“I heard you haven’t been coming out of your room lately, but I see you’re still alive. I was so worried, thinking you might have died just like that.”

Despite those words, Ibnel noticed the contemptuous look in her eyes and the mocking tone in her voice, so she decided to listen to what she had to say.

Calling her a bastard child, it was clear how she had been treated before.

“What do you want to say?”

“You should be honored to go to Caries for Aodin, don’t you think? Originally, you would have just become a concubine to an old baron. Well, it’s a shame to miss out on the good marriage prospect that mother found. So just stay quiet until then, like you should, sister.”

When Serina tapped Ibnel’s shoulder with her finger, Ibnel coldly brushed her hand away. Surprised by the unexpected retaliation, she was taken aback for a moment before immediately frowning.

“You.”

“Don’t touch other people’s bodies carelessly. It’s disgusting.”

“What did you say?”

At Ibnel’s cold words, Serina doubted her own ears. Wasn’t this the same person who used to listen quietly with her head bowed no matter what she said?

Ibnel brushed off her shoulder where Serina’s hand had touched as if something dirty had come into contact with it. She had intended to just let it go quietly if possible, but after hearing what was said, she simply couldn’t.

“Have you gone crazy? Or have you just gotten even more stupid?”

“The stupid one would be you. You better judge carefully.”

“What are you saying…”

Her voice, noticeably lower than before, reflected her mood as she took a step closer to Serina.

“If I really go crazy and try to run away, who do you think will end up going to Caries?”

“That’s…”

“The imperial family will hold someone responsible and send another person from House Estella. Then of course, you’ll be the one to go.”

Ibnel had decided not to do anything, but that didn’t mean she would tolerate this kind of provocation. She was about to leave anyway, so there was nothing to hold back.

“If you can’t handle it, just shut your mouth and stay still. Unless you want only your head to return here if you end up going.”

As her usually lifeless red eyes flashed like blood, Serina felt her breath catch as if the air around her had disappeared.

Is this how a herbivore feels in front of a predator?

“And don’t call me sister. You’re neither my sibling nor anything to me.”

That term of address was solely for Aran, and she didn’t want to hear it from anyone else’s mouth.

Leaving the frozen Serina behind, Ibnel turned away without hesitation and walked away. Only after she had completely disappeared did Serina let out the breath she had been holding.

“What the…”

She didn’t want to admit that she had been intimidated by the insignificant Ibnel, but she didn’t have the confidence to face those eyes again.

‘No, this isn’t the time for this.’

Serina hurriedly headed to the main building to tell her father to keep a close watch on the annex where Ibnel was staying, just in case.

* * *

Ibnel finished reminiscing about what had happened at the Estella mansion and slowly opened her eyes. She shook her head lightly and straightened her posture.

As they traveled further north, she could feel the air getting colder on her skin. The scenery passing by outside the window had completely changed its atmosphere as well.

“We’ll be arriving at the imperial palace soon.”

Ibnel didn’t respond to the guard’s words, which made Lia, who had been fidgeting restlessly, decide to call out to her.

“Miss Ibnel.”

At that call, Ibnel looked at her sitting across from her with a gaze that seemed to ask why she had called.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m here with you. Even if something happens, I’ll definitely protect you, Miss.”

Ibnel still had one unresolved question since waking up in this body.

While others were desperate not to get involved with her, why did this child before her follow her so devotedly?

There was no benefit to be gained from being in her good graces.

“Why are you being so nice to me? You’ve had to come all this way because of me.”

“There’s no particular reason. It’s just because you’re you, Miss.”

“Other people don’t seem to think that way.”

“It doesn’t matter what others say.”

For a moment, those eyes showing complete trust in her overlapped with Aran’s image. Her sister always used to look at her with those same eyes.

Every time she saw Aran in Lia, she couldn’t face her directly. The lingering guilt felt like it was choking her.

‘It’s not like I’m the one who should be hearing those words anyway.’

She wasn’t Ibnel to begin with, and besides, with the end approaching so quickly, she didn’t want to maintain a deep relationship of trust with Lia.

For her sake as well.

Soon, as if they had reached their destination, the carriage carrying the two slowly came to a stop. Voices of the guard knights conversing with someone could be heard from outside the window.

“This is the carriage carrying Lady Ibnel Estella.”

“No outsiders other than Lady Ibnel are allowed to enter the imperial palace.”

At that firm voice, Ibnel obediently stepped out of the carriage. As soon as she got out, her view was filled with walls of indeterminable length and what appeared to be an entrance gate.

It was impossible to gauge what kind of scenery would unfold beyond this gate.

Lia, who had followed Ibnel out of the carriage, hurriedly draped an outer coat over her body.

“Caries is chillier than Aodin, Miss.”

But Ibnel’s gaze was fixed on the knights guarding the entrance to the imperial palace. Their attire was completely different from those she had seen just once before at the duke’s mansion.

What caught her eye next was the gun they wore at their waist along with a sword. Although it was in a holster, she could tell from just the tip that it was the same type of revolver she had seen in Aodin.

At that moment, her eyes met with one of the Caries knights guarding the entrance.

