Chapter 22

After that, a messenger from Prince Alex arrived, and Via was moved to the fortress of the Rovman Knights.

At the Rovman fortress, preparations were made in a hurry to welcome the royal family. In the afternoon, Consort Via, accompanied by her guard Ebeck and several maids, arrived, surrounded by the knights.

At the same time, Consort Sectur, who had been staying at the imperial palace, arrived at the Rovman fortress with the young Myra in her arms.

Amid the rapidly changing situation, it was not possible to return to the Jade Palace, which had thin security, and while they were at a loss, Alex made a decision after hearing a message from Via.

Celtis was left in Antore.

If something happened to Alex, and only Prince Romaris, who was under the care of Lord Sezon, remained as the royal bloodline, Antore and Rovman would lose their reason to fight.

Celtis, who had the blood of the emperor, had to be kept unharmed.

The entire court was in a state of extreme tension, preparing for the battle against Reiatow. The city gates were closed, and the Midas Knights, acting on the queen's orders, were on guard to prevent Lord Sezon and Reiatow's knights from leaving the city.

The city gates, which were supposed to prevent external intrusion, had now become a cage to prevent escape from the inside.

In the warehouse, over a dozen knights were still holed up, but Alex had given up on storming in early and switched to a siege.

They should have been able to draw water from the well, but their food supply was limited to the rations they had brought with them. Without external supplies, they would eventually starve, and Alex was waiting for their surrender or, in the worst case, planning to destroy the building when they could no longer move.

Meanwhile, Sezon had taken Prince Romaris and Consort Myar to Reiatow's fortress and was stubbornly waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

Even though Rovman and Antore surrounded Reiatow, Reiatow was originally a fortress designed for war. It had its own escape routes, allowing it to gather some information and communicate with sympathetic nobles. Occasionally, there were skirmishes, but none of them succeeded, and the supply to the warehouse was also cut off.

Despite this, this strange stalemate had, unexpectedly, brought a brief calm to the imperial palace. In the unusual atmosphere, Alex began to govern under the name of the queen regent and started to establish a functioning government.

Even with the emperor's seat vacant, the fact that the government was running smoothly seemed to discourage other countries from taking advantage of the situation.

"Prince Alex seems to have taken some action," Rovman Lord informed her.

Via had breakfast alone, but lunch and dinner were taken with Consort Sectur and her sister, Princess Myra. With nothing else to do, Via invited Ebeck and the Rovman Knights' officers to her room for tea every afternoon, using it as an opportunity for information exchange.

At first, Ebeck had felt out of place among the Rovman Knights, but he had now become a regular at the tea parties. He had also integrated well into the Rovman Knights and occasionally appeared at the Rovman training grounds to train.

"What kind of action?"

"There seems to be a dispute between Sies and other countries over the use of the port of Garantia. I heard that both ambassadors are working to reach a compromise."

"Do you think the prince is involved in this?"

"Yes, the timing is too good."

Rovman Lord took a sip of tea and placed it back on the table. "It's likely that some intention is at work."

"By the way, the Securt Federation is also in disarray right now," Ebeck added, and Via murmured "Securt" to herself.

"I believe it's a federation of twelve duchies, isn't it? Instead of a king to rule the entire federation, they have a leading duke, don't they?"

Rovman Lord answered for her. "That's correct. The leading duke is getting old, and it seems that other dukes, encouraged by someone, have started to vie for the next position."

"Securt seems likely to be in turmoil for a while. They won't be in a position to cause trouble for Ancheze."

Arnel, the adjutant, added, and Via nodded. "Then, the only ones left are the western countries. I've heard that the three western countries are warlike."

"As for the west, Ancheze is increasing its troops near the border under the guise of drills. Since they are showing that the country is functioning, I don't think they will act rashly."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"By the way, I heard that the consort is gathering information from Midas."

Arnel, who usually had a stern look, narrowed his eyes and interjected. "Finn was flustered when he heard that she was looking for a knight who chats casually with the kitchen staff."

"Even though the city gates are under strict guard, a large amount of vegetables and meat are still brought into the palace every day. The kitchen staff always chat with the people who bring the supplies, so they often have a lot of information."

Via, who had lived in the Amethyst Palace, was familiar with this method of gathering information from Seina and Luna. "That's true."

In the knights' ranks, there were young squires as young as twelve, and among the children who were not yet in their voice change, some were falling ill due to the unfamiliar group life and gradually losing their energy.

The women who ran the kitchen would give these children a bit more of their favorite food or talk to them, watching over them like mothers.

As the boys grew older, many of them became embarrassed and distanced themselves, but some knights remained close to the kitchen women.

Via had introduced herself to such knights and asked the kitchen women to gather various rumors for her.

"The people who were initially afraid of the many palace guards monitoring the city gates have now become accustomed to the scene. They grumbled about the complicated procedures for passing through the gates, but they seemed to understand that it was better than having a battle in Midas."

After more than three weeks of stalemate, Via felt that she had become accustomed to life in the fortress.

Although she was not allowed to go out, she had become quite familiar with the Rovman officers and knights. Most importantly, she had formed a relationship with Consort Sectur and Princess Myra, whom she had never met before.

Sectur, who came from a well-known noble family, had been made a consort when she became pregnant with the emperor's child. However, since her father had already passed away and she had no relatives to act as guardians, she was largely forgotten in the court.

The emperor's visits ceased after she became pregnant, and the courtiers, wary of the queen's displeasure, kept their distance from Sectur.

It was thought that Sectur would spend the rest of her life quietly in the Jade Palace, but with the emperor's death, her environment changed dramatically. For safety, she was told to stay at the Rovman fortress for a while, and she ended up living with the consort of the first prince.

Sectur, who had once been the emperor's favorite concubine and the biological sister of the second prince, and now the consort of the first prince, was initially at a loss as to how to interact with Via.

At first, Sectur was timid and watched Via's expressions, but as they began to share meals every day, they gradually became more comfortable with each other. Via realized that Sectur had a kind and pleasant personality.

Young Myra also became very attached to Via and would run to her when she saw her during meals.

Princess Myra had grown up without knowing that she had siblings. Sectur, who had been forgotten by the noble society, had been trying to protect her daughter in this way.

"I am your older sister. From now on, you should call me 'sister.'"

When Via said this gently, looking into Myra's eyes, Myra hugged her happily. It seemed that having a sister for the first time in her life made her very happy.

Via held Myra on her lap and told her about Celtis and Prince Alex.

Celtis was Via's only beloved younger brother, and talking about Prince Alex, his appearance, and his character was a joy for Via.

Incidentally, if it were to be summed up in one word, it would be "flirting." Ebeck, who was listening, secretly thought that if they were praised so much, the two of them would probably get goosebumps and beg for mercy.

Myra, hearing that she had two wonderful older brothers, was overjoyed and wanted to hear about them every day. Seeing her innocent sister, Via decided in her heart to introduce her to Prince Alex and the others someday.

Although Myra is still young and doesn't seem to feel the hardship of her current situation, if things continue this way, she will surely be left behind.

Even if she can't openly protect Myra in front of the queen, if her two older brothers can care for her even a little, Myra's future will be much brighter.