Ilian smiled softly. “You won’t kill me, will you, young lady? Someone as rational as you must have calculated the benefits of keeping me alive.”

“That’s true, but I might kill you if things go wrong. I am a tyrant, after all.”

Ilian chuckled quietly at my response.

Just then, a sudden commotion erupted near the doll shop that had been quiet until moments ago. Turning my gaze, I saw children cheering as the shop owner brought out new dolls.

Amid the excitement, Evelyn was sandwiched between the children, getting pushed around while others rushed forward. The knights tried urgently to extract her but struggled to intervene in the crowd of children. Had it been enemy territory, they could have simply pushed people aside, but they couldn’t risk hurting children.

“Why does she get mistreated wherever she goes? She should just push her way through and get out.”

“Young lady, you shouldn’t demand from others what you can’t do yourself.”

“But I would do it!”

“That’s a lie. You couldn’t do that when you were young either.”

“What?”

“I can tell. It shows.”

I gaped in disbelief. Damn it. What made it worse was that he was right.

“Go get Evelyn. She’ll fall at this rate. What are those knights even doing?”

“Me?”

“Hurry up. I’ll wait here, and when you bring her back, we’ll return to the imperial palace.”

We’d spent the whole day at the festival without any issues. My main concern had been accidents occurring in crowded places, but from what I could see, there didn’t seem to be any major problems brewing.

‘Besides, there’s no suspicious activity.’

In the end, Ilian went to fetch Evelyn at my insistence. I got down from the fountain and dusted off my bottom.

I wondered what Hasis had found.

Just as I was thinking this, something caught my attention.

“Huh?”

While adjusting my cloak, I happened to glance at the ring on my finger and froze. The gemstone in the ring, which had been quietly sitting on my hand until now, suddenly emitted a slight pulse.

‘What’s this? I don’t feel anything unusual.’

Based on past experiences, such traces in the ring typically appeared when I was under attack from black magic. However, at present, I wasn’t under any attack and was standing perfectly fine.

‘What’s going on?’

This unusual situation put me on high alert. Scanning my surroundings, I didn’t notice anything strange. I deliberately raised my hand slightly to sense the energy.

Just then, the black energy flickering in the ring suddenly surged. I immediately looked up. My eyes fell on a dark alley.

A trap?

The alley, emanating an ominous energy that anyone could sense, looked like somewhere one should obviously avoid.

I scoffed. I’d have to be crazy to go there…

Just as I was thinking this, I heard a muffled cry.

“Mmph! Help—”

Suddenly, someone dressed in black entered the alley. What shocked me even more was that this person in black was dragging someone with them.

‘Ah, damn it.’

I gritted my teeth. It was clearly a trap. Anyone with a brain could see this wasn’t a place to enter.

But then.

I looked over at Ilian, who was finally “rescuing” Evelyn from the crowd near the doll shop.

The enemy had already spotted me. The abduction was a provocation, a kind of declaration of war. They would naturally expect that I had come with Evelyn, and if so…

‘Tch.’

The knights I brought as escorts weren’t going to be effective in this situation. If they knew about Evelyn’s existence, she would become the target if I refused their invitation.

It would be best to leave Ilian by Evelyn’s side for any worst-case scenario. At the very least, he didn’t seem like someone morally bankrupt enough to abandon a child. He would probably take her home safely.

Besides…

‘Since his goal is to kill me anyway, he’s more likely to use this opportunity to let me die.’

Our covenant only stated that he wouldn’t kill me himself, not that he would protect me. This meant Ilian would benefit from leaving me to my fate.

Having quickly calculated all this in my head, I immediately started walking. The dark alley was indeed empty. I moved forward slowly and calmly, holding my breath.

And at that moment…

“What? Who’s this kid?”

“W-what? What is this?”

Huh?

I realized something was different from what I had expected when I saw the two people who were startled by my appearance.

Despite the meticulously planned trap, the two were floundering with surprised expressions.

