Chapter 16.
A Man Without Moderation
“Your Majesty the Queen, shall we go inside now?”
As I stood staring blankly in the direction he had disappeared, I heard a voice call from behind. It was Duke Xenon, the Chancellor.
Following him into the Crown Prince’s palace, I found a grand hall where countless people were lined up in formation.
Duke Xenon guided me to the center.
“This is Colin, the chief chamberlain. If anything causes you inconvenience in the palace, Colin will take care of it.”
“It is an honor to serve you, Your Majesty. I will devote myself wholeheartedly.”
Colin bowed with disciplined movements, befitting the chief chamberlain of the royal palace.
“Thank you.”
“These are the staff of the Fritan Castle. We should have introduced them sooner, but everything was too chaotic.”
Indeed. From the moment we arrived, there had been wedding preparations, the wedding itself, and even the ceremonial night. It had been a very long day. Not only for me, but for all the staff here.
Everyone bowed low to me, and I raised my hand in return.
“You’ve already met Adele and Sophie, haven’t you? Currently, three personal maids have been assigned to you, but we’ll be adding more soon.”
“Before that, there’s someone I must introduce. Millie!”
I brought Millie to stand beside me and addressed Colin.
“She’s been with me since my time in the Harun Empire. She’ll continue to serve here as well. Please assign her quarters near my room.”
“Yes, I will add her to the Southern Palace registry.”
After settling Millie’s status, a wave of fatigue hit me. Sophie noticed the change in my complexion and stepped closer to whisper gently.
“Your Majesty, would you prefer to return to the bridal chamber, or shall we head to your quarters in the Southern Palace?”
Mick’s bedroom, used for the bridal chamber, was closer—but I didn’t want to stay alone in an empty room without him.
“Let’s go to the Southern Palace.”
Sophie and Adele promptly guided me there. Millie followed close behind. It was then I noticed something missing.
“Millie, where’s the white scarf you were wearing earlier?”
“Huh?”
She looked visibly flustered. And then I realized—it was tied to the end of a knight’s spear who had just departed.
I subtly nudged Millie toward the wall and whispered sharply.
“Who is it??”
Millie’s face turned as red as a roasted sweet potato.
✳✳✳
“Father, you can’t do this to me! I won’t go, no matter what!”
Late at night, in the parlor of the Marquess of Uzkal in the Harun Empire, Hayley’s scream rang out, bordering on a shriek.
She glared at her father with furious eyes. Even the Marchioness trembled as she clutched her hands together, casting a resentful gaze at her husband.
“The twelfth wife of that old emperor? That spot was supposed to be for Leia!”
“Lower your voice, Hayley!”
Unlike the emotional Hayley, the Marquess’s eyes were cold as ice.
“The emperor is trying to block Leia from marrying Duke Jake. He’s also backing out of the 80,000 gold he promised when Leia entered the palace.”
“Oh heavens, Derrick! If we don’t get that 80,000 gold, we’ll be ruined!”
The Marchioness finally understood the gravity of the situation.
“If Hayley becomes the empress, we can demand both Leia’s bride price and Count Paoran’s territory. Otherwise, all our efforts will be for nothing!”
“Father!!!”
Tears streamed down Hayley’s face as she cried out in anguish.
“How can you think of using your own child as a bargaining chip?”
“So what if I do?”
The Marquess spoke proudly, and Hayley was left speechless in disbelief.
“You were happy when Leia was going to bring in that 80,000 gold. Now that Leia’s out of the picture, it’s your turn. That’s how we save this family.”
“You’re the one who created all that debt! Why should I be the one to repay it?”
In that moment, the Marquess slapped Hayley across the face.
“Insolent brat!”
Shocked, Hayley trembled as she stared at him. The Marchioness burst into tears and pulled her daughter into her arms.
“You’ve lived in luxury as the eldest daughter of this house—it’s time you repaid that grace!”
Then the Marquess turned a cold gaze on his wife.
“Pathetic. What have you done all these years if not raise your child properly?”
“What about the prince’s consort? Didn’t you promise to make Hayley the second prince’s bride?”
“Foolish woman.”
The Marquess snapped with disgust.
“You have to know your place. Unless the emperor gets what he wants, he won’t bother looking after his son.”
“How can you all be like this…?”
Hayley muttered, glaring at her father. But the Marquess remained defiant.
“That’s the fate of children.”
The Marquess gave a wicked smile, then erased it and glared at Hayley.
“The wedding is in a month. Don’t even think about running away. If you do, I’ll be the one to sever your neck. A daughter who brings no benefit to this house is of no use to me.”
When the Marquess left the parlor, only the heartbreaking sobs of Hayley and the Marchioness remained.
✳✳✳
“Millie, are you really not going to tell me which knight tied your white scarf to his spear?”
I gave her a deliberately hurt expression as we approached the Queen’s quarters. At that, she fished a scarf from her pocket.
