Through the door that led to her camber, emptiness took over her gaze.

A person, whose face is too well known to the public as one of the world's power players, currently leans on the wall.

Klik-...

As the door closed behind her back his eyes instantly found hers.

Only her form fills his gaze.

Smile.

Despite the great urge to frown at his stupid smile, she skillfully, stitched up a calm expression.

"It's quite questionable to see you still alive despite being here, Your Highness."

Her voice was still monotone as usual.

"I apologize for not being able to provide an answer, my lady."

He doesn't seem sorry at all.

Neither his expression nor voice express anything sort of guilty.

This led one of Camilia's assassins to nearly throw a poison-soaked needle at the brunette, if not quickly restrained by her slightly saner partner.

Meeting his eyes, her gaze spat her words to him.

Instead of saying another word, his smile just became more bright (annoying).

With confidence, he starts to approach the one who even his parents were extremely afraid of.

Still maintaining eye contact with the lady, his deft hands removed the loose nightgown from his body.

Display his toned broad chest for her eyes to feast upon, before slowly finding his way to her waist, perfectly embracing her.

The ravenette chose to let him put up this little 'stunt' of his.

And the male who was aware of this could only fight the urge to shiver in delight or at the very least control his instinct and focus on this 'task of his.

There's only one reason her loyal subordinates allowed him to approach their precious liege like this.

Their master.

This ruler before his eyes.

Need a 'thing' as stress relief.

And he proudly welcomes the position to be her plaything.

"Think of me as your whore, my lady."

In a breathless tone, he said, eyes filled with emotions she was too familiar with.

Obsession, craving, lust, and love, mix in one pair of golden eyes of his.

Surely a headache was starting to grow, however, her right arm wrapped around his shoulder, effectively cutting the remaining distance between the two.

Her other palm caressed his face gently, making the man no longer able to maintain his princely grace, and succumb to her touch.

Camilia, who chose to feign ignorance at her subordinate plan in the first place, gently whispered.

"How Pleasant."

After all, she needs to release stress.

That brief flashback is the reason she's here in the first place.

Where? Middle of an artificial forest.

What for? a nig-dawn walk.

Why?

Honestly, Camilia felt nothing about that fresh memory of her.

But her forced labor (work) made her need some rest, and sightseeing became her choice once again.

Huuhhh.....

Letting out another deep breath, she closed her eyes.

Her gloved hands brushed back her flowing hair that had been played by the wind, then trail down to grab the hood of her snow-like coat.

Her hands returned to her sides after the hood completely covered her hair.

Her clothes were indeed eye-catching

But, what she wearing now was the most appropriate camouflage in this forest.

That's enough reason for her to not make any fuss when her head maid dressed her in this kind of attire.

Let out another sigh, She tries to enjoy her surrounding once again.

A charming forest.

A very calm atmosphere.

This would be enough to distract her.

At least temporarily.

Crak-crack!

But of course, the damn God of death twist her luck.

'Just great..'

This kind of sound would only come from another living being, a near one.

This updated body's sense of hearing can't be wrong.

With the sound ringing once more, she concludes.

'Not an assassin. Even if it's, a terrible one at their job.'

Calm but alert.

A path of escape had perfectly rested in her head.

Heightened her hearing, she carefully move her eyes, before they stop in the east direction.

Her eyes widened before turning back to normal in less than a second.

They were about 10 meters apart.

But because of the cheating abilities of this body, Camilia can see from that distance, too clearly if I may say.

'A child?'

The child, who appears trembling due unable to catch his breath, has hair color that's quite pleasant to her.

Of course, this boy's hair is lighter than her once younger brother.

But, that alone was more than enough to attract the attention of this emperor-to-be.

Deciding to leave her hiding place, she approached him only to stop a good meter away.

She let out an inner curse before enduring the strong urge to slap herself.

There's a familiar metallic scent coming from this boy, despite being completely unscratched.

And camilia, who couldn't be mistaken for that familiar scent, could only stare at his white-colored hanfu blankly.

It's faint, but certainly, it's blood, fresh kind of that.

'This brat is no pure.'

