**

“Haah!!”

Marian rose from her bed, drenched in sweat. The bed was soaked as well. She looked around her surroundings. She felt her body. Her body had grown cold from the cold sweat.

After being curled up for a long while, Marian only came to her senses when she realized she was in a room. She wrapped her entire body in the blanket. With her face buried in it, Marian sobbed. The tears she had been holding back burst forth. No one comforted Marian, no one protected Marian.

No one loves Marian.

Marian only has sins and responsibilities to repay.

Marian cried alone for a long time.

The terrible nightmares come without warning and push Marian into hell. The guilt was so severe she could barely breathe.

“That’s enough……”

Even though they told her not to forget, she had never forgotten.

She had never forgotten.

She still carried that day engraved in her heart and entire soul.

“……No……”

Marian muttered.

“I really……”

Marian’s tears soaked the blanket again.

“Haven’t forgotten……”

Marian’s black dawn was flowing by. The time Marian spent unable to sleep was dozens of times longer than others’.

**

Meanwhile, Abel was also spending a long night.

No, since coming here, Abel had never once slept with peace of mind. His sharply honed red eyes wandered through the darkness.

The squeaking of rats, someone’s coughing, all sorts of noise mixed together flowed into his alert ears. Abel counted time quietly while sitting against the wall.

He fiddled with a small dagger, making clicking sounds.

Footsteps that were barely perceptible grew closer.

Abel rolled his eyes. His aura sharpened.

“……Your Grace, Duke.”

It was a hushed voice. Abel stared at him with dry eyes. A man in black clothing suitable for blending into darkness prostrated himself on the floor. Abel is a mage who rivals Princess Marian. Because of that, Abel was always kept in isolation. That was rather helpful now.

The sealing devices that sealed his abilities made clanking sounds as they moved at his wrists.

“You’ll be able to get out soon, Your Grace.”

It was a voice full of tears. Abel let out a scoff. While those who had put him in this state felt no guilt at all, his subordinates had been suffering from guilt for seven years for not being able to protect him. He had been hearing those words for seven years.

It would be faster for Abel to break out of the prison himself than to escape through their hands. However, to do that, he needed to remove these cumbersome sealing devices.

His back, covered in scars, felt like it was burning hot.

Abel moved, ignoring his pain with an expressionless face.

Abel placed his hand on the iron bars.

“Have you found the sun stone that can break these seals?”

To break the seals, they needed something called a sun stone. If not that, then they needed a mage powerful enough to dispel the magic circles of the sealing devices.

Abel’s jet-black hair, befitting a mage’s symbol, made his darkness appear even deeper.

The man who met Abel’s eyes bowed his head low.

“Albrecht.”

“……We haven’t obtained it yet, Your Grace, but we’ve found its location. We should be able to get our hands on it soon. And……”

Albrecht looked around cautiously before moving his lips.

“There’s talk that Crown Prince Benjamin will soon marry the princess of Jains. It seems Federico is trying to draw troops from Jains to make up for their shortage. There are rumors they’re preparing for war with Lorenzo.”

Abel narrowed his eyes. He recalled the face of the Emperor, who was always full of greed despite his lack of ability. A mass of inferiority and filthy greed. The Emperor had power that didn’t suit him, vast lands and tax-paying citizens, and soldiers who would throw away their lives for Federico.

……And there was Marian.

The Emperor clearly thought of Marian as a hunting dog on a leash. He hid Marian inside the shell of a noble princess and inflicted pain on her. That was how the Emperor tamed her.

‘You……”

No, this isn’t the time to be leisurely thinking about such things.

Abel let out a scoff.

‘Seems I’m still able to live.’

If Federico is preparing for war with Lorenzo, this is the opportunity.

“Didn’t you say Lorenzo’s crown prince died recently?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Having lost both their heir and mage, Lorenzo must be anxious. Lorenzo wouldn’t be able to refuse Abel’s extended hand.

“See if we can make a deal with Lorenzo’s king. We’re heading north.”

“Yes, Your Grace……!”

Abel and his subordinates who couldn’t avoid catastrophe along with the Drake ducal family were too large a group. It was difficult to hide and impossible to completely disappear. Federico’s eyes would surely stick to them anywhere. In that case, shouldn’t they find a way where they could safely reveal themselves completely?

Now that Lorenzo’s only mage, the crown prince, is dead, this is the opportunity Abel has been waiting for.

Abel waited quietly while staying curled up.

For Federico’s destruction, for the imperial family’s miserable death.

For all of that.

**

A pure white morning arrived.

Marian rose from her bed with an even more gaunt face. It felt like every blood vessel in her body was burning. Though she drank all the water in the bottle the maid had brought, her thirst wouldn’t subside.

Marian swallowed.

