My words must have been quite brazen, as her sharply raised eyes examined me once before looking away.

“Alright. Since you put it that way, I won’t ask further about your identity. More importantly, why did you come looking for me?”

“As I said, I wanted to have a chat.”

“Well, I doubt you came here to have idle chatter with someone like me.”

I was hoping she might be a bit more favorable towards me due to our previous connection, but it seems that was just my own delusion.

Convincing Laura, who was wary of me, didn’t seem easy.

But what could I do? Laura was the only one who could help me.

Faced with this obstacle from the start, I had no choice but to reveal the reason I came to her.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“What favor could you possibly have for a mere maid like me?”

“Please help me bring the Saintess’s meal to her.”

“…Pardon?”

She seemed a bit flustered by this unexpected request.

“I want to see the Saintess, but I heard she’s confined to her room. I was told that only the maid delivering meals three times a day can enter that room. That’s why I need your help.”

“No.”

Despite the possibility of a more tactful refusal, her rejection was quite direct.

“Won’t you reconsider, even if I beg?”

“I can’t grant such a request when I don’t even know who you are. No matter what debt I might owe you, what’s not possible is not possible.”

Right. I expected this response. It didn’t seem likely that she, with her weighty responsibility as head maid, would easily grant my request.

I wanted to avoid this development if possible, but…

“Then how about this? What if it’s not a request, but a threat?”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m just curious. What would happen if His Majesty found out that the child named Lyn is alive?”

I muttered as if talking to myself, with a smile on my lips.

Laura immediately grasped my intention, and her face reddened as if she might explode in anger at any moment.

“…Miss Canaria, you…”

“Canaria might not exist in this world, but you and Lyn do, don’t you?”

“……”

However, getting angry wouldn’t change anything. I was the one holding the trump card. Laura seemed to realize this too, as she bit back her anger and kept her mouth shut.

Perhaps because I had resorted to threats, I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

“I don’t intend to trouble you. I just want to see the Saintess.”

I tried to persuade her once more in a gentle voice. After conflicting for a while, Laura took a deep breath.

“I don’t know how I got entangled with someone like you.”

I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Maybe it’s because nothing good comes from being involved with me.

“Fine. I’ll grant your request.”

She nodded as if she had no choice.

“Please keep this a secret. If there’s ever an investigation, you can say I blackmailed you.”

“Of course I will.”

Laura’s response was cold and firm. Almost reassuringly so.

The most important thing in helping Artia escape was not getting caught by Klaus.

Even if this incident were to be discovered, all responsibility had to be passed on to the fictional character named Canaria.

Since there was no evidence that Canaria was Ravenne, even if Klaus had suspicions, it would be difficult for him to arrest me without concrete proof.

Even he wouldn’t dare kill an innocent noble without evidence.

***

With Laura’s help, I was set to bring Artia’s dinner that evening.

When I arrived at the room, the guards standing watch let me in without much suspicion.

“I’ve brought your meal.”

I pushed the tray in with the food, but Artia, lying on the bed, showed no intention of getting up.

“Saintess?”

“……”

“You’re awake, aren’t you?”

“Just take it away.”

After calling out several times, she responded to me as if annoyed. Her voice was weak, like someone who hadn’t eaten for days.

“Is the food not to your liking?”

“Are you ignoring my words now? I told you to take it away.”

“You’ll collapse at this rate. Why don’t you eat a little?”

She raised herself and turned towards me. Her golden eyes glared at me reproachfully.

“Why? Did His Majesty order you to force-feed me to keep me alive?”

Her thorny tone reminded me of the latter part of the original story. The image of someone who had given up on everything after their hope was crushed.

Although her appearance was pitiful, now was not the time for such sentiments.

I moved closer and whispered softly.

“If you don’t want to have dinner, how about a conversation with me?”

“…Conversation?”

Artia looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“It’s me. Ravenne Rischefeld.”

“…What?”

She looked at me with wide eyes.

“This appearance is with the help of some magic.”

“Why are you…”

“Why am I here, you ask? Of course, I came to help you, Saintess.”

She looked at me as if she couldn’t understand.

“I can’t believe it. That you’re Miss Rischefeld.”

“Then shall we talk about something only the two of us know? Like the holy relic I gave you last time.”

At my words, Artia’s expression changed once again. Then, composing herself, she got up from the bed and sat at the table.

“What do you want to talk about, going to such lengths?”

“I have a proposal for you.”

“What kind…?”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Artia looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask what I was talking about.

Worried that the knights waiting outside might hear, I lowered my voice even more.