With that note in mind, she parted her lips.

There was no need to observe this boy any longer.

"Which rabbit has brought you to my palace?"

The boy flinches, before slowly but surely turning around to face her.

His body was no longer trembling, but his pupils were.

Camilia put on a stoic face seeing her questions left unanswered.

'Tsk'

For a moment Camilia was astonished, or rather annoyed.

No, it wasn't because of his amazing looks.

But it was the distinctive pointed shape of his ears that made her eyes almost twitch with irritation.

Of course, she's already seen it at first, but in this kind of situation, she would love to be wrong.

'Elves'

The toddler who decided to feign ignorance shook her head and looked up at the sky.

The sun is still not visible on the horizon.

That meant it was too early to go to the training ground and too late to go back to sleep.

Once again, her eyes found the boy.

Pair of reddish-mauve Siberian stones meet pair of emerald-green ones.

'Her eyes are just as alluring as they say.'

Although he wanted to admire those eyes a little longer, his eyes found her raising hand.

Camilia reached into her coat pocket, she took something from there.

It's a pendant.

His worried eyes remained glued to the pendant.

Dropping the object onto the ground, she lifted her foot slightly before landing it with a bit of strength, efficiently crushing the item.

A light shot upwards, before diving to the ground and forming a circle, surrounding the two of them.

It's a teleportation rune.

She looked at the performing runes in thought.

'This world leans on magic.'

Correct statement.

And yet, Camilia currently isn't capable of using magic.

Naturally, she also knew this.

Though her mana capacity was large, her knowledge of this field was extremely low, especially when put into action.

Moving without thinking was never an option for her, so doing it in order is a must.

But this also made her have a weakness, a fatal one.

So she chose the easiest way to cover it up for the time being, which was to buy magic.

Precisely, buy magic devices, like this pendant for example.

'Money is the best.'

With that in mind, she close her eyes and let her body be carried away by the mana flows.

Reopening her eyes again, she was faced with a view of one of the gardens in her palace.

Camilia who at some point took off her hood, looked at the people there with a raised eyebrow.

Her eyes were filled with amusement at the unsheathed sword and the magic arrows that were ready to be released in her direction.

"Morning."

Walking down the steps of the gazebo, she casually greets them.

Recovering from the momentary shock, they quickly sheathed their swords or released their chants, then hurriedly bowed.

"Greetings, Your highness!"

The maids greeted in unison.

Nodding, one of the maids rushed over and took off her coat.

Her eyes found etel coming followed by the ladies-in-waiting.

Seeing her head maid's gaze, camilia made up her mind.

'Let's avoid doing any explanation.

In contrast to her questioning gaze, Etel immediately knew his identity at a glance.

But of course, that didn't shed much light on the current situation, which made her, barely able to contain a frown.

Having questions in mind, Etel decided to push it for the time being.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"Yes."

Camilla briefly answered, from the corner of her eyes she saw the boy, who still frozen motionless.

"Looks like you brought back... a guest...."

It was a way of asking how they should treat him, and the head maid asked on behalf of everyone.

Everyone waited for the toddler's answer patiently.

Understanding the situation and the question behind the woman's words, the toddler took off her gloves and casually opened her mouth.

"Since going back to sleep is no longer an option of mine to take, I want a scroll that lists all trade goods that enter the empire through the trade guild, on my desk.

Oh, and-"

Turning her face towards the currently taller boy, she made eye contact with him, and smile before continuing the sentence she had purposely left unfinished.

"I expect you to join me in morning tea, dear brother."

With that being said she left the garden, knight's and ladies-in-waiting trail behind her.

It wasn't long before Etel quickly followed suit, without forgetting to telepathically give specific orders to her deputy, Talia.

After all their master had already answered.

Not a direct one but too obvious to be ignored.

Despite how surprising it is, it's not hard to accept.

The third prince who had great value was more deserving of respect in their eyes than 'him' who unfortunately became their master's biological brother.

The child's vision was filled with a woman whose aura screamed authority before his eyes widened.

"Greet the third prince of the empire."

"We give our greetings to the third prince of the empire!"

