Chapter 54
“Alright, so the lion has already been fed the bug.”
“That’s right. Once the hunters are ready, the lion that ate the bug can be dealt with quickly.”
“And I heard that the great stag has stopped training the dogs.”
“That’s correct. Because of that, the dogs aren’t getting enough exercise, their bellies have grown, and their health has declined. They’ll be of no use in the hunt.”
‘A lion? A bug? Dogs? Hunting?’
Florina was baffled.
Weren’t these two having their first conversation?
Yet they were exchanging strange words as if they had previously agreed on a coded language.
‘Could it be… Is Princess Muriela also a spy? No, that doesn’t make any sense!’
Corbin had often used impromptu ciphers during his adventuring days when he and his companions had to communicate without being overheard by enemies.
Since Solinor had experience with such makeshift codes, he easily adapted to the conversation.
These instant ciphers were usually just metaphors, so as long as one grasped the context, anyone could use them.
They weren’t so complex as to require a separate decryption key.
“Hm, so the princess has become friends with the wind. That is truly remarkable.”
“If I have something to say, I’ll tell it to the wind. Please listen carefully to the words of the wind. It has only just been born.”
The conversation naturally shifted to Muriela’s new ability—the topic of spirits.
Solinor had brought it up rather abruptly.
But Corbin, having witnessed Aiorin handle spirits numerous times during their adventuring days, quickly understood.
‘Wind? Words of the wind? What are they talking about?’
But from Florina’s perspective, who lacked any context, the conversation sounded utterly bizarre.
“That will be all for today’s discussion.”
“Understood. If there’s anything to convey, I will speak through Florina. Until we meet again, stay well.”
The conversation concluded, and both men turned away.
Corbin returned to the secret passage, and Muriela headed back to her quarters.
Florina, who had been standing there in a daze, hurriedly followed after the small figure of the princess.
“Your Highness, have you ever met a spymaster before?”
Just moments ago, those two had clearly been discussing confidential matters.
Florina knew she shouldn’t ask and that she wouldn’t get a proper answer, but she couldn’t stop herself from questioning it.
These useless spies!
“Hmm? This was my first time seeing one in person. But I already knew what to say.”
To her surprise, Muriela actually gave a straightforward answer.
Or was that even a proper answer?
Florina trudged alongside the princess, unable to decipher the meaning behind her words.
‘Well, nothing major should happen. Lord Corbin is the only one among the late king’s old friends who is still active, and he has always worked for the kingdom’s safety.’
But there was a saying: The trusted spymaster can end up betraying you—or, rather, the nation. (Not that such a saying actually existed.)
Florina couldn’t even begin to fathom that the very same spymaster was planning to deliver the entire kingdom into Muriela’s hands.
‘Though, to be fair, their conversation did sound suspiciously like that of traitors… but if they were actually committing treason, they wouldn’t have spoken so openly with me present. Ha, ha.’
Corbin had already anticipated that Florina would think this way.
Having raised her since childhood, he knew her personality well.
That was precisely why he felt no need to hide their conversation from her.
Even though they had spoken in code, it wasn’t particularly difficult to decipher.
Florina’s incompetence as a spy had, ironically, earned a certain level of trust.
And Corbin had no reservations whatsoever about his actions.
He did not consider himself a traitor in the slightest.
Legally speaking, he was a traitor—but from the moment he learned that Solinor had returned, he no longer saw Eldric as the rightful king.
If Eldric had possessed the ability and the stature to lead, things might have been different.
But he was clearly lacking.
And now, his father had come back.
Naturally, the kingdom should be returned to its original master.
That was how Corbin saw it, and he felt no guilt toward Eldric.
It was Solinor himself who had established the principle that a ruler should be someone capable of bringing happiness to the people.
Bloodline and status were just superficial titles.
If someone more qualified appeared, then it was only right to place them on the throne.
Corbin simply acted in accordance with his beliefs.
