Emil came to Ibnel’s room where the light had not gone out until late at night.

“What’s the matter at this hour?”

Emil approached her and bowed politely.

“I came to apologize for what Jena did. I’m sorry.”

Ibnel just listened silently without any change in expression.

“His Majesty has ordered everyone involved in this incident to be sent away, and from now on Lia will be in charge of attending to Lady Ibnel.”

“His Majesty said that?”

“Yes.”

It was very unexpected for her. She thought he would just pretend not to know. She nodded calmly soon after.

“I see.”

“Why don’t you blame anyone?”

Emil had to ask that, as she was prepared to hear anything from Ibnel. After all, she was a duke’s daughter, and now a person who had awakened her ability.

She would know that she had that much qualification.

Ibnel calmly put the reason into words.

“Because nothing would change anyway. I know that in Caries, my status is just a facade. My position now is to be laughed at by everyone.”

When she said that, Emil was at a loss for words. To think there was such a reason for her staying quiet despite the unfriendly gazes around her usually.

“That doesn’t mean I’m not angry. When I said I would kill them, I meant it at that moment.”

But Ibnel knew it was still premature. It was clear that if she raised her voice using her ability as an excuse in the current situation without any noticeable achievements, it would turn into poison.

“It’s not too late to raise my voice when I have a justification.”

Emil felt even more chilled by that even-toned voice. Was it just an illusion that it felt like a beast holding its breath waiting for the right time?

“On the contrary, I want to ask you. Why are you apologizing when you know my situation? Didn’t His Majesty order that too? To just watch and do nothing.”

“How did you…”

Ibnel just answered with a short laugh. In fact, she had vaguely sensed from the beginning how Shuher would act.

That he would protect her life for the sake of her ability, but would not prevent any other hardships she might face here.

He was the person who despised her more than anyone else in Caries and wanted to kill her.

“Emil.”

Ibnel met Emil’s eyes and asked in a serious voice.

“Can I really trust you?”

Emil was momentarily at a loss for words. She could neither affirm nor deny.

Since she hadn’t asked expecting an answer, she soon smiled and said,

“You should go now. It’s quite late.”

“Yes.”

Left alone, Ibnel was lost in thought for a while, then unable to bear an inexplicable feeling of suffocation, she grabbed her gun and bullets and went outside.

The place she arrived at through the darkness was the shooting range she had visited during the day.

With only moonlight to rely on, the training ground was dark. However, she stood in front of the target and loaded the bullets as if such things were not a problem at all.

And without hesitation, she raised her hand and pulled the trigger. A loud sound rang out continuously in the space filled with only silence.

It was like venting her anger. Her emotions were fully revealed.

There was no need to worry about noise as the training ground was in a remote part of the imperial palace, and the trees acted as soundproofing.

When the bullets ran out, Ibnel lowered her hand and slowly approached the target. But the result was quite miserable.

Most of the marks were clustered around the outermost part of the target.

“Why are you doing this too?”

After blaming the innocent gun, she burst into a hollow laugh.

“Who am I blaming when my skills are so poor?”

It was a natural result since she couldn’t fully concentrate on shooting. With her mind troubled in various ways due to the day’s events, it was merely an act of venting.

‘Can I really do well tomorrow with this state of mind?’

Ibnel once again pulled herself together, loaded the bullets, and aimed the gun at the target. And at the moment she was about to pull the trigger, a voice came through the darkness.

“The result will be the same anyway.”

As if by instinct, she turned the muzzle towards where the voice came from, but when she discovered that the person was Shuher, she lowered her hand.

“Your Majesty?”

Shuher gazed at the target and spoke in a voice dripping with coldness.

“Right now, you’re just wasting bullets.”

Ibnel’s pride was quite hurt, but she couldn’t utter any words of rebuttal. As he said, no matter how many times she tried, the result would be poor anyway.

“It seems today is not my day. But why are you here at this hour?”

“I just came because I heard the sound.”

On his way back to the palace after staying in his office until late, Shuher’s ears caught the faint sound of gunfire. Thinking it couldn’t be, he came to find Ibnel here.

“I thought it would be fine, but shooting at night is indeed inconsiderate in many ways. I should be more careful.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything about what happened today?”

Seeing her at the training ground in the middle of the night, it was clear that the incident was weighing on her mind. Yet she didn’t mention it at all, so he ended up bringing it up first.

“Shouldn’t Your Majesty rather be pleased? If I don’t make an issue of it and stay quiet. I told you there would be no problem with the subjugation too.”

Then Ibnel became curious about his intention in asking.

