‘My memories from my past life are all pathetic.’

Melissa, who had been sitting blankly, got up.

At that moment, her legs wobbled. The price of violating the magical contract and her first precognition seemed to have damaged her body.

Mentally she was fine since she had experienced worse pain, but her still unfamiliar body was the problem.

Melissa frowned and barely managed to get up from her seat.

Looking outside the iron bars, she could see a single guard standing.

‘Just one person.’

While this was fortunate for Melissa, she felt bitter at the thought of how lightly they must view her. No matter how much her past self had struggled, she had always been treated this way by Lionel.

“Excuse me, I have something to say.”

Melissa called to the guard while holding onto the iron bars.

The guard, who had been standing straight, flinched.

“Wh-what do you want to say?”

His face showed that he didn’t quite understand the current situation.

He turned toward her but could hardly meet her eyes. He seemed to be a man who hadn’t been doing this job for long.

‘He has reason to be flustered.’

Melissa calmly observed the man who was rolling his eyes.

He was clearly troubled by thoughts like: how could the duke of Shortiras treat the Lucid clan, who are revered as saintesses, this way?

But she didn’t feel sorry for him.

The ducal family had managed the Lucid clan for a long time, and there were people in the mansion specifically dedicated to this task. They all knew how the clan was treated and had turned a blind eye.

Because of the enormous compensation Lionel gave them.

‘This person must be the same.’

Melissa looked at the guard who was now even sweating.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“Yes, and stop repeating what I say.”

Melissa said with a frown.

Her head had been throbbing since earlier.

“Go out and mail a letter for me.”

“Are you writing to the young master?”

“No. Not to Edgar.”

“Th-then I can’t do that. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”

“You can do it without the duke knowing. I’m not asking you to help me escape. Just to mail a letter, that’s all.”

“I still can’t. If the duke finds out, all hell will break loose! I’ll really die!”

The guard shook his head urgently.

She had wondered, but it seemed only letters to Edgar were allowed.

It was annoying, but she wasn’t concerned because she had somewhat anticipated the guard might react this way. She had prepared a contingency plan for this.

‘Still, I didn’t want to use this method if possible.’

Melissa sighed.

Soon she continued with a calm face.

“What’s your name?”

“Hans.”

“I see, Hans.”

Melissa looked at the trembling guard and thought.

Soon, the familiar pain came.

“Four days from now, around 1 AM.”

“What are you suddenly……”

“That’s when you’ll die.”

“What?”

The guard, who had been close to the iron bars, hurriedly backed away.

Soon understanding the meaning of her words, he shouted.

“A member of the Lucid clan shouldn’t joke about such things! Why would I die? I don’t have any illness……”

“You know why. Be honest. Is there really nothing that comes to mind?”

The guard closed his mouth with a pale face.

Melissa added with a leisurely smile.

“Hans. You’ve been frequenting gambling houses recently. The debt you owe there is growing day by day.”

“Th-that……”

“Aren’t you curious about where and how you’ll die four days from now? I’ll tell you if you just do me this favor.”

“N-no. And how can I believe what you say? Aren’t you lying to me?”

Ah, this is tiring.

Melissa was starting to get weary.

Her voice lost its strength.

“Then face the dawn four days later without knowing anything. Perhaps even now, someone is eagerly waiting to take your life.”

“……”

“Are you really okay with dying without being able to do anything, Hans?”

“……Will just sending the letter be enough?”

Unlike before, the guard’s attitude became respectful.

Why had she lived such a miserable life in her past when she could do this?

Melissa pondered briefly, but she knew the reason. Back then, she believed that if she tried hard enough, she could return to how things were before.

To those bright days when everyone around her cherished her.

‘It’s over now. Don’t think about it anymore.’

Melissa shook off her thoughts and pulled out a letter from inside her clothes. She had brought new paper and a pen just in case, but since Lionel hadn’t even searched her body, there was no need to rewrite it.

‘He might have thought I had some scheme since I lied despite enduring the pain of violating the contract.’

But he probably thought she was still in the palm of his hand.

