She casually continued a fairly sensitive story.
"So just because you are a loyal subject doesn't mean you can last forever. The moment it is thought that greed has arisen, the dog will be abandoned and torn to pieces."
"..."
"The Emperor granted me to be his wife. I am the most beautiful and noble woman in the empire. I am the eldest daughter of the imperial family. My role is to tarnish the Marquis's high reputation."
The teacup she put down was as empty as her eyes.
The Princess muttered as she looked out the window, unable to tell what she was thinking.
"Only in this way will the Marquis prove that he is not a threat as the Emperor's dog. A foolish dog who is intoxicated with a noble and beautiful Princess and doesn't even care about the squandering of the family fortune due to her extravagance. It has to be a dog that can never be an owner."
A low voice flowed into my ears.
"It was a needlessly long talk. Just pretend you didn't hear it."
"Yes."
She passed by me, bowing her head politely.
It seemed like she e was probably visiting the Viscountess,
'Living is not easy.'
I can't believe that so many calculations have to go into just spending money.
The Marquis seemed more comfortable swinging his sword freely on the battlefield.
They didn't seem like a very compatible couple.
The Marquis, who exudes a somewhat raw atmosphere, and the Princess, with her unique high self-esteem and arrogance.
'As expected, I need to take care of myself for a while.'
I remembered the Marquis's murderous look in his eyes.
Not surprisingly, Marquis Xavier's expenses were quite solid.
If I moved rashly and got caught, by the tail, my head might be cut off before I could return to Count Brium's house.
'For the time being, I have no choice but to follow my feelings.'
It was the moment when I took a slow step towards a garden full of colorful flowers.
As if he had been told, Hugh, who had been loitering at the entrance to the garden, came towards me.
"Hmm."
"Please don't say anything."
What exactly has been polished and how much it has been polished?
His hair, which had grown like a lion's mane, stuck below his ears. Hugh, who had shaved off his messy beard, trimmed his hair, and put on a proper uniform instead of the mat he was wearing, was clearly similar to the day we first met.
"I just hate this kind of thing."
"You look good as a knight. Up until now, you seemed a bit awkward to be an escort."
I passed him sighing and took a step into the garden.
In a garden full of rare plants and beautiful flowers that I had never seen before, there was a small lake and a connecting bridge.
"It's definitely different."
The ducal garden where Isabella grew up was beautiful, but this place was definitely...
I turned my head at the sight of someone walking in the distance. Today again, I saw the Marquis walking with terrifying intimidation.
I lifted the hem of my dress, bent down, stepped slightly out of the way, and waited for him to pass me. But as time passed, I didn't hear him pass me by.
As I slowly raised my head, I was able to meet his eyes looking down at me right in front of me. The Marquis blurted out.
"The chef captured at the inn opened his mouth."
"It is thanks to His Excellency the Marquis's clever way of conciliating him."
"I broke his legs and ate his fingers off one by one, but he wouldn't listen, so I used Diatomia."
Diatomia is an extremely poisonous plant, and its main symptoms include hallucinations and severe physical seizures.
It was also an excellent confession agent that could brainwash a person trapped in a hallucination into a confession.
'It's a one-time use, so it's not used often.'
Once you use it, the other person's mind will be completely broken, or die.
I bowed my knee first and said hello to the Marquis, who kept his gaze persistently.
"I just hope that the honorable Marquis will eliminate all the criminals who not only threatened me and the Viscountess but also committed such terrible acts in the estate."
It was the moment when I took a step to pass by instead of him who seemed to have no intention of taking a step.
He grabbed my arm in an instant and spoke softly.
"They dared to steal gunpowder from my territory. According to what my knight said, you left the inn with the Viscountess before the knights even said, 'Evacuate.'
As if you expected an explosion."
"..."
"That knight who was supposed to be your escort caught the chef who had run away under the pretense of coincidence and handed him over."
When I turned my head to look at Hugh, he had his hand on the scabbard and a very nervous look on his face.
'No, you said you wouldn't intervene. You said you would just watch.'
If something like that had happened, you should have told me.
