Instead of paying Juliet a visit, Ethelbert and Brandon decided to wait in the drawing room. Frederick had ordered them against meeting her in person. Since Juliet’s knights, who confronted the bandits, would fill them in on the details, they wouldn’t be missing much.

It also worked in Ethelbert’s favor because he’d loathe meeting Juliet. He even made a tempting suggestion, “Marquis Sargent’s son can visit her in our behalf. Princess Charlotte can remain here.”

As a matter of course, Charlotte was aware that if she agreed to such a proposal, it’d only cause trouble later. Yet, before she could say anything, Quentin rejected it, saying, “That’s preposterous.”

Who do you think you are?

“—Older Sister! Sir Quentin!”

“Your Highness Juliet!”

They entered the room and saw Juliet sitting with another woman. Upon seeing them, Juliet lit up. Quentin rushed to her side, kneeled on the floor, and fervently looked up at her.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Is this what they call a touching reunion between lovers?

As Charlotte coldly watched, the other woman stood up, lifted the hem of her dress, and bowed.

“Your Highness the Crown Princess, I’m sorry I couldn’t welcome you. I was accompanying Her Highness Juliet.”

She was the countess, Katie Elms.

“Lift your head. There is no need to apologize. I appreciate your accompanying Juliet. Even now, she must be terrified.”

“How considerate of you.”

As expected of a countess, her behavior was quite impressive. She was elegant, and her lofty pride was evident in her actions.

“Juliet seems to have calmed down, so let’s entrust her to the countess. We should go and check the details of the incident. Quentin, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Quentin bowed to Juliet with a reluctant look. Juliet returned the smile, fidgeting and looking at Charlotte as if she wanted to say something.

“Uhm, Sister…”

Since Charlotte’s suspension, there had been no proper conversation between the sisters. Although she doubted whether or not their usual conversations could be considered “normal,” the atmosphere was certainly different.

Moreover, Frederick had also warned her, so their situation couldn’t continue any longer.

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Charlotte spoke; smiling with a hint of relief. Juliet’s expression brightened again. The awkward atmosphere was gone as if nothing had ever happened.

How simple-minded.

“Uhm, please come back soon. I’m still nervous… I’m sure I’ll calm down if you’re by my side.”

Folding her hands in front of her chest, Juliet appealed with a forlorn look on her face.

“Of course.”

It was disgusting as always.

Nevertheless, Charlotte suppressed it, burying the swirling dark emotions deeply.

No matter how much she wanted to paint that adorable face with despair, it wasn’t time yet.

Ethelbert and the rest, who were led to the drawing room, heard about the attack first.

After meeting with Juliet, Charlotte and the others joined them, commencing the report.

Most of the royal guards who were escorting Juliet at the time of the attack had been injured and were still recuperating. The ones currently stationed near Juliet’s room had been selected and dispatched by Frederick himself. They came with Charlotte and the others.

Among those who were injured, there was a royal guard who only sustained minor injuries. He placed a sword that he had confiscated from the bandits on the table.

“You did well to capture a bandit who was using a magic tool.”

“It seems the magic tool had a limit on the number of times it could be used. At some point, he stopped using it.”

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Quentin’s explanation.

Ethelbert began to examine the magic sword. Holding the grip, he tilted the sword at various angles to observe it.

“Princess Charlotte, did you know that there are two ways to activate magic tools?”

“Yes. Magic tools require magical power to operate, and there are two types: those that need to be infused with magic each time they are used, and those that are powered by stones imbued with magic.”

“That’s correct. The latter allows non-magic users to use magic tools. However, once the stone exhausts its magic, it becomes useless.”

Charlotte’s bracelet was the latter, and the same seemed to be the case for that sword. Apparently, the magic stone ran dry during the battle, reducing it into an ordinary sword.

Sure enough, there was a stone embedded in the cross-guard. It must had been the magic stone.

“Seeing the formula, this magic tool must’ve come from Ranaf. This magic stone isn’t of high quality. It can be used five or six times at most.”

Ethelbert, who was examining the magic tool while explaining, came to such a conclusion.

Ranaf was a country in the southern part of the continent where conflict had ensued. It was a country of magicians. Nevertheless, due to its small populace, magic was still in its infancy.

Hearing Ethelbert’s opinion, Malcolm muttered, “Ranaf…”

Quentin didn’t miss it.

