Chapter 52. Tea Party (2)

“It seems you truly have no more interest in him.”

Helios, interpreting Iella’s silence differently, picked up his teacup again. Iella watched him savor his tea with elegant movements, making no sound, then bluntly retorted.

“Whatever the case, it doesn’t concern Your Majesty in anyway, does it?”

His downcast gaze returned to her. He stared intently as if telling her to continue.

“You completed the deal with the island as a condition, so even if I no longer seek him out, nothing changes.”

“That’s right.”

He agreed simply and put down his teacup. However, unlike before, a gradually cold light settled in his red eyes.

“From the beginning, what happens to the hostage isn’t my concern. He’s not necessary enough to bring back. However.”

“……”

“The reason for that change bothers me.”

The atmosphere around them shifted instantly with his ominously lowered voice. Iella tightly clasped her hands resting on her dress.

His words, as if he knew something, pressed against her like a noose. She sharpened her focus.

There was still no clear evidence that he knew the truth. Until he showed that, she shouldn’t hastily admit anything. Iella drew a seductive smile on her face.

“Is there another reason? I simply lost interest as usual. Does that bother you now?”

“Haven’t I always said everything about you bothers me?”

“I didn’t realize you paid that much attention to me.”

“You wouldn’t know. With your head so full of lewdness and luxury, how could it roll in any other direction?”

The two aimed verbal daggers at each other with smiling faces. Iella was surprised at how well she was countering him.

How to put it… Compared to Allen or the Grand Duke who just poured out their emotions, he seemed easier to handle with words.

“So, is that really the only reason for your change toward Allen Bledin?”

“Do you want something more special?”

“If it were special, at least it would be interesting. It’s just all so pathetic.”

The verbal sparring that had been going on came to a temporary lull after Helios’s final words. It wasn’t for lack of rebuttals, but rather because everything they said only led to more mockery, making it pointless to continue picking at each other’s words.

When she closed her mouth, Helios’s gaze landed on her steadily. Iella pretended to be calm and picked up her teacup under his gaze that seemed to be thoroughly examining her. He still suspected her.

At this point, Iella became even more curious.

Why did everyone react so strongly to the fact that Ailexia no longer sought out Allen?

Looking at Ailexia’s past behavior, this was nothing special, just her usual capriciousness. Rather, what they should have reacted strongly to was her unwavering favor toward Allen. That was the only real change.

But they didn’t question that. They didn’t feel it was strange.

When Iella entered Ailexia’s body, their changes began from the moment she stopped seeking Allen, so her thinking had to be correct.

‘Could it be because of the novel’s influence?’

That would make sense. The setting of “Ailexia showing long-term favor to Allen” could explain why they didn’t question it.

Now their reactions could be because with Iella’s appearance, that setting began to deviate, twisting the restraining force that had been controlling them. The timing of the change matched perfectly.

‘In the end, it really is because of me?’

Iella wasn’t even surprised anymore. Perhaps because she had thought about it so much.

Rather, after finding the cause, she now wondered: if everything returned to normal, would the story flow according to the novel again?

‘…But would that be the better path?’

At that moment, Allen’s face, contorted with suffering, flashed through her mind. An inexplicable sense of guilt settled in her heart. Had her presence as a variable caused him more pain as he was destined to be dragged through darkness until the end?

But Iella consciously shook off those feelings. She couldn’t afford to worry about his circumstances when her own situation was so precarious.

Just then, as if to help, Helios’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Are you looking forward to the upcoming swordsmanship tournament?”

“Swordsmanship tournament…?”

The Empire’s annual swordsmanship tournament was so large in scale that it attracted attention not only from the Empire but from other countries as well. If imperial citizens placed, they could join the imperial knights regardless of status, and foreign participants could return home with enormous rewards and honor.

Because it was so famous, the entire Empire took on a festival atmosphere during the tournament period. Iella knew about it well for this reason.

But what did that have to do with Ailexia?

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you attend every year to observe those who catch your eye? Thanks to you, many who earn the honor of joining the imperial knights can’t fully enjoy their happiness as they enter, facing the humiliation of invitations for the harem.”

Iella nearly jumped up in shock at the answer that resolved her question. Just when she thought she was beginning to understand Ailexia’s behavior, something else beyond imagination would emerge.

‘This can’t be explained away even with the sorcery depletion disease!’

It would have been fine if she had kept such thoughts to herself. No one could know her inner thoughts. In fact, one of the reasons women attended swordsmanship tournaments was to feel the masculine bodies and passion of the competitors.

But voicing those thoughts and desires was definitely problematic.

It was like announcing that she viewed these men, who participated with pride and dignity in their swordsmanship, as mere tools for her pleasure—an insult and violation toward them.

