An interest unlike anything he had experienced in the past two years burned within him.

Who would have thought that the day would come when simply thinking about Roanne Oult would make him laugh with disbelief?

Carden curved his lips into a graceful smile as he caught the falling dagger.

“Even so, I still find it difficult to believe.”

Monterol, who had remained nearby after finishing his report, frowned at Carden’s words.

“To think the Princess Consort was the one who proposed a divorce. What in the world could she be plotting……?”

“Do you not think she has some hidden scheme?”

At the mention of divorce, Vernon could no longer remain silent and joined the conversation.

With his brows deeply furrowed and his arms folded, his entire posture made his displeasure unmistakable.

“To think she dared ask Your Highness for a divorce. Judging by how she usually behaved, she did not seem capable of uttering such a thing. Perhaps she does not truly want a divorce and has some other objective?”

“Even so, it is not an unfavorable proposal for us.”

Monterol continued.

Whether or not she genuinely wanted a divorce was irrelevant. The fact that she had expressed her willingness to accept one was welcome news. At the very least, it would allow them to remove the pawn that the Empress had placed in Carden’s life.

Even while they discussed the divorce, Carden remained perfectly composed. He appeared neither displeased nor troubled.

“What do you intend to do, Your Highness?”

Realizing he could not decipher Carden’s thoughts, Monterol asked his master directly.

“Who knows?”

Carden answered casually and tossed the dagger again with the same nonchalance as before.

Spin.

The blade whirled through the air and landed precisely in his palm.

“What do you mean, ‘Who knows?’ Is that all?”

Vernon’s eyes widened.

“I thought you would divorce her immediately. The Princess Consort serves Her Majesty the Empress, and after everything that happened……. You could not ask for better grounds for a divorce.”

It was a valid point.

Until several days ago, Carden would have divorced her without hesitation. He might even have been the one to demand it first.

And yet—

“Please help me, Your Highness.”

Those eyes had held no trace of fear.

“I have no desire to remain trapped among a snake, a tiger, and a wolf any longer.”

She had possessed the audacity to classify not only the Empress but also the Emperor as her enemies.

And then—

“You look as though you want me to put it in your mouth again.”

Even when a blade was pressed against his neck, she smiled calmly.

Unconsciously, Carden ran his tongue along the inside of his lips.

He recalled the strangely sweet, refreshing sensation that had filled his mouth when he awoke from the poison.

He did not know what it had been.

This only bothered him more.

Above all, he had a feeling that if he divorced her and sent her away now, he might never find out.

“Your Highness?”

Without so much as glancing at Vernon, Carden tossed the dagger into the air once more.

“My wife……”

The dagger spun through the air again before returning.

“……seems somewhat more intriguing than I expected.”

Clack.

Carden caught the dagger and murmured,

“I will have to think about it.”

Startled, Vernon and Monterol exchanged glances.

Neither of them had expected such a response from their master.

At that moment, the curtain across the window fluttered, revealing the Princess Consort standing outside, wrapped in a cloak.

***

Her breath billowed white in the freezing air of the early morning.

Having finished preparing for her journey, Roanne was about to step into the carriage when she suddenly paused.

As she lowered her head to inspect one of the luggage bundles, Carden’s hand moved.

The dagger sliced silently through the air and embedded itself firmly in the inner frame of the carriage door.

Thunk!

Roanne froze.

With one foot still raised on the carriage step, she glanced down at the dagger before slowly lifting her head.

As though she knew precisely where it had come from, her gaze immediately shifted towards a second-floor window.

Yet there was nothing but curtains fluttering in the wind.

After standing motionless for a moment, Roanne pulled the dagger from the doorframe and climbed into the carriage as though nothing had happened.

Concealed behind the curtain, Carden silently watched her.

Before long, the carriage began to move. The modest procession passed through the main gates of the Imperial Palace and gradually vanished into the pale light of dawn.

***

‘This wretched imperial palace. I am finally leaving!’

Watching the palace gradually recede beyond the window, Mokyeong allowed the corners of her lips to rise ever so slightly.

‘Roanne, I left the imperial palace just as you wished. So now…….’

Inhale. Exhale.

Mokyeong drew in a deep breath of the refreshing dawn air and narrowed her eyes contentedly.

