Stop looking at it! If you dont, Im going to take it away from you!

Im just appreciating what you gave me, I dont know why you are so upset?

Dont lie! You are definitely making fun of my embroidery!

As she spoke with a face full of discontent, Carl shook his head but he couldnt erase his smile.

I knew before I got this handkerchief that you werent good at this kind of stuff.

She replied while squinting her eyes.

Hey, youre making fun of me.

No. Im proud of you. I really like it.

Carl stroked his handkerchief. Feeling affection from his touch, Sienna said in a calmer voice.

But other girls really embroider beautifully. I couldnt tell if I put in a dragon or an eagle in the corner

Sienna was simply not confident of making such splendid embroidery as the examples shown by Hain. So they decided to make it as simple as possible and embroidered a silver dragon symbolizing Carl in one corner.

The problem was that even the simple form was unclear because of the poor workmanship. It was so ugly that Sienna wished my handkerchief would fall asleep in Carls drawer forever, but he always seemed to be seen carrying it around. Whenever he did, she just wanted to hide in a rat hole.

Im sure hes trying to make fun of me!

Well, the wings are bigger than the torso, but they dont look like eagles, so dont worry.

He never said they looked like a dragon either.

Carl, who was smiling at dissatisfied Sienna, wrapped his handkerchief around his wrist so that he could see the embroidery well. The handkerchief with an indistinguishable dragon settled on his wrist.

Oh yeah, I should just wrap it around my wrist like this.

Youre making fun of me!

Hahaha!

His laughter resounded loudly.

The knight guarding the door announced Jamies visit. After greeting, Jamie found a handkerchief around Carls wrist.

Your Highness, is that a bat on your wrist?

Brother!

Jamie noticed her and said, Then a pigeon meat?

How does that look anything like this?!

Sienna protested in an irritating voice, but seeing the handkerchief around Carls wrist, she could fully understand why Jamie said that. Bats and pigeons were actually Jamie being nice. At least he saw it as something with wings.

This is a dragon.

At Carls words, Jamie nodded with a serious face.

Well it could kind of look like a shadow of a dragon.

Sienna said to Carl, with her eyes glaring.

You see, so take that handkerchief off your arm. If you do that, Im the only one who gets humiliated.

I was going to brag about this handkerchief from my wife, but

Its not a brag, its a disgrace!

I guess I cant help that.

Sienna sighed with relief as she saw him putting a handkerchief into his coat.

By the way, why is Lord Waters here?

When Sienna asked in a still annoyed voice, Jamie shrugged and said, Im not here to see you, Im here to see the prince. This is the material you mentioned last time about the Canivali War.

Wow, you actually managed to obtain it.

Carl said, shining his eyes on the red-capped book Jamie had brought.

Jamie and Carl became very close after fighting in the Mutu competition. After that, they would exchange war materials, simulate past battles, or share insights.

Why dont you join us, Sienna?

Sometimes Sienna also participated in the debates with the two, but frankly, war was not one of her interests.

Im good. You two can share the boring war chatter. I have a previous engagement.

Previous engagement? With whom?

I promised to visit the Queen. Marie seems to be in a bad mood these days, so I wanted to talk to her.

Jamie glistened at her words. Sienna asked him.

So when does Lord Waters start with the Silver Wolf Knights?

I start 15 days later. I wanted to go to work earlier, but the administrative process seems to be slow because there are a lot of new knights who quit this time. They say its about 15 days fast.

Sienna and Carl nodded. It may not be because administrative work was slow, but because Valore and Arya were fighting, but they didnt bother to explain.

Ill be back then.

Sienna went to the door. She was followed by the Knights of Phoenix.

The number of her knights also decreased significantly because they could not completely avoid the reform. Nevertheless, they were on a pretty good side. Many of the knights in the imperial order had to quit because they failed to pass the test, and sometimes, even an entire knights order was disbanded.

Hain was next to Sienna holding a baked pie. It was Maries favorite pie stuffed with oranges. Cinnamon powder was slightly mixed in, so the flavor was good.

Sienna stood in front of the palace where Marie was staying. The voice of Empress Arya was coming from inside. She raised her hand to the gatekeeper who was trying to announce her visit and restrained him.

