Larinne’s eyes narrowed.

‘Isn’t that an accessory from the Kingdom of Lirmen?’

It was a familiar item. Duke Libehi Winterd had once worn something very similar.

Suddenly, she was reminded of him, whom she had left behind in the main palace.

She recalled how he had looked straight through her and forced out his words.

“You seem to have many things that are precious to you.”

Though tinged with resentment, his words had carried a trace of hurt.

‘Why did he say that?’

Even in this situation, he lingered in her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Lady Dius’s target shifted elsewhere.

To Chardi, who was stretching out her hand desperately, trying to reach her younger sibling.

“Go on. Try to make excuses with that insolent mouth of yours. Or did the young lady you serve order you to steal it?”

The sharp voice brought Larinne back to her senses.

She pushed the man who had been occupying her thoughts aside and focused on the present.

She was the only person who could protect Chardi at that moment.

“No, that’s not true, Lady Larinne. I really didn’t steal it.”

Chardi looked toward Larinne in desperation, shaking her head frantically.

She shook it so hard that the strained veins on her neck made her look pitiful.

“I know. Chardi, you’re not that kind of person.”

Taking Chardi’s trembling hand, Larinne gently pulled her behind her back.

“There must have been some misunderstanding.”

“Trying to gloss things over is not a very wise choice.”

“I have no intention of making excuses.”

‘Oh really?’

The corners of Lady Dius’s lips curved upward.

‘Watching you struggle like this is almost amusing.’

Her eyes flushed red with exhilaration.

“With the evidence displayed so plainly, it seems you have no excuse to make.”

It was the perfect opportunity to bring Larinne—who had long been a thorn in her side—to her knees.

An unrivaled chance to force the emperor’s fiancée to kneel, beg, and crawl.

‘Go on, Larinne Ontuevi. Bow that stiff neck of yours already.’

But contrary to Lady Dius’s expectations, the voice that followed was the calmest Larinne had used yet.

“Jumping to conclusions may prove poisonous, my lady.”

“…Are you trying to instruct me right now?”

A spark flared within her venomous gaze.

“Instruct you? How could I possibly do such a thing, my lady? I merely worry that you might end up bearing an undeserved stain on your name.”

“Bringing up irrelevant matters will not erase the crime committed by that lowborn creature, Lady Larinne.”

“If you insist, then we shall have no choice but to place my maid before the Scales of Judgment.”

Upon hearing Larinne’s words, Lady Dius fell silent.

The Scales of Judgement were one of the gods’ sacred relics and were used as a tribunal in the Eastern Empire to determine guilt.

When a sinner stood before the tribunal, a heart representing their conscience would be placed on the scales.

If the person lied, the heart would become heavier than a feather.

“Why the silence, my lady?”

“….”

Lady Dius could not answer easily.

The Scales of Judgment could never be deceived.

‘Yet the fact that she speaks of the Scales so confidently…’

It meant she was absolutely certain of her maid’s innocence.

“Now that I think about it, I am rather concerned. If this child’s innocence were to be proven…”

Larinne paused deliberately.

“…I fear that, over a simple mistake, you might end up finding yourself rather embarrassed.”

Though it sounded like concern for Lady Dius, it was unmistakably a warning.

“I will personally locate the owner of this valuable item and return it to them. So I would appreciate it if we could let this matter rest.”

“……”

Larinne had silenced Lady Dius completely with impeccable aristocratic composure.

After all, which noble would willingly make themselves the subject of ridicule?

For someone who despised such disgrace more than death, staining the honor of a high noble was an exceedingly effective threat.

Of course, the person before her was no fragile young lady who would burst into tears and run away over something so trivial.

“And what if that lowly servant dares to steal even something belonging to the imperial family?”

“You worry too much.”

“One never knows. How can we presume to understand the way those lowborn creatures think? Ah, though perhaps you might sympathize with them, my lady… After all, everything is difficult the first time.”

Lady Dius twisted her lips and finally spat out the venom she had been holding back.

“And the food for this banquet was overseen by the House of Dius.”

In other words, it was her family’s responsibility and she intended to deal with it herself.

Even though she was now the emperor’s fiancée, this was a reminder that such a status was meaningless in the face of the powerful House of Dius.

This time, Larinne had been hit hard.

‘If only I had power.’

Moments like this always made Larinne wish she could reclaim the authority she had lost.

‘If that had been the case, my comrades might not have become stars so soon.’

As Larinne sank into grief, Lady Dius’s gaze drifted across the calm surface of the lake.

Then, as if a thought had occurred to her, she smiled faintly.

“First, it would be best to wash him. If we rinse away that filthy blood, perhaps his sins will be cleansed as well.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The attendants hauled Kalon to his feet. It seemed they intended to throw him into the lake.

“No! Please don’t!”

Chardi clung desperately to the attendants, trying to stop them, but she was soon flung aside as if she were nothing more than luggage.

Bruises formed on her knees as she staggered back to her feet, yet she threw herself at them again and again.

She was trying to protect her only brother.

“Then hang me up and whip me instead! My brother can’t swim!”

“My child. Your kind is not in a position to beg for understanding. You simply accept the circumstances given to you.”

Lady Dius whispered gracefully.

To think that such a pleasant voice could whisper death.

It felt like the whisper of a devil.

Larinne already knew how this situation would unfold.

‘If I turn away here, he might truly die.’

Just as birds cannot breathe underwater, the red-haired Aydin people, who had the gift of air, could not swim.

Chardi’s brother was in danger.

