The day after that, I started to return to work .

Tanya expressed a great deal of concern for me with tears in her eyes, and Merida was much the same .

Although other people close to me didn’t know the details, they assumed I had fallen ill from overwork, so they were also caring and warm .

The officials were overjoyed by my return .

Even though I felt incredibly indebted to them, I still tried to do my best work every day .

My heart still ached . I couldn’t forget him .

No matter how much I immersed myself in work…no, that’s precisely why I threw myself into work .

How much time had I spent with him in this house?

There was always so much work, but we still spoke of the future .

When we came up with a new strategy, we celebrated together .

When we encountered an obstacle, we confronted it together .

Even if I wanted to treat him as part of the past and abandon him, there were too many parts of this mansion that retained his memory .

So, it couldn’t be helped .

And so, I couldn’t fix things .

After all, even now…I was certain that I loved him .

These thoughts flashed through the corner of my mind while I dealt with the piles of work .

And then time passed while I tried to refind the feeling of working from beforehand .

The big project was finally here . The day of negotiation with the Acacia Kingdom had arrived .

Tanya stood behind me, while my mother sat beside me .

While both of them looked completely normal in what they wore, they were armed to the teeth .

Whatever the other side did, they said, they’d be able to react immediately .

Ryle and Dida hadn’t assigned any other guards indoors because of them, handing the protection of the mansion over to them .

Since it was a negotiation for peace, if we marched out the troops for this discussion it would give others a reason to gossip .

When I felt just about ready, Tanya approached me quietly .

“Milady, I think they’re here . ”

I forced myself into a state of heightened awareness .

“Welcome, Prince Majid . ”

I smiled to welcome the man who walked in .

Prince Majid, who was dressed in full royal garb, responded with a smile too .

He looked quite suspicious to me, but I’m sure he regarded me the same too .

“I am genuinely happy to be able to see you again . ”

Saying this, he kissed the back of my hand .

I couldn’t help but grimace a smile at his antics .

“Pleasure to meet you, Prince Majid . ”

He made the same grimacing expression as I did .

The first time he was here, it was his ideas leading the way . So this time it was our turn…he seemed to understand what I was saying .

I’m sure he wanted to pretend as if the previous visitation hadn’t happened .

Considering this, I emphasized it as if we were meeting for the first time .

“Please, Prince Majid . Be seated . ”

Waiting for him to sit, I sat across from him and stared at him .

What a fearless smile . The noble, serious aura was quite a fit for his handsome, rugged face .

Everything about him gave off the impression of a king .

“What a good territory . The people live with wealth, and the rulers and politics are stable . ”

“Ah…thank you . ”

How false . I felt a shred of anger burn through my heart . Not that I’d let it show on my face .

“But recently we’ve encountered our share of fearful matters . ”

I purposefully said this with a sad tone .

“Oh…”

A concerning light shone in his eyes .

“Other countries have attacked us . ”

“How incredibly…unfortunate . ”

“Indeed . I didn’t expect the nation who asked for my hand to attack us . ”

In that moment the room turned dead silent .

I was already testing his attitude in my own way . He must be considering his next words now too .

“What I wanted to explain was…this was the intent of the Towair Kingdom and our previous king . I had nothing to do with the schemes . It was not my intention . ”

His straightforward admission made me breathe out .

“Not your intention…even so, the fact that the Acacia Kingdom invaded my nation’s territory is an indisputable fact . How does your country plan on taking responsibility for this?”

He smiled . While I was questioning him .

It was enough to rouse goosebumps on my skin .

“Excuse me . Trying to explain myself to you is due to my personal feelings…after all, I do not want you to dislike me . Although I have my own thoughts, I have to explain on behalf of my country first . This whole incident was due to the previous king and a portion of his followers . Our nation had no intent of attacking your territory . ”

“You’re saying it in a different way, but the contents of your statement remain the same . ”

“What a pointed comment . ” Prince Majid said with an exasperated smile .

“I’m getting emotional because my citizens were attacked . ”

“How frightening . ”

“Hm, was my expression really so scary?”

“No, not the case . It’s precisely because your expression didn’t change, that’s why you are frightening . You wouldn’t act on your emotions . When people like that are disappointed, they tend to be easily led by their noses . ”

I didn’t react visibly to what he said, but internally I didn’t know what to feel .

How difficult it was to deal with him .

“So, we’ve prepared reparations for the victims of this riot . The contents are in this document…all you have to do is sign . ”

The middle-aged man waiting behind the prince retrieved the document respectfully .

Accepting it, I began to read .

“This is not enough . ”

I said in a soft voice, skimming through it .

“Oh?”

Prince Majid’s gaze turned sharp .

The whole atmosphere of the room tensed .

“Prince Majid…as a matter of fact, the first prince of your nation has sought our protection and is currently staying here . ”

His countenance seemed more stressed after this statement .