CH 65.1

Iveca really wanted to meet Reina, but she did not see her until the season changed as Reina received her three-month suspension and probation.

“It could be a problem when you want to become a director,” she said.

Reina shrugged her shoulder as it was insignificant to her, as Iveca worried that she might be a major stumbling block to her promotion.

“But I have no intention of becoming Sid’s supervisor either. So it’s okay. After all, the head of our generation will be Kayden Ruth. He also has been suspended for three months, but his other achievements are overwhelming. So, I don’t mind it at all.”

Reina smiled wildly and she made it clear that she didn’t want Iveca to feel uncomfortable with this topic any longer. Even if she turned back the time, she would make the same choice.

Their conversation, which had just entered a new phase, continued without the end clear. It was full of things Iveca wanted to ask, words she wanted to hear, and things she wanted to say.

“I have a question,” Iveca began, tilting her head, “Why did you have to change your appearance then?”

During her first raid, she wondered why Reina protected her with her pink hair, her first ever-seen face, and not her real face.

Reina sighed and clasped her chin. “Even if we had no intention of harming you, it was quite risky for us to attack the Queen. If we make a mistake, the entire Bureau of Investigation could be blown away.”

“Why?” Iveca asked.

Reina replied, “The Bureau of Investigation has attacked the Queen… what would everyone think? The Grand Constitution was created because of the Queen, and the Bureau of Investigation was angry, or something like that. All the law enforcement officers said the same thing.”

She continued slowly, “So it was a very top-secret matter that really shouldn’t be found out. But the more witnesses, the better. Everyone changed their appearance before the words came out. Just in case someone remembers, “Oh, that employee at that time!”, so that we didn’t get caught.”

“The Bureau of Investigation… is very thorough.”

“That’s how desperate it was for us,” Raina grinned over coffee, “Protecting the Queen.”

She used to bring coffee directly from the Bureau of Investigation, saying the tea was not getting better. When Iveca first tasted coffee, she shook her head, saying that it was not her cup of tea. But in the end, she waited for the coffee that Reina brought regularly.

“Were you close to me?” Iveca asked.

“Yes.” Reina replied coolly. “We used to talk about this and that. In the midst of my busty schedule, we drank often.”

Iveca never thought that she would have a same-s*x friend. She didn’t get along well with her sister, and there wasn’t a single aristocrat who get along with her. Even now, her relationship with other ladies was awkward, and she found it difficult to decide on what to converse about with them.

“What… did we talk about?” she inquired further.

“Oh, we talked about everything, but we talked about men a lot too.”

“Were we talking about men? Were we talking about His Majesty?”

Looking at Iveca’s round eyes and red cheeks, Reina shrugged as if she were whining.

“Once Queen ascended to the throne, do you know how much wary I am of His Majesty? I was so upset….”

“…What?”

“Comforting you by saying that you are good, talking to you, becoming close to you, and cheering you on… Those things were all natural to us, but you sounded so grateful when he said he would do that for you.”

“Oh.”

“I was very worried. I’m afraid His Majesty was coaxing you for the sake of using you. I feel sorry for the Queen who was so innocently moved by that. But now that I think about it. I might have been jealous.”

Reina continued, “It feels like the time we used to hang out with, and the meaning that it was special to each other, was taken away from us. That’s how it felt.”

***

“Oh, it was the same for me,” Daniel said indifferently. “I was so jealous of your colleagues at the Bureau of Investigation.”

Iveca held Daniel’s hand and smiled without answering. No matter how busy he was, Daniel still came to meet her. After leaving the Judicial Affair Bureau, His Majesty was always waiting for her in the same spot without a moment’s delay.

After being kicked out for having a huge conflict with Iveca, Anriq offered to quit his guard duty and go down to the province. But instead of accepting his resignation, Daniel gave him a long vacation. Daniel didn’t want to let him meet Iveca at all, but it was in consideration that quitting impulsively could be a great regret in his life, as it was a place that he was dreaming about for a long time.

Even if Anriq already disappeared, Daniel desperately wanted her to focus on himself and not look elsewhere when walking with her.

“So, you don’t have to worry about anything.”