“It was you who pushed the Marquis’s daughter over the cliff at the end. And now you say you’re looking for her? Surely the Marquis and his daughter must be looking down from heaven in disbelief.”

“…”

Kylance couldn’t utter a word, as if his tongue had been cut off. 

Everything the Emperor said was true – truths he had desperately wanted to deny, but could no longer ignore. 

The Emperor spoke coldly, forcing Kylance to face the truth he most wanted to deny. 

“Therefore, you have no right to seek Lady Blante.”

“Ha…” 

A painful sigh escaped Kylance’s parched lips. 

The Emperor looked down at Kylance as he crumpled to the ground, his eyes filled with anguish, before delivering his final blow.

“At dawn, withdraw the search. Then go to the north. Do not return until I summon you to the capital.”

With that, the Emperor turned his back on Kylance, ending the conversation. 

After the Emperor left the tent, Kylance finally collapsed completely.

“Argh!!”

The sobs he had been holding back erupted uncontrollably. Kylance banged his head against the floor and wailed like a wounded animal.

But nothing would change.

As the Emperor and the Tower Master had said, this was all his doing.

He had no right.

Ariel would never return.

“Aah… Ariel… I… I was wrong… I’m so sorry…”

His pitiful sobs filled the tent.

And so, until dawn, Kylance screamed like a beast, consumed by unbearable remorse and despair. 

But time passed, as it always does, and the sun began to rise over Cascade Beach.

Kylance slowly rose from the ground.

As he stepped out of the tent, the bright light of the morning sun momentarily blinded him, as if urging him to wake from this dream.

“…Your Grace…” 

Deryl’s heavy voice broke the silence.

In a voice hoarse from crying, Kylance spoke.

“… Stop the search… for Lady Blante.”

On the thirteenth day since Lady Blante’s disappearance, the great search came to an end.

And as the sun came up on the thirteenth day…

Aster had hoped she would wake safely, and although she had regained consciousness sooner than expected, his expression was far from cheerful. 

He didn’t regret turning Lady Blante into Lariette. 

But neither could he take any pleasure in her living as Lariette. 

The real Lariette lay before him, still as if lifeless. 

A small sense of relief was the only emotion he could muster for the new life the young lady would now lead. 

‘If only you would wake up soon…’

How wonderful it would be to see the real Lariette awaken. 

Aster looked at Faelin’s sleeping face with a bittersweet expression. 

Then, as his silence grew longer, Seoden called to him again through the communication earring. 

-“Master.” 

“I’ll be down soon.”

Aster replied briefly and ended the communication. He rose from where he had been sitting on the edge of the bed and began his familiar routine.

As always, he placed his hand gently on Faelin’s forehead.

‘May you dream only good dreams.’

Having finished the spell, he regained his subdued expression and left the room, returning to his chambers – where Lady Lariette now resided.

—

“Are you all right? Does anything hurt?” 

Lariette blinked slowly. 

‘Where am I…?’

A strange blanket. A strange voice. And a strange face. 

Everything felt strange. 

There was nothing familiar in sight.

‘Why am I here? I don’t even know.’

The last thing she remembered was…

‘I was…’

As Lariette leaned back against the headboard, supported by the red-haired man, a sharp *ring* filled her ears, accompanied by a sudden, intense headache.

“My lady, does your head hurt?”

It felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her head, sharp and searing – but fortunately it only lasted a moment. 

As suddenly as it had come, the pain disappeared without a trace, as if it had never been there.

At the same time, her last memory flooded back.

Lariette gasped, a sharp intake of breath, shock written all over her face.

She jerked her head towards the man. 

“My mother and father – where are they? There was a terrible carriage accident… They were bleeding so much…”

Yes, her last memory was of that terrible accident. During an outing with her parents, their carriage had been ambushed by bandits and plunged off a mountain cliff.

Clinging to the image of her parents she had seen before she lost consciousness, Lariette grabbed the man’s arm.

“I need to see my parents! I need to know if they’re safe…”

Then there was an answer.

“My lady, I am very sorry to inform you so soon after your awakening… but your parents did not survive the carriage accident.”

The words hadn’t come from the red-haired man in front of her.

Lariette turned her head towards the voice, which was strangely familiar.

A blond man was standing at the foot of her bed. She hadn’t noticed when he arrived, but as soon as she saw him she realised –

She knew him. 

