Max, a guard at the Imperial Palace, was carrying out the crucial task of reporting on the conversation between Ilion and Ravenne.

He had anticipated that the mission wouldn’t be smooth, but he never imagined this kind of development awaited him.

Max stared at Ravenne with an astonished expression.

It was hard enough to watch the man who looked ready to kill someone before entering the visiting room suddenly sit in front of the prisoner looking as pitiful as an abandoned puppy, but the lady’s words were equally difficult to listen to quietly.

‘What does she think this place is….’

He had been curious about what kind of person would come up with such an absurd plan to help the Saintess escape. For a moment, he had the irreverent thought that she might just be insane.

“Do I need permission for a kiss too?”

When Ilion hesitated, Ravenne turned to Max this time with a question.

“Ah, no. That’s not necessary, but.”

Flustered by the unexpected question, Max stumbled in his response. She seemed to have been waiting for this and stood up, plopping herself onto Ilion’s lap.

“I don’t want to trouble you any further, Duke. So let’s have our final farewell kiss here.”

Max wasn’t sure which was more impressive: Ravenne saying such cringeworthy things so casually, or Ilion accepting them as if it were natural.

While trying to think of an appropriate word, Max decided to simply describe them as a pair of cockroaches.

And then one of those cockroaches stopped just before kissing and turned to look at him.

“Do you intend to watch us kiss as well?”

“Wh-what?”

“Well, I don’t mind if you want to watch…”

Ravenne trailed off, her glare not particularly frightening, but the look in Ilion’s eyes behind her was a bit scary.

“Th-then I’ll turn around for a moment.”

Max hurriedly turned to face the wall. He wondered what sin he had committed to be stuck between these two people.

He almost resented the order from Klaus that prevented him from leaving the room.

“Duke, please stop moving like that.”

“B-but.”

“Oh, come on. I told you to stick it out more.”

“Ra-Ravenne… ugh…”

What was all this sticky dialogue about? And what exactly was he supposed to stick out?

The rustling sound of clothes and the occasional voices of the two people confused Max’s ears.

‘What on earth are you doing in this sacred visiting room!’

He wanted to cover his ears right away, but Klaus’s order to report every detail of their conversation ultimately held him back.

After a while, the two who had finished their deed finally separated.

“Duke, this is truly goodbye.”

“…Ravenne.”

“I was really happy to meet you, Duke. I have no regrets now.”

Max, who had been listening to the conversation, glanced back and slowly turned around. The kiss was over, but the two were still in the same position.

“Now I’ll go pay for my crimes. If fate allows, I hope we can meet again in the next life…”

Ravenne muttered, wiping away her tears.

‘Ah, when is my next day off again?’

Max, blankly watching the two who seemed to be the only ones in love in this wide world, tried to count the distant date of his next day off to spend this short time a little more productively.

And he felt a bit sadder realizing there was still a week left until his day off.

Ilion, with a slight blush on his cheeks, cleared his throat a couple of times and stood up.

“If that’s your wish, I understand.”

‘He’s leaving already?’

Max expected him to cling on a bit more, but Ilion’s response was cleaner than expected. Well, what did it matter either way?

They were finally ending their love song that wouldn’t even appear in a third-rate play.

After Ilion left, Max escorted Ravenne back to the prison. The mission that had drained his spirit since morning finally seemed to be coming to an end.

“Excuse me, soldier. Could you deliver one message to His Majesty?”

However, the lady before him didn’t seem to have any intention of letting him go easily. Max inwardly sighed and asked.

“What is it?”

“Please tell him that I’ll consider his previous offer positively.”

“…What?”

Max stared at Ravenne with wide eyes. Klaus’s statement that day had been so shocking that rumors had already spread throughout the Imperial Palace. From what he had heard…

“You’ll deliver it, won’t you?”

After putting on a melodramatic show with the Duke just moments ago, now she was wiping away her tears and saying she’d become Klaus’s Empress.

Thinking she was truly a terrifying woman, Max shuddered slightly.

***

After leaving the visiting room, Ilion quietly looked down at his palm. It felt as if Ravenne’s touch still lingered.

Although he was surprised by her sudden request for a kiss, based on what he had observed of Ravenne so far, he expected there must be another meaning behind her words.

