Backed into a corner, they even posed questions about the empire’s history, science, mathematics, and other curriculum subjects, but these posed no problem for Leila, who had been exceptionally brilliant.

“Answering in this setting makes me feel like I’ve been stripped n*ked. It’s shameful. By what authority do you commit such rudeness to me? And did you not see the records showing I graduated top of my class from the academy? The verification seems to be over, so I will now stand up and leave.”

The noble faction members were pale with shock, not knowing what to do.

Neiyard too was so focused on the idea of placing Elisha in the empress position that he had acted rashly without careful investigation. He could only clench his fist in anger at himself without saying anything.

This was the first such mistake in his life.

Just when everyone, including Charte, thought they had won, Count Chester entered and said,

“I request that a lady-in-waiting from the empress’s palace be brought in as a witness.”

At the mention of a lady-in-waiting from the empress’s palace, Duke Whyman and Ivester began to worry about Leila, who wouldn’t know about life in the imperial palace after the marriage.

Charte was worried for the same reason but couldn’t show it, so he instead spoke with an annoyed face,

“Is there still more you’re curious about? How long must I go along with your rhythm?”

“Your Majesty, this is not a private matter. It’s a very important issue for the empire. A lady-in-waiting from the empress’s palace said she heard it directly.”

“So you believe the lady-in-waiting and the mage, but not the empress?”

“That’s, that’s not what I mean……”

“Fine. Let’s say you’re right. Then exactly when did the empress switch? Before the marriage? After? At this rate, I have no idea when this will end. Are you hoping the empress will make a mistake and get caught? It’s deplorable that such careless people hold important positions in the empire.”

Neither Yasrin nor the noble faction knew the exact timing.

That was something even Gardio didn’t know.

Even without seeing the relaxed faces of the imperial faction, it was clear.

The fact that Neiyard himself was backed into a corner.

Regret washed over him for not proceeding carefully as usual.

Neiyard began to worry about how to smooth over this incident, or rather, how to escape from it.

It was obvious that the emperor would use this opportunity to crush the noble faction so they could never rise again.

Although Neiyard himself had committed a crime, thinking of his daughter Elisha tore his heart.

It was bad enough that he couldn’t place her in the empress position as she wanted, but now facing execution—the more he thought about it, the more unbearable it became.

He would gladly kill everyone if only Elisha could be saved.

At that moment, Leila, who had been sitting in her seat, suddenly made a thudding sound as she lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

The nobles looked at Leila with faces that moved from shock to terror, thinking the empress had collapsed because of them, while the imperial faction looked at her with faces filled with fear due to concern.

And shortly after, Leila opened her eyes.

“Charte?”

Seeing her call him “Charte” with affectionate eyes, he instantly knew it was Yun-ah.

Quickly picking up Yun-ah in his arms, Charte stood up and scanned the noble faction with a piercing gaze.

“That’s enough for today. However, if anything happens to the empress, I will not let it go. Be prepared.”

Charte went straight outside and didn’t say a word until he entered the empress’s room.

* * *

Various emotions crossed Charte’s face as he carefully placed me on the bed as if handling a precious treasure.

“Yun-ah?”

“Charte!”

With my arms around Charte’s neck, I pressed my lips to his.

I could feel Charte’s desperate longing for what he had lost and found again.

He came in roughly, with the determination to possess me this time.

It was like an angry wave.

If he usually controlled the intensity appropriately with techniques of pushing and pulling to make me yearn, today’s Charte seemed to have no room for such leisure.

His lips, which pressed so hard I could barely breathe, moved down from my cheeks to my neck and collarbone.

Charte’s and my heated breaths filled the room.

When Charte’s lips parted from me, I felt strangely impatient.

As if noticing this feeling, Charte was undoing the buttons on the front of my dress with subtle hands when there was an urgent knock followed by Judith’s voice.

“Prime Minister Whyman and Minister Pahorder are waiting.”

Charte, who had exhaled a regretful deep breath, looked at me with a face full of resentment.

“Regrettably, I must meet them now.”

Charte carefully buttoned up what he had undone and again, with a regretful face, kissed my lips with a ‘smack’ sound.

I hurriedly tidied his disheveled hair and clothes.

“Enter.”

Whyman and Ivester, who had been waiting outside, rushed in with desperate expressions and silently asked with their eyes who I was.

“It’s Yun-ah.”

Prime Minister Whyman’s knees buckled, and Ivester, though surprised, had a secretly pleased face.

“Ah! Don’t worry. The moment I left, the body woke up. So I think Leila will be fine too. She’s probably not trapped like before. Although she’s still hospitalized.”

Finally relieved, Whyman muttered,

“Thank goodness. Really. For both of them.”

We exchanged stories about what had happened on both sides.

I only had recovery progress to report, but so many countless diverse events had occurred in the empire that it was bewildering just to hear about them.

Among them, the most shocking was not the noble faction’s attack.

“What? You agreed to divorce Leila?”

