Chapter 65: Missing Parts

"This doesn’t make much sense..." Princess Victoria paces back and forth, staring at some notes she made in her journal. She’s locked herself in her room to review the changes she never expected.

’Why did so many things change all at once? Rumors in the Theocracy, the Empire deciding to attack another small kingdom, and those wild beasts choosing to strike us... it all feels too chaotic to be a coincidence.’ She pulls a paper from a hidden compartment.

’Could it be a scheme from the Theocracy? Or the Empire... the emperor is a troublesome man. I should keep an eye on that, and I need to learn more about the Theocracy’s new saint too...’

"Tsk... so many problems for my plans!! All because of these incompetents... where the hell did those rumors even start? If I knew where they came from, I’d know whether they’re a trick or not." She crumples one of the plans and throws it on the floor.

"If that old man would just marry me already, I could simply kill him..." It’s obvious that no one accepts the princess’s relationship with the king. It goes against too many rules and the religion itself, since it’s a father-daughter relationship.

So they never officially married. If the king dies, the princess loses all the power she holds, and someone else could seize that power instead of her—like her brother, or distant relatives.

Victoria only has power while her puppet stays alive. Since she failed to marry him even after years of manipulation, she still depends on keeping him breathing. But he’s aging, and there’s no way to know how much time he has left.

"If that old bastard would just get me pregnant, I could make him disappear... since a child would guarantee I become queen and that brat would be the successor." Her tone drips with disgust, showing just how much she despises the king despite her flawless act of loving him deeply.

"Whatever, complaining about this changes nothing... maybe I could use the new saint for something? If I managed to befriend her, I could make her legalize a marriage between me and my father. Then the power would truly be mine." She can hardly wait for the day that power finally falls into her hands.

"I think I should send a letter to the new saint, start building ties and find out how things are going in the Theocracy. I also need to think about the Empire. If the emperor is focusing on attacking another kingdom, it’s because he’s planning something." She opens a large map across her bed.

It’s covered with marked points—places the Empire has attacked over the last 150 years. They partially reveal some of the Empire’s plans throughout all that time, though most of the red X’s are attacks from the last 10 years, all carried out under the command of the "Bloody Emperor"—the greatest intellectual "rival" Victoria believes she has.

"If I had full royal command power, the emperor wouldn’t be nearly as big a problem as he is right now..." She picks up a pen and marks routes, thinking about whether it’s possible to attack the Empire, or if this is a bad opportunity.

"No... the situation isn’t good, from what I’ve gathered... we can’t attack the Empire right now... the best move really is to recover our armies and increase our military power... I need to talk to him and see what I can get him to approve." She stares pensively at the map until her eyes stop on a specific area within the Theocracy’s territory.

"This is where those so-called ruins appeared, isn’t it? There’s no way something in as good a condition as they claim just popped out of the ground from nowhere. There’s something here..." She murmurs, drawing a circle well above the spot where the supposed new ruins are located.

"This territory runs very close to several routes between the kingdoms. Even if not that many people pass through daily, it would still be impossible for someone to miss finding these ruins for years."

"There are no good minerals there, no forests, and only some weird shiny stones that are useless. So it’s an area that’s already been explored, and even so, there are zero prior reports of ruins or fragments of ruins..."

"It’s also not an area where any kingdom ever existed in the past. It’s always been an empty zone in records going back more than 500 years. So if there really were ruins there, they would have to be at least 700 years old. But if even elves don’t know anything about them, then they’d have to be at least 5,000 years old... that math clearly doesn’t add up." She keeps staring at the map.

"Indeed, there’s no way something over 5,000 years old could exist there. It’s not a ruin—it’s impossible in every way... but there’s something there, and that’s a fact... but what... what could it be?"

"...Maybe we should send a National Rank over there and have them come back with information. The price is a bit steep, but if it means more intel, it could be worth it. And I don’t need to rely on my father’s authority to do that."

"Yes... I think I’ll pay a National Rank to go there for me..." Hearing someone approaching, she calmly begins folding the maps and papers, returning them to their hiding spot as a knock sounds at the door.

"Princess, the meal will be ready in two hours. Would you like us to prepare your bath before the meal or after it?" A servant asks while Victoria adjusts her clothes and walks to the door, unlocking it.

"I want it prepared now. I’ll bathe before the meal. I’m feeling a bit tired today, so I’ll sleep earlier." She gives the girl a smile, and the servant beams back, delighted by the princess’s gentle expression.

"Understood, Princess!! Would you like lavender? Lilies? Or roses in the floor flowers?"

"Hmmm... roses seem better. Today I’m going to wash my hair completely in a full treatment, so call the maid responsible for that as well." She speaks as she steps out of the room and closes the door. The servant mentally notes her choices and begins to leave to inform the others.

"...Hey, before you go, did you hear anything about the new saint?" She asks casually to the servant, who stops walking.

"Oh yes!! My boss’s boss heard from her cousin that her friend told my friend’s brother’s sister-in-law that the saint is a really cute girl! She’s a dragon? I’m not sure about that part, but apparently she’s really good at healing magic and has been doing work helping injured people."

’...The Theocracy already had a saint with excellent foresight powers, and now they have one with excellent healing abilities... the Theocracy just got a lot more troublesome...’

"That sounds wonderful, thank you for the answer." She replies with a nod to the servant, who continues on her way.