I sighed when I saw the light of suspicion lurking in the Marquis' eyes.
"If you dare to rely on the Viscountess to benefit yourself because she is generous and merciful, it would be best not to do it."
I blinked for a moment at the low threat.
No matter how much I thought about it, the epithet he gave seemed unsuitable for the strict Princess who would kill people at the slightest mistake.
After much thought, I decided to get out of this cruel hand and opened my mouth.
"First of all, please let this go, Your Excellency the Marquis... "
I grimaced and staggered as hard as I could, but he didn't budge.
It seemed like it didn't matter that he, the greatest knight in the empire, seemed to be persecuting a noble daughter of the same age as his daughter.
'These guys are the most difficult to deal with.'
If I had known this would happen, I would have listened to Hugh's dissuasion.
He seemed to be dissatisfied with my hesitation, so I gave strength to the hand he was holding.
"Ah!"
As the scream I was suppressing came out of my mouth, I heard the sound of a sword being drawn behind me.
"Phew!"
I was startled and turned around to see Hugh holding a sword towards the Marquis with a stiff expression on his face.
'Aren't you crazy?'
How can you defeat a man with skills that rival those in the empire? At best, it would be like a cat showing off its claws in front of a tiger.
'BlNo.'
The Princess said that she would help 'as long as it is acceptable and 'as long as it does not have any influence on the Marquis family.'
Hugh was not only a knight from the principality, but also a guard knight assigned to me by the Duke himself.
Either he swings his sword and wounds the Marquis, or the Marquis kills him, either way, a problem arises.
It was the exact moment when I bit my lip.
"What on earth is going on!"
The Princess's voice flew into the garden.
Only then did I see the Viscountess, Her Royal Highness, and the servants running towards me from afar.
And we also saw the knights who escorted us to the Marquis's residence.
The person who was hanging limply with both arms tied to them was clearly a man who was said to be a tailor's apprentice.
"Sir, please put the child down."
Despite his cold voice, the Marquis did not relax his grip on me.
Nevertheless, when I saw his eyes on the Princess, I calmly spoke in a whisper.
"Her Highness the Princess does not want the matter to escalate. Neither I nor any of the knights dare pose a threat to her here in the presence of the Marquis and Her Highness."
Only then did the hand that was holding my arm lose its strength.
As I stumbled, swayed by the opponent's power, Hugh threw away his sword and quickly came over to support me.
The Princess's eyebrows were raised.
"She is a guest whom I personally invited. You can't treat her this harshly."
"..."
The Marquis looked at the drooping tailor's disciple with a stern face.
The Marquis' mouth, which had been interrogating me with a fierce force just a moment ago, was surprisingly closed and would not open.
His attitude of not explaining anything was likely to be misunderstood. The Princess's hand holding the fan trembled with anger.
Due to her pride, even if there was a problem with me, there was no way she would be pleased with the Marquis who tried to 'deal with it' without going through her.
'One thing is certain. Really, they are a mismatched couple.'
The knights who dragged the tailor's apprentice forward took something out of his belongings and threw it on the floor.
Only then did the Marquis open his mouth.
"The belongings of the man who came in as your escort and the man who entered the Marquis's residence for the first time today are carrying the same items."
"..."
"Not only is the unique scent that can be smelled in an object, but the shape is also something I am seeing for the first time."
At that moment, the Princess's eyes, which had been filled with anger, narrowed.
I quietly looked at the object on the floor, then bent down and slowly picked it up.
"It's natural that you're seeing it for the first time. This is not an item from the empire, and the wood used here is not commonly grown in the empire."
"It doesn't happen often?"
"This is an item from the Principality of Valentin. As you know, the principality believes in several Gods. Among them, the Goddess 'Nora' is the deity who presides over fate, and totems carved from her are often used as guardian amulets."
"..."
"You can find out for yourself. I have never lied about being from the Principality of Valentin. And that person would not have lied about being from a principality either. I wouldn't have thought this would be a problem."
A few knights who were quick to notice what I said disappeared somewhere.
Probably to confirm the facts with the seamstress.
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