The incident in which unknown assailants infiltrated the heart of the Salt Kingdom quickly spread throughout the region.
King Salt considered the incident to be the work of people with bad intentions against the kingdom and ordered an investigation, although he did not reveal many details, such as the identity of the kidnapped person.
clink!
A beautiful piece of pottery, carefully crafted by an artisan, fell and shattered with just a gesture.
It was clearly intentional, but no one noticed.
The maid was startled, raised her head and asked with a worried expression.
“…Your Highness, are you okay?”
Limia, whose hair was as thick as a wheat field ready for harvest, raised her head after a short delay.
“Oh, I think I'm a little tired. I felt dizzy for a moment.”
“You have to be careful, Your Highness. If anything happens, especially in light of the turmoil the kingdom is experiencing...”
“Amber.”
"…Yes?"
"I'm fine. Can you clean the floor?"
“Ah, yes, of course, Your Highness. I was just worried...”
“I know, thank you.”
With a gentle smile on her pale face, Limia remained gentle and compassionate even in the midst of a tense situation.
“She's a really good person.”
The maid who picked up the broken glass could not hide her feelings of remorse.
When the news of the intruders' arrival at the palace spread, everyone was shocked.
Although there were whispers, open rumors spread that the Crown Prince of Klitan had sent people to kidnap Limia.
If the kind-hearted princess was captured by the impudent Crown Prince of the Empire, the Salt Kingdom would definitely fall into deep sorrow.
Amber sincerely hoped that such an event would never happen.
“Please call me if you need anything.”
The maid came out quietly and closed the door.
Once she was alone, Limia's expression, which had previously been relaxed, hardened.
She really felt like she was going out of her mind from all the stress she'd been under lately.
“It's all because of April.”
In the Salt Kingdom, it was customary for the royal heir to actively participate in national affairs, regardless of gender.
In a kingdom that grew through trade and commerce, the abilities of the royal family were considered essential qualities.
But unfortunately, Limia's abilities were very unevenly distributed.
For example, she had exceptional talent for maintaining her appearance, eloquence, dancing, and managing her image—areas that no one could compare to her…but her ability to study, or her “academic skills,” were naturally weak.
It was so severe that reading text for more than ten minutes a day would give her a headache as if her brain was about to explode.
Her understanding was also below average, so when someone informed her about work-related matters, it took her a significant amount of time to process the information and reach a conclusion.
If her brothers had not died before they were weaned, Limia, who had no ability to judge, would not have received such careful care.
“If it wasn't for this kid, things wouldn't have gotten this big!”
But King Salt did not want to reveal that the missing person was April.
He seemed to be afraid that the truth would come out – that April had been kidnapped while carrying out her duties with Limia.
Unable to hide his complicated expression, he summoned Limia and gave her a stern order.
It's time to play your part. You've had enough time, so it shouldn't be difficult, right?
“Yes, Dad, I will do my best.”
Limia couldn't refuse, so she lowered her head.
but.
Once again, Limia was not intelligent, and all her problems stemmed from this fact.
So, it was natural for Limia to direct all her frustration towards April.
Despite trying every avenue, Limia was unable to fill the void left by April.
She would review documents and organize her thoughts all night, only to have them rendered useless the next day, just a pile of waste paper.
The king's disappointed look was an additional burden.
If she had failed simply because she didn't try hard enough or took her duties lightly, he wouldn't have been so angry.
squeak.
Limia opened her drawer and took out a letter.
The thin, gold-embossed paper bore the symbol of the Kletan royal family, depicting a dragon soaring in the sky.
“Raiden...”
Reading the letter again, which she had read many times before, Limia's facial expression softened, as if anger had been replaced by tenderness.
As usual, the letter was full of praise for the wise and beautiful Limia.
Although it took a long time to read the letter again, she wondered if the kind Raiden would understand her true feelings if he knew them.
Limia sighed, recalling the partially written letter from yesterday.
This was the third day working on this project.
Because writing more than two lines would cause her a headache, despite her efforts, the letter barely reached one page.
It was sunny now, and there wasn't even rain, but Raiden in the Empire would never know that.
Knock knock—.
Hearing the knocking sound, Limia quickly hid the message, and pouted her lips.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me, Your Highness... I apologize for interrupting your work.”
The young manager entered cautiously, bowing as he spoke.
“I came because the documents I submitted a few days ago have not been approved yet.”
“Documents from a few days ago?”
“Yes... these are the documents.”
While Limia was checking the papers that the director pointed out, she quickly felt a headache and put them away.
However, thanks to her supernatural focus, she was able to discern one thing from the complex documents.
“Klaytan Empire Requests Wheat Deal.”
Yes, this is correct. But…
The manager scratched his head, looking a little puzzled, then continued speaking.
We bought wheat from the empire, but now they want to buy it back. It's a bit strange, so I came to check.
huh?
What's so strange about that?
Limia tilted her head inward.
The people of Kletan should eat wheat too, right? They cannot live on bread alone.
I quickly made a decision.
“Give them wheat.”
"Excuse me?"
“Just make sure you charge them a high price.”
“How much should we charge?”
"Well, double? Or should it be triple?"
“Ah…”
The official felt that something was abnormal but did not show it.
The princess must have a reason for this. It's been doing well so far.
Therefore, he suppressed his remaining doubts and bowed down.
“Then I'll charge you triple fees.”
“No, wait a minute.”
Limia, thinking, lowered her voice slightly.
“What about between the double and triple?”
“You mean 2.5 times?”
Double and triple seem to mean four times, right?
Limia tilted her head but didn't feel like expressing this thought, so she nodded quietly.
“We'll go with that.”
The documents in the administrator's hand now bore the princess's seal.
After the manager left, Limia took the letter back.
She couldn't remember where she left off, and her headache increased as she read her response.
Patience! I have to write four more lines and send them tomorrow.
She had to call Raiden quickly.
With the pen in her white hand dipped in ink, Limia continued writing her responses for another hour, adding exactly two more lines to the original content.
* * *
“Honestly, I thought it was a lie.”
“What was it?”
After April was taken out, Liam, who had been silent for a while, spoke cautiously, and glanced at the Duke.
“I thought it was a lie that April Salt was Limia’s actress.”
“We can't be completely sure yet.”
“If she really is the princess’s actress, will you keep her alive?”
Kaiyan didn't value human life very much. He would take it if necessary, otherwise he would give it up without hesitation. Liam, who has witnessed the deaths of countless criminals in the Duke's underground dungeon, bears witness to this.
However, if April was the true representative of Limia, she would at least have some value for surviving the Duke's prison.
"I plan to keep it alive. It will be useful in many ways."
As long as she was able to work as a slave, there was no need to get rid of such a person.
April was thwarting Raiden's plans, as if she knew about them in advance. It was necessary to keep her close to him to determine the source of her information.
“As for the Crown Prince... yes. It is better to inform him of the failure of the operation.”
Although it was unfortunate that the deal with Raiden via Princess Lemia had failed, the matter was not urgent at the moment.
It would have been better to focus on monitoring the next step the Crown Prince might take.
“I will send a message to the Imperial Palace.”
Liam bowed deeply, then turned and quickened his steps.