“I can barely breathe because of the stench of Simon clinging to you. And yet I’ve been tolerating you all this time.”

Adonea spoke those chilling words in a calm voice, smiling as she always did.

Evelyn sensed that the situation was taking a dangerous turn.

‘I pushed her too far. What do I do now?’

She regretted not keeping her mouth shut.

Though they were around the same age, Adonea was taller and more solidly built. There was undoubtedly a difference in their physical strength.

“First, calm down…”

“I was happy when we returned from the imperial palace. It seemed as though everyone had finally realized that you weren’t the heroine, I was.”

Adonea reached for Evelyn’s neck.

Evelyn tried to pull away Adonea’s cold hand, but she was not strong enough.

“Urgh… Wait…”

“But the family keeps looking only at you. Sometimes, even Brother Oden does.”

“Let go of me first!”

“Why? Do you want to live, Evelyn? Even after receiving such a curse?”

A pendant slipped free from Adonea’s collar.

Evelyn could not tear her eyes away from the blue jewel hanging from it.

“‘Her personality suddenly changed. She’s become so kind. And the face glimpsed beneath her veil is so beautiful that anyone could mistake her for an angel. Perhaps Lady Evelyn is Chara’s true incarnation…’ I’m tired of hearing such things.”

“Urgh!”

Adonea’s grip tightened viciously around her neck.

Then she tore away Evelyn’s veil.

Evelyn squinted as her vision abruptly brightened.

Adonea stared at her with madness gleaming in her eyes.

“Do you believe there is nothing in which I can defeat you? Do you think so too?”

“A-Adonea…!”

“If that’s what you believe, then perhaps it would be better if you died right here.”

“Lady Adonea? What is happening?”

Adonea immediately sprang to her feet.

Smiling sweetly, she picked up Evelyn’s fallen veil and placed it over her head again.

“Oh, Miss Madlette! You’re already here. Evelyn’s veil fell off, so I was helping her put it back on.”

But Madlette appeared to sense the strange atmosphere between them and addressed Evelyn again.

“Lady Evelyn, are you all right?”

“Ah…cough…Miss Madlette! I’m fine.”

Evelyn smiled awkwardly.

‘If I drag her into this, Adonea might turn against Madlette too.’

With an uneasy expression, Madlette glanced at Evelyn’s neck.

Adonea immediately assumed a worried look.

“Evelyn, I heard you caught your neck on a curtain hook yesterday. Are you feeling better now?”

“…Yes, I’m fine, Sister Adonea.”

“Miss Madlette, Evelyn seems unwell. Couldn’t we postpone today’s lesson?”

When Adonea intervened so eagerly, Madlette’s expression shifted subtly.

Evelyn was certain Madlette had not witnessed the strangling itself.

‘She looks uncertain. If she’d actually seen Adonea choking me, she wouldn’t be looking at us like that.’

“Lady Evelyn, what would you prefer? Should we let you rest for a while?”

“No, Miss Madlette. I’m fine, so please begin the lesson.”

Evelyn merely wanted this exhausting ordeal to end as quickly as possible.

Though still unconvinced, Madlette soon began the lesson.

“First, did both of you complete the assignment I gave you last time?”

“Yes, Miss Madlette,” Adonea answered brightly.

Evelyn immediately followed.

“Yes, of course.”

She briefly wondered whether she should claim she had failed to complete the assignment to avoid provoking Adonea.

But in Evelyn’s experience, people like her only tried harder to dominate those who behaved weakly.

‘No matter how much you lash out, I’m not backing down.’

“Then shall we begin by reviewing the mythology questions from your first assignment?”

“Yes. The events that actually occurred during that period were.”

Before Adonea could give her answer, Evelyn spoke without hesitation.

“The flood in the Lund region and the great earthquake in Hormant were the most significant events. There were also famines in Savia, Jult, and Darine.”

She could feel Adonea staring at her.

Evelyn did not care.

‘What are you going to do about it? Strangle me again? Even then, the family will still love me more than you. If you don’t like it, you can leave.’

Evelyn no longer intended to show mercy merely because Adonea was young.

Choking someone openly crossed far too many lines.

When she considered the matter objectively, Evelyn was already at a disadvantage in every possible way.

Even the original story had predetermined a terrible fate for her.

If Adonea and the goddess were appalled simply because Evelyn struggled to change her life, then she would cause an even greater upheaval, one so overwhelming that neither of them would dare interfere with her again.

“Excellent answer. Shall we move on to the next topic?”

Madlette began lecturing on politics, society, and mathematics.

Evelyn listened with genuine fascination, feeling as though she had returned to her high school days.

Adonea, meanwhile, focused all her attention on Evelyn.

Her gaze bore so painfully into Evelyn’s cheek that even Madlette noticed.

“Lady Adonea? Is there something you would like to ask?”

“No, Miss Madlette. Why?”

“It simply seems as though you’re having difficulty concentrating.”

Adonea looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry. I already know all of this, so I suppose I became a little bored.”

“Ah, I see. The lesson must be too elementary for you, Lady Adonea.”

Madlette spoke kindly.

But no matter how intelligent she might be, this was not material an eighteen-year-old girl could reasonably dismiss as easy.

That was even more true of Adonea, whose abilities were only slightly above average.

Madlette collected the mathematics assignments she had given both girls.

“Then would the two of you read for a while as I grade these?”

“Yes, Miss Madlette! I’ll step out and fetch a book.”

