What an eventful return to the capital this was turning out to be.

I had not even been given the chance to rest before I was forced to deal with trash.

God, I wanted to kill that bastard so badly.

He had slapped Regina and grabbed my sister’s arm as if she were some random peasant girl off the street.

If Lenora had not stepped in to stop me, I honestly might have left him half-dead on that floor.

But I could no longer afford to be so reckless, nor could I afford to act on impulse now that I wore the crown.

No matter how much of a repulsive piece of trash Vincent was, he was still the heir to a Marquisate, my wife’s brother, and thus, technically, my brother-in-law.

Even the mere thought of that connection left a disgusting taste in my mouth, but it was the reality of my position.

No matter how much I wished to end his life, it would have been a different matter if he were not Elbert Ashcroft’s son.

Unfortunately, the Marquis was a highly influential man. From what my mother had told me, and from what I had observed myself, he might have been ambitious, but he was definitely loyal to the crown.

I could not risk losing the allegiance of such a man simply because his son was garbage. Rather, it would be far better to leave Vincent’s fate in Elbert’s hands. I was fairly certain the Marquis would deal with him harshly enough on his own.

That was likely exactly what Lenora had been thinking as well.

In our current circumstances, where we possessed only a handful of truly trustworthy allies, we had to keep them close.

When the victim herself chose to handle the matter with such cold pragmatism, I could hardly overrule her, especially when that victim was my dear little sister.

What a massive pain in the ass, though.

As if I needed this distraction right now.

Upon my return, I had intended to focus entirely on the looming assassination attempt by the Black Sun.

Sighing, I made my way back to my personal quarters, instructing a maid to draw my bath immediately.

Once there, I discarded my clothes and sank into the hot water, finally allowing my body to relax after the long journey.

I had spent so much time closed off inside the castle, rarely stepping foot outside, like some anti-social, home-loving hermit, that suddenly traveling for this long felt rather strange, and far too exhausting.

I channeled a spark of essence to heat the water just a fraction more, leaning back and doing my best to ignore the dull throb in my shoulder.

In a couple of days, the wound would be entirely healed.

I could have summoned a healer, of course, especially with Bethia currently residing in the castle, but unless it was a real necessity, I preferred not to rely on her.

Speaking of Bethia, I hoped she had managed to fully cure Regina’s mother of her consumption. It would serve as a fitting reward for Regina, who had intervened so bravely to protect my sister from a Marquis’s son, though, obviously, her mother’s treatment had been arranged long before today.

Regardless, it seemed my eye for people was as sharp as expected, at least concerning Regina. Despite how deeply conflicted she must be regarding her current situation, she consistently chose to act according to her own principles.

She had acted against Vincent Ashcroft without a moment’s hesitation, disregarding the grave consequences that might befall her. If I, the King, had not been there to intervene, things likely would have ended in a far more tragic manner for her, or maybe not with my sister being there, but that trash Vincent would have definitely managed to get away with it.

Smiling softly to myself, I closed my eyes, letting the soothing, warm water draw the exhaustion from my battered body.

Perhaps half an hour later, I stepped out of the bath, somehow feeling even more drained and sleepy than before.

In truth, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep through the rest of the day until tomorrow morning. But my stomach was empty, and I still needed to see my mother.

After dressing, I brushed my damp hair lazily before reaching for Hyperion. Buckling the sword to my side, I lifted the royal crown from my desk and settled it atop my head.

It seemed I truly needed to remind everyone in this palace of exactly who they were dealing with every single day. Well, soon enough, there would be no room left for doubt.

A small smile curled on my lips as I gently patted my chest, feeling the solid weight of the Amber Heart and the Crescent Moon necklaces resting safely beneath my tunic.

Call me paranoid, but I had even bathed with the things on, but I refused to let either artifact out of my sight for a single second.

