Meril arrived home, the carriage entering through a massive gate with shiny metals and painting, shaped with beautiful patterns. A circular patch of green lay at the center of the front of the mansion with the paved road going around it. Small hedges and plants were made presentable, to serve as a nice visual greeting upon entry to this home.

Plants were easier and cheaper to manage than fountains, nobles just couldn’t be bothered by such things. Meril had never even considered placing one anywhere. It was just impractical to have and too expensive. He might as well spend his money on more important things. Like for his family, especially his daughter.

Although Mizia was not one to spend more than she needed. Meril just found it more important to spend on people than material things.

His carriage stopped in front of the mansion. It was two stories high, lamps already shining on the outside in the setting sun, by the windows and balconies hung colorful flowers and vines. It was the hobbies of both his wife and daughter. He even had to hold them back on a few occasions so they wouldn't cover the entire mansion with plants, else it would end up looking abandoned.

And thus, he had to lead their uncontrollable urges towards the outside. The reason for the numerous, spreading plants of all kinds around the mansion. They were worse than his sister.

That said, Mizia had a less intensity of love for plants than his wife. She just loved supporting her mother to the fullest, and because of that her mother could easily drag her around to her shenanigans.

He took a deep breath before going inside his home, passing by the greeting guards. Partway heading to the lobby, just to sit and rest, a crimson haired young lady came in his way.

“Father!” She jumped in and hugged him tightly.

“Mizia.” He lightly patted her head, as not to mess up her hair.

“I have prepared food for you.”

Meril smiled. As always, she prepared food for him in case he was hungry upon arrival. Although they tend not to be large dishes normally eaten during actual dinner, she still wanted him to join them at that time. “Thank you. I’m famished. Can I eat it in the lobby?”

“Sure!”

With a bright and adorable smile, she went away to get the food. Meanwhile Meril continued to the lobby, sitting down on the couch to close his eyes for a moment and ponder about things. His family was still unaware of the stakes the kingdom was under, and he had no intention of telling them yet when things were not ready.

He would rather not sap away the warmth and joy they had because of the fear of knowing what was coming.

A minute later, Mizia arrived with a plate in hand. She placed it on the small table in front of Meril and removed the lid. On the plate, still steaming slightly, were sliced vegetables of green and yellow. Pink sauce was on the corner.

“Vegetables from Mother’s garden. It would be a waste not to eat them.”

Meril smiled. “Thank you, Mizia.” He picked up one slice of vegetable, dipping it in sauce, and ate it. “Mm. Delicious as always! Love the sweetness.”

Mizia giggled adorably.

“That’s right, have you made some plans for Estelia’s visit? She should be coming along in a week or later.”

Mizia’s smile widened with excitement. “Oh yes! I think I will be inviting my friends along to come here for a tea party. Might be all young ladies in the capital, since not inviting one might not look good. As for the food, I have selected many! I’m sure Estelia would like them all. For her room, maybe the room next to me? Or maybe we can share a room? The last one I want the most!”

And she went on and on with the plans she had in mind. Meril couldn’t help but smile in amusement, she was extremely looking forward to her cousin’s visit. Her enthusiasm put him in a good mood.

Looking at her, she almost resembled Estelia. Like an enthusiastic and extroverted version of her. Her face and eyes, aside from the colors, were almost similar to her cousin. Would Estelia look almost like this if she were more energetic and friendly?

I suppose they would look similar given that they’re cousins.

If Estelia was the most beautiful young lady in the whole of Wisteria, then he would dare say Mizia was the second.

It would seem beauty runs in the family blood. At any rate, perhaps it was good that Mizia and Estelia were the way they were, together they should balance each other out.

“Oh! Father!”

“Yes?”

“Dresses!”

“What about them?”

“I have not prepared a fresh batch of outfits to try on Estelia! I can’t have her come into the house without ones for her to wear.”

“Why not use your old dresses?”

They were roughly the same size and body, her clothes should fit Estelia just fine.

“I have already tried most of my clothes on her.”

“Hm…” an idea formed in his head, causing him to smile. “Alright, I’ll let you buy as many clothes as you need.” That would do nicely. “But make sure to really dress Estelia up, okay?”

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It would serve nicely to annoy the princess. It was Meril’s great idea of having a little revenge on giving him a relentless amount of work. Besides, he wanted to tease and annoy her, just to measure her reaction. If nothing too significant happens, then he would just have to be pleased that he annoyed the Pure Princess.

“Thank you!”

And she had been so serious at these times, she should cool off once in a while.

“Alright…” he continued eating. “Ah, you will hear things get rough once Estelia gets here. I’ll be relying on you to keep a protective watch over her.”

“Why? Does someone want to hurt her?”

“Perhaps. Even if your visitors will be your friends, be careful.”

“.... I understand. I won’t let anyone harm my Estelia! But who would hurt someone so adorable~?”

“A lot of bad people… So, when will you start shopping?”

“... Um, I guess tomorrow?”

“That’s fine. Where’s your Mother, by the way?”

“Busy with the reports she had to address, given that you have been busier than usual.”

“Oh.”

“New letters have also arrived. I brought them to your office.”

“Thank you, Mizia. I’ll take a look at them.”

***

Using the key he pulled out of his pocket, he unlocked and opened the door to his office. The lights were already on, it must have been Mizia. He made sure to lock the door before going to the table and pick up the letters his daughter brought in.