Of course she recognised him – how could she not? He was the Tower Master, the leader of the continent’s Mage Tower, and a prince of her homeland, the Kingdom of Magicos.

‘Why is he here…?’

Though confused, Lariette quickly pushed the thought aside. The Tower Master’s presence wasn’t what mattered right now.

“Did you say my parents died?”

The Tower Master lowered his eyes and answered heavily. 

“Yes. Unfortunately, the only one who survived the carriage accident that day… was you, Lady Lariette.”

“Ah…”

Lariette sighed and let go of the red-haired man’s arm.

Her parents were gone.

The news was shocking, but what struck her was that she didn’t feel as devastated as she thought she should. 

Her parents had died, but strangely, Lariette found herself accepting the fact with an unusual calmness.

‘Am I out of my mind because of the accident?’ 

‘Or… is this just a dream?’

But everything she felt was far too vivid to be a dream. It wasn’t a dream – it was reality.

Her parents were gone.

‘But why can’t I cry?’

As Lariette’s eyebrows furrowed at the strange emotions swirling around her, the Tower Master’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“I was afraid that you would be deeply shocked by the news of the Baron and Baroness’ death… but it seems that you had already suspected it to some extent.”

‘Suspected?’

Somehow the word resonated with her. It made sense. 

The last image she had of her parents… was truly gruesome. 

‘Yes, perhaps I had a subconscious suspicion…’

‘That my parents would not survive.’ 

With this thought, Lariette could finally make sense of the strange calm she felt. 

Slowly, she turned to the Tower Master and asked, “But… where am I? Seeing that you’re here…”

Her words trailed off as her eyes swept over the large but unadorned bedroom. 

Although the Tower Master was a prince of the Kingdom of Magicos, he had left the royal court after his ascension. 

He had rarely, if ever, returned since – perhaps once a year at most, Princess Faelin had once told her. 

This couldn’t have been the kingdom of Magicos. The absence of the kingdom’s distinctive royal emblems confirmed this. 

Lariette spoke hesitantly. 

“Could it be… the Mage Tower?”

“Yes, that’s right. You are in the Mage Tower, my lady.”

Aster’s reply came immediately. It was indeed the Mage Tower. A place that was hard to reach unless you were a mage. 

‘Wait.’

Then this room, which obviously wasn’t ordinary…

Just as the thought hit her, Aster spoke again, confirming exactly what she had suspected.

“To be precise, this is my personal chamber in the Mage Tower.”

“Gasp.” 

Lariette let out a startled breath before she could stop herself. No wonder the room had such an unusual atmosphere. 

‘It really is the Tower Master’s bedroom.’

Her surprise was short-lived as confusion took its place.

Why on earth was she in the Tower Master’s personal chambers? 

Lariette glanced between the red-haired man and Aster before asking slowly, her voice cautious. 

“…But why am I here, in this place, instead of my home or my family’s estate?” 

The Tower Master let out a low, troubled hum. 

Just as he was about to speak, Lariette asked first, her voice calm despite the situation. 

“You have more bad news to tell me, don’t you?”

Her mind, surprisingly sharp for one who had just regained consciousness, quickly pieced things together. There was a strange clarity to her thoughts, a sensation that felt oddly familiar yet alien at the same time. 

‘I don’t know. Since I accepted the death of my parents so calmly, my heart has felt unsettled, but my mind remains strangely calm.’ 

It was as if it could accept any truth, however hard. 

‘Perhaps it’s because the accident was so serious.’’

As Lariette tried to ignore the inexplicable unease creeping into her thoughts, Aster finally spoke.

“If you’ve already begun to suspect, I won’t sugarcoat it. I’ll explain everything exactly as it happened.”

“Yes.”

Lariette replied, pulling herself together.

“Firstly, the carriage accident involving you and your parents happened exactly three months ago.”

“Three months ago… does that mean I…”

“Yes. You’ve been unconscious for three months. The Baron and Baroness of Siloe… died instantly in the accident. You miraculously survived, but your injuries were severe and you remained unconscious. During this time, the Siloe family faced great difficulties. Without a male heir, the title passed to a collateral relative – Louis”.

“Ha, him of all people?” 

Lariette’s reaction was immediate, a mixture of frustration and contempt.