Roderick’s voice was as dark as his complexion.

“How can you guarantee that? Erica is useless to the marquis……”

Maybe he killed her and didn’t mention it because she wasn’t worth mentioning. When another terrible thought occurred to him, Roderick’s face contorted, unable to bear the anguish.

“Roderick, think rationally. Those bastards wouldn’t have harmed your wife while the Grand Mage just stood by and watched.”

It wasn’t wrong. But only those who were there know what situation unfolded when they were captured. Rational speculation was useless to Roderick.

“She must be alive.”

“Even if she is alive, if they find out Erica is my wife, they won’t leave her alone.”

Whether they kill her or not, they would somehow use her for revenge or as a means of blackmail.

“But the fact that they haven’t said anything about your wife yet means they don’t know her identity yet.”

“I know that too.”

Roderick knew this since he had a brain, but his heart was anxious, making it difficult to think only rationally. Seeing him like this, Hildeon also became anxious and asked.

“You’re not thinking of storming the royal palace alone, are you?”

“Ha……”

Roderick let out a bitter laugh in disbelief.

“Do I look that stupid?”

“I know you’re not, but even the most level-headed person has at least one weakness that makes them lose their composure. For you, that’s your wife.”

While Roderick cooled his anger and anxiety in the cold autumn wind, strategy meetings continued inside the barracks. And that day, Duke Pendrel ordered the entire army to march toward the royal palace.

The next day, the command heading toward the capital received an urgent message from the king of the elves: the dwarves had allied with Marquis Draven and invaded the elves’ land.

* * *

Erica carefully walked around the room, looking it over. After spending several days in a dungeon-like place under the surveillance of mages and soldiers, she had been moved here just a while ago.

Decorated lavishly with expensive things, it finally seemed fitting for a royal palace, but with no windows and a small room, it still felt like a prison.

A luxurious prison.

Since guards would be watching outside the room, it would be correct to call it a prison.

“Where did all the mages go?”

She had expected them to keep a bloodshot watch on Grandma Greta in this room too, in case she attempted to escape.

“With that thing there, they don’t need to monitor me every minute and second.”

What Grandma pointed to with a sweeping gesture were magic stones and crystal orbs embedded in the walls. The magic stones created a field of mana to neutralize it whenever Grandma tried to use magic, and the crystal orbs monitored every move that happened in this room.

Because they monitored and confined her so thoroughly, she couldn’t escape, let alone send word outside that she was safe.

“Marquis Draven has arrived.”

A guard announced from outside the firmly closed door. Erica, who quickly exchanged glances with Grandma Greta, pulled the edge of her hood, which made her hair color difficult to recognize, further down over her forehead and retreated far into a corner of the room. However, the marquis entering the room didn’t even glance toward Erica.

“……What is that?”

The marquis had been very consistently not treating her like a person since Erica was first kidnapped and brought here. So it was truly fortunate.

“I, I am a maid serving the Grand Mage.”

He didn’t seem to doubt Erica’s lie at all.

“Ah, they said some young woman appeared at the camp together yesterday……”

The moment Magnus muttered that, Erica’s heart nearly sank.

‘Did they plant a spy?’

While being shocked, Erica also felt relieved that she hadn’t wandered around the camp with Roderick. If the spy had noticed her, they would have known Erica was Roderick’s wife and wouldn’t have left her alone like this.

‘They must have investigated in Neuburg. Seeing how they even drew Roderick’s composite sketch, I thought there would be a composite of me too.’

Maybe there was a composite but they didn’t remember it. Unless you looked at that face every day, it would be difficult to match faces just by looking at black and white drawings.

And still not knowing that Erica was that Winterborn’s wife, the marquis came shamelessly every day but treated Erica like air and only spoke to Grandma Greta.

“Please sit.”

The marquis sat at the table in the middle of the room and offered Grandma Greta the seat across from him. It was disgusting how he pretended to be polite despite being a kidnapper.

“If it’s the same story as yesterday, there’s no need to waste time.”

Grandma didn’t sit in the seat the marquis indicated but sat in the armchair by the fireplace, continuing her knitting while responding indifferently.

The marquis seemed quite covetous of Grandma’s abilities and had been putting effort into persuading her for several days. Persuasion, indeed. For someone so reckless that he attacked elves without thinking and tried to use dark magic at the Grand Temple to be patiently making three visits to recruit her.

Honestly, Erica had expected that bastard to threaten or t*rture Grandma.

‘Well, he might pull out that card later if nothing else works.’

For now, he was offering carrots instead of wielding the whip.

“So have you carefully considered the proposal I made yesterday?”

Yesterday the marquis had come to the prison and said this:

“I’m curious how the princess and Winterborn drew you to their side. Whatever they gave you, I’ll give you ten times more.”

“That would be impossible.”

When Grandma lightly laughed and replied that it was impossible, the marquis’s face hardened stiffly, apparently hurt in his pride.

“You received something I can never give. So there will never be a time when you need my help.”

Even after that, the marquis tried to win her over by offering various carrots, but how could Grandma be swayed? The marquis had left saying he would give her time to think it over carefully. Then today, before even a day had passed, he came back again. He seemed quite impatient.

“I hope for a positive answer. If you hope my next words won’t be negative.”

Now seeming to move toward the whip, the marquis added an ominous postscript. However, Grandma remained unmoved.

“I do not stand on the side of evil.”

Erica worried that the firm words about the side of evil might provoke the marquis, but he showed no particular signs of anger, as if being called evil didn’t bother him at all.

“Then think from the princess’s perspective.”

The marquis tapped his forehead with his index finger while saying the word ‘think.’ It seemed to mean ‘use your head a little,’ which made Erica feel unpleasant.

“I’ll warn you in advance. The princess will soon be captured by us.”

‘What bragging.’

Erica turned her head toward the wall and secretly snorted. Roderick wouldn’t let that happen, and even Elodie alone had enough ability to protect herself. Besides, the children were in Iriel’s palace, so they were safe unless the elves were destroyed.

‘They must be doing well, right?’

Despite knowing they were safe, she couldn’t help but worry. How shocked they must have been when their mother disappeared.

But thinking about it more, rather than the kids, Roderick had a surprisingly soft tofu mentality, so she was more worried about him.

‘Please don’t recklessly storm in alone. I need to contact you that I’m safe, but because of that thing I can’t even contact you……’

While Erica glared at the magic stones embedded throughout the room, the marquis was tirelessly spouting nonsense.

“The princess is in the elves’ palace.”

‘Who doesn’t know that.’

“Soon the land of the elves will become ours.”

‘Does he think it’s still half a year ago? Still not waking up from that dream…… Tsk tsk.’

“It’s only a matter of time before the princess is captured by us.”

The marquis leaned toward Grandma and said.

“Do you want me to show mercy and spare the princess’s life? Or do you have a hobby of watching a young child get beheaded?”

‘What is this crazy bastard saying about my child? From today, your beheading is confirmed!’

“If you want to save that child, stand on my side even now. Then I’ll spare her life. Though she’s a rebel, I’ll treat her courteously.”

‘You’re the one who rebelled……’

“She’s still a princess, after all. Though she’ll be a tragic princess.”

‘……Huh?’

The moment the marquis added a postscript with a sneer, intense déjà vu struck Erica’s mind.

“She’s still the princess of the group, after all. Though she’ll be a tragic princess.”

Erica whipped her head around from facing the wall to look at the marquis.

‘That bastard, could he be……?’

She seemed to see a familiar expression on an unfamiliar face. Only now.