‘If it were just shy confessions, that would be one thing, but to invite them to her harem…’

Iella felt dizzy at the thought.

There was good reason why the imperial knights viewed her unfavorably. How could they think well of someone after such humiliation? Moreover, to behave this way at an event attended by many foreigners was incredibly foolish.

‘Wait, but why didn’t this become a scandal?’

“What, feeling guilty now? Then make sure to feel guilty toward my uncle too, who spends hundreds of gold to clean up after you every time.”

Fool part 2? Iella now felt sorry for the Grand Duke. She recalled him referring to himself as a stupid bastard who couldn’t let go of the past and gave her whatever she asked for. Next time, she wouldn’t be able to deny it if he said that again.

After sighing deeply, she firmly stated.

“I have no intention of going this time. Don’t worry.”

No matter how much the Grand Duke tried to suppress rumors, word could still spread secretly among tournament participants. Rumors were like words without feet; if just one or two people knew, they could spread in no time.

Iella didn’t have the courage to go there and walk around normally. She didn’t want to feel unjustly accused for something she hadn’t done.

‘If I return to my original body before the swordsmanship tournament, Ailexia might behave differently…’

But for now, that seemed highly unlikely. She was still tracking Ailexia’s whereabouts.

“Worry? Hardly. That fool bears all the losses.”

Helios muttered with a sneer as if he’d heard something amusing, resting his tilted head on his hand. His arrogant gaze, befitting his posture, looked down at Iella.

“Do as you please. I don’t care enough to control your behavior at this point.”

“…Why did you call me here anyway?”

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Iella asked directly. She couldn’t understand his intention at all.

When he brought up Allen, she thought he might be trying to confirm that she had changed, but that wasn’t it. Then she wondered if he was warning her not to repeat what Ailexia had done at past swordsmanship tournaments, but that wasn’t it either.

Now she had no idea what the purpose of this tea party was.

“What did you want to confirm? You wouldn’t have called someone you don’t care about just to have such conversations.”

“Didn’t the chief chamberlain tell you it was to entertain a guest?”

“That’s just a ridiculous excuse…!”

“Ailexia.”

Just as Iella’s voice rose in response to his unchanging attitude, he called her name in warning. His face, which had been filled with sneers and mild boredom, hardened into an expressionless mask, and his quiet red eyes took on a freezing light that could freeze the surroundings.

Iella felt her body stiffen involuntarily. The same fear that had consumed her entire body before crept up on her again.

Helios rose from his seat, looking at her with her lips tightly pressed together.

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

He slowly approached, perched on the table in front of Iella, and looked down at her. In that position, his hand reached for a plate of refreshments on the table, personally serving her a bite-sized financier covered with cream.

Helios pushed the plate closer to Iella.

“That your opinion doesn’t matter?”

“……”

“I’m sure I conveyed that I was concerned about not paying enough attention to the imperial palace’s long-time guest, so I arranged this meeting.”

He picked up a fork neatly placed beside them and held it over her hand, which was tightly gripping the teacup. When Iella didn’t take it and just stared, he wiggled the fork as if urging her.

When she reluctantly accepted the fork, he pushed the plate with the financier toward her again. The plate, moving closer to the edge of the table, threatened to create an unsightly scene of the financier falling onto her dress if this continued a few more times.

‘If I yield… to his pressure……’

Vanessa’s earnest warnings kept flashing through her mind, but her body, consumed by fear, lost its will and moved under the pressure. His fingers tapping the table impatiently pushed Iella even more.

Finally, unable to withstand his silent pressure, Iella put the financier in her mouth. Taking a bite, her mouth filled with sweetness and the nutty flavor of peanuts, inappropriate for the situation.

Iella slowly chewed and swallowed the entire financier, feeling like she might choke under his unmoving red gaze.

“As far as hospitality goes, this is quite……”

Eventually, her hand holding the empty fork fell to the table. Helios, feigning a gentle tone, reached out to take the fork from her as she couldn’t let go of it.

His hand brushed against Iella’s.

“Huk—!”

At that moment, Iella burst out a pain-filled breath and urgently grabbed her throat. The fork fell weakly and clattered on the table.

‘I can’t breathe……’

Suddenly her throat felt constricted, as if someone was squeezing her airway, making it difficult to breathe. As air failed to circulate to her brain, her vision suddenly blurred, then a loud thud was heard, as if her chair had fallen backward.

Eek! Get a physician! Various panicked voices mixed confusingly in Iella’s increasingly muffled hearing. In this situation where she couldn’t understand what was happening, her vision rapidly darkened.

Just before completely falling into darkness, the last thing captured in Iella’s sight was Helios’s face staring intently at her.

‘Why… that expression……’

He wore a very unfamiliar face she had never seen before.