The two black horses galloped swiftly across the rugged forest floor, digging deep into the earth. The dense winter mountain grew increasingly thick and steep, but the horses showed no signs of slowing down.

A flock of birds took flight at the loud noise.

“Hold on.”

The leading rider, Kaiden, suddenly reined in his horse. Heath, following closely behind, hurriedly came to a stop as well.

Something was off. What had been a gentle hill now appeared to be a sheer ravine.

Heath briefly looked puzzled but soon recognized the situation after seeing Kaiden’s expression.

“Has it changed again?”

The ground, recently disturbed, revealed patches of wet soil.

“When was the last time you reported on this?”

“It was around autumn, just before Aurelia left for the capital.”

Kaiden recalled Heath’s report from that time. But now, things were different.

“Changed again?”

“Yeah. Back then, there was a hill running from the northeast to the southwest.”

“And now… it’s running from north to south?”

“It’s turned into a ravine.”

“Looks like that ‘white bird’ you mentioned is involved too.”

“There were rumors that the seal lasts for a hundred years…”

Kaiden spoke in a serious tone.

“Seems like it’s not just a rumor.”

The monsters had begun to move on their own. Whether this was good news for the Kark tribe or whether it would spell disaster for everyone, no one knew for certain due to the lost magical records.

“We should hurry.”

“We’ve been riding for half a day already.”

Heath sighed quietly. Even he was feeling fatigued. Despite the winter chill, his sky-colored hair was damp with sweat.

“Let’s take a short break. I’m not getting any younger.”

Kaiden, too, placed his hand on his waist and took a moment to catch his breath.

“Alright.”

The sound of frost-covered leaves crunching echoed as they crumbled underfoot.

Heath, now casually perched on a tree stump, brushed back his sweat-drenched silver-gray hair. The midday sun shone down on his pale face.

“By the way, why didn’t you tell her where we’re headed?”

“Should I have told her we’re going to see R.D. right now?”

Kaiden coughed dryly as he looked at Heath, who shrugged.

“Jody was someone Rohana cared about. If I told her we were going to meet R.D., Jody’s superior, who Rohana blames…”

Kaiden caught the piece of jerky Heath tossed to him and continued.

“She’d quietly wait at the castle.”

Heath’s lips curled slightly. He remembered when she had ridden alone to where Brandt was during the Aurelia kidnapping incident.

Kaiden had a good eye for people.

“Still, I doubt she’ll be happy that we kept it from her.”

There were people who couldn’t sit still and always had to take action.

Among the people Heath knew, Kaiden was the worst when it came to that. But Rohana Hanover wasn’t much different in the eyes of the older man.

“Shall we head out?”

“We won’t make it today anyway.”

Heath rose slowly, protesting, but Kaiden had already mounted his horse. Seeing him don his gloves and prepare to leave, Heath let out a quiet sigh.

***

“My lady, you called for me?”

Rohana, waiting by the window, turned around and gestured for her to sit.

Marie, who had been the closest to Jody, looked anxious, fearing that the investigation might reach her as well.

“Marie, I need to ask you something.”

Marie gave a slight nod. Her usual confident demeanor was gone, replaced by a nervousness likely instilled by Jody’s recent troubles.

“Do you know anything about Jody? Anything at all?”

Marie frowned slightly, as if trying to recall, her eyes looking upward.

“Well… Jody was always cheerful and talkative, but she never really talked about herself…”

As Rohana felt a tinge of disappointment, Marie suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Now that I think about it, she used to take a lot of food out every month. Ah… we weren’t supposed to do that, but when we’d dispose of leftovers from the kitchen…”

“That’s fine. Do you know where she took it? Or who she gave it to?”

“St. Helena Orphanage. She said she was from there, I believe.”

Rohana’s eyes gleamed.

“Thank you.”

Just then, there was a loud crashing sound.

“You can’t do that!”

A woman’s sharp voice echoed from downstairs.

“This is private property of the Nopthal family!”

Rohana quickly stood up, her head aching and her heart pounding as she wondered what was happening now. She rushed down the long spiral staircase, arriving at the library where a commotion was unfolding between Silvius, the son of Boudier, and Sirirul.

“What’s going on here?”

Both men paused when the duchess intervened. Silvius’s green eyes briefly glanced over Rohana.

“Duchess.”

“Your Grace, they are taking things out without permission!”

Sirirul’s flushed face showed how shocked he was.

“What is the meaning of this?” Rohana’s voice was low and authoritative.

“I gave the order.”

At the sound of another voice, everyone turned to look.

“Your Majesty.”

Silvius exaggeratedly bowed and handed something over to the emperor, who inspected the contents and smiled.

