“Ah, sis. You should really drink less. You’re so heavy.”

Kayan grumbled then, as if the woman in his arms was Kirsten.

The measure seemed appropriate as the servant’s eyes slid away and the carriage arrived quickly.

“Take care, young duke and lady!”

“Thanks.”

After the servant closed the door carefully and bowed politely, the carriage soon disappeared into the distance.

Seeing Floria safely leave the imperial palace, Saena let out a big sigh of relief.

Just removing Elizabeth’s target lifted a considerable burden. She felt she could move much more freely now.

And now she had become the target.

Would she get caught? Pretend to be caught? Or charge in?

Saena fell into thought for a moment.

Elizabeth’s side probably didn’t know there was someone moving against them from the opposite direction. That was one of their biggest advantages, so it would be best to maintain this advantage as long as possible.

‘Then I don’t need to go far.’

Saena withdrew Yuri’s manifestation.

—What? Right here?

‘Yes.’

When not manifested, they could communicate through thoughts.

Saena let her body go limp. Fortunately, since she wore a mask, they couldn’t see her complexion.

Saena hurriedly emerged from the forest like she’s being chased by someone.

She headed to the carriage waiting area while deliberately making panting sounds. To any onlooker, she would appear deeply distressed.

The servant’s eyes that met hers sharpened inappropriately for his position and role.

“…My lady?”

“Hah… carriage…”

“Shall I call one for you?”

“The Aberdeen family’s carriage…”

Before finishing her words, her body collapsed to the ground.

Whether from good reflexes or expectation, the servant immediately supported her body.

Though being in a strange servant’s arms wasn’t particularly pleasant, she had no choice. Saena let her body go even more limp to avoid suspicion. Just like someone who had really lost consciousness.

“…My lady? Are you alright? My lady?”

The servant asked in a not particularly urgent tone. His voice didn’t seem very surprised either, making it feel like an insincere question, but she couldn’t show any reaction.

Seeming convinced she was truly unconscious, the servant said,

“Now the drug seems to be working properly. Report that we found the duke’s daughter.”

“Yes sir.”

She heard someone else answer besides the servant, and she was lifted onto someone’s back. She felt a large hood being placed over her.

Though she had clearly asked for the Aberdeen family’s carriage, they ignored her request and were taking her somewhere.

So this was why they had stationed watchers.

‘I wonder where they’re taking me.’

Such a bold move despite knowing she was a duke’s daughter from one of the four great ducal families and the only sister of an Oathkeeper.

Just how insane was Elizabeth?

Even while physically experiencing it herself, it was so absurd that it made her question the intent again.

She couldn’t understand how they planned to deal with the aftermath of doing this, even if she was the Hebeta.

After being carried for quite a while in an unconscious state (fake though it was), Saena could feel they moved from outside to inside. The sound of footsteps changed.

After being carried even further, she heard a familiar voice.

“Is this the duke’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

She was startled for a moment when she felt the hood being lifted but succeeded in not flinching.

After briefly checking her appearance, the hand let go of the hood.

“Ha, what a pain. Really.”

“……”

“Both the brother and sister…”

While listening to the voice full of irritation, Saena wondered.

‘Brother? Duke Aberdeen?’

Why was Duke Aberdeen being mentioned? Did he attend too? Well, he certainly could attend. Perhaps something happened between them?

Various thoughts raced through her mind.

“Lay her here.”

“Yes.”

Saena’s body flopped down as she was laid down. From the feeling against her back, it seemed to be on a bed.

She felt a gaze staring down at her blankly.

What was probably Elizabeth’s gaze settled over her body along with silence.

‘What if they remove my mask?’

Such worry naturally followed.

“Let’s leave her like this. She’ll probably prefer an appearance with such a clear identity.”

But fortunately, they didn’t seem to have such intentions.

“Yes.”

“Now then, you go call that person. I need to go handle the next matter.”

“Understood.”

The sound of footsteps faded away.

‘That person?’

