A few days after Helia and the delegation returned to their homeland, the empire officially announced that it would cancel the engagement between Cerdic Prekin and Helia Bailey. Rumors spread among the people that Cerdic, shocked by Helia’s true nature, had hastily broken off the engagement.

The chancellor was devastated, while Xeroth found the outcome somewhat satisfying. Since the empire had ostensibly declined the engagement, he could convey his regret without appearing overly apologetic. But Xeroth, greedy and foolish, wasn’t ready to stop there. He decided to send another delegation to the empire, using the broken engagement as leverage to demand more.

The chancellor and the delegation had barely unpacked their belongings when they were ordered to prepare for another departure.

Meanwhile, now back home, Helia approached Xeroth to announce her intention to leave the palace. With her engagement canceled twice, she reasoned there would be no more marriage proposals. She requested a modest estate on the capital’s outskirts where she could retire from high society and live out her days quietly.

Xeroth welcomed this news. Outwardly, he feigned regret and respect for her wishes. Inwardly, he saw it as a relief.

During their meeting, Xeroth showed no signs of suspicion or attempts to probe her intentions. This indicated that no revolutionary faction member had switched sides to inform him. Joining the revolutionary movement was, after all, an act born of dissatisfaction with the current monarchy. Even if Helia’s sudden appearance caused some confusion, those who had decided to betray Xeroth were unlikely to entrust their safety to him.

They’ll wait to see her next move before deciding, Helia thought. This delay worked in her favor, buying her valuable time.

Helia relocated to a stately townhouse in the capital a few days later. Though the residence was befitting of royalty, she found it unremarkable. It didn’t matter, as she had no intention of living out her days there.

On her first day in the new residence, she instructed her handpicked attendants to prepare her a bath and serve a simple dinner. The attendants were chosen for their timidity and lack of connections elsewhere. They weren’t particularly loyal, but Helia was confident they wouldn’t dare betray her.

Though the number of attendants was far fewer than what she’d had in the palace, she was content simply to be free of the schemers who constantly sought to wield influence over her. Selecting people who found satisfaction in simple tasks had been an easy matter for her.

As expected, the attendants efficiently followed her instructions without overstepping their roles. By the end of the first day, she was satisfied with her choice. For now, everything was proceeding as planned.

After dinner, Helia ordered her attendants to work on a commuting basis. Initially hesitant, as they considered themselves live-in attendants, they quickly embraced the idea when she assured them that their pay and treatment would remain the same and that they wouldn’t bear any additional responsibility. Overjoyed, they all returned to their homes.

Left alone in the vast mansion, Helia felt neither fear nor loneliness. She extinguished the lights in all the rooms except the study, where she read by the light of a single lamp. She had intentionally chosen a study with a balcony.

Late at night, someone tapped on the second-floor study window. Helia approached it. As she expected, Ruben stood outside, dressed in light, movement-friendly attire—just a shirt and trousers—waiting for her to open the window. When she did, he climbed inside and immediately asked,

“Are there no live-in attendants here?”

“I sent them all home,“ Helia replied.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

Ruben surveyed the room with a wary expression, then sternly suggested that she keep the attendants around, promising to send people he trusted. Helia nodded obediently; after all, she had planned to replace them all with members of the revolutionary faction.

“You’ll likely need secret guards as well,“ Ruben added.

“If necessary, arrange it for me,“ Helia responded.

Ruben nodded, casting a sharp, scrutinizing gaze around the room before finally meeting Helia’s eyes. She had been quietly observing him from beside him, looking up at him. His intense demeanor softened almost instantly.

“It’s been a while,“ he said.

“It hasn’t been that long,“ she replied.

Even that short time felt like an eternity to me, though you wouldn’t know it. Instead of saying this, Ruben simply smiled. With her out of the palace, he could see her every day, and that thought alone was enough for him.

“May I brief you on the current situation?”

Helia nodded. With her permission, Ruben walked toward the desk and began writing on a blank sheet of parchment with a pen dipped in ink. Helia followed and stood beside him.

“This is the organizational chart of the revolutionary army. You’ll need to be familiar with it,“ Ruben said.

“I have a rough idea,“ Helia replied.

