A Willing Pledge to the Villain

And when this woman touched it, it disappeared.

Evolaine first supported the drooping woman and moved her to the bench.

The woman was in an exhausted state. She seemed to struggle even to breathe, like she had no strength to move a finger.

“Do you know me?”

“Very well. Very well indeed…”

Was it an illusion that she seemed to be longing for something?

The woman’s eyes looking at Evolaine became moist.

“Why… are you crying?”

“Just… just because I’m happy…”

“Please don’t cry, here’s a handkerchief…”

When the woman shed tears, Evolaine hurriedly handed her a handkerchief.

The woman clutched the tear-stained handkerchief in her hand, like it was some kind of treasure.

“But why are you in the garden? This is Her Highness the Princess’s garden.”

“Because I saw you.”

“…Pardon?”

You came because you saw me?

Seeing Evolaine’s flustered expression, the woman smiled faintly.

“I came because I saw you. Because I wanted to meet you.”

Enough to break taboos, I wanted to see you that much.

“Your condition isn’t good, so you should go home. Where do you live?”

“You’ll take me there?”

“…I’m not heartless enough to abandon a sick person.”

“Thank you, truly.”

Strange woman. She focused on every word Evolaine said and looked at her with sparkling eyes.

‘Even if I don’t know about the first and second lives, I haven’t lost any memories in this life. When exactly did we meet?’

To show this kind of reaction, we must have been quite close…

“I’ll guide you. It’s close from here.”

“Please lead the way.”

When Evolaine stood up, the woman also tried to rise from the bench but sat back down, seemingly dizzy.

“Urgh…”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m, fine… Kugh-!”

She held her head, then this time covered her mouth. Was her stomach upset?

The woman quickly brought up the handkerchief Evolaine had given her earlier and only calmed down after stopping her rough coughing.

“Blood…?”

The handkerchief was stained with the blood she’d coughed up.

Just coughing up blood looked bad enough, but black blood? Was she suffering from a serious illness?

“Do you have a chronic condition?”

“Mm, something like that.”

The woman smiled awkwardly.

It wasn’t something to laugh about, but seeing her laugh meant she wanted to move past it.

Evolaine carefully examined the woman’s appearance.

‘She’s in sleepwear, but it’s high-quality fabric.’

And if her home was close, it must be within the imperial palace at most.

But she’d never heard of any sick person among the royalty.

Crown Prince Astrian and the Princess she’d met at the banquet both looked healthy.

Who exactly is this person?

“You don’t seem able to walk, so I’ll carry you on my back.”

“No, I can walk. Does it make sense for a young you to carry an adult like me!”

“You talk too much for a patient. Unless you want to be found as a corpse after sleeping outside, get on.”

At her firm attitude, the woman couldn’t refuse further.

Moreover, though still young, Evolaine was slightly taller than her, so she had no strong grounds to insist.

Eventually, she was carried on Evolaine’s back and guided the way.

“Turn left here… and my home appears.”

Perhaps embarrassed to be carried by a much younger child, the woman hung her head low.

Her long hair scattered over Evolaine’s clothes.

She was light. Without exaggeration, she seemed to weigh less than half of a normal adult woman.

‘Can a person be this thin?’

Even when she’d starved in her previous life, she didn’t think she’d been this bad.

“Do you live alone?”

“Now, yes. I used to live with my family.”

“Where is your family?”

The woman paused for a long time before answering the question.

“…They died. Long ago.”

Was it an illusion that anger tinged her voice?

Evolaine felt unnecessarily sorry for touching on her painful memories.

“But they still live in my heart. Even as time passes, even after I die.”

Always.

“…”

Sadness was buried in the woman’s words about family she still couldn’t forget.

Perhaps she too was mistaken because she couldn’t forget them.

She might have brainwashed herself into thinking they’d met, even though they never had.

Lost in thought, Evolaine turned left as instructed earlier, and a small detached palace appeared.

The peculiarity was that despite being a building on imperial palace grounds, it looked like an abandoned structure.

Blackened earth and bare branches created an ominous atmosphere.

Caw- Caw-

As Evolaine and the woman approached the palace, crows circled overhead.

Somehow, she didn’t feel good about this.

* * *

Creak-

The old door was stiff from not being repaired for a long time.

