Chapter 6

It has been two weeks since Fiona arrived in the kingdom. Today, she is taking a walk in the garden with Matthias.

"Hey, Matthias. Can I clean my room myself?"

She is feeling restless. Eating meals, reading books, playing card games with Matthias, taking walks, and eating snacks—her days are too peaceful.

The feeling that this is not right, even though she is a captive, grows day by day.

"If you're bored, I can bring you more things to play with."

"That's not what I mean. I want to work. I'm becoming too happy and it's not good."

"I see? I don't quite understand, but if you want to clean, I'll arrange the tools for you."

"Okay, thank you, Matthias."

Since he had prepared them for her, she decided not to say anything more and to use them carefully.

The tools he provided looked brand new and expensive. The broom and dustpan had handles that gleamed with a luxurious black finish, and the duster was made from the beautiful and rare feathers of a yellow and pink bird.

The light blue tin bucket was adorned with pictures of cats and flowers, making it too cute to use for wringing out dirty rags.

"I could have used old ones..."

"Since you're going to use them, it's better to have something that feels good to use. Don't you like them?"

"No, that's not it. I'll use them gratefully."

Since he had gone to the trouble of preparing them, she decided to use them carefully.

The room she was using was cleaned daily by a cleaning lady, so everything was spotless. To maintain this, she decided to clean frequently.

By cleaning every day, her restlessness was somewhat alleviated.

She couldn't do the laundry herself, so she had it done by the laundry staff. She had heard that today was the day to change the sheets, so she had taken them off and put them in the laundry basket.

After breakfast, she handed the basket to an elderly woman who came to collect it.

"Thank you always. Please take care of it."

"Sure, sure, leave it to me. You can bring the sheets anytime, not just once a week. Don't hesitate."

"Okay, thank you. But I only eat in bed when I'm sick, so I don't dirty them much."

"Hehe... I see. That handsome guy is treating you well, huh?"

The woman laughed a bit crudely, but Fiona didn't notice the extra concern.

"Yeah, Matthias is kind."

"That's good. I'm glad, Fee."

The woman smiled and left with the basket.

"Everyone is so kind..."

She felt warm inside from the start of the day.

* * *

The next day, while having breakfast together, Matthias talked about the day's plans.

"I have a mission today, so I'll be away. Luke will be watching over you, but you've been summoned to an audience with the king today. Can you go with Luke?"

"Okay, I understand."

"I would have liked to accompany you... That sly old fox is deliberately targeting the times when I'm not around..."

He frowned deeply and muttered to himself.

Fiona, saying "Sly old fox?" while scooping honey onto her pancake with a spoon.

After breakfast, she went to the changing room and got dressed.

Today's outfit was a black pencil skirt, a white shirt, and a blue ribbon at the chest. She loosely braided her hair at the back.

The proper attire for a magician is a robe, but since she is in a delicate position, she doesn't have a robe to wear. So she dresses in the general formal attire of the country's women.

"Does anything look strange?"

"Let me see, stay still."

Matthias checked her collar, adjusted the crease at the back of her neck, and straightened the ribbon.

"Good, you look fine."

"Thank you."

After the check, Matthias attached a chain to her and left for his mission.

Fiona waved goodbye and spent some time looking out the window. Soon, Luke arrived, dressed in a white robe.

"Good morning, Fiona. Shall we go?"

"Good morning, Luke. Thanks."

"Sure thing."

The chain was removed, and she went out of the room with him.

As they walked down the long corridor, they passed people in casual clothes and robes, and she nodded to them politely.

They went down the stairs and walked on a brick path toward the towering castle.

She was walking in a direction she had never been before, so she was a bit excited. She enjoyed the scenery without showing any signs of nervousness.

"You don't seem nervous."

"Yeah, it won't change anything if I am."

"Hehe, that's true."

While talking with Luke, they walked for a few minutes and arrived at the castle. At the entrance, two knights in navy blue uniforms accompanied them.

Inside, the walls were made of white stone, and they walked past paintings hanging on the walls. Soon, a large blue door with gold decorations came into view. Beyond the door was the king's chamber.

As Fiona and Luke approached, the knights standing on either side of the door opened it.

