"Every thread is carefully placed, every trap meticulously set."
As Prince Regent, he would attempt to reclaim his waning power by relying on Katzen's influence.
But would the imperial delegation proceed as smoothly as he anticipated?
"My uncle will move more rashly now, desperate to regain the control he's lost. That works in our favor."
Medea tapped the table lightly with her fingers. Red fox badges lay arranged in neat rows before her.
"Will the Count of Kensington truly come to Valdina after reading the letter Umberto delivered?"
"He will come."
Medea's response was calm and certain.
"The espionage network he devoted his entire life to building has been compromised. He won't sit idly by. He'll need to see it with his own eyes and confirm the extent of the breach."
*Should we eliminate the Princess, or exploit her?*
But the Count of Kensington had no idea.
From the moment he set foot in Valdina, he would already have fallen into Medea's trap.
"Your Highness, how do you plan to use this money?"
Saya asked, eyes sparkling as she gestured toward the Minister's confiscated slush fund.
"I will support Peleus."
Now was the perfect moment. Etienne's death had sown confusion throughout the Prince Regent's faction.
The Prince Regent himself would be preoccupied with trying to shore up his crumbling authority.
The only question was: through whom, and by what method, could she communicate this support most effectively?
Knock, knock.
Just then, a maid rapped gently on the chamber door.
Saya stepped out briefly and returned carrying a flower basket nearly as large as herself.
"Your Highness, gifts have arrived. The sender is... Façade."
"Façade?"
The maids who followed carried additional gift boxes, setting them down one by one. The fresh scent of flowers filled the room.
"What is all this?"
Neril was the first to inspect the gifts, immediately on alert.
"Why would Façade send these to Your Highness?"
As if she'd already guessed the answer, Medea's expression became carefully neutral.
"Your Highness, look at this—they've sent a dagger as well..."
The blade wrapped in velvet was small and lightweight. A soft silver gleam emanated from its surface.
Set in the center of the handle was a ruby as vivid as fresh blood.
Neril lifted the silver dagger with an expression of pure disbelief.
"Your Highness, this is mithril."
"Surely Façade isn't challenging Your Highness to a duel?"
"Saya, how could that be possible?"
"Then why would they send such a dangerous thing to our Princess...?"
Neril and Saya exchanged uneasy glances. Medea's expression remained unchanged.
*"It would be unfortunate if you treated me like a helpless child, as the Prince Regent does, Princess."*
Medea knew exactly who had sent this. The memory of the wound on his shoulder that day surfaced in her mind.
He'd sent this as a subtle taunt—implying that her flimsy weapon would be useless in a real fight.
"And here—this is holy water from the temple."
Neril held up a bottle filled with luminous blue liquid.
"Did they send it knowing about Your Highness's injury?"
Medea glanced down at the faint pink scar on her hand.
Holy water was renowned as a powerful remedy capable of erasing scars entirely.
*It seems he truly hasn't forgotten anything about that day.*
"Return everything except the holy water."
"All the flowers and gifts as well?"
"Yes. And inform him that I'll see him privately."
Her mouth drew into a thin line.
A flicker of heat rose in her green eyes, but no one present noticed it.
Persepolis, capital of the Katzen Empire.
"What? Who? The Princess of Valdina?"
The Count of Kensington's voice rose sharply.
Strands of his orange hair fluttered wildly, as if reflecting his owner's inner turmoil.
"Even Ossoff was discovered? That's impossible. This cannot be happening."
Kensington had been extraordinarily meticulous in establishing his Red Fox intelligence network across the continent.
He'd selected only those with no connections to Katzen whatsoever. Even among Valdina's citizens, he'd chosen orphans and foreigners with no local ties, scrubbed their identities multiple times, and only then deployed them.
Umberto had been one such carefully chosen, highly capable operative.
"I thought the same, but... regardless, the Princess instructed me to deliver this to you."
Umberto handed over a letter written in elegant, precise handwriting.
