"I am getting married."

Though these words are ostensibly joyful, Henrietta’s tone was immensely sorrowful, and Louise seemed to grasp that sentiment.

"Congratulations then..."

She said this, but Louise didn’t have the slightest smile on her face.

"Your Royal Highness, is something the matter?"

"No, it’s nothing, just... sorry, these are things I shouldn’t tell you..."

"Please tell me, Your Highness. For something to make you sigh like this, it must be something very troubling."

"No, I can’t say it, please forget what I just said, Louise."

Henrietta shook her head, and Louise visibly became displeased.

"No way! We used to tell each other everything, didn’t we? You, Your Highness, considered me a friend, right? Are you unwilling to even share your troubles with a friend?"

"... ... ... ..."

Meanwhile, Red Ponytail casually pulled a chair over from the wall, sat down, and took out a half watermelon, eating it with dead-fish eyes as she watched the scene unfold, without saying a word.

When she heard Louise’s response, Henrietta smiled.

"Finally, you consider me a friend, Louise... Alright, but what I’m about to say, you absolutely mustn’t tell anyone else."

"I swear it, in the name of Valyriel!"

Louise clasped the princess’s hands, her expression serious.

Red Ponytail continued to silently eat her watermelon.

"Actually... I’m going to marry the Emperor of Grumania."

"What? Grumania?!"

Louise was taken aback upon hearing this.

"That barbaric country?"

"Yes, but there’s no other way. Albion’s rebellion is about to succeed, and once the Royal Family is overthrown, Albion will certainly attack Tolisstin. We are just a small nation, lacking the strength to fend off Albion. Thus, an alliance with Grumania is indispensable to resist Albion’s invasion."

"I understand that, but..."

Hearing this, Louise couldn’t help but recall what Red Ponytail had told her before, shaking her head and forcing herself to cast those thoughts aside.

"But, Your Highness..."

"The problem now is that Albion does not wish to see us ally with Grumania, so they are seeking the key to thwart the alliance. If they find it, the situation will become quite dire."

"Could it be that they have found it?"

"Yes!"

Saying this, Henrietta nodded sadly, then sat down heavily on the bed, reaching out to cover her face with her hands.

"Oh, Founder, please have mercy on this poor princess..."

Red Ponytail continued to silently enjoy her watermelon.

"Your Highness, please tell me, what exactly has Albion discovered?"

But Louise didn’t notice Red Ponytail’s gaze, instead sitting beside the princess, clutching her hands tightly and asking.

"It’s a letter I previously wrote..."

"A letter...?"

"That’s right. If the nobility of Albion discovers it and presents it to the Emperor of Grumania, everything will be ruined. The Emperor will certainly be furious and might cancel the marriage. At that moment, the Tolisstin Alliance will also become an illusion..."

"Then, where is that letter?"

"The letter is in Albion, but it’s not in the hands of Albion’s nobility; it’s with the Prince of Wales of the Royal Family."

"Prince of Wales?"

"Yes... Ah, all is doomed, everything is over. The Prince will surely be captured by the rebel forces. When that happens, they will also find that letter. If the alliance cannot be formed, Tolisstin alone cannot withstand Albion!"

Red Ponytail was munching on the leftover watermelon flesh.

But at this moment, Louise had already made up her mind.

"Then surely, your wish is for me to do something, Your Highness."

Hearing this, Henrietta shook her head with all her might.

"No, it’s too chaotic, Louise. I’m really sorry, what am I even saying? Upon careful thought, going to the beleaguered and partisan-battling Albion is too dangerous! How could I possibly ask you?"

"What are you saying? Whether it’s Hell or the lair of an Evil Dragon, as long as it’s your command, Your Highness, I’ll go anywhere! The crisis of Your Royal Highness and Tolisstin — as the third daughter of the House of Duke Valyriel, how could I, Louise de Valyriel, turn a blind eye?!"

Saying this, Louise knelt down in front of the princess, lifting her head to gaze at her.

"Please, entrust this task to me."

"Really, Louise?"

"Of course, Your Highness, no matter when, Louise is always your friend and confidant!"

"Ah, I will never forget your friendship and loyalty, Louise!"

Red Ponytail finished eating her melon and then let out a burp.

"So, please hand this secret letter and the ruby ring to the Crown Prince. Once he sees them, he’ll understand my intentions... I sincerely hope you can return safely, Louise. Now, I’ll take my leave."