When she pushed with force, the door opened with noise.

What greeted the two upon entering was a dust storm.

Dust from who-knows-where rushed toward the entrance as well as the two people, making Evolaine cough repeatedly.

Cough cough-!

“What, dust!”

“I can’t manage it alone, so it’s not organized. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Dust wasn’t good for patients. Anyone exposed to this environment would worsen.

“Where is your room?”

“On the second floor. Right in front of the stairs.”

“Let’s go to your room first.”

Climbing the second-floor stairs, she saw a door painted with red pigment.

It was the woman’s room.

Creak-

Her door also opened stiffly with noise.

“…”

The interior of the room was bizarre.

The horned sheep she’d seen on the woman’s neck earlier was taxidermied, and all the furniture was black.

The bed’s blanket, pillow, sheets—all black. Wallpaper black. Books on the bookshelf black.

The scenery seemed to warn that light had no place here.

Evolaine carefully laid the woman on the bed.

Fortunately, the room where she lived didn’t have much dust, suggesting she cleaned it.

After laying her on the bed and covering her with a blanket, the woman groaned and relaxed her body.

Then a fragrance wafted from her.

‘Grass?’

It was a scent you’d smell from plants. Precisely, the feeling you’d get in a forest on a rainy day.

‘What? There was no scent earlier.’

It suddenly hit her nose. Was it an illusion?

The woman lay on the bed with her eyes closed. She seemed to have fallen asleep like fainting as soon as she lay down. Since she’d been unwell from earlier, they could probably talk after she woke up.

Evolaine carefully brought her face close to smell the fragrance.

‘It’s not an illusion.’

It smelled like grass. A damp yet refreshing smell.

“…”

“That woman smelled like herbs. A very refreshing and cool scent—the more you smelled it, the better you felt. And,”

Why was she remembering what Elisa had said now?

“The Gypsies I met on Avilliaka Island also gave off that smell. Every single one of them, without exception.”

“And you also have that smell, Dame. That refreshing, cool scent.”

Who exactly are you?

* * *

Late at night. Haina entered the secret space of the Rose Palace.

Clack clack-

The neat sound of shoes gave the only resonance to the empty space.

Like the ticking of a clock heard at dawn.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

“You’ve come, Haina. I’ve been waiting.”

The Empress sitting on the throne crossed her legs as she spoke.

Her gaze was fixed on her long nails, but all her senses were focused on Haina.

“I’ll report as I mentioned.”

“Begin.”

“First, the Madam still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

“Still? It’s been ten days.”

“It seems detoxification is progressing slowly due to her normally weak stamina. They plan to call a priest again if she doesn’t improve after waiting a few more days.”

“I’ll send one from my side. Make sure to contact them in advance.”

“Understood.”

Tap- Tap-

The Empress’s finger tapped the chair’s armrest regularly.

It was a habit that emerged when she concentrated on thinking.

‘I deliberately chose a weak poison, so why is she still collapsed?’

She knew better than anyone that the Marchioness had weak stamina.

That’s why she’d considered various variables like her frail constitution and body, and fed her poison after thorough calculation.

‘Was the calculation wrong? Or…’

Come to think of it, Ashiel had reported that Verit seemed to have changed recently.

At tea time too, she had a more mature atmosphere than before.

‘Did Verit do something? Was it just a coincidence?’

It was too early to conclude, but the possibility wasn’t zero.

“Second is about Lady Verit. She’s showing a different pattern from what we previously analyzed, so I think we should revise the plan.”

“In what way?”

“When the Marchioness collapsed and lost consciousness, she didn’t waver. At first I thought she was in shock, but as time passed, she gradually lost interest in the incident.”

Lost interest? When her own mother was on the verge of death?

“Haha… Ahahaha!”

“…Your Majesty?”

What a truly interesting child. Had she been hiding personality defects all this time?

‘She clearly has excellent control ability.’

One of humanity’s important emotional abilities was empathy.

When something difficult happened, mourning together; when something joyful happened, celebrating together.

When that was lacking, it was common to be treated strangely among humans.

‘She must know that. That’s why she hid it.’

Though incomprehensible, she’d learned and overcome it on her own.

Hiding her flaws and acting innocent on the surface.

“Audacious thing…”