—Who else would she use honorifics for? It’s obvious.

‘You mean the prince?’

—Who else could it be?

Though Saena had suspected as much, she still had to ask because something felt off.

The prince? Why? Was the Hebeta, the prince’s match, bringing another woman to offer to the prince? And an imperial duke’s daughter at that?

How should she understand this situation?

‘No matter how brazen she is, this is… a bit much, isn’t it?’

—Don’t try to understand what those crazy lovers are thinking. I realized long ago that trying to understand what’s in their heads is foolish.

Yuri added cynically.

Saena couldn’t argue. It was truly so.

‘Hah… Is there no one in the room?’

—No.

Saena opened her closed eyes and sat up.

Where was this? Though she naturally thought it was a room since there was a bed, she couldn’t tell which palace it was in.

She carefully examined the room. Usually you could tell the general purpose just by looking at the interior.

‘…Doesn’t seem to be the second floor.’

It looked better than the guest rooms attached to the banquet hall.

Plus something about the atmosphere was unique. It didn’t feel like a regular guest room.

Saena approached the window and looked outside.

“Oh… It’s an annex.”

Or should she say subsidiary palace? Though it seemed a bit small to call it a palace.

—They really planned this out.

Even if she screamed here, it seemed no one would hear. Was that why they chose this place?

If Constantine found out she was in a place like this, he would be quite displeased.

Her lips pressed together as she could already picture that scene.

“No, at this point isn’t this basically imprisonment and a crime?”

Even if they pull this off, how do they plan to handle the aftermath? Was the Aberdeen ducal family such a pushover?

—They must have some countermeasure to be doing this.

No matter how much Saena thought about it, she couldn’t figure out what that countermeasure could be.

—Someone’s coming. Lie back down.

At Yuri’s words, Saena threw herself back onto the bed and closed her eyes.

“Hahaha.”

A voice trying to sound jovial to an uncomfortable degree echoed through the space.

“Is this really the duke’s daughter? Hahaha.”

Is this really the prince? The surprise was mutual.

Though she was almost certain it would be the prince, when he actually appeared, she felt a surge of irritation.

Even though this was intentional, how could she be happy about having to lie helplessly in front of one of the people she least wanted to face?

But Saena deliberately calmed her mind.

She was no longer weak.

She could run away, attack him, or defend herself whenever she wanted. Even if she lost consciousness right now, Yuri would protect her.

That thought helped settle her churning emotions. In contrast, she could feel her senses becoming sharply honed.

“Let’s see… As expected of a direct descendant, I can feel the spirit power.”

Along with the giggling voice, hands touched her body.

For a moment she almost jumped up and pushed those hands away, but Saena held back. He was at her feet, seemingly out of reach if she stretched out her hands. She needed a more certain opportunity.

She had to endure the sensation of hands exploring her body a bit longer while biting the inside of her cheek. The touch that seemed to be appraising her shape and function was utterly disgusting.

Finally when his hands reached her upper body, Saena grabbed his arm firmly.

“What– ugh…!”

The power of the fainting ring coursed through her grip and penetrated him.

With a groan, his body collapsed heavily on top of her.

“Ugh…”

Even as he fell, he happened to pin her arm as he collapsed, making the angle awkward so she couldn’t push him off. Plus his face was buried in her neck, making her feel his repulsive breath directly, which irritated her more.

‘Get off, you bastard–’

After twisting her body several times, she was about to give up due to her arm being bent further and call Yuri, when the prince’s body was suddenly lifted away.

“…Constantine?”

It was Constantine.

He was holding the body that had felt so heavy to her as lightly as if picking up a cat by its scruff (with just one hand even).

“Saya…”

His voice carried a tone of relief.

How did he know to come here? She felt surprised and glad.

“Why is it that whenever you go out, you only show me such dangerous scenes?”

“……”

Though as expected, he did look quite displeased.

Just as she was about to sit up with an embarrassed expression, suddenly there was a loud noise.