~Chapter 111~
“What do you think I meant?”
I took a sip of tea and smiled brightly.
“I meant exactly what I said. If one day Lania shows up again, do you have any countermeasures prepared?”
“…Lania.”
It took the prince a long while before he finally spoke.
“Are you saying… that woman is still alive?”
“Yes.”
Adrian’s surprise was clear. His face stiffened. He tried to cover it up by touching his lips, but it was obvious he was thinking furiously.
I quietly watched his reaction. His hand on the teacup looked calm, but the moment he reached for tea he had never touched before, the game was already over.
Still, his composure was impressive.
“Surprising.”
He spoke as if he were impressed by my generosity, pretending this had nothing to do with him.
“To let her go… I could never make such a decision.”
I tilted my head innocently.
“Didn’t Your Highness also leave Lania behind? I don’t see the difference between us.”
“That was…”
“Well, in any case, she may come back someday, so you should prepare yourself.”
I added with a sweet smile:
“She didn’t seem too happy after Your Highness left her.”
“…Pft.”
A tiny laugh came from the side. I glanced over — Calix was holding a teacup to his lips, eyes lowered as if savoring the tea. He looked like he wasn’t interested, but everyone in the room knew he was simply enjoying the show.
Calix was quietly watching as I threatened Prince Adrian, sipping his tea like fine wine.
The prince noticed this, and his face grew even stiffer.
“You knew all that… and still let her go?”
This time, he didn’t even bother to hide his irritation. His tone was sharp.
“How irresponsible. You knew Lania was dangerous, and yet you acted like that?”
Clink.
The sound of a teacup being set down. It was Calix.
I turned to him. He folded his hands neatly on his crossed leg, gaze fixed on Adrian.
“…It seems you’re mistaken, Your Highness.”
His face showed no emotion.
“Catching such a criminal is the duty of the imperial family. Why are you trying to push that responsibility onto us?”
His voice was calm, like he was stating a fact. But the content was not gentle at all.
Adrian’s eyes sparked.
“…I entrusted her to you because I believed you would handle her properly.”
“Ridiculous.”
Calix gave a thin smile.
“The moment you left her behind, it meant you didn’t care anymore. The matter is no longer yours. How she is dealt with depends on Rena’s heart.”
“….”
Adrian fell silent. He looked angry, then confused, then blank. Calix gave him time, though perhaps it was just that he didn’t care what Adrian said.
At last, Adrian spoke again.
“Then why bring her up now? Are you trying to provoke me? Threaten me?”
‘It is a threat.’ I admitted silently to myself.
“Indeed. A threat.”
“…!”
I nearly jumped. The voice was Calix’s.
I turned my head in shock, but his face was calm — it was hard to believe he had just said that word.
‘Don’t worry. I’m good at threatening people.’
‘So this is what you call being good at it?!’
I quickly sealed the room with magic, blocking any sound from leaking out.
Then Calix smiled — the first real smile since we arrived.
“So, Your Highness, live cautiously for the rest of your life. Always afraid of when she might return.”
“….”
His tone sounded almost polite.
‘Wow.’
I couldn’t help but admire him. To say such words without a change in expression — truly impressive.
No wonder he’s my man.
Meanwhile, Adrian’s face was shifting colors — pale, flushed, green, red. His hands trembled, whether from rage or fear I couldn’t tell.
But this was only the beginning. Lania was just the warm-up.
I clapped my hands lightly. Adrian’s eyes turned toward me.
“…What now.”
He looked exhausted, but that wasn’t my concern. Now, the real topic began.
I looked straight at him and said:
“I have demands. And I’d like you to listen.”
Even if you refuse, I’ll make you listen anyway.
I licked my lips, recalling the long list I had prepared.
“First, restore the Troxia family name. You know it was a false charge.”
“….”
“And the imperial family should issue an official apology. Something like, ‘We apologize for wrongly accusing them of treason without proper investigation.’”
What I demanded was nothing less than the imperial family publicly admitting their grave mistake — a mistake of accusing a noble house of treason.
Because of that, the old Count’s family was massacred, and the nobility had lived in fear ever since.
Now I was asking him to confess it had all been the emperor’s fault.
Adrian’s eyes darkened endlessly.
“…You’re telling me to drag the imperial dignity into the dirt.”
“Exactly.”
“Why not just shout to the world that the Loravan imperial family are fools?”
“That works too.”
I sipped my tea calmly. Adrian’s face twisted.
But I wasn’t finished — not even close.
As I munched on a cookie, I continued:
“Return Troxia lands to me. They belong to me.”
“….”
“….”
I felt a subtle stir from Calix beside me.
The Troxia estate had been absorbed by the imperial family after my family was destroyed. For five years Calix had tried to buy it back, but always failed.
Of course. Because of what was buried there.
The emperor had wanted the dragon. That’s why my family had been erased. He never intended to give up that land.
But that was the old emperor. Now the dragon was gone.
Still, Adrian hesitated.
“I don’t see why this needs hesitation. It’s mine. Give it back.”
“Oh—”
I suddenly remembered something else.
“And proper compensation too. For falsely accusing the Troxia family of treason. Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared a list of what I want.”
“….”
Adrian now looked at me as if I were a grim reaper come to strip him bare.
I summoned a stack of papers from the air.
“I noticed the imperial family owns several mines. I’ll take those.”
“….”
“And that seaside villa you monopolize for trade. I’ll take that too.”
Because in summer, I want to go to the sea with Calix.
Calix looked at me with pride in his eyes.
“H-ha…”
Adrian dragged a hand down his face in despair. His voice was heavy.
“…So I never had a choice in the first place.”
“Of course not.”
And yet, I still had one last, most important demand.
This one made me nervous — I hadn’t even told Calix yet.
I glanced at him. He looked at me with complete trust and love, giving me strength.
Taking a deep breath, I finally said what I had been holding inside all this time:
“And… I want my parents’ remains to be recovered… and given a proper grave.”
My throat tightened. I had practiced these words so many times alone, but…
“Please, let me bury them properly.”
I whispered, my voice trembling.
