“Mother.”

Lorette called her mother with a tearful face.

“Why do you keep calling me? Did I say anything wrong?”

“It’s not that…”

“Don’t worry. If the child is a girl, I can just get pregnant again. I will not stop until the child is a prince.”

Lady Pais smiled behind her fan.

“By the way, did Hazel fix everything?”

“Yes, she did.”

“That’s odd.”

Lady Pais folded the fan and tilted her head.

“What is it?”

“You don’t see it’s strange?”

“At first, but…”

Lady Pais’s eyebrows furrowed as she watched Lorette hesitated.

“I sent you there on purpose. I thought she would kick you out again.”

Lady Pais gritted her teeth.

“But it was really kind of her. Instead of kicking me out, she fixed my messed up speech and lent me the necklace.”

“She was sick for a few days, did she really lose her mind?”

Lady Pais’s expression became serious.

“If I hadn’t, that cheeky little girl…”

“Mother.”

When Lorette quickly pulled her sleeve, Lady Pais withdrew her hand, looking annoyed.

“You think I’m an idiot? No one’s listening.”

There was no one in the vicinity of the mother and daughter speaking together as she spoke.

“Well, thanks to Hazel for lending me this jewel, I was able to catch everyone’s attention.”

“It belonged to Queen Martina? I was the one who managed her jewelry, but….”

“…Mother?”

Lorette looked at her wryly.

“Yes. I was in charge of the Queen’s jewels. But I had never seen this jewel.Truly… all the brilliance and beauty in the world seemed to be there.”

Lady Pais’s eyes narrowed as she remembered the past.

“I’ve never seen it.”

“It’s probably because sister Hazel kept it.”

“It’s her mother’s legacy, of course.”

Lady Pais continued quickly, seemingly unable to hear Lorette’s voice properly.

“Since she had no problem lending it to you, you ask her to just give it to you.”

“What?”

When the startled Lorette asked back, Lady Pais smiled.

“Why are you so surprised? You can be the owner of the jewel.”

“What do you mean? It was sister Hazel’s mother’s.”

“The Queen’s jewels belong to the royal family. It will eventually belong to the lord of the palace, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Hazel, does it?”

“Mother!”

“Someone is coming. Keep your voice down.”

Startled, Lorette hastily covered her mouth. It was then.

“The welcome ball is about to begin. Please join.”

A servant spoke politely as he approached the mother and daughter.

“I understand.”

Lady Pais replied with a thrust of her chin, and the servant bowed his head before retreating.

“Let’s go.”

***

“Without the first Princess, she seems to be getting all the attention.”

Count Burns, one of the attendants on this official visit, said, pointing with his eyes to where Princess Lorette was standing.

“The first princess?”

“Oh, the king has another Princess besides Princess Lorette.”

Sisef answered Achilleon’s question for the Count.

“She was suddenly ill, so she couldn’t make it to the welcoming reception and the ball.”

Somehow a worried expression appeared on Sisef’s face.

“It’s unusual. Originally, it was Princess Hazel, the first princess, who appeared at these public events. The welcome speech Princess Lorette just read would probably have been read by Princess Hazel.”

“I’ve never heard of this before.” Achilleon’s head tilted.

“You’ve been on the battlefield. You don’t know what’s going on in other countries.”

The Count nodded at Sisef’s words, then began to add an explanation.

“Princess Lorette is said to have lived in the favelas until only a few years ago. After the Queen’s death, she and her mother came back to the palace. I’ve heard that the King’s love for the mother and daughter is unparalleled. I heard that they often clashed with the first princess for this reason…..”

The Count tilted his head curiously.

“I’ve heard that the necklace Princess Lorette is wearing belongs to the first Princess’s mother.”

“Did the king take it and give it to the second princess?

“I heard earlier that the first Princess lent it to Princess Lorette.”

“They must have a good relationship.”

Achilleon replied without much ado, but Count Burns was greatly amused.

“They don’t, which is why it’s interesting.”

“…….”

“They are not on good terms. It’s inevitable.”

“Like my mother and the Empress?”

“Well, they are like sisters…”

Count Burns rushed to settle the case with a pitiful face, but the table was already turned.