Wait, was this even a trap in the first place?

Just then, one of them suddenly lunged at me. At that moment, a pungent smell assaulted my nostrils.

‘Ah, my head hurts. It hurts, but…’

Strange… it’s not enough to make me pass out? Why did that person collapse earlier?

I pondered briefly.

Should I take these guys down and proceed, or…?

I closed my eyes.

Soon, I felt someone dragging me away.

* * *

Ilian noticed Esht’s absence shortly after she disappeared.

“Huh, where’s Her Highness…?”

Evelyn, disheveled from being jostled by the children, blinked while fixing her hair.

Her gaze naturally fell on Ilian, who had just “rescued” her. However, after seeing his expression, she flinched.

Ilian’s face wore a smile. His lips curved into an elegant arc, seemingly kind. Yet his emerald green eyes were unmistakably cold, and Evelyn backed away from his chilling expression.

‘H-he really is scary.’

Though young, she had developed an instinctive fear of people who smiled only with their mouths from observing numerous nobles, including Margrit.

Ilian exuded an even more dangerous aura than Margrit, which was precisely why Evelyn feared him.

“Hey.”

At that moment, Ilian, who had been quietly staring at where Esht had been, addressed the knights standing behind him.

“My sister went to buy candy earlier and hasn’t returned yet. Would you mind taking this little lady back to the marquis’s residence?”

“Perhaps Her Highness has lost her way—”

“No. She’s not the type to get lost. You know she’s the child of the great Dragon Lord.”

“We cannot, my lord. We must absolutely ensure Her Highness—”

“Just go back. I’ll take care of my sister.”

There was a strange eeriness in Ilian’s voice. He stared directly into the knights’ eyes. After some time, seemingly entranced, the knights nodded.

“Very well.”

“Make sure you take this little lady safely back to the mansion. Understood?”

“Yes. Lady Evelyn, this way.”

Soon the knights began walking away with Evelyn. She kept glancing back, seemingly uneasy. Ilian waved to her as she looked back.

As soon as they disappeared into the crowd, Ilian erased the smile from his face completely, his expression transforming instantly.

Without his smile, Ilian’s face was surprisingly cold.

“Hmm. Where could our young lady have gone?”

This is troublesome.

Especially when she knows I want her dead.

With these words, Ilian put on a smile again.

He wasn’t a fool. Esht had vanished and was probably in danger. Whether she had disappeared on her own or been kidnapped, given her confrontational nature, she probably wouldn’t punish him if he simply returned to the imperial palace.

‘No, she might have even expected me not to come looking for her.’

Perhaps she thought Evelyn would also be in danger if she asked for help.

Although Esht kept denying it, he knew she cared quite a bit for Evelyn.

Whether it was simply consideration for a child or consideration for her own past, Esht was certainly attentive to Evelyn.

‘So, would it be fine if I just said I took that little miss home?’

He had ensured Evelyn’s safety, and whether Esht lived or died didn’t matter to him.

He had an excuse, and in fact, if she died now, it would be even better.

– Kill the Emperor.

She had killed his parents, he’d been told. She had killed his mother and father. To Ilian, this was an unforgivable act, something that could never be pardoned.

‘I need to save my parents.’

Yes, I need to save my parents.

Killing Esht would save his parents. At least, that was the rule that had been established. What else could he do?

Ilian sank back into thought.

And after some time…

– I won’t die.

Ilian let out a long sigh.

That deep tenacity for life that had glimmered in her eyes. Different from his own, it was the firmness of someone who had lived looking straight ahead.

Childlike, yet surprisingly resilient.

“Haah.”

Ilian wrinkled his nose.

‘I should probably save her this time.’

With that thought, he immediately pulled out the magic stone he had hidden. This was the same stone he had shown Esht before, which he used to draw out magic power little by little when casting spells.

What he hadn’t told Esht was that unlike other magic stones, which typically contained only one magical effect, his contained various types of magic mixed together.