Chapter 54

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 54

Chapter Title: The Dead Forest and the Fairy's Garden (11)

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Unspoken screams and resentment boiled in her mind like molten lava.

Roxiana's lips twisted at the corners.

"A very good friend, wasn't she?"

She couldn't stop the faint tremor at the end of her voice as she spat the words out.

Floyd, who had been staring at her silently, spoke up.

"That good friend of yours has become the lord of Kinteren."

Only then did Roxiana lift her head to look at Floyd.

"She's become a lord?"

"Yes."

There was no hint of joking in his calm reply.

Roxiana felt puzzled.

'Become a lord? I thought she'd be desperately clawing her way toward marriage with Lucas...'

There were things she hadn't realized back then, but could see clearly now.

The way Elise looked at Lucas, full of longing. The way Lucas's voice softened whenever he spoke of her.

Elise had envied Roxiana, the one who would marry him. Lucas had praised Roxiana for having such a friend.

-"Elise is a good girl. She's cute and kind. She'll surely meet a good man."

-"You must be so happy, Princess. The Crown Prince is so gentle. He's incredibly handsome. Everyone must envy you."

She had realized far too late the emotions hidden in those words.

Once her mind had filled with vengeful thoughts toward Lucas and Elise, there was only one image that came to mind when she imagined what they might be doing.

She pictured them tangled together in bed, mocking the foolish Franche royal family and their stupid princess. Meanwhile, Elise would be struggling desperately to claim the spot at Lucas's side.

But Elise had exceeded Roxiana's expectations.

'What kind of place is Kinteren?'

Roxiana knew Gania well. To become its future queen, she had studied everything she needed to know in advance.

The lands it owned, its internal and external issues, the major nobles, its culture, trends, festivals...

Kinteren had been among them.

'Kinteren is connected to several cities, making it a potential transportation hub. With well-maintained roads, proper inns, restaurants, and entertainment, it could become a city frequented by travelers and merchants.'

She recalled how she had planned to suggest to Lucas after their marriage that they develop the region.

'Well, if Elise had stayed glued to Lucas's side, I never would have become queen.'

She was from a fallen kingdom. And even within that kingdom, from a family that had committed crimes and been wiped out. The stigma might be invisible, but it would follow Elise for life.

Gania's inflexible nobles would never accept such a woman as crown princess. At best, she would have been treated as Lucas's favorite mistress.

But Elise had chosen a way to cover that stigma.

'Elise couldn't have come up with that on her own.'

Just as Elise knew Roxiana well, Roxiana knew Elise equally well. Unless someone else had gotten inside her head, Roxiana couldn't imagine Elise choosing such a path herself.

'Looks like you've found yourself a good strategist, Elise.'

Without realizing it, Roxiana bit down hard on her lip. Floyd, who had been watching her, reached out and gently pressed her lower lip with his thumb.

Startled by the sudden warmth against her lips, Roxiana relaxed her mouth. His finger lingered there. The blood-red hatred that had filled her mind moments ago subsided in an instant.

"Are you angry?"

His gray eyes gleamed as if piercing straight through her. Roxiana wanted to look away, afraid he could see her innermost thoughts, but she barely managed to hold his gaze.

"No."

"That's strange."

He withdrew his thumb and leaned back against the sofa.

"You should be angry. Even I feel my guts twisting, and I have nothing to do with it."

"What changes if I get angry? Nothing at all. It would just hurt me."

Floyd didn't look like he believed her. Embarrassed that she had revealed her emotions so plainly even for a moment, Roxiana casually lifted her teacup as if nothing had happened.

"What will you do, Princess?"

"About what?"

"Your good friend has become a lord, even if it's just a small territory. Are you going to stay put?"

His probing tone made Roxiana bristle.

"What can I do? Your Highness doesn't want me to fold my wings and sit quietly in a cage, just breathing, does he?"

"I could move your birdcage somewhere else. Torkan is vast. Shall I rip off the safest territory for you?"