“Hmm. Anyway, Princess Hazel considered Princess Lorette as a thorn in her eyes. It’s said that Princess Hazel was prone to shouting and getting angry easily.”

“I don’t think I can handle it with a smile either.”

“But Your Highness and Prince Sisef are doing very well. Even though they’re born from different bellies, they share the same father, so they are blood sisters. However, it seems that Princess Hazel did not get along well with Princess Lorette.”

“…So, in conclusion, does this mean that the princess had a change of heart and lent her sister the precious jewels?”

“That’s what the rumors were. It makes sense, but…”

“But?”

“The rumors about the first princess have not been good lately.”

“Why?”

“There’s a rumor going around that she’s crazy.”

The Count’s voice changed surreptitiously.

“She hasn’t come out of her bedroom for days. Some said she might be ill here…”

The Count tapped his head with his finger as he said.

“The rumors seemed to have been hushed up in the palace, but rumors are not slower than the wind, you know.”

“I’m sure they would say something if the rest of the delegation had known about it, but bad news spreads faster than good news.”

“Then again, it doesn’t seem to be as complicated as my family’s situation.”

Achilleon chuckled, and Sisef said,

“Brother, please.”

“While we’re at it, we’re only half-blooded too, so what’s wrong with having the same situation in other countries?”

Sisef’s expression darkened at Achilleon’s words.

“I’ll just stand here, why don’t you go over there?”

Achilleon said, poking Sisef in the arm. Princess Lorette looked at where they were standing and blushed.

“Why don’t you ask her for a dance?”

At Achilleon’s words, Sisef walked over to where Lorette was standing.

After a while, a waltz was played and a man and a woman, hand in hand, began to dance. Everyone in the ballroom marveled at the beautiful scene, as if it was a decoration of a music box.

“Now everyone’s eyes are on that baby in her belly.”

The Count pointed to Lay Pais’s swollen belly as he said.

“If she gives birth to a prince, he will become the next king.”

“How is that possible without the backing of a strong family?”

Count Burns chuckled at Achilleon’s words and added.

“Many of the opposition parties of the dead queen are said to have formed a bond with the mistress now. It’s good for both sides, one gaining prestige and the other gaining power.”

Before they knew it, the waltz was almost over while Count Burns was spilling in all the information he had learned so far. People’s eyes were drawn to Prince Sisef and Princess Lorette, who were dancing in the middle of the hall as if they were symbolizing the peace agreement.

***

When the dancing began in full, Achilleon slipped out of the banquet hall and walked briskly. He felt that it would be a million times easier to fight with a sword than to twirl around in a ballroom.

It was a beautiful and joyous occasion set aside for the peace agreement between Demophos and Land, and underneath all the pomp and grandeur, Achilleon somehow felt more drained than on the battlefield. It was hard to find any connection between peace and dancing.

Sisef loved dancing, and as soon as his wish was granted, he danced, spinning around and around a lot like a ceramic doll in a music box.

Achilleon decided that one clown was enough, so he came out onto the balcony on the pretext of taking a break.

“Hmmm……..”

After setting down the glass he was holding, Achilleon looked around and jumped over the balcony railing.

He landed lightly on the grass and walked away without even looking back.

He went straight into the darkness, looking for a place where no human foot could reach, a place that was the furthest from the ballroom.

There was no path, but branches and weeds everywhere he stepped, but he had experienced many battlefields, and the rough paths of the royal palace were as easy as walking on silks.

Above all, it was the kingdom of the opponent, so it wasn’t bad to know the structure in advance.

He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. It felt as if his thirst, which hadn’t been satisfied even by alcohol, was slowly being relieved as he roamed the royal palace.

The kingdom of Land was much smaller than the imperial palace, but there were many buildings that could be used as fortresses. The place where the royal palace was located was also a fortress terrain of natural blessings.

What peace? It was a ridiculous story until it swallowed up this continent. He uttered a mocking laugh and quickly brushed aside the grass to go further inside.

“Meow.”

A high-pitched wailing was heard from somewhere. There must be a stray cat in the palace, Achilleon thought little of it and moved on.

“Meow.”

As soon as he stepped away, a more pitiful wailing resounded.