“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Y…yes?”

Blood and Soul, who were prepared for questioning and punishment right after reporting their mission failure.

However, to their surprise, they heard an unexpected response.

“You traveled all that way to handle my personal matters. Just go back and rest.”

“But…”

“Do you have more to say?”

“Ah… no, I don’t.”

“Th… thank you, Your Grace.”

At Kattlena’s words, the two could do nothing but withdraw quietly, unable to ask anything further.

In their perspective, Kattlena’s attitude was essentially overlooking their mission failure.

Thinking there was no need to say more about it, they bowed their heads and left their master’s side.

‘It’s a relief she forgave us without saying much…’

‘Still, it’s unsettling. Is this really okay?’

The fact that an unprecedented mission failure ended so blandly left both feeling more uneasy than ever.

Yet, depending on how you looked at it, they could see it as having done well until now and simply overlooking a single mistake, so they accepted their master’s “favor” and headed toward their mansion.

“By the way… is it okay that we didn’t report about that woman named Freddy?”

“Oh right. Should we tell her now?”

They had completely forgotten, distracted by the pressure of having to report their failure.

Upon this thought, Soul considered returning to the Lord’s Castle, but after a moment of thought, Blood shook her head.

“No… upon reflection, it doesn’t seem necessary. It might be a bit off to start with, but ultimately, you made a choice, and she accepted it and became your pupil.”

“Hm… that’s true. If that’s the case, there’s really no problem.”

Except for the fact that they brought her from Bohemia, it was hardly a special case.

Moreover, reporting such trivial matters to their master, who was already busy, would be quite rude.

Thus, without fully understanding the context, they let out a sigh of relief and began to move toward home, eager to teach the “new pupil” awaiting them about various things.

*

“Ha…”

Duchess Kattlena sat alone, letting out a small sigh.

Even though she had sent Blood and Soul away, her mind was still heavily occupied with the series of events that had transpired.

‘Blood… why did she…’

Blood, who had shown her injury while reporting her failure.

Hearing such words made the duchess feel increasingly confused about an unexpected variable.

‘A former Paladin who hasn’t mastered magic for long was able to corner Blood to that extent? That shouldn’t be possible…’

10th Grade Witch Blood Mary.

Even within the Dragona Empire, the stronghold of witches and mages, there were hardly ten beings who could defeat her, and that barely changed even when the scope widened to the entire empire.

Of course, combat always comes with variables.

There existed the possibility of being ambushed or losing due to an unfavorable match-up because of the nature of magic.

However, no matter how talented a monster might be, there are always degrees of difference.

Being defeated by a mere young novice mage, and not someone like Count Turun, aroused skepticism in the duchess.

‘But if that’s the case, it means Blood is lying to me… But that itself is quite extraordinary. Why would Blood, of all people, say such things?’

Possessing tremendous combat power befitting a 10th Grade Witch, Blood was known to disregard any words that didn’t come from those she acknowledged.

It wouldn’t be easy to subdue her in simple ways, nor would she flinch at half-baked negotiations or threats.

In that aspect…

Duchess Kattlena came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to make someone like Santana from Bohemia or Count Turun say such things to her.

‘There’s something more. While I don’t have sufficient information to be sure about anything, I am certain there’s something crucial behind this that I don’t know about.’

Fully aware of how suspicious the situation was, Duchess Kattlena also understood she couldn’t delve too deeply right now.

First, if Blood were to hide the truth from her, it meant there was a significant reason behind it.

The fact that she had even sealed her lips to her wasn’t something that could easily be dismissed, suggesting the presence of something beyond her capabilities.

Though it could wait for later, if she were to dig into it carelessly now, she would undoubtedly find herself in a tricky situation.

Blood surely knew this, hence her decision to conceal the truth.

Furthermore, ironically, Duchess Kattlena was in a position where she couldn’t afford to unravel this matter as it could throw Bohemia into chaos.

She had received a sudden news…

It was about the unexpected shift of Emperor Rozebeta, who had been focusing only on affairs in the east.

“Preparing support for Bohemia… what could have prompted such a sudden change of heart?”

Emperor Rozebeta, who had previously prohibited involvement in western continent affairs.

Though puzzled by her commands, Duchess Kattlena had no choice but to obey them.

After all, the decision to avoid engaging with Bohemia was due to the Emperor’s wishes, so if the Emperor were retracting that, it was only right to follow suit.

In this light, Blood’s and Soul’s failure in their mission might have actually turned out to be quite fortunate.

In the worst case, had the Emperor’s commands arrived simultaneously, Duchess Kattlena would have been left in an awkward situation facing Santana.

“In the worst-case scenario, I might have been put in a troublesome position because of that worthless man who became a rag in front of me…”

Now, her stance was one of needing to assist Bohemia, which she had previously held animosity toward, according to the Emperor’s will.

And to that end…

Duchess Kattlena began to think of the perfect candidate.

“Now that things are this way, it can’t be helped, can it? There are plenty of unsettling factors, but I have no choice but to move Cazerose…”

Her youngest daughter, who essentially had ties with Bohemia.

Though she was a child who hardly listened to anyone, she was remarkably responsible and, due to her stubbornness, Kattlena knew she could handle the task well.

Of course, she was uneasy about the circumstances surrounding it.

‘No matter how I think about it… it’s clear that girl has some tricks up her sleeve. Despite how she appears, she won’t hesitate to use any means to achieve her goals.’

While lacking concrete evidence, her suspicions were nonetheless strong.

And if this were true, it would mean Cazerose had somehow moved even the Emperor through her means, causing a rather unexpected smile to creep onto Kattlena’s lips.

‘She seems uninterested in these matters, yet it seems she has some capability after all?’

As she pondered, the duchess thought about how to proceed with her daughter in accordance with the Emperor’s orders.

And it all began with the upcoming wedding of Duke Catan.