Barden bit into the tender flesh in his mouth.
Then, he hid his true intentions as much as possible and opened his mouth calmly.
"Oh, I heard it too. Rumors that Duke Rudnine of Iels is coming to the capital."
"Yes. I don't know why Duke Iels, who is known for his insistence on staying in the North, is coming to the capital."
"Yes, but... I don't know why."
Fed up with Barden's insistence on an ironclad attitude until the end, Adrian became impatient and finally asked him a question openly.
"Don't pretend to be pretentious, Barden. Isn't the Duke of Iels coming to the capital because of a matter related to Princess Yvonne Argenthoz?"
Barden felt strange and stopped.
Adrian looked nervous. The Prince who dared to ask Yvonne's name looked different from usual.
Barden asked Adrian, hardening his expression.
"Your Highness. Were you interested in my sister? I know you don't like her."
"Of course, I'm not Interested. Just..."
"Just?"
Barden held on to Adrian's tail as he blurted out.
Adrian shrugged his shoulders and replied.
"If the Duke of Iels comes to see Princess Yvonne, as rumored. Frankly, wouldn't the Duke of Iels' reputation be tarnished? As the Crown Prince, I am worried about the prestige of a noble vassal."
'What? You bastard.'
A thick tendon sprouted from Barden's forehead.
Angered by Adrian's openly insulting his sister Yvonne in front of him, Barden clenched his fists.
Not long ago, he thought that Yvonne, like the Crown Prince, was an irredeemable "mad dog," but now it is different.
He was shocked by Adrian's coldness, and he was hurt by the fact that he often ran into Yvonne, who was being gentle with him a few times these days.
On the contrary, he felt guilty that he had misunderstood Yvonne.
Since his father, Yvonne's only family, including him, did not believe in her, Yvonne, who was lonely, may have clung to Prince Adrian, who was only good in appearance and status.
"Isn't it?"
'...Hah.'
Barden wanted to hit Adrian's smiling face.
Barden regretted the time he had sympathized with the Crown Prince and felt even more sorry for Yvonne.
'...Where is the palace of the prince?'
As his father said, there was another Prince, and he wanted to replace him with a new Prince.
As he turned his head in the direction of the Yellow Palace, he noticed a black handprint on a tree planted in the palace garden.
'What is this?'
Surprised, Barden hurried over to the strange tree and examined the trunk.
Then, as was his custom on the battlefield, he took a picture of it with a bracelet-shaped portable magic projector on his wrist and immediately recorded it.
"Why? What's going on?"
He turned to Adrian, who followed him to ask.
"Here..."
Personally, he was annoying, but he had to report on the situation because he was the Crown Prince.
Barden looked back at the tree and tried to continue, but he stiffened.
'What?'
The black marks on the tree suddenly disappeared cleanly.
"Nothing happened."
"...I think I'm mistaken."
Barden stared at the tree that was so absurd that it had lost its marks, and fiddled with his magic projector bracelet.
Only if there is a projector body that matches this bracelet can the screen be taken.
It could be his mistake, so he decided to go home and check it out.
'Hmm.'
Adrian thought that Barden, who looked at the tree silently, had deliberately avoided the topic he had brought up.
He continued in an impatient voice.
"Barden. Don't avoid it, but listen to it. Actually, I have another part to worry about. It's a bit like saying it with my mouth, but hmm..."
"Yes?"
He had a feeling that Adrian was going to talk even more nonsense than before, and he wanted to cover his ears.
"I'm worried that the Princess may have blackmailed the Duke of Iels in a very sinister way to win my heart."
Why can't I get rid of my premonition?
Barden suppressed his rising anger and called out to Adrian in a grim voice.
"...Your Highness."
However, the unsuspecting Adrian did not stop.
"Hmm. But it doesn't move me. Instead, tell her that if the Princess comes to me and apologizes to Princess Cordelia and me, I will forgive her for the bombing of the Naciel district."
Barden was stunned.
Adrian is shameless and smiles brightly when he finishes speaking.
He was sure that his future would be very depressing if he had to live with this man as Emperor in the future.
"Yes... Surely..."
He grinned as he grinned, grinning at Adrian, who didn't notice it again.
"Yes, yes. It's time for the Princess to come to her senses. Let's take this opportunity to make sure."
'Keep your mind up...!'
He wanted to break Adrian's arm as he patted him on the shoulder.
However, Barden was a wizard, and Prince Adrian was a physically superior sword master.
The difference was evident by force, and Barden had no choice but to hold back.
Of course, he shouldn't touch the Crown Prince.
Barden understood Yvonne's strong feelings about throwing bombs, and he envied her ability to ignore the situation and her identity.
