CHAPTER 74……………………………..
Is Millie My Rival in Love?
After intercepting a letter meant for Robby, Mick read it first, his expression grave as he handed it to me. My hands trembled as I accepted it.
Leah, Master was attacked by an unknown assailant. The tendons and muscles in his arms and legs are all ruined, and he’s still unconscious. Princess Malau told me you have healing powers. Please, come to Count Stone’s estate and save Master. You’re his only hope.
– Robby.
I read the letter again and again. That Master had been attacked—it was so absurd I could hardly believe it. Knowing his personality, there was no way he could have provoked such a grudge.
Even Robby’s signature felt off. Since childhood, we’d always ended our letters with the same phrase: “Your friend.” But on this letter, those words had been scratched out, leaving only Robby’s name.
For a moment I wondered if the letter might be a forgery, but the handwriting was undeniably his.
If what it said was true, if Master had really suffered such a terrible fate… I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t even want to imagine it.
Suddenly, my body tilted forward—Mick had pulled me into his arms.
“You’ve barely recovered from your trip to Malau,” he murmured, kissing my temple. “But I suppose you want to rush to your master’s side, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
I couldn’t meet his eyes, only nodded against his broad chest.
“Well, we were planning to go anyway. We’ll just leave a little earlier. You can heal your master and meet my mother’s acquaintance and the Marquis of Uzkal while you’re there.”
“Mick…”
Overcome with gratitude, I threw my arms around his neck. He chuckled softly, patting my back as if to say he understood everything I couldn’t put into words.
“Alright, then. I’ll go settle things with the Council. We’ll depart at dawn.”
“Thank you.”
He pressed a brief kiss to my lips, then hurried off toward the meeting hall where the Council awaited him.
When Micklock entered the council chamber, Duke Zenon shot to his feet to greet him—but Mick silenced him with a raised hand.
“The Queen and I will depart for the Haran Empire tomorrow. No objections.”
The nobles had expected some resistance, but none spoke up. Zenon, representing them, finally said,
“Then, Your Highness, might you take a few days on the way to inspect the monster activity near the border?”
“…Does it have to be now?”
“It’s the usual season when the beasts start raiding villages for food,” Zenon replied with his habitual smirk.
Mick’s irritation flared. Fine—if they couldn’t stop him from going, they’d at least burden him with work.
“Very well. In that case, while I’m away, the Council will select a site in Malau for transplanting the golden pine saplings, and choose the first batch to be planted.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Also, ensure the bows and spears we’re trading for refined heatstones are prepared on schedule.”
“…Understood.”
“Draw up a map of the distribution of third-circle mages in the northern continent and shortlist fifty candidates for recruitment.”
“…Y-yes.”
“And this is most important—find out exactly which northern kingdoms or tribes have people with platinum hair.”
“P–Pardon?”
Zenon blinked in confusion. As if determined to make them share his burden, Mick rattled off a dozen more orders.
“You have three months. I’m sure such a competent council will manage. That’s all.”
With that, he left the chamber without a backward glance.
“Chancellor, I told you—poking the lion never ends well.”
“Damn it. Duped again,” Zenon muttered as the nobles groaned.
The next morning, we departed at dawn for the Haran Empire.
Millie and I rode in a small but sturdy carriage, while Mick, William, and ten knights of the Special Order accompanied us on horseback.
Originally, only the four of us were to go, but the Council had dumped extra duties on Mick at the last minute. The ten knights would stay near the border to handle those tasks while we continued onward.
Sensing my anxiety for Master, the coachman pushed the horses to full speed. After five days of hard travel, we stopped to rest the horses. Millie and I took the chance to stretch our legs.
“Your Majesty, are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
As we stepped out to breathe the open air, we could see a distant village marking the border with Haran.
“I kept thinking about it all the way here—our first trip to Fritan Castle.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said.
Heading toward Haran again brought back that strange mix of excitement and fear from when we’d first left it for Fritan. It hadn’t even been a year, yet it felt like ages ago.
“Do you remember, Your Majesty? You said we’d change our fates together.”
I laughed. “How could I forget?”
I could still hear my own words from back then:
‘Once we get to Fritan, we’ll turn our lives around. I’ll go from the unwanted illegitimate daughter of a marquis to the queen cherished by the king—and you, Millie, will find a man a hundred, a thousand times better than Robby, fall in love, and get married!’
