Ariel woke up from Leopold’s warm embrace not long after. After having some seafood stew, which he had personally ordered to be made, she felt much better.

As she patted her satisfied belly with a contented expression, Solviche came to the bedroom.

“Saint Liese Clark wishes to see Empress Your Majesty.”

“Why has she come?”

“She heard that you were feeling unwell.”

Since she had just finished eating, it would be good to soothe her discomfort with holy power.

“Alright. Tell her to wait in the reception room. And bring some tea and cake.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Having already prepared, Ariel headed straight to the reception room. May followed her. As Ariel descended to the reception room on the first floor, she was deep in thought.

Mana enhances physical abilities. But why doesn’t it enhance the break down of alcohol?

‘Is there really no ability to purify alcohol……?’

Soon, the reception room door opened. Liese stood up and greeted Ariel as she entered.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“No. I was terribly sick in the carriage, so I couldn’t sleep well.”

Upon hearing the news from Evan, Liese rushed over early in the morning. She waited for the Empress to finish her meal, as Solviche had informed her that she was now eating.

“Oh dear. Then I will heal you.”

Liese closed her eyes and placed her hand on Ariel’s back.

As the warmth spread from where her hand touched, Ariel’s discomfort subsided.

“Mana and holy power seem to be different in nature. Mana didn’t help me recover, but your holy power healed me completely.”

“Mana probably can’t heal what’s already damaged. Holy power can only heal what’s damaged.”

Ariel nodded at the plausible explanation.

“His Majesty said he would meet Noah Diaz today……. I’m worried about how it will go.”

“There’s no physical evidence……. Didn’t Duke Noah meet Diaton in the Helmir Forest?”

“They did. But they didn’t acknowledge each other at all. I wonder if they really don’t know each other or if they have a reason to pretend not to……”

Hoping for a resolution today, Ariel wished and wished again.

***

Walter had visited the office.

Leopold recalled the conversation they had.

―Is it true?

―Yes, Your Majesty. As I said, Noah Diaz behaved himself. I think you could have stayed in Macglier as planned.

His red eyes wavered with confusion.

“Richard. I will go to the underground prison. Tell them to prepare Noah Diaz in the interrogation room.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It’s a problem that won’t be solved by worrying alone.

If I meet and talk to Noah Diaz, I might find a clue to the case.

Leopold stood up and headed towards the stairs leading to the basement. His thoughts were dominated by the determination to properly interrogate what had happened in the Helmir Forest.

The most curious thing, of course, is what kind of relationship he had with the dark mages to know the location of their base at once.

Could it be that, unbeknownst to the Emperor himself, Duke Noah Diaz was expanding his influence?

Recalling the thoughts he had deliberately erased from his memory to spend happy times with Ariel in Macglier made him feel bad and uneasy.

Thump, thump-!

His footsteps echoed against the cement walls. At the very end of the stairs, there was a door, and a knight was guarding it.

“I will enter.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When the knight opened the door, an interrogation room appeared.

In the space surrounded by dull-colored cement walls, Duke Noah Diaz was sitting in front of a table.

He was bound by his hands and feet. The eyes of Duke Noah Diaz fiercely met those of Leopold standing at the door of the interrogation room.

His golden eyes were filled with dark anger and distrust.

Amidst the cold air surrounding them, Noah tried to maintain a calm demeanor, suppressing his rising emotions.

Thump, thump-

Creak- Thud-!

As Leopold entered, the door closed.

Noah looked at him but did not greet him.

‘How insolent…….’

His attitude was enough to get on Leopold’s nerves.

But if he responded emotionally, he might not get the answers he wanted from him.

Leopold sat in front of Duke Noah Diaz.

“I came to ask about what you said you would tell me once everything was over.”

“Has the Empress awakened?”

Leopold clenched his jaw.

How dare he. The very person who caused this, asking about her well-being. Not even answering the question asked.

‘Should I just kill him?’

Though he didn’t want to admit it, Noah had played a significant role in saving Ariel. And regardless, he was blood-related, so he intended to hear about the circumstances of the incident.

But seeing him act like this, any lingering mercy vanished completely.

“Answer my question.”

“Seeing that your face doesn’t look too bad, she must have awakened.”

Noah continued to provoke Leopold with an expressionless face.

‘For over two weeks, not knowing her condition was agonizing.’

He had been anxious at home, fearing something might have happened to Ariel. He rushed to Leopold’s call today, hoping to hear news about her.

But seeing the faint happiness on Leopold’s face made his twisted feelings rise.

Anger began to seep into his lifeless eyes.

“What does she have to do with you?”

Leopold maintained a cold tone and expression.

“Why do you say she has nothing to do with me?”

Noah glared at him. His bloodshot eyes were filled with red veins.

Judging by what little he knew, making judgments based on what he saw. How presumptuous. How dare he-!

I am the one who saved Ariel Clark. I brought her to this place by turning back time. Who was the one who ignored and neglected Ariel before the regression!

I am the one who brought a soul to replace the annihilated soul of Ariel, transcending time and space. I even gave up divine powers to challenge the law of causality.

‘If it hadn’t been for you, I could have lived happily with Ariel.’

Ariel could have lived without suffering like this.

Had I not challenged the law of causality, a mere human would have been nothing but dust to me.

Noah’s golden eyes gleamed.

“She is my wife and the Empress of Atlan. Naturally, she has nothing to do with you.”

Leopold clenched his teeth and spoke through them. Noah bent his waist and sneered at Leopold.

“Hahaha-! Do you really think so? I am the one who brought her to this place! Leopold. I am the one who saved Ariel Clark, whom you brutally murdered!”

“What……?”

Ariel had told him in the morning. This place is within a web novel, and she is actually someone from another world. She had fled to Kolnman to escape the original Leopold, who had brutally killed Ariel.

But it seemed even Ariel didn’t know. That it was Noah Diaz who had summoned her to this place.

‘So, the soul originally born as Ariel Clark disappeared, and Noah Diaz summoned a soul to replace her in this world…….’

Leopold’s red eyes were filled with confusion.

“What kind of trick did you use to pull off such an enormous feat?”

Leopold knew better than anyone that Noah Diaz couldn’t handle Diaton or the demonic beasts in the Helmir Forest.

But what Noah Diaz claimed matched what Ariel had said.

Noah raised his head and looked down at Leopold as if he were ridiculous.

“Though I am now in this insignificant human shell, I was the Demon King Aristo, possessing divine powers like Lumiere.”

“And you expect me to believe that now!”

Bang-!

Leopold slammed the table with his fist.

Noah’s mocking face was reflected in his red eyes, which were flickering with confusion and anger.

“Whether you believe it or not, it is the unchanging, immutable truth.”

“You bastard!”

Boom-!

Leopold kicked his chair back and grabbed Noah Diaz by the collar.

Noah still looked at him with a sneer.

“I came here today to give you a chance. A chance to change my mind. But you never fail to disappoint me.”

Leopold punched Noah in the face.

At that moment.

Black smoke, imbued with a sinister aura, enveloped Noah Diaz’s body.