'Yvonne is strong, so I want you to break the Crown Prince's arm."
Knowing his sister's immense powerlessness, Barden glared sideways at Adrian and gnashed his teeth.
Adrian continued to talk casually, and Barden replied dryly.
The garden became quiet after they left.
Cordelia was hiding behind a tree, and she slowly appeared.
There was still a trail of blood on the corners of Cordelia's mouth.
"Why is His Highness... Are you upset by that evil woman?"
Cordelia couldn't hide her nervousness and bit her nails.
A storm raged in her innocent eyes, and she bit her lip roughly.
'Yvonne Argenthoz. Hurry up and show up like before and make a fuss!'
Why did she simply kill her shadow and get the Crown Prince's attention?
Cordelia cursed Yvonne's name in her heart and quickly walked to catch Adrian's strangely shaken heart.
How did you get here?
The shadow sent to monitor Yvonne died, and her life span was shortened by 10 years, but it didn't matter.
After all, it wasn't a life she wanted to live long in.
'For the day when everything ends.'
Cordelia's eyes glistened with madness, strongly emblazoned with hatred.
***
Carol continued to fold her waist in half.
"Thank you, Princess! Thank you, thank you..."
I sat at an angle in my chair, tilted my chin, and sighed.
"Carol? I counted... This is the thirtieth thank you."
"I'm going to fill my stomach a hundred times..."
Carol, who was happy with tears in her eyes when she received the lace gift from me, was saying everything she wanted to say.
I rubbed my throbbing temples and took a bite.
"...Then will you do it to me?"
"Yes, Princess!"
Carol's cheeks were red, and she looked genuinely excited.
'Is it that good?'
It's not expensive.
Even though I was only given a few lines of lace, the corners of her mouth went up as she looked at my favorite laces.
However, the daytime incident did not leave my mind, and my mood kept sinking.
What was that strange thing buried in my shadow?
I also thought about discussing it with the Duke or the Barden right away.
But they must have thought it strange that I hadn't cast a tracking spell on something unknown.
I remember that Yvonne was also very good at tracking magic.
Even in the original, she finally tracks down Cordelia, who ran away from her.
'Ugh, my head hurts.'
I wanted to somehow get the magic back without telling the Duke and the Barden.
Since I'm Yvonne Argenthoz, I have to know how to use magic.
If I don't know how to use magic like this.
I was afraid that I would be excommunicated because I was considered a flaw in the Argenthoz family.
Yes, honestly, it wouldn't be excommunication, but I didn't want to be abandoned by my family, who were just moving forward with a friendly relationship.
Now, just imagining the Duke and Barden giving me cold looks makes my heart sink.
If I could, I wanted to regain the magic on my own without getting caught.
'Let's do our best.'
As soon as I got home, I went to the library at the Argentoz mansion and frantically searched for related books.
Even if I don't understand how to use magic, I can read information about monsters, demons, and spells that lurk in the shadows.
'Hmm, but there wasn't any.'
The library did not achieve much success.
Still, Yvonne was destined to become a great warlock. Didn't they leave any clues or methods related to this?
Thinking optimistically and cheering up, I decided to look around me.
I observed Carol in the corner fiddling with the lace I gave her.
Carol looks like a gentle puppy with big eyes and a fearful look.
She was Yvonne's oldest henchwoman, who served the pranky and vicious Yvonne for five years.
I asked Carol, leaning up from the back of my chair.
"Carol. Perhaps, uh... I mean, remember the place where I told you not to touch it?"
I guessed that Carol knew something, so I hurriedly asked her a question.
Carol's face turned into a contemplation as she looked into the space, and she shook her head.
"Yes...? I mean, the Princess's bomb making room... Oh, no, the locker on the right side of the Magic Artifact Lab was not touched!"
A bomb manufacturing room. Haha...
How many bomb artifacts did Yvonne make in the lab?
Is there a reason why you studied bombs day and night without paying attention to other artifacts?
"I'm really!"
By the way, Carol had misinterpreted my words, trembling and making excuses.
I thought I was asking if you touched that cabinet.
I got up from my chair, walked over to Carol, patted her on the shoulder, and grinned.
"No, I don't. Just... I asked. And just in case, if someone tries to touch it... Be sure to tell me."
"Yes! As you ordered before, if anyone breaks into the lab, I will throw the bomb you gave me without hesitation."
Carol calmly pointed to the earring on her left ear.
I swallowed hard and replied.
"... Yes."
'Was that earring you always wore a bomb artifact...?'
Carol, who casually wears a bomb as an earring, did not survive as Yvonne's maid for nothing.
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