“See, I told you! It really was all a misunderstanding! From the very beginning, Polena had no relation to my older brother!”

“R-Really? Well, if you say so, I guess that must be the truth…?”

Dust, speaking with an exaggerated emphasis.

Watching her, Estelle nodded slightly, but she couldn’t shake off a lingering sense of unease.

This was a side of her that felt completely different from the usual Dust.

However, Estelle knew well that Dust had no reason to lie to her about the truth.

Moreover, it was embarrassing to think about, but there were indeed reasons behind Dust’s unusual behavior.

‘It seems things got pretty dicey… I almost got caught by Mr. Santana last night.’

It’s obvious, but if this got misunderstood, Dust might be fine, but Estelle could find herself in serious danger.

If things went south, she could have easily made Mr. Santana resentful for messing with her people.

Fortunately, it looked like things didn’t get that far since Dust didn’t bring up that situation, but still, Estelle couldn’t help but feel relieved that it hadn’t spiraled out of control.

‘Anyway… if I assume the situation was a bit dangerous, I can’t fully trust the information Dust brought. Deep down, there’s no one but that woman Polena as Mr. Santana’s lover.’

If possible, she wanted to dig out the story directly from Polena, and she had indeed instructed Dust to do just that.

However, given the circumstances, where Dust seemed to have narrowly escaped Mr. Santana while trying to retrieve Polena, it would be unreasonable for Estelle to investigate Polena further now.

Ultimately, she had to stay low until Mr. Santana’s vigilance calmed down, waiting for a later opportunity, which was the only option left to wrap up this incident for now.

Of course, that didn’t mean the thought of eventually handling Polena would completely disappear from her mind.

While she could no longer move Dust for the time being, she had firm resolve that given an opportunity in the future, she would definitely settle things.

‘Just you wait… I got lucky this time, but next time, I’ll definitely crush you for sure.’

*

Polena was cleaning Santana’s room.

At this moment, holding a duster, she was tidying up every nook and cranny that typically got neglected, truly making it spotless.

It wasn’t just simple labor; she seemed to genuinely enjoy it, her face adorned with a bright smile as she worked.

However, despite appearing to be diligently focused as a maid, at this moment, Polena’s mind was swirling with the not-so-light matters that had happened last night.

Unlike when she had easily dealt with Blood as a teacher, she had genuinely played with Dust a little last night.

Throughout that process, Polena had come to learn both things she already knew and surprising new facts.

‘Things are getting rather interesting, huh? I can’t believe Estelle would move like this.’

Although she was Mr. Santana’s fiancée, it was evident she truly started to like him at some point.

Polena herself had no intention of disapproving of that fact.

She knew well about Mr. Santana’s feelings towards Cazerose and their relationship.

But from Estelle’s perspective, she was completely oblivious to that and, no matter how contractual it was, the two were publicly engaged.

Ultimately, Polena also understood Mr. Santana’s charm very well, so she figured it was completely plausible for Estelle to fall for him after spending time with him as his fiancée.

This was something Polena always kept in mind since the time the contract engagement was established.

However… separate from that, the realization that Estelle… and Dust were looking at her like this brought her a mix of surprise and significant intrigue.

So, Estelle had guessed that she and Mr. Santana were in a secret relationship.

Of course, while Polena held fond feelings for Mr. Santana, strictly speaking, their connection was nothing more than an unexpressed contractual master-servant relationship.

There had never been a moment where they openly revealed their feelings or confessed to each other.

Polena had joked about it a few times, but Mr. Santana had never taken it seriously.

In that sense, Estelle’s assumption was just a misfire. But… at this moment, Polena had no intention of letting Estelle’s “misunderstanding” just slide.

‘Thinking ahead… this kind of misunderstanding might not be such a bad thing after all.’

Even though she’d ordered Dust to deny this matter, Polena hadn’t thought it would particularly work.

She was well aware that Estelle was quite smart.

There was no way someone like her wouldn’t see through Dust’s flimsy lies.

Still, the reason she directed Dust to say such things was merely to bind her with the “shackles” of falsehood, preventing her true intentions from being revealed.

‘This way, Estelle will think I escaped with Mr. Santana’s help. She probably can’t imagine I possess this much power.’

As she appeared to sincerely carry out the cleaning, Polena began seriously pondering how to navigate the future events in a way that would be entertaining.

*

In the grand city of Sophia within the Dragona Empire.

There, countless items gathered from all corners of the Empire were piled high on numerous wagons.

A massive quantity of food supplies, military goods, and specialty trade items too.

At first glance, it might seem like a large merchant guild was loading supplies, but in reality, these goods were prepared for political rather than economic purposes.

Items gathered to support the Heretic Alliance.

Of course, the advance payment related to this had already been received, so there were no gains to be made from transporting them, but at the same time, there were also nearly no losses.

That was due to the treaty formed between the Dragona Empire and the Heretic Alliance.

And.

At the center of this large procession, firmly giving out orders, was the one individual taking the most active role.

Cazerose, the princess of the Dragona Empire and the total leader of this group, was meticulously checking everything one last time.

“Please double-check the wheat, vegetables, and oats for the horses. Other things are important too, but that’s the most critical.”

“Understood, Miss.”

“Also, pay attention to the condition of the wagons. We have a long way to go, and it would be troublesome if they broke down midway.”

“Yes, I’ll see to it.”

After completing a long final inspection, Cazerose returned to her wagon.

There stood her mother, Duchess Kattlena, who had come to see her off.

“Sigh… Do you really have to go this way?”

“Of course, Mother. As you can tell, once I leave this time, I won’t be back for a while. Until the work over there is finished.”

With a resolute voice from her daughter.

Kattlena frowned but eventually recognized that she could not sway her decision, replying with a bittersweet tone.

“…I see… If that’s the path you want, I guess there’s nothing I can do. I just hope you don’t regret it later.”

“I won’t. Just like you didn’t regret choosing Father.”

“…You must have inherited your talkativeness from someone.”

“Then, I’ll be off, Mother.”

Thus, Cazerose boarded her wagon, leaving behind her slightly awkward mother.

Finally, once all preparations were completed, the massive procession began to move forward, with Cazerose’s wagon starting its journey as well.

‘Please wait a little longer, Mr. Santana… I’ll soon be at your side…’

With a heart full of anticipation, Cazerose yearned to see that familiar face once more.

And…

Beside Cazerose was the woman who would be accompanying her on this journey.

Blood Mary, a level 10 witch, was with her.