The servant, hearing only the conversation, had assumed that the woman sitting in front of the Empress was a lady of high standing. However, he was quite surprised to see a woman dressed as a maid. 

Delia glanced at the servant and spoke. 

“You admit to sending the gift, but you say the poison was unintentional. That you wanted to send Lady Rant a gift somehow and chose this method. That you didn’t know there was poison in the spices.”

Delia then turned her gaze to the Empress. 

“And Your Majesty will make sure this man is not wrongly accused. If the two of you conspired together, shouldn’t you both take responsibility?”

The Empress’s eyes widened. 

“What are you trying to do? How dare you, in front of me……!”

“Ha.”

The Empress, who had been speaking excitedly, unconsciously closed her mouth at Delia’s sigh. Because she felt a strange pressure from that sigh. 

Delia sighed and continued. 

“As a researcher, I will prove that the poison in the spices was a problem with the spices themselves.”

This was an apology and a warning to the Empress, as the author. 

That the Empress had poisoned Lady Rant with lapocia, that she was trying to frame someone else, was all because the author had made her that kind of character. 

So this time, she was going to help her. 

The Empress spoke in a slightly angry voice. 

“What are you thinking……?”

“I’m giving you a chance. I believe Your Majesty, in your wisdom, understands. You may leave now.”

Delia dismissed the servant. Even though they were of the same servant status, the servant felt an inexplicable sense of authority and obediently closed the door behind him. 

Delia spoke again. 

“You must be curious how I know Your Majesty’s full name.”

The Empress’s eyes wavered. Delia smiled faintly and spoke in a cautious voice. 

“I was…… born with a kind of prophetic ability. You could say I read the heavens.”

* * *

“Prophetic ability, my as$!”

Delia clutched her pounding heart and ran to the opposite corridor, as far away from the study as possible. 

“Read the heavens? How is that even possible! I thought I was going to suffocate!”

She had never tried to give someone a warning like that before. To think that the first person she ever tried to intimidate with a serious atmosphere was the Empress of the Empire!

‘Roena Jane Vanessa’.

There was no special meaning to the Empress’s real name. There wasn’t a special story behind it, nor was there a terribly important secret hidden within it. 

The reason why the Empress was so shocked was because Delia had mentioned her middle name, ‘Jane’.

In the original story, the only person who knew the Empress’s full name, ‘Roena Jane Vanessa’, was the Empress herself. 

The reason was simple. The author had named the Empress that, and then later forgot about it. That was all. 

‘I can say with certainty that the only people in this world who know the Empress’s middle name are the Empress and me.’

Delia picked up the cleaning tools she had thrown aside. 

And then she recalled the situation from a moment ago. 

The more she thought about it, the more reckless her plan seemed. 

First, she had given the Empress a dire warning based on her prophetic abilities. That if she continued to be blinded by jealousy and greed, she would lose everything in the end. That she should never even think about harming anyone. 

She didn’t forget to mention that ‘everything’ included the power, status, and even children she craved. 

The fact that she had mentioned the Empress’s full name, which no one else knew, must have added credibility to her words. 

In short, she had just pulled off a ‘I know everything you’ve done’. 

Lastly, in case the Empress was suspicious, she had vaguely added one more thing that would happen in the future. 

“His Majesty will soon bring up the matter of the Crown Prince’s enthronement. His health is deteriorating.”

The Empress’s expression had brightened considerably at her words. 

Delia let out a long sigh. 

It wasn’t easy pretending to be a serious and impressive person. 

Delia took out the small bottle she had taken from the Empress from her pocket. 

The poison that was in the spices. 

‘This should do the trick.’

With a heavy heart, Delia turned towards the auxiliary palace where Kaiel was waiting. As soon as she arrived, a maid came running up to her in a hurry. 

“Where have you been! Your clothes……”

The maid trailed off, staring at Delia’s attire in speechless astonishment. 

“This is bad. If the Grand Duke finds out you were dressed like this, we’re all dead!”

Delia glanced down at herself and laughed awkwardly. 

“Sorry. But at least I didn’t get caught.”

The maid spoke urgently. 

“You should be thankful you didn’t get caught! The Grand Duke had the entire auxiliary palace, the main palace, and even the gardens searched from top to bottom looking for you. He was like a madman! You should have seen the look on his face!”

