#56. “You Did Well Just by Coming Back Safely”
The chaotic day had ended, and the next morning, a new sun rose.
“Oh my! Your Highness! Are you hurt?”
As soon as Ambre entered the office, she noticed Olivia with a white bandage wrapped around her left foot and rushed over. She didn’t exactly act like a noble lady, yet her characteristic charm made it surprisingly endearing rather than annoying. Honestly, there wasn’t anyone present in the office who would care much about such things anyway.
Isaac appeared right behind Ambre, slightly frowning as he asked,
“Are you injured?”
His fox-like eyes busily scanned her ankle, but at some point, a sharp sense of danger crawled up the back of his neck, and he instinctively averted his gaze from Olivia’s slender ankle. His narrow eyes briefly flicked toward Cryer, lurking in the shadows deeper inside the office, then immediately returned. How long had he been there without them noticing? Isaac swallowed dryly. Every time he saw him, he seemed to grow stronger—or maybe it was just his imagination. The chill running down his spine made him suppress a dry laugh.
It would be a very good thing if Cryer continued to grow stronger while staying in the empire rather than returning to his homeland. A good… thing, right? Isaac decided not to approach the princess too closely, nor linger his gaze on her for long. For reasons unknown—or rather, reasons he did not want to know—he was fully aware that the man he served as master found such behavior extremely, extremely annoying.
Olivia shook her head at Ambre, who kept reaching for and withdrawing from her bandaged foot in anxious fidgeting.
“I’m fine. Just a bruise. More importantly, both of you worked hard.”
Though her praise was delivered in a flat, matter-of-fact tone, Isaac and Ambre seemed barely able to accept it. Ambre had walked straight into Norden, knowing the danger, and Isaac had failed to achieve much even after Olivia had given him an opportunity. Seeing clearly into their minds, Olivia couldn’t help but smile slightly and added,
“Don’t make faces like that—you did well just by coming back safely.”
She meant it sincerely. Through four lives, four wars, and four deaths, Olivia had witnessed far too many deaths of others. In her first life, she had considered sacrificing oneself for duty honorable, but by the second, third, and fourth lives, her own survival had become the purpose of her existence—and she began to wish the same for others. One person struggling desperately to do something could only achieve so much; limitations were obvious in this harsh reality.
Ambre’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.
“Your Highness.”
Having already saved their lives, Ambre had rolled up her sleeves to help Olivia and Cryer without hesitation. She looked as if she could throw herself at the Taren family with her moist eyes, but Olivia interrupted just in time.
“Still, next time, I won’t allow you to recklessly throw yourself into danger.”
Ambre pouted immediately, mumbling, and turned sharply toward Isaac. He, unsure how to react to the genuine concern of the empire’s only princess, noticed Ambre silently mouthing a request for him to say it wasn’t dangerous. Recognizing what Ambre was trying to convey through her lips, Isaac shrugged and shook his head. Ambre pouted more, but Isaac had no intention of lying to the princess. After all, he was right behind her; she would see through any falsehood in an instant. Cryer, too, could sense lies through subtle cues—pupil dilation, heartbeat, gaze, small movements, or unnoticed sweat.
Olivia, watching Ambre’s mischievous attempts, spoke up.
“So, how was it?”
Though the question lacked a subject or object, the answer came quickly and precisely.
“All the stones brought into the palace were being used to construct a temple.”
“I heard from the architects that there was an altar in the basement. But I couldn’t confirm it—someone interrupted me just before I went downstairs. Also, some architects said the temple itself felt ominous. Others dismissed it as overreacting.”
Isaac echoed Ambre’s report.
“A temple… and an altar.”
Olivia frowned, clearly uneasy, and Isaac’s fox eyes narrowed further as he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“From every angle, it looked like a temple, but I honestly have no idea which deity it’s for. There were engravings, but I lack the knowledge to understand them…”
Trailing off, Isaac rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. He realized that while he didn’t know which deity the temple honored, and while the architecture itself seemed suspicious, he hadn’t reacted at all to the fact that such a structure was being built inside the palace.
“And… the workers building the temple, including the architects, had no idea what they were constructing. They didn’t even find it suspicious. Perhaps this…”
Olivia calmly finished the unspoken words for him.
“Magic, I suppose.”
Isaac was speechless, Ambre’s eyes widened, and Olivia exhaled a long sigh. A temple in the Norden palace for a deity unknown… obvious, isn’t it? The mad mage they faced worships an ancient god. And there’s even an altar. One doesn’t need to ask what offerings are made to guess. They claim to “purify” the continent by annihilating its people. The fate of those involved after the temple’s completion was all too clear. Olivia’s throat tightened, the sensation of four deaths rushing at once making her pale.
Before Olivia’s face turned completely white, Isaac broke the silence.
“Ah, but we did accomplish at least one of the orders properly.”
His fox eyes narrowed further in a slight grin.
“You told us to flee without looking back if we encountered the mage. I even brought Miss Taren with me.”
He lightly placed a fist over his chest and extended the other toward Ambre in an exaggerated gesture. Ambre’s eyes widened, then she beamed.
“Yes, that’s right. I wondered what kind of person he was, but since he claimed he was acting under the princess’s command, I immediately ran along.”
“You just believed him and followed?”
“He said he had orders from the princess. And he’s not skilled enough to lie convincingly enough to deceive me.”
True to her status as the heir of the Taren family, one of the wealthiest in the empire. Isaac tilted his head in disbelief.
“Knowing that, were you trying to make me lie earlier?”
“You can’t rule out the possibility, can you?”
“You’re shameless, aren’t you?”
“Oh my, I’ve never heard that before.”
Seeing Ambre smile innocently, Isaac shook his head. Olivia watched the surprisingly well-matched pair and felt her mood lighten.
“Well done. If you ever face that mage again, run without looking back.”
“That mage… the carrot-haired woman, right?”
“Ye… yes.”
Olivia’s expression shifted subtly at the combination of a ruthless mage serving an ancient god and her carrot-colored hair, but Ambre only nodded vigorously. Thinking of that woman, Ambre wriggled as if trying to recall something, but ultimately failed to remember how bizarre the crown prince had been. Instead, she suddenly spoke as if recalling something else.
“Oh, and one of our servants has gone missing.”
She added after a brief pause.
“Not that they quit or were dismissed—it’s a disappearance.”
To a third party, one missing servant might seem trivial, but among them, it was significant. More precisely, a warning of bigger trouble to come. After Ambre’s near-death abduction, Olivia had given a strict order:
“If anything suspicious happens around you, no matter how small, report it immediately.”
Ambre, faithfully following the order, sparkled her eyes as if seeking praise. Olivia patted the back of her hand.
“A servant, huh? Something happened on our side, too.”
“Something?”
Olivia recounted the night when a servant with a differently colored ribbon nearly assassinated her, the dead assassin, and the lack of clues. She also mentioned today’s event—chasing another servant with a different ribbon but finding nothing significant. Isaac raised a hand slightly.
“I’ll look into that servant.”
“Right now?”
Olivia shook her head at Isaac, who had returned from Norden just a few hours ago and already wanted to work.
“You went all the way to Norden, and you didn’t bring back anything useful. If we label you useless now, it’ll be troublesome in many ways.”
Isaac critically assessed himself and glanced at Cryer, who had sunk into the quiet darkness, swallowing a short sigh. If Cryer had said a single word, it might not have been so intimidating. Yet he remained silent, completely unconcerned even as Olivia watched—unlike the princess, his management of others was brutally strict…
