Almost Poisoned to Death by Tomato Sauce.

Aly didn’t say much to Furse, or rather, there wasn’t much she wanted to say to him.

He did indeed have the exact same face as the Red Crow she once knew, but upon closer inspection, the difference was obvious.

People often say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and that a person’s mindset can change their appearance.

Although Red Crow and Furse were theoretically the same person, perhaps because their experiences were different, their mental states had changed as well, and so Furse now looked much gentler.

When his face was expressionless, it was simply because the matter at hand didn’t stir much reaction in him, not the cold indifference of “this has nothing to do with me.”

“Are you happy, being the vice captain of the knight order?”

Aly asked this question as they were parting ways.

She had asked a similar question before, when she met Yvelia.

She wanted to know whether the Red Crow, who hadn’t lived very well under her command in the past, could enjoy his life in this new world.

From an assassin to a vice captain, from a ghost that could only exist in the shadows to someone who could stand openly in the sunlight.

“……”

Furse, caught off guard by the sudden question, lowered his gaze and glanced at Aly, who had already returned to her maid’s side.

“Is this some sort of royal career survey?”

“Haha.”

Some things had changed, but this wooden personality was still just as familiar.

“Even if it is, you can speak freely.”

“……”

“…Well…”

Furse muttered, lowering his eyes a bit further.

“I am very happy, and very honored, to be a member of the knight order.”

“That’s good.”

Aly nodded, bringing the conversation to a close, then turned and left.

Only after her figure was completely concealed beneath the parasol did Furse stop watching her departure.

There were still many doubts in his heart.

He realized he couldn’t see through the princess at all.

Every step she took was beyond expectation, and even her expressions and words were difficult to comprehend.

But… forget it.

He wasn’t the type to wildly speculate about his superior’s intentions.

As vice captain of the knight order, his duty was to obey commands.

As long as it didn’t cross moral boundaries, whatever the second princess wanted to do, he would simply follow orders.

Aly didn’t look back after saying goodbye.

She seemed to do everything with that same decisiveness.

“Your Highness, would you like to go somewhere else?”

The maid held the parasol and looked at Aly with concern.

Earlier, she and the two knights had indeed rested properly.

The knight order had arranged a lounge for them and even prepared tea and snacks.

After rushing around, sitting down to enjoy some food and a breeze was wonderful.

Still, they were a little worried about Aly’s condition, because in their eyes, Aly had never come to the knight order before.

This world’s Aly was indeed like that.

She rarely went out, let alone came to the knight order.

An unfamiliar place full of tall men—no wonder the maid was genuinely worried Aly might be frightened.

“Hmm… somewhere else…”

But judging from Aly’s expression, the second princess hadn’t been scared into silence.

She had even spoken a bit with the person in charge here, Furse, so they must truly have some sort of connection.

There was no need to be overly tense.

“There’s nowhere else for now.

I’m a bit tired after walking around the knight order today.

Let’s stroll back to the palace slowly.

I’d like to rest for a while.”

Although Aly’s main purpose today had been the knight order, once she arrived, there were no other places she wanted to visit.

And saying she was tired wasn’t an excuse—she really was tired.

She had already been out of breath just getting here.

After arriving, she barely rested before continuing at Furse’s pace.

Talking to the bandit afterward had actually been a rare moment of rest.

She had a chair, only needed to move her mouth, and didn’t need to think much, just follow the plan she had already laid out.

So strangely enough, interacting with that foul-mouthed man had counted as a break.

After all, she had seen plenty of villains, and she herself hadn’t been a good person in her previous life either.

So she wasn’t particularly affected.

If anything, she found it dull.

Because it was hard to say whether that bandit had killed more people than she had in her past life.

After all… she had been a villainous prince.

“If Your Highness can’t walk anymore, I’ll call a carriage.

Please wait here.”

Aly was still wearing high heels, making her already difficult mobility even worse.

After going back and forth, fatigue had set in, and every step felt painfully heavy.

She wasn’t someone who couldn’t endure hardship.

Forcing herself to walk back would have been possible.

She had endured far worse in her previous life.

But… since there was a shortcut, why torture herself.

It served no purpose other than pain.

She would rather die a gruesome death before Solor than silently endure suffering over something so meaningless.

Pain was something to endure only when there was a reward.

Enduring sore feet and aching legs meant nothing.

So Aly let the maid call over a carriage waiting for passengers and thoughtfully brought it right up to her.

Afterward, Aly and the maid boarded the carriage together.

The two knights walked alongside it.

Normally, unless a noble specifically instructed otherwise, such carriages wouldn’t move fast.

Just at a pace that accompanying knights could keep up with easily.

Aly wasn’t in a hurry.

The knight order wasn’t far from the palace.

She had been exhausted earlier only because she had taken a long detour.

If she had come straight here, it would have been a ten-minute walk at most.

Riding a carriage back would be even faster.

“Your Highness, would you like something to eat?

I was worried you might get hungry, so I brought some snacks.”

The maid sat opposite Aly, holding a small box filled with colorful pastries.

Seeing the delicious-looking treats, Aly instinctively realized she was indeed a bit hungry.

She was about to pick one as a snack when she suddenly felt the special pastry hidden in her sleeve.

It was the tomato-tomato molten pastry Furse had given her.

Judging by the checkered wrapping paper, it looked rather cute.

But when she opened it and revealed the red interior, Aly fell silent for a moment.

“Your Highness, what is that…?”

Seeing the second princess pull out something so strange from her sleeve, the maid froze.

Although servants shouldn’t question their masters too much… anyone would ask upon seeing this.

“This is a greeting gift from Furse, the vice captain of the knight order.

I heard it’s his sister’s favorite food, so he shared one with me.”

“It’s… food?”

If Furse heard that, he would probably be heartbroken.

The food he and his sister considered the most delicious looked completely inedible to others.

“Yes, it is… food.

It just looks a bit unusual.”

She pinched the wrapping paper, then gently pressed the pastry through it.

She could clearly feel the soft, flowing texture beneath her fingers.

It really was a molten dessert.

But… tomato… and tomato?

Was there anything else in it besides that?

It looked strange and didn’t seem edible.

But precisely because it looked strange, Aly grew increasingly curious about its taste.

They were almost at the palace.

Eating while walking after getting off the carriage wouldn’t be very proper.

So Aly steeled herself.

She took a deep breath.

Then she took a big bite of the pastry that even Furse would give a perfect score.

The carriage arrived at the palace gates.

Since it was an ordinary street carriage, it couldn’t enter the palace grounds.

The driver stopped at the gate and waited for them to disembark.

But before the driver could notify Aly and the maid that they had arrived, violent coughing erupted from inside the carriage.

“Cough… cough—cough—! Ghk…! Urgh…!”

Followed by a woman’s scream.

“Your Highness…! Your Highness?! Princess, what’s wrong?!”

Then the maid hurriedly jumped down from the carriage.

She ran toward the guards at the palace gate.

“You two! Please help!

Her Highness… she… she looks like she’s dying…!!!”