CHAPTER 16………..
A Man Without a Middle Ground
“Your Majesty the Queen, please come inside now.”
I was standing blankly, staring in the direction where he had disappeared, when a voice called me from behind. It was Duke Zenon, the Chancellor.
Following him into the East Palace, I found the vast hall filled with people lined up in neat rows.
Duke Zenon guided me to the center.
“This is Chief Attendant Colin. If you have any inconveniences within the castle, Colin will take care of them.”
“Your Majesty the Queen, it is an honor to serve you. I shall devote myself fully.”
Colin bowed with disciplined precision, befitting the head of palace attendants.
“Thank you.”
“These are the staff of Freetan Castle. We should have introduced them earlier, but everyone has been too busy and unsettled.”
That was true. From the moment we arrived, it had been nothing but wedding preparations and the bridal chamber. The day had felt impossibly long—not just for me, but for all the staff as well.
They all bowed deeply to me, and I raised my hand in acknowledgment.
“You’ve already met Adele and Sophie, correct? Currently, three personal maids are assigned to you, but more will be added soon.”
“Before that, there’s someone I’d like to introduce. Millie!”
I pulled Millie to stand beside me and addressed Colin.
“She’s been with me since the Haren Empire. She’ll be staying with me here as well, so assign her quarters closest to my chamber.”
“Yes, I’ll add her to the roster under the Queen’s household.”
Once Millie’s position was settled, fatigue suddenly washed over me. Noticing my pale face, Sophie approached quietly and asked,
“Your Majesty, would you like to return to the bridal chamber, or to the South Palace where your private quarters are?”
Mick’s bedchamber, which had been used for the wedding night, was closer—but I didn’t want to stay alone in that empty room without him.
“To the South Palace.”
Sophie and Adele immediately led me toward the Queen’s palace. Millie followed close behind. That was when I noticed something odd—Millie’s neck was bare.
“Millie, where’s the white scarf you were wearing earlier?”
“Eh?”
She visibly flinched in surprise, and in that instant I realized—the scarf was now tied to the tip of one of the knights’ spears as they rode off.
I discreetly pushed Millie against the wall and whispered,
“Who was it??”
Millie’s face turned crimson like a roasted sweet potato.
**
“Father, you can’t do this to me! I’m never going!”
Late at night in the reception hall of Marquis Uzkal’s estate in the Haren Empire, Hailey’s scream, almost a shriek, rang out.
She glared at her father with eyes full of fury. Even the Marchioness gripped her trembling hands and looked at her husband with resentment.
“The twelfth wife of an old emperor? That spot was supposed to be Lea’s!”
“Keep your voice down, Hailey!”
Unlike his daughter’s fiery emotions, Marquis Uzkal’s eyes were cold and unyielding.
“The Emperor wants to block Grand Duke Jake’s rise with Lea. And he intends to swallow the eighty thousand gold he promised as her dowry.”
“Good heavens, Derrick! Without that eighty thousand, we’ll be ruined!”
Only now did the Marchioness grasp the severity of the situation.
“If Hailey becomes his consort, we can demand Count Paoran’s territory in addition to Lea’s price. If not, all our efforts will be wasted!”
“Father!!!”
Tears streaming down her face, Hailey cried out bitterly,
“How could you think of nothing but selling your own children?”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
The Marquis spoke proudly, leaving Hailey speechless in shock.
“When Lea was to be wed, you were happy enough about the eighty thousand gold, weren’t you? Now that Lea’s gone, it has to be you. That’s the only way to save this family.”
“But that debt came from you, so why do I have to pay it?”
At that, the Marquis slapped Hailey hard across the face.
“Insolent girl!”
Hailey trembled, glaring at him. The Marchioness burst into tears and embraced her daughter.
“You’ve lived comfortably as the Marquis’ eldest daughter until now—so it’s time to repay the family!”
The Marquis turned on his wife with cold disdain.
“Pathetic. What have you done, failing even to raise your child properly?”
“You promised! You said you’d make Hailey the bride of the Second Prince!”
“Fool.”
His voice dripped with contempt.
“You should know to stretch your legs only as far as the blanket goes. Unless his own desires are satisfied, the Emperor has no room to favor his sons.”
“How could you all be like this?”
Hailey shot daggers at her father with her eyes, but the Marquis remained firm.
“This is your fate as my child.”
He gave a sly, twisted smile, then hardened his gaze at her.
“The wedding is in a month. Don’t even think about running away. If you try, I’ll personally cut your throat. A daughter who doesn’t benefit this family—I have no need for.”
When the Marquis left the hall, the cries of Hailey and her mother, heavy with grief, echoed long into the night.
**
“Millie, are you really not going to tell me which knight has your white scarf tied to his spear?”
I feigned a hurt expression as we neared the Queen’s Palace, but Millie only fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a scarf.
“My scarf is right here, so I don’t know what you mean…”
I eyed her hawk-like.
