The young women rushed into each other’s arms, hugging tightly as tears fell freely. Their bodies shook as they cried, overwhelmed with relief, happiness, and disbelief.

[We are free.]

[We have finally walked out of that cold, dark prison!] They cheered in their minds.

"Your Majesty," one of the palace maids approached Primrose. "Her Majesty, the Queen of Azmeria, wishes to speak with you inside."

Since all the women had been brought out of the west wing, Bianca stayed hidden inside the palace. It was because she was afraid that the women might turn their anger toward her instead of her husband.

"Let me come with you," Edmund said before Primrose could step toward the palace.

Primrose nodded without thinking too much. "Alright."

She turned to Solene. "Please take care of them for a while."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Solene replied, bowing her head slightly.

After that, Edmund and Primrose headed toward the palace together. On the way, Primrose glanced at him. "Do you think we can find Averon?"

Edmund let out a heavy sigh. "I don’t know for sure, but I’ll do everything I can to find him."

[If I could turn this kingdom upside down just to find him, I would do it,] Edmund thought.

Primrose let out a small laugh. "I don’t mind if you really do that."

They didn’t speak anymore once they stepped into the palace. To be honest, Primrose had expected to see Bianca looking guilty or at least a little sad after everything that had happened. But the moment she saw her, she realized she had expected too much.

Bianca didn’t look sad at all. She didn’t even seem to feel any sympathy for what had happened to those girls.

[They’re so noisy,] Bianca thought as she stared outside through the large windows. [If I were them, I wouldn’t waste time celebrating. I would leave this place immediately.]

Honestly, that wasn’t entirely wrong. If any of them wanted to leave right away, Primrose could understand. But still... did Bianca not have even a little desire to see her friends like them?

The longer Primrose read Bianca’s thoughts, the more she realized that Bianca was too broken. All the abuse she had suffered from her family and Averon had taken root too deeply inside her. The damage... might be irreversible.

"When will you take me away from this place?" Bianca asked the moment she saw Primrose. Her voice was calm, too calm, even. "And when will you give me the 300,000 gold coins?"

[Now that my husband can’t be found, it would be better if I leave now,] Bianca thought.

There wasn’t even a hint of worry in her heart for Averon. Even if he died somewhere, she probably wouldn’t care.

Edmund was the one who responded to her words. "I need to speak with the King of Elandria first about our request," he said calmly. "But if I may suggest... it would be better for you to stay here for a while. Just to avoid any political misunderstandings."

After all, if Bianca left Azmeria right now, people might suspect that she had also been kidnapped—or worse, that she was somehow involved in Averon’s disappearance.

But it seemed like Bianca had no intention of thinking about that.

"Really?" she said, letting out a small scoff as she rolled her eyes. "I’ve been trapped in this golden cage for so long and now you’re still asking me to wait?"

Her lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. "I won’t even be able to take the throne if my husband dies."

In the Kingdom of Azmeria, the throne could only be passed to a man. A Queen Consort could rule for a short time, but only if she had a son who would inherit the throne later.

But in Bianca’s case, she didn’t have any children at all, so she couldn’t take over the throne even if Averon died.

Instead, the kingdom would search for someone else with royal blood. It didn’t matter how distant the connection was, as long as he was a man, he could become king.

In the meantime, the Kingdom of Azmeria would likely be ruled by the royal advisor and several other high-ranking officials.

And Bianca... she would still be nothing more than a guest in her own cage. Worse than that, there was a possibility that she could be exiled. That was why she wanted to leave Azmeria as soon as possible.

"It won’t be for long," Edmund said. "As long as your husband hasn’t been found, no one will dare to assume that he’s dead. Because of that, you’re still safe in this palace. Besides... this place needs to be cleaned up."

Since Edmund planned to bring this matter to court, everyone in the palace who was involved would be arrested and questioned. Fortunately, Bianca had never shown herself in front of the prisoners, so she could avoid any punishment.

Primrose didn’t want to admit it, but no matter how bitter Bianca was, compared to the criminals she had seen, Bianca was nothing at all.

Her standards had become very low after all.

"How can I be sure of that?" Bianca asked. "After this, you’ll return to the Kingdom of Noctvaris to prepare everything. While you’re gone... I’ll be all alone here."

Primrose said, "I can lend you two or three soldiers from Noctvaris. They will be our eyes and ears, and they can also make sure that nothing bad happens to you. Trust me, Bianca, I never break my promises."

She paused for a moment before adding, "But if you still don’t feel safe staying here—or at your family’s home—I can ask my father to let you stay at one of our properties."

Bianca looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright. I’ll take your offer."

[The investigation won’t be done in just a day or two,] she thought. [It’s better to leave this suffocating place... even if I have to stay at Rosie’s place.]

Primrose let out a sigh. Even though she felt reluctant to keep interacting with Bianca, she had already promised to ensure her safety, so she couldn’t back down.

"I will let my father know," Primrose said.