*****
Alicia put down the teacup she was holding quietly. Moving her hands gracefully so as not to go against etiquette, she was similar to Arsene, even though blood was not mixed, so it could be called, like mother like son.
"Do you think it makes sense that you still haven't brought that little thing?"
"I'm sorry."
The man, who prostrated in front of her, held his breath and bowed his head. Empress dowager didn't seem to be in a bad mood, so his life didn't seem to be in danger, but he didn't know.
She flicked the tip of her shoe, stroking the monster she had summoned.
At least, what was planned was going well these days, otherwise it would have been a situation where it would have been ruined.
A few well-trained men were brought in. Not one, but several.
In that case, Regina, who had no ability to kill, had to be easily taken here.
But there was a setback.
It was also unexpected that the Duchess of Haynes was sticking by her side, but Cyril Azadi intervened.
Why the hell is that guy?
Even while the Duchess was away, he clung to Regina.
Touching Azadi was the same as touching Misbrunn, so they look for a chance, but he seemed to notice that they were wandering around her.
Alicia blinked slowly, then she looked at the monster hovering at her feet.
"Aim for the time to get out of Misbrunn. Arsene won't be able to go there right now anyway. We'll just have to get it before then."
It was soon. If everything goes according to plan, sooner or later Yurdenian will fall into her hands.
It wasn't just Yurdenian. A bigger dream was right in front of her.
Regina was absolutely necessary for that. A deep smile appeared on Alicia's lips.
*****
"By the way, where is Logan?"
The aide, who was standing behind like a shadow, answered Alicia's question.
"The young master went out for a while."
As soon as she heard that, her fine brow furrowed. The youthful face, which did not suit her age, was distorted, erasing the gentle impression.
She spoke in a dissatisfied tone and stroked the monster's head that reached her hand.
"I'm not very happy. At best, I gave birth to him to put him on the throne instead of me. He say stupid things about becoming a painter that would be like a commoner, or follow them thinking as if they were real brothers? Where else do you go around like that these days?"
The coldly subdued voice was too cold to talk about her son. There was nothing in her look that showed the affection parents should have for their children.
Empress dowager used Logan as a tool. To use it, she had prepared it since he was a child. To be more precise, she had prepared it before he was born.
In order to gain legitimacy as an emperor's blood, she became a queen and did not hesitate to assassinate the empress. She can do whatever he wants, even if her hands are covered in blood.
But he was too soft for what was born from her womb.
How she tried to solidify his position. When she saw him laughing heartily at the cocky bastard, her stomach twisted and her anger soared.
Her son, who was born with his noble blood, shouldn't have bowed his head to such a monster. He shouldn't have put on a stupid face.
Her long fingers twitched and moved, entangled with the devil monster wrapped in thick darkness.
Looking at it, she lazily lowered her eyelids. As she tilted her head, her curly, light blonde hair flowed softly. She was still a beautiful person, as if she had given her soul to the devil in exchange for time.
"Well, he's useless now."
She changed her plan. The emperor will be herself.
If she has power that no one can surpass, no one will object to her sitting on the throne. Even if there is, she just needs to get rid of it.
As for legitimacy, if she had god-like abilities, they would naturally follow.
It was better than placing the infinitely weak Logan on the throne.
As she beckoned, the devil monster that filled her surroundings with his shady aura disappeared in an instant. The air, which had settled heavily, became normal again.
"Then I should go and get ready to welcome Regina Blois."
The black dress rustled as Alicia moved leisurely like a well-fed lion. She took a step forward in the wavy darkness and stopped as if she had remembered something.
"Oh, yeah. Keep an eye on Logan, so he can't do anything useless."
Anyway, she doesn't want to kill what was born from her womb.
*****
Finally arrived at Ormos. Regina and her party entered the city without any accidents after crossing the border.
Ormos was a bigger city than Gravena, where they first stopped. There was a port city of Anardal right next to it, so it benefited from it, and it had a large population, so it was a place that developed in many fields.