And as expected, Ravenne pretended to go for a kiss, but as soon as they were free from the soldier’s gaze, she immediately changed her expression.

Then she grabbed his hand and started quickly writing something on his palm.

‘Needed items.’

When he squirmed from the ticklish sensation, she urged him to stretch out his palm more. Unlike her sweet voice, her expression was quite serious.

After writing down a few items like that, Ravenne looked up and met his eyes.

They weren’t the eyes of someone who had given up on life. Her eyes, filled with determination, seemed to plead for him to trust her.

Ilion, watching Ravenne get up from his lap with regret, had to deliberately cough to hide the laughter that was about to escape at her subsequent act.

Although it was a brief conversation, he could understand what she was thinking. And what he needed to do was also clear.

With little time left until the execution, he couldn’t waste the remaining time.

“Duke.”

But someone stopped Ilion as he was hurrying to leave the Imperial Palace.

Ilion turned his head with a slightly annoyed expression. Artia was standing there.

“What is it?”

“Do you have a moment?”

He had been thinking of meeting her to talk at some point, but he didn’t expect her to approach first. After a moment’s consideration, Ilion decided to willingly engage in the conversation.

It seemed there was much he needed to hear from her.

“Would you consider joining hands with me?”

After moving to a less crowded place, Artia carefully asked Ilion while surveying the surroundings.

“I’ll help you save your fiancée.”

“Help, what kind of help can you offer me?”

“You must know well what kind of person Klaus is.”

Artia, who started like this, looked quite different from the image she had shown so far.

“He will never release your fiancée. Because his real target isn’t Miss Rischefeld.”

“Target, it sounds like you’re saying His Majesty has other intentions.”

Ilion pretended not to know, even though he did, to probe her intentions.

“What he’s after is you.”

“Is there a reason you’re so certain about that?”

Artia paused for a moment.

The Ilion before her was a different person from the man who had committed treason for her sake.

To persuade him, she needed to show a card that would pique his interest. A half-hearted answer wouldn’t suffice.

Having finished her deliberation, she looked directly at Ilion and answered his question.

“During the academic festival, the machine’s direction being off wasn’t an accident. It was Klaus’s doing.”

As Artia had expected, that answer was enough to capture Ilion’s interest. What he had only vaguely suspected was finally about to reveal its true nature.

But Ilion didn’t rush her hastily. Instead, skillfully hiding his impatience, he refuted her words. To test how much information she could provide.

“Even the Magic Department couldn’t find the cause, how can you be so sure?”

“Do you know that mana leaves different traces for each caster?”

It was something he had heard somewhere before. Recalling what the appraiser had said when examining the rose painting, Ilion nodded.

“That trace remains on the lower part of the machine.”

“If so, the Magic Department would have already found it.”

“They can’t find it. Because I’ve concealed it.”

“Concealed it?”

To Ilion’s question, Artia continued her explanation carefully.

“Holy power and mana are completely different abilities that can’t mix, like oil and water. Just as I can’t detect mana, mages can’t detect my holy power. So I covered the traces of mana Klaus left with holy power to make it undetectable. If it were revealed, Klaus would try to erase the evidence.”

“……”

The fact that she went to such lengths meant that Artia had a clear purpose even before meeting him. The intention to bring down Klaus.

“By now, you must understand what I’m trying to say.”

So, is she saying our interests align?

“I understand what you’re saying, but I have no intention of joining hands with you.”

Artia, who had been confident that he would accept her proposal, asked with inner confusion.

“Do you perhaps not believe what I’m saying?”

“I believe what you just said. I just don’t trust you.”

No matter how reckless Ravenne might be, she wouldn’t have tried to help Artia escape without any plan. It must have been something they discussed in advance.

Then why was only Ravenne caught while Artia wasn’t imprisoned?

Since Klaus wasn’t such a generous person, if we eliminate the assumption that he forgave Artia, only one possibility remained. That she had betrayed Ravenne.

As expected, Artia’s expression didn’t change, as if she had anticipated this much of a reaction.

“I’m not asking you to trust me. I’m just saying you’ll need my help to save Miss Rischefeld.”

At those words, Ilion didn’t hide the laughter that escaped.

“That’s not necessary either. Because I have no intention of saving her.”