He had a little headache at the thought of opening them, so he put them back down before even opening one. With a tired sigh, he sat down in his seat and leaned back. There was still another matter he was personally investigating.

He unlocked a drawer and pulled out a small string bound notebook from the bottom of other books. He opened it, on the first page wrote ‘Murder of Marquis Hevrik Fumine Vekenas’, then below it was a name. ‘Estelia’.

He had been investigating the princess, but he couldn’t find any solid evidence. But he just knew it, ever since he had trouble reading her.

When he tracked down the path of the wind magic around the crime scene of Marquis Vekenas, the direction the magic was heading, it was to the palace. Who else was a wind magic user in the palace? That could use it to fly.

The King could cast it, but he was not one to kill one of his subjects just like that, and torch his corpse. And then, he learned that the princess could use wind magic to fly, the first public display was when she and her father passed by the knights, flying around the palace.

And fire magic, it was one of the basic magic spells to be learned, and Estelia was practicing the path of a mage.

Even so, there was still the inconsistency with her nature. Meril would never even think that the princess could do something as murder someone. It was unthinkable. That Pure Princess? That unremarkable girl he had met and knew her as? To even think that she could dirty her hands with blood would be sacrilege.

But her enigmatic nature grew, and Meril couldn’t cross it out of his mind.

He read his notes again. Wind Magic, Fire Magic, Ice Magic, and lies. The lies he felt through intuition drove him to this path. But that was not all, the inconsistencies with her personality… Was she hiding her mental prowess all this time?

What would be the purpose?

The way she could come up with ways on how to disrupt a nation, it was dangerous. If she could come up with those, then murdering someone in cold blood wouldn’t be far from a possibility. Still, the Pure Princess could never. Murder was different from protecting the nation from the meddlings of others.

But then there was the matter of how calculative she was, almost too logical way of thinking and method. Her power of manipulation… It was not something a sheltered princess could have. Her power to command. Her power of charm.

She was too dangerous.

Could someone like her be really incapable of sneaking out at night and killing a Marquis?

It was still hard to believe without solid evidence. However, the moment that former personal chef, the moment that girl was executed, he couldn’t deny it any further.

The princess, that Pure Princess, was capable of anything, and her heart would not waver if it would clean her path.

He knew it, he was certain that she killed the Marquis. And it made him shiver. All that he knew about her crumbled into pieces.

How could she? He could still remember the young Estelia, so innocent and fragile. Smile so gentle and peaceful. A saint. A treasure. An adorable little thing that should be protected from the darkness of the world. So precious.

If she killed a Marquis, that was a terrible crime, and she should be punished for it. He must do everything in his power to undeniably prove it. To make her confess. Someone so dangerous lurking in the palace should be removed.

Estelia was a criminal. Committed a crime that calls for a death penalty. A crime that took a husband from a crying wife, and a father from two clueless children.

But he couldn’t. His instincts were crying not to pry, and it constantly did so. Why was Intuition so against it? It was as if it was holding him back from releasing a monster.

Although, it was not only his Intuition that held him back — it was also himself. He shouldn’t do anything. When he investigated further, it felt like the Marquis was up to something suspicious. And the princess ordering to send agents into the house of nobles to check for traitors? There was no way it was a coincidence.

The princess certainly had a reason for killing Marquis Vekenas, the uncle of her childhood friend.

Was the Marquis a traitor? He might be.

But that didn’t mean she should go around killing nobles like a vigilante, especially without proof. But what if she had proof? He just couldn’t think of how the princess could have information that Vekenas did something.

There could be a few times that they saw each other and could have close contact. One that Meril knew was during the meeting for the festival. And the second was during the fights in the arena when the royals were present and Vekenas served the food. Either of those times, she must have discovered something.

Still, to kill him? Couldn’t she have perhaps turned him in? There was something in her nature Meril was still clueless about.

But despite that, she should not be trifled with. Estelia was needed in the kingdom. Meril feared to admit it, but Estelia was crucial to the survival of the kingdom. Her leadership, her wits, all of her was essential to everything.

It made him think Eleden was not the one fit for the throne. Estelia was. She must be the crown princess.

But that was not what she wanted. She wanted to stay behind on everything, without any attention.

Despite the youngest and the one with less influence, she had most of the power. Even her father, the king, does everything she wants. And every day, her power grows, more than the elder princes.

The crown was no longer its own. It was a limb following the strings of someone behind it.

That person behind the crown was Estelia herself. She commands everything, controls everything, sees everything.

She even now had control over the three largest industries in the nation.

Leaving them in the crown's servitude? No, they were serving her.

And now she seeks to control the nobles.

But despite it all, everything she did was utterly needed. She was needed.

Investigating further about Marquis Vekenas’s death would only prove futile. And exposing Estelia’s true nature was a fool’s errand.

I must help her everywhere I can.

What she did no longer matters in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, she was still the princess, and his precious niece.

He never wanted to see her harmed, nor punished with anything. In the end, he was only curious.

And this curiosity, his thoughts, and discoveries in written form would be a hole, a weak link. A crack in the foundation.

He rose from his seat and lit up the fireplace with magic. He sat down by the nearby chair and waited for the flames to grow.

And, once it was big enough, he threw his notebook into the flames. He watched as the pages burned into ashes.