The Reason for Marriage

With her hand tightened into a fist, Reina spoke with such resolution that it seemed she was prepared for whatever punishment is bestowed upon her. “Iveca is a valuable agent for us. It’s hard for us to see Your Highness take advantage of Iveca’s wounds anymore.”

The tension between Daniel and the Bureau of Investigation worsened. Iveca couldn’t understand anything. It was certain that they were both referring to something in the past, and she was the only one who didn’t know.

But there was something more urgent than that. Daniel held Iveca in his arms so desperately, but Iveca knew that she was actually feeling fine, except that she had stumbled for a moment when tried to stand. It was the same for Reina and Sid, who had regained their balance.

Judging that all the tea leaves entering the palace should undergo rigorous toxicity testing, these tea leaves were not poisonous, but that which slowed the body’s reaction. Hence the purpose of bringing in these tea leaves, which were replaced just before tea time…

“Your Majesty, be careful!”

Iveca squirmed and wriggled out of Daniel’s arms. She thrust her hand into her pocket and pulled out her daggers, immediately throwing all out of the window. Rather than a conscious action, it was an instinct that the body remembered when a crisis was imminent.

Recently, Iveca has always been with people from the Bureau of Investigation, and she had excellent physical skills herself. Even if an enemy sent a proficient assassin, it would be difficult to harm her. More so, it was impossible to impair Iveca’s protection, when several knights guarded the room. Then, the only place they could attack from was from the windows.

Iveca could hear someone falling from a tree; perhaps one of the assassins was hit by one of her daggers. She continued calmly, her eyes never leaving the window, “It’s not poison, so there must be further attacks.”

After Sid and Reina looked at each other in alarm, Sid jumped out of the window and Reina remained next to Iveca and Daniel. In an instant, an assassin appeared before them. Reina rushed in front of Iveca to block the intruder.

“Move away, Queen! The Queen is not good in close combat.”

Reina, who stepped forward at lightning speed, was pierced by the assassin’s sword directly with her shoulder. Despite the injury, she managed to push him out the window with magic. The assassin fell. Blood dripped down Reina’s shoulder as she turned around.

“Reina!”

Iveca was startled and called her name, but Daniel grabbed her and did not let her go to Reina. The assassins seemed to be preparing for another attack. In that state, Reina and Daniel stared sharply at each other as if to protect their Iveca from each other. Fortunately, not long after, Sid jumped back through the window, dragging a beaten assassin.

“A total of four assassins were found, of which three bodies were found. Two of them were taken care of by Reina and the Queen, and one I killed. Their bodies were left in the garden and will be further investigated by another bureau’s staff. One survived.”

He spoke in a hard tone, reporting to Daniel and Iveca. Recognizing that the ambush was over, Reina hurriedly pulled out a bandage from her arms and began to perform first aid on her own.

“We planned to go straight to the Bureau of Investigation to interrogate him, but we brought him because His Majesty didn’t seem to trust us. This raid really has nothing to do with us,” said Sid.

“It seems another attack was carried out.”

Accepting Daniel’s anger, who started speaking formally again, Sid calmly replied, ”The first attack was done alone. However, please note that there were no deaths at that time. The Bureau of Investigation does not sacrifice innocent blood. However, it was almost dangerous in many ways, and I sincerely thank the Queen for her quick response.”

Daniel nodded curtly at Sid and Reina, and slowly refined his expression. “I accept the opinion of the Bureau of Investigation. I will take this person first and hand it over to the Bureau of Investigation. But–”

Iveca interrupted Daniel. She gently grabbed Daniel’s arm and shook her head gently, “His Majesty… we were talking. I want to finish talking to them.”

“The Queen was injured in the first act. I am having suspicions now, and until the truth is revealed, no one from the Bureau of Investigation is permitted to be around you,” Daniel announced.

“If they were going to harm me, they could have done it sooner. Besides, while Reina was trying to save me, she got hurt. There’s more we have to talk about, so please hold your doubt, at least for today.” Iveca pleaded, but Daniel remained unmoved. “Please.”