Artia rushed to Evan. He was barely holding onto his breath, which seemed about to fade at any moment.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help, child.”

“Don’t say that. I’ll heal you now, Evan. So please…”

With trembling hands, she poured holy power into Evan, but his breath continued to fade.

‘Please, please, please…’

“Artia…”

Evan, seemingly sensing his end, looked at Artia and called her name with a fading voice.

“Please don’t say anything, Evan.”

But contrary to Artia’s desperate wish, his slowly moving lips finally stopped as he exhaled his last breath.

Tears flowed incessantly. This time, she had truly wanted to protect him, but once again, she lost a precious person right before her eyes.

The overwhelming sadness soon turned to anger, clouding her golden eyes.

“Did you come to take me away?”

“Well, I didn’t really intend to…”

Klaus’s expression was somehow different from their first meeting. He seemed a bit less interested.

“Well, there’s not much to take as spoils, so should I take you along? Your holy power seems quite useful.”

In the end, her value was nothing more than a substitute for spoils.

Why she had returned to the past no longer mattered.

It was a life she had already thrown away once. This time, she would plunge a sword into the heart of that demon-like human. Even if it meant selling her soul to that demon.

Artia, stained red with Evan’s blood, slowly stood up. Swallowing her anger that seemed about to burst into flames, she answered Klaus’s words.

“Alright. I’ll follow you.”

***

Recalling her meeting with Klaus, Artia stood in front of Ravenne who was being dragged away by soldiers.

She had always wondered. Why things kept deviating from the past she knew. Why Ravenne was always there. And finally, she found the answer.

The fact that the person she thought was Ravenne all this time wasn’t Ravenne at all.

She had wondered if she too had returned to the past with her memories intact, like herself, but she knew things that Ravenne could never have known.

For example, the fact that the palace would be vulnerable due to soldiers being away for harvest festival preparations.

That was something that happened after her execution.

Thanks to her, things had deviated greatly from the original plan, but there was one unchanging fact.

That Ilion was someone who could commit treason for his precious person. That precious person didn’t necessarily have to be her.

So she deceived Ravenne. Because Ilion wouldn’t let Ravenne die. She planned to use Ilion.

There was no need to feel unnecessary guilt. Hadn’t Ravenne tried to use her too?

From the moment she set foot in the palace following Klaus, her resolve hadn’t changed. For her goal, she could discard any personal feelings.

***

She followed the damp, humid path into the prison. Since it was her third time in prison, it felt oddly familiar, like coming home. How had she become accustomed to such a useless thing?

Passing through the narrow corridor and entering deeper, familiar faces recognized her and pressed their faces close to the bars.

“Ravenne?”

Those who were rubbing their eyes as if seeing an illusion soon realized I was the real Ravenne and glared at me with wide eyes.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Isn’t it the Duchess?”

“After throwing us in here, looks like you got caught too? Serves you right!”

Their mockery of my situation was almost cute. The words that followed were harsh criticisms too vulgar to even repeat. What a fierce welcome.

As an educated person, I couldn’t just let such a grand reception pass.

“My, it’s been a while, everyone. You must have missed me a lot. I didn’t expect such a warm welcome.”

I raised my chained hands and waved them to be more visible.

“I was worried about not seeing you all again. But here we are, sharing this final journey together.”

My words of gratitude were immediately met with even more intense reactions.

Anyone watching would think I was the one who put them here. I’m the innocent victim who fell for your scams!

If you’re going to scam, do it properly. You’re all so incompetent… Thanks to you, I’m here without even being able to break off my engagement.

Well, what’s the use of blaming them now? This bickering might be our last…

“Aren’t we all destined to become mere roses? So, let’s spend our remaining time getting along, shall we?”

Unfortunately, despite my kind greeting, the curses directed at me showed no signs of stopping. Just as my ears were starting to sting, the soldier walking ahead intervened.

“That’s enough, stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

It seems he couldn’t just stand by and watch the prison atmosphere heat up.

Well, I had nothing more to say anyway, so I shrugged and obediently followed him.

“I’m a criminal, so speak informally to me.”

“Th-that…”

Perhaps he felt uncomfortable suddenly speaking casually to someone who was a noble daughter just hours ago.

“I’m going to die in ten days anyway. What’s the point of being polite?”

Muttering in a half-resigned tone, I entered the prison obediently.