[Go do what you need to do. This isn’t the time to be lazy.]

Now she’s even hearing hallucinations. Marian rubbed her mouth while letting out a hollow laugh.

“Yes, I know. I know.”

Marian moved unsteadily. She felt the desolation of the empty palace on her skin. It was a small palace that Rosette had kept clean and protected alone.

Marian threw open the door. The garden, full of deep blue greenery, came into full view. The garden that Rosette had tended with inexperienced hands had bloomed with scattered flowers. Moisture clung to the air as summer gradually seeped in. Marian’s gaze turned toward the imperial palace.

Rosette, who had woken from her early sleep at Marian’s presence, came running with an old shawl. She wrapped the shawl around Marian’s shoulders.

“It’s summer, Rosette.”

“It’s still cold at dawn.”

“No, it’s summer.”

Marian muttered. The season Marian died was winter. And after winter turned and turned, it was summer again. Summer that could shine bright blue again.

“Your Highness……?”

“Lend me your maid’s uniform, Rosette.”

Rosette stared at Marian with puzzled eyes. Rosette had been executed on charges of assassinating Duke Cesare. But now Marian knows.

The story told by God contained answers that Marian didn’t know. It was Yulian who killed Cesare and framed Rosette. She poisoned Cesare’s food before his departure to push Marian to the battlefield in Cesare’s place.

‘You will never die.’

Marian grasped Rosette’s cracked and calloused hands. She was a kind girl who would desperately stop Marian and push her away when Marian tried to work together.

“We can’t stay like this forever, Rosette.”

“What do you mean……”

“Many things will change. Ask around for lots of old cloths, towels, or blankets from people we know. And if possible, we need medicine to treat wounds too.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Not me.”

By now, Abel wouldn’t be in a normal physical condition.

“It mustn’t show. If it reaches the Crown Prince’s ears……”

Rosette nodded with a tense face. She grasped Marian’s hands in return.

“Don’t worry. I’ve lived here for years. I can do this without getting caught.”

“Thank you.”

Marian smiled faintly. She knew these were things she could never accomplish alone. Fortunately, Marian had good helpers. Rosette, Liebe, and perhaps Abel too.

“Seeing as you’re asking to borrow a maid’s uniform, you’re planning to disguise yourself, right? I’ll help you.”

Marian glanced behind her.

The imperial palace still gleamed with its noble golden light. That place—Marian needed to take it, even if temporarily. That was the answer Marian had come up with.

**

Cesare ran his fingers through his hair.

His face, which had been steeped in alcohol until now, became smooth at once. Cesare rubbed his lips. He exhaled slowly.

Since becoming a Duke, what had become tiring was the responsibility and duty that weighed upon him.

Vice Minister of Justice?

Cesare let out a hollow laugh. Just with that one title, the number of people seeking him out had increased, and so had Cesare’s duties.

He patted the side of his face. He pressed firmly on his ear.

His head was still foggy from last night’s indulgence. If it weren’t for the head butler who took care of Cesare and sent him out looking presentable, he would still be rolling around in bed with a woman like a slug.

“Do you need…… ah, water?”

Cesare blinked. Sunlight poured in. Perhaps because his hangover was still severe, he felt like he was seeing things.

She had platinum blonde hair that could be mistaken for pure white light and deep green eyes. She was small and just the build Cesare liked. If there was a flaw, it would be that she was slightly tall?

‘As tall as Marian.’

Marian wasn’t just tall. Her black hair that seemed to devour all sunlight made him shudder whenever he saw it. Though it was characteristic of mages, such a vulgar color. Moreover, that body of hers, thin as an iron skewer, was disgusting to look at every time. Someday she would have to bear children with that body.

A heavy sigh burst forth.

“Do you need…… help?”

At that delicate voice, Cesare’s eyes widened. Perhaps because of the sunlight, the woman seemed to be backlit with a halo. With a worried expression, she lightly grabbed the hem of Cesare’s clothes.

“Ah, I don’t know who you are……”

Cesare noticed the clothes the woman was wearing.

‘A maid?’

Cesare’s lips curved upward. That meant he could do whatever he wanted with her. She was just a maid after all. Cesare grabbed her wrist.

“I am Cesare Madrian. Duke Madrian. And your name?”

“Ah, I’m……”

This woman now looked like an angel to Cesare’s eyes, Marian thought. Name? She had a name prepared just for this. Marian lifted her lips.

“I’m Ellie, Your Grace. I apologize for my rudeness in not recognizing Your Grace.”

Marian bowed her head. Ellie—it was the name of the daughter born between Cesare and Yulian. This was a deception aimed at Cesare. Because that child would never be born again.

“Ah, Ellie. Which palace do you work in? I haven’t seen you before.”