“Sabine, what are you talking about?”

The Empress has disappeared?

I sat up with a bewildered expression.

Sabine lowered her voice considerably and said.

“Exactly what I said, Miss. They say the Empress has disappeared.”

My heart sank instantly.

“The Empress, I mean Her Majesty has awakened?”

My voice trembled even as I asked.

What will happen to me now?

I reflexively looked down at my hands, but there was nothing unusual about my body.

“I don’t know about that either.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I’m not sure if she regained consciousness or not, but it’s certain that Her Majesty is no longer in the Empress’s quarters.”

“Tell me in detail. Who did you hear this from?”

“There are attendants who regularly check on Her Majesty to prevent muscle atrophy and bedsores.”

“And?”

“But today, there are more guards than usual protecting Her Majesty’s bedroom, and they’re prohibiting all entry. Among themselves, they already know that the Empress has disappeared.”

“……”

“They seem to be trying to keep it quiet, but I think rumors will spread quickly.”

Disappeared?

Where on earth did my body go?

‘Did Leonora really wake up?’

If not, did someone kidnap my sleeping body?

But neither possibility made much sense.

The area where the Empress was sleeping was strictly guarded. It would be impossible to slip past all those guards and escape with just the body.

“What’s going on? Something… seems off.”

When I muttered in a low voice, Sabine came closer and whispered.

“What should we do now? To return, Her Majesty’s physical body…”

Sabine couldn’t finish her sentence.

“My lady, has something happened?”

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Soniel hesitantly entered the bedroom.

When I faced her, something suddenly occurred to me.

Could it be.

‘Is this Foil Viper’s doing?’

He had tried to take Sienna to his mansion.

Of course, that situation was different from now.

Could that man be plotting something?

Is he trying to use my body to do something?

But I soon shook my head.

Foil wouldn’t use such an obvious tactic.

If Sienna suddenly disappeared, Foil would be the first to draw suspicion or sympathy.

He wouldn’t overlook such a simple fact.

‘Then perhaps…’

Could it be something orchestrated by Millean and Ainberg? When I met them just earlier, they hadn’t mentioned anything unusual.

‘This seems much more likely than Foil. What are they thinking?’

Regardless, I could sense that a storm was about to break.

“My lady?”

While I was lost in thought, Soniel approached with an anxious face.

“Are you alright?”

Her eyes wanted to ask what was happening, but she circumvented it by asking if I was okay.

I hesitated for a moment.

I trusted her, but she was also someone close to Foil.

But the Empress had disappeared, and soon the tangled threads would unravel.

Eventually, Soniel would learn everything.

I didn’t want this kind girl to hear the truth from someone else’s lips.

Perhaps now was the right time to tell Soniel the truth.

“Soniel, I have something to tell you.”

Soniel carefully looked back at Sabine.

Sharp-witted Sabine seemed to know what I was about to say and quietly closed the door and went outside.

I slowly steadied my breath and began to speak.

“I hope you won’t be too shocked by what I’m about to tell you.”

❀❀❀

Thanks to this not being the first time I revealed my identity, I could speak to Soniel with relative ease.

The sudden body swap, living like this for a full year, and that I would eventually return to my own body though I didn’t know when.

It was a selfish wish to hope Soniel would accept it naturally.

But she accepted the situation much more calmly than I expected.

“I see. Really.”

Though her eyes were unsteady, not knowing where to look, Soniel spoke as calmly as possible.

“That must have been difficult for you.”

“I’m sorry. I know my words are hard to believe and that I must seem strange.”

“Not at all. I believe everything you say, my lady.”

“Soniel.”

Why are you so mature?

When I couldn’t continue speaking, Soniel instead firmly grasped both my hands.

“I can’t imagine living with such a big secret. I wouldn’t have lasted even a day.”

“I’m sorry anyway.”

“Please don’t say that. Sorry for what?”

Soniel waved her hand with a flustered expression.

I decided to get to the point with her.

“So Soniel, I think I need to go back to His Majesty now.”

“What? Now?”

