Though his face wasn’t visible, his voice alone conveyed how incredulous he was.

Regardless, I continued filing my nails on a stone and replied.

“Yes.”

“…Miss, aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“You’re likely to die tomorrow. Yet here you are, calmly grooming your nails.”

One unexpected thing was that he was holding up surprisingly well in this chaotic situation.

Though he’s foolish, his mental strength seems unexpectedly robust. I was just thinking I needed someone like that…

“Sergio, do you want to know why I’m so calm?”

“Well, not particularly, but…”

I reached my hand out through the iron bars, gesturing for him to come closer. As expected, Sergio approached without much suspicion.

“…It’s because I’m confident I won’t die.”

“What? How?”

“Shh. Lower your voice. I’m only telling you this.”

Hearing my words, Sergio stuck his ear out through the bars, waiting for my story.

“Wh-what kind of method is it?”

“Well…”

“Well?”

Sergio swallowed hard, focusing all his attention on me. I glanced around briefly, then whispered softly into his ear.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

***

Early morning. The prisoners, bearing the weighty task of alleviating Klaus’s boredom, were dragged one by one by soldiers towards the garden.

Some resisted, saying they didn’t want to go, but most accepted reality and followed the soldiers obediently.

After a long walk, we arrived at the rose garden located on the east side of the Imperial Palace. While we were momentarily stunned by its enormous size, a seasoned-looking soldier approached us.

“Before we go to the armory, I’ll explain about the arena. The garden you see in front is where you’ll be fighting. Do you see the blue boundary line around it?”

The prisoners nodded at the soldier’s question. As he said, a blue boundary line spread out in a large dome shape around the garden. It was probably a barrier created by magic.

“This is a specially created barrier to prevent you from leaving. If you try to go outside…”

He paused mid-sentence and threw a piece of meat he was holding towards the barrier.

The chunk of meat that touched the barrier made a sizzling sound and burned beyond recognition.

“This will happen, so be careful.”

The prisoners quietly swallowed as they looked at the meat that had turned to ashes.

“Next, we’ll go to the armory. When we arrive, choose a weapon you like. And…”

He stopped speaking and made eye contact with me, then gestured.

“You, come with me for a moment.”

At the soldier’s gesture, everyone’s attention turned to me. Their eyes held suspicion, wondering if I alone was being exempted.

Of course, it was a needless worry. The opponent was Klaus, and for that person who lacks morality, exemptions were impossible.

And as expected, Ilion was standing at the place we arrived. Somehow, his face seemed more haggard than when I last saw him…

“Have you been eating well?”

“…Is that all you have to ask?”

“You only asked me such things too, Duke. When you came to visit last time.”

Though my words were brusque, it was hard to hide my joy.

It was shameless to act like this after pushing him away so strongly, but just seeing Ilion’s face seemed to give me a bit of strength.

“You’re as carefree as ever.”

“I thought the Duke would appear on time.”

His furrowed brow softened a little at those words.

“Where are the items?”

“Here they are.”

I received the package he handed over and examined the contents. I was worried I might have misunderstood what was written on my palm, but Ilion, as expected, didn’t disappoint and had prepared the items perfectly.

“Is the inspection finished?”

“Yes. If you want, you can ask the subordinate standing next to me.”

Ilion answered, pointing to the soldier who had accompanied him.

“I’ve checked all magical reactions. The inspection results showed no problems.”

At the subordinate’s report, he turned his gaze away from the package without any particular suspicion and looked at Ilion.

“Bringing weapons from outside isn’t against the rules, but helping a criminal meet like this is a violation. I’ve allowed it this time because it’s the Duke’s request, but you can’t spend a long time.”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Even as he said this, Ilion showed no sign of actually being sorry. It was just like him. He could have sent the weapons through the soldiers without calling me like this.

“You should go now.”

“…Will you really be alright?”

Ilion’s footsteps were reluctant to leave, seemingly still worried.

“Don’t worry too much. If it’s just about surviving, I have a chance, don’t I?”

“But…”

Ilion’s face still showed lingering attachment as he asked again. I couldn’t just blabber on about my plan to reassure him.

Pondering what to do, I pulled his collar and whispered softly in his ear. Just words that wouldn’t be a problem even if overheard.

