It had actually been quite a long time since Diana first began to sense the spirit of her mother, Princess Ellen.

Even as a child, there were times when she felt like someone was calling out to her.

“But I never thought it could be my mother’s spirit…”

“Your Highness, she—Ellen—is not lingering by your side to be a burden,” the Pope said to Diana.

“She is guiding you, and this country. So that you may move toward a better future.”

“A better future…”

Looking back now, there were things that were hard to explain in words. She had always thought it was just an especially keen intuition.

Being able to instantly see through the severity of someone’s illness.

Sensing the impending danger of the northern dam’s collapse.

Finding Ian immediately after he was attacked in Kesher Village.

“Maybe all of that…”

The Pope quietly listened to Diana’s murmuring, then took her hand and closed his eyes, as if in prayer.

“Your Highness, let us pray to Ellen. That her spirit may rest in peace…”

“…No.”

But Diana coldly pulled her hand away.

“I’ll offer prayers for my mother myself.”

“…”

“Before that, I have something I want to hear directly from you.”

“…What do you wish to hear?”

“I’ve felt for a long time that something was lingering around me. I only recently realized that presence was my mother.”

The Pope’s face remained unreadable as he listened to Diana.

“It was a very small clue that made me realize my mother’s presence. I mentioned the statue earlier, the one with my face carved on it. My mother was the one who commissioned that statue.”

“How can you be so sure? Once again, it’s just an ordinary statue.”

“Look closely at the goddess statue’s head.”

The Pope looked down at the photo Diana handed him with that same inscrutable gaze.

“…”

“Yes. She’s wearing a flower crown. Lavender flowers. Do you know what these flowers mean, Your Holiness?”

At that, the look in the Pope’s eyes changed as he looked at Diana.

“Of course you do. It’s the flower that symbolizes the Winsister Monastery, which is named after you.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“The moment I realized the crown on the goddess statue was made of lavender, I also realized that the presence following me was my mother’s lingering spirit. Since then, I’ve even vaguely felt her emotions.”

Diana began to press him coldly.

“Your Holiness. Now you really must answer me! Why is it that in this very moment, facing you, my mother’s emotions are in such turmoil?”

Meanwhile, unable to enter the prayer room, Ian was looking around the palace chapel.

“You can’t go that way.”

Natasha said to Ian.

“There’s a path right there. Why can’t I go?”

Ian looked at her as if questioning how long she’d been following him.

“I thought you’d worked at the palace for a while, but you’re acting like it’s your first time in the chapel.”

“It is my first time. Is that a problem?”

Ian lifted his chin arrogantly as he replied, but Natasha showed no sign of annoyance.

“That path leads to the underground rooms where the former kings are enshrined. Only authorized personnel may enter.”

“Authorized personnel, huh…”

Ian murmured as he quietly gazed at the narrow, dark passage in the corner.

“What exactly counts as ‘authorized’?”

“…”

At that question, Natasha’s expression finally twisted a little.

“Isn’t that a vague answer? Not like you.”

“…”

“Haha. Alright, I’ll stop with the pointless questions. I’m just curious since it’s my first time here.”

Ian joked as he turned back the way he’d come.

Natasha followed him at a set distance, as if to keep him under surveillance.

Regardless of whether she kept following him, Ian leisurely looked around the chapel with a relaxed smile.

“Her Highness must have her hands full with you.”

A moment later, at Natasha’s low comment, Ian turned with a grin.

“Sounds like you’re talking about me.”

Neither took their eyes off the other, unwilling to back down.

“Even Jerome and the other aides who have served Her Highness have never been as much trouble as you.”

“So you’re saying there’s never been anyone like me at Her Highness’s side before. I can’t say that feels bad.”

Ian smiled broadly as he answered.

“In Naka too, while Her Highness was busy correcting the flaws of the noble law, you just stood back and watched. Do you even intend to assist her?”

Even at Natasha’s sharp question, Ian remained unruffled.

“I figured you’d be keeping an eye on me. Was that by the Queen’s order, or your own?”

“Just answer the question.”

“So prickly. My job is to support her, not to babysit.”

Ian gave a short laugh and looked Natasha straight in the eyes as he spoke.

“Do I really have to take action myself? Even if I don’t, Her Highness is more than capable. Just standing back and watching, as you say—that’s how I support her.”

“…”

Natasha’s furrowed brow did not relax, but she had nothing more to say.

“You support her… You?”

“Of course. Before I’m her aide, I’m her one and only lover.”

“…”

Natasha stared at Ian, as if trying to discern whether he was being sincere.

Ian smiled easily, not avoiding her gaze.

The tense standoff between the two, neither willing to back down, was finally broken by a loud coughing sound from the chapel hall.

Cough, cough!

The cough echoed loudly through the quiet hall.

Cough, cough, cough!

Someone, perhaps caught off guard while praying, was coughing so hard their voice was hoarse.

“…What a thunderous cough,” Ian said with a wry smile.

***

—Don’t trust the Pope, Ellen.

When the Dowager Marchioness had said those words, Ellen’s spirit, which had only quietly lingered near Diana, reacted for the first time.

Diana could not ignore the surge of uncontrollable emotions that crashed into her.

“Tell me, Pope Winsister.”

Diana relentlessly pursued the Pope’s gaze.

“What happened at the Winsister Monastery, where my mother spent her childhood? What did you ask of her? What are you hiding from me?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Your Highness.”

“Do you think I’m just making baseless guesses?”

“…”

“I’ve recovered my mother’s keepsakes from the Dowager Marchioness through the Marquis of Nakia.”

“…Keepsakes?”

At those words, the Pope failed to hide his reaction.

“Among them was a diary my mother wrote. Your name appeared frequently in it.”

“Well, Ellen and I were close friends, more like family than family itself. That’s only natural.”

The Pope suddenly let out a hearty laugh.

“Ha ha. Seeing you reminds me of her younger days. Yes, Ellen was a strong woman, just like you. It’s still hard to believe the eyes of a girl only ten years old could shine with such intelligence.”

He abruptly began to heap praise on her mother, but Diana saw it only as an attempt to change the subject.

“We shared a deep friendship that spanned over twenty years. I truly cherished Ellen. I’m sure she felt the same about me. We weren’t just a cardinal and a novice nun.”

Diana recalled the stories she’d read in her mother’s diary.

Her mother’s childhood, which had not been widely known.

Her mother had hidden in the convent to survive the violent family feuds. There, she met the Pope, who was then a cardinal, and the two became close through some special incident.

But nowhere in the diary was that incident described.

“How did you two become close?”

“That must not have been written in the diary?”

Diana frowned.

It wasn’t because he’d hit the mark. It was because her mother’s emotions were once again surging through her.

“Did you tear out that part of the diary yourself?”

Diana tried to control her emotions, but her pointed question was laced with them.

“I’ve never even seen that diary.”

“Stop lying. I contacted you because I wanted your help. I didn’t ask you here for a pointless argument.”

At that, the Pope took a deep breath.

“All I can say is that it’s not the right time yet.”

“Your Holiness!”

“Blame me if you wish. I will bear all the sins.”

The Pope met Diana’s frustrated gaze and spoke meaningfully.

“Your Highness, do you know what the most powerful binding magic in the world is?”

“…”

“A marriage vow. Perhaps the real curse is something like that.”

Diana glared at the Pope, who was speaking in riddles.

But even that one-sided conversation could not continue any longer.

Because it was getting far too noisy outside.