Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Contract Marriage for Atilenta’s Revenge

In order to handle that rite of passage, I needed a great deal of information. I had no intention of wasting mealtimes here either.

Through these times, I planned to gather various information from Henryk and the head chef here for hosting an appropriate banquet.

“Yes, leave it to me, Your Highness.”

“The matter of the delegation is indeed your responsibility.”

I glanced down at my plate. Even the cucumber salad on this plate right now was a dish not found in the Kingdom of Francia. Could I make use of such things as well?

“But what exactly is your method?”

While continuing my thoughts, I was just about to take a bite of the apple pie that had come out for dessert. Henryk tilted his head slightly and asked.

I glanced meaningfully at the knight in black armor standing behind him. It was the same knight who had been present when I first met Henryk. He was undoubtedly a highly trusted adjutant.

“I will be able to tell you before lunch, Your Highness.”

As soon as the meal ended, I immediately asked the maid and headed to my room, which had been prepared for me thanks to the position of Princess-Consort.

“This room is exclusively for Your Highness the Princess-Consort. Then, if you need anything, please call.”

The maid who opened the ornately decorated door informed me politely and took her leave.

Now I could have time entirely to myself. Just as I had wished.

I had kept the use of my magic a secret from both Antonio and Celena. Because I wanted to protect my mother’s dying words and heirlooms.

Moreover, if I overused magic, I would inevitably clutch my chest and wheeze like an invalid. Not exactly a sight I wanted to show others.

If only I had hidden my abilities from them from the very beginning.

“Haa…….”

A deep sigh escaped me naturally. Discovering my own foolishness was always an unpleasant experience. At the end of my sigh, I bit my lips firmly.

The room prepared for me was so clean and spacious that even my breathing sounded clear. Atilenta, your circumstances have changed greatly now.

Quickly composing myself, I took out the mirror I had hidden in my ample bosom and began to cast magic, borrowing my mother’s power.

Now, mirror. Show me the spies who are stealing information from this country. In order to use Henryk, I had to do even this.

“Only then can I achieve the future I desire, mirror.”

The mirror soon responded to my wish. A green light rippled and spread within the mirror.

The mirror showed me a person sending a carrier pigeon from a corner somewhere. Judging by the black stone walls, it seemed to be within this royal palace. I carefully observed the person’s appearance, actions, and the location where they stored letters after sending the carrier pigeon.

As promised, before lunch, I wrote down the list of spies and delivered it to Henryk.

“The information I mentioned, Your Highness.”

“I’ll speak with you after I’ve reviewed it.”

Even after looking over the lengthy documents, Henryk’s reaction was merely calm and composed. I withdrew without another word.

Night came, and I was again with him in the same bedchamber. However, Henryk simply focused on his own work and fell asleep.

After confirming that Henryk was completely asleep, I stealthily slipped into the bathroom.

“Cough, cough!”

As expected, after frequent coughing fits, I spat up blood. It was the result of using magic consecutively, since the spies were more than just one or two.

This had happened before as well.

On the battlefield I had joined with Antonio, unfamiliar conditions meant I often fell ill after using magic. Even though such a patient would be useless on the battlefield, Antonio had taken the utmost care of me.

He would say things like once this was over, we would go to the sea I longed for, and that he truly cherished me.

I glared at the bloodstains I had spat out, filled with resentment.

“Damn it, blast it all… Antonio.”

In this world, no warrior would willingly hold onto a worn-out weapon.

Right now Henryk acted as if he was faithful to the deal, but well. What was certain was that I must not let him find out about my coughing up blood.

I moved quickly and cleaned the bloodstains thoroughly.

As if erasing the traces of my time with Antonio, I did so desperately.

That day, I had a very unfamiliar dream.

I was wandering through a forest when I collided with something. It was a massive tree. Startled, I cried loudly, calling only for my mother.

The tree held me with dozens of branches and gently told me:

You mustn’t be discovered, Atilenta.

What?

Even as I cried in the dream, I thought. I’ve been careful all this time, Antonio and Celena don’t know my secret either.

From that thing without lips came a very strange laugh, hee hee.

Atilenta, you must not lose your way, and you must not let anyone know that you don’t know the way.

To whom, exactly?

I woke up from the dream in an instant.

“…Haa.”

After gasping for the breath I had been holding, the morning sunlight streaming through the curtains was so dazzling that I blinked several times.

Henryk, who had been quietly sitting on the sofa reading documents, spoke to me as if praising me.

“You’re awake? The information you gave me yesterday was quite helpful.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Your Highness.”

Quickly wiping my cold sweat, I gave a polite reply and rose.

The spies I had uncovered yesterday numbered five. I planned to use magic to reveal whether there were any other spies besides them. Surely my body would be quite strained again today.

“I have no intention of sending them back to their homeland. Now that I know how and where they send their information.”

“Indeed, that is wise.”

Henryk could now freely manipulate the content of the information handled by the spies. Controlling information like that was one of the good strategies that could be utilized in war.

In the long run, it would perhaps yield better results than simply torturing the spies and driving them out of this country.

“I hadn’t even set foot in the south, yet I suspected there must be spies for those kingdoms to act as if they knew me. Thanks to you, handling this matter was exceedingly easy.”

Henryk appeared to be purely praising me, but I was neither pleased nor happy.

Because I knew this too was a test he was giving me.

In truth, Henryk could have easily managed this much even without me. He had trusted knights by his side.

As he himself said, there was surely a reason he had become famous as the Black Dragon of the battlefield without even setting foot in the south.

I gazed into Henryk’s amethyst eyes, which showed no signs of fatigue even on this bright morning.

An ordinary person might be steeped in exhaustion or drowsiness, but he was not.

His eyes, whenever I saw them, were like sparkling jewels or a still lake.

No, that wasn’t always the case.

The moment those eyes had been strangely flushed as they looked at me flashed quickly through my mind, but I erased it just as swiftly.

There was no need to dwell on such things.

“If you need anything else, just command me, Your Highness. That is why I am here, after all.”

And I nurtured a secret thought I could not say to him directly:

This man too could betray me. You know that well, don’t you, Atilenta? Calculate only the profits and losses, and deal with him accordingly.

Perhaps the dream had been a warning about him.

Even so, I had to devote a certain amount of my abilities to him. In order to obtain sweet rewards.

Henryk rose gracefully and rang a bell, and a knight entered.

It was the same knight who, during their deal, had discerned my ‘inconvenient to speak to the master’ inner thoughts. The very one who had stood behind him during the meal as well.

“Your Highness the Prince, did you sleep well? Your Highness the Princess-Consort, I shall formally greet you. I am Sir Krakuf, knight to His Highness the Prince.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir.”

“Please feel free to speak informally. I do not intend to disturb your morning, but I have come because I have something to deliver to Her Highness the Princess-Consort.”

Sir Krakuf, kneeling on one knee, handed me a small box.

It was a small ring set with a black jewel. Though I was no expert in accessories, even at a glance it seemed quite valuable.

My eyes widened as I looked back and forth between the ring and Henryk.

I had never requested such a thing, so what on earth was this?

Startled by the sudden turn of events, a hint of my fluster showed on my face.