The rear garden.
The Queen was holding a small tea party. Surprisingly, she hadn't invited close friends, but rather some nobles she rarely interacted with on ordinary days.
A guard named Golan was slowly walking in, leading a man dressed in a neatly tailored, noble formal suit. A Holy Bible totem hung around the man's neck.
Seated beside the Queen was a woman with a pale complexion, wearing a black top hat adorned with silk flowers. The brim was pressed low, revealing only a section of her fair jawline. Long lace gloves covered both of her hands, exuding nobility in every detail.
When the man and the woman met eyes, both revealed the Holy Bible totem on their necks at the same time. Then, each stroked the back of their neck with their right hand, causing the marks to instantly disappear as if they had never existed.
After their gazes met, the woman lowered her head slightly, drew a cross over her chest with her right hand, and spoke in a low, serene voice, "May the Lord be with you."
"And may the Lord bless you as well." The man responded with the same gesture.
Queen Figreno watched the interaction between the two outsiders with great interest.
She wore a wine-red gown, her pinned-up hair embellished with tiny rubies, and a polite smile playing on the corners of her lips. No one would ever imagine that a Queen with such stunning looks would covet another's beauty.
"Your Majesty, allow me to introduce myself. I am Caren, a Devotee of God." The man bowed slightly, speaking with elegant manners.
Figreno glanced at the seat in front of her. "Friends from afar, please sit. I hope my tea and pastries do not disappoint you."
Caren, who had just been behaving so elegantly, completely failed to maintain his gentlemanly composure at the sight of the table full of pastries. In the Prison, they never knew where their next meal was coming from—a hardship Leona knew all too well.
"Your Majesty may not know this, but where we come from, a tiny slice of cake like this is an invaluable treasure." Caren licked the corners of his mouth, grabbed a fruit tart, and popped it into his mouth.
The fruity flavor burst across his tongue, accompanied by a faint buttery aroma.
Being able to taste things absent in the prison was the benefit these outsiders were most delighted to receive during their time in the instance.
"Is what he says true, Evelyn?" Figreno turned her head to look at the elegant woman beside her.
Evelyn covered her mouth with a chuckle. "It is true, Your Majesty."
"In that case..." Figreno clapped her hands twice.
Golan approached. "Is there something you require, Your Majesty?"
"Prepare a few more portions of what is on the table for them to take with them."
As she spoke, Figreno suddenly let out a chuckle, looking at Golan. "I almost forgot, you aren't from here either."
"Then let us do this: prepare a portion for yourself as well."
Golan nodded with a smile.
Figreno poured tea for the two of them herself. "After all this, it turns out I am the only outsider here."
"Your Majesty need not mind. We are not outsiders, but friends. Wouldn't you say so?" Caren said with a smile.
"Oh?" Figreno murmured softly. "Friends? Or perhaps bandits huddling together for warmth?"
Evelyn and Caren exchanged an awkward glance. True as that might be, the Queen was being far too blunt—who speaks of themselves that way?
"However, shouldn't valuable things belong in the hands of worthy people? Your Majesty, this shouldn't be called banditry; it is no different from wolves eating sheep."
"You certainly know how to find excuses for yourselves," Figreno remarked with an insincere smile upon hearing Caren's words.
Wanting to steal was wanting to steal; she would never make excuses for her own greed.
"Regarding the princess..." Caren was just about to say something when a glare from Evelyn cut him off.
"Do you mean what happens at night?" Figreno had known everything all along.
"Of course I know that at night, They will kill anyone who harms Anna. But I didn't know if that applied to you outsiders as well. I wanted to see it with my own eyes, so I didn't inform you... You wouldn't blame me for that, would you?"
Figreno brought up the nighttime incidents directly, making no effort to hide her own despicable nature.
"Of course not. If I were in your position, I would have done the same," Caren said, suppressing his anger.
God was right: the people in fairy tales were indeed a bunch of demons.
"However, security inside the palace is tight during the day. Besides, that maid beside the princess is extraordinarily formidable; we can't handle her," Caren said. Because of Croll, they had already lost two people.
"You mean Croll? That is indeed a troublesome problem." Figreno pressed her temple with one hand, getting a headache over the matter.
Had she known this would happen, she would have wiped out the entire Grant family back then, no matter what it took.
"As for Croll, I have a way to draw her away. Whether Anna lives or dies is none of my concern—I only want her heart. Do you understand?" Figreno said ruthlessly.
"If that's the case, then there's no problem," Caren agreed with a nod.
Seemingly thinking of something, he added:
"However, Your Majesty, I must remind you that besides us, there are other outsiders. Certain things are far too strange. For instance, we had no reason to kill that maid. I suspect someone is secretly helping the princess."
Caren recalled all the setbacks they had suffered over the past days; the root cause of the tight palace security was entirely due to the death of that maid.
He even surmised that the person behind this belonged to the King's faction. After all, the only one who could consistently oppose God's faction was the King.
"I think the ones who ought to be careful are you. The other party is clearly coming after you," Figreno said with an air of detached indifference.
She was no fool; the maid's death was clearly orchestrated to expose the existence of God's side.
But why would the other party help Anna? Was it merely because of a Main God task?
Things were becoming more and more interesting.
But to the Queen, none of that mattered. From start to finish, she had only one goal—the princess's heart.
...
Night was approaching.
Leona drifted off to sleep. The secret passage was extremely concealed. So much had happened today that she fell into a deep sleep, entirely unguarded, completely unaware of when she was picked up by someone.
After a brief spell of jostling, she was placed onto a soft bed and tucked in.
In her dreamland, an affectionate voice drifted into her ears.
"Good night, Leona."
Anna sat on the edge of the bed. She had to stay vigilant at all times, watching for any new Shadows that might appear and enter the room.
Outside the room.
"Go sleep first. I'll keep watch," Udarik said, lightly nudging Croll's shoulder.
Compared to him, Croll's age was little more than a child's.
He did not know why the child before him was so persistent. Though she had never met the princess before, and though her father had been branded a traitorous minister, she still loyally guarded the princess's side.
"I am not sleepy," Croll replied coldly.
Having his warm gesture met with a cold shoulder, Udarik had no choice but to shrug and lean against the right side of the doorframe.
Bright moonlight filtered through the empty corridor, spilling over Croll's striking face. Her blade-sharp white hair fluttered gently in the breeze.
Her silhouette slowly turned translucent, disappearing into the night just like Udarik.
【Croll, you must protect Her Highness the Princess at all costs】
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