“I’m talking about escaping from the Imperial Palace.”

Her golden eyes wavered with emotion.

“How, no, why you?”

In her confusion, her unorganized thoughts came out as words.

Realizing this herself, she calmed her surprised heart for a moment and asked me calmly.

“Why are you making such a proposal to me?”

“Because I want to help you, Saintess.”

“You want to help me, is it because of your fiancé?”

She, who had been wary of me, didn’t readily believe my words this time either. Of course, I didn’t expect her to believe me outright.

“If I have to say, yes. The Duke needs you, Saintess. And you don’t want to be confined here either, right? I think our interests align here.”

Was my explanation sufficient? Her golden eyes settled calmly as she examined me.

Artia, who seemed to want to say something, closed her mouth. After pondering for a moment, she shook her head.

“I appreciate the offer, but as you can see, my room is guarded by soldiers 24 hours a day. How can we get past them?”

“Are you accepting my proposal?”

“Before that, I’d like to hear your plan, Miss.”

To persuade her, I quickly explained the strategy I had devised while touring the Imperial Palace today.

“Soon, due to the harvest festival preparations, only minimal guards will remain in the Imperial Palace. With the lack of manpower, if an unexpected incident occurs, attention will be focused there. During that time, Saintess, you should change into this and slip out of the room.”

Saying this, I took out the clothes I had hidden in the tray and handed them to her.

“A maid’s uniform…?”

“Yes. It will be dawn and there will be few people around, so if you disguise yourself as a maid, no one will recognize you. I’ll be waiting near the western castle wall.”

Artia, who had been quietly looking at the clothes handed to her, asked me in a trembling voice.

“How do you know such things?”

“Pardon?”

“That in a few days, the number of guards will decrease due to the harvest festival preparations. How…”

Is she still not trusting my words, or is she still wary of me?

Either way, in situations like this, it was better to bring in someone with more credibility than myself.

“I heard it from the Duke.”

“Then does the Duke know that you came here?”

She hit the nail on the head. I was thinking it might be helpful to lie and say he knew, but Artia was quicker.

“Judging by your expression, he doesn’t know. Well, if the Duke knew, he wouldn’t have sent you here alone.”

Fearing she might reject my proposal, I quickly tried to hold her back.

“You want to get out of here too, don’t you, Saintess? So please don’t refuse.”

Did my desperation get through to her? Artia, who had been looking at me silently, slowly nodded.

“Alright. I’ll follow your plan.”

***

Having achieved my goal, I visited Michael’s office.

Surprised by the sudden visitor, Michael hurriedly cleared away the scattered books to welcome me.

Unlike his neat appearance, his office was a bit of a mess. Clearing a few books didn’t make much of a difference.

“Wow, Sir Michael. You even have a private office?”

Despite the messiness, it was indeed quite a large room. I commented, impressed by his high position at such a young age, and Michael replied with a slightly proud expression.

“Believe it or not, I have the second-highest position after Lord Dimitri. Of course, you and the Duke probably don’t know that.”

There’s a barb in those words. He must have felt quite aggrieved by how often I’ve been bossing him around.

“How could that be? Of course I know.”

Feeling sorry for bothering him all day, I tried to flatter him, but he asked worriedly,

“More importantly, will you be alright?”

“Pardon? About what?”

“You need to go back now… I wonder if there’s been an uproar at the mansion…”

Michael’s face was full of concern as he said this. To be honest, I’m worried about that too. I haven’t come up with an excuse yet.

Just in case, I left a small note for Lily.

Saying that I was feeling down and didn’t want to meet anyone, so please don’t look for me. And that I’d be back by dinner.

“The fact that you haven’t been summoned might mean everything is still fine, don’t you think, Sir Michael?”

“…Maybe you’re right.”

He nodded, agreeing with my opinion.

Hoping that the mansion would be peaceful, Michael escorted me to the back garden of the mansion. To avoid being seen by people.

Although it was well past dinnertime, the mansion was quiet as if nothing had happened.

It seemed Lily had covered for me well.

With a lighter heart, I said goodbye to Michael and quietly entered through the back door.

Perhaps due to the chilly night air, the darkened mansion felt somewhat eerie.

Rubbing my arms against the goosebumps rising involuntarily, I opened the door to my room, and darkness greeted me.

“Did they forget to leave the lights on?”

It seemed Lily had forgotten. Muttering to myself, I pressed the switch of the lamp placed next to the door, and warm light spread throughout the room.

But the relief of returning safely was short-lived,

“You’re late.”

A chilling voice was heard from behind me.