Seeing her opportunity, Evelyn briefly left the classroom.

Adonea followed her.

Evelyn regarded her warily.

“Why? Are you going to strangle me again?”

“What a frightening thing to say. I would never do that, Evelyn.”

Adonea appeared genuinely shocked.

But mockery gleamed in her eyes.

Evelyn decided she needed to be even more cautious now that Adonea was beginning to discard her mask in front of her.

“If you’re going to get a book, go ahead. On second thought, I think I can review without one.”

“Is that so? Then I should take care of something first.”

Adonea’s hand suddenly touched Evelyn’s neck.

A brilliant light flared before quickly fading.

The pain in Evelyn’s neck disappeared.

Adonea smiled and calmly walked away.

“The evidence is gone now, so I suggest you refrain from spouting nonsense about me strangling you.”

Evelyn stared blankly at Adonea’s retreating figure.

“She’s even more insane than I imagined…”

Once Adonea disappeared completely around the end of the corridor, Evelyn returned to the study where Madlette was waiting.

Madlette immediately expressed her concern.

“Lady Evelyn, are you all right? What happened?”

“I considered keeping quiet, but I was worried, so I came back.”

As a precaution, Evelyn briefly told Madlette what had happened.

She explained how Adonea had tried to frame her for killing the princess’s myna bird and how she had strangled Evelyn only moments ago.

Madlette’s face went pale as she listened.

“Lady Evelyn, have you told anyone else about this?”

“No. If I did, I’d only make myself look foolish. I don’t have a shred of evidence.”

“But…”

“Once I obtain proof, I’ll tell Father or my brothers, so please don’t worry. I’m telling you in advance because something might happen to me.”

Madlette’s expression hardened.

“If you truly believe something may happen, then even now.”

At that moment, Adonea’s footsteps sounded in the corridor.

Evelyn looked behind her.

Adonea entered the study with a pleasant smile.

“Oh, Evelyn, Miss Madlette. Were you discussing something?”

Evelyn stiffened.

‘Did she overhear us?’

She stared intently at Adonea.

But it was difficult to read anything from her expression.

As if attempting to change the atmosphere, Madlette spoke with deliberate cheerfulness.

“I was telling Lady Evelyn about the results of your assignments. Remarkably, both you and Lady Evelyn received perfect scores.”

Madlette offered her praise while maintaining an expression as close to normal as possible.

Adonea shook her head modestly.

“Brother Oden helped me with one of the difficult questions.”

“You still did wonderfully. You possess a firm grasp of the fundamentals, Lady Adonea. Lady Evelyn’s work was equally impressive. You were exceptionally skillful at applying what you learned.”

Perhaps mindful of their earlier conversation, Madlette praised both girls as fairly as she could.

Even that, however, did not seem to satisfy Adonea completely.

“Shall we conclude today’s lesson here? Lady Evelyn’s birthday is approaching, after all.”

Madlette kindly told them that she would see them again at the same time the following week.

“I look forward to seeing both of you next week.”

After giving Evelyn and Adonea a farewell nod, Madlette left the study.

Evelyn also rose from her seat.

Perhaps pleased by Madlette’s recognition, Adonea hummed cheerfully.

“I’m truly fortunate to receive lessons from such a kind teacher. I’ll be leaving first, Evelyn!”

With an elated expression, Adonea left the study.

Evelyn stared blankly after her.

‘Why do I become so worried whenever she’s in a good mood?’

“…Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.”

Shaking her head, Evelyn slowly walked down the corridor.

Then the approaching butler, Yon, greeted her.

“Lady Evelyn, there you are. Did your lesson go well?”

“Yes. It was enlightening, as always.”

“I’m pleased to hear that. I came to find you because we received a message from the Central Temple.”

“A message?”

Evelyn accepted the letter Yon handed her.

It contained neat handwriting that appeared to belong to Derrion.

Due to circumstances at the Central Temple, this year’s purification ritual will be conducted after Lady Evelyn’s birthday.

‘He said something similar in the palace garden.’

Since it made no difference to her, Evelyn promptly dismissed the letter’s contents from her mind.

The temple placed great importance on formalities. This was probably nothing more than an official notice sent for appearances’ sake.

“Thank you for delivering it, Yon.”

“Not at all. Duke Chantalis was also delighted to hear the news. Preparations for your birthday celebration are well underway. Would you like to see them?”

“Yes, I would.”

Evelyn walked down the corridor with Yon.

Being threatened by Adonea had been chilling, but she had the strange feeling that everything else would proceed smoothly from now on.

***

Meanwhile, High Priest Derrion rose from his seat in the prayer room.

“So, what did the Vice High Priest say?”

“Well… He asked why you handled this matter unilaterally when the seed of evil from House Chantalis ought to be purified immediately.”

“That senile lunatic is all talk.”

Aymon laughed awkwardly at Derrion’s words.

Vice High Priest Tockman was a man in his late fifties, thirty-eight years older than Derrion. Despite being a priest, he was driven primarily by his thirst for power.

His constant groveling attempts to please Obson were steadily diminishing the temple’s authority.

“Surely Chara will forgive me for punishing the Vice High Priest’s improper conduct.”

“Of course. You’ve imposed similar punishments before, and nothing happened, did it?”

“Then go to Tockman immediately and tell him this: I’m increasing the number of ceremonies the Central Temple must perform. He should concern himself with serving the goddess.”