"Wow...."
Regina looked around as if it was her first time seeing the splendid and lively city.
Next to her, Cyril also looked around the large building and the people passing by.
"Isn't it big? Ormos is one of the busiest cities in Misbrunn. There are a lot of outsiders, so you won't look suspicious wherever you go."
Then he pointed to the hood of the cloak she was still wearing. He meant to take it off.
Cyril was displeased that she was wearing her hood all the time as she stepped outside. It was his claim that she didn't commit a crime and that she didn't have to hide.
In addition, black hair is not so rare now that it has escaped from the Yurdenian society. Of course, it was still not a common color, but it was not enough to attract everyone's attention.
But she was still hesitant to take it off. It was because she couldn't shake the feeling that exposing it under the light was exposing her to Arsene's gaze.
"Hmm..."
Regina abruptly turned her gaze to the Duchess, who was a little far away.
She was talking to someone who looked like a manager from Senia guild.
They joined halfway through the schedule with the wagon, which was unable to follow because the gates were closed at the border. The gateway had been closed to prevent Regina from escaping, so the closed door opened again not long after. There were many other people crossing the border besides them.
Moreover, there was no excuse to force the guild moving for trade. No matter how much the Duchess of Haynes helped her, that was not a reasonable reason to interfere with the Duchess's work.
The manager and the Duchess, who were talking a few more words, nodded their heads to see if the discussion was over before long, and left.
The manager moves to check the logistics once more, and the Duchess approaches in the direction of Regina and Cyril.
Iria, who made eye contact with Regina as she walked up, gave her the gentle smile she always wears.
"What do you think? It's different from Gravena, isn't it?"
Coming closer, she glanced around and pointed.
"Yes. It can be so different even in the same country. It's amazing."
Before and after she possessed Regina's body, she had never gone far away from where she lived, so this was very interesting to her.
"Then why don't you take a look around for a while? We still have some time until the meal time... so you'll have at least three hours."
"I like it. Shall we go?"
Cyril said, as if he were going with her for granted.
In fact, she couldn't deny that he was helpful to her safety and in many ways. And he was from this country and a high-ranking person, he knew about geography well, so it was useful as a guide.
After thinking about it for a while, Regina didn't take too long and decided right away.
"Okay. I'll be back for a moment."
If she goes to Anardal and take a boat to the next continent, she never knew when she'll be back. She wanted to see if she was excited by the noise created by the crowd.
But before they left, Cyril looked at her intently.
"Are you going to wear a cloak?"
"..... Should I take it off?"
She was definitely excited, but she had an impulsive thought. For some reason, she felt like she could stand in the sunlight without covering her face today.
Realizing that she was hesitant, he actively expressed his affirmation.
"Yeah. You should get some sun sometimes."
Regina, who was worried about his words for a while, hesitated and removed the hood. The black hair shone like silk in the sunlight.
Regina hesitated a little longer and took off her cloak completely. The dress, which was hidden under the thick cloth, was gently swayed by the wind and the legs were revealed at first glance.
It had been a long time since she showed herself fully outside, and for some reason she felt embarrassed. The Duchess, perhaps aware of her embarrassment, patted her arm.
"It's nice to see. Have a safe trip."
"Let's go. I'll show you around."
Cyril didn't miss that moment and led Regina to the main street.
The shopping district was not far from the accommodation. It was because the Duchess of Haynes and her people found a convenient place to work.
Thanks to this, Regina and Cyril hadn't walked too far before he set foot on the same street, and since it was still a bright day, the street was full of people out to do their errands.
However, unlike Cyril, who looked around, Regina kept lowering her head.
She apparently went for walks and shopped in broad daylight until she left Duke Greroy, but she felt intimidated, perhaps because she had become accustomed to living in a cloak for a while.
However, as she carefully covered her face with her hair and looked around carefully, her field of vision could not help but be narrowed.
While she looked at the stall for a while, the number of people increased, and the distance from Cyril widened a little. When she came to her senses, he was already out of reach even if she stretched out her hand.