That was so like Lionel Shortiras.

Melissa stretched out her arm and handed the letter to the guard.

“All you need to do is mail this letter.”

There was no risk of the guard checking inside the envelope.

She had cast a spell so only the recipient could see the original content. To others, it would probably appear as a simple greeting.

This level of magic wasn’t that difficult.

“Th-this……”

The guard’s eyes shook like an earthquake when he confirmed who the recipient was.

Because it was the ‘compensation’ Lloyd would give to Melissa.

Melissa smiled with satisfaction for the first time in a long while as she watched the guard put the letter inside his clothes with trembling hands.

This time, it would be her perfect victory.

* * *

The guard safely mailed the letter and returned.

No, not only that, but he came back with a reply in hand.

Honestly, Melissa was a bit surprised as she hadn’t expected a response to come so quickly.

She hastily tore open the envelope and read the letter, ignoring the guard’s complaints about how difficult it had been to bring it secretly.

The letter contained what she had expected—that he would depart immediately. After reading it all, Melissa recited a small spell and burned the letter.

‘By the way, it’s almost time for Lionel to come.’

Just as the letter was almost completely burned,

She heard the sound of someone coming down to the basement. Though he hadn’t shown himself yet, Melissa recognized who it was from the familiar footsteps.

Needless to say, it was Lionel.

He must be coming to check on her since a day had passed since he imprisoned her.

“Have you reflected a bit?”

Lionel asked, standing in front of Melissa with iron bars between them. He smiled crookedly.

“I still don’t understand why you did such a crazy thing, but you should know by now. That there’s nothing good about resisting.”

After speaking, Lionel nodded to the guard.

It meant to open the prison door.

The guard, who had been looking at Lionel, turned his head toward Melissa, then approached while subtly checking her expression. He seemed anxious that Lionel might find out about delivering the letter.

Creeeeak—

The prison door opened with an irritating sound.

“I still get angry when I think about your lie. But I’ll overlook it this once, considering it a mistake. It must have been difficult for you to accept reality.”

Lionel stepped into the prison.

Melissa was thinking about when Lloyd might have received the letter and how long his travel time would be when she opened her mouth. It seemed like a good time to execute her plan.

“What if it wasn’t a mistake?”

“What?”

“You know better than anyone what happens when the magical contract is violated. Do you really think me enduring that pain was a mistake? Really?”

Lionel’s face contorted indescribably.

Though anxiety took precedence again, Melissa tried not to be afraid and continued speaking clearly.

“I deliberately lied to you, Duke. That the Crown Prince would go to the left. I knew how much you would gain if I told you exactly what I saw.”

“Shut up!”

“How disappointing. My first task was only that. It would have been better if something bigger was at stake.”

Slap. A friction sound unlike any before echoed through the underground dungeon. Her head rang for a moment, but a smile had already settled on Melissa’s lips.

‘Good.’

She had deliberately provoked him, taking a risk because yesterday’s single slap seemed insufficient, and fortunately, Lionel was such an impatient person.

Melissa calmly spat the blood pooled in her mouth onto the floor, disregarding Lionel’s fierce gaze.

Just then, a servant hurriedly came down to the underground dungeon.

“D-Duke!”

“I’m sure I said no one should come in?”

Lionel glared at the servant with cold eyes.

Normally, the servant would have retreated long ago, but he still entered the prison with an urgent face. The servant approached, checked Melissa’s condition, flinched, and then whispered something in Lionel’s ear.

Lionel’s eyes shook greatly. Confusion and anxiety visibly mixed on his face.

“Why would the Crown Prince come here now……”

Melissa raised the corner of her mouth at his muttered words.

She immediately got up from her seat, pushed Lionel aside with all her might, and rushed toward the dungeon door.

The action was so sudden, and since all the doors were open due to the servant’s urgent entrance, nothing stopped her.

Soon came the loud shout of Lionel, who had been dazed, not knowing what was happening.

“Catch her!”

“She must not escape!”

Melissa ran with all her might without looking back.