Ibnel felt it immediately. That those eyes were full of contempt.

Judging by how openly he displayed that emotion, it seemed he had no intention of hiding it at all.

As the air of disdain emanated from his entire body, Aran’s words flashed through her mind.

‘Just being from Aodin is a crime in Caries.’

Standing on the soil of the Caries Empire at this moment, Ibnel felt she understood the meaning behind those words. That her very existence was a crime here, and that she would die because of it.

But she didn’t really care about that fact. Because neither goodwill nor hostility held any meaning for her.

That’s why she could speak in a calm voice to her companions who had come this far with her.

“Since they say no one but me can enter, you should all head back now. You too, Lia.”

“No.”

Unlike the guard knights who showed clear signs of wanting to leave this place quickly, Lia strongly refused. She then pleaded earnestly with the Caries knights.

“I’m the maid serving Lady Ibnel. Please let me enter too.”

“It’s not allowed. Only Lady Ibnel can enter the imperial palace.”

“Please, I beg you.”

Even though she bowed deeply as she spoke, the two men just kept repeating that it wasn’t allowed.

Ibnel also thought it was right to part ways here and was about to tell Lia to go back when the entrance to the imperial palace slowly began to open.

As soon as they saw the man walking out through the gap, the knights guarding the entrance immediately bowed their heads.

‘Who is he?’

With dark brown hair and purple eyes, whether it was due to his large build or the scar crossing his left eye, the man was intimidating to even look at directly.

As Ibnel carefully examined the man before her, her gaze lingered on the emblem decorating his left chest.

Two intersecting swords and a mysterious purple snake emblem.

All of it spoke to the fact that this man was no ordinary individual.

The man briefly looked over the group before finally turning his gaze to Ibnel and opening his mouth.

“I am Demil, the Knight Commander.”

With that brief greeting, Demil immediately turned to the knights and asked.

“What’s the matter, not opening the gate?”

“This maid keeps insisting on entering even though we’ve told her it’s not allowed, sir.”

He glanced at Lia briefly before fixing his gaze on Ibnel. Then he spoke in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“Follow me.”

Realizing belatedly that it was a word of permission, Lia’s face lit up with joy as she gathered the luggage she had brought.

The two followed Demil past the entrance and took their first steps inside the imperial palace. The firmly closed door behind them seemed to say they would never be able to leave here alive.

“So this is the imperial palace…”

A vast imperial palace unfolded before Ibnel’s eyes. It was incomparable to the annex of the duke’s mansion where she had stayed before.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was another city on the other side of the gate, as the end was not visible.

There was a sense of overwhelming grandeur or heaviness that dominated everything.

“Wow… It feels completely different from Aodin, Miss.”

Lia, who was visiting the Caries Empire for the first time, was also busy looking around constantly. But despite the array of eye-catching sights, Ibnel only stared at Demil walking ahead.

“Do you think we’re going to the palace where His Majesty the Emperor is?”

Lia’s expectation was sadly proven wrong as time passed. The three of them were heading towards an increasingly remote part of the imperial palace.

It was certainly not a place where the emperor, the ruler of an empire, would be.

Soon the surrounding buildings disappeared, and after passing through a shaded path lined with trees, a single building stood tall at the end, revealing itself.

Ibnel, who had stopped following Demil, looked up at their destination.

It was a round building with an open ceiling, like the Colosseum. It was simply astonishing that such a massive structure resembling an arena existed within the imperial palace.

At the same time, the fact that she had been brought here…

‘I expected it, but right after arriving?’

She had a premonition that the contents of the novel would soon be reenacted. Having already made up her mind, her heart remained as calm as the surface of a still lake.

She had thought it wouldn’t be an ordinary place since she was to be thrown as food to monster beasts, but she never imagined it would be a place like this.

“So it’s here.”

At her casual voice, Demil’s gaze turned to Ibnel. There was not a hint of bewilderment in her eyes as she looked up at the arena.

‘Why isn’t she asking anything?’

In fact, he had been observing Ibnel, who had shown unexpected reactions from their first meeting.

She could have asked where they were going, but she maintained silence throughout. With an expressionless face showing neither fear nor curiosity.

But Demil’s thoughts stopped there. He just needed to carry out the orders given by his lord.

“This is it. They are waiting inside.”

Ibnel obediently followed him into the building. At the end of the dark corridor was an iron door with light seeping through.

Demil opened the door as if to say enter this way. Before taking a step, Ibnel instructed Lia who was standing behind.

“Lia, don’t follow me. Stay here.”

“Miss…”

Lia’s face showed a hint of anxiety, not knowing where this place was or what situation was about to unfold.

“And if something happens to me, you go straight back to Aodin. Don’t look back.”

She thought they wouldn’t harm an innocent girl like her, but it couldn’t hurt to give a stern warning.

“What do you mean by that…”

Ibnel moved slowly towards the bright light, as if being sucked in, leaving Lia who was trying to hold her back.

The sunlight was so dazzling that she walked towards the center with her hand shielding her eyes.

As her eyes adjusted to the light and she lowered her hand, before she could grasp the surrounding situation, a thunderous roar filled the space.