Realizing it late, she was struggling to get through the crowd, but someone grabbed her wrist.
"You have to be careful."
She raised her head, which had been lowered while making her way through the crowded crowd, and met Cyril's light brown eyes.
Seeing that she had been pushed around, he came up first.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just looking at something for a moment."
She smiled awkwardly and looked far away, and he flicked his finger lightly on her forehead.
"You can't. There are so many people, so let's hold hands for a while. It's dangerous."
Then he reached out his hand in front of her.
"Huh?"
"Give me your hand."
She hesitated for a moment, then he waved his outstretched hand up and down.
Since she had only done this kind of skinship with Arsene so far, his proposal was very awkward.
But in the end, she took his hand, because the surest way to walk down the street and not lose sight of each other was to have a hand or something to touch.
"Let's go there. There's a very famous restaurant over there. It's a bakery, and I think you'll like it."
His hands were big and warm. It felt different from Arsene's hand.
“The pudding is popular over there, but I don’t know if it will remain.”
Unconsciously, she remembered the cool and pretty hands she had clasped before, and she came to her senses at the gripping touch.
In front of her eyes, instead of Arsene's platinum hair, Cyril's sand-colored hair swayed.
'Okay, let's stop thinking about it. I'll be able to get rid of him completely after a while anyway.'
She seemed to have to give up her habit of thinking of him all the time. It was a bad habit for her to live a life without him from now on.
'Let's stop shrinking, too.'
Having made up her mind, she consciously straightened her shoulders and raised her head.
What's with Arsene's eyes. It was all an illusion. Now he couldn't even cross the border.
Thinking so, it seemed that the burden on her shoulders was a little less.
Regina stepped bravely.
*****
The man who was checking the documents at the desk frowned. White hair, whiskers, and wrinkles seemed to show his age.
He muttered as he placed a piece of paper in front of him and stroked his beard.
"I don't know why this guy is doing this all of a sudden."
Morten Azadi, head of the Misbrunn Alliance, was deeply troubled as he read the letter that had crossed the border.
The sender was Duke Arsene Greroy of the Yurdenian Empire.
*****
Morten Azadi pondered over how to reply to the letter from the Duke of Greroy.
It was different. If it had been usual, he would have granted his visit without having to worry. But this time, the situation was a bit...
His grandson, Cyril, asked him directly. He asked if he could stop the Duke of Greroy from entering the country, even for a moment.
Cyril usually seems to live lightly with a round smile, but he was not a person who acted thoughtlessly, so he asked him why.
But he did not give a reason. He just asked if he could believe in himself and do that.
As the head of a country, such a request, which could not even be known for its reasons, was ridiculous. Of course, he was thinking of refusing.
If there was a problem, his grandson knew him all too well. He dared to make a deal with himself, his grandfather and the head of a country, on terms he could not refuse.
And unfortunately he fell for it.
"A cheeky fellow."
That's what he said, but there was a smile around Morten Azadi's mouth. He liked the extraordinaryness of Cyril, his beloved grandson.
In the end, Azadi refused Arsene's diplomatic visit, as Cyril had requested. He thought it wouldn't be a big problem for a while, since he'd receive it again after a while.
He thought it was over like that.
However, the contents of the letter he received again felt like half threatening even if he couldn't make a request.
"What the hell is going on, both sides are doing this."
He stroked his beard and picked up his pen. A deep worry left a mark on his face.
He couldn't help it if Arsene Greroy came out like this. He felt that if he did not want to go to war again, he would have to step back from this point.
It wasn't that his pride wasn't hurt by his reckless threats. If it had been the young Morten Azadi, who was very belligerent, he would have rushed to meet with diplomacy or something.
Unfortunately, however, he was now the head of a country, and he couldn't commit such a careless act.
Morten wrote a letter to Cyril before writing a reply to Arsene.
It was said that he had done enough to do a favor, and that Arsene would now be allowed to enter the country.
====================
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