Even as he sat drinking the tea Leila served, Whyman’s gaze never left her.

“Yes. Drinking tea you brewed late at night was the happiest thing.”

Leila smiled brightly.

“Leila, let’s continue the conversation we couldn’t finish earlier. Why did all this happen?”

“It was something I did because I couldn’t bear my life. Looking at how I’ve returned like this, fate seems terribly persistent.”

“You mean it was your intention?”

“Yes, I’ll be honest with you. It was all my intention. I hated the life of growing up as a proper lady and having to marry a man I didn’t love. I wanted to study what I wanted, do what I wanted, and live freely. I dreamed of it even knowing it was impossible.”

“Leila, you were the heir to the duke’s family.”

“Yes. I was the heir to the duke’s family. But Ivester, you weren’t academically superior to me, yet you became the Minister of Economy. You’ll naturally inherit the Pahorder ducal title too. Of course, I’m not saying you’re stupid. I’m just too excellent.”

“You switched souls just because of that?”

“I wanted to live a life where I could choose what I wanted, not just live the life given to me. I wanted the position of Prime Minister where I could use my abilities not just for my family but for the country. So I wanted to go to such a world, but it went wrong. It’s not wrong to want to live according to one’s abilities, is it?”

Knowing Leila’s dreams were impossible here, Prime Minister Whyman fell silent. Ivester too couldn’t say anything.

In the suffocating silence, Leila continued her story.

“Above all, I didn’t want to die meaninglessly at the hands of an emperor who dances with swords. That would make my life too unfair. I lived diligently, and I didn’t want my life and death to be determined by someone else.”

“So everything happened because of me.”

The gazes of the three people conversing turned toward the sound, and there stood Charte.

The three stood up with surprised faces and greeted him.

“Everyone, sit down. This seems like a story I should hear too.”

Worried that the emperor might be angry, Prime Minister Whyman spoke up.

“There was no intention to dishonor Your Majesty.”

“It’s alright. It was the truth. I don’t intend to blame anyone. Lady, please continue.”

Leila nodded slightly and continued in a calm tone.

“I found a mage because I wanted to escape, and during the process, the mage died coughing blood. So at the moment I thought it had failed, I realized I had entered Yun-ah’s body, and the rest you know. I don’t know the details, but I think it’s because the magic was incomplete and imperfect that we keep going back and forth like this.”

At Leila’s last words, a glimmer of hope bloomed on Charte’s face.

“Then it means you could switch again?”

“Well, I don’t know. I’m not sure if it’s over now that I’ve returned to my original place due to the imperfection of the previous magic, or if this will continue to happen.”

“Call the mage named Gardio.”

Ivester’s face changed to one of difficulty at Charte’s command.

“The mage who was assisting Gardio happened to be the witness Princess Yasrin brought, so as soon as I saw his face, I sent a separate message and had him evacuated quickly.”

“Where to?”

“For now, I’ve hidden him in my home, which is safe. After consulting with you, I planned to move him to a safe house.

The assistant mage left a note saying he had to leave urgently due to family matters, so it seems he was bribed with money. It was my oversight.”

“Not at all. You handled it well and quickly.”

* * *

At that time, Duke Neiyard’s residence was also in a state of chaos.

Even those who had been planning to oust the empress couldn’t believe what had happened, so they all sat there blankly, unable to speak up.

“Bring him in.”

The mage bribed by Yasrin entered nervously.

At Neiyard’s signal, Count Chester spoke sharply.

“You know you’ll die if you escape from our hands, don’t you?”

The bribed mage bowed his head and said,

“I didn’t know things would turn out this way. Please just spare my life.”

“Is everything Princess Yasrin said this morning true?”

“Yes. I was preparing soul-returning magic together with him.”

“Who were you working with?”

“A young mage named Gardio, who is being considered for the position of the next Tower Master.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Of course. Since I left a letter and came out, he probably doesn’t know about this situation.”

At Neiyard’s signal, knights moved quickly to find Gardio.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Duke Neiyard.”

Neiyard stroked his chin with a relaxed face and looked at Count Chester.

Just then, there was a commotion at the duke’s residence, and shortly after, Yasrin rushed in.

“Duke Neiyard!”

Neiyard greeted her with a disgruntled face.

“What brings you here? I thought you had been expelled.”

“I went to the border and came back. Did you think I would give up the position of empress so easily?”

Neiyard quickly began calculating gains and losses.

Whether it would be beneficial to keep Yasrin or to discard her.

After finishing his calculation, Neiyard decided to keep her a little longer for now.

Someone who had been expelled could be discarded anytime, so he could use her a bit more and then throw her away.

“What do you intend to do with the situation I’ve created? Will you just stand by and watch? Duke Neiyard.”

