“Did you discover something, Lady Vanessa?”
After noticing Vanessa suddenly stop and look in a certain direction, the young female attendant beside Vanessa asked with confusion what the princess had found.
“…Mirna, what are your thoughts on that man who has been staying in the Royal Palace recently?”
Vanessa did not respond directly to the attendant’s question. She simply turned her head to ask Mirna for her opinion on Caine.
Answering a question with another question was clearly problematic, but since the other party was the princess, the young woman named Mirna answered honestly.
“That man? Do you mean Mr. Caine, Her Majesty’s guest? I haven’t spoken to him much, so I’m not very sure. However, I’ve heard from others that he is said to be a very well-bred gentleman. Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
After answering honestly, Mirna did not hide her curiosity and tried to ask why Vanessa had suddenly brought up Caine.
“…Is there anything else? For example, how do you view the fact that he has been staying in the Royal Palace this entire time?”
However, Vanessa acted as if she had not heard her and continued to press for more information in her own way.
“Eh? Oh, now that you mention it, he has indeed stayed for quite a while. Although he leaves in the morning lately, he still returns to the Royal Palace every night. It gives off a mysterious feeling. Could it be that he has some reason why he must return to the palace? Ah…”
While answering Vanessa’s question, an answer that could explain the issue popped into Mirna’s mind.
Perhaps Caine was not an ordinary guest. It was highly likely that he had to report to someone every night.
Furthermore, this was permitted by the Queen.
Then, the person Caine was reporting to was likely Her Majesty herself.
But if that were the case, why would Her Majesty blatantly arrange for an outsider to handle things for her? Especially a young male.
Though it was quite disrespectful, it would not be strange if Her Majesty wanted to give a man she liked a chance to perform.
After all, Her Majesty was also a woman. It was not strange for her to favor a man she took a liking to.
Mirna knew the princess before her had a mother complex. She guessed that Vanessa wouldn’t be able to accept the fact that she might suddenly have a new father, so she didn’t say everything out loud.
However, from her hesitant expression, one could practically guess what she was thinking.
“…”
In fact, Vanessa did guess, and her mood became even more unpleasant because of it.
She knew it would be like this.
As the time Caine spent in the Royal Palace grew longer, his existence became more mysterious in the eyes of others. The relationship between him and Corellia, who allowed him to stay long-term, also seemed increasingly ambiguous.
What made Vanessa feel most helpless was that she could not stop others from thinking this way.
Even now, Caine was able to go shopping at the culture festival’s mall with her mother’s other adopted daughter, her sister Edwina.
And if she hadn’t seen it wrongly, the other oddly dressed woman seemed to be their aunt, the Queen’s sister, Vita.
If others saw the three of them shopping together so harmoniously, they would think Caine’s existence was anything but ordinary, no matter how they looked at it.
If others thought Caine was Vita’s man, Vanessa wouldn’t care.
Of course, it was useless even if she cared now, because she hadn’t managed to find any dirt on Caine herself. It was her own lack of ability that led to this result.
‘Perhaps I can no longer continue investigating alone. In order to prevent my mother’s reputation from being damaged, I must deal with that man as soon as possible.’
“Eh? Lady Vanessa, where are you going all of a sudden? Lady Vanessa?”
Vanessa suddenly turned around and left in another direction without saying a word.
This made Mirna feel very surprised and confused.
Generally speaking, Vanessa was a princess who was fairly easy to get along with, but her tendency to act alone often gave her attendants a headache.
For a princess to frequently forget the existence of her attendants was truly unique.
Surprise aside, and despite her helplessness, Mirna could only hurry to catch up.
Since Vanessa hadn’t told her to leave, she couldn’t just leave Vanessa alone, could she?
Vanessa and Mirna left the large building hosting the culture festival and returned to the Royal Palace.
After asking Mirna to go rest, Vanessa did not return to her room. Instead, she went straight to a certain office in the palace.
After knocking and receiving permission, she stepped inside with a solemn face and a straight posture. Before she could speak, the other party greeted her first.
“…Is there something you need, Princess?”
The uniformed woman sitting at the desk finally put down the documents in her hand and asked the reason for her visit in a calm tone.
“…I apologize for interrupting your work, Lady Altina, but I want to ask you something seriously.”
Since the other party was not her beloved mother, Vanessa did not show any obvious happiness. She simply looked at the woman before her — who was a role model in her heart — with her usual cold expression.
Altina was a strategist and swordswoman known for her rationality and calmness. She was Corellia’s most trusted right hand, trusted to the point that the Queen left the management of the Royal Capital to her.
At the same time, she was Vanessa’s swordsmanship teacher, an extremely outstanding and rare talent.
It was well known that Altina faithfully executed Corellia’s orders.
Furthermore, Altina was a woman who never talked about private matters and appeared utterly boring.
Since Corellia allowed Caine’s existence, it was natural for Altina not to target him.
But Vanessa believed that someone like Altina would surely have channels she couldn’t access to obtain information on Caine.
Previously, Vanessa had wanted to rely on herself to complete the task her mother had left for her.
But now, she could no longer care about that. She had to rely on the power of Altina, the ideal woman in her mind.
“…I see. You want to know Lord Caine’s background? Unfortunately, the information I have is not much different from what you possess. However, you’ve arrived at a very convenient time. I just received a special report. If you don’t mind, you can read it.”
After learning the reason for Vanessa’s visit, Altina showed no abnormality. She simply drew a document from the neatly organized files on her desk and handed it to Vanessa.
“…A cult that reveres the Evil Dragon as a god has begun operating in our country? And the timing overlaps with when that man appeared?”
After reading, the young face that usually maintained a poker face soon scrunched up in a frown, and her voice wavered significantly.
Ultimately, this cold and beautiful young girl was not as steady as the two ice beauties, Corellia and Altina. After seeing this bombshell news, she clearly forgot to keep her emotions hidden.
“…”
The look in Altina’s eyes as she watched Vanessa was, as always, calm … and cold-blooded.
‘Yes, since Vanessa intends to target Caine, I’ll add a bit more fuel to the fire. Not only will I have an opportunity to eliminate a troublesome fake princess, but I can also make the relationship between him and Caine even closer. I will absolutely not let such an opportunity slip away.’