Chapter 50. Helios’s Invitation

“Lady Ailexia, the chief chamberlain from the main palace has come to deliver His Majesty’s message.”

At the maid’s words that landed like a hammer blow, Iella and Vanessa looked at each other simultaneously. ‘What should we do?’, ‘I don’t know either.’ A conversation tinged with confusion passed between their exchanged glances.

Then Vanessa turned her head first, intending to ask Nix if he knew anything about this.

“Damn it.”

But the place she looked at was empty. The snack plate was also completely empty. Vanessa cursed out loud. ‘This bastard ran off all by himself!’

“Lady Ailexia?”

Iella glanced at Vanessa, whose expression resembled that of a demon ready to torture Nix the moment she caught him, then turned her attention to the voice calling from outside the door. Soon, as if having made a decision, she moved toward it.

She hesitated briefly with her hand on the doorknob but then opened the door and told the maid to escort the chief chamberlain to the reception room.

Because the option to refuse someone sent by the emperor had never been given to her in the first place.

* * *

“It’s been a while, Lady Ailexia.”

When Iella went down to the reception room with Vanessa, the chief chamberlain, who had remained standing, greeted her with proper courtesy. As expected of someone who served the emperor, his level of sophistication was exceptional.

Not a trace of malice or displeasure toward the guest of the secondary palace could be found in the chief chamberlain’s expression or attitude. There was only the basic respect due to a guest of the imperial palace.

Iella nodded to acknowledge his greeting and took her seat. However, the chief chamberlain did not sit across from her but approached her side and took something out from his br*ast pocket. It was an invitation with the emperor’s seal.

The moment she received it, Iella’s heart fluttered with anxiety. Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this.

Unaware of her concerns, the chief chamberlain kindly explained to Iella, who was just staring at the invitation without opening it.

“His Majesty has arranged this occasion out of concern that he hasn’t been able to pay enough attention to the palace’s long-time guest.”

‘I don’t need it…. Really, it’s fine……’

Thanks to this, Iella had to make a considerable effort to maintain her composure as her face threatened to crumple into a grimace.

‘Besides, how long has Ailexia been staying in the secondary palace? Why now?’

Anyone would recognize this as mere window dressing.

Although Ailexia was not an ordinary or normal guest, what host would monitor a guest they claimed to be concerned about, while also intimidating and threatening them?

Swallowing the sigh that threatened to escape, Iella finally opened the invitation before her eyes. The chief chamberlain stood firmly in place, clearly not intending to leave until she had checked it.

Somehow, the moment she looked for a paper knife, he handed one over as if he had been waiting for that very moment. It was frightening how thoroughly everything had been prepared.

Eventually, she opened the envelope and took out the contents. Inside was simply the date and time, written concisely without any elaborate details. Seeing this, she realized that the explanation she had just heard was merely the chief chamberlain’s attempt at putting a positive spin on things, not the emperor’s words.

‘That’s more like it.’

The reason why the emperor’s consistent attitude was rather reassuring was simple. It made him easier to deal with. If he were capricious, responding would be more complicated and difficult.

‘I need to discuss this with Vanessa to avoid making mistakes this time… Wait, what?’

Iella suddenly took the paper back out of the envelope she had been about to put it back into. She read the contents several times, calculated the date in her head, and recalled the current time. Her face turned deathly pale.

The time for the tea party the emperor had invited her to was 3 PM on the 18th.

And now it was almost 2 PM on the 18th.

“I will guide you when you are ready.”

Just then, the chief chamberlain’s voice sounded beside her. Iella finally realized why he had waited for her to check the invitation right there.

She had thought it was because of the tiny possibility that Ailexia might ignore the invitation without checking it, but that wasn’t it.

‘This isn’t an invitation—it’s a notification!’

It was to take her away immediately, ensuring she couldn’t escape.

* * *

“What should I do?!”

After leaving the reception room under the pretext of preparing, Iella immediately went up to the bedroom. As soon as Vanessa followed her in and closed the door, she threw away her pretense of composure and burst out in shock.

“I don’t even have time to mentally prepare!”

Only one hour remained. Considering that she would need to arrive earlier than the time stated on the invitation, the actual time given was even shorter.

“Why is he suddenly calling for a tea party? No, I don’t understand why he’s summoning Ailexia in the first place. He supposedly had no interest in her. He monitored her every move, but that was it—there were rarely any direct confrontations like this.”

Iella, who had been anxiously pacing around the room, suddenly stopped. No way.

‘Could it be that the emperor has changed because of me too?’

