“Well, a little more than most people?”
What was this? Why bring up House Gloria all of a sudden? Had he come because of Diana?
‘Did she go to Valen asking him to mediate and shed buckets of tears or something?’
As Liselotte responded warily, he let out a deep breath.
“Let’s exchange information.”
Information…?
He suddenly came all the way to the North and the first thing he said was that he wanted to exchange information.
Liselotte quietly examined him, wondering if he had some ulterior motive.
The face that looked both similar to and unlike hers was faintly stiff with tension.
When no immediate answer came, he furrowed one eyelid and replied sharply,
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
And who was it that had been inseparable from Diana until recently?
According to rumors she had heard through Virki, the two of them were still meeting regularly even now.
And wasn’t the banquet held not long ago openly arranged to take Diana’s side?
Even in the original story, they were a pair who loved each other until the very end.
Liselotte smiled softly with her eyes and asked,
“Did you break off your engagement with Diana?”
“No.”
“Then are you planning to break off the engagement?”
“Is that important?”
“Then how am I supposed to trust Your Highness and give you information before the trial?”
“It’s not as if I ever come to meet you of my own accord.”
So…
Was he saying that since he personally came all this way to meet her himself, she should obediently exchange information?
From his expression alone, he looked quite awkward and uncomfortable, his nose bridge repeatedly scrunching as if he were already conceding ground.
Suddenly realizing that this habit resembled her own, Liselotte flinched for no reason.
Eren, seemingly having the same thought, stared intently at Liselotte’s profile.
‘No, this is just my habit to begin with. It’s just a coincidence!’
A habit that had persisted even in her past life, and of all times, it overlapped like this.
When Liselotte refused to let go of her suspicion, Valen outright switched his target of persuasion to Eren.
“What do you think, Grand Duke? My sister and I are not on good terms, so the one who can judge most fairly and without emotion here seems to be you.”
“If Liselotte does not want it, I will refuse.”
Wasn’t that only natural?
Of course, he might be more favorable toward the Imperial Family than Liselotte was, but the lawsuit against House Gloria was a matter of House Keilos.
No matter that he was the Crown Prince, what couldn’t be done couldn’t be done.
Especially when they weren’t close enough to have ever shared a friendly conversation.
No matter how similar they might be, there was no reason for Eren to care for Valen as much as he did Liselotte.
She rose naturally from her seat and smiled.
“Then I will consider the negotiations to have broken down. Please return safely, Your Highness.”
After properly lifting the hem of her dress and offering a courteous greeting, Liselotte linked arms with Eren and tried to leave the reception room.
Valen was flustered.
He hadn’t expected this kind of reaction. A headache began to throb, and he pressed his thumb firmly against his temple, but his sister’s steps didn’t hesitate even in the slightest.
Seeing Liselotte’s firmer-than-expected attitude, Valen hurriedly grabbed her arm.
“I’m also considering breaking off the engagement.”
At the unexpected answer, Liselotte stopped mid-step.
Whether it was sincere or not, the end of Valen’s voice trembled slightly with confusion.
The man who always either lashed out or looked at her with contempt now met her eyes directly.
“I’ll be honest. I don’t actually feel sorry about anything from before you got married.”
Liselotte acknowledged that point as well.
Of course, Valen had provoked her, but it was also an undeniable fact that Liselotte herself had gone out of her way to torment him when he gained divine authority.
Perhaps finding the situation itself awkward, Valen couldn’t hold her gaze for long, letting his eyes wander through the air before glancing back at Liselotte.
“But I am truly sorry for not trusting you regarding the East and the joint subjugation effort. I’m saying this not as the Crown Prince, but as your older brother.”
“…”
“Setting aside personal trust between us, I should have looked into it more thoroughly. I won’t deny that I was biased. I’m sorry, Liselotte.”
For a moment, Liselotte was at a loss for words.
She had never imagined he would apologize so readily.
‘…It’s true that Liselotte had accumulated karma of her own over the years.’
Liselotte let out a slow sigh.
