The bold conversation took place in the garden of the palace where the banquet was being held. The area was isolated, surrounded only by trees and grass, making it a rarely visited spot.

Probably, half the people didn’t even know such a place existed. Even she had only learned about it when the Crown Prince recommended it as a good place to organize one’s thoughts. The two men conversing there seemed unaware that someone might be listening.

It seemed like they were discussing something serious. She considered moving away, but curiosity got the better of her, and she cautiously approached, hiding her presence as much as possible.

“How are we supposed to… get rid of him? There’s no way to…”

The closer she got, the clearer the voices became. The two men had momentarily raised their voices.

“If things continue like this, we’ll all be devoured soon enough.”

“How did that woman know about…”

“It’s a mystery. We took every measure to ensure that ‘it’ would never be revealed.”

As the voices grew clearer and the trees no longer obscured her view, she saw two men who appeared to be nobles standing face-to-face. They seemed to be members of the noble faction opposing the Crown Prince. She had spent enough time with the Crown Prince to recognize their faces.

“This is the time for a life-and-death decision. There’s no choice but to live or die. Did you see his eyes today? He might have known about our plan. How else could he…”

The older-looking noble sighed.

“You’re right. We don’t know when the pack of wild dogs will try to strangle us.”

“What should we do?”

“We have to eliminate him, of course.”

Grace’s eyes widened. It was indeed something serious, just as she had suspected. She was curious about the rest of the conversation, but as she turned to leave, not wanting to get involved in unnecessary trouble, she froze.

“Who doesn’t know that? The question is how to get rid of him. How to eliminate the ‘Duke of Bannister.’”

Grace froze, unable to move. She wasn’t mistaken; they had clearly said ‘Duke of Bannister.’

“It’s something we’ve been planning for a long time. But he’s like iron, without a single weakness.”

“So, what’s your plan? Are you going to give up and let everything fall apart?”

Just as she turned to leave again, Grace’s foot stepped on the ground.

-Crack.

D*mn it. Grace cursed inwardly. It seemed she had stepped on a twig or something she hadn’t noticed in the dark.

“Who’s there?!”

The men shouted in her direction, realizing someone was there.

Running away would be pointless; she would be caught anyway. Grace was conflicted. Should she come out and pretend she heard nothing, or…

“If you don’t come out immediately…”

The decision was surprisingly easy. Grace stepped forward voluntarily.

“…Princess?”

The nobles were momentarily startled upon seeing her. She was, after all, almost the Crown Prince Cameron’s betrothed, who stood against them.

“From when were you there?”

One of the nobles asked cautiously, watching her closely. Although it was phrased as a question, it didn’t seem like they would easily believe whatever she said. Especially if she gave the obvious excuse of hearing nothing.

Grace slowly smiled. It seemed the world hadn’t abandoned her just yet. She revealed her true emotions, shedding the mask she had been wearing.

“I know his weakness.”

***

Upon truly discovering her nature, I was overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of emptiness, or perhaps it was betrayal, leaving me speechless.

“Have you satisfied your curiosity before dying?”

Grace asked with a smile full of genuine happiness, not even trying to hide her joy. It seemed to be the happiest she had ever been, and that only made her look more insane.

“What will you do if we all die? Are you planning to live the rest of your life hanging onto those people?”

“By that time, you’ll already be dead, so it doesn’t seem to concern you.”

It was astonishing how she had managed to hide her true nature all this time. It was chilling.

Grace then disappeared into the shadows, returning with a large object held in both hands, its short hose dangling from the end. Due to the darkness, I couldn’t quite make out what it was.

“But since it’s the end, I’ll tell you. They’re going to establish a new emperor.”

“A new emperor?”

At her words, a certain figure came to mind.

Could it be Jafflin? Already in a dire situation, I grew even more alarmed, but Grace merely shrugged.

“He’ll be nothing more than a puppet emperor, of course.”

Judging by the nuance of her words, it didn’t seem like the new emperor would be Jafflin. Not that Jafflin would accept the position even if it were offered.

“And I will be the empress.”