At Charte’s words, Prime Minister Whyman pressed his forehead, and Ivester was so flustered that he didn’t know where to place his trembling gaze.

“Since she’s someone who switched souls because she hated marriage, I agreed to divorce her once everything is quietly resolved.”

From Yun-ah’s perspective, it seemed like her stomach was full enough to make her jealous.

She felt disgusted by the cruel and harsh fate that allowed someone to so easily discard a person she herself could never have, even if she died.

Seeing that Whyman’s face suddenly seemed to have aged ten years, perhaps from the great shock of his daughter’s divorce from the emperor, I changed the subject.

“Leila and I really switched at an incredible time. So what happens to them now?”

“If they’ve done wrong, they must be punished.”

“I’m bothered that Yasrin only received expulsion. It feels like she disappeared without being punished for her many crimes.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“But what should Leila and I do now? If Gardio performs the magic properly, will we return perfectly?”

Ivester said with a troubled face,

“The assistant mage betrayed us, so we need to find another one. It seems impossible right now.”

At Ivester’s answer, Charte seemed openly relieved.

Just then, there was another urgent knock, and Rad entered.

“What is it this time?”

“Your Majesty, a report has come in that Princess Yasrin has escaped.”

“What? Yasrin escaped? Is it possible for knights to let Yasrin slip away?”

“Since she’s a princess of another country, they couldn’t lay hands on her, and it seems she placed a body double in her inn room at night and escaped.”

“Where would she have gone?”

“I suspect she has connections with Duke Neiyard.”

“Let’s go back to the conference room. You all go ahead first.”

After Prime Minister Whyman, Ivester, and Rad left, Charte approached her.

“I’ll be back shortly. Don’t run away this time, please wait for me.”

“Yes. I’ll wait.”

Charte pulled her into his arms and gave a brief but intense kiss instead of a farewell.

After Charte left, she touched her lips where his warmth remained, and it felt real that she had returned.

She didn’t want to leave again.

Being alone now, she began writing a letter to Leila.

Feeling that she might switch with Leila again, she wrote down information about the current situation in the empire and about her original world.

She thought this kind of information would be necessary for both of them for a while.

Leila hadn’t made any mistakes while unconscious, but it would be dangerous going forward.

Since time flowed differently, she thought people might just consider it aftermath from the accident until they switched again.

Leaving this information would help reduce the shock next time.

As they continued to switch, more people would find it strange, so it was necessary for their safety too.

* * *

The grand conference room was sunk in heavy silence, and everyone stood up when Charte entered.

“Do you still have questions for the empress?”

Duke Neiyard wasn’t the leader of the noble faction simply because he was a duke.

He was someone who knew when to retreat and when to advance.

He was a cunning power player known as an old fox, a snake, and a political mastermind.

“No, Your Majesty. I think we should conclude here. Seeing Her Majesty the Empress collapse, even the gods seem uneasy. Nothing is more important than Her Majesty the Empress’s health. I will apologize to Prime Minister Whyman as well. I will visit Her Majesty the Empress later to apologize for my rudeness. And I’m sorry for causing this incident based solely on Princess Yasrin’s words.”

Although Charte had wanted to use this opportunity to bring down the noble faction, Yun-ah’s return was his priority now.

If they continued exchanging words in front of many witnesses, mistakes could happen.

Moreover, if Yun-ah’s answers differed from what Leila had said in front of everyone, it would be a terrible disaster he didn’t want to imagine.

If that happened, the noble faction would claim the empress was mentally unstable or deficient, making her unqualified.

For various reasons, he judged that resolving this matter here was best for everyone.

In any case, it was certain that the noble faction had taken a hit from this incident.

For now, this much achievement was enough.

At this moment, Charte was sufficiently happy just with the fact that Yun-ah had returned.

Charte wanted to quickly wrap up all matters and go to the empress’s palace.

* * *

Duke Neiyard, who returned to his mansion in a rage, looked for Yasrin.

“We almost suffered a great defeat today. The empress is indeed Leila Whyman. What kind of lie were you trying to tell to get someone killed!”

Yasrin’s face, which had been expressing disbelief, turned pale.

“That’s impossible. That woman is not Leila Whyman.”

“We thoroughly investigated her past, and she was clearly Leila Whyman. We were completely defeated. If the empress hadn’t collapsed and things hadn’t been smoothed over, we might not be here right now.”

“My information was perfect. Something’s strange.”

Yasrin was conflicted about whether to mention the contract marriage.

But she felt that even if she did, they wouldn’t believe her now.

She couldn’t present something without evidence when even her claims with evidence had failed.

She didn’t like how the situation was becoming more tangled the more she tried.

She felt bitterly regretful about the contract that the empress had torn up during their previous fight.

There wouldn’t have been just one copy of the contract.

The other copy would certainly be with Charte.

“Have you given up?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s one last method. I need someone to execute this plan for me.”

Duke Neiyard looked at Yasrin with a troubled face.