Hakk.

With another silent retch, a rolled paper shot out.

She needed to read the paper but had nowhere suitable to put the bird temporarily. After a brief consideration, Saena placed it on her head.

Since it’s an artificial bird, it probably won’t leave any droppings…

The bird, bouncing slightly before settling well on top of her head, sat quietly unlike last time when it moved around.

Saena unrolled the paper with some anticipation.

[May I ask where you are right now?]

Has the meeting ended? He must be asking where she is to find her?

Saena made the bird come back to her hand from her head and spoke while meeting its eyes.

“Little bird. Can you deliver messages too? Could you tell him I’m in the hanging garden?”

However, the bird only tilted its small head without any response.

“……”

Hmm. With no paper or writing tools, what should she do? Even though she wanted to reply, she couldn’t in this situation. Looking around for some way to indicate her location, Saena’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

“Ah.”

While most plants lose their flowers and leaves in winter, many plants in the hanging garden were evergreen varieties. Saena picked one leaf that was particularly blue and pretty.

“Please deliver this. He’ll understand.”

She rolled up the green leaf and held it to the bird’s beak.

Though it wasn’t paper but a leaf, the bird didn’t seem to mind as it opened its mouth wide. Even after seeing it several times, the strange process ended and the bird took flight.

After watching its fluttering form disappear for a while, Saena turned her head.

“Search over there too!”

That’s when she heard the rough voices of men.

“We don’t have much time left!”

“Who doesn’t know that? We need to see to find it!”

Startled by the approaching voices, Saena quickly moved. In her hurry to hide, she unexpectedly found herself entering the maze garden, but she had no choice.

As the men drew closer, going deeper seemed better than going out. Even if they were gentlemen, she was reluctant to encounter multiple men alone in such a remote place.

Even in a maze garden, there’s usually more than one path, so it would be better to find a nearby exit to slip out.

While thinking this, she still thoroughly searched likely corners for dolls since she was already inside.

“Oh?!”

As she turned a corner, something seemed to be underneath. When she reached in, it definitely felt like a doll. She excitedly pulled it out.

“What… It’s not Erenhorn.”

She briefly considered taking it since she already had one, but her hands were already full with the dolls she held, so she decided to leave it. Instead, she placed it somewhere visible so others could find it.

“What if I can’t find Erenhorn at this rate?”

Strangely, the unicorn just wouldn’t appear.

She was getting tired now, and feeling like she’d wandered too long, she wanted to go back.

Breathing out lightly, Saena tried to find her bearings while searching for an exit.

She finally managed to escape the maze garden.

Coming out, she found herself at a corner of the multi-level structure. Seeing torch lights, there seemed to be stairs nearby.

While gauging that distance with her eyes, something entered Saena’s view.

A small object’s silhouette that looked like a doll on top of the stone railing next to the torch light. Looking at its shape, it was definitely…

‘Erenhorn!’

Though it seemed strange how obviously it was placed on the stone railing, nothing else could enter her eyes now that she’d finally found what she wanted.

‘Finally found it!’

Saena excitedly rushed toward Erenhorn.

But then.

“Lady Saena.”

Someone called her name.

Saena was startled at her name suddenly emerging from the darkness.

She froze, almost forgetting about the unicorn doll’s existence for a moment.

“…Who’s there?”

Someone walked out from under the dark tree shadows. From the dress silhouette, it was a woman, but her presence didn’t feel familiar.

But as she came closer, Saena could recognize who it was.

“…Lady Hebeta?”

The person who called her was Hebeta, Elaine Barnes.

“Yes, it’s me.”

Elaine Barnes’s face, emerging from the shadows, was hard to read due to the flickering torch shadows. Even so, somehow, it made her skin crawl.

“…What brings you here? Were you searching for treasures?”

“…Rather than searching for treasures, I’d say I’m more like guarding them.”

“……”

What does this mean? Though she didn’t understand, Elaine’s ominously echoing voice suggested something foreboding.

Saena found herself unconsciously stepping backward.

“You…”

“……”

“You truly have no conscience! Don’t you?”

“…Pardon? What do you mean…”

“They say you abandoned even your best friend for power?”

“What?”

As Elaine gradually approached, her expression, hidden in the twilight, became increasingly visible. Her fierce eyes glared at Saena as if to devour her.

‘…She’s not normal.’

Her face looked like she might do something at any moment. A kind of madness flowed in her eyes.

She raised something she had been holding in her hand.

‘…A dagger?!’

Is, is she crazy? What’s wrong with her!

Saena anxiously looked around. If only those men she almost ran into before entering the maze garden were here, she could try to call for help.

“For power, now you’re even after His Highness the Prince!”

No, I wouldn’t take him even if offered…

Though she didn’t understand how Elaine had come to think this way, this wasn’t the right place to explain point by point.

“How dare you! How dare you! While I’m right here with my eyes wide open!”

Saena kept backing away from the menacing presence.

WHOOSH–!

At that moment, two large pillars of fire rose from the direction of the imperial palace. It was the signal announcing midnight and the end of the treasure hunt time.

Even in this urgent situation, Saena turned to look at the light illuminating the dark sky.

“The Empress’s position is mine! It’s mine!”

In that brief moment when she took her eyes off, Elaine Barnes charged forward with a shout.

“Huk!”

Saena, who had been pushed back near the stairs, quickly twisted her body to avoid Elaine’s sudden charge. She felt the blade graze her forearm but had no time to worry about it.

“—Die!”

But Elaine seemed unwilling to end it there, raising her dagger-wielding hand again and lunging forward.

“Ah!”

Saena instinctively grabbed Elaine’s wrist.

Despite being shorter than Saena, she possessed incredible strength. They say crazy people have superhuman strength — was that why?

Saena’s arms trembled as she tried to hold Elaine back.

‘Someone, please help…!’

Saena gradually stumbled backward. Her heel hit what felt like a stone railing. There was nowhere left to retreat.

What should she do?

Though she desperately held onto Elaine’s hands, seeing the blade flashing before her eyes made her break into a cold sweat, feeling it might slash her face at any moment.

Elaine’s gleaming eyes were frightening, and the blade even more so. Yet Saena desperately maintained her grip with all her strength.

“Die! Just die!”

Even if delusions are free, couldn’t she at least go mad gracefully! To misunderstand everything on her own and try to kill someone! Even though she came to life again somehow, she couldn’t die like this — if only for her family who would grieve twice!

Saena channeled all her strength throughout her body in anger.

“Ugh!”

“Get a grip! You woman!”

She summoned every ounce of strength she had and shoved Elaine hard.

“Ah!”

The problem was that the recoil pushed Saena backward too, and unfortunately, there was a not-so-high stone railing behind her.

As her knees caught on it, her body tipped backward.

Somehow, she couldn’t even scream.

Time seemed to slow down more than a hundredfold as her suspended body moved through the air.

At this angle, her neck would surely break…

‘…Am I going to die?’

What caught Saena’s falling gaze wasn’t Elaine Barnes’s demon-like face, but rather the unicorn doll sitting prominently on top of the stone railing at the top of the stairs. The unicorn seemed to be watching Saena as she fell away from it.

‘You fall quite often.’

Why? As she watched it growing more distant… Constantine’s words suddenly came to mind.

Saena squeezed her eyes shut.