The floor crawling with insects, piles of straw, and the dark prison without a single window was a space completely cut off from the world.

They say if coincidences happen three times, it’s fate. At this point, maybe I should really accept it.

That this place is my destiny.

With nothing particular to do while sitting quietly, I vaguely recalled what Artia had said.

It feels like all the unsettling feelings I’ve been ignoring since first meeting her are finally falling into place.

Her unusually confident entrance at the banquet, her excessive wariness towards me.

Come to think of it, she said something incomprehensible when Ilion was injured at the academic festival too. Why did I miss it? Looking back, all of those things pointed to one fact.

Well, if there are people who get possessed, why not people who return from the future? A hollow laugh escaped me. Well, I’m going to die soon anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

“Miss Ravenne.”

While my head was aching with thoughts of Artia, someone quietly called out to me. It was a voice coming from across the wall.

“…Sergio?”

“You remember me?”

His voice sounded a bit excited as he asked.

“Well, you know…”

How could I forget you? I still kick my blanket at night regretting that time. If only I hadn’t met you, my lifespan would have increased by at least a month.

“But why are you in here?”

“Well, things happened.”

Giving a vague answer to the bothersome question, he misunderstood my response and started to let his imagination run wild.

“What kind of mistake did you make… Don’t tell me you tried to poison the Duke!”

Sergio, you’re still as clueless and a bit stupid as ever. Seeing him unchanged after so long, I shook my head.

“It’s nice to see you again, Miss. Actually, everyone’s been waiting.”

“For what?”

Although I had a feeling about the answer, I asked anyway since I had nothing else to say.

“They said if they get out alive, the first thing they’ll do is kill you.”

“Haha…”

I didn’t know so many people wanted to kill me. When the harvest festival starts, we might have to draw lots to decide who gets to kill me.

***

Ilion stared blankly at the document. Unfortunately, his eyes had been circling the same spot for a while now.

“This isn’t working…”

The secret of his birth that he accidentally discovered and the unsolved truth of the past were enough to give him a headache, but the future ahead was equally troubling.

With so many thoughts floating around in his head, how could the densely lined letters possibly register?

As he kept sighing repeatedly, Sebastian burst in, flinging the door open.

“M-Master!”

“What is it? You didn’t even knock.”

Ilion raised his head casually to look at Sebastian. He looked unusually disheveled.

“M-Miss has…”

Sebastian started speaking, catching his breath. Even though he had just begun, Ilion already felt a headache coming on.

“What is it this time.”

“…She’s been caught.”

It was an abrupt statement, but he could guess what it meant. How long had it been since she demanded to break off the engagement, and already she couldn’t wait…

Ilion pressed his fingertips against his throbbing head and asked.

“Caught? By whom?”

He thought it would be the capital’s guard at most, but an unexpected place came out of Sebastian’s mouth.

“Th-the Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

“She was caught trying to help a prisoner escape… they say.”

“……”

His head couldn’t keep up with reality, as if he was dreaming. It didn’t seem to be just because of the unfamiliar combination of words. Ilion stopped rubbing his forehead and looked at Sebastian.

“A letter just arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

What he handed over was a letter bearing the Emperor’s seal. Unfolding the paper, there were only two lines of text, making the large paper seem shabby.

[Ravenne Rischefeld imprisoned in Imperial Prison No. 1 for treason. Execution date: September 10th.]

“September 10th means…”

“It must be referring to the Rose Banquet.”

Ilion answered Sebastian’s question.

The event didn’t have an official name. It was the final event of the three-day harvest festival, and ‘Rose Banquet’ was a name given by the nobles for convenience.

The emperor always seemed delighted after the event, saying it looked like flowers had bloomed.

It was truly in bad taste, but since they were all condemned prisoners anyway, no one said anything.

“What on earth was she thinking…”

Ilion, still finding it hard to believe the reality, looked at the letter with a troubled expression.

The prisoner must refer to the Saintess. Why on earth did she try to help her escape? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand Ravenne’s thinking.

As he frowned and held his head, Ilion’s eyes caught sight of the rash that had spread to his wrist beneath his sleeve.

Come to think of it, Ravenne had started showing interest in Artia since learning his secret. For a while, she had persistently asked about Artia.

And recently, she had been confined to her room, unable to go out…

Ilion recalled Ravenne’s recent actions.

After pondering for a while, he instructed Sebastian to prepare a carriage.