Hannah bowed her head and retreated to the doorway. Soon, the door opened and Daniel, dressed in ducal attire, entered with a broad smile.

“My niece, Elia…… it’s been so long.”

“Yes, Uncle Daniel. It’s been a while.”

Elia did not avoid Daniel’s gaze. Seeing this, the corner of Daniel’s mouth curved upward.

“Since this is a rare family meeting, everyone else, withdraw.”

“Yes.”

Even though they were alone, Elia’s expression remained unchanged. Daniel had thought she would be easier to read at just nineteen, but that was his hasty assumption.

“I hear His Majesty came by yesterday.”

“Yes. He said he happened to meet aunt’s party returning to the convent.”

“Hmm…… that’s right.”

Daniel’s eyes grew noticeably sharper. Elia had deceived Daniel by sending a maid in her place in the carriage.

Her eloquent manner of naturally covering up the incident was impressive.

“You’ve grown so much since I last saw you. Much more than I expected……”

“Many things have happened.”

Elia slowly turned her head to look directly at Daniel’s face. His smile gradually faded and then completely disappeared.

“What are you plotting?”

He had planned to persuade her and send her to the convent, but now he could see that Elia’s gaze was no ordinary one.

“Plotting?”

“There was no need to deceive me too.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Seeing Elia’s unchanged expression, Daniel’s mouth twisted.

It was time to set aside the fact that she was a nineteen-year-old lady and his niece. Even the former duchess hadn’t been as composed as Elia, and he suddenly felt that she was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

“You used Briana to deceive me.”

“I had no intention of deceiving you or anyone else, uncle. I simply made a choice to avoid danger.”

Two facts had strengthened Elia’s resolve.

One was, of course, Rockfort’s suspicion that she already knew well, and the other was the small medicine bottle she now took out from her bosom.

“You just didn’t know, uncle.”

Elia, who had been fiddling with the bottle in her palm, looked at Daniel again.

“Who…… do you think secretly took this medicine to the Empress’s quarters?”

Daniel’s face hardened involuntarily.

“It’s not easy for in-laws to frequently enter the Imperial Palace when His Majesty is away. Did you…… not know that either?”

In reality, only Elia, who was still young enough to avoid the eyes of political rivals, had free access.

“Uncle.”

All the tragedy began with this small medicine bottle. At that bitter truth, Elia’s blue eyes gleamed cold as ice.

“Why…… do you think there was a tragic accident in the Empress’s quarters?”

“Wasn’t it because of Cecilia’s infidelity?”

“That was the root cause, yes.”

Clack, Elia placed the medicine bottle on the side table.

“But there was one more reason. I never delivered this bottle to my sister. That’s why neither her child nor she…… died.”

Daniel unconsciously clenched his teeth.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

He couldn’t gauge how much Elia knew or what she meant.

Could it be that Lorelaine had told her young daughter the inside story of the whole incident?

Hadn’t they sworn to keep Cecilia’s abortion medicine a secret between just the two of them?

Even her husband Beriat would have been kept in the dark, so it was strange that Elia knew something even he didn’t.

“I don’t understand either. Why…… you tried to kill me.”

Those calm, cold blue eyes watched Daniel.

Her gaze, so incongruous with her youthful face, was enough to instinctively raise goosebumps.

“My parents were foolish, and my sister was unfaithful. Even if you exploited that, I have nothing to say.”

Familiar blue eyes were piercing through Daniel. They were exactly like the eyes with which Beriat used to look at him long ago.

“But why did you try to kill me too?”

Elia, just two years older than his own daughter, asked with such maturity and composure.

“Perhaps you wanted to give the position of empress to Kayla as well?”

“I said I don’t know. Isn’t this just your persecution complex?”

Daniel grabbed the medicine bottle on the side table. It was a chance to reclaim the evidence.

“Are you taking back the medicine you gave me?”

“If you suspect me, then my kindness is unnecessary.”

“Are you upset?”

“I showed kindness because I felt sorry for your situation, so of course I’m upset.”

Sorry situation, Elia let out a hollow laugh.

“Can you prove…… that kindness?”

Daniel frowned.

