The one who opened the bedroom door and entered was none other than Ainberg.

“Your Majesty.”

I called out to him reflexively, but I wondered if I was seeing things.

This was his first time visiting me, and it was quite late.

As Ainberg fully entered, someone closed the bedroom door from outside.

Click.

Was it Sabine, or perhaps Oz?

But I didn’t have time to dwell on such thoughts.

Just as I came to my senses at the sound of the door and looked up at Ainberg again,

“It seems I’ve disturbed your peace.”

Ainberg’s elegant and low voice echoed in the bedroom.

It was a voice familiar enough to recognize from a distance, but this time it felt somewhat unfamiliar.

Yes, the reason my heart was pounding must be because this was different from usual.

It couldn’t be for any other reason.

I pressed my right hand firmly against my chest once before bowing respectfully toward Ainberg.

“Your Majesty, what brings you here at this late hour?”

Ainberg gently lifted one corner of his mouth and spoke.

“Are you asking why I came?”

When I just smiled awkwardly, Ainberg spoke again.

“I was curious why you’ve been so quiet.”

Is he asking why I hadn’t shown my face even once?

Who was the busy one since this morning?

At his unexpected words, I answered a beat late.

“I heard you had an external schedule today. Didn’t you visit Pinch National University?”

“That’s right.”

He answered languidly and then continued.

“I thought you would come looking for me.”

At his next words, I pouted my lower lip slightly.

“I apologize for not meeting Your Majesty’s expectations.”

“It’s fine. Thanks to that, I had an excuse to come find you.”

Ainberg took one step closer. I hesitated slightly but didn’t step back.

I wanted to hear why he had come to find me personally.

Of course, I had some idea after organizing my thoughts.

The real reason that had kept me curious all along.

“Did you come to prepare me for something?”

When I asked in a lower voice than before, Ainberg smiled gently.

“Prepare?”

“I thought you might have come to explain that.”

Ainberg spoke without taking his eyes off me.

“Looking at you, I don’t think an explanation is necessary. You seem to have already figured everything out.”

“Was it Your Majesty’s doing?”

He answered by tilting his head.

“Is it a trap?”

When I asked again, Ainberg smiled pleasantly for the first time.

“That’s right, I set a trap to catch a cunning rat.”

Why does his face look so pleased when he talks about setting a trap?

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were so cold that I unconsciously swallowed.

“Do you also know what I’m going to do next?”

I shrugged once.

“You’ll use the Empress’s disappearance as an excuse to corner Lord Viper.”

Just before taking Soniel as his adopted daughter, Foil had said he would take the unconscious Sienna away.

Back then, I was so lost I couldn’t see a way forward.

Foil probably never anticipated that his actions meant to pressure the Emperor would come back to bite him.

“Given what Lord Viper has said before, people will suspect that he acted on his own or that he’s plotting something.”

“Yes.”

“But Lord Viper won’t sit still either.”

Foil would likely turn the arrow toward the Emperor.

He would feel wronged and angry that public opinion was turning against him.

Instead, he would claim that the Emperor orchestrated this to cast aside his daughter and bring in a new Empress.

Thinking this was his last chance, he would fight with all his might.

“And then?”

“You’ll use that as a pretext. Or under the guise of clearing Lord Viper’s name, Your Majesty will send soldiers to the Viper household.”

Recalling the interior of the Viper residence where my portrait had hung, I continued calmly.

“You plan to find evidence there that he was plotting treason.”

“Excellent.”

Ainberg smiled softly, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

“But that man is as cunning as a snake. He might not have left any evidence in his mansion.”

“Then do you plan to fabricate evidence?”

When I spoke, Ainberg smiled, revealing his white, even teeth.

Seeing him smile broadly for the first time, I was momentarily dazed. But I quickly regained my composure and closed my mouth.

“Did I seem that despicable to you?”

“At least High Priest Hartmann seems like he would do that.”

Actually, he seems capable of doing even worse things.

I composed my expression and changed the subject.

“Anyway, you won’t be able to do anything about the private army. I’ve confirmed its exact size and clear evidence.”

While saying this, I decided to bring up Soniel a bit later.

Foil seemed like he would do anything to escape his crisis.

He might try to use her as a shield.

I couldn’t let that happen.

“And Your Majesty, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

I clasped my hands once and then released them as I addressed Ainberg.

“I know treason is a serious crime and unforgivable.”

“Speak freely.”

“…But there’s something I’m concerned about.”

I calmly talked about Soniel.

How she had helped me all this time, and how without her, I wouldn’t have known about the existence and size of the private army.

“I understand what you’re trying to say.”

But it didn’t seem to move Ainberg much.

“However, this isn’t something I can decide alone.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Regrettably, since that child has become a daughter of the Viper family, she cannot be completely unrelated to the crimes the Duke has committed.”

Ainberg spoke in a monotone voice.

I hadn’t expected him to readily show favor, but wasn’t this too harsh?

Soniel receiving punishment? That’s absurd. I tried to steady my trembling hands.

I spoke with a gentle smile to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too serious.

“But if Soniel cannot avoid punishment because she’s a daughter of the Viper family.”

Then the same logic should apply to Sienna.

“Wouldn’t the same apply to me? I also have Viper family blood flowing in me.”

Ainberg’s eyebrows twitched.

“You are clearly different.”

“We are different, yes. If we’re being precise, I’m his biological child while Soniel is merely an adopted daughter. If we had to choose the closer one, it would be me, right? And the Viper family brought in a child without a single drop of shared blood. For very obvious and frivolous reasons.”

My breathing was a bit labored from speaking rapidly, but I didn’t stop.

“So which side is more disrespectful?”

“Your words and actions right now seem quite disrespectful.”

Ainberg approached me so closely that I could feel his breath.

This time, I neither hesitated nor averted my eyes.

If I backed down now, I could maintain an image of being obedient and gentle, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Protect her, Your Majesty.”

“……”

“Just as you’ve kept me alive. Your Majesty is certainly capable of doing so.”

Ainberg looked down at me with an expressionless face for a while.

But soon he relaxed one eye slightly and curled up the corner of his mouth.

“I thought you were fragile.”

“When I have something I want to protect, I develop fighting spirit I didn’t know I had.”

“Something you want to protect.”

As I said that, I suddenly found myself checking Ainberg’s reaction.

Had he thought something similar? He smiled slightly and spoke.

“I understand that feeling well.”

He exhaled briefly and then said to me.

“I’ll look for a way.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

By the way, if Duke Viper’s conspiracy is revealed and he is dealt with, what will happen to me?

“Your Majesty, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

Yes, I understood the plan going forward.

“Then where is my real body?”

When everything returns to normal, I’ll go back to being Sienna.

Where did the missing Sienna go?

But to my question, Ainberg gave another enigmatic answer.

“You already know.”

No, how would I know that?

“…What do you mean I already know?”

His words gave me an eerie feeling, and I quickly looked around.

Surely it’s not in my room right now.

Ainberg burst into laughter, which seemed out of character, and then spoke again.

“A safe and beautiful place.”

“So where exactly—”

“A place you know.”