It was a sweet temptation. She wanted to beg for it shamelessly, without a shred of pride.

But Roxiana believed she couldn't reach Lucas and Elise that way. Elise, maybe—but to topple even Lucas, she needed something sturdier, something unbreakable.

She didn't know what it was yet, but it certainly wasn't the safest territory in Torkan.

"Your Highness mocks me too much."

"Mockery? I'm serious. Do you think I can't give you a territory?"

"Why go this far for me? What am I to Your Highness?"

Her offhand question made Floyd's shoulders stiffen.

'Indeed.'

Floyd himself wondered.

'Why am I trying to do this much for the princess?'

It couldn't just be past favors. The grace of sheltering him in Kanta when he had nowhere else to go—he had repaid that by pulling her from the cramped slave ship hold.

Was it because he needed her strange power?

No, that wasn't it either. He had lived well without her power and would continue to do so. Torkan didn't need Roxiana's abilities to prosper.

'Then why?'

Suddenly, Lucas's face flashed in his mind.

The face he had tried so hard to forget—and had succeeded, to some extent. That horrific, cruel face grinning with amusement before his mother's charred corpse. The kick that had struck her body.

He suppressed the sudden surge of rage by clenching his fist tight.

Floyd gazed at Roxiana's lovely face as she stared down at her teacup. Her flawless skin was like a work of art meticulously crafted by the gods. Once, she had been Lucas's fiancée.

For some reason, Lucas had hated her enough to sell her into slavery rather than kill her along with her family.

'And now I'm the one keeping that woman he hates.'

The fact that Roxiana hadn't been shipped to the Hoban Isles but was instead living as an honored guest in the Torkan Grand Duke's palace would soon reach Lucas's ears.

'What face will you make then?'

He had never thought about it before, but now it struck him: watching that bastard grimace at the sight of Roxiana by his side might be quite entertaining.

'Is that why I'm keeping the princess around?'

Maybe. Perhaps there was a deep-seated urge to smash the back of Lucas's head—one he hadn't even realized.

If that was the case, it explained why he had treated Roxiana so exceptionally well, beyond his own understanding. He had no intention of delivering some grand, devastating revenge on Lucas, but pulling off something he truly loathed? That would be satisfying.

Making Torkan prosperous was one of those things Lucas hated.

Having settled on that answer, Floyd spoke honestly.

"Lucas sees you as a thorn in his side."

Roxiana hadn't expected Lucas's name to come up in this context, and she faltered slightly.

"If he finds out I rescued you and am treating you as an honored guest... that bastard Lucas's guts will twist."

Floyd curled his lips upward.

"And I quite enjoy watching his guts twist."

"Ah."

Roxiana felt as if she'd been struck on the back of the head. She had never imagined that as his reason, and now she had no idea how to respond.

'What did I think his reason was?'

She didn't know. She didn't know what she had hoped for from him, or why this revelation shocked her so much.

He had a valid reason, and as a result, she had been saved. Whatever it was, he had treated her well and given her so much.

It was something to be grateful for. A grace worth devoting her life to repay.

'But why?'

Why wouldn't this rising bitterness and shock fade? What had she expected, to suddenly want to slap that face she had always found so pleasant?

Unable to comprehend the shift in her emotions, Roxiana froze. In her place, the wolf sitting quietly beside her suddenly bristled its fur and let out a growl—as if voicing her feelings for her.

Floyd burst into incredulous laughter at the tiny wolf, barely the length of his forearm, baring its fangs.

"No training at all."

"It's just a perceptive little one."

Her sharp retort made Floyd's eyes widen before he erupted in hearty laughter.

"Good. Then I can leave the palace for a bit without worry. That sharp judge of character will keep you safe."

"Leave the palace?"

"To hunt magical beasts. No money."

Was it really okay to speak so casually about the grand ducal palace's finances? Roxiana hesitated for a moment, but recalling Floyd's personality, she asked calmly.