I was walking along a dark, narrow path.

A road with no visible end, surrounded by unfamiliar and desolate energy, yet I felt no fear.

Where is this place?

Normally, I would have stopped walking out of anxiety.

For some reason today, I only harbored mild curiosity and didn’t hesitate to move forward.

“…Is no one here?”

Right after that, I spotted a faint glow of light in the distance.

As I narrowed my eyes to focus on the far-off point, someone’s silhouette gradually appeared.

An unfamiliar land and an unfamiliar figure—a situation that should have frightened me—yet I felt strangely at ease.

I wanted to call out to the person in the distance, even though I didn’t know who they were.

Moreover, it seemed like they already knew me.

When the blurry shadow approached and grew completely clear, I was too bewildered to speak.

What I faced was pale white skin, long curly blonde hair, and emerald eyes.

“It’s me.”

Leonora Chadmon—my current appearance.

Wondering if I had returned to being Sienna, I quickly touched my face and raised my hands to check.

That wasn’t the case.

I was still Leonora Chadmon.

Then who was I looking at?

I wanted to ask who she was, but the face was too familiar!

“You.”

She opened her mouth in a gentle voice, as if understanding my confusion.

“Someone made a dangerous deal to protect you.”

“A dangerous deal?”

“There was a small mistake in the middle, though.”

“What does that mean? Protect me? And what mistake?”

At the mention of someone protecting me, I immediately thought of Duke Rivensio Chadmon.

“Was it Father?”

He was the type of person who would risk any danger for his daughter.

But instead of answering my question, she responded with a curious question of her own.

“Who are you?”

This time, I couldn’t answer.

Though I was living as Leonora now, this wasn’t my original form.

I was Sienna Viper, the Empress of Ostrin.

When I hesitated and fumbled for words, she smiled gently.

“You’ll know soon. So don’t try too hard.”

She left only those brief words before gradually becoming blurry.

“Wait, will I return to being Sienna again?”

“……”

“Are you perhaps inside my body right now?”

I wanted to know.

The person who could solve this mystery was right in front of me.

“Why did this happen?”

But she had already disappeared from sight.

No, wait!

I started running toward where she had vanished.

“Leonora!”

But the once-peaceful path grew narrower and narrower until it transformed into something like a tiny dot.

When I screamed in surprise, floating in emptiness after losing my way—

From somewhere, a baritone voice calling my name reached me.

“Len, Leonora!”

“……”

“Leonora, oh my goodness.”

When I opened my eyes, the first person I saw was Father.

The path and the dot-like road were no longer visible.

I was slowly breathing, returning to reality.

“Leonora, are you alright?”

I nodded and tried to get up. Though I felt dazed, my body wasn’t too heavy or painful to prevent me from rising.

“Leonora. Stay lying down. I’ll call a doctor.”

“I’m fine. But I—”

At that point, I remembered what had happened the night before.

Wearing Sabine’s clothes and going to the Empress’s quarters. Hearing a strange voice there, getting caught by the guards, and losing consciousness just as I was about to run away.

“What happened?”

When I lifted the blanket, I was wearing a soft chemise instead of Sabine’s clothes.

“Father, I—”

“Leonora, it’s alright. Nothing will happen.”

Father murmured as if speaking to himself.

Going to the Empress’s quarters wasn’t a dream.

I vividly remembered putting on the clothes and carrying the tray with the tea set.

I covered my face with both hands and looked up at Father.

“Father, I had a strange dream.”

“Leonora, are you… mistaking what happened yesterday for a dream?”

Father’s voice was gentle, but his expression was somehow different from usual.

“Mistaking? No, that’s not—”

“Len, I don’t want you to misunderstand what I’m saying.”

He began speaking in a more serious tone than before.

“Why did you go to the Empress’s chambers last night?”

If I had planned such a dangerous action, I should have thought about the aftermath in advance. Instead of the arrogance of thinking I wouldn’t get caught.

“…That…”

“Even wearing a maid’s clothes and disguising yourself. What would have happened if the guards had mistaken you for a real maid?”

“……”

“It could have been disastrous. It was a very dangerous situation.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I really don’t understand. What reason could you possibly have had for going to the Empress’s quarters like that? Tell me.”

“Father.”

“I need to know so I can protect you. So, Leonora, please tell me what you were thinking.”

Despite Father’s continued reprimands, I remained silent.

To be honest, I couldn’t say a word because I was ashamed of my impulsive action.

“…I’m sorry, Father.”

Confusion and regret tangled together, and I felt like I might cry. As I bit my lip tightly to hold back tears, Father slowly stroked my head.

“Leonora.”

“Yes.”

“As I said before, no matter what you think or do, I will support and stand by you.”

Father’s voice turned gentle again.

The mistake was mine, but somehow Father seemed to be suffering more, which weighed heavily on my heart.

“Father.”

“If there’s anything making you uncomfortable or troubled, please tell me.”

At that moment, I thought it was time to talk about my dream.

‘Someone made a dangerous deal to protect you.’

The Leonora in my dream told me that time would solve everything if I waited, but I couldn’t just act like I hadn’t heard anything.

Someone who made a dangerous deal to protect me.

First, I need to know who that person is.

“Father, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Did you make some kind of deal for my safety?”

I asked quite solemnly, but Father and Sabine standing behind him both looked at me with puzzled eyes.

“…What?”

“I heard there was a small mistake.”

“……”

“I don’t know what kind of deal it was, but I was told it was done to protect me.”

“Wait, Leonora.”

Father continued, furrowing his brow.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. What deal?”

“I heard you made a dangerous deal to protect me.”

“Me?”

But what followed was Father’s bewildered expression.

Then perhaps it wasn’t Leonora but someone connected to me?

“…I’m sorry. The dream I just had was so vivid.”

I pretended to still be dazed and covered my face.

Father then took my hand and said:

“I haven’t done so yet, but if a situation arises where I need to do such a thing for you, I won’t hesitate.”

“……”

“I would risk any danger for you.”

“Father.”

“So, Len, I wish you wouldn’t hide anything from me.”

At that moment, I briefly considered confessing everything to Father.

But I couldn’t.

Compared to Foil Viper, Father now seemed like a sincere person who would believe me, but I couldn’t involve him.

I fell into Father’s embrace.

“I’m sorry.”

For last night, for now, and for everything to come.

Father slowly stroked my back. As his warmth calmed my heart, he spoke again.

“Leonora, I think you need to prepare yourself.”

“Prepare myself?”

I asked reflexively, but somehow I felt I knew what Father was about to say.

It must be because news of my secret trip to the Empress’s bedroom and subsequent collapse had spread throughout the palace.

“Father, where is His Majesty now?”

Father silently shook his head.

“It’s alright, everything will be alright.”

But despite Father’s reassurance, the very thing we feared began happening that same afternoon.