From the very beginning, his loyalty had not been to Eldric as an individual, but rather to the ideals he upheld.
The only reason he had tolerated Eldric’s poor governance until now was that there had been no viable replacement.
The power base of this fledgling kingdom was still relatively weak.
The first major power group consisted of the regional lords.
However, these men were even greater fools than Eldric.
As spymaster, Corbin regularly received reports from his agents stationed in the provinces, detailing how these lords governed their lands.
The results were appalling—they were nothing more than avatars of greed.
‘Compared to them, Eldric might as well be a wise and just king.’
Of course, Aryen and Hadwin had also become regional lords.
They were reliable people, without a doubt.
But they were old now, and they had no interest in ruling a kingdom.
Their children and grandchildren were the same.
Most of them only cared about living as warriors, and regardless of whether one valued legitimacy or not, placing the son or grandson of some provincial noble on the throne would be absurd.
No matter what, the title of king or princess carried a level of authority that rallied people behind it.
That was why it was nothing short of a miracle that Solinor had ended up in the body of Princess Muriela.
If he had reincarnated into the body of some beggar, establishing legitimacy would have been a nightmare.
‘This is an incredible stroke of luck.’
Of course, Muriela’s rank in the line of succession was quite low.
But as long as she could prove her abilities to the people, Eldric’s failures in governance would create an opportunity on their own.
By the time Corbin returned to his spymaster’s office, Princess Muriela had already finished her evening bath and was preparing for bed.
As Bianca gently dried the princess’s damp hair with a towel, Florina stood nearby, watching the girl with a skeptical gaze.
She didn’t consider the princess to be a dangerous person, but it would be a blatant lie to say she wasn’t curious about her true nature.
Meanwhile, Muriela, the subject of that gaze, was dozing off under Bianca’s soothing touch.
Inside the tiny head of the princess, Solinor was deep in thought, pondering something up until the moment she drifted into sleep.
‘Why is that woman taking so long? How long does it take to check up on her own grandchildren?!’
Well, that was because the visit hadn’t ended with just a simple check-up.
Aiorin had turned her two adorable grandchildren invisible, just like herself, and left them in the care of Wendy and the other wind spirits.
Both children were now sleeping soundly, making soft, rhythmic noises.
As for how she had managed to extract them—
She had simply put them to sleep.
As evening fell, Katrina and Brandon had started looking drowsy, so she used spirit magic to give them the sensation of warm hands gently stroking them.
Moments later, they let out cute yawns and fell into a deep slumber.
The next challenge was sneaking them out of the house.
The sentries posed a problem, so she had no choice but to knock them unconscious.
Temporarily restricting their breathing with spirit magic had been a simple matter.
They must have been utterly bewildered—one moment standing guard, the next moment collapsing from suffocation.
But she had at least caught them before they hit the ground, ensuring they didn’t injure themselves in the fall.
That much was enough to clear her conscience.
As for how they would react when they woke up and discovered that the prince and princess had vanished?
That wasn’t her problem.
‘Alright, let’s head to the Fey Forest.’
Why the Fey Forest?
For starters, her parents would be thrilled.
Just imagine their reaction when they saw their unexpected great-grandchildren.
They would love it.
The Elven Village was an excellent place to live, and she was confident she could feed the malnourished children well and help them regain their health.
Of course, there were several issues to consider.
First, the distance.
The journey from the Silbrenoa capital, Solineum, to the Fey Forest would take at least two weeks of continuous travel.
And she wasn’t alone—she had to escort two fragile children.
That wouldn’t be easy.
Moreover, the ones who had been keeping the children captive would undoubtedly come after them.
Not only did she have to protect the children, but she also needed a plan to evade pursuit.
So why go through all this trouble despite the risks?
Because after being away from the human world for so long, she had no real connections left.
She had no idea where she could safely stay.
The two kidnapped children awoke the following morning.
“Uh… Who are you, big sister?”
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