The thought alone was chilling. It wasn’t just a butterfly effect; actions were changing one by one. The small flutter of wings that was her presence in Ailexia’s body was gradually creating a massive storm.

‘What if I reach a point where my poor imitation can’t hold up anymore? What if my true identity is discovered before I return to my original body? What happens then?’

Questions she hadn’t deeply considered before now crashed over her like a tidal wave. Iella couldn’t imagine what would happen if her true identity were discovered.

As she sank deeper into fear, like drowning in deep water, Vanessa grabbed her.

“Iella, look at me.”

“Seo-ah……”

Vanessa firmly gripped both of Iella’s shoulders and stared directly into her trembling dark pink eyes with a resolute gaze. Her unwavering, firm gaze seemed to support Iella.

Iella took a deep breath, closed her eyes tightly, and after a moment, nodded and opened her eyelids again. The trembling in her dark pink eyes had subsided.

“We can’t refuse the emperor’s will anyway. Though it’s called an invitation, it’s essentially an order, which makes it even more impossible.”

Having confirmed her change, Vanessa quickly added:

“But maybe it’s fortunate that it’s the emperor. Unlike Allen or the Grand Duke, he rarely had direct confrontations with Ailexia. They never sought each other out. Even that day when we faced the emperor—when we recognized each other—was actually a very rare occurrence.”

“But he’s been monitoring her all along. He must know her small habits, speech patterns, and behaviors……”

Iella’s doubt was reasonable. He had monitored Ailexia’s every move, so they couldn’t be reassured just because he hadn’t directly confronted her. In fact, not knowing exactly what he knew made it more difficult.

The only fortunate thing was that he wouldn’t know about the discussions they had about novels or past lives. Thanks to Vanessa’s sorcery, which always prevented their conversations from leaking.

Shaking her head, Vanessa held up exactly three fingers.

“For a conversation with the emperor, remember just three things. First, don’t be respectful. Second, don’t be intimidated by his aura. And finally, third.”

As if this was the most important point, Vanessa paused briefly and lowered her voice.

“Keep provoking him like you’re not afraid of death.”

“……That.”

Iella was about to ask if those weren’t the three fastest ways to get killed, but she slowly closed her lips at the sight of Vanessa’s determined amber eyes. She felt like someone who had lost the ability to speak. But no matter how she thought about it, these seemed like perfect methods for getting killed.

“That’s what Ailexia has been doing all along…?”

“Yes.”

When she asked hesitantly, the answer came immediately. Iella didn’t know which part she should be most surprised about.

Whether it was Ailexia’s attitude toward the emperor—boldness or foolishness, she couldn’t tell—or the emperor’s behavior in merely monitoring Ailexia and keeping her alive instead of disposing of her, both were equally astonishing.

But the reason she felt like collapsing right now was something else entirely.

‘How am I supposed to do that….’

The fact that she had to do it herself.

She had no choice. Even at this moment, time was mercilessly flowing, and eventually, she would have to face the emperor. There was no time to wallow in despair.

‘……Ah, I don’t even know anymore.’

Sometimes, in extreme situations, an unimaginable recklessness arises without precedent or reason. Add resignation to that, and it perfectly described Iella’s current state.

‘He hasn’t killed her and has kept her alive until now, so why would he suddenly change and decide to kill her?’

Even if many things had changed due to her presence, the fundamental framework hadn’t changed. Allen was still in Ailexia’s harem, and the Grand Duke was still supporting her. If so.

‘Ailexia is meant to die by Allen’s hand, even if she dies.’

Iella recalled what she had realized at the very beginning, after entering Ailexia’s body.

This was still a world inside a novel that was real only to her. If she set aside suspicions based solely on intuition and focused on the actual situation before her eyes, that was the case.

So it was clear that she wouldn’t die at the emperor’s hands right away. That must be true. Iella strengthened her resolve with this fact as a comfort.

“I’ll try. I can do this.”

After calming herself with deep breaths, Iella took Vanessa’s hand off her shoulder. Then she held it with both hands and asked if there were any other precautions she should remember.

Vanessa, joining in the resolve by clasping hands, earnestly advised her to absolutely, never be intimidated by the emperor’s aura. Then, as if trying to ease her tension, she playfully added:

“Or try thinking of the emperor not as an emperor but as a talking animal or object. Like, a cute cat or a talking donut? Should I cast a spell to make him look like that if you want?”

Iella burst into laughter at those words. She automatically imagined the emperor as the cat or donut Vanessa had mentioned. Thanks to that, his intimidating image became much less frightening.

Somehow, she felt like she might be able to safely get through the tea party with the emperor.