“Do you know something?”

Malcolm pondered for a bit, then met Rex’s eyes. Making up his mind, he began.

“I didn’t want to expose the shame of my family, but… as you probably know, about two months ago, my father—the count and the chairman of the Elms Company—was involved in a carriage accident. He still hasn’t fully recovered. The authority of the count household and the company is in the hands of my eldest brother.”

“Indeed. I’m aware of the accident.”

“The accident happened because of a failure to notice a defect in the wheel. The driver in charge was punished and the matter was settled, but there were some loose ends… However, at my brother’s request, no further investigation has been carried out…”

Malcolm frowned. His hands, which were on top of his laps, visibly clenched.

“Ever since my brother started running the company, we’ve seen an increase in products that are popular in the southern part of the continent. We’ve never handled those before—but we are receiving a massive number of batches of them! We’ve also detected some unclear points in the flow of funding.”

Having explained up to that point, Malcolm lowered his gaze.

“Our eldest brother’s biological mother was my father’s former wife. She has passed away, and as far as we know, she had no family. Despite him being the eldest, many relatives were dissatisfied when he became the successor. Not only is he a frivolous spender, he also barely has any business experience. After seeing his work in the company for a while, my father grew worried. Rex is supposed to be named the successor soon.”

As a prodigal son, Malcolm announced ahead of time that he wanted no part in family succession. It was a well-known fact. Naturally, Rex, the youngest, would be named as the successor since the two eldest children weren’t eligible.

“I see. You believe that your brother, George Elms, tried to assassinate Count Elms by faking an accident before he was officially stripped of his status as a successor. And that he is also responsible for the smuggling of illegal magic tools.”

“It’s just a possibility, but…”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

If what they said was true, then George would be the prime suspect.

“What about the testimony of the bandits?”

“We’ve questioned them, but they are keeping their mouths shut. Instead, they’re demanding we return Princess Juliet to them.”

“Why her?”

Charlotte and Quentin were both puzzled by this.

In any case, it was clear that it wasn’t a case of mistaken identity or coincidence. The bandits were definitely targeting Juliet.

“We cannot let Her Highness Juliet meet the bandits.”

“I agree. Who knows what they might do…”

They were bandits, after all. What if they hurled abuses at Juliet? Wouldn’t she be hurt? Quentin and Malcolm now saw eye to eye.

Charlotte, too, had no intention of acquiescing to the bandits’ demands.

“We’ll interrogate them directly.”

“Then, I’ll give instructions to prepare for the interrogation. I can also prepare a seat for you.”

“No, it’s fine. What about you, Lord Ethelbert?”

“I won’t need one either.”

“I understand. I shall take my leave for now.”

Malcolm stood up and glanced at Rex, but Rex showed no sign of following him.

“You go ahead.”

“…Got it.”

After Malcolm left the room, Rex stayed behind. Charlotte put her arms on the armrest and leaned her weight against it.

“Is there something you don’t want your brother to hear, Rex Elms?”

“…I might be overthinking it, but there’s something that’s been bothering me.”

Rex spoke hesitantly, bit by bit.

“Before the rescue of Princess Juliet, my brother, Malcolm, went to a business meeting. I was originally supposed to go, but he asked me to leave it to him, and that was what I did. My brother has been actively involved in the company business since his graduation from the academy, but this was the first time he made such a request… So, it felt off—or rather, unnatural.”

“…He knew that Princess Juliet’s carriage would be passing by that place at that time, so he tried to make contact by pretending it was a coincidence?”

“That’s probably the case… I’m sure Your Highness is aware of this, but my brother has feelings for Princess Juliet. That incident worked in his favor.”

Rex continued with a tense look on his face.

“Saving Princess Juliet’s life was a stroke of good fortune. The status of a count can’t be compared to royalty, but if should she feel indebted, then a marriage is more likely to be approved. While a connection with the royal family is a great thing, above all, as his younger brother, I wish him happiness. Regardless, he has been flaunting his relationships with women… I think it’d be best to keep him away from Her Highness.”

More than caring for his brother’s happiness, it seemed that Rex was worried that the royal family would be dragged into trouble because of his actions.

“—Rest assured, for that is our intention.”

---

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***T/N: I wish we get more action rather than Person A said this Person B said that sometimes

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