“If you call Kayla and make her drink that medicine, I’ll apologize.”

His hand gripping the bottle tightened.

“It seems that experiencing such unfortunate events has made you a bit mentally unstable.”

“Shall I check myself? That medicine bottle…… have you looked at it carefully?”

Daniel, trying not to be swayed by Elia, deliberately put the bottle in his pocket.

“Is it really the same bottle you gave me? The medicine bottle you sent for me to give to Cecilia…… how many do you think I have left?”

“If you keep talking nonsense……”

“Perhaps my maid has accidentally spilled the medicine into Kayla’s tea right now.”

It was a clear provocation.

“I’m sorry, I’ve gone a bit mad after experiencing such cruel things.”

But Daniel couldn’t maintain his composure and abruptly stood up, rushing out to Kayla’s room. His action was the most definitive answer.

His intentions were so obvious that all her mental preparation seemed almost pointless.

“Mother was deceived by someone like him.”

Too urgent and fearful circumstances had led Lorelaine to make the wrong choice. Well, the past Elia had been even more foolish than her mother.

“I was no different.”

The composure and calmness she now possessed were all gained through experiencing death once. Recalling that painful life and terrible death, she couldn’t waste anything in this new life.

“So, the answer is decided.”

She had long abandoned any hope that there might be a misunderstanding.

Elia could not live in the Theon ducal residence. But she couldn’t leave for the convent and burden Briana either.

“No one…… wants me.”

Elia said, looking at her immobile left leg.

“Except His Majesty.”

That was an obvious fact. Though it was difficult to understand Rockfort’s changed attitude, his desire to make Elia his empress had been clearly conveyed.

“I thought nothing in this world had changed, but one thing has.”

Now, she couldn’t understand Rockfort’s heart. Because in her previous life, he had never come this close to her.

“Is it a whim?”

She didn’t know. Even her own heart was changing moment by moment.

When she fell with Cecilia, she had wanted to die right there, but seeing Daniel’s behavior, she didn’t want to give up her life in vain for the desires of such a pathetic person.

“It’s not about revenge.”

Both Cecilia and her mother were sinners. Who would she be taking revenge for?

“But what about my pain? My life?”

For the first time, feelings of injustice and resentment struck her heart hard.

Daniel’s disgusting smile as he tried to deceive her, his glaring eyes, and how he rushed out in panic for his daughter Kayla’s life.

“Why should I suffer and die for people like that?”

What was the point of living? She thought she had already lost all attachment. This dirty world, she could just abandon it.

“I hate it.”

The wall she had built in the deepest part of her heart came crumbling down.

Thump thump, her heart beat wildly.

Her own existence, which she had forgotten while crying and despairing, was still alive and pounding strongly in her chest.

“I won’t be used by anyone anymore. My life is my own. Even if I die…… I’ll die because I choose to.”

As she spoke those words, it felt like the fog before her eyes was lifting. Elia’s heart, which had been suppressed by misfortune, was finally becoming honest.

“I suffered so much, I hate ending without any meaning.”

There must be a reason why she was born, faced death, and returned here.

No, there had to be. She absolutely didn’t want to drink that painful poison again.

“I want to find the meaning of my life.”

Just then, bang, the sound of the door being kicked open was heard.

Daniel, with a flushed face, was glaring at Elia while breathing heavily. He must have come back after confirming Kayla’s safety.

“His Majesty will come tomorrow night, so please stop slapping my face.”

Hatred? It wasn’t that. She simply couldn’t stand the pathetic man before her.

“What makes you so confident? Have you secretly received His Majesty’s favor?”

Elia was nothing. Not yet.

“Of course not. But since His Majesty is coming personally to hold the betrothal ceremony tomorrow, I can’t say there’s no connection.”

She didn’t want to be killed by her uncle who had deceived her mother. She hadn’t come this far to meet such a futile end.

So she could willingly borrow Rockfort’s shadow.

“Don’t be so sure. Unfortunate accidents can happen anytime.”

“Yes. I’ve already experienced many unfortunate accidents…… Thanks to that, I’ve learned. Since I might die at any time, I’ve made preparations.”

Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed.