“Oh… Oh, Goddess Freyja…”

Ever since young, Tanya had been a devout believer of Goddess Freyja. She probably had her own reasons as well, but her altruism was partly a result of her entering the church of Goddess Freyja; although, there were already leaders of the church who were greedy, evil, and monstrous.

Tanya, who was just a cute little girl, looked more mature than before. She had looked good with short hair, but her hair was now long and elegant according to the rules of Hyeon. Her glistening hair fell straight down her back, unlike Winley’s wavy locks.

Winley and Baris hugged Tanya so tightly that Davey wondered where the strength could come from in their small bodies.

“Big Sister… I really missed you… Sister…” Winley said tearfully.

“Big Sister, you have been well, right? Right?”

It was common for siblings to grow up fighting, just like how Winley and Baris always bantered and bickered. However, Tanya was different with her especially kind and warm personality.

“Big Sister! Do you know who we have come with?” Winley suddenly exclaimed.

“H… Huh?”

“We’ve been sending you so many letters!”

“L… Letters?” Tanya looked flustered.

Winley tilted her head in confusion.

When Davey silently approached and patted her head, Tanya gasped in shock, “Kyahh!!”

Tanya was naturally surprised by someone suddenly patting her head from behind. She turned around with wide eyes…only to widen them even more when she met Davey’s gaze.

“Oh…?” Tanya stared at Davey with her head tilted. Not understanding the situation fully, she could hardly believe who she was seeing right in front of her. She murmured, “Big…Brother?”

“Tanya, it’s been a while.”

Davey smiled and placed his hand on Tanya’s head again. However, Tanya became startled and backed away from him.

‘Ouch…’

Davey flinched reflexively, and Perserque kicked him in the back with a deep frown.

—Don’t cause a scene. People are going to get embarrassed just from watching you.

“T-Tanya?” Davey called out.

“Is it you, Big Brother? No way… Winley, Baris, am I seeing things?” Tanya asked in shock.

Winley smiled cutely. “It’s real, Big Sister! Look at him; he’s clearly Davey, our older brother.”

“Did you forget Big Brother’s face or something, Big Sister?”

“N-No!” Tanya shouted incredulously.

A moment later, she slowly approached Davey and reached her hand out toward his face. Her eyes were so red that tears were falling from them any second now.

“Big…Brother…”

“Yeah, it’s me, Tanya.”

“Big Brother!!”

Tanya had missed Davey so much. She ran into his arms with tears rolling down her face and buried her face in his chest. She sobbed loudly, unlike how she had greeted Winley and Baris.

Davey recalled Winley and Baris keeping in touch with Tanya through regular letters. If that was the case, Tanya would have heard the news about him waking up as it had been a few months now.

—Something is off about this.

‘What is?’

—This situation. Davey, you are going to cause a big scene over this situation. I am warning you: be on alert and on your toes.

Davey ignored Perserque and patted Tanya on the head.

Tanya simply tightened her arms around Davey and sobbed even louder.

The ladies-in-waiting who were pacing near Tanya stared at her with teary eyes, feeling anxious and touched by this reunion.

Tanya’s altruism was admirable. She was similar to Lena, who was one of the Saintess candidates. She was only different in the sense that she was naturally shy and affectionate.

“Sob… Big Brother, sorry… Sniffle! I am being too…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Davey patted Tanya’s back gently to comfort her.

Tanya gradually calmed down. She covered her red face with a handkerchief that she pulled out from her pocket. Then, lightly tugging on Davey’s clothes like she was embarrassed, she said softly, “We shouldn’t be doing this! I want to hear about everything from you. Winley, Baris, too…”

“Your Highness.”

That was when Tanya widened her eyes at the sudden voice of a man.

“Dan, Dan-Goong?!”

“With all due respect, Your Highness, you are in the midst of your Hundred Day Cleansing. If His Majesty or the other Highnesses were to know that you are in contact with other people…”

The man who suddenly showed up was quite handsome. He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. His black uniform and the cloth on his head that kept his long hair from falling looked similar to an assassin’s, but he had a neater look overall.

‘They say that a good face makes good fashion.’

—Hm…

Perserque began staring at the handsome man with interest. She also seemed grumpy for no reason.

Davey subtly reached out and snatched Perserque from the air, since she had been floating around.

‘You were sleeping on my shoulder a few moments ago. When did you get up?’

—Kyah!

‘Don’t make a fuss and go inside. My head is ringing.’

After Davey grabbed and pushed her into his huge pocket, Perserque started to complain.

—Y-You! Do you think I am some sort of object?

‘Ah, I can’t hear you.’

Davey didn’t know why, but he was a little pissed.

He was certain that Dan-Goong had the same uniform as some of the men who had been hiding along the way. He also realized that Dan-Goong had suddenly appeared just as Baris was about to say something.

Stopping Dan-Goong, Davey quietly asked, “And you?”

“My apologies. My name is Dan-Goong. I am humbly in the position of the Fourth Rank Official.”

