in-law of the former crown prince—my brother. Politically, he stood at the opposite end of the spectrum from me.”

“Yes, I know that.”

As Evelyn nodded in response, Reynard continued his explanation.

“Duke Emmett is also the central figure of the faction that supported the late emperor. A considerable number of nobles are gathered around him. Killing Duke Emmett would have stirred strong backlash from the rest of the nobility.”

“But didn’t Your Majesty already face backlash in the process of ascending the throne?”

Since he rose to the throne after killing his brothers, it was inevitable that he would have faced significant opposition.

“Of course I did. But it was precisely because Duke Emmett remained that he could help stabilize things.”

“…That’s complicated.”

Even with Reynard’s explanation, it was still difficult for Evelyn to fully grasp the situation.

“Still, I think I can understand the gist of what you’re saying. You’re saying that at the time, you needed Duke Emmett.”

“Yes. And now, I don’t.”

Reynard let out a short laugh as he replied.

“Duke Emmett is a greedy man. Someone like that can’t be left alive. So I’ve been waiting for the right time. And that time is now.”

Reynard paused for a moment, then looked down at Evelyn.

He wore an expression that seemed apologetic.

“There’s a good chance that danger will come your way. I want to apologize in advance for that.”

“Danger?”

Evelyn widened her eyes like a startled rabbit.

She seemed frightened by the word “danger.”

She had already come close to death due to the Hesta envoy’s plot, and the thought of being in danger again naturally made her freeze.

Reynard gently patted her shoulder.

“Yes. But don’t worry. Like I said before, if anything happens, I’ll protect you.”

“But what reason would Duke Emmett have to target me? The Hesta envoy had a clear motive, but Duke Emmett has no reason to come after me.”

“No, that’s not true. If he makes a move, he’ll surely come after you.”

Reynard’s tone was firm.

Only then did Evelyn understand why she had to remain here.

Reynard needed bait to provoke Duke Emmett into action.

And Evelyn was the most suitable bait.

But why?

Out of all the people, why would Duke Emmett target her?

She was nothing more than a fake sent by Hesta.

In her mind, she had no value as bait—which made the situation all the more puzzling.