In a luxurious inn at the center of Mareina.

Carlos, sitting on the couch, traced Ines’s face that he had seen earlier that day. Unlike his worries, she had good color in her face. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was full of vitality.

“She looked well…”

She had gained more weight since he last saw her, seeming much more alive than when she was queen. In the palace, despite being served all sorts of delicacies, she had grown thinner by the day rather than gaining weight. A bitter smile crossed his lips as he thought of how Ines had become healthier as soon as she left his side.

He had so many things he wanted to say when he met Ines. He wanted to ask if she had been healthy these past two years, if she had any ailments, and to apologize and seek forgiveness for everything that had happened.

Though he had practiced what he wanted to say to Ines when he was alone, like a lie, when he actually encountered her, he couldn’t say anything. He was so moved by the mere fact that she was alive and moving that he embraced her without permission.

‘And got slapped hard for it.’

Carlos pulled at the corner of his mouth as he lightly brushed his cheek with his hand.

Still, he was simply happy. Every time his slapped cheek throbbed, it reminded him of the reality that Ines was alive. As he was lost in such reminiscence.

With a knock, Jeremy entered the room. After giving Carlos a brief bow, Jeremy began reporting what he had investigated.

“I looked into what Your Majesty commanded. Currently, Her Majesty the Queen is living with an herbalist in a small mountain village about four days’ journey from here, under the name Lena.”

“An herbalist?”

Carlos’s eyebrows twitched at this unexpected information.

“Yes, an elderly woman named Greta. I heard she’s living in a cottage with her and learning about herbs. She came to Mareina as medical staff for the upcoming martial arts tournament.”

“Ha, medical staff…”

It was astounding that she was living by healing others despite how her ability had been exploited. 

“Surely she’s not using her special ability or anything like that?”

He intended to stop Ines if that was the case.

“No, nothing like that. It seems she just assists the herbalist, doing things like making medicine from herbs. Would you like me to look into it more thoroughly?”

“No, that’s enough.”

If she wasn’t using her ability, he could look into it more later. It was quite a good harvest for such a short investigation time.

‘More importantly, the martial arts tournament.’

He was well aware of the fame of the martial arts tournament held in the southern region. They say it’s a competition to select the strongest warrior in the southern region. Probably someone from Ines’s village was participating, and she had come as medical staff.

As he was deep in thought, Jeremy carefully asked.

“By the way, when will we escort Her Majesty back? To arrive in the capital as scheduled, we need to leave here by the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

While saying this, Jeremy briefly glanced at Carlos’s expression. This was natural, as he had assumed Carlos would forcibly take Ines back to the capital regardless of her wishes. After all, he wouldn’t have come all the way to the south otherwise.

In fact, when he realized the body at the security bureau wasn’t Ines, he felt relief but also worry. He had been at a loss about how long they would have to search for the queen.

Recently, there had also been pressure regarding the king’s marriage. The biggest issue was the lack of an heir. If he continued to delay marriage using the excuse of searching for the queen, who knew what might happen.

Finding Ines today in such circumstances was nothing short of a miracle. But Jeremy had a new concern, namely the issue of Carlos taking Ines back to the capital.

She was a queen who had fled by faking her death. While he wanted to plead that they shouldn’t force her back, thinking of the immediate schedule made him unsure if stopping Carlos was the right thing to do. However, Carlos gave an unexpected answer.

“Well, that depends on Ines’s will.”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

“I won’t force Ines to come back.”

Jeremy blinked in surprise. He couldn’t understand how the king intended to bring the queen back then. It was obvious she would refuse to go to the capital.

Noticing Jeremy’s confusion, Carlos added.

“I’ll properly apologize and persuade Ines. Until she says of her own accord that she’ll return to the capital with me.”

At those words, Jeremy let out a sigh of relief. He strongly agreed with Carlos’s decision to respect the queen’s wishes. But there was still something concerning.

“If we do that, it will disrupt the schedule. What should we do about that?”

“There’s nothing urgent that needs handling anyway. If there’s any urgent message, have them send it here.”

Fortunately, all pressing matters had been handled before leaving. But even so, he couldn’t leave the palace empty for too long. They needed to make plans.

“We need at least a rough time frame.”

“The martial arts tournament runs for a month, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Probably until the middle of next month.”

Carlos, tapping his fingers on the armrest, mused.

“Then we’ll set that as our time frame.”

He intended to finish everything before the tournament ended, before Ines returned to her village.

* * *

This was inside the arena where the martial arts tournament was being held, filled with the sound of men’s shouts and wooden swords clashing.

Today was the time for contestants to warm up and get a feel for the arena’s atmosphere before the actual competition began.

And Ines too was at the arena with Greta in her capacity as medical staff.

Sitting in the spectator seats, Ines had dark circles under her eyes. She hadn’t been able to sleep properly since meeting Carlos.

Four days ago, after returning straight to her lodgings, Ines had hurriedly started packing. Her hands trembled so much as she stuffed clothes into her bag.

‘I need to run away. I need to leave here quickly…’

While muttering endlessly like a mad person, a question crossed her mind.

‘Can I escape…?’

This was a city at the southernmost tip, furthest from Tezever. The fact that Carlos was here now clearly meant he had come knowing not only about her original village but also why she had come here.

With this brief realization, Ines’s legs gave way.

‘There’s no way I can escape.’

Even if she fled in the night, he would appear before her the next day as if nothing had happened.

Ines’s eyes grew red. As endless despair washed over her, memories of her life as queen flashed through her mind. She might have to repeat that hellish life trapped in the palace again.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

Finally burying her face in the bed, Ines’s body shook. The despair of being unable to escape from Carlos weighed heavily on her shoulders.

After that, she waited like a prisoner awaiting execution, having given up on running away. But contrary to her expectation that he would come to take her away immediately, he didn’t come looking for her.

Recalling what had happened over the past few days, a small hope sprouted in Ines’s heart.

‘Maybe he really intends to pretend he doesn’t know me.’

After all, there was no need to waste time otherwise. Moreover, hadn’t she begged him to pretend not to know her? Perhaps Carlos had granted her request.

‘Please never appear before me again.’

Just as Ines was praying silently with her eyes closed, Greta, who was beside her, asked.

“Did something happen?”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve been acting like someone lost in thought these past few days. Even now, you’re not watching Jade.”

“Ah.”

Ines let out a short sigh at Greta’s words. She had come as medical staff and should have been carefully watching whether Jade got injured. She had momentarily forgotten her duty.

“I’m sorry. Nothing happened. I just had a nightmare last night and couldn’t sleep well.”

“A nightmare? Then I’ll brew you some herbal tea that’s good for sleep today. You should have told me earlier. Tsk tsk.”

Though she clicked her tongue in criticism, Greta’s eyes held concern for Ines. Grateful for that, Ines was about to smile when suddenly the arena became noisy. Everyone’s attention turned to the center of the commotion.

“What’s happening?”

“Well, it seems an important guest has arrived.”

Though they couldn’t see who had come because of the crowd of people in front, it seemed the manager was escorting a guest. Given the voices explaining the arena here and there, it appeared to be someone important.

Who could it be? Ines rose hesitantly from her seat and craned her neck in curiosity.

But that was only for a moment; when she saw the familiar face behind the manager, her entire body froze.

The tall black hair and red eyes that stood out even among the crowd were well known to her.

“…Carlos.”

Had Ines barely whispered in a voice only she could hear.

At that moment, Carlos’s lips curved into a smile as his eyes met Ines’s.