‘Wow~ none of that sounds easy.’
Back then, I had no idea I’d fall so deeply in love with Mick—or that I’d feel such a sense of duty as Fritan’s queen. Nor had I imagined Millie and William would fall for each other.
Smiling at each other, Millie and I shared a quiet warmth.
“Millie, when we return from Haran, let’s find you a tutor in noble etiquette. It’ll help before the wedding.”
“Oh… do you think so?”
“Yes, and you should start attending social gatherings. I’ll be your chaperone.”
Millie beamed, her eyes sparkling with joy. I took her hand.
“Let’s never forget how we felt on that first journey. We’ll both find happiness.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We will.”
A loud tsk-tsk sounded behind us.
“There it is again!”
Startled, I turned to see Mick standing with his hands on his hips, glaring dramatically. Beside him, William scowled at the ground.
“I’ve noticed something,” Mick said. “The Queen of Fritan seems to love Millie more than her husband.”
“That’s not true! I love both of you equally!”
“Ha. So Millie is my rival, then? You do know how merciless I am to my enemies, don’t you?”
Millie’s face drained of color. Before I could respond, William stepped protectively in front of her.
“Your Majesty, please—withdraw your affection before Prince Micklock harms Millie out of jealousy.”
Then, without warning, he scooped Millie into his arms and bolted away.
“Ah! Sir William, put me down!”
They vanished so quickly that her protests faded into the distance.
Mick sauntered toward me, smirking.
“You’re the one who keeps telling me to give them time alone, but you’re their biggest obstacle.”
“That’s ridiculous! I’ve done nothing but try to help them!”
“Don’t.”
He said it firmly, then pulled me close and kissed me.
His lips trailed up to my ear, nibbling lightly before whispering,
“Let them handle themselves. You—just focus on me.”
Jealous of Millie, of all people—how exasperating. But what could I do? My husband disapproved.
From now on, I’d simply have to be affectionate with Millie only when Mick wasn’t around. Resolving that, I rose on tiptoe to meet his lips again.
That night, we reached the 4th Southern Border Garrison, our last stop before crossing into the Haran Empire at dawn.
The captain and soldiers came out to greet us.
“We greet Prince Micklock and Her Majesty, Queen of Fritan.”
“You’ve worked hard. Everything quiet?” Mick asked.
“There is a matter of concern, Your Highness. We were about to report it to the capital, but since you’re here, we waited.”
“What happened?”
“Please, come inside.”
Judging by the captain’s grave tone, it was serious.
After instructing Millie to unpack, Mick, William, Ralph, and I followed the captain into his office.
“What’s going on?” Mick asked.
“About fifteen days ago, children and women began disappearing from border villages. At first, we thought it was simple runaways or accidents…”
“And?”
“A few days ago, during a forest patrol, we found their bodies. Judging by the evidence… it was the work of monsters.”
“What!?”
Mick’s eyes widened. William’s voice trembled.
“How can you be sure?”
“There were beast tracks nearby. The condition of the bodies left no doubt—they’d been eaten.”
Ralph spoke calmly. “Three years ago, we drove all the man-eating monsters north of the border. That area’s still tightly guarded.”
“Yes, thanks to that, southern monsters usually only steal food or attack for sport.”
“But this time,” William said grimly, “they abducted people—to eat them?”
“Yes.”
A shiver ran down my arms. I remembered the stories—once a monster tastes human flesh, it becomes more violent, more cunning.
Why were they suddenly doing this again?
“Your Highness,” said the captain, “I heard that during the last subjugation, you rescued some women kidnapped by monsters.”
“Hmm… yes, that’s true,” Mick replied, frowning. “Their behavior was strange even then. I should’ve investigated why. Maybe I killed them too quickly.”
“Could a mutated species have appeared in the south?” Ralph suggested.
“Bring me the map showing monster habitats,” Mick ordered.
A soldier spread a large map on the table. The Haran land adjoining the 4th sector was the Molta region—home to Lady Foyna, the aunt of Baroness White. The pit of unease in my stomach deepened.
“There’s more, Your Highness,” said the captain. “We found a woman from the Haran side this morning. She runs an orphanage in Molta. Says several of her children went missing, so she came searching for them. She’s under our protection now.”
An orphanage woman from Molta—Mick and I exchanged startled looks.
Could it be…?
