Irene led her into the castle and up the stairs to the third floor.
A short walk away, she stopped in front of a room.

'Here we are, this is my room. Go inside and wait for me, I'll ask Grandpa to make some tea.

With that, she opened the door and pushed us inside, and Irene ran quickly down the corridor, leaving us there.
We had no choice but to do as she said and wait inside.

The room we were ushered into was a calm and relaxing space without too many glittering furnishings.
The bed, sofa, table, closet and other furniture were all of good quality and solid.

However, the calm atmosphere did not immediately make us feel at home when we were ushered into the room.
I, along with the three girls, spent some time there, feeling uncomfortable.

Then, a little while later, Satsuki, who had kept her head down and not said a word since the handfasting with Irene, finally let out a word.

'...... ah. I've lost. The princess is strong. Hahahahaha.

Satsuki smiled, but it wasn't her usual bright smile.
Her smile had a delicate quality to it, as if it were made of glass and could be shattered at any moment.

I sighed and told Satsuki.

'Satsuki, don't strain yourself. If you need to cry, cry. I'll at least lend you my heart.

As I said this, I put my hand on Satsuki's head as if I were caring for a child, and her fake smile collapsed in an instant.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at me, and she looked like she was about to cry.

But Satsuki just barely held on, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her kimono and bouncing my hand away with her other hand.

'...... No. He'll be back soon, right? I don't want to show my weakness in front of him.'

'Right, okay.'

It seemed that Satsuki had decided that Irene was her rival.
I admire your determination to stand up to her even after she showed you such a big difference.

After a while, Irene came back.

'Hey there! What do you mean, you've been standing there waiting? There's a sofa there. Why didn't you just sit down and wait for me?'

She brought a tray with tea and tea cakes for the number of people, put it on the table in front of the sofa for several people, and started serving quickly.

'Don't be absurd. What do you think your guests are? You haven't changed at all.

'Haha, don't say that, Will. Now, sit down, everyone.

The fast-paced Irene doesn't care about what we say.
I sighed and sat down on the sofa she suggested.
My friends followed suit and sat down in a horizontal line on the same sofa I sat on.

'So, what's your business today? You have something you want to discuss with me.'

After making sure that everyone is seated, Irene quickly gets to the point.
Her own seat was facing us.

After her words, I took out the document from my luggage bag and handed it to Irene, which was rolled up and tied with string.

'...... What's this?

'We found this at the bandits' hideout. The bandits were killing the inhabitants of a nearby village. It happened in this country.'

Irene's eyes narrowed as I explained this.

'Do you mind if I read it?

'Yes.'

After confirming my reply, Irene untied the clasp and opened the rolled-up paper.
She then reads through what is written on it.

As she read, Irene's expression grew grim.
When she has finished reading, she rolls up the paper and ties it with a string.

'Will, thank you for delivering this. I want my father... the king to see this. Would you mind?

'Yes, please.

'Yes, thank you. ...... But I can't let you do that. I can't believe something like this was happening in this country, out of our sight. What the hell is the purpose of ......'?

Irene clenched her fists tightly.
I looked at her and was relieved to see that she hadn't changed at all.

In general, the king does not directly govern the entire country.
The king delegates the authority to govern a part of the territory to the nobles, and the nobles who receive the authority manage the territory given to each of them in the form of indirect rule.
The total number of nobles in the country, including small lords, was in the four digits.

As a result, the king's control over the entire country is not so great.
He may be able to control the general framework, but he will never be able to grasp all the events within each territory.

The total number of villages in the whole country is nearly five orders of magnitude.
Even if one village in the country was destroyed, if the lord of that place tried to hide it, there was a good chance that such 'trivial information' would not reach the king.

And even if such information did reach the king, a single village would usually be regarded by the ruler of the country as a 'number' in the tens of thousands.
There are many people who bemoan the pain in their pockets, but there are not many royalty and nobility who can be indignant like Irene, thinking of each and every person.
Irene's nature is unique among royalty and nobility.

And that's why I thought that I could entrust this information to Irene.
Despite her personality and other problems, she is one of the people I can trust.

While I was thinking about this, Cyril asked Irene a question from beside me.

'Well, if you don't mind me asking, don't you think about the possibility that ...... we're lying?

Cyril's point was a valid one.

It is not reasonable for a lord to destroy his own territory, and there is no doubt that it is a story that is difficult for others to believe.
And that's why I brought it to Irene, who I've known for a long time, so that it wouldn't be swept up in the organization's underbelly...

I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I'm sure you have.

'Oh, ......, you're right. If I had received this information from a complete stranger, I would have suspected it first. But since Will brought it to me, I don't think so. I've known Will a long time. This guy's not like that. He may seem cold, but he's really quite hot, and above all, he doesn't tell stupid lies like that.

...... I see.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who trusted him.
My memories of Eileen are not all pleasant, but she is still a good friend of mine.