Talia in front of the maids who were neatly lined up bowed to him in greeting.

The boy saw the woman, Talia, come closer and held out her gloved hand to him.

Knowing that he would not be killed, he rediscovered his elegant air back and choose to act like a proper prince.

His hand reached for her already offered hand and saw Talia kneel to bring his hand to her mouth

'she's a knight.'

He said in his heart after noticing her unusual suit, and her knightly way of greeting.

"It is my honor to meet you, the third prince. As deputy head maid, I welcome you formally to the blood moon palace."

Hearing that, he gave her a charming smile, his emerald eyes analyzing the situation without looking away from Talia who kissed the back of his hand.

A head maid was the main majordomo in noble households, castles, and, palaces.

They're responsible for internal finances, workers, and overall housekeeping.

To fulfill these duties, those who occupy the positions are required to be exceptionally skilled.

Talia, who occupied just one level lower, couldn't be undervalued.

"Likewise, madam. It's a joy to be here."

Pulling back his hand he saw her smiling gently at him.

"My name is Talia Inigo, and I will escort you to your chamber."

"That would be greatly appreciated,

thank you."

He only saw her smile become more....approving.

He followed her who turned and walked away.

After passing through several corridors and gardens, they arrived at the section that had been prepared for him, with servants in line that fast on their task.

The ones who bathe him are professionals in the field of grooming and beauty.

The hanfu he wears is strictly selected beforehand.

Everything was arranged with such care that it overwhelmed him a little, despite having been spoiled so frequently.

Giving pleasantries while thanking them with a sweet smile, the half-elf prince finally closed the door of his chamber gently.

The calm mask he had worn not long before was shattered the moment the door closed.

His body was limp, his face turn deathly pale, and his lips turned blue.

He was scared.

He was so scared that it was hard to breathe.

"Ugh.."

Dragging himself onto the bed with the strength he had left, he plopped down onto it, an unseemly act for a prince, but there was no soul to tell.

"Huuu..."

Trying to distract himself, the elf searched through his mind, trying to remember just one sincere memory, but there wasn't any.

Well, there's one now.

"Dear brother.."

He muttered that sentence softly under his breath, like chants.

It was the first time in his life to see and heard such words come from a girl, not even from his blood-related cousin.

Come to think of it, the reason he was still alive was that the princess had shown an interest in him.

With this in his head, he couldn't help but calm down.

He is safe thanks to her.

They treated him with such respect because of her.

As one of the princes of the empire, it was only natural for people to respect him, but the difference in the treatment he received normally and just moments before was stark.

He didn't know by what or since when, but he decided he couldn't lose her favor.

He's too greedy for that.

His empty eyes began to fill again with a familiar ray, a smile began to appear on his handsome face.

"Her highness is just too captivating."

He said while covering his eyes with his arm.

Her image appeared in his mind.

When the hood of the coat had released her silky hair flowed freely.

Pair of amethyst eyes that could easily hypnotize people, looked at him warmly.

A smile bloomed on her face making all eyes unable to take their eyes off her.

Her voice was both calm and riveting.

A sovereignty aura envelops her like a right coat.

The third prince, Sylvanus Avery, opened one of his eyes.

"Too perfect."

He praised in a cheerful tone and muttered in a barely audible voice.

"My dear sister just simply flawless."

The whisper-like voice was carried by the wind.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

As for Camilia, she just did what was necessary.

Taking beneficial actions is a skill and taking care of urgent matters is a habit.

The task from her mother involved the elves.

The child along with his father were elven nobles.

With this she wouldn't have to look for people to use, as they had come to her themselves.

Grin.

'And the one who tried to kill me is the current Queen.'

Glancing back at the scroll in her hand, she found a sentence that pleased her deceitful side.

'Dear brother, be a good little pawn for me from now on, will you?'

\\\\\\\\\\\

Avery, the elven Kingdom.

Famous for their nature and elemental spirits.

They control at least 65% of the rare herbal commodities on all four continents.

////////////////////////

Smile.

'Shouldn't the kingdom pay compensation for their monarch sins?'

_______________________________________

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Greetings everyone.