Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi

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Chapter 4 – For Things That Go Too Far (2)

Pierre, sitting at the desk in the office, was dissatisfied.

Thanks to him, the attendants around him were also in a state of tension.

Xeon and Harley peered at Pierre’s eyes with their voices lowered.

“Did something bad happen outside?”

“I don’t know. It happens often.”

The people around him were always distressed because of his sensitive and cold personality. However, the other party couldn’t speak up to him, the prince, and just wished his day well. Because of that, it was a daily life for everyone to have a stomach medicine in their pocket.

Pierre, who had unintentionally increased the pressure in the room, called Xeon, the youngest of his escort knights, as he had finished pondering.

“I have to assign someone to keep an eye on Sienna, anyway.”

“Yes?”

Xeon thought that was too far, but he didn’t ask any further. He knew it through experience, now was the time to shut up.

“My father called the Marquis of Valencia. Now, for the sake of marriage.”

“But if it is the Marquis of Valencia…”

“Yes. The marquis isn’t interested in power. However, a position could change a person.”

Xeon somehow became uncomfortable.

Marquis Theo Valencia, he was a hero of the war in the past. A loyalist of Stern and still a significant figure in guarding the border.

He was like an idol to him.

No, not only Xeon, but anyone in the kingdom respected him.

Although the princess’ reputation is low and bottomless, a marriage with the marquis boasts strong popularity and powerful force. So, for Pierre, it was an unpleasant situation.

“Report on who Sienna meets and what she is doing every day.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Surveillance.

Xeon was not very reluctant, but the master’s command was absolute to the knight. He tried to leave the office with a heavy step, but Pierre caught him.

“Wait.”

As he waited silently, Pierre hesitantly asked.

“…Did you deliver the gift to Miss Watson?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what kind of expression did she have? Are there any words to describe?” His eyes were filled with anticipation.

“Thank you, that was all.”

Xeon could not say that Eleanor refused his gift three times. Even if she didn’t, Pierre was feeling bad enough.

***

Sienna got up and started the day early again today.

The sunlight pouring over the thin canopy was her alarm.

She used to have a hard time opening her eyes every morning. Though, the mornings she’s having these days are amazingly good.

The sun is good, the wind is good.

She was excited about what to eat today, what to wear, what to do, and play with. Of course, the best thing was a full table that was prepared in time and sincerity.

“Thank you for the meal!”

Sienna just spent a few days enjoying small daily routines such as sleeping soundly and eating timely, but the change was significant. The insomnia that caused her pale complexion now had slowly disappeared, and a lot of her damn headaches subsided.

At the end of the meal, she leaned against the head of the bed, wearing pajamas.

All the windows in the bedroom were opened, smelling the scent of flowers, and tapping on her stomach.

‘What should I do in the future?’

Contemplating, her gaze caught the jewelry box. Having already been ruined once, she knew what was most sad about leaving the house.

‘Money. I need money.’

When she left the house, she was a high school student. So, it felt ten times worse without having any money.

“Anna. How much would it be if I sell all those jewels?”

“What?”

“I’m just curious.”

Sienna tried to touch her nails to emphasize that she meant nothing by asking that.

“We have to appraise it accurately, but it’s mostly the finest gems, so if you’re a commoner, you’ll be able to live without working for a lifetime.”

“Really?”

Her face fully bloomed.

With her mouth closed, Sienna contemplated on how to dispose of the jewelry. If she took it out all at once, it would be too suspicious. There won’t be enough money to buy jewels like this at once.

‘I can’t just rely on the jewelry. I need to find a more fundamental and sure way…’

The princess, who had been trapped inside the castle all her life, was ignorant of the world outside the castle. No one taught Sienna about Stern and about the world.

And in any world, information was power.

‘First, I need to know about Stern.’

Funds and information.

If those two were met, she would be able to live somehow.

***

Sienna, accompanied by her escort knight Arthur Mackenzie, headed to the royal library.

It was a place created by the king after donating his collection of books. The royal library was in the most remote area in the vast castle, so there were no visitors and almost neglected.

Fortunately, it was a good thing for her.

Except, the way there was very suffocating.

Arthur had been assigned to the Princess’s Palace for about three years, and she, unfortunately, did not get close to him. When Sienna thought about it, it was the first time she had been alone with him like this. ‘And what else is that…?’

My God.

Ten minutes have passed since they walked together. Unable to bear the silence, Sienna first spoke to him.

“Hey, Sir McKenzie?”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Isn’t there any more knights to protect me other than you?

“Of course not.”

“Then, who is that person who has been rustling behind earlier?”

Arthur’s eyes, who always seemed only half-open, were wide. He was a little surprised. Although he was lax, it was not enough to be noticed by the general public. He was clearly educated to some extent, as he knew the basics of following and surveillance.

‘I guess it’s good that he’s aware now.’

In fact, she had been feeling the signs from before, but Sienna was letting it go because that person didn’t seem to have any intention of approaching.

Arthur asked her as he got closer to her.

“What should I do?”

“Let it go.”

“Yes? Are you all right about that?”

