After taking a short rest at the mansion, Rachel changed into an elegant dress with Katrin’s help and boarded the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace.

“The Emperor is so inconsiderate. Instead of giving rest to people who fought monsters for a month, he immediately holds a banquet.”

Katrin pouted as she complained. Such remarks would have shocked others, but since only Katrin and Rachel occupied the carriage, Katrin grumbled freely.

Rachel smiled lightly, knowing that Katrin spoke out of concern for her.

Rachel agreed with her.

Sending them to subjugate the Witch’s Forest and then holding a banquet immediately upon their return.

She thought they deserved at least two days of rest.

Still, since the Emperor commanded it, Rachel didn’t say anything more.

The carriage finally arrived in front of the Great Hall of the Imperial Palace and slowly came to a stop.

With a light knock on the door, a servant’s voice came from the other side.

“May I open the door?”

“Yes.”

Only after hearing Rachel’s permission did the servant open the carriage door.

Evening had already fallen, darkening the sky. However, magic orbs illuminated the Great Hall in front, making it bright as day.

“Rachel.”

Someone called out to Rachel as she prepared to exit the carriage. When Rachel reflexively turned her head, she saw a hand wearing a white glove extended toward her.

Without needing to check, she knew Tervan had offered his hand to her.

Rachel looked at his hand for a moment.

It displayed the same kindness as always.

Rachel had fallen for this gentle side of Tervan.

However, this attentive, gentle, and thoughtful demeanor extended beyond Rachel alone.

If there existed a problem, it was that she took too long to realize this.

After briefly considering whether to refuse, Rachel raised her hand and placed it on Tervan’s.

Tervan held her hand to help her descend comfortably.

As soon as Rachel touched the ground, she immediately withdrew her hand.

Tervan’s lips parted at Rachel’s hand slipping away, but he quickly closed them.

“Are you waiting for Viola?”

“No. Viola already went in. I was waiting for you.”

“For me?”

Rachel tilted her head and asked.

“Just because. No particular reason. I wanted to go in together after a long time. Why? Is that not okay?”

Tervan said in a playful voice. Rachel stared at his face once again.

Tervan avoided Rachel’s gaze for a moment, looking elsewhere, but soon met her eyes again.

However, having noticed that brief avoidance, Rachel realized that Tervan had waited for her with a different purpose.

She had anticipated this.

Tervan wouldn’t wait for Rachel without a purpose when Viola had already gone inside.

Tervan loved Viola.

Rachel had realized for a very long time that Tervan looked at Viola the same way Rachel looked at him.

She had realized it painfully and thoroughly when she saw him joining the subjugation team despite her attempts to dissuade him.

At that time, Tervan claimed he wanted to save the Empire’s citizens suffering from the monsters from the Witch’s Forest, but Rachel knew well that Viola had suggested those words.

So she didn’t feel resentful about Tervan’s actions now.

She might have felt hurt while repeating time several times, but that belonged to the past now.

She felt satisfied just knowing that Tervan lived.

Thanks to him not dying in the Witch’s Forest, Rachel too would no longer have to experience terrible deaths.

“Let’s go in.”

Rachel shook her head briefly to deny Tervan’s words and began walking past him toward the Great Hall.

“Let’s go together!”

Belatedly, Tervan caught up with her steps.

“What are you curious about?”

“What?”

Rachel questioned Tervan who had just caught up with her.

Since he hadn’t expected her to question him back, Tervan stuttered.

Rachel gave him a brief glance before speaking again.

“It’s no use pretending when your face shows you have so much to say. What makes you so curious?”

“…Was joining the subjugation team because of me?”

Rachel almost stopped in her tracks. But she pretended nothing happened and continued walking without stopping. Then she spoke in a calm voice.

“Yes. That’s right. It was because of you. Because I didn’t think you would listen to me even if I tried to stop you.”

“Just for that reason?”

But Rachel stopped at Tervan’s following words.

“Why did you do that? Didn’t you know how dangerous that place was?”

“No, I knew. I knew it was a place where life and death hung in the balance.”

Rachel turned to look at Tervan with a bored expression.

His words echoed what Rachel had once said to Tervan.

It disheartened Rachel that he hadn’t yielded his stubbornness all this time, knowing what kind of place the monster forest was.

