"If you had not, someone else would have been sacrificed and killed instead of you. Julietta, don't forget. What I want to protect now includes you."

Simone was surprised at the thought that she had given this child this much love, but decided not to hide her thoughts. She was happy in her present life. It was better to live without the oppression of her brother and niece, with Julietta and those who cared for her, acting frankly without calculation. She liked this proud day-to-day feeling, which seemed to be the first time she'd ever found her place since she lost her husband and returned to her parents' home.

Julietta opened her eyes wide, surprised by Simone's words, and soon curled them up. "Yes, so do I. Aunt, Vera, Phoebe, the family of the boutique, Manny... everyone is precious to me and I really want to protect them. So, I can't be weak, can I?"

Simone grasped Julietta's hands and let go. "You can be weak. But you can also be strong again, and you should never be shaken. Don't relax, since I don't think my brother's going to stay the way he is."

"What can the Duke do now?"

She had heard that Prince Killian pressured the Duke to go along with this. He even used magic to keep his mouth shut, so she wondered what he could do.

"You and His Highness don't know my brother well. No, you don't know Regina well, either. I didn't think that much about Regina until recently, either."

Simone recalled her niece who had casually done such a scary thing to control her with the headache-inducing tea.

"You must never let go of your thoughts until you are seated in the highest seat in Austern, solidify your seat and eliminate all the elements of anxiety. Do you understand?"

Julietta recalled the affair in the mansion where she had been kidnapped and taken away. A stranger in a strange place on a dark night, the harsh breathing, and the heavy body that was attacking her... She didn't want to go through that again, ever!

"My attention has been relaxed for a while. Auntie's right. I should never let go of my drive! I'll keep it in mind."

At her promise, Simone clasped her hands firmly, let go, and left the room.

Wap-wap, wap-wap. Perhaps Manny noticed its master's uneasy mind, came up and got entangled in her feet.

Julietta hugged Manny and clasped it tightly in her arms. All the troubles and worries seemed to be nothing when the small body which was so soft and warm came to her.

"Manny, I'll cheer myself up. I have to cheer myself up."

Julietta buried her face in Manny's white fur to console herself for a long time. She wanted to take a good rest for today, without any thoughts. Since she'd been running so hard, she thought this much laziness would be forgiven.

---------------------

The next day, Julietta said with a determined look, "Vera, I'm going to Tilia."

Vera protested at the sudden announcement. "His Highness Killian took care of everything. Why are you going there?"

Julietta looked at the anxious Phoebe, and following Vera who hated the two aristocrats. "I can't keep my life in the hands of others. I'll meet the Duke and Regina, and see what they're thinking."

They were people who had lost everything overnight. No matter how he was silenced by magic, she needed to see how he was doing herself.

Even though she had settled in this world with convenient magical items and a Magic Square, it was partly because she couldn't abandon her modern way of thinking. Unlike things, one's mind and behavior couldn't be controlled. She tried to ignore it, thinking that the Prince would take care of it all, but she thought it was wrong to rely only on him.

The idea of trying to escape from reality was wrong in itself, and she didn't want to do so. She had to take responsibility for what she chose and decided. She had to accept and confirm the dark side of the road she was going to take going forward.

Vera sighed at Julietta, who was biting her lips as if she had decided something. "Madame is going to oppose. But you also know that it's not an overnight trip without madame's consent."

"I'll just tell her that I want to get out of the mansion to cool off before I get married. I won't be free to act when I officially become engaged. Are there any lands in the Kiellini family besides Tilia?"

"In the North, in the Kingdom of Shurant, and in the South of Vicern."

"All right, I will stop by Tilia and go to Vicern."

Vera couldn't object any more to the already determined face of Julietta. "Yes, then, I'll prepare for the trip as soon as the madame's permission is given."

------

"You're determined to succeed the Emperor and are engaged to Princess Kiellini! I'm as anxious as I'm happy." Killian was called to the second Queen Irene about what he had reported to his father, the Emperor, a few days ago.

"I was planning to visit you in a few days."

Irene smiled at Killian, apologizing since he couldn't tell her in advance. "Killian, I know I wasn't a good mother. So, you don't have to try. There's only one thing I want. I want you to do what you want, and to live without being tied to your birth status."