*Count Kensington,*
*Your eyes span the continent, wider than the sky itself. Your loyalty to your nation runs deeper than the sea. Even I cannot help but admire such dedication.*
*However, human will and divine grace do not always walk hand in hand. I hope you will exercise caution and consider withdrawing your reach.*
*— M. de Valdina*
The letter appeared to praise him, but in reality, it mocked both Kensington's arrogance and the Empire's rampant overreach across the continent—invoking divine judgment as a subtle warning.
"Nonsense! How could she have discovered this? There was no trace of imperial involvement in Valdina."
Kensington flushed crimson with humiliation and crumpled the letter in his fist.
"You're telling me the Princess simply let you go? Even though she knows you're a Katzen spy?"
"I found it strange as well. I was prepared for execution, but it seems the Princess's true objective was to bring down the Minister all along."
From the moment she'd approached him with that note, Umberto described in meticulous detail the entire process by which Minister Etienne had fallen into the Princess's trap.
The more Count Kensington listened, the more his frustration mounted.
Hadn't they said the Princess of Valdina was an arrogant, foolish woman consumed by her inferiority complex?
Her public reputation bore no resemblance whatsoever to Umberto's detailed report.
"What manner of woman could hide such depth of cunning at such a young age?"
Kensington paused mid-thought.
There were prodigies disproportionate to their years right here in the Katzen Empire. Considering that Crown Prince Cesare had unified all the tribes and won the continental war at the age of sixteen, such genius wasn't impossible.
"I had no idea there was someone comparable to His Highness Cesare in Valdina."
Kensington dragged a weary hand down his face.
"I must go to Valdina myself."
"The spymaster himself? That's far too dangerous. If you provide me with your response, I'll return to Valdina and deliver it."
"Absolutely not!"
Kensington exclaimed, abandoning all composure.
"How can I sit here idly when the entire intelligence network I've dedicated my life to building may be exposed?"
The Count of Kensington was far from at ease.
In fact, his anxiety only intensified because the letter contained no demands whatsoever.
He would likely remain restless until he met the Princess face-to-face and determined for himself what manner of woman she truly was.
At midday, when sunlight streamed through palace windows, Medea visited the Queen Mother's chambers at Her Majesty's summons.
As she returned from the audience, she encountered Catherine approaching from the opposite direction.
"Aunt."
Medea radiated the subtle elegance befitting royalty.
Her light green dress, delicately embroidered with silver thread, complemented her pale, luminous complexion beautifully.
*Is this what they mean when they say a place makes the person?*
Catherine's stomach twisted as she observed Medea.
Though she'd been nurtured by the Queen Mother and treated well as a Princess, Medea no longer resembled the nervous, anxious girl of before.
"Your Highness, how have you been?"
Catherine concealed her displeasure behind a raised chin and gentle expression.
"What brings my aunt to the palace today? Ah—I see. You're here to visit Grandmother."
Medea nodded as if in understanding, adding a slight droop to her eyebrows as though saddened.
After discovering that the Prince Regent and his wife had been pressuring Medea over Etienne's crimes, the Queen Mother had not released her fury.
Thus Catherine had been trudging back and forth to the palace repeatedly, her feet swollen, begging forgiveness.
"Well, Aunt, you don't look well at all. I do hope Grandmother's heart softens toward you soon."
*It's all because of you!*
Catherine barely suppressed the urge to seize Medea's innocent face and scream.
"By the way, how is Birna faring? You can't imagine how worried I was when she suddenly announced she'd departed for the convent."
"She's adapting wonderfully. She seems to have matured considerably. She prays daily for Your Highness and for all of Valdina."
"Really? How truly fortunate I am."
Medea clasped her hands together in apparent delight.
"It seems convent life suits Birna remarkably well. If she were struggling, it would break my heart. I've even considered speaking to Grandmother about it, despite risking her anger. But since Birna is thriving, there's no need to worry about such things."
Catherine's fingers clenched her dress so tightly that clear wrinkles marred the soft silk.
---