If this were someone else’s story, it would definitely be an entertaining scene to watch. But since Edmund might be my master, this atmosphere wasn’t good.

“P-Prince Lucid. Why did you call me?”

“Oh, right. Olivia.”

As if just now remembering why he had come looking for me, Lucid lightly grasped my wrist.

“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

“…What?”

Why was he acting so familiar all of a sudden?

Since when were we close?

“Why didn’t you apply?”

“Apply for what?”

Since he avoided the subject entirely, I had no choice but to ask a question.

“I said we’d help people find family lost during the civil war! Didn’t you hear about it? It’s a project I came up with because of you.”

Ah, so he was talking about the family reunion project!

I already knew about the event Lucid was promoting because I had read the novel. He wouldn’t have come up with the project because of me — he would have done it anyway, so it’s not my fault.

Now that he’d said it like that, it was obvious that Edmund was going to start getting suspicious about my relationship with Lucid again.

“I don’t have any family.”

“You don’t remember—what if you do have family out there?”

Lucid pouted.

‘No, seriously, I don’t. I’m in a doll’s body, remember?’

Of course, I had considered applying in the hope of finding the boy who had been shot. Ultimately, though, we weren’t family, so I couldn’t apply.

Besides, if something promoted by Lucid was successful, it would only make things more difficult for me working under Edmund.

“Do you know a Baron Schurhatz?”

“Uh, well…”

I tried to recall carefully.

If you wanted to work for a prince, you had to memorise the names of many noble families from across the Empire. I had studied the register of nobles diligently. However, to be honest, there were just too many nobles in the Empire and it was hard to remember them all, unless they lived in the capital.

“Oh, the family that moved south during the civil war?”

“That’s right. You really know your stuff.”

Lucid’s green eyes softened as he smiled.

“That baron couple apparently lost their only daughter during the war.”

“…And?”

What does that have to do with me?

I tilted my head in confusion, and Lucid, looking frustrated, tapped his chest a couple of times.

“They said they lost a five-year-old daughter with sky-blue hair and blue eyes while they were in the capital.”

“Ah… that’s unfortunate?”

But clearly, that wasn’t the response he wanted. Lucid frowned and asked,

“Don’t you think that might be you?”

“Whaaat??”

At Lucid’s words, Ecla covered her mouth with a dainty gasp and clapped her hands.

“Oh my, wouldn’t it be wonderful if they really were your parents?”

“Oh, no way. That’s impossible.”

“Why is it impossible? You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

At Edmund’s sharp question, I flinched and quickly shook my head.

“I-I mean, it’s not like I could be a noble…”

“Then let’s go see!”

“W-Wait, hold on!!”

I looked at Edmund, hoping he would put a stop to this nonsense, but he only glanced at me briefly before returning his attention to Ecla. His red eyes were fixed on her, softening noticeably.

In response, Ecla gave him a warm smile, and just like that, the two of them looked perfect together — so effortlessly beautiful that I couldn’t help but sigh.

Even as they walked away, they looked stunning together. All I could do was watch them go.

Lucid soon led me to the palace gardens, where his project was in full swing. Under extravagant floral arrangements, people reunited after fifteen years, embracing each other amid tears and sobs of joy.

Admittedly, the project itself was admirable. After all, so many had lost their families during the war.

The problem was these two.

“Ohh! She looks just like my wife when she was young!”

“Sniff sniff, she must be the daughter we lost!”

The Baron and Baroness of Schurhatz, introduced by Lucid, wept as they spoke. With their gentle expressions and warm presence, they reminded me of a kind countryside couple.

If I had truly lost my memories, I might’ve believed them on the spot.

“Oh my… Then, am I really your daughter?”

I covered my mouth with both hands, overcome with emotion, and asked the question. The Baroness of Schurhatz began to cry and held my hands tightly.

“Yes, you’re definitely my daughter. I knew it the moment I saw you.”

Wow, this actress is amazing! But seriously, why would strangers suddenly claim me as their daughter? As far as I can recall, Baron Schurhatz didn’t have his own estate and held a lowly position in a remote province.

Are they after my money?

“Oh my, is that so.”

Are they targeting my salary? Or are they thinking bigger and wanting some kind of backing?

Maybe they think that if they can claim their ‘daughter’ worked under the First Prince, they’ll get a nice position too.

But Edmund doesn’t hand out promotions for nonsense like that. You’ve got the wrong target entirely.

