Only when the blade was truly about to come down on his neck did he open his mouth in a panic.

“I was looking for a marriage partner, and no one was willing to marry me. But did you not say yourself that you would marry me if I introduced you to a capable sorcerer?”

A sorcerer.

Good heavens, just what had Eloa Rumania done?

“And the restoration of my family?”

“That too was something you requested, was it not! I did nothing but accept.”

There was clearly a part of the diary I had missed.

“If only the young lady had married me, I would not have done such things! I would not have received such a proposal from Marchioness Shaga, nor would I have agreed to it!”

Unlike the frightened voice from moments ago, his voice now was pure resentment.

“If only it were not for you!”

The resentful voice that had been ringing clearly began to grow faint. The sharp shock lodged itself directly in my mind, and unorganized thoughts instantly churned through my head.

Then, if I had married him?

You would have ruined the family.

If I had not gone to Eden, you would have…

My mind, unable to find where the thoughts began, could not cut off their tail. For a moment, a hazy darkness descended, and my occupied mind foolishly prevented my body from moving. As though everything had stopped, my breath stopped along with it.

It felt as though someone was pressing firmly on both my ears. That suffocating feeling had already descended to my chest. The breath I was trying to draw in felt as though it were not my own.

The only breath I could manage in my struggle to survive was short and shallow.

“Hah, hah.”

When Siobhan and Dias, startled by the alarming sound of my breathing, moved to approach, Eden quietly raised his hand. At his gesture, the two of them stood as though their feet had been bound.

Eden, stepping between Ter Giuo and me, opened his mouth quietly.

“Do not engage with him any further.”

I could barely see his expression or hear how he spoke. I could only just barely wring out the words I needed.

“Nu, numbers…”

Despite having no way of knowing what I meant, he calmly counted numbers at my single word.

“One.”

“Hah.”

“Two.”

Eden’s low voice began to reach my ears clearly.

“Three.”

He drew closer and covered both my eyes.

“Four.”

As the suffocating tightness around my throat disappeared, the short breaths I had been exhaling began to lengthen.

“Five.”

Along with Eden’s voice counting six, a sharp sound of metal rang out. Before the brief sound of Ter Giuo’s groan could even reach my ears, what reached me first was not the dark and cold sensation, but familiar air.

We had returned from Valhamir to the imperial palace.

“Seven.”

As the large, warm hand that had been covering my eyes moved away, countless bright lights entered my vision. I swayed, unable to find my footing at the sudden light, but it was alright.

The large hand was holding me firmly so I would not fall under any circumstances.

Eyes that had adjusted to the brief darkness gradually adapted to the bright light. As my unsteady breathing settled and my blurred vision came into sharp focus, I met his gaze before me.

“Eight.”

Even after our eyes met, he did not stop counting.

“…Eden.”

Only after I called his name did he stop counting.

“Loa.”

The sound of Eden’s voice, gentler than usual, made me feel at ease.

“Ter Gi…”

I started to ask about Ter Giuo, then, realizing we were in the imperial palace, lowered my voice and asked again.

“The marquis?”

“It is done.”

“……”

So he died after all.

“Do you regret it?”

He extended his arm casually as he spoke. When I did not answer his question, he gave a single nod as though urging me on. Whether he was urging me to take his arm or to answer, I could not tell.

I linked my arm through his and walked with composure. The sound of busy footsteps reached my ears with the regularity of a metronome.

“…It would be a lie to say no.”

“……”

“But I think it was justified. He failed, and I simply succeeded.”

The word ‘murder’ was absent, but it was easy enough to understand.

“What happens now?”

“He will be discovered in two days. The mountains of Valhamir are rugged, so they search once every four days.”

“…Will there be a trial?”

“There likely will be. Considering that the trial would be held in the capital, five days.”

The steady footsteps came to a stop in front of the room. It was the room we had returned to because I had not been able to change my clothes.

Only after entering the room did I explain to Eden what had happened. It was safe because Eden had checked thoroughly for any eavesdropping magic stones.

“Before I left, I encountered Princess Resilla. I discovered her walking with an unidentified lady-in-waiting, and I broke the glass bottle that the lady-in-waiting was about to give to the princess.”

“…That could interfere with the alibi.”

A very brief silence passed between the two of them as their plan had been disrupted.

“We will think about the matter of the princess gradually. For now, go and change your clothes first.”

After Eden vacated the room, I changed into a new dress. This time as well, I chose a dress I could put on without assistance.

When I changed into the new dress, I noticed that the part Eden had been holding was quite severely creased. In the midst of the panic, I had not been aware of how tightly he had been holding me.

Eden must have been startled too…

Having left the banquet hall, I returned to it again after about twenty minutes. The moment I stepped inside, I looked for the princess first. I wanted to look around and call out the princess’s name, but I could not.

I had to link my arm through Eden’s and smile at people with an expression as though nothing had happened.

I hoped the young princess was safe.

Seeing the princess recognize me from a distance and approach brought a sense of relief, while at the same time I wondered whether I should ask her to pretend not to have seen me.

Unaware of my deliberation, the princess had already drawn close and taken hold of my dress.

“Your Highness.”

“Do not worry, Duchess. Enoch and I will protect you.”

Enoch?

The princess, saying she would keep the secret, placed her index finger to her lips and made a shushing gesture. Before I could ask about Enoch, she had already left.

I wondered what she meant by protecting me, and I was also curious about why Enoch’s name had come up. There were countless things that needed to be resolved, but for now, finishing the banquet was the priority.

The banquet proceeded peacefully, as though no one knew that Princess Resilla had been attacked.

After the emperor, who had left first, and then the prince who followed, the atmosphere of the banquet winding down led me to leave before Eden. Of course, this too was only possible because Eden had made the consideration.

Having left the somewhat busy and noisy banquet hall and walked down the palace corridor for quite some time, I noticed that Siobhan and Dias had been following behind. The expressions on their faces when I turned to look were filled with worry beyond mere concern. Dias, as though her worry had not faded, came into the room and asked if there was anything she could help with.

“Dame.”

“Are you alright?”

“I am fine. I caused you needless worry.”

“I apologize. I should have handled it more quickly.”

Dias felt even more sorry and blamed herself. I felt bad for her, but right now I had no capacity to tend to her feelings.

I needed to think about why Ter Giuo had said what he said, and I also needed to consider how to handle what lay ahead.

“I would like to rest a little now.”

Hearing my words, Dias apologized once more, saying she had been thoughtless, and left the room as though chased out.

I lay on the unfamiliar bed and looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling.

Since Eloa had asked Ter Giuo to introduce her to a sorcerer, Ter Giuo would know. The identity of the sorcerer the real Eloa had met.

“I did not get to ask… I wonder if Eden knows.”

I breathed deeply and closed my eyes. I revisited an experience I never wanted to go through again. The panic attacks that came from time to time had struck.

So panic does not disappear just because the body has changed…

In my previous life, when I began my career as an athlete, the endless pressure and burden, along with the envy and jealousy among athletes, had been too much to bear, and panic attacks had developed.

If Eden had not counted numbers at that moment, I would have struggled for a long time. Lying still felt like it would only make things more complicated, so I pushed myself up from the bed.

Let us not lie down. Lying down will only leave me consumed by needless worry.

Just as I was about to go for a walk, a small knock was heard. At my brief reply, the one who appeared was Siobhan.

“Sir Sio.”