Yes, now. I need to meet Ainberg before the palace becomes more chaotic.

He must already know about this. Perhaps he’s waiting for me to come.

Just as I was about to leave with these thoughts…

Eek!

Right at the door, I ran into my brother Allentain and Levi.

“Have you been well, Leonora?”

“Ah, hello.”

Why is Levi here again?

I tried to smile as naturally as possible, but I hope it didn’t look forced.

Meanwhile, Levi also gave me a very awkward smile.

“Len.”

It hasn’t even been a day since his proposal, surely he hasn’t come for an answer already?

‘Surely not.’

While I was looking back and forth between the two men, my brother Allentain spoke.

“Where are you going?”

If only my brother had been here alone, I could have boldly said I needed to see His Majesty.

But Levi standing right beside him with an uneasy smile bothered me.

“What brings you here, Brother?”

“Ah.”

Allentain glanced inside the open door and spoke.

“If you weren’t about to leave for something important, could we come in for a moment?”

It is important, but.

“Haha, of course. Please come in. Sir Merten too.”

I flung the door open and immediately called for Sabine.

“Sabine, please bring some tea.”

Seeing me come back inside, Sabine looked a bit surprised but soon answered politely.

“My lady, did you forget something… Eep!”

I desperately signaled with my eyes, mouthing that she shouldn’t say anything.

Sabine looked a bit flustered but quickly hid her expression.

“Yes, my lady.”

As she walked inside, I noticed Soniel standing like a statue in the corner.

“Soniel.”

When I called out, Soniel looked startled.

“Come over here.”

Soniel approached awkwardly, barely lifting her head.

Then her forehead turned bright red.

I had my suspicions before, but now I was certain.

It’s because of my brother Allentain.

Aww, how cute.

Hiding my smile, I glanced at my brother, but his face showed no awareness whatsoever.

‘He probably thinks she’s too young?’

Yes, she might be too young to catch his eye now.

Brother, you might deeply regret this in a few years.

‘Then as his sister, I should subtly help him.’

Just as I was snickering at that thought.

Allentain exchanged greetings with Soniel and suddenly furrowed his brow.

“You don’t look well. I think you have a fever.”

“What? N-no. I don’t.”

Soniel shook her head vigorously.

“You’re right, Soniel. Could you have caught a cold? I heard you can catch colds even when the weather is warm… someone told me that, I think.”

When I playfully added this, Soniel opened her eyes wide.

Hehe, how cute. There are times when you can get hot like this even without being sick or having a cold.

Soniel seemed to catch my meaning and covered her face with both hands.

I kept grinning at how adorable she was, then turned my head and accidentally made eye contact with Levi.

He spoke hastily with an uncharacteristically tense expression.

“Len, I’m sorry for coming back. Actually, I wasn’t going to come.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine.”

Is it my turn now?

My neck felt itchy for no reason, and I found it hard to breathe.

Levi must feel similar to me.

Allentain looked at us once and made a strange expression.

“What’s with you two?”

Then Levi and I answered simultaneously, causing our voices to overlap.

“Nothing.”

“No, nothing at all.”

My brother slowly closed and opened his eyes before speaking.

“Something is definitely going on, but I’ll pretend not to notice.”

Haha, my brother is truly a gentleman.

I deliberately smiled brightly and changed the subject.

“So why did you come here?”

“Lady Ruhiben said she hasn’t seen you lately and asked me to deliver this.”

Ah, Avery.

I haven’t had a chance to meet her recently, nor have I contacted her.

“Thank you. So you came to deliver a letter.”

Even though I had only said that much, Levi flinched again.

Noticing my expression wasn’t good, my brother shrugged once and stood up.

“Brother.”

I stood up as well and held onto him.

“I’m sorry, but may I ask for a favor?”

My brother answered with a gentle smile.

“I’d like to talk with Sir Merten alone.”

“Of course, I was about to leave anyway.”

I glanced toward where Soniel was standing without saying anything.

My brother twisted his neat eyebrows mischievously and looked back at me.

“You two, why don’t you go for a short walk?”