“You were definitely wearing a white scarf earlier. But what you’re holding now is blue. Wait a second—you prepared two scarves, didn’t you?”
Her fingertips trembled.
Aha—bullseye!
“What is this? You said Robbie was your type, and now you’ve already got your eyes on two men here in Freetan?”
“T-that’s not it…”
She mumbled while avoiding my gaze.
“So you gave one scarf away, but not the other. Which means one of them turned you down. Who was it? No—who accepted it?”
Her face flushed so red it looked ready to explode, but she kept her mouth tightly shut. Millie could be so stubborn that even I couldn’t win sometimes.
I was dying of curiosity, but I had to let it go—for now.
Millie, you little rascal… we’ll talk again tomorrow morning!
“This is the Queen’s Palace, Your Majesty. In addition to your bedroom, study, and private rooms, there are also offices and official reception halls for your duties.”
I nodded and stepped inside. But right away, I noticed something strange.
“This place feels much, much hotter than the East Palace.”
“Ah… in fact, His Highness Mick put great effort into heating the South Palace.”
At the time, I thought little of it. But the moment I entered the bedroom, I realized something was terribly wrong.
The air was so stifling I could barely breathe—it was like stepping into a sauna, not a bedroom.
The fur coat that had shielded me from the freezing wind earlier now felt like it was choking me. I tore it off and looked back at Sophie and Adele.
Sweat was dripping down their faces as well.
“What is this? Is torturing the Queen with heat some kind of tradition here?”
“No, it’s just… His Highness was worried you’d be cold, so he had an enormous number of heating magic stones installed in the room.”
“He did what? Are heating magic stones so common here in Freetan?”
“No, not at all. Because of the bitter cold, heating stones are rarer than diamonds. But I heard he emptied an entire royal treasury just to keep the Queen’s Palace warm.”
I was dumbfounded. Mick of Freetan—my husband—knew no middle ground!
“Sophie, call Chief Attendant Colin at once. Unless he wants me to collapse from heatstroke, have him remove every heating stone from this room immediately!”
“Yes, right away.”
Soaked in sweat, Sophie nearly skipped with joy as she rushed out—only to run back a moment later.
“Would you also like me to have the heating stones removed from the office, dining hall, reception room, library, lounge, and bath?”
“Of course! Adjust everything to the East Palace’s level.”
This time Sophie truly dashed away.
**
Not even the darkest hours before dawn could hinder Mick and his knights. They advanced toward the land of the Maon tribe as if it were broad daylight.
The Maon were demons who could speak human language, infamous for their savagery. They lived near Freetan’s western border.
Every year, just before winter, they descended into border villages to loot and slaughter. Yet they shared humans’ hatred for magical beasts.
Thus, Mick timed annual threats against them, both to protect border residents and to use the Maon as allies in monster hunts—providing food in exchange.
Most importantly, as demons who could wield fire, they had long been secretly employed to process Freetan’s prized golden pines. For years, Freetan and the Maon had cooperated in secret.
But that fragile truce was now broken—because of their foolish choice.
From across the river, Mick and his special knights observed the Maon settlement. Not a soul stirred.
Mick handed his telescope to William, who studied the scene.
“Indeed, it was right to push ourselves to arrive now.”
Mick nodded, though his chest still ached at the thought of abandoning Lea’s side for this campaign.
It was the season when the North Star shone brightest. The Maon held their great festival now—five days of eating, drinking, killing, and orgies.
Last night had been the festival’s climax. By now, they likely lacked the strength to lift a finger.
Mick’s unit swiftly moved onto a hill overlooking the village.
“When we face savage monsters, it almost makes me wish we had those demon hunters on our side,” Freddy muttered with a grin.
“But Freetan’s tacit alliance with them is over,” Ralph replied coldly.
“To think they became Haren’s pawns, aiding in the logging of golden pines!”
Usually stoic, Ralph now snarled through clenched teeth, sounding just like Freddy.
Mick pulled Lea’s scarf from his spear and tucked it deep into his chest. The other knights also removed scarves from their weapons.
At the rear, a black carriage opened. The knights pulled out bows and arrows tipped with cotton wads soaked in oil.
“After today, the Maon will vanish from this world.”
With Mick’s icy words, a torrent of flaming arrows rained down upon the Maon lands.
Moments later, piercing screams split the night, heralding a tide of blood and chaos.
**
“Ugh… hhh, so hot…”
After Mick had left, I was trying to sleep in the Queen’s bedchamber when suddenly a fierce current surged through my abdomen, wracking me with pain.
At the same time, a jolt—like electric shock—shot up my right hand. I couldn’t endure it and sat up.
Heat surged not just from my hand but through my entire body. I hadn’t felt anything like this since I was five years old.
Suddenly, I remembered the look and tone of Marquis Uzkal, who would check on me every birthday morning.
“Lea, how’s your body? Do you ever feel a hot surge rising from your lower belly? Or like electricity prickling in your fingertips?”
“No way…”