“We can’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Tomorrow, we will create an occasion to test the empress. After all, we can’t entrust the empress position to someone without proper lineage.”

Yasrin seemed satisfied as she raised the corners of her mouth widely.

“But Princess, this is a matter of life and death. If things go wrong, none of us here will be safe. That includes you too.”

“Do you think I would have acted rashly when this is my last card to play? And I have more witnesses.”

At Yasrin’s unexpected answer, this time it was Neiyard’s lips that curved up smoothly.

“Take Princess Yasrin to the guest house.”

After Yasrin left, Neiyard spoke to his vassals.

“I have no intention of leaving the empress position to a foreigner any longer. And I don’t intend to be dragged around by the imperial family anymore.”

Everyone seemed to have difficulty guessing Neiyard’s thoughts, as they waited for his next words without even making a sound.

“I will place Elisha in the empress position. And I will make Elisha’s child the heir to the empire. I don’t want to hear the term ‘noble faction’ anymore. From now on, we will be the mainstream.”

Although surprised by the announcement that he would make his beloved Elisha the empress, the vassals did not raise any questions and all answered “Yes” simultaneously, bowing their heads in respect.

* * *

The next day, the noble faction strongly insisted on investigating the empress.

The imperial faction outwardly strongly opposed but inwardly thought it was an opportunity to counterattack, so they reluctantly agreed to listen to their claims.

Their subsequent performance of dejected expressions was quite masterful.

Drunk on the victory before their eyes, the nobles said with arrogant faces,

“We want to investigate Her Majesty the Empress immediately.”

They hurried as much as possible to prevent the empress from having time to prepare.

The emperor permitted everything with a resigned face.

Leila, who was getting dressed up to face the test, had a confident expression.

Rather, it was the ladies-in-waiting in the empress’s palace who were restless, and Judith even took out a handkerchief to dab away tears.

“What kind of humiliation is this, Your Majesty the Empress?”

“It’s alright. It’s not true anyway. Don’t worry.”

Having finished her preparations, Leila stood up with a dignified expression and looked in the mirror.

Leila thought,

Seeing that such an incident occurred after her return, heaven seemed to be on the emperor’s side.

Moreover, the emperor had promised to grant her a divorce once this matter was resolved and things calmed down.

Hiding her joy, Leila headed to the Main Palace.

In the central seat of the Main Palace’s grand conference room, with Charte as the reference point, the noble faction sat on the right and the imperial faction on the left, waiting for Leila.

In the tense atmosphere that made it hard to breathe and made one’s knees weak, Charte’s calm voice was heard.

“Who will take responsibility for this matter?”

“Your Majesty, my daughter and I are innocent. If there is any wrongdoing, I will take responsibility with my life.”

After hearing Prime Minister Whyman’s answer, Charte’s gaze turned to the right, and Duke Neiyard also answered confidently,

“It’s clear that I will become a meritorious subject for suppressing treason, but if there is any wrongdoing, I too will take responsibility with my life.”

“Duke Neiyard, are you aware that what you’re plotting now is also treason? One life doesn’t seem enough, can you handle it?”

“I will fully acknowledge and share the responsibility with everyone present here.”

Just then, a voice announced the empress’s arrival, and soon Leila entered and sat next to Charte.

The noble faction then argued that sitting next to the emperor was inappropriate and insisted she sit at the lowest seat.

“This is outrageous and insulting. It’s extremely unpleasant that you all are making such strange claims. I am the legitimate empress who legally married His Majesty the Emperor. I don’t understand why you’re doing this, but I ask you to maintain proper etiquette.”

Charte also added words to support Leila’s opinion.

“Princess Yasrin has never hesitated to slander and plot to take the empress’s position. I admire the courage of those of you who have come this far based solely on the words of such a person and some unknown mage.”

Leila protested with a rather aggrieved expression.

“I’m sitting here because of the unreasonable greed of a few, but I’m truly wronged. I don’t understand what it means to ask someone who has lived as Leila Whyman to prove that she is Leila Whyman. Duke Neiyard, are you confident that you know more about Leila Whyman than I do?”

“Not exactly. That’s why I’ve prepared objective, factual materials and witnesses, and I intend to question based on those. Please understand that this is all for the empire.”

They thoroughly searched through Leila’s life and gathered people and materials.

Academic records and friends from her academy days, teachers, and the godmother who taught her lady etiquette appeared as witnesses. Even the nanny who raised her appeared with a frightened face.

As if that wasn’t enough, even the owners of the dress shop and jewelry store she regularly go to appeared.

However, Leila answered all questions without hesitation.

The nobles began to panic, and as time passed, concern and worry visibly accumulated on their faces.