The Amber Heart was arguably safe enough on its own, as it only answered to those of royal blood and reacted violently against anyone who lacked it. Even so, I vastly preferred to keep it securely around my neck.

Wait a minute...

I stopped dead in my tracks.

The Amber Heart only answered to those of royal blood. It could only be used by those of my bloodline.

So, how in the world had the Black Sun managed to weaponize the Flame of Helios through the Amber Heart, even after they had killed Lenora and Cynthia in the game?

I knew they had kept them alive for a couple of months; they had needed at least one of them to bypass the wards and enter the tomb of Alexander II of Helios, likely coercing them through threats. That part made sense. But months later, they had murdered them both, yet they had still somehow retained the ability to use the Amber Heart’s power.

How the hell was that possible?

Had I misunderstood some rule regarding how the Amber Heart was used?

Furrowing my brows in deep thought, I slowly resumed my walk down the corridor.

I had a bad feeling about this, and my instincts were rarely wrong, which did little to reassure me.

As I walked, I blinked in surprise upon catching sight of Cedrik and Lyria.

The siblings hallboy and the scullery maid.

They were both scrubbing the floor and the base of the walls with intense, focused dedication.

"Your Majesty!" Cedrik reacted first the moment he saw me, instantly dropping to one knee.

Lyria panicked, scrambling to follow suit.

"Your Majest—ngh!!"

She bit her tongue in her haste.

"Cedrik and Lyria. Have you two been the ones keeping my quarters so clean?" I asked.

I had indeed noticed that the floors and walls were far more polished than usual. The regular maids handled the standard daily cleaning, of course, but it was clear that Cedrik and Lyria had gone well above and beyond their basic duties. Well, I did ask them to do it, but they clearly did it very well.

"We only did what was required of us, Your Majesty," Cedrik replied earnestly.

"An excellent job, and one you will be properly rewarded for," I told them.

The two children exchanged wide, beaming smiles. Hardworking people always deserve to be rewarded.

"By the way, has a new steward been assigned to look after you both?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

After I had beaten that wretched Viscount Pettler exactly as he deserved, I had ordered the Head Butler to watch over all of them. I wondered if anything had changed since then, though given how overwhelmed my mother was, handling all the affairs following my father’s death, which, truthfully, I should have been managing myself, I doubted she had found the time to address it.

It wasn’t an urgent matter, after all.

"Um, it is the Lord Head Butler who is taking care of us now, Your Majesty," Cedrik replied.

"I see. Well, keep up the good work," I said, stepping past them.

Unfortunately, my hands were too full at the moment. Their situation would simply have to wait until after I successfully thwarted the looming assassination attempt against my own life.

"Um! Your Majesty!"

I stopped and turned back to see that Lyria had called out to me.

"Lyria! What are you doing?!" Cedrik asked in panic.

"Let her speak," I said.

Lyria looked at me nervously, her small frame trembling slightly, but she managed to find her voice.

"T—Thank you for saving us!" She finally blurted out.

I smiled, taking a step back toward her, and gently patted her hair.

"I only did what was right as your King," I said.

She blushed crimson, looking up at me.

"Y—Yes," she managed stiffly, though she offered a bright smile, her eyes shining on the verge of tears.

It must have been a truly miserable time for them before I intervened.

Honestly, once I had completely purged the Black Sun threat from my castle, I was going to have to conduct a full, sweeping review of the entire staff to ensure the palace was actually functioning as it should.

I doubted I would have the time for it before Luminar, and I certainly could not dump that colossal task onto my mother, who would already be burdened with managing the entire Kingdom’s affairs in my absence.

But...

Perhaps I could just ask Lenora?

That sister of mine was more capable than she was let on; she was simply lazy. Otherwise, she could easily take command of the majority of the castle’s internal duties.

I could have asked her to take on more responsibility sooner, but I suppose I was simply too overprotective of her. I had wished for her to enjoy a life free from politics for as long as possible.

But well... circumstances had changed.