What was so urgent that I had to meet Ferdel so directly?

  I was shocked for a moment. Ferdel didn’t even speak to me until we arrived at the Imperial Palace.

  It was a bit strange, and I was in no mood to talk about it, so I just stayed quiet; even Valer stayed quiet. As if someone sewed his mouth shut, I had to say that I felt most scared when the talker went silent. Also, I didn’t even know what went wrong; I just felt terrible for everything.

  Fardel, who always smiled softly at me and said encouraging words, was silent and stiff. Even if I asked, he didn’t even seem like he would answer. No greeting or no words of comfort.

  Eventually, till the moment we reached the Imperial Palace, no one spoke in our carriage.

  “Welcome, princess.”


  Once I left the carriage, Serira greeted me.

  Tears began to form after seeing my mother’s face after a long time. I wanted to be comforted in her arms, but I tried to act as calm as possible.

  I had been away from the house for a month or so, and when I saw the Imperial Palace, I felt weird. As if I had been out for too long.

  “I am sorry to say, but why don’t you go to Foder Palace?”


  Serira tried to take me to the palace immediately while staring at Ferdel with a stern face. It had been a while since I saw Serira with such a severe expression.

  The problem was Ferdel.

  Ferdel, who was receiving Serira’s sharp gaze, was unfazed. Even I would have broken away, but neither of them relaxed; we weren’t in a good situation.

  “I will go.”


  “Princess……”


  As if she was sad, Serira held my hand.

  I smiled and followed Ferdel to Foder Palace.

  It would have been a sight to see the night stars, but Foder Palace was looking bright in the sun. It seemed like the officials who should have quit were still working.

  Familiar path.

  It was the path I always took with dad. Just the thought of it made me sad.

  Was I such an empty woman?

  I walked with my hands tightly clasped, and I arrived at the finance office. The room had scribes moving to and fro, working.

  Seeing them work without greeting each other turned my heart heavy.

  When I arrived at the office, Ferdel stopped walking.

  As I walked with him, I even had to stop. Soon after, Ferdel and I stopped in front of a huge pile of papers in a corner.

  Just seeing the documents on the table shocked me.

  What’s with all these?

  “This…… what is this?”


  I expected something important to happen, but it was beyond my imagination.

  ‘What was it?’


  When I looked up, Ferdel responded.

  “These are the documents that the princess must sign.”


  No, I knew it, but……

  Even if I asked him, it was unlikely for him to give me a straight answer. I sat on the couch and immediately went through the papers.

  I had to sign them. I couldn’t just sign without knowing the content; I read some, but it only confused me.

  Wait, a military order?

  “Why is there a military order here all of a sudden?”


  Moreover, it said we would send soldiers to the south. The target puzzled me even more.

  There was only one place in the south, right?

  Pretzia.

  “A war in the south?”


  Fardel nodded casually, which shocked me even more.

  “Pretzia and Torore joined hands and invaded the old estates of Izarta. Their reason was to get justice for it.”


  “Pretzia has signed a peace agreement with us. So why……”


  “I don’t know. What could be the reason now?”


  It seemed like he was expecting something from me.

  Fardel might think of it as natural, but it was different for me.

  If it’s Pretzia, then had Havel done it? Why? Didn’t things work out well?

  For a moment, I felt confused as hell. While getting dizzy, a familiar name caught my eyes at once.

  “This army…… Assisi is leading them?”


  My hands trembled.

  I thought no other wars would happen soon.

  I didn’t know about the past, but could I do it now? I already knew how Assisi had lived on the battlefields; I didn’t want him to go there anymore. I hesitated as I looked down to sigh; seeing me sigh, Ferdel spoke.

  “Assisi volunteered.”


  “.……”


  That idiot!

  He didn’t have to do it anymore.

  However, I felt so shocked that I couldn’t even think of anything. Still, I felt sorry for how I treated him a few days back. I wanted to die. That being said, a war broke out, and it was impossible not to send an army.

  I hesitated for a moment, not having the will to sign it.

  The letter was warm, probably because of my trembling hands, but Ferdel didn’t care. I signed it and handed it down to an attendant.

  “Send it.”


