I headed to the reception room where the guests were waiting.
In the reception room was a skinny middle-aged man, neatly dressed but wearing old, tattered clothes.
He was pacing anxiously in front of the fireplace, then he looked at me with a startled expression.
I called the name Mainz had given me.
“Montrill Piraeus?”
He took off the hat he was wearing and took it in his hand, and asked.
“Y, Your Highness, the Princess...? Are you, Your Highness, the Princess Chloe?”
I could clearly see the countless emotions flashing across his face.
He staggered towards me, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotion and sadness.
“Are you really Princess Chloe?”
"Yes. I finally get to meet you. It must have been a difficult journey, so I'm glad you arrived safely. I've always wanted to meet you anyway."
When I smiled, he just stared at me with a blank expression and gasped for breath.
“Are you okay? Please sit down for a moment.”
As I spoke with concern, he suddenly burst into tears.
“I didn’t know you would grow up so healthy. So healthy... So healthy...”
“Why are you crying? Calm down.”
Seeing me looking embarrassed, he hurriedly took out a handkerchief from his bosom and wiped his face.
"I apologize, Your Highness. I've longed to see you several times, requesting an audience at the palace, but each time I've been turned down due to health reasons..."
“Did you come looking for me?”
“Yes. I wanted to know how Her Majesty the Empress was doing after Her late Majesty passed away.”
“I see. I had no idea...”
He was stopped by Kavala.
It was clear that I knew it and that Montrill knew it too.
A brief silence flowed between us. It was a silence of anger and despair.
He broke the silence first.
“I am glad to see that Your Highness, the Princess, looks healthy.”
He said that even though I was still skinny and my complexion wasn't very good, as I'd been sick a lot recently.
He was relieved that, contrary to rumors, I wasn't crazy.
I felt a strange sense of genuine concern and relief from him.
There was someone worried about me in a place I didn't know.
“I was incompetent and couldn’t take care of my mother. I’m sorry.”
"No! It's not right. I'm simply grateful that I can meet Your Highness, the Princess, even now."
Then he took something out of his bosom and handed it to me.
“I wanted to convey this to Your Highness in person someday.”
“What is this?”
What he handed me was a letter.
“Open it.”
I opened the old, crumpled, and worn envelope and pulled out a letter with yellowed corners.
“This is...”
It was a familiar handwriting.
Montrill wiped his face again with his handkerchief and explained calmly.
“This is a letter Her Majesty the Empress sent me before she passed away.”
The letter was full of information about top management.
Mother was writing down in detail to Montril the things she needed to pay close attention to, things she wanted him to remember to take care of, and so on.
"Her Majesty the Empress was actively involved in the operations of the Szeged Merchant Association. She cherished it deeply."
Montrill's voice was wet again.
I ran my finger along the traces of my mother's name left on the letter with longing.
“I see...”
As I was reading and rereading the letter, Montrill spoke cautiously. Unlike a moment ago, his voice was low and tense.
“But the truth is, the reason I am showing this letter to Your Highness is not to talk about that.”
“...?”
“You may think I’m out of my mind, but...”
He pointed out a specific point in the letter and said:
"Look here. When Her Majesty the Empress sent me this letter, she asked me to meet her at the embassy in two days. She said she wanted to see the imported goods in person."
"However?"
“But that was the last time. Her Majesty the Empress passed away the day before our promised date.”
“...”
“Without any warning.”
He licked his lips nervously with his tongue, watching my reaction.
“Well, what I want to say is...”
“Are there any questions about my mother’s death?”
"...I'm sorry, Your Highness. But I really wanted to let you know. A person who is prepared to die would never make such a promise on the verge of death. The Empress I know would take her own life like that...!"
I nodded, looking at Montrill, who was pouring out his thoughts despite his fear.
“I know everything.”
"...Yes?"
I gave him a bitter smile, meaning he didn't have to try any harder.
“I know everything.”
"Your Highness..."
“I can guess why you have never told anyone about this before and are only now coming to me to tell them.”
I emphasized.
“I know everything, everything.”
“Ah, ahh...”
“That’s why I came to Ronheim.”
“Ah! Oh my!”