Aryas voice was full of anger. On the contrary, Queen Maries voice did not leak out, so from the outside, only Arya seemed to be talking like a madman.

Its already been three years. I cant believe you still dont have news about pregnancy! It makes no sense. Theres even a nasty rumor going around that the emperor doesnt have a seed or that you dont have a womb!

The Queens people were embarrassed and could not even make an eye contact with Sienna.

Sienna beckoned the gatekeeper to announce her visit. When Siennas name was called, the sound that was coming from inside suddenly stopped.

After a while, she entered the Queens guest room through the door.

Your Highness the Queen. How have you been?

Sienna greeted Marie with courtesy first. Arya glared at Sienna fiercely.

Sienna the Crown Princess doesnt even see me.

Marie looked at Empress Arya with a blue complexion. Sienna smiled reassuringly at her, then turned her head and looked at Arya.

I heard a rude voice outside the door, so I thought the Empress called a clown or a singer, but I must have been mistaken. Your Majesty the Empress.

Theres nothing you cant say. Is it because youre a motherless-grown tree or because its a countryside in the North? Thats why people dont change.

Arya uttered a harsh word, but Sienna did not bat an eye. Rather, she replied with a smile.

Im just ignorant, but I dont know why you are accusing the Queen. Youre raising your voice to the point where we can hear your voice coming out of the door.

Arya scolded the Queen as if it was okay, but in Leipsden, where the emperors authority was the top priority, the Queens authority was ahead of the empress. The empresss scolding of the Queen was technically above her authority.

Well, I came here because I heard something bad about the Queen. She shouldnt let this kind of rumor out in the first place

When she tried to blame Marie for her inability to have children, Sienna stopped her.

Are you doing this because of some ignorant rumors? Arent you the one who knows better than anyone that a rumor is not something to believe in? I may have heard unimaginable rumors about the Emperor and yourself but not about the Queen.

Siena was suggesting the rumor that Valore was a child Arya had with some vagabond poet and was not a descendant of the imperial family.

How dare you!

So Im telling Your Highness not to let the rumors take hold. Moreover, the Emperor has been with the Empress for only three years now. Both of them are still in their prime, but you are hasty. Only when they feel at ease a baby can follow. Moreover, you have Prince Carl, so theres no need for a quick succession.

Sienna scratched Aryas heart, citing Carls name.

Arya bit her lips at the sight of a smile of triumph that had spread around Siennas mouth. Her smile seemed to say that the seat of the emperor belonged to Carl next.

Arya shook off her skirt as roughly as if it had been dirty, and went out. In her heart, she even thought that she wanted to take out her tongue for mixing words with Sienna and wash it in water.

Shes not afraid to use her tongue. Prince Carl is the successor, so whats the rush? This bitch!

Siennas words were not wrong, which made Arya even more annoyed.

At a time when Valores health was poor, the power he held felt like a castle on the sand. Right now, the nobles clung to her for power, but if Carl became emperor, they would change overnight.

These bats.

Although she came out after harassing Marie, it was Valore that made her mind uneasy.

He had been weak since he was young. It made her worried that he might not be able to have children. It took Valores child to consolidate power.

Arya didnt want to lose power. She bit her lower lip in anger. She bit so hard that blood formed around her mouth.

Your Majesty the Empress, are you all right?

One of Aryas knights asked, sticking out his handkerchief. She took the handkerchief for granted and met the knights eyes.

Arya had never cared about her knights before. For Arya, the existence of knights was like a shadow. They were the ones who had to protect her without bothering her.

Only

But now that she faced the knight that gave the handkerchief, she regretted why she didnt care about them ever. The knight had brown hair and dark brown eyes that looked just like Valore.

Yes, it doesnt have to be his child.

Pardon?

When the knight asked, Arya smiled softly and patted him on the shoulder. Apart from how terrible things were planned out in her head, she was enchanting.

Even though she was old, her beauty did not fade at all. Rather, it gave off a rich fragrance.

No, its nothing. Thanks for this handkerchief. Ill use it well.

The knight gave a blank look at Aryas smile. Obviously, she had a charm beyond her age. Realizing that he was committing great inadequacy, the knight hurriedly bowed his head and withdrew.