I left Kian Blake to spend time with his family, whom he hadn’t seen in a long while, and returned to Daisy Palace.

Above all, I couldn’t stay any longer after hearing the shocking news from Veronia.

Sikar Blake, whom I had believed dead all this time, was apparently alive.

He had orchestrated all this because he feared I would disappear and wanted to see me a little longer.

Though they said they didn’t know where he was now, especially since he was badly injured, I could roughly guess his location from the fact that Jeremi Iker had taken him.

Durion had been watching my reactions ever since he realized I knew everything. Yet, he still stood faithfully by my side.

“Master Durion.”

“Yes? Yes, My Lady.”

“The pact between His Grace and Master Vika Lamberst hasn’t been broken yet, correct?”

“Yes? Yes….”

“His Grace must have ordered you to keep all of this a secret from me.”

“I’m sorry, My Lady….”

“You couldn’t have done otherwise. It’s alright. We’ll just go find him now.”

“But… aside from knowing Jeremi took him, we have no idea where he is.”

“I think I know.”

Durion stared blankly at me as if wondering how I could possibly know, so I gave him a faint smile.

“Do you remember when we went to Pasium’s hideout before?”

“Oh? Yes. Yes.”

“He’s probably there. If he’s being pursued by the Grand Temple, that would be the hardest place for them to find him.”

Durion clapped his hands, looking utterly dumbfounded.

“Th, that could be true.”

“By the way, who else knows that His Grace is alive?”

Durion hesitated, scratching his head awkwardly.

“Th, that is….”

“Just say it plainly. Who knows?”

“Well… me, Vika, Reidox, Jeremi… Roen… Princess Veronia….”

I waved my hands to stop him as soon as I heard that much.

“That’s enough. It seems everyone except me and the King already knew.”

Durion clammed up like a scolded child.

“I’m not scolding you, so there’s no need to shrink back like that.”

“I’m s, sorry, My Lady.”

“Now that you also know where he is, let’s depart.”

“Yes?”

“I mean, let’s go to where His Grace is.”

But Durion couldn’t answer easily and turned his head away uncomfortably.

“Ah, but… His Grace wouldn’t want that.”

“Even if I learned the truth, did he specifically order you not to reveal his location?”

Durion let out a deep sigh as if the ground might swallow him, clearly distressed.

“Sigh… His Grace doesn’t wish to reveal himself to you until he finds a solution… He fears that if you find out, you’ll break his curse….”

“So you intend to let His Grace die, then?”

“…It’s an order.”

“If it’s an order, would you kill yourself if His Grace commanded you to do so?”

Durion jerked his head up with meerkat-like surprise and waved his hands frantically.

“Th, that’s impossible, My Lady!”

“I think what you’re doing now is no different. You’re standing by while His Grace dies!”

“I’m just… trying to understand His Grace’s feelings—he doesn’t want to lose you….”

“No. That’s misguided loyalty. And I intend to correct your misguided loyalty.”

Durion stood looking at me, half with an expression of deep discomfort, half as if he’d never considered that possibility.

I judged that I had persuaded him enough. Even if I insisted on going alone, I doubted he would fully stop me.

“If you can’t come with me, I’ll go alone. Just don’t try to stop me.”

True to my expectation, Durion no longer seemed inclined to block me after I said that.

He looked trapped in a dilemma, unable to act either way, and drooped his eyebrows as if begging me to understand his position.

“My Lady….”

“Master Durion… I miss Sikar so much right now.”

I truly missed him terribly. Honestly, I felt such immense relief upon hearing he was alive. I missed him so much. And now, hearing he was unwell, my worry became unbearable.

Durion shook his head as if conceding defeat.

“His Grace said to obey your wishes when he isn’t present. So even if I follow your will now, I won’t be disobeying his orders. Let’s depart, My Lady.”

Only then could I, who had been frozen stiff, find a faint smile again.

“Thank you, Master Durion.”

“Father is still alive? And the one who saved our dad… is Father himself?”

Kian Blake’s heart pounded violently as he belatedly heard the news that Sikar was alive.

“Yes… that’s right. He risked his life to save me. But even after receiving his grace, I haven’t properly seen the face of my benefactor.”

Kian felt a deep surge of emotion and longing welling up in his chest.

“Where is Father now?”

Veronia, too, didn’t know Sikar’s whereabouts and answered with an uncertain expression.

“Beyond knowing Jeremi evacuated him somewhere, we know nothing. But by now, the Grand Temple will have sent search parties to find the Duke. You must send your own search party first and find him before they do. Since he touched the Temple’s possessions, they won’t let him go easily.”

