Faust didn't have time to organize his thoughts; amid the turbulence of the teleportation spell, he soon succumbed to the toxins and lost consciousness, unable to remain awake.
While he was out, at the royal army encampment outside Mountain Father, Arcturus was pacing restlessly in front of the court mage's traveling palace.
Just tonight, the Queen had arranged a teleportation spell within the traveling palace to personally enter the frost-walker base and settle matters once and for all.
Arcturus thought her majesty was finally hardening her heart; at the very least, she would bring the princess back.
When the glow and vibrations of the teleportation spell flickered, Arcturus stepped into the traveling palace and asked, "Your Majesty! You've returned? Did the plan succeed?"
Behind the curtains of the audience chamber, the prime minister of Midwinter saw the Queen's figure; she seemed to be holding someone in her arms.
Is it the princess?
Arcturus's first instinct was to guess as much, but he soon dismissed the thought. Despite being obscured by the black gauze curtains, he could clearly see a robust silhouette in the Queen's embrace.
It's a man?
After finishing the teleportation spell, Lola immediately began treating Faust's injuries while answering, "It failed. For now, it seems Selena isn't meant to die yet. So, I've brought Prince Faust back instead."
Wait, why bring him back? Is there some cause-and-effect here?
Never leaving empty-handed, I see?!
Arcturus felt the same confusion as Faust, but he quickly came up with his own explanation: "This way, no one can pilot the Great Titan. As long as Your Majesty and that grail knight strike together, the frost-walker defense line will be destroyed in an instant!"
However, Lola flatly rejected the prime minister's suggestion: "I am returning to the royal capital. I will no longer participate in the ensuing battles."
Arcturus was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head in a bow, asking no further. "Your Majesty... yes, I understand."
There was no need to question her. The fact that the Queen had agreed to take up arms against the princess was already an unexpected miracle. To demand that this mother and daughter—who were essentially one and the same—slaughter each other would be overstepping his bounds and trampling on his duty as a subject.
"Regarding the Qingxi Kingdom, do we need to send someone to negotiate?"
Although Faust had involved himself in the Midwinter Kingdom's civil war, logically, even if he died on the battlefield, no explanation would be owed to the Qingxi Kingdom. In fact, Midwinter could demand the latter explain why they were interfering in domestic affairs.
But the problem was that Faust hadn't been killed on the battlefield; he had been taken prisoner.
Following protocol... according to the rules of the occult nobles, prisoners were to enjoy basic aristocratic treatment and retain the right to be exchanged as hostages.
Arcturus wanted to send this uninvited guest away as soon as possible. To suppress the curse, Midwinter had already made an exception by accepting the grail knight order; they truly had no time to deal with punishing a foreign nation.
But hearing the prime minister's perfectly normal suggestion, the Queen of Midwinter shook her head. Her slender hand, wrapped in black lace, pressed against Faust's chest as she said, "I will bring this prince back to the castle. As for contacting the Qingxi Kingdom... there is no need for that for the time being."
Hmm? Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?
The young, dark-green-haired prime minister was dazed.
In the castle of the Midwinter royal capital, only a portion was used for official business; the rest was the royal family's private domain. Forget men—even maids were scarce there.
Due to the royal curse, the Queen of Midwinter had always been solitary, never showing favor to the opposite sex. Furthermore, even if he was to be detained, there was no need for the Queen to personally imprison him, was there?
Arcturus quietly observed her majesty, unable to help forming some bold and disrespectful conjectures.
But he didn't care much for such gossip and soon stopped dwelling on it.
Her majesty is a woman after all. I heard this foreign prince is exceptionally handsome, so much so that even the princess, whose standards are sky-high, is infatuated with him. It seems their tastes are the same.
Whatever. Once the curse is lifted, the Midwinter Kingdom will become a normal nation. Her majesty can enjoy her private life however she wants, marry whoever she wants; it has nothing to do with him.
"Additionally, I grant you full authority. You are allowed to use any means necessary."
Lola was already preparing to recall the traveling palace to the royal capital. Before leaving, she said to Arcturus, "The only requirement is to prevent Selena from reaching the capital."
...................
Inside Mountain Father, after several hours of unconsciousness, Selena finally regained consciousness as dawn approached.
She slowly opened her silver eyes, gazing at the familiar ceiling with a hazy expression.
The princess vaguely remembered swallowing the poisoned apple and dying with regret in Faust's arms.
What? I didn't die? Or was I saved by mother?
"Your Highness, you're awake."
As Selena was in a daze, several floating spheres immediately crowded around her, offering nutrient solution and hot towels.
Snow White shook her head and looked toward the villa's hall, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "Where are Faust and Lola?"
The tower-builder central core did not respond directly, but instead silently played a recorded projection, showing Selena everything that had happened.
As soon as the titan core finished playing the recording, Selena grabbed one of the central spheres, her teeth clenched. "You all just watched? You did nothing? And you dare claim loyalty to me!"
The princess was practically laughing from anger. It turned out these frost-walkers had just stood by and watched.
All her efforts to soothe the machine spirits these past days were for nothing! To put it bluntly, raising a dog would have been better for protection!
The tower-builder replied with a synthesized mechanical voice: "You are the highness we recognize, but that person... is the same. We may not follow her orders, but we can never engage in hostile behavior toward her."
"If it were any other enemy, we would protect your safety at any cost. But we cannot act against any individual suspected of being the master, even if your authenticity has been confirmed."
Selena understood well enough how deeply the frost-walkers' underlying code was rooted. Seeing that the tower-builder had put it that way, she could only accept it.
Snow White released the titan core, brushed the black hair clinging to her cheeks away, and sat on the sofa with her legs curled up. Her face, which should have been the embodiment of beauty and poetry, was frighteningly gloomy.
"...Truly shameful."
Her relationship with Lola was closer than that of twins; she saw through the Queen's goal in an instant.
This was a plunder of her most important possession—an action to demonstrate that if she could not defeat and kill the other, she had no right to keep this man.
Could such a simple and clear method actually provoke her?
Yes, it really could.
Watching the footage of Faust being taken away by Lola, it felt as if a precious treasure she had painstakingly collected was being stolen. A strange bitterness surged repeatedly in her chest, eventually brewing into a nameless agitation.
It was anger, and it was also resentment.
Selena pressed her hand against her pounding heart, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. "Truly... unnecessary feelings have emerged."
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