“Tervan, I know better than anyone what you were thinking, so I’d prefer not to talk about it. And you didn’t die. You’re alive. What more needs to be said?”

“……”

Yes, what mattered was that no one had died.

Rachel recalled that again and opened her mouth.

“I don’t want to talk about that with you right now. If you’re going to continue with that topic, I’ll just go back.”

As Rachel finished speaking and was about to turn around, Tervan grabbed her wrist.

Unable to leave after all, Rachel turned to look at Tervan.

“You won’t continue?”

“…I won’t.”

“Good, then please let go of my hand. It hurts.”

“Sorry.”

Tervan released Rachel’s hand. Rachel frowned while massaging her tingling wrist.

Letting out a small sigh, Rachel walked past Tervan seemingly unaffected and arrived at the entrance of the banquet hall.

“Shall I announce you?”

“Yes.”

The servant recognized Rachel and asked. The servant opened the banquet hall door with a gentle smile.

“Lady Rachel Pluret has arrived!”

The servant announced her entrance in a loud voice. The gazes of several people soon gathered on her.

Rachel stepped down to one side of the banquet hall with familiarity.

[That guy from earlier, he’s ridiculous.]

‘What is?’

Suddenly, Creon chuckled with laughter. Rachel picked up a glass of wine from a tray held by a passing servant.

Rachel took a sip of wine. She frowned slightly at the body that heavily filled her tongue.

[He’s the one who kept dying, yet he’s lecturing you. What a foolish human.]

‘…If you’re going to talk about that too, I’ll take off this necklace and put it somewhere else.’

As Rachel touched the necklace strap with her hand, an urgent voice came from the necklace.

[Stop! No, I only mentioned it once! I’m different from that guy, aren’t I?]

‘You’re bringing up the same topic again, so what’s different? It’s annoying, so don’t talk about it.’

[Tch. Fine.]

Rachel’s threat seemed to work as the necklace went quiet again. Rachel tilted her glass with satisfaction.

Just then.

“Rachel!”

A pink-haired woman who exuded loveliness just by looking at her approached, calling Rachel’s name.

It was Viola, a childhood friend of Rachel and Tervan.

Rachel consciously smiled to greet Viola.

“Have you been well? It’s been a month, right?”

“Yes. A month. I’ve been fine since I was only in the capital. Rather, I worried more about you. Suddenly saying you would join the monster subjugation team…”

Viola’s gloomy expression looked as beautiful as a flower.

This seemed natural. She commanded the most attention as the protagonist in this world.

Both her bright smiling face and her sad worried face couldn’t help but appear beautiful.

“Thank you for worrying. But I’m fine, not injured anywhere.”

“I’m so glad. But why did you come in alone? I heard Tervan was waiting for you…”

Looking at those blue-green eyes gazing up at her, even Rachel, a woman herself, seemed captivated by her.

Rachel turned her head away, disliking how she kept thinking this way about her friend Viola.

“I met him outside.”

“But why do you look like that? Did you two fight?”

Noticing that Rachel didn’t look well, Viola asked with narrowed brows.

Rachel chuckled and shook her head. As childhood friends, Viola quickly noticed that Rachel didn’t look well.

“It’s not like that. Just, Tervan was being annoying.”

“Being annoying? Oh my! Are you two…”

“We what?”

“Having a lovers’ quarrel?”

Rachel frowned at Viola’s gaze, which had narrowed her eyes and looked at her with satisfaction.

“It’s not like that. Besides, Tervan doesn’t like me. And I don’t like Tervan either. It happened really just because Tervan was being annoying.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“That’s what I said.”

Seeing Viola speaking playfully, Rachel finally recognized that she had returned to her normal life.

It seemed obvious, but after Tervan died, the relationship between Rachel and Viola had changed significantly.

Unlike in the original story, Rachel didn’t blame Viola, but nevertheless, Viola was consumed with guilt.

Recalling that time, Rachel smiled bitterly.

Now Rachel didn’t care much about the original story anymore.

If possible, she wanted to live quietly.

Since Tervan lived, she wasn’t sure how the original story would unfold, but having come this far, Rachel wasn’t relaxed enough to worry about the original story. She willingly accepted the role of a love advisor, though.