Montrill collapsed and wept.
“Our poor Princess Highness... You have suffered so much. You have truly suffered so much... Oh my!”
Mainz, startled by his cries, entered the drawing room with the knights, then quietly left after I gestured for him to leave.
Montrill cried for a long time.
“I apologize for not being able to protect Your Highness, the Princess. I wonder what hardships you must have endured in the palace...”
My eyes also became wet.
He bowed his head before me, unable to raise his tear-stained face.
"More than anything, I can't express how embarrassed I am to have appeared in this state. I should have properly protected the upper class... I can't express how embarrassed I was when I heard that ownership of the upper class had been transferred to Your Highness, the Princess."
“Why are you saying that?”
"The top is now nothing but a shell. How I felt when I heard that Empress Kavala had given Your Royal Highness this shell of a top and a barren land, and exiled you to a faraway land..."
To calm him down, I corrected his misconceptions.
“No, I asked for this Szeged Upper and Rosendal territory. I received it because I asked for it.”
"Yes?"
I said as I handed him my fluffy handkerchief while he was holding a very wet one.
“I needed you.”
“Yes..?”
"I need you. Someone I can trust with my lifeline. Someone capable of running the top with resilience and responsibility."
“But as you can see, this is what I look like.”
He pointed to his worn-out clothes with his hand.
“The current top is no different from mine.”
“That may be the case now. But I trust my mother’s eye and your abilities.”
"Your Highness...!"
I lowered my voice and faced him with determination.
“Will you help me achieve my revenge?”
He looked up at me.
It was a face of gratitude that someone believed in him and reached out to him when he had lost everything and fallen to the ground.
I could clearly see a firm resolve emerging from his once empty and gloomy face.
He quickly cleaned his face, got down from the sofa, and knelt in front of me.
"It is my wish, Your Highness. I will dedicate my life to following You."
Montrill said he would take a day off and then return to Arrental, as he felt he had a lot of work to do up top.
I asked Mainz to treat him so that he could rest comfortably, and went to find Callius.
Callius was looking at papers in his office.
“Chloe, are you feeling better?”
As soon as he saw me, he asked about my physical condition.
I felt a warm concern for me from him, and my heart fluttered, so I smiled awkwardly.
“Thanks to you.”
“I heard you have a guest. He’s the head of the Szeged branch.”
I told Callius about Montrill.
How trustworthy he is and how much he can help me.
Callius supported me without me having to explain at length.
“I guess that’s who Chloe recommends as trustworthy.”
I am so grateful for this strong support that it brings tears to my eyes.
He has no idea how special these moments are to me.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Me?”
When I tried to pretend not to be shy, he rested his chin on his hand and smiled faintly.
“Is it good?”
“What is it?”
“Do you feel that good just by looking at my face?”
“Wh, what...”
He held his chin with his index finger and thumb in a V shape.
"Well, I can't help but laugh. He must be the most handsome face Chloe has ever seen."
“Huh...! That’s what my friend said!”
“You said it looks exactly the same, so isn’t that it?”
“Please refrain from making that expression!”
"Which...?"
“That show-off...!”
“But you like it, don’t you?”
I groped my face, asking what he was talking about, then hastily lowered my hand.
It was because I realized that I was smiling so hard that my cheekbones hurt.
‘No...! I laughed because he was so shameless...’
I quickly changed my expression and asked seriously.
“I just received a report about the money received from the Vermis mushrooms and the remaining amount from selling the jewels.”
Callius stopped joking and asked.
“Some of it was used to buy food as Chloe ordered, and there’s still a considerable amount left over. What are you going to do now?”
“I must use it to keep my promise to Callius.”
The promise to reclaim Ronheim wasn't just a vague, distant future.
"We'll start raising an army right away. The Szeged upper house has promised to supply us with weapons in the future."
Callius looked a little surprised. He seemed not to have expected me to be so proactive and swift in my military preparations.
I warned Callius.
“Because I imprisoned Sernia, Empress Kavala will soon realize that I betrayed her.”
“Let’s prepare for Empress Kavala to send an army.”
He spoke firmly, but I shook my head.
“No, before that, we’ll hit the Empress first.”