“D-Dan-Goong has protected me ever since I have arrived here, Big Brother,” Tanya said.

“Is that right?”

“I apologize to the three of you, but Her Highness Concubine Tanya is currently undergoing the Hundred Day Cleansing. There is no way of telling what kind of damage will happen to Her Highness if she has contact with an outsider,” Dan-Goong said firmly.

Baris frowned. “Outsider? Did you just say outsider? If family members are outsiders, who could possibly be close to them?!”

“The only people who can meet Her Highness during the Hundred Day Cleansing is His Majesty the King and the other Highnesses.”

“Nonsense! Are you saying that a groom who isn’t even her husband yet is more important than family?”

Of course, Baris and Winley protested. They thought that this made absolutely no sense.

Meanwhile, Davey watched the situation carefully.

‘The atmosphere of the country…is strangely similar.’

—To your past life?

‘It’s a bit similar.’

In Davey’s past life, women hardly had any rights compared to men. There was no way of telling whether the Hyeon Kingdom was that messed up or not, but it seemed clear that an unnecessary law was now controlling Tanya, who was seen as the King’s woman.

“Dan-Goong, stop it.”

“Your Highness.”

“These people are family members who I haven’t seen in years. I beg you, please pretend that you didn’t see anything,” Tanya begged with tears in her eyes.

Dan-Goong glanced at Tanya emotionlessly.

Baris, angered by Dan-Goong’s demeanor, was about to walk up to him when…

“I will check if anyone is watching and make some time.”

“Thank you always, Dan-Goong.”

“I hope you do not regret the time that you spend here, Your Highness.”

When Dan-Goong calmly bowed and instantly disappeared, Baris clicked his tongue. There was no one for him to get angry at anymore.

“Oh, now is not the time! Come in! Big Brother! Winley, Baris! There are so many things I want to tell you!” Tanya, who realized that she did not have much time, hastily pushed the three of them inside.

* * *

Tanya talked so much that Davey wondered if she had always been this chatty. She actively engaged in the twins’ stories and was so delighted by them, which almost showed how lonely she was. She was most delighted by the fact that Davey had woken up.

—She didn’t know?

“It’s such a relief, Big Brother. It would have been better if I was able to see you awake before I left, but… Us sitting here and chatting feels like a dream.”

Davey stared at Winley, then asked, “Did you not talk about me?”

“Of course I did. I sent her letters about everything that happened at the Rowane Kingdom after you woke up.” Winley tilted her head in confusion.

“Big Sister… Did you not receive our letters?” Baris asked.

The atmosphere froze before Tanya whispered, “L-Letters? No way. I kept in contact with the Rowane Kingdom with letters every so often…”

Baris and Winley froze.

It was clear from this conversation that the siblings had sent each other letters, but not one of the letters had made it to the other. Tanya’s letters had never left Hyeon Kingdom, and the ones that had arrived from the Rowane Kingdom did not reach her.

“Blocking it in the middle…”

“Those damn…!”

Winley and Baris were bound to be angry. As Baris shot up from his seat, Tanya widened her eyes in shock and quickly grabbed his arm. She cried out, “No!”

“Let go, Big Sister! Those damn bastards have locked you up! They cut off all contact and what? Hundred Day Cleansing? No contact with outsiders? These assholes!”

Winley was usually the one who stopped Baris, but it was different this time. Grinding her teeth with a cold expression, she said firmly, “Big Sister, this doesn’t seem like something you can just let go.”

The Hyeon Kingdom had complete disregard and disrespect for the Rowane Kingdom.

Tanya, however, thought differently. She expressed her thoughts. “No. Winley, Baris, we must not show our emotions over something like this.”

“Big Sister!”

“Royalty must always keep their composure, even if it means walking into your demise.”

Tanya shook from her fury, but was choosing to try and keep calm.

“Your Highness.”

Suddenly, someone reappeared to break up the tension in the room.

“Dan-Goong?”

“I must ask the three of you to escape.”

“What?! Escape?!” Baris clenched his teeth and grabbed Dan-Goong by the collar. As he was actually on the taller side, he looked like a big guy overpowering a frail person. He then demanded, “I need to hear an explanation for how you bastards have the guts to do this kind of thing when you have locked up Big Sister here and have even stolen our letters.”

Although he was being threatened, Dan-Goong remained calm. He said, “I would follow the laws of the Pallan Empire, but this is the Hyeon Kingdom, Your Highness.”

“Nonsense!! I don’t know how great your Hyeon is, but do you think you can blatantly show disrespect to the Rowane Kingdom and not suffer any consequences?” Baris shouted. He looked like he was going to slam Dan-Goong in the ground at any moment.

Not knowing what to do, Tanya anxiously grabbed the end of Davey’s sleeve.

However, Davey was thinking about something else.

—Why did they bring you, Baris, and Winley here after doing something like this?

No matter how isolated a place was, it didn’t make sense for them to do things so recklessly. Then, there was only one thing that Davey could think of.

‘I’ll get the answer if I beat the King. What more is there to think of?’