Ilion, who had been listening quietly to my words, finally nodded, saying he understood.

“Please, don’t do anything reckless.”

“Don’t worry. Don’t you trust me?”

“I do.”

When I casually joked as usual, a somewhat serious answer came back. Then Ilion gathered both my hands and briefly kissed them.

“I trust you more than anyone.”

His gently sparkling eyes held such unwavering trust that it made the observer feel embarrassed.

Somehow my face felt hot continuing to look into those eyes, so I hurriedly turned to leave.

“Th-then I’ll be going.”

There are so many eyes around, yet he says whatever he wants. What if we get caught? Really…

While grumbling inwardly about his insensitivity, my fingers were somehow caressing the spot where Ilion’s lips had touched.

When I arrived at the waiting room, hot gazes were fixed on me. It seemed they had already visited the armory once, as various weapons were in the prisoners’ hands.

In that suffocating atmosphere, Count Gardner approached me, swaggering.

“Well, well, I didn’t expect to meet again like this, young lady.”

“It’s been a while, Count Gardner. Ah, you’re not a count anymore, are you?”

It was the kind of conversation where one might feel the need to open a fan and laugh politely, but unfortunately, neither of us were nobles anymore.

“Haha, it’s all thanks to you, young lady.”

“My goodness, what did I do?”

When I smiled back at him, veins popped on Gardner’s forehead, seemingly angered.

“I didn’t believe in God, but I think I need to get a religion now. I never dreamed my wish would come true like this.”

Gardner said this while cracking his knuckles in front of me. The cracking sound was quite threatening.

Now that I look, his physique seems much better than before. If I get hit by that fist, I might go say hello to Goddess Gaia…

“Didn’t you hear the explanation that fighting is prohibited before the competition?”

A soldier who had been watching us intervened, blocking Gardner.

“Fighting? I’m just exchanging greetings.”

Gardner shrugged his shoulders. Then, peering over the soldier’s shoulder, he waved at me.

“Well then, see you again soon, young lady.”

I don’t want to see you again though.

“Miss, did you know that person too?”

As Gardner disappeared, Sergio approached stealthily and asked.

“Well, yes.”

“You seem to have quite a wide network in many ways.”

I wonder if this can really be called a wide network.

“Oh, right. Sergio, take this.”

“What?”

I handed him a bag.

“What’s this?”

“I told you yesterday, remember? That there’s a way to get out of here. I secretly got it from the Duke.”

When I whispered to him quietly, Sergio’s eyes began to sparkle with expectation.

***

At the western building of the Imperial Palace. On the terrace, wide open with drinks and beverages prepared, nobles gathered in small groups, filling the seats.

And on one side, Spinel, who attended as Ilion’s companion, was glaring at the garden.

“Did you meet Ravenne?”

“Yes.”

“We could just go and kill them, why do we have to watch this troublesome thing?”

If she had said those words directly to the Emperor, she too would have been arrested for treason. Of course, Ilion wasn’t thinking differently either.

Although he hated to admit it, when it came to matters related to Ravenne, his opinions often matched Spinel’s. But that didn’t mean he could just overlook her actions.

“Wait, stay put.”

“Don’t order me around.”

Spinel looked at Ilion irritably. Her deeply furrowed brow showed no signs of relaxing.

She had been like that ever since learning that Ravenne was trapped in the Imperial Palace. Sebastian and Lily had struggled so much to stop her from storming the palace right away…

“It’s not me, it’s what Ravenne said.”

“Ravenne?”

“Yes. She told me to watch from above.”

Ravenne, who had pulled his collar and whispered, was trembling. So much that he could clearly feel the tension she was experiencing.

And yet, she threw out a joke to reassure him.

‘Watch quietly from above. If you behave, I’ll give you a reward when it’s over.’

She always has a way with words.

Those clearly sparkling eyes were from the Ravenne he knew well. Eyes that captivated, both cunning and lovable.

Of course, he would jump in at a moment’s notice if necessary, but now was the time to trust Ravenne and watch.

Ilion watched the prisoners entering the garden in order. As Klaus had lamented that there weren’t many prisoners this year, the number looked to be about 30 at most. Whether that would be advantageous or disadvantageous for Ravenne…

Ilion looked down with slightly anxious eyes.