“Yes. If I’m in danger, you will protect me, right?”

She didn’t forget to add the threat afterward, ‘I believe you, so if you betray me, I won’t let you go.’ She looked at Arthur, shining her eyes. It was unspoken pressure for him to answer quickly.

“Protect me, Arthur.”

“…”

“Oh, can I call you Arthur?”

“No, of course.”

Sienna smiled and made eye contact with him.

‘I believed in you like this. You won’t betray me, right?’

If he had neither conscience nor chivalry, he wouldn’t be the one who could do something in the first place.

‘Let’s watch, first.’

It was somewhat awkward, but it didn’t seem to be a person with bad intentions.

‘I’ll just have to wait and observe for now!’

Sienna concluded so and excitedly walked forward.

Meanwhile, Arthur was surprised and stopped there.

‘Why is this princess doing this? Last time, she cried, laughed, and swore… Was she really crazy as rumored?’

The original mission was to protect the princess, but days went by, and nothing happened, to the point of him forgetting about it. To put it nicely, it was peaceful, but in other words, it was boring.

Princess Siena was a terrible mistress who only went to the bedroom and garden every day. She doesn’t go outside, so obviously, he has nothing to do. He didn’t become a knight to do just this. So, at the turn of the third year, the desire to change a job arose due to skepticism. He was thinking of going to the knight leader sooner or later and asking for relocation.

‘Guardian…’

Suddenly, he felt like a huge responsibility had been assigned.

‘And even surveillance?’ This was also the first time in three years.

Arthur was stunned for a moment and later realized that Sienna had disappeared. She was already way ahead of him.

“Huh? Princess!”

Then, Arthur ran after Siena in a hurry to catch up to her.

The sword in his waist made a clattering, cheerful sound.

***

She glanced behind unknowingly.

‘Is it Pierre’s person?’

If so, it was rather fortunate. Having such lax surveillance meant that he didn’t pay much attention to her.

Sienna shook her head and entered the library.

The peculiar smell of paper caught onto her nose. The library looked a little narrower than what she saw from the outside, but the bookshelf was filled with books, and some antique paintings hung on the empty wall. There are no employees, and the librarian is dozing off.

Indeed, it was as rumored.

Sienna, without waking the librarian, headed straight to the bookshelf with history books.

「 History of Stern 」, 「 History of the Hestia Empire 」, 「 History of Khan Empire 」

Then, she picked up a few books with intuitive titles and sat down at a desk by a large window.

There were two great empires on the continent, Hestia and Khan. In this world with two Empires, some kingdoms and a small tribe exist.

Stern was a neutral state between Hestia and the Khan Empire.

A middle ground where the two empires do not touch to prevent meaningless clashes. In short, Stern was treated as a wide border area between the two empires.

And so, the predecessors took full advantage of this geographical advantage.

In particular, as a trade route between the two empires, it accumulated great wealth by integrating various cultures and actively engaging in brokerage trade. In other words, it could be said that Stern survived so far because the ancestors held the ground well.

However, based on that development, the war of conquest with the surrounding small countries began.

The conquest war fought by the king was in progress.

In recent years, battles have also occurred in the Valonha Kingdom and border zones in the north.

As a result, Stern won.

The status of the country has risen, and the city is intoxicated with victory. The world certainly looked peaceful.

‘Well. It seems that way.’

The borders were expanded, but the fatigue from the war still remained.

Stern is now in a situation where unexpected things could occur any moment.

She could guess without seeing it in person. The lands around the borders that fought will have been devastated, and those who are dissatisfied will always appear.

‘Because not everyone can agree with the war.’

Sienna kept listening to Anna and the maids talking after first arriving in this world, while she was lying down silently.

One day, they sighed, saying that the prices of things were too high, and another day, it was buzzing with the story of a strange scammer. There were also rumors that a secret organization against the royal family was working in secret.

‘…Is this country okay? Thankfully, there was no big war until winter.’

She was thinking of fleeing abroad, so she had to avoid the war from taking place as much as she could.

“Yawn.”

After reading multiple books in a row in the same position without moving, her whole body was incredibly stiff. Her concentration also slowly fell through.

“Hm, shall I let the wind in?”

Sienna opened the window wide open next to her, shut her eyes softly, and greeted the pouring sunlight. She waited for a while with her eyes closed like that, while basking in the light, reaching out her hand to the window, grasping the invisible sunlight.

“It’s warm.”

She realized it over and over again whenever she was warm and cold. When she fell and hurt, her heart was beating fast.

That this is her reality.

As she closed her eyes and stretched her body out of the window, Sienna felt the fluttering wind and slowly opened her eyes. The blurred vision gradually went into focus, and she stopped breathing at the landscape that caught her eye.

The garden behind the library.

A man, leaning against a large tree, held a dandelion in his hand. After he blew it, the dandelion flew slowly.

As Sienna blankly gazed at the figure idly, her eyes met his.

The eyes that seemed as though they contained the entire night sky shook dangerously.

‘Nonsense. Is it a dream?’

If it wasn’t a dream, it must have been a real joke from God.

Roughly speaking, she fell in love with him.

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