What’s the point of being the empress of a puppet emperor? Wasn’t it the emperor’s power she desired? Sensing my thoughts, Grace continued.

“You’re not assuming that because the emperor is a puppet, I will be too, are you?”

But that’s exactly what I thought. Yet, I didn’t voice it.

“I will become the true empress. Of the Astrid Empire. The emperor is just a tool to achieve that.”

The person who claimed to become the true empress of Astrid was, in fact, the one who would destroy it. A barely concealed scoff escaped my lips.

“Well, good luck with that, ‘Empress.’”

Grace frowned, clearly displeased. Neither of us had bothered to maintain our composure for a long time.

“How do you, of all people, think you could become a true empress? Power belongs to those who are fit for it. You’ll be the empress of a doomed Astrid Empire, not its ruler.”

“What did you say?”

Grace’s expression turned deadly as she repeated her question. Whether I sweet-talked her or insulted her, she was going to kill me anyway, right? So why should I be polite to my would-be killer? The absurdity of it all struck me. Logic wouldn’t work on someone like her; I had to win with sheer audacity.

“What guarantee do you have that you’ll become empress?”

Of course, there was no guarantee that I’d survive, but a good argument is all about confidence. Facing death, fear seemed to vanish, and I blurted out whatever came to mind.

Grace stared at me without expression before putting the small vial she had taken out back into her clothes.

“…It seems poison won’t work on you.”

Grace smiled calmly, as if regaining her composure.

“It’s a shame. That would have been the most peaceful way to die.”

Dying by poison being the most peaceful way… If that were to happen, it would be a tragic end to my life, indeed.

“Do you want to know why you can’t win?”

Grace posed the question as if she didn’t expect an answer.

“You have too much to lose. Your husband is the same. The moment he had something to lose, he was destined to die.”

Oddly, instead of feeling anger, I felt a small, indescribable emotion, almost like pity.

Had I never truly accepted this world as real? A part of me was shouting that I was pathetic for feeling no sense of danger, but suddenly, I thought:

Grace has nothing precious. Having a lot to lose means that something is valuable.

Even if she becomes empress, it would never truly be something precious to her. Grace seemed like someone living not because she wanted to, but because she couldn’t die.

“Well, it’s time to end this.”

A bad feeling crept over me.

Grace picked up the object she had brought and placed beside her earlier.

She pulled out the hose attached to it and dropped it on the floor.

Due to the darkness, it was hard to see, but now I could hear something sloshing inside. Grace turned the object upside down, pouring its contents out in a gushing stream.

It was liquid. As it soaked the ground, I realized something had gone terribly wrong.

The smell of oil. This was definitely the smell of oil. Grace poured the liquid all the way to the front of my cell.

The oil splattered everywhere, soaking my clothes. I touched the wet spot and sniffed. My suspicion was confirmed.

She was planning to burn me alive. If this continued, I would be roasted for sure.

“You’re going to kill me even though I haven’t been sentenced yet?”

“Whether you’ve been sentenced or not, you have to die. That’s why I’m doing this. By now, the Duke might have been captured as well. Not that it matters—you already threw away his chance to live.”

Roan? I desperately tried to think of a way to escape, but nothing came to mind. To make matters worse, the only magic I could properly use was Linda Selbaum’s fire magic, which would only hasten my demise.

Grace took out a small twig, rubbed it in the oil-soaked floor, and lit it with the lone torch that was the only light in the room.

Standing at the door, she looked at me and said just one thing.

“Blame your fate.”

The moment the door closed, the burning twig dropped to the ground. Flames surged up, rapidly spreading across the oil-soaked floor.

Though it was hard to see, I knew that black smoke was beginning to fill the entire prison, which had only one small window.

Cough, cough. I coughed reflexively. Covering my mouth and nose in the corner of the cell was useless. The flames hadn’t reached me yet, but I was suffocating from the smoke.

The coughing stopped. My consciousness started to fade, slipping into darkness like mist.

There had been many moments that felt like the end, but in every one of them, only one face came to mind.

Roan. Am I going to die without even seeing him one last time?

As I teetered on the brink of unconsciousness, I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn’t resist the darkness that finally engulfed me.

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