“My scarf is right here… I don’t know what you mean…”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“You were definitely wearing a white scarf earlier. But that’s a blue one. Wait! Don’t tell me—you prepared two scarves?”
Her fingertips trembled.
Aha, I nailed it!
“What is this? You said Robby was your type, and now you’ve got your eye on two men in Fritan?”
“It’s not like that…”
She murmured, avoiding my gaze.
“So you gave one scarf away and didn’t manage to give the other. One of them rejected you, huh? Who was it? No, who accepted it?”
Though her face turned beet red, Millie kept her lips shut. When she’s stubborn like this, even I can’t win.
I was dying to know, but I decided to let it go for now.
Millie, you’d better spill tomorrow morning!
“This is your private residence, Your Majesty. In addition to your bedroom and study, there’s an office, formal reception room, and other spaces for conducting official duties.”
As I nodded and stepped into the Queen’s quarters—the Southern Palace—I immediately noticed something strange.
“It’s way hotter in here than in the Crown Prince’s quarters, isn’t it?”
“Ah… actually, His Highness Mick took extra care to ensure it was well-heated.”
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But the moment I stepped into the bedroom, I realized something was seriously wrong.
With one step inside, the air hit me like a furnace. It was like walking into a sauna, not a bedroom.
The fur coat that had protected me from the icy wind now felt suffocating. I threw it off and looked at Sophie and Adele.
Sweat was streaming down their faces too.
“What is going on? Is cooking the queen alive some weird tradition here?”
“No, Your Majesty… Actually, His Highness Mick had a large number of heating magic stones installed in your room, worried you’d be cold.”
“That precious stuff? Are heating stones common in Fritan?”
“No, they’re rarer than diamonds because of the harsh winters. But for the Queen’s palace, I heard he emptied out an entire royal storage vault.”
Unbelievable. Mick of Fritan—my husband—didn’t know moderation!
“Sophie, summon Chief Chamberlain Colin immediately. If they don’t want me collapsing from heatstroke, they need to remove all the heating stones from this room now!”
“Yes, right away!”
Covered in sweat, Sophie turned to dash off but came back quickly.
“If it’s okay, should we also remove the heating stones from the office, dining room, reception room, study, lounge, and bathroom?”
“Of course! Adjust everything to the same level as the Crown Prince’s quarters.”
This time, Sophie really did run off.
✳✳✳
Not even the darkness before dawn could stop Mick and his knights. They advanced steadily toward the land of the Maon tribe, as if it were broad daylight.
The Maon were demons capable of speaking human language. Brutal by nature, they lived near the western border of the Kingdom of Fritan.
Every year, just before winter began, they would descend upon nearby villages to loot and kill. Yet the Maon also harbored deep hatred for other monsters.
So Mick used to exploit this fact, threatening them at this time every year to protect border towns—offering them food in return for help subjugating monsters.
They also possessed control over fire—essential in refining Fritan’s prized golden pinewood. Thus, the kingdom and the Maon had cooperated in secret for years.
But now, the Maon had broken that unspoken peace.
Mick and his special knights observed the Maon village from across a river. Not a single soul stirred.
Mick handed his spyglass to William, who scanned the enemy encampment.
“Arriving tonight was the right decision, even if it was a stretch.”
Mick nodded. His stomach churned at the thought of leaving Leia’s side for this mission.
This was when the North Star shone brightest. The Maon were celebrating a festival—five nights of drinking, feasting, violence, and orgies.
Last night had been the peak. By now, they were likely too drained to move a finger.
Mick’s unit quickly advanced to a hill overlooking the village.
“I kind of miss the Maon as fellow hunters when it comes to fighting brutal monsters like these,” Freddy muttered with a chuckle.
“But Fritan’s collaboration with the Maon is over,” Ralph replied coldly.
“They dared act as Harun’s pawns and helped fell golden pines!”
Ralph, who rarely showed emotion, growled with fury—an exact match for Freddy in such moments.
Mick removed Leia’s scarf from the tip of his spear and tucked it into his coat. The other knights also removed their scarves.
At the rear, a black wagon opened. From inside, the knights pulled out bows and arrows tipped with oil-soaked cotton.
“From today, the Maon will vanish from this world.”
With Mick’s icy words, a torrent of fire arrows rained down upon the Maon lands—shattering the night.
Soon, agonized screams pierced the air as blood and chaos began to unfold.
✳✳✳
“Ugh… So hot… ah…”
Alone in the Queen’s chamber after Mick had left, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a powerful current surging through my belly.
A jolt—like electric shock—coursed through my right hand. Unable to endure the pain, I sat up.
Heat radiated not just from my hand, but my entire body. It was a foreign sensation—one I hadn’t felt since I was five.
I recalled the look in the Marquess of Uzkal’s eyes each year on my birthday, along with his voice.
“Leia, how do you feel today? Do you feel a heat rising from your lower belly in the morning, or like electricity tingling at your fingertips?”
“Could it be…?”