  Fortunately, that was the only urgent one. The rest was reinforcements and supply documents. Other than that, all were diplomatic.

  As I read the letters of Ancief and Shertogenbosch, I realized something.

  “Couldn’t Ferdel have taken care of these? I don’t know why I had to sign it.”


  Although Caitel held power, Ferdel decided the policies of the nation.

  It was something anyone in Agrigent would know.

  However, Ferdel shook his head.

  “No. You are needed. I am not the Prime minister anymore.”


  What?

  Seeing me shocked, Ferdel smiled.

  “It just happened.”


  It happened, that was it? The end of the story?

  I couldn’t understand what happened to the great Prime Minister of the Agrigient empire overnight. Was it why everything seemed gloomy?

  He could see my shock, but Ferdel just smiled.

  What happened?

  “It’s fine. It was time for me to step back too.”


  Bullshit!

  Fardel spoke so casually that I couldn’t understand. It was impossible to imagine our country without Ferdel.

  What was dad thinking?

  I wanted to ask something, but seeing Ferdel’s reaction, I couldn’t ask.

  Eventually, I would ask, but it seemed like Ferdel wouldn’t answer me even if I asked seriously.

  Of course, the main reason was I couldn’t take in any more bad news for the day.

  After seeing the next paper I must sign, I suddenly remembered my dad.

  Damn it. I tried holding back my tears and bit my lips, but I couldn’t calm myself.

  “Dad……”


  Holding the pen in my hand, I managed to speak.

  “Did you know he was coming alone for me?”


  “He always does something like that.”


  As if it was natural, Ferdel nodded. He seemed very calm.

  “Neither the country, his life, or his revenge would be comparable to you, princess.”


  Ferdel shrugged.

  Since he said it, it could be the truth, but it only irritated me.

  That idiot.

  I wasn’t happy to hear that. It really wasn’t pleasing. The others were coping with it, but why did I have to realize my father’s love for me so late? I wanted to kill myself very badly.

  “.…… didn’t stop him?”


  “I did.”


  Fardel responded.

  “He isn’t the one to stop when stopped.”


  I knew that.

  Still, I kept thinking about what would happen if Ferdel stopped him. I would have died, which was a better outcome. It was better for me to die than to live with this hellish feeling.

  “I think all of it happened because of me.”


  No, it was because of me.

  My wrong choice had brought a horrible situation. It seemed like I would never forgive myself if something happened to my dad.

  “It wasn’t the princess’ fault. It was natural that something like this would happen. Don’t blame yourself too much because the princess did nothing wrong.”


  “But, I……”


  I couldn’t get myself to speak because of the tears. Even when I tried to talk, my tears flowed.

  “I went out without any thought……”


  “It’s common sense that when one is locked up, one will leave. That was Caitel’s mistake. He just blindly confined you; it was bound to happen.”


  Fardel gently rubbed my neck. His sad gaze looked down at me.

  “He didn’t know how to raise a child.”


  I laughed without realizing it. It was absurd to laugh in that situation, but I couldn’t stop it.

  As I laughed, I cried, and Ferdel smiled.

  I shouldn’t have done that.

  “I was taken down in a hurry, and the seat is vacant. Caitel dismissed me and didn’t choose a replacement. I will take care of all urgent matters, but I would still need permission from the princess.”


  “I approve of it.”


  I nodded as I wiped the tears away from my eyes.

  “Please look after this.”


  “Yes.”


  Even if Ferdel didn’t do it, I would force him to take on the task. I didn’t know what circumstances Ferdel had been taken down, but Ferdel was the only one who could take on the job.

  As I kept sobbing, Ferdel tried to ease me up.

  “Don’t worry too much. He won’t die, princess.”


  Really?

  It would be nice if it were like that.

  I lifted my hand to sign the other documents. Suddenly, the door opened, and someone rushed in.

  “Princess!”


  “Serira?”


  It was shocking for someone to enter the room when I was at work; what was even more shocking was that it was Serira. She would never lose her composure, but she seemed troubled.

  Why was she there?

  It was a simple question.

  Soon after, Serira shouted, and I got up.

  “Your Majesty!”