The cries of the countless ghosts Larinne had failed to protect echoed in her ears like hallucinations.

“Lady Larinne!”

“Please save him, Lady Larinne!”

The guilt seeping from the shadow of death pressed heavily on her.

Larinne could not turn away from this.

Losing someone precious—one person was already more than enough.

“Throw him in.”

Lady Dius gave her command.

At that very moment, Larinne moved.

There was no time to judge whether the action was right or wrong, or whether it would result in gain or loss.

Only one thought occupied her mind.

‘I have to save him.’

By the time she came to her senses, Larinne had already leapt into the artificial lake.

“Larinne!”

She thought she could hear a familiar voice.

It sounded agitated and urgently desperate.

Even now, she was hallucinating about that man.

This self-mocking thought was quickly drowned out by the freezing lake water.

From this point on, she had to stay calm.

‘Because I’m the only one chosen by water who can save Kalon right now.’

The term ‘chosen by the water’ was meant quite literally.

Even underwater, Larinne moved more freely than most.

She could hold her breath for longer and was less affected by water pressure.

In other words, when it came to rescuing someone who was drowning, she was unbeatable.

‘Where is Kalon?’

The lake was deeper than she had expected.

Larinne knew she had to retrieve Kalon quickly before the Aydin boy sank any deeper.

‘There.’

She spotted him not far away.

But the bubbles rising from him were not normal.

‘Did he lose consciousness?’

If he remained in that position for too long, it would be dangerous.

Water would fill his lungs and eventually kill him.

Her heart began to race.

Now was the moment to harness the power of water.

A heat surged from the mark engraved on her collarbone.

It was strangely ironic to feel warmth in the midst of freezing water, but her body soon began to feel lighter.

Light flowed from the mark, shimmering through the currents.

Larinne focused on the whispers of the water.

Cutting through the current, she swam towards Kalon, who was slowly sinking to the bottom.

In an instant, she grabbed his limp waist and pulled him to the surface.

“Lady Larinne!”

The moment she emerged from the water, she faced Chardi, who was crying.

Larinne passed the unconscious, slack-bodied Kalon to her.

“Chardi, take your brother.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Lady Larinne. I will never forget this kindness.”

Chardi wiped away her tears and repeatedly bowed her head.

None of Lady Dius’s maids or the escort knights stepped forward to help her.

Larinne climbed out of the water unaided.

Perhaps because her clothes were soaked, she felt as though a heavy weight was pressing down on her shoulders.

In fact, her condition had worsened.

She had a fever, as though the symptoms of her companion-dream illness had flared up again. Her head felt unbearably heavy, as though a stone had been placed on it.

“To think she would jump in just to save a lowborn creature.”

“Unimaginable, truly. Though I suppose it suits Lady Larinne.”

“How disgraceful. And dressed like that, dripping wet—honestly.”

She could feel the disdain from Lady Dius’s maids.

As always, there was nothing but hostility from those around her.

Forcing her weakening body to remain upright, Larinne spoke to them.

“I will not forget today’s debt.”

As if to say, What could you possibly do about it?

That was the expression on their faces.

The maids stood arrogantly, emboldened by their mistress’s authority.

The entire situation had arisen because of Seidon’s indifference.

Her fiancé had pushed Larinne to the forefront to take the blame in his place.

As a result, these petty humiliations had become part of her daily life.

Swallowing the bitterness rising in her throat, Larinne approached Chardi.

“L-Lady Larinne… what should we do? He isn’t breathing.”

Chardi clutched at the rigid Kalon, her face pale and her hands trembling violently.

That trembling passed directly into Larinne.

From her bitten lips and clenched, white-knuckled fists, Larinne could read her heart.

Larinne knew that feeling well: The helplessness of watching someone precious die before your eyes while being unable to do anything about it.

It was all the more reason for her to want to save Kalon.

“Chardi, calm down first. Lay him down.”

They carefully laid Kalon on the dry ground, and Larinne pressed her ear against his chest.

“Good heavens, she’s truly going to do something so indecorous!”

A shocked voice rang out, but Larinne ignored it and focused on the sound of his heart.

His heartbeat had stopped.

Immediately, she clasped her hands together and pressed down on Kalon’s chest.

“Kalon, Kalon, please. No. Kalon.”

One, two, three, four!

One, two, three, four! Again!

How many times had she repeated it?

As time passed, the area marked by the water stain burned with both heat and pain. Yet Larinne did not stop the chest compressions.

She continued until she could no longer tell whether the moisture on her forehead was water or sweat.

At last, Kalon’s heart began to beat again — faintly, but unmistakably.

“It worked. His heart is beating again.”

Now the important thing was his breathing.

‘To make him expel the water he swallowed…’

Larinne lowered her head closer to Kalon.

There was not the slightest hesitation in her actions.

“Lady Larinne! You’ve truly lost your mind!”

Who would have thought that she would kiss a lowly servant?

There was a horrified scream, as if they had witnessed something disgusting.

But Larinne did not stop.

To her, the distinction between noble and lowborn was meaningless.

She simply wanted to save the person lying before her.

Artificial respiration — it was hardly a difficult decision.

If only a single kiss could breathe life back into him!

Just as the distance between their lips was about to close—

— a growing murmur rose around them, and a large shadow fell over her head.

Tap.

Something was dropped above her and, at the same moment, she was overwhelmed by a familiar scent.

His scent.

“Stand up.”

From within the darkened view beneath the covering, a low voice rang out.

It sounded angry.