It troubled me that this was serious enough to warrant search parties being dispatched.

It was frustrating enough that I couldn’t immediately see my father, whom I thought was dead—and now he was being hunted, which weighed heavily on my heart.

“Then I’ll meet the Grand Prelate and plead for mercy for my father.”

“That would be ideal, but the Temple won’t yield so easily. They must follow their own rules.”

“Then I’ll issue a royal command to the Temple. I will handle my father’s case myself.”

“Even a king cannot shelter a thief who stole Temple property. That would defy common sense. If you do as you say, the Temple may brand you a tyrant and try to install Gillian instead. The Duke wouldn’t want you to take such a risk.”

“So there’s no way to save my father? Even as king, I can do nothing?”

“It’s frustrating, but it’s impossible. The Duke already prepared to die when he saved Valije.”

Kian thought Veronia’s words were all correct, but he couldn’t just sit still.

He couldn’t do nothing while his father, who had risked his life to save him, lay in danger.

Even if the Temple’s possessions were stolen, it made no sense for him—as King of Lecador—to be unable to protect his own royal consort.

He couldn’t become such a weak king.

“I cannot abandon my father. I’m going to the Grand Temple immediately.”

Just moments ago, Kian had seemed like a ten-year-old child, but now he strode out, sword at his waist, and ordered his attendants:

“Summon the Chancellor immediately and prepare for departure to the Grand Temple!”

Watching Kian’s retreating back, his uniform fluttering, Valije realized Kian was no longer a child needing his protection.

“Kian….”

Veronia took Valije’s hand as he gazed wistfully at the spot where Kian had stood.

“Kian has grown up completely, hasn’t he?”

“He’s become a true king….”

“Yes. Do you know how remarkable our Kian has become? He’s the king who placed a blue sun in the sky.”

Valije’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared wistfully at where Kian had disappeared.

“What? What did you say? Is such a thing even possible?”

“Yes. We gave birth to such a child, Valije.”

“But we only gave birth to him. We never properly raised him… It was Duke Blake who raised Kian like that. We owe him a great debt. How can we ever repay it?”

Though Valije had no memories of that time, having now met Veronia—whom he couldn’t before—and having seen Kian’s grown form with his own eyes, he sincerely felt gratitude toward Sikar and believed he must repay it.

Veronia understood that feeling but hoped Valije would distance his heart a little from Kian.

“To repay our debt, we mustn’t take Kian away from Duke Blake and his wife.”

Valije looked at her as if not understanding.

“Not take Kian? What do you mean?”

“Duke Blake’s wife is residing in the palace. I arranged it that way.”

“So you’ve yielded Kian’s parental role to the Blakes?”

“I didn’t want to force sudden changes on Kian or them.”

“Veronia… you missed Kian so much….”

“But I only gave birth to him—I never properly raised him. That’s why I don’t want to take the parental role from them. So I hope you, too, Valije, will recognize the Blakes as Kian’s adoptive parents. Let’s not pull Kian away from them by insisting we are his true parents. Let Kian be loved by both sets of parents.”

It would be right to do so for the Blakes’ sake. Valije could understand, but still, somewhere deep inside, he felt a pang of resentment.

His hope of the three of them living together as a family had just deflated.

“So you mean we should return to the snowy mountains again….”

“It would be better the farther we stay away.”

“That’s why you acted so distant toward Kian? I know—you truly want to hold him close.”

“Valije….”

Veronia leaned on Valije’s shoulder and shed tears.

What mother wouldn’t want to hold her child close? But she no longer wished to take that place. She felt she didn’t deserve it. That was her way of repaying them.

Moreover, she didn’t want to make Kian a weak ruler.

Valije wrapped his arms around Veronia’s shoulders.

“I understand your heart. I think I can accept it. I, too, don’t want to take that place… I don’t want Kian to suffer because of us.”

“Yes. We can see Kian whenever we miss him. Or, we can simply ensure Kian can visit us whenever he wishes. And now that you’re beside me, I’m satisfied.”

Veronia felt nothing but gratitude that she could be with Valije, who had longed so deeply for Kian and wished to hold him close for the rest of his life.

“If only the Duke remains safe, I’ll want for nothing more….”

“Is there nothing we can do to help?”

“Nothing. Sadly, if he’s captured like this, the Duke won’t escape the Grand Temple’s wrath. But….”

If the Duke continued to evade capture, Kian might face difficulties.

But Veronia intended to observe the situation a little longer.