The commotion within the imperial palace had drawn the emperor out before long. Loa, cradled in Eden’s arms, did not look as though she were sleeping peacefully, but rather as though she had collapsed after struggling to breathe until she could no more.

Lying in the room she had been moved to, she looked more comfortable than before. The emperor, having heard the preceding account, pressed his hand to his forehead with a troubled expression.

And rightly so, for no matter that there had been a diplomatic ceremony, there was no reason an outsider like Siobhan would have entered the imperial palace kitchen alone to prepare tea.

Following the assassination attempt on Princess Resilla, and now the Duchess as well. This was clearly something that had been carried out by targeting the timing of the Western Kingdom diplomacy.

“It is not life-threatening, but she will have sustained significant damage to her body. She has been put to sleep with medicine, so she will wake tomorrow.”

The physician, having finished speaking, gave a respectful bow and left. The room fell into silence, with only the sound of the sleeping Loa’s breathing.

“Hylus.”

At the emperor’s call, the look in Eden’s eyes as he turned to him appeared to be suppressing something intensely.

“I will return to the ducal residence immediately.”

Before the emperor could say anything, he added.

“Waking up and traveling by carriage would be harder on her, so we must go while she is asleep from the medicine.”

The emperor let out a small sigh, gave a brief nod, and handed over a gleaming magic stone. It was a magic stone used within the imperial palace.

Eden, who received the magic stone without hesitation, held Loa, who was lying on the bed, carefully in his arms as though afraid she might break.

“You look into the knight. Was he not a knight you were rather fond of? I will look into the princess’s incident alongside this one.”

Eden gave a customary farewell to the emperor’s words and turned his eyes to Dias.

“When day breaks, bring the ducal carriage.”

To use the magic stone, he held Loa closer in his arms. Her limp arms kept falling away, but he paid it no mind and gathered them back into his hold again and again.

Dias did not know her master well, but the meaning of that final expression was something she could clearly understand.

Just before Eden disappeared, his expression looked hollow, as though he had lost something precious, and at the same time, filled with rage.

It was not yet very late at night, so the movements of the servants still remained within the ducal residence. Among the servants making their final preparations for the night to come and the morning to await, the elaborate imperial crest appeared. The sight of Eden appearing alongside that crest, with Loa cradled in his arms, felt to the servants like something they had seen before.

Eden laid Loa in his own room and headed to the study. He needed to know the truth of the incident. No sooner had he arrived at the study than a brief knock was heard, and the one who entered at his reply was Siobhan.

“Speak.”

“I apologize, master. I failed to taste it beforehand.”

“……”

“It is entirely my negligence.”

“Siobhan Akane.”

“Yes, master.”

“The mercy I extend is for the first and last time.”

“Yes.”

“Was it truly you?”

“Sincerely, it was not.”

Eden let out a long breath upon hearing Siobhan’s answer.

“Until the matter is resolved, it is prison.”

At his order, Siobhan voiced no complaint and said nothing more. He simply left with only a word of apology.

***

A dream I had dreamed once before.

Still a voice that would not come out, and endless darkness.

Following the light I had seen once before, I walked until I quickly arrived at a place where voices could be heard. Knowing that any words spoken here were all in vain, I simply watched quietly as the real Eloa and the sorcerer before her went about their actions.

The smile never left the lips of the sorcerer, who wore the appearance of the real me, Jang Hye-a. Without a trace of seriousness, it was simply a pleased expression, as though watching something amusing.

A dark red liquid poured without hesitation onto a silver dagger. Despite the liquid not being in great quantity, a raw smell rose from it.

Blood?

Only after all the liquid in the small glass bottle had been poured out did she grip the dagger tightly with both hands. The blade of that dagger was pointed toward Eloa herself.

“Now, stab yourself!”

Surely not.

“Hurry up and stab!”

Surely not.

Even at the sorcerer’s urging, when Eloa’s hand would not easily move, the sorcerer muttered as though losing interest.

“Tch, this is no fun. If I had known it would be like this, I should have chosen the one who looked more pitiful back then.”

“……”

“Hey, are you not going to do it? Have you gotten cold feet at this point?”

“I will do it.”

“If you are going to do it, will you hurry? I think I am about to lose interest in you.”

Eloa squeezed her eyes shut and raised her hand high. Unlike the hesitant movement from before, this time there was not a moment’s delay.

No, do not. Do not do it!

Knowing clearly that she could neither see nor hear me, I instinctively screamed and ran toward her to stop her.

With a movement without hesitation, the moment the sharp blade touched her chest.

“Hah!”

Drawing in a ragged breath, I pushed myself upright in the familiar room. Without paying any attention to my surroundings, I reflexively checked whether my heart was beating properly.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

It was beating faster than usual from having woken with such a start, but seeing it rise and fall regularly, I was able to feel reassured. Only then did my eyes begin to take in where I was. A room I had been to before. A solid-colored canopy without any crest or pattern.

I remembered the inexplicable nausea, vomiting everything up, and even blood coming out.

That must be why my throat is so terribly sore.

Looking around, there was a small bell placed on the nightstand beside the bed. Before I could even pick up the bell and ring it properly once, the bedroom door swung open without so much as a polite knock.