“What a relief! So I do have parents!”

People like this are easy to deal with. If they’re after money, all I have to do is show them that they won’t be getting any.

As I smiled at them, the baron and baroness exchanged satisfied smiles before pulling me into a warm embrace.

“Yes, I’m your father.”

Says who? What are you, a doll too? I forced my twitching mouth back into a smile.

“The truth is… after I lost my parents, I ended up with a lot of debt.”

At the word debt, the grip around me loosened instantly.

“D-debt? But I heard the High Priest sponsored you?”

Oh, so you did do your homework! If you’re planning to scam people at a royal event, I suppose you’d have to prepare thoroughly.

“That’s true. But while I was studying at the temple, I incurred a lot of expenses. I had to pay for fifteen years’ worth of lodging, food, clothing, and shoes, and I was so eager to learn that I took lots of expensive private lessons. I even bought lots of rare books.”

I listed everything slowly, folding my fingers one by one as I smiled. Of course, I didn’t owe a single coin. The temple priests had always taken good care of me, as had the High Priest.

“If I had to estimate… around five thousand krang?”

“F-five thousand?!”

Just moments ago, the Baroness had been in tears. Now, she instantly pushed my hand away.

Shocking, isn’t it? At five thousand krang, it was like trying to remove a lump and ending up with a tumour.

As expected, money must be their true motive. Their warm attitude vanished the moment I mentioned debt.

“We didn’t hear anything about that!?”

Baron Schurhatz shouted, his face darkening with rage. “Wait a minute,” he said. “It sounds like someone has given you information about me.”

At the sudden outburst, the Baroness quickly clung to her husband’s arm.

“D-dear, now that I think about it, she does seem a little different from our daughter, doesn’t she?”

“Exactly. If you look closely, she doesn’t resemble us at all, right? We must have made a mistake.”

The two of them began to back away, laughing awkwardly. I took a step forward.

No matter how I looked at it, there had to be someone pulling the strings behind them.

“But you never know! People change as they grow. You said you lost your daughter in the capital during the civil war, didn’t you? Why don’t you tell me more about that?”

“L-let go! No one told us she had debts! We were just—!!”

Unbelievable. Who hired these idiots? I didn’t expect them to crack this easily.

Fine then let’s find out exactly who’s behind all this.

“That’s something I need to hear in detail.”

A cold voice came from behind us, causing everyone, myself included, to turn their heads.

I saw long strides, black hair and piercing red eyes. It was Edmund.

But what about Ecla? I was sure he would be with her. Why was he here?

“We greet the First Prince, Your Highness!”

Baron and Baroness Schurhatz quickly bowed in a panic. Even if they held a low post in the provinces, they clearly recognized Edmund by sight.

“I heard that the child who used to work in my office might have found her parents, so I came to offer my congratulations. But it seems that’s not the case.”

Edmund glared at the two of them, his eyes like the Grim Reaper’s.

“And from the way you’re speaking, it sounds like someone put you up to this.”

“N-no, that’s not it!!”

“We’ll need to investigate. We must know exactly who you were trying to approach, and why.”

At Edmund’s signal, the royal guards began to drag the two of them away.

Whoa! That was intense! Not that I had any intention of helping them, though.

“W-wait, Your Highness!”

“Please, Your Highness!! We were just following orders!!”

It was at that moment that Lucid, who had silently watched the whole situation, suddenly pulled a gun from his belt.

Bang! Bang!

Two precise gunshots rang out, followed immediately by splashes of red blood flying through the air.

I flinched and fell to the ground in shock.

Screams echoed all around as people panicked at the sound of gunfire.

“To think someone would dare lie at my event. This is clearly my mistake.”

Lucid smiled with his gun still raised not the slightest hint of regret in his expression.

“Olivia, what should I do? I feel just terrible about this.”

“Sorry, Brother. I know you hate guns.”

“…You’ve gotten quite arrogant.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

The atmosphere between the two brothers was tense and chilling, but all I could see were the two corpses lying on the ground. Each had a bullet wound to the heart.

Bullets in their chests. Lifeless bodies.

If I can’t find my master and win his favour, I’ll end up like them.

My whole body began to tremble like a leaf in the wind. There had always been something unreal about this situation, as though it wasn’t really happening.

But now, seeing someone collapse and die right in front of me…

It hit me all over again — this place is real.

This place is real. And so is everything in it.