The fourth Princess swallowed her surprise at Medea's words.
Sardinia. This small island off the southern coast of Katzen, bordering Valdina, was a 15th birthday present to the 4th Princess from her maternal grandfather.
Although small in size, Sardinia was a very profitable region, as it had iron mines that could produce their own iron.
The 4th Princess, who had been pondering for a moment, shook her head. She had weighed the value of the island against the severity of this matter in her head.
"...That won't work."
"..."
"Tell me something else, to the best of my ability... I'll listen..."
The 4th Princess's voice gradually became quieter as she stared at Medea blankly.
"4th Princess, did you hear my words as a request?"
"..."
"I forgive you for trying to kill me, I turn a blind eye to the evidence, and I even tell you how to clear your name. I even tell you who's after you, so that's a bonus."
The 4th Princess flinched.
"No matter how much I think about it, I don't think I was asking for something too much."
Green eyes stared at her coldly.
Silence fell.
A dull pressure that seemed to weigh her down. It felt like the 4th Princess was trapped in a snake's coils, wrapping around her body, and it gave her goosebumps.
"..."
The 4th Princess averted her gaze without realizing it.
After a while.
"Then take a look, 4th Princess."
The fourth Princess bit her lip and walked away at Medea's gentle goodbye. Only when she reached a place where Medea's palace was out of sight did she tear off the ornaments on her body and throw them away.
"AAAHHHH! Damn, Valdina! I wasn't supposed to come here!"
***
"I didn't know the Princess would just give it up so easily."
Neril said, looking down at the deed of transfer of Sardinia with the seal of the Fourth Princess.
"It's a shame, but I guess she thought it was better than being stabbed in the back by the Empress."
But there is one thing the 4th Princess doesn't know.
'Sardinia is a golden island with large deposits of mithril.'
This fact was made known to the world only after the Fourth Princess lost the battle for the throne and even the 1st Prince passed away from illness.
However, by then Jason had already become Emperor, and the enormous wealth he had acquired from the mithril from Sardinia went entirely into his pocket.
Medea had no intention of giving up anything that would fill Jason's stomach.
"But it's so frustrating that it's just like this. The Fourth Princess clearly targeted Your Highness, but instead of being punished... she just got a chance to live."
"Don't worry. Angelique won't be okay."
Mithril is a natural resource that cannot be bought with money.
Perdiccas II will not forgive the culprit who gave wings to Valdina, even if she is his own daughter.
By then, the 4th Princess will have realized that she had been tricked by Medea and will want to tear her to pieces.
"I can't accept someone who tried to take my life on a mere island."
She planned to bring even greater despair to the Fourth Princess.
There was no sympathy for Medea in her monotonous voice.
"By the way, Grand Duke Castullo is actually quite a sinister person, despite his appearance."
Neril was furious. As a knight, she despised those who harbored ulterior motives and sacrificed others for their own gain.
"Aren't you saying that he knew of the danger Your Highness was in, but he deliberately pretended not to know for his own benefit?"
She thought of the abominable Grand Duke who had worried about the Princess with a more sincere face than anyone else in the hall.
'And even then, he's still a human being, that's all.'
Medea leaned back in her chair with a tired face.
The argument with the 4th Princess and the memories of her past life welling up deep inside her today increased her fatigue.
'Anyway, since I returned through the Magic Tower, neither the 4th Princess nor Jason had any particular excuse.'
For a moment, Medea's mind wandered.
The tower. Jason. And the Facade.
Medea, who had closed her eyes for a moment, soon opened them again.
"Zeta, tell your master that I'm here to check him out."
"..."
But there was no answer. When she looked at Zeta, he looked flustered, which was unusual for him.
"What's going on?"
"That is..."
Medea suddenly realized that she had not seen the mercenaries of the Facade since her return.
It has been difficult to see Gallo, who has been appearing regularly at the palace events, these days.
"My Master... is not in Valdina."
Zeta, who had been hesitating, answered.
After returning to the palace, he could not tell the truth that Cesare's condition had rapidly worsened.
"I can't do this anymore. Your condition is too bad. You need to go to the Master."
"Don't be so excited, Terence."
When even Terence was left helpless, they left for the magic tower in a hurry.
"Zeta, don't say anything to the Princess of Valdina. Just do as you are now. Like a shadow."
Zeta was troubled.
He couldn't disobey his lord's orders, but he had no idea if he could keep his mouth shut like this.
"Lord Acares...left Valdina a while ago."
Zeta added an explanation, without disobeying the order as much as possible.
He left? Medea paused.
The image of the mercenary smiling languidly came to mind.
She knew he was a fickle person, and that it was natural for him to travel to many countries as an arms dealer, but Medea didn't know he would leave so suddenly without even saying goodbye.
"...Is he coming back?"
Medea's question made Zeta think of his master's condition.
To return to Valdina, he would need to show some signs of recovery, but as a current lord...
A complicated feeling was running through his mind.
"...I am sorry, Your Highness. I cannot speak anymore."
Medea nodded as if she understood Zeta's troubled expression and ordered him to step aside.
"..."
Medea put down what she had been fiddling with on the table.
Two small cylinders, each engraved with a goddess statue and a water droplet sculpture, respectively.
'When I found this, I made a copy just in case. I thought someone might try to get their hands on this sacred object someday.'
One was the Dawn's Droplet she had obtained from the Philosopher's Stone, and the other was a fake so elaborate that, at first glance, it was impossible to tell the difference.
'If possible, I thought I should go through the Facade to get in line with the first Prince rather than the Magic Tower.'
Now that he's left, it's become a distant memory.
Medea opened a small drawer and put a cylinder inside.
'.... He is someone who goes silently like the wind until he leaves.'
A subtle sense of emptiness shook Medea. Was she perhaps in love with that unruly mercenary?
As the night deepened, the forest filled with the scent of grass, the crackling sound of firewood, and the warmth of the campfire came to mind, as she briefly tasted the quiet peace.
Medea immediately shook her head.
'I'm full. I have time to think about such useless things.'
In her second life, which was full of things most people had already experienced, Medea learned something new for the first time.
Comfort makes her weak.
'I don't need this. I don't expect anything.'
Her sword, which she would plunge into her enemies, had to be always sharpened.
Medea woke up from her reverie and raised her head.
"Neril, what happened to what I asked you to do?"
Neriel approached and reported secretly to Medea.
"You told me to check on the movements of those who were in the decree a while ago. They are returning to the capital."
"Yes?"
Medea raised her head. She stared at the wall outside the window.
The green eyes were shining brightly as if they had always been like that.
"Neril, I need to go outside the castle for a bit."
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