In the reception room was a skinny middle-aged man, neatly dressed but wearing old, tattered clothes.
He was pacing anxiously in front of the fireplace, then he looked at me with a startled expression.
I called the name Mainz had given me.
“Montrill Piraeus?”
He took off the hat he was wearing and took it in his hand, and asked.
“Y, Your Highness, the Princess...? Are you, Your Highness, the Princess Chloe?”
I could clearly see the countless emotions flashing across his face.
He staggered towards me, his eyes filled with a mixture of emotion and sadness.
“Are you really Princess Chloe?”
"Yes. I finally get to meet you. It must have been a difficult journey, so I'm glad you arrived safely. I've always wanted to meet you anyway."
When I smiled, he just stared at me with a blank expression and gasped for breath.
“Are you okay? Please sit down for a moment.”
As I spoke with concern, he suddenly burst into tears.
“I didn’t know you would grow up so healthy. So healthy... So healthy...”
“Why are you crying? Calm down.”
Seeing me looking embarrassed, he hurriedly took out a handkerchief from his bosom and wiped his face.
"I apologize, Your Highness. I've longed to see you several times, requesting an audience at the palace, but each time I've been turned down due to health reasons..."
“Did you come looking for me?”
“Yes. I wanted to know how Her Majesty the Empress was doing after Her late Majesty passed away.”
“I see. I had no idea...”
He was stopped by Kavala.
It was clear that I knew it and that Montrill knew it too.
A brief silence flowed between us. It was a silence of anger and despair.
He broke the silence first.
“I am glad to see that Your Highness, the Princess, looks healthy.”
He said that even though I was still skinny and my complexion wasn't very good, as I'd been sick a lot recently.
He was relieved that, contrary to rumors, I wasn't crazy.
I felt a strange sense of genuine concern and relief from him.
There was someone worried about me in a place I didn't know.
“I was incompetent and couldn’t take care of my mother. I’m sorry.”
"No! It's not right. I'm simply grateful that I can meet Your Highness, the Princess, even now."
Then he took something out of his bosom and handed it to me.
“I wanted to convey this to Your Highness in person someday.”
“What is this?”
What he handed me was a letter.
“Open it.”
I opened the old, crumpled, and worn envelope and pulled out a letter with yellowed corners.
“This is...”
It was a familiar handwriting.
Montrill wiped his face again with his handkerchief and explained calmly.
“This is a letter Her Majesty the Empress sent me before she passed away.”
The letter was full of information about top management.
Mother was writing down in detail to Montril the things she needed to pay close attention to, things she wanted him to remember to take care of, and so on.
"Her Majesty the Empress was actively involved in the operations of the Szeged Merchant Association. She cherished it deeply."
Montrill's voice was wet again.
I ran my finger along the traces of my mother's name left on the letter with longing.
“I see...”
As I was reading and rereading the letter, Montrill spoke cautiously. Unlike a moment ago, his voice was low and tense.
“But the truth is, the reason I am showing this letter to Your Highness is not to talk about that.”
“...?”
“You may think I’m out of my mind, but...”
He pointed out a specific point in the letter and said:
"Look here. When Her Majesty the Empress sent me this letter, she asked me to meet her at the embassy in two days. She said she wanted to see the imported goods in person."
"However?"
“But that was the last time. Her Majesty the Empress passed away the day before our promised date.”
“...”
“Without any warning.”
He licked his lips nervously with his tongue, watching my reaction.
“Well, what I want to say is...”
“Are there any questions about my mother’s death?”
"...I'm sorry, Your Highness. But I really wanted to let you know. A person who is prepared to die would never make such a promise on the verge of death. The Empress I know would take her own life like that...!"
I nodded, looking at Montrill, who was pouring out his thoughts despite his fear.
“I know everything.”
"...Yes?"
I gave him a bitter smile, meaning he didn't have to try any harder.
“I know everything.”
"Your Highness..."
“I can guess why you have never told anyone about this before and are only now coming to me to tell them.”
I emphasized.
“I know everything, everything.”
“Ah, ahh...”
“That’s why I came to Ronheim.”
“Ah! Oh my!”
Montrill collapsed and wept.