After hurriedly writing a secret letter and handing the gem ring to Louise, Her Royal Highness, cloaked, prepared to leave, and just at that moment...

"Ah, Your Royal Highness."

Red Ponytail, who had been sitting by the side watching the show, suddenly spoke and then tossed over a bottle of water.

"What is this...?"

"Green tea, I think you’ll really like drinking this, Princess."

"...Thank you, Miss Familiar Spirits."

Henrietta smiled slightly at Red Ponytail, then took the green tea she tossed over and turned to leave.

It was only then that Louise sighed in relief and sat on the bed.

"I say, Louise..."

Red Ponytail yawned and squinted towards Louise.

"It’s good to be innocent and straightforward, but being fooled like that is not."

"What are you talking about!"

Hearing this, Louise immediately sat up, staring displeased at Red Ponytail.

"Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. That Princess was just putting on an act earlier, playing pitiful in front of you, hoping you’d willingly take the fall for her... if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought you two planned this act in front of me."

"Putting on an act...?"

"Exactly. Although that Princess was stammering, you could guess it with your brain, right? She’s the Princess of Tolisstin, and her letter is in the hands of the Albion Crown Prince. If the Emperor sees this letter, the engagement would be broken. Hence, the conclusion can only be that the letter is a love letter. If I were a noble of Albion, I’d take that letter to the King’s wedding, read it out loud, and let all the guests hear the Princess’s affection for the Crown Prince. This way, it could entirely ruin both countries."

Saying this, Red Ponytail yawned lazily, while Louise’s face turned pale.

"But such private matters aren’t suitable to leave to others, so using friendship to win you over is the best tactic. Since you’re volunteering to take the fall, you wouldn’t leak anything. Even if something happens, you don’t know what the letter contains, so dying means nothing, and you can’t spill any secrets."

Red Ponytail glanced at Louise again and shook her head.

"So I’m telling you, you should be more mindful. Being fooled like this isn’t something to be proud of."

"That’s not true at all!"

Only then did Louise come to her senses, quickly defending herself.

"The Princess and I are longtime friends; she wouldn’t do that..."

"Then why did she come to see you now? You haven’t seen each other in years, right? Didn’t she have time to find you before? Why talk about feelings when there’s an urgent matter now?"

"This... but... but..."

Faced with Red Ponytail’s questioning, Louise was at a loss for words, her voice growing softer.

"But... we are good friends after all..."

"Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, with me here, a mere Albion is no problem. I’m just telling you, be more cautious when dealing with people and matters in the future. Don’t let compliments go to your head. Girls need to learn to protect themselves; who knows if they just want your body."

"Wh-what are you talking about!"

Upon hearing this, Louise’s face turned crimson, and she quickly pulled the covers over her head.

"Sleep, sleep, we need to set off early tomorrow!"

"Alright."

Red Ponytail shrugged. She knew that with Louise’s status, it was impossible for her to refuse the Princess’s request, but at least she should figure out her situation first. It’s one thing to know everything before agreeing, but it’s another to agree when you don’t know anything and get tricked.

And so, the night passed.

Yet the next day...

"Hurry, SABER! Get ready, and we’ll head out!"

"It’s still early; let me sleep a bit more."

Red Ponytail came out yawning. Upon seeing Louise and the horse beside her, she was momentarily stunned.

"What’s this for?"

"Of course, for riding! It’s quite a distance to Albion, and if we don’t hurry, we won’t make it in time!"

"...Oh, right, this is a low-magic world; I forgot."

Red Ponytail patted her head, realizing this was a low-magic world. Not to mention teleportation spells, even flying spells were beyond reach here. Compared to Emilia’s world, where flying was at least possible, the mages here considered even flight a luxury...

"No need to ride, Louise."

Seeing Louise packing her bags and about to mount the horse, Red Ponytail quickly grabbed her.

"I have a better means of transportation."

As she spoke, Red Ponytail rummaged through her inventory. Hmm... there were indeed quite a few usable transportation tools, but it depended on the situation. Generally, to avoid trouble, Fang Zheng wouldn’t use anything Red Ponytail had used, in case someone recognized them and questioned the relationship between the two, which would be troublesome.

That being the case... at that moment, Red Ponytail stopped her search.

This one will do!