‘I can live however I please, can I not?’

Of course, she still had one of Roanne’s requests to fulfil.

That matter would be resolved once she reached Oult, though.

Leaning back in her seat, Mokyeong lowered her gaze to the black dagger in her hand.

She didn’t know enough about this world to identify the material it was made of, but its weight and balance alone told her that it was an exceptional weapon.

Light yet sturdy.

After tossing the dagger into the air and catching it several times, Mokyeong abruptly reversed her grip and swept the blade across the doorframe of the carriage. With a faint swish, the thick hardwood was sliced cleanly through.

Only then did a satisfied smile curve her lips.

“To think he even gave me a farewell gift. What a considerate man.”

Arsenic or a whip would have been even better, but this would suffice as a weapon for self-defense for the time being.

‘Carden Rubert…….’

Although he was closer to the throne than anyone else, he pretended to have no interest in it.

The Empress saw him as a thorn in her side and tried to suppress him by any means necessary. Yet after she sent him to the Dragon-Slaying Corps in the hope that he would die, he returned as an ‘Inversio’ instead. Mokyeong could easily imagine how infuriating that must have been for the Empress.

Moreover, the Crown Prince’s condition worsened with each passing day.

Mokyeong absentmindedly rubbed her chin.

‘Should I have examined him before leaving the imperial palace?’

She had heard that he was suffering from another high fever, but within Roanne’s memories, the Crown Prince had always been prone to frequent illnesses.

Something about it felt strangely suspicious for a man who was supposedly merely frail, but her thoughts went no further.

‘No. It is none of my concern.’

Nothing was more troublesome than becoming embroiled in the affairs of the imperial family and ending up held captive in the palace.

For now, her priority was to return safely to Oult, fulfil Roanne’s request, resume her training, and search for a way back to the martial world.

The existence of the Demonic Cult’s Heaven-Defying Soul Transference Art in this world was inconceivable. However, given that Mokyeong herself had crossed into this world, she could not entirely dismiss the possibility of travelling between dimensions.

As she pondered this, she suddenly remembered Roanne’s final moments.

“And please, live well. Live boldly in my place. With that horrible temper of yours.”

“…….”

Another voice immediately followed.

“I am sorry. For making you inhabit the body of someone like me. For forcing you to…… inherit the fate of someone like me.”

Mokyeong’s brow slowly furrowed.

“……Haa.”

How unsettling.

Whether Roanne had been reincarnated or ceased to exist entirely, Mokyeong could vividly imagine how bitterly she would weep if she discovered that Mokyeong had abandoned her body and returned to the martial world.

Moreover, Mokyeong had already promised to live well. Ignoring Roanne’s request would leave a bad taste in her mouth.

Mokyeong rested her head against the seat and gazed out of the window.

She had yet to find a way back, so there was no point in worrying about it now.

Besides, even if she did return to the martial world, she would only be faced with the task of hunting down Tang Baekcheon and the members of the Demonic Cult and exacting bloody vengeance upon them.

She had no objection to that.

None whatsoever.

The problem was Soye.

If the child had truly inherited Mokyeong’s body and was now living in it, Soye would die the moment Mokyeong returned to her own body.

However, the thought of spending the rest of her life in this world did not appeal to her either. Conversely, whenever she considered returning, she could not stop picturing her little sister’s face; her sister might now be inhabiting her body.

As one thought tangled endlessly with another, the furrow between Mokyeong’s brows deepened.

After brooding over the matter for some time, she finally sat upright and roughly ran her hand through her hair.

“Argh, I do not know.”

As always, making a decision was difficult, but the next step was simple: she had to survive.

Then she could decide what to do next, once she had experienced life in this unfamiliar world — even in her hopelessly frail body.

Once she returned to Oult, she would have to research the poisonous plants and insects unique to this world. She would also have to resume her external martial arts training to rebuild her pathetically weakened body.

Whether she ultimately chose to return or remain, there could be no harm in becoming stronger.

Having gathered her thoughts, Mokyeong cleared some space, settled into a cross-legged position, and slowly steadied her breathing.

Fortunately, the journey to Oult would be a long one.

She had far too much to accomplish to let that time go to waste.