“Our poor Princess Highness... You have suffered so much. You have truly suffered so much... Oh my!”
Mainz, startled by his cries, entered the drawing room with the knights, then quietly left after I gestured for him to leave.
Montrill cried for a long time.
“I apologize for not being able to protect Your Highness, the Princess. I wonder what hardships you must have endured in the palace...”
My eyes also became wet.
He bowed his head before me, unable to raise his tear-stained face.
"More than anything, I can't express how embarrassed I am to have appeared in this state. I should have properly protected the upper class... I can't express how embarrassed I was when I heard that ownership of the upper class had been transferred to Your Highness, the Princess."
“Why are you saying that?”
"The top is now nothing but a shell. How I felt when I heard that Empress Kavala had given Your Royal Highness this shell of a top and a barren land, and exiled you to a faraway land..."
To calm him down, I corrected his misconceptions.
“No, I asked for this Szeged Upper and Rosendal territory. I received it because I asked for it.”
"Yes?"
I said as I handed him my fluffy handkerchief while he was holding a very wet one.
“I needed you.”
“Yes..?”
"I need you. Someone I can trust with my lifeline. Someone capable of running the top with resilience and responsibility."
“But as you can see, this is what I look like.”
He pointed to his worn-out clothes with his hand.
“The current top is no different from mine.”
“That may be the case now. But I trust my mother’s eye and your abilities.”
"Your Highness...!"
I lowered my voice and faced him with determination.
“Will you help me achieve my revenge?”
He looked up at me.
It was a face of gratitude that someone believed in him and reached out to him when he had lost everything and fallen to the ground.
I could clearly see a firm resolve emerging from his once empty and gloomy face.
He quickly cleaned his face, got down from the sofa, and knelt in front of me.
"It is my wish, Your Highness. I will dedicate my life to following You."
***
Montrill said he would take a day off and then return to Arrental, as he felt he had a lot of work to do up top.
I asked Mainz to treat him so that he could rest comfortably, and went to find Callius.
Callius was looking at papers in his office.
“Chloe, are you feeling better?”
As soon as he saw me, he asked about my physical condition.
I felt a warm concern for me from him, and my heart fluttered, so I smiled awkwardly.
“Thanks to you.”
“I heard you have a guest. He’s the head of the Szeged branch.”
I told Callius about Montrill.
How trustworthy he is and how much he can help me.
Callius supported me without me having to explain at length.
“I guess that’s who Chloe recommends as trustworthy.”
I am so grateful for this strong support that it brings tears to my eyes.
He has no idea how special these moments are to me.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Me?”
When I tried to pretend not to be shy, he rested his chin on his hand and smiled faintly.
“Is it good?”
“What is it?”
“Do you feel that good just by looking at my face?”
“Wh, what...”
He held his chin with his index finger and thumb in a V shape.
"Well, I can't help but laugh. He must be the most handsome face Chloe has ever seen."
“Huh...! That’s what my friend said!”
“You said it looks exactly the same, so isn’t that it?”
“Please refrain from making that expression!”
"Which...?"
“That show-off...!”
“But you like it, don’t you?”
I groped my face, asking what he was talking about, then hastily lowered my hand.
It was because I realized that I was smiling so hard that my cheekbones hurt.
‘No...! I laughed because he was so shameless...’
I quickly changed my expression and asked seriously.
“I just received a report about the money received from the Vermis mushrooms and the remaining amount from selling the jewels.”
Callius stopped joking and asked.
“Some of it was used to buy food as Chloe ordered, and there’s still a considerable amount left over. What are you going to do now?”
“I must use it to keep my promise to Callius.”
The promise to reclaim Ronheim wasn't just a vague, distant future.
"We'll start raising an army right away. The Szeged upper house has promised to supply us with weapons in the future."
Callius looked a little surprised. He seemed not to have expected me to be so proactive and swift in my military preparations.
I warned Callius.
“Because I imprisoned Sernia, Empress Kavala will soon realize that I betrayed her.”
“Let’s prepare for Empress Kavala to send an army.”
He spoke firmly, but I shook my head.
“No, before that, we’ll hit the Empress first.”
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