The viscount looked at Tanya. She was lucky. But if he didnt punish her right away, he had nowhere to vent his anger.

I dont have time, Ill whip you three times first.

Tanya trembled. The viscounts whip was made of rough leather, enough to tear flesh upon impact.

Now! First hit!

The whip whizzed through the air, and Tanya closed her eyes. However, no matter how long she waited, she didnt hear nor feel anything.

Wh-who are you?

A tall man who came from nowhere stood between the two, holding the whip wrapped around the viscounts wrists. The hood he wore obscured his face, but Tanya noticed his lush red lips snicker.

The viscount flushed. Let go of me! This bastardagh! he shouted.

When Uriel twisted the whip, he fell and hit his face on the floor right away.

Hey there! Lock up this intruder and that kid right now

Dont lock it.

As the bewildered viscount tried to handle the situation in a hurry, an unfamiliar voice of a woman was heard from the door.

As he slowly raised his head, his eyes met with Princess Apollonia. There was no need to ask. When he was younger, he remembered seeing her from a distance, and now he could recognize her at once.

Your Highness.

He gulped. He couldnt believe that he showed such an unsightly scene. It was abrupt, but the viscount was able to recover quickly.

Your Highness! Youre here! You dont know how worried I am. With a modest expression, he quickly rose and ran to the doorway to greet Apollonia. Did you safely escape from the kidnappers hideout? Im here now, so you dont have to worry. I will send you to the capital soon. First, lets get rid of that suspicious intruder

Running toward Apollonia with tears in his eyes, he saw the smile in her face. However, the smile was directed at someone behind him.

Im sorry for being late, Tanya.

Pardon? What are you saying

Greetings, Viscount. These are the guards I hired temporarily. I think youve already met one of them.

He finally saw about twenty people standing behind her. All their beautiful faces were set in deadly glares. Bellas. They were Bellas.

He turned his back to see the man behind the robe. He was cheekily nodding his head at the princess in impudent greeting. No way, was he the princesss man?

Then please excuse us for coming so suddenly.

Whether she intended to listen to him or not, the blonde girl tapped his shoulder and sat in the main seat of the wide reception room. It was the first time in decades that someone else sat on it, but the girl ordered him around as if their hierarchy was obvious.

Sit down for now, Viscount. We have so much to talk about.

Your Highness, the situation is a little bit

Dont hold that thing in front of me, she interrupted. This time, it sounded like a low and stern warning.

Viscount Diaman hurriedly lowered the whip that he held. This is for teaching my subordinate

At his answer, the woman raised one eyebrow. Then she spoke again in the same tone as before. So you use that to teach your subordinate

Th-thats right.

If thats the case, bring it to me.

Pardon?

I have to teach you as my subordinate.

He looked at Apollonia with a dazed expression, but she just held out her hand with an expression of an imposing ruler. The viscount handed the whip to her as if he was possessed.

***

The Viscounts reception room was spacious enough to be used to hold small banquets. In fact, he sometimes used this room to hold meetings when acquaintances from the capital visited.

Therefore, he had no trouble in accommodating the Princess, as well as the 20 other people who came with her, plus the butler and servants. But the Princess seemed to have a different idea.

I have something to tell you, can you dismiss the rest of the people except the butler?

The Princess spoke in a relaxed manner, but he glanced around nervously.

Her arrival to inspect the land definitely wasnt in his favor. Was she trying to hold him accountable to his duty to manage the territory? Why was she interested in this wasteland?

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