The day after that, I started to return to work .

Tanya expressed a great deal of concern for me with tears in her eyes, and Merida was much the same .

Although other people close to me didnt know the details, they assumed I had fallen ill from overwork, so they were also caring and warm .

The officials were overjoyed by my return .

Even though I felt incredibly indebted to them, I still tried to do my best work every day .

My heart still ached . I couldnt forget him .

No matter how much I immersed myself in workno, thats precisely why I threw myself into work .

How much time had I spent with him in this house?

There was always so much work, but we still spoke of the future .

When we came up with a new strategy, we celebrated together .

When we encountered an obstacle, we confronted it together .

Even if I wanted to treat him as part of the past and abandon him, there were too many parts of this mansion that retained his memory .

So, it couldnt be helped .

And so, I couldnt fix things .

After all, even nowI was certain that I loved him .

These thoughts flashed through the corner of my mind while I dealt with the piles of work .

And then time passed while I tried to refind the feeling of working from beforehand .

The big project was finally here . The day of negotiation with the Acacia Kingdom had arrived .

Tanya stood behind me, while my mother sat beside me .

While both of them looked completely normal in what they wore, they were armed to the teeth .

Whatever the other side did, they said, theyd be able to react immediately .

Ryle and Dida hadnt assigned any other guards indoors because of them, handing the protection of the mansion over to them .

Since it was a negotiation for peace, if we marched out the troops for this discussion it would give others a reason to gossip .

When I felt just about ready, Tanya approached me quietly .

Milady, I think theyre here .

I forced myself into a state of heightened awareness .

Welcome, Prince Majid .

I smiled to welcome the man who walked in .

Prince Majid, who was dressed in full royal garb, responded with a smile too .

He looked quite suspicious to me, but Im sure he regarded me the same too .

I am genuinely happy to be able to see you again .

Saying this, he kissed the back of my hand .

I couldnt help but grimace a smile at his antics .

Pleasure to meet you, Prince Majid .

He made the same grimacing expression as I did .

The first time he was here, it was his ideas leading the way . So this time it was our turnhe seemed to understand what I was saying .

Im sure he wanted to pretend as if the previous visitation hadnt happened .

Considering this, I emphasized it as if we were meeting for the first time .

Please, Prince Majid . Be seated .

Waiting for him to sit, I sat across from him and stared at him .

What a fearless smile . The noble, serious aura was quite a fit for his handsome, rugged face .

Everything about him gave off the impression of a king .

What a good territory . The people live with wealth, and the rulers and politics are stable .

Ahthank you .

How false . I felt a shred of anger burn through my heart . Not that Id let it show on my face .

But recently weve encountered our share of fearful matters .

I purposefully said this with a sad tone .

Oh

A concerning light shone in his eyes .

Other countries have attacked us .

How incrediblyunfortunate .

Indeed . I didnt expect the nation who asked for my hand to attack us .

In that moment the room turned dead silent .

I was already testing his attitude in my own way . He must be considering his next words now too .

What I wanted to explain wasthis was the intent of the Towair Kingdom and our previous king . I had nothing to do with the schemes . It was not my intention .

His straightforward admission made me breathe out .

Not your intentioneven so, the fact that the Acacia Kingdom invaded my nations territory is an indisputable fact . How does your country plan on taking responsibility for this?

He smiled . While I was questioning him .

It was enough to rouse goosebumps on my skin .

Excuse me . Trying to explain myself to you is due to my personal feelingsafter all, I do not want you to dislike me . Although I have my own thoughts, I have to explain on behalf of my country first . This whole incident was due to the previous king and a portion of his followers . Our nation had no intent of attacking your territory .

Youre saying it in a different way, but the contents of your statement remain the same .

What a pointed comment . Prince Majid said with an exasperated smile .

Im getting emotional because my citizens were attacked .

How frightening .

Hm, was my expression really so scary?

No, not the case . Its precisely because your expression didnt change, thats why you are frightening . You wouldnt act on your emotions . When people like that are disappointed, they tend to be easily led by their noses .

I didnt react visibly to what he said, but internally I didnt know what to feel .

How difficult it was to deal with him .

So, weve prepared reparations for the victims of this riot . The contents are in this documentall you have to do is sign .

The middle-aged man waiting behind the prince retrieved the document respectfully .

Accepting it, I began to read .

This is not enough .

I said in a soft voice, skimming through it .

Oh?

Prince Majids gaze turned sharp .

The whole atmosphere of the room tensed .

Prince Majidas a matter of fact, the first prince of your nation has sought our protection and is currently staying here .

His countenance seemed more stressed after this statement .