They stepped inside and walked down the red carpet in the center, guided by Luke.

In the king's chamber, six guard knights and two of the king's aides stood around the throne.

On the throne sat the king of the country, a middle-aged man with red hair styled in a slick-back and brown eyes.

Fiona followed Luke's lead, knelt on one knee, and bowed her head.

"Welcome, Golden Magician. My name is Dichardt, the king of this country. You may raise your face and feel at ease."

The king of Elsida spoke in a deep, resonant voice.

She raised her head slightly and glanced at Luke, who was standing up with a grin, despite being in the presence of the king. She also stood up.

"It is an honor to be in your presence, Your Majesty. My name is Fiona."

She placed her right hand on her chest and bowed slightly, as is customary in the country. When she raised her head, she looked intently at the king's face.

These two look very similar.

As if reading her thoughts, the king immediately answered her unspoken question.

"The Luke standing there is my nephew."

"Nephew...?"

Being a nephew means Luke is of royal blood. And his real name is Ediluke, which she just learned.

Fiona pondered for a moment and whispered to Luke so only he could hear.

"Lord Ediluke?"

"Ah, it's fine now."

He turned around and said with a wry smile, loud enough to echo through the king's chamber. She quickly agreed, "Yeah, it's fine now," and whispered, "I see."

"Anyway, I've heard a lot about you from Matthias, but this is our first face-to-face meeting. Let's go over some things, shall we?"

"Yes, please ask anything you like."

Fiona stepped forward in front of Luke. The king, who had already heard from Matthias, decided to hear the current state of the Galdjude Empire directly from her, and she told him everything she knew.

The empire began raiding the Elsida Kingdom about a year ago, after the emperor fell ill and the first prince, Gilbert, took full control.

The greedy prince, using Fiona's power as a wielder of a divine artifact, began plotting to acquire the rich territories of other countries.

To strengthen his own country, he started by raiding the resources of neighboring kingdoms.

He repeatedly sent magicians, including Fiona, to lands that produced protective stones to enhance defense and magic stones for weapons and magical devices, and relentlessly plundered resources from those lands.

Over time, the defenses of these lands became stronger, leading to intense battles.

While the relationship between the empire and the kingdom was not friendly, they maintained a relatively peaceful coexistence without interfering deeply with each other. However, the relationship deteriorated after the emperor fell ill.

The kingdom, which advocated peace, repeatedly protested in writing, but the empire ignored all of them and continued its raids.

The king asked her what kind of person the prince of the empire was, and she replied matter-of-factly, "He is tyrannical, arrogant, cruel, perverted, and the worst person."

The part about being perverted was unnecessary in this setting, but she couldn't help saying it. She wanted the other countries to know about the perverted prince. Because she hated him so much.

"I've heard that you have no loyalty to the empire. Is that true?"

"Yes, I have never had such loyalty. I had a dear hometown, but there are no more dear people there."

"I see... So you don't mind not going back?"

"No, I never want to go back."

Fiona said firmly.

"Hmm. By the way, what do you think of Matthias?"

Caught off guard by this sudden question, she thought, "Why?" but since it was from the king, she had to answer properly. She thought for a moment.

Despite being enemies who had never spoken to each other, Matthias had been kind to her since she arrived here.

He showed her thoughtful consideration, listened to her wishes, and took care of her. He was warm and made her feel safe.

Yes, it was as if—

"Mom...? Matthias is like a mom."

"Ha!"

The most fitting expression she could think of made her hear a snort from behind. She turned around to see Luke covering his mouth and trembling.

"Mom... mom..."

Unable to hold it in, he squatted down on the spot.

She wondered if what she said was that funny and turned back to the front. The king was also trembling slightly and looking down.

The guards and aides, though their expressions didn't change, seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Hehe... a mom... poor guy..."

The king muttered, trying to suppress his laughter.

Poor guy. So, men feel humiliated when called a mom, she realized. She felt bad for inadvertently insulting Matthias.

"Um, can you not tell Matthias?"

"Hehe... I understand. I promise to keep it a secret."

"I appreciate your consideration."

Fiona vowed to be careful not to say it in front of him.