Chapter 82

“Of course, I wasn’t planning to send you to the national hospital either. You know that…”

Ameris pulled a letter from her inner pocket.

[A. R.]

The rough handwriting of the sender was unmistakably Aivert’s.

He must have sent that threat via letter…

While Rodella was pressing her forehead in exasperation, Ameris walked to the fireplace and tossed the letter in.

Then, as she returned, she spoke.

“There are quite a few people targeting you.”

—Fwoosh.

Rodella glanced toward her as the letter caught fire.

“…You mean the aristocratic faction?”

“Yeah.”

Ameris nodded.

Rodella briefly recalled the hazy memories before she collapsed.

The ones she had seen—they looked like members of a heretical cult called Valkarion.

“Anyway, as long as we don’t cross the Kalmaron mountain range, you’ll be fine.”

The mountain range that divided the jurisdiction of the Red and Azure Knight Orders.

She had felt a strange sense of familiarity the first time she heard of it.

And it was common knowledge—even street pebbles in the capital square knew—that the Red Knight Order leadership was closely tied to the aristocratic faction.

If the people she saw were talking about the border between the two knight orders—

Could this whole incident have something to do with the aristocrats…?

No way.

“This whole thing… it wasn’t orchestrated by the aristocratic faction, was it?”

“Fortunately, no. You got caught up in it by coincidence. But it’s not like the aristocratic faction has no ties to it, either…”

Ameris glanced at the fireplace again before continuing.

“Aivert moved fast. The entire Royden house was mobilized.”

At that, Rodella thought of Aivert.

His face in her blurred vision.

A strange mix of relief and something else.

She hadn’t clearly seen what kind of expression it was.

“….”

One thing was certain—just remembering it made her heart ache. Aivert had been deeply worried about her.

“They turned Royden upside down to find you before the aristocrats did. Because of that, a lot of Royden’s hidden forces were exposed.”

Rodella’s eyes widened.

Hidden forces? What in the world…?

There was a strange pang of disappointment that she didn’t know all this about Aivert.

And yet, somewhere in her heart, there was a quiet acceptance—as if she’d always known.

Those peculiar bows she kept remembering since arriving at the hospital.

“Is Royden… okay?”

Rodella asked at once.

Ameris raised her brows slightly, as if to say, ‘You’re still worried about Royden, even now?’

“They’ll be fine for now. The aristocratic faction has no solid proof. But things will probably change going forward.”

The battle for the next chancellor seat.

The aristocrats would latch onto anything that could be a weakness.

Like Royden’s suspicious private forces.

Rodella, predicting the future herself, looked down with a troubled expression.

“…What about Aivert?”

She finally asked.

Rodella didn’t want to become a burden to anyone.

Least of all Aivert.

Surely, he had his own goals to accomplish—even while tying himself down with the position of vice commander of the Azure Knight Order.

If this incident had ruined all of that…

Rodella clenched her fist without realizing it—when Ameris answered.

“He went to the island. The one where you were almost taken.”

“Ah…”

The island.

Then the memories returned like waves.

If she didn’t board the ship with the black flag by 8 o’clock, they’d miss their chance to capture them.

She had tried so hard to deliver that message.

“Don’t say anything more.”  

Aivert had said that. And behind him… weren’t there knights?

Rodella held her forehead, feeling a wave of dizziness.

“He didn’t go alone, did he?”

If it were Aivert, he might have.

Ameris looked at her before replying.

“Officially, he went alone.”

“…Officially?”

That meant an unofficial force had accompanied him.

And from the context, there was only one possibility.

“…He went with Royden’s forces, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. Royden’s people are more deeply embedded in the empire than you think. You were able to be transferred here so quickly thanks to that.”

Ameris smiled.

Rodella froze.

Wait a minute.

It was illegal by imperial law for a noble family to raise an abnormal number of private troops.

Just attempting it could result in punishment under treason laws.

But the chancellor knew that Royden’s forces were spread throughout the west?

The chancellor was clearly part of the emperor’s faction. And Aivert…

“You don’t need to worry.”

Ameris held out her hand reassuringly.

“Royden is now clearly a family aligned with the imperial faction. As long as you’re part of it.”

“…Ah.”

Rodella suddenly realized she had overlooked something important.

Aivert hated the imperial family.

“We couldn’t even touch it because it was gifted by the emperor—we just used it for storage.”

She remembered him saying that about a building the imperial family had given them.

After the previous duke’s death, it had been an open secret that Royden had distanced itself from the imperial family.

But now—

Her, who wanted to become the next chancellor.

And Aivert Royden, who was engaged to her.

No matter what history Royden had with the throne, from the moment they were engaged—no, from the moment she joined the Administration Bureau—

Aivert would have been seen as part of the imperial faction.

No one knew that the engagement was merely a contract meant to be broken when we turned twenty-five…

“So that’s why Aivert kept the forces hidden?”

She finally understood.

Ameris tilted her head.

“Hmm?”

“Royden. When the family head changes, they usually throw a big banquet to assert their power—but he didn’t do any of that…”

Aivert had done nothing.

Almost as if he was trying to erase his presence.

Ameris laughed at that.

“Well. You’re both right and wrong.”

With that cryptic comment, she reached out and touched Rodella’s forehead, stopping her from thinking too hard.

“Don’t overthink. You’ll faint again.”

“But now that Royden has revealed its military strength as an imperial faction, they’ll get a lot more pushback…”

She couldn’t help worrying.

Why hadn’t she realized it sooner?

He said he supported her dream.

She hadn’t realized that it would mean shaping the direction of the entire Royden family.

The things she’d brushed off as mere friendship—

“He made the choice himself.”

Ameris said then.

“After ten years of being head of the family, he finally chose to confront things head-on.”

What kind of change in his heart led to that?

Rodella wanted to ask—but felt like she already knew the answer.

As if the feeling she couldn’t name was pointing to the truth, the chancellor looked Rodella square in the eyes.

“There will be a bloodbath in the empire, Rodella.”

At that, Rodella suddenly recalled Aivert’s angry face.

That gaze—so cold it could chill the very soul.

The hospital room fell into heavy silence.

As the chancellor slowly looked around, her eyes landed on a nearby vase.

It held red Lesna flowers, which only grew in salt-rich water near the coast.

It was a flower rarely seen in the center of the empire.

Rodella’s gaze locked on the strange bloom.

“…Your birthday’s coming up, isn’t it?”

Perhaps trying to lighten the mood, the chancellor suddenly changed the subject.

Rodella turned to her.

That long-awaited twenty-fifth birthday suddenly felt very far away.

But the chancellor quickly brought the topic back down to earth.

“How about a diplomatic trip abroad as your birthday present?”

“…What?”

A birthday trip?

Rodella’s eyes grew wide.