“You’ll be leading them now. It’s better to have a precise understanding,“ he insisted.

Helia nodded again. Ruben quickly filled the parchment, his writing uninterrupted. Though the sheer number of individuals made it impossible to list the names of those at the lowest levels, the names of key officers and operational leaders were meticulously detailed.

“Are there many you recognize?“ Ruben asked.

“I know the names. Wait—Count Leiphir is part of the revolutionary army? This is news to me.“

“He joined recently,“ Ruben explained.

Helia frowned. Without updates from Miel, she realized she lacked crucial information about new developments. This information gap needs to be addressed first, she thought as she scanned the completed parchment. Most of the key officers were people she already knew. Now, she had to memorize the names of the operational leaders—they would be her hands and feet moving forward.

“Are you aware that the rank-and-file members don’t know who their leader is?“ Ruben asked.

“Yes, though they likely have their guesses,“ Helia replied.

“That’s intentional. It gives those uneasy about Lady Lette the chance to adjust. It’s worked out well. Once your presence is revealed, the revolutionary army will believe their leader has always been you. They’ll recognize your infamy but accept it if we frame it as you taking on the role of a villain to deceive the king while secretly creating the revolutionary army. In fact, many might rally around the idea—it makes for a compelling hero’s tale.”

Helia thought I wasn’t the one who created the revolutionary army, but she nodded. Achieving great things often requires a bit of embellishment. Besides, Ruben’s explanation wasn’t entirely wrong.

“The problem lies with those who already believe Lady Lette is the leader,“ Ruben continued.

He drew a bold line across the middle of the parchment and pointed to the significantly smaller group of names above the line.

“These are the individuals in question. I’ve been meeting with them directly or corresponding by letter to persuade them,“ he said, then drew a large circle encompassing nearly half the names on the parchment.

“And these individuals have expressed their agreement to support Your Highness as their liege.”

“Hmm.”

Helia examined the names closely. Most of them were loyal to the Effenberg Ducal family or strongly trusted Ruben. Naturally, Ruben’s First Knights Division was listed as well. She felt a fleeting sense of warmth upon spotting the name of Ruben’s godfather, Marquis Veron Caros. Names like Ikael and Enoch and key figures driving the revolutionary army were also included. Given their influence, it was highly likely that the operational workers, who weren’t nobility, had been persuaded by them.

“I regret that my abilities were insufficient to convince more people. My apologies,“ Ruben said.

Instead of responding, Helia gently shook her head. Even if her covert support for the revolutionary army had been revealed, the group itself was nothing more than an assembly of those who resented the Bailey royal family. Convincing such people not only to join forces with a member of the Bailey bloodline but also to raise that person to the throne couldn’t have been easy. While their agreement to align with her was undoubtedly built on trust in Ruben and his intermediaries, Helia was satisfied. It was now entirely up to her to prove she was worthy of ruling over them.

“So, what do the remaining dissenters think?“ Helia asked.

“They’re understandably uneasy. Even if they’ve learned of your actions to support the revolutionary army, those actions contradict the image you’ve shown thus far. They remain skeptical,“ Ruben replied.

As expected, most of the individuals Ruben had circled on the parchment were lower-ranking operational workers rather than nobles. These individuals likely only knew of Helia through rumors. Conversely, nobles who had witnessed her tyranny firsthand would naturally be reluctant to support her.

Still, commoners were more likely to resent the royal family than the nobles, having experienced its incompetence and cruelty more acutely in their daily lives. The fact that many of them had decided to back Helia as queen spoke volumes about the trust Ruben and the revolutionary leadership had instilled in them. It was fair to say they followed Ruben’s lead more than hers.

“That’s understandable. Can their opinions be unified?“

“Yes. All those opposed are still advocating for Lette as the next sovereign.“

“Then our course of action is clear.”

At the top of the parchment, the name “Lette“ was written, conspicuously absent from the circle Ruben had drawn. Helia’s slender finger lightly tapped on Lette’s name. If she could secure Lette’s allegiance, her supporters would have no choice but to reevaluate their stance.

Winning Lette’s loyalty. That would be Helia’s first task upon officially joining the revolutionary army.