“What?”

Come to think of it, Niol had used her as an excuse to send Kaiel back to the auxiliary palace. He must have searched every nook and cranny after finding her gone. 

‘He would never have imagined that I would be at the Empress’s Palace.’

The maid urged her. 

“Hurry up and change your clothes, and go see the Grand Duke!”

Dragged back to her room by the maid, Delia slowly changed her clothes. She deliberately took her time, and by the time she was done, it was already evening. 

Looking out the window at the darkened sky, Delia let out a sigh and quietly started to move. 

Delia, with a look on her face and a demeanor as if she had lost a screw somewhere, paced back and forth around the room, then gathered the glass bottles containing tea leaves in one place with a determined look. 

And then, she began to pick out the tea leaves very, very slowly. 

‘Kaiel doesn’t like sweet things. He doesn’t like strong scents either. Moderately fragrant and moderately bitter…….’

Delia, who was brewing tea to his taste out of habit, soon realized something and poured in several of the strongest tea leaves. 

‘This way, it won’t be noticeable. The stronger the scent, the more it will be masked by the strong scent.’

A moment later, she took the bottle out of her pocket and poured its contents into the tea. 

The deep crimson tea turned even darker. 

While staring blankly at the tea, who knows how much time passed. There was a knock on the door. 

“Miss! Miss, are you still in there? The Grand Duke is looking for you!”

“…….”

But Delia didn’t answer. 

“Be quiet……”

She muttered under her breath, her voice barely audible. 

The maid’s voice continued from outside the door. 

“Miss? Are you in there? I’m coming in!”

Just as the maid was about to fling the door open, Delia suddenly shouted. 

“Please, just–!”

The maid, startled, stopped opening the door and asked hesitantly. 

“Yes……? What is it? T-The Grand Duke is looking for you, Miss.”

Delia stared into space and kept repeating that she didn’t want to, then she squeezed her eyes shut. Finally, she grabbed her head and began to shake it. 

“Just do it, do it!”

The maid rushed in. 

“Miss! Are you alright?”

The maid cautiously approached and checked on her, but Delia was in no state to care. It was because of the notification sound that had been ringing in her ears since the tea was finished. 

Ding. 

[The system has detected an opportunity.]

[Eliminate the villain ‘Kaiel Ceder’ and fulfill the author’s responsibility.]

The system was bothering her ears more persistently and noisily than before. She could faintly hear the maid’s voice between the notification sounds. 

“Miss……? Oh dear, should I tell him you can’t go?”

Delia took a small breath and exhaled. After a long while, Delia finally seemed to have calmed down and slowly opened her mouth. 

“……I’m alright. You said the Grand Duke is looking for me?”

She slowly rose from her seat. Picking up the teacup next to her, she carefully made her way to the door. 

“I’ll go.”

The maid’s face immediately filled with worry. 

Delia’s expression seemed far too serious for someone who was simply going to see the Grand Duke. 

Clutching the teacup tightly, Delia took slow, deliberate steps. 

With each step she took, the surface of the crimson liquid in the teacup swayed violently. It was as if it contained something that shouldn’t be there, thrashing about wildly. 

Delia desperately wished that the tea would overflow as she walked, leaving not a single drop behind. 

But cruelly, the tea in the cup remained the same until she stood in front of Kaiel’s study. 

Knock, knock.

The sound of the servant knocking on the door echoed loudly in her head. 

“Miss Delia is here.”

Creak.

The door to the study opened. Had there ever been a time when she wished this door wouldn’t open as much as she did today?

A deep, low voice called to her, unchanging as ever.

“Delia.”

Delia felt as if a hammer was pounding on her heart the whole time she was entering his office.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her vision was swimming and she felt nauseous.

The teacup in her hand rattled as the porcelain surfaces collided.

Delia fixed her gaze on the tea, unable to bear to look at Kaiel.

Whether he drank this or not, it would be the worst for her. Meanwhile, Kaiel’s eyes, which had been unstable all day, gradually regained their composure only after capturing her image with his own eyes.

He rose from his seat and strode towards her. 

“Delia. Where have you been?”

Delia avoided his gaze obliquely and did not answer.

Standing still, holding the teacup in her hand.

That was the best she could do now.