“Rohana, come with me.”

At the emperor’s slight gesture, all eyes turned to Rohana.

“Marie, please take care of Sirirul. It’s alright.”

After giving Sirirul a nod, Rohana entered the ‘annex’—now far more opulent than it had been—where the emperor was staying.

“Sit down.”

At Bardi’s command, Rohana reluctantly took a seat, contemplating whether she could ignore this and leave it aside.

“What’s going on? What was that commotion in the library earlier? A grown man overpowering a young person with brute force.”

Bardi responded to Rohana’s sharp tone with a twisted smile.

“Are you alright?”

Rohana stared silently at the emperor.

“You always cared about that girl.”

As Rohana blinked slowly, Bardi placed an object from a certain envelope onto the table.

A yellow envelope lay on the wide table, making a heavy thud when placed down.

“What is this?”

“Open it.”

Bardi leaned on his chin as he spoke.

The object pulled from the envelope was an unfamiliar metal fragment—heavy and blunt steel.

“Do you recognize it?”

In an instant, Rohana felt a sharp headache accompanied by a loud noise.

“A chandelier fragment.”

Bardi’s voice echoed the words in Rohana’s mind.

“There are traces of magical energy. The shape, clearly forced into a bend, is obvious to anyone.”

Bardi spoke, his reddish-brown hair gleaming.

“It seems Kaiden had hidden it.”

Rohana raised her head.

“Doesn’t it seem strange?”

As Bardi perched on the edge of the desk and leaned closer, his blue eyes glinted with an indescribable fervor.

“Everything fits too perfectly.”

Rohana touched the bent fragment.

“The chandelier fell precisely when Kaiden arrived at Nopthal, and with extraordinary skill, he saved you.”

Rohana furrowed her brow.

“Deliberately putting you in danger to save you… and then turning attention away to seize the evidence.”

There was a subtle anger in Bardi’s voice.

“Meticulous. Very much like Kaiden.”

“If it’s traces of magical energy… can you identify who did it?”

Bardi was pleased to see Rohana’s first sign of interest. His gaze from above was intense.

“No, it’s been thoroughly erased, so identifying who did it is difficult.”

“So you can’t specify who the perpetrator is.”

Bardi’s eyebrows twitched at Rohana’s words.

“Rohana.”

His voice lowered. A hand came up and lightly brushed against her hair.

“Why are you speaking with such hurt in your voice?”

Bardi looked at her with a hint of disbelief.

“Are you shaking?”

As he whispered in her ear, Rohana’s body tensed up.

“Wasn’t it just a contract?”

For a moment, Rohana’s breath stopped. The Emperor erased his serious expression and quickly smiled.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s an obvious fact to anyone.”

The emperor continued to look down at Rohana from his perch on the desk. His blue eyes slowly recalled the memory.

“You didn’t know you were engaged to Kaiden until the succession ceremony. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Rohana stared intently at the Emperor.

“Surprised, are you? Well, I did play the fool to avoid becoming like my father. I couldn’t grow up freely in my own little kingdom like Kaiden.”

Rohana was somewhat surprised that the Emperor mentioned her father.

Bardi’s father had been frail from a young age and had ultimately died without receiving the title of crown prince. Although his failure to become the crown prince was due to his cruelty and malice—something known only to those familiar with the original story—Rohana knew this well.

“Rohana.”

Bardi’s voice settled calmly. A crooked smile lingered on his lips.

“Are you really alright?”

In the winter sunlight, his reddish-brown hair glistened, and his blue eyes contrasted with a strange sense of unease.

“With the situation being so uncertain and frightening, I understand why you might be wavering with Kaiden.”

Rohana’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“But they are different from us.”

Bardi’s voice, though still smooth and gentle, was reminiscent of the way he had spoken during their engagement.

“No matter how much you resent me, it doesn’t matter. I acknowledge that I am a sinner in your eyes. Feel free to hate me, to despise me.”

His whisper carried a sense of desperation.

“I need you to be safe.”

Rohana found herself laughing slightly out of disbelief. Perhaps if she had been more honest, she might have laughed heartily.

“Thank you for your concern, but I am safe. My husband is doing his best for the Empire.”

Rohana stood up from her seat.

“I would prefer if you didn’t worry about the feelings between my husband and me.”

At that moment, a fierce anger flashed in Bardi’s eyes. Rohana’s arm was painfully seized in an instant. Despite his facade of composure, the emperor’s hand was tense.

“Leave me here and go to Aurelia……”

Although it hurt, she made no attempt to show it. She had no intention of doing so.

“Otherwise, you might look like a child coveting a cousin’s toy.”