Inside the palace, everyone was in panic. All the ministers gathered in the court to discuss whether the Gladiolus Empire was no longer safe.
The ministers, generals, Anemone, and Laurel were all present. The ministers sitting in the front raised their concerns anxiously.
To control the chaos, Queen Violas wanted to decide responsibility as soon as possible, so she called the general and asked about the progress of the investigation.
The general greeted her respectfully. "Queen Violas, there were four people involved."
"Who were they?" the queen asked immediately.
"Your Majesty, after the investigation, we discovered that two guards entered the palace with the head guard of the South Gladiolus Palace. However, when they left, there were four of them."
"Say clearly what you are trying to say," the queen commanded.
"The fourth person attempted to kill Anemone, so I believe the South Palace may be involved in this matter."
Laurel panicked after hearing the accusation. He could not believe Amaryllis would do something like this, and he did not want him to be punished unfairly. Before the queen could announce her decision, Laurel stepped forward and knelt before her, His actions surprised Anemone.
"Queen, please show mercy. The South would never do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding."
The queen stared at him. "Aren't you the child Anemone raised? Why are you so worried about the South?"
"I do not want innocent people to be punished for someone else's actions."
"Fine," the queen replied coldly. "Find those four people, but do not kill them."
Laurel was shocked by the decision. He wanted to say more, but the queen had already stood up to leave.
Anemone walked closer to Laurel. "What was that? Why are you so worried about the South?"
Laurel watched the general follow the queen to her chamber.
The queen sat on her chair while the general stood in front of her.
"When you find them, kill all of them except the one who tried to assassinate Anemone."
The general looked at her curiously. "But earlier, you said you wanted them alive."
"Those words were only to control the chaos," the queen replied calmly. "They may become a danger in the future."
"But why do you want to spare the one who tried to assassinate Anemone?" the general asked.
"Because I want to know who is truly behind all of this," the queen answered.
After the general left, the queen noticed the teacup she had given to Syring. It was still full, and beside it lay a dead fly on the table.
Meanwhile, the three of them had been walking for almost half an hour without rest, yet they still had not seen another human. They were exhausted and desperate for water, but the water they had filled earlier was already gone. Everywhere they looked, there were strange plants they had never seen before in the Gladiolus Empire. The place looked as though someone had once lived there, but it had later been destroyed.
"What is this place?" Magnolia asked tiredly.
"Have you ever seen these plants before?" Syring asked.
Amaryllis carefully observed the plants. "Yes. You're holding two of them in your hands."
"I mean inside the Gladiolus Empire," Syring clarified.
"No," Amaryllis replied.
Magnolia could no longer stay silent. "Why did you run from the palace?"
Amaryllis looked at him. "I should be the one asking why you two ran."
Magnolia glanced at Syring. "Actually, when I was in the queen's chamber, someone tried to kill me, so I had to run."
Syring thought it was not a good idea to tell them the truth yet—not until she found proof.
"Who was it? And what about the queen?" Amaryllis asked.
"I couldn't see his face, but the queen wasn't in the chamber at the time," Syring answered.
"But why did you run from there?" Magnolia asked suspiciously.
"Let's leave this place first," Amaryllis replied before walking ahead without waiting for their response.
Magnolia quickly caught up with him. "No, you have to tell us. We are wanted now. Palace guards could be anywhere trying to kill us."
Amaryllis ignored him.
"And who was the person you ran away with?" Magnolia continued.
While they were talking, they suddenly heard noises nearby, as if someone was fighting. They hurried toward the sound and were shocked to see Marantaceae fighting with a man whose clothing looked completely different from theirs, as if he did not belong to the empire.
Magnolia wanted to join the fight, but Amaryllis stopped him.
"Let's just sit and enjoy the show. You don't have to fight everywhere."
The three of them sat down and watched the battle. Since Amaryllis had already seen Marantaceae fight in the palace, he was confident Marantaceae would win. He even started cheering for him, which distracted Marantaceae.
"Stop doing that!" Marantaceae shouted angrily.
After hearing this, Magnolia looked at Amaryllis in disbelief, wondering how a commoner could casually order around a prince.
"Who is he?" Magnolia asked.
"My friend," Amaryllis replied casually.
"A friend?" Magnolia repeated suspiciously.
Eventually, the man from the jungle lost the fight. He stepped closer to Marantaceae and gestured to show that he accepted his defeat. He then invited him over, but after noticing the others, he asked Marantaceae who they were.
Ignoring Magnolia's question, Amaryllis walked over to Marantaceae and greeted the jungle man.
"We're best friends," Amaryllis said confidently.
The jungle man looked at Marantaceae for confirmation, but Marantaceae only gave Amaryllis a side glance because Amaryllis had casually placed a hand on his shoulder while speaking.
Marantaceae did not trust Amaryllis, but because Amaryllis had helped him before and the jungle man seemed honest, he decided to stay silent instead of exposing Amaryllis or lying for him.
The jungle man assumed they really were friends since Amaryllis had been cheering for Marantaceae during the fight.
The jungle man led all of them to his home. Inside the ruins of a small palace stood a small house where they all sat together.
"What is this place?" Magnolia asked again.
Amaryllis looked at the jungle man. "What is your name?"
"My name is Arum," the man replied. "And this place belongs to the Ulmaria tribe."
"Doesn't this land belong to Gladiolus?" Syring interrupted.
Arum looked at her coldly. "This land was illegally captured by Gladiolus. That is why I hate them. If any of them stand before me, I will kill them."
The three of them immediately exchanged nervous glances.
Marantaceae noticed Amaryllis's uneasy expression as he sat beside him and asked Arum, "Where are the other members of your tribe?"
Amaryllis quietly continued eating fruit as if he were focused only on the food.
After a moment of silence, Arum answered, "They were all killed by Gladiolus. The few who survived scattered to different places."