‘Yes, I guess we should consider ourselves even.’
It wasn’t as though anyone had been killed, nor had there been fraud.
There was nothing to be gained by hating him any further here.
There was no reason to be close, but there was also no reason to reject someone who reached out first.
It would be enough to sit at the negotiating table, weigh things, and decide then.
Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Eren whispered carefully at her side.
“Liselotte, do as you wish. I have at least the authority to refuse the Crown Prince’s unofficial orders.”
Liselotte turned abruptly and sat back down on the sofa.
“If you are even considering breaking off the engagement, I will hear you out. But if I think it is not worth it, I will stop without hesitation.”
Only then did Valen’s stiff expression ease slightly.
Watching Eren sit back down beside her, Valen opened his mouth.
“I heard you brought in a capable aide from the East to the North. Did he ever mention anything about Anix Gloria before his adoption?”
“Why bring up before the adoption all of a sudden?”
Hedmilton was a retainer who hadn’t worked for House Gloria for very long, so he didn’t know such old and intimate details.
When Liselotte asked back, Valen ruffled his hair as if it gave him a headache.
“Do you know about House Diconu?”
“I understand it was a collateral branch of House Gloria that existed before the Duke was adopted.”
Liselotte didn’t show that she was unsure.
For now, she intended to listen to what he had to say.
“Diana recently lied to me. That made me suspicious, so I had House Gloria investigated. Among other things, there was a record of them purchasing large amounts of unprofitable wasteland near Gelloa Village.”
“Even if it is wasteland now, could it not have been useful in the past? The East is known for fertile land.”
When Liselotte asked back, he shook his head firmly.
“If that were the case, someone would have coveted it.”
After pondering quietly, Liselotte took out some stationery from the shelf beside the sofa.
She hurriedly scribbled a letter as she spoke.
“I know a mercenary who has been doing subjugation work in the East for a long time. I will ask right now.”
“Won’t it take some time for a reply to come? And will a mercenary even know how to read and write properly and reply quickly…”
“You do know who I am defending right now when you say that, right?”
After folding the letter, Liselotte lightly snapped her fingers and called out.
“Lord Virki. Please pass this along to Taebon, I need to ask him something.”
“…?”
Valen stared at Liselotte with a look that clearly said he had no idea what was going on.
Not long after, the letter floated up into the air on its own, bobbing gently, then neatly folded itself with a series of soft flaps.
Finally, with a pop, the letter disappeared.
“What is this? You know how to use magic?”
“No. But my client does.”
Before long, once again, with a pop, a new letter appeared before Liselotte’s eyes.
Without hesitation, Liselotte opened it.
After checking its contents, she handed the letter to Valen.
[Greetings, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.
This is Taebon.
As for the wasteland near Gelloa Village, I have heard that there used to be many monsters there in the past.
When I asked my members, they said that mercenaries were often hired around House Diconu’s territory long ago. At some point, the recruitment notices stopped appearing, and since it is such a rural area to begin with, it seems there is no reason for people to go there anymore.
I have not personally participated in the related subjugations, so please take this as reference only.]
“Right. So there were monsters.”
Valen tapped the letter lightly with his finger, as if he had been waiting for this answer.
“I went to Gelloa Village. And there, I found this.”
From his bosom, he took out a small pouch with a tap.
The moment they saw the shimmering green threads spilling out from inside it.
Silence fell over the reception room.
“…The World Tree thread.”
No sooner had Liselotte finished murmuring than Eren lightly struck the table with his hand and asked Valen,
“Where did you obtain it?”
“Gelloa Village. I picked it up among the ashes of people who seemed to have died in a fire there.”
Ah, so this was how it ended.
The negotiation was complete.
Liselotte had no reason to hesitate any longer.
“Brother. Let’s exchange information. To think you would bring what we were looking for — as expected of you, Brother.”
“What? Why were you looking for this?”
To Valen, who looked utterly unable to grasp the situation, Eren replied in a low, grinding, and chilling voice,
“The ones who ambushed the former Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had this thread.”