“To be honest, isn’t this the situation Your Majesty wanted? I, a person from Aodin, was covered in filth, lost face as a noble, and was laughed at. It will soon reach the ears of the nobles of Caries too. Then I’ll become the talk of the town.”

To Shuher, her voice sounded self-deprecating. As if she was mocking herself.

‘As expected.’

Hearing her words, Shuher could be even more certain. That he had been mistaken.

“I clearly said this before. That I was the one making assumptions. You knew from the beginning. That even though we shook hands, I wasn’t on your side, that I wouldn’t move even if something like this happened.”

Instead of affirming, Ibnel showed a faint smile. That alone was enough of an answer for him. He couldn’t shake off the feeling of being played by her somehow.

He had mocked her foolishness without knowing any of this.

“That’s right. I never once made the mistake of thinking something would change with this ability. I just took Your Majesty’s hand to survive.”

Saying that, she turned her body to face Shuher directly. Her white pupils sparkled under the moonlight. But her expression also looked a bit lonely.

“Even though we’re together like this, I know you could kill me right now. That’s why we made the promise verbally, not in writing which would leave evidence. So that the promise could be broken at any time.”

Then he understood even less. Why she had remained quiet while knowing all of this.

“Then.”

“You’re wondering why I didn’t point out that part specifically? And you’re also curious about why I deliberately put myself in danger?”

Ibnel certainly knew. And she had also pondered.

Should she demand to be perfectly protected from danger, for herself and Lia, and to be given power befitting her ability?

If that happened, even if the servants felt differently inside, they would outwardly treat her with respect. Today’s incident wouldn’t have happened either.

But.

“Because it would be meaningless if I don’t overcome that situation on my own.”

Unable to look away from her at this answer that defied all expectations, Shuher saw not a hint of falsehood in her words.

“Of course, it would have been easier if I received Your Majesty’s help. But that would only be temporary. As soon as I step away from Your Majesty’s side, I would still be the despised person from Aodin. Would someone like me be able to hold my head high and look people in the eye?”

Ibnel didn’t have grand reasons like seeking forgiveness for the past, becoming a hero, or for power.

So she wanted to make it clear that it was he who had been judging and defining who she was based on such misconceptions.

In Shuher’s eyes, she seemed utterly foolish. No, come to think of it, she had been that way since they first met.

From the moment she said she would sacrifice her life for others.

‘Foolish to the point of stupidity.’

“You just thought I’m foolish to the point of stupidity, didn’t you?”

Seeing him flinch as if she had accurately read his mind, Ibnel’s expression softened more than before. She fully understood such a reaction.

“I can’t help it if that’s how I appear. That’s how I’ve lived until now, and how I’ll continue to live.”

She had learned one thing from long experience. That if you don’t make something truly your own through effort, it crumbles quickly like a sandcastle.

Conversely, when those efforts accumulate, they eventually shine.

Above all, she didn’t particularly feel like blaming Shuher for what happened today. Strictly speaking, he hadn’t urged anyone to torment her.

“In fact, I was most angry at myself. I had promised to protect, but in the end, I couldn’t. And I heard that Your Majesty took appropriate measures. So I don’t resent Your Majesty.”

Shuher somehow couldn’t look at her and turned his head to empty space. Now that all questions were resolved, he felt even more stifled.

‘Somehow I feel more at ease than before.’

On the other hand, Ibnel felt that the suffocation that hadn’t been relieved even when she was shooting had eased a bit. Perhaps it was because she had poured out all the words she had kept in her heart.

It was ironic that the recipient happened to be Shuher.

“I don’t know why time flies so fast. To think we’re departing right away tomorrow.”

“It’s better not to get excited. The warnings I’ve given so far weren’t empty words. You might not be able to return here.”

At his voice that was both serious and chilling, she seemed to make some decision and once again stood in front of the target, taking her stance.

A gunshot rang out, and the bullet that flew fiercely pierced the center at once, unlike just before.

“I haven’t been playing around either. I’ve trained enough and am sufficiently prepared. I won’t die easily.”

Ibnel looked at Shuher with a confident smile.

‘How can she smile in this situation?’

At that moment, the word Aodin flashed through his mind. Along with miserable memories of the past.

She should be miserable, unhappy, and shouldn’t smile like that. Especially not in front of him.

Whatever Ibnel thought, whatever intentions she had, it didn’t matter from the beginning. He had kept her alive just to wield and use her according to his will.

‘You must never become happy.’

Perhaps because that emotion suddenly overflowed, a cold voice different from before reached her ears.

“If that’s not hypocrisy, then what is it?”

“Pardon?”

Shuher approached Ibnel and took the gun she was holding as if snatching it away.