Ibnel had nothing more to hold back as Karan acted so cowardly. At that moment, what filled her mind was Shuher’s voice telling her not to bow her head if she had done nothing wrong.

That one line gave her courage at this moment.

“I clearly explained the situation at that time and even showed the wound. I proved it as you said. So what more do you want me to do?”

She looked at the lady next to Karan. Unlike their confident appearance earlier, they slightly avoided her gaze.

“If you won’t believe anything I say, if you’re going to dismiss it as lies, then I don’t want to exchange words with you anymore. Because you’re not worth dealing with.”

“What did you just say?”

“Take this opportunity to understand clearly. The truly cowardly and vile thing is that you tried to criticize me without even trying to find out the truth of the rumors or believing the evidence.”

Ibnel took in the people watching her and then looked down at her wound. The reason she showed this to everyone was because she had no shame about this wound.

Some might view her negatively. They might dislike her or believe those rumors. But if they still didn’t believe her after all this, it was no longer her concern.

“If the lady won’t leave, then I’ll have to go. Because I refuse to exchange words with someone like you.”

As Ibnel was about to pass by Karan, unable to contain her frustration at losing to her again, Karan grabbed her arm and pushed her forcefully.

If it had been the usual Ibnel, she wouldn’t have been pushed by that much force, but with her unusual attire and the wound on her leg that hadn’t fully healed, she lost her balance and fell to the floor.

Above her head came Karan’s voice, sounding as if she had completely lost her reason.

“Don’t make me laugh, you Aodin person! Do you think we’ll even blink at what you’re doing? Compared to what we’ve been through so far, that’s nothing. Don’t be mistaken!”

‘I know that much too.’

Ibnel’s expression, staring at the floor, showed neither fear nor tears of injustice. She was just repeating one thought in her mind.

‘There’s no one to help me up, I have to get up on my own.’

She just had to pretend it was nothing and get up.

This much was no big deal, no matter how they viewed her, there was no need to bow her head.

As Ibnel put strength in her hand on the ground to get up, a warm sensation enveloped her body. What entered her sight was someone’s outer garment, ample enough to cover her body and more. Black with elaborate emblems decorating it.

‘This is definitely.’

Following the touch on her shoulder, Ibnel turned her head and met black eyes that shouldn’t have been in front of her.

“Your Majesty…”

The person who had pushed through the people and approached her was none other than Shuher. He had personally stepped forward in a situation where everyone was just watching with keen interest.

As Ibnel was too surprised to do anything but stare, Shuher wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped her up directly. It felt like Shuher’s warmth, the touch of his hand, could be felt through the clothes.

The people too, facing an unexpected situation, could only watch blankly. Their expressions all showed disbelief.

This situation where he personally stepped forward for Ibnel. And even actions that seemed to protect her.

Shuher, not paying attention to the reactions or gazes around him, lowered his arm from her shoulder and asked.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes? Yes.”

She had just lost her balance and fallen, so she wasn’t hurt or in pain. Rather, she was more surprised and bewildered by the situation where he had stepped forward.

Only after confirming that Ibnel was fine did his gaze turn to Karan, who had caused this whole situation. At that chilling gaze, not only she but even the ladies around her stepped back.

But there was nowhere to run.

“Your Majesty, that…”

“Do you really not know who is ruining this banquet?”

Karan was at a loss at the words blaming her. But even in this situation, she tried to insist to the end that her actions were justified.

“I was just trying to address the wrong that Lady Ibnel committed…”

“I was there too. I saw Lady Ibnel take down the monster. Do you have anything more to say?”

To Shuher, the image of Ibnel dripping blood was still vivid. So he could clearly say whose words were correct.

When Shuher said he had seen it directly, there was no way she could refute.

“Do you really not know that picking such nonsensical faults actually tarnishes Karies’ reputation? I didn’t think you were this thoughtless.”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“It seems you’re apologizing to the wrong person.”

As Shuher stepped aside slightly and pointed to Ibnel with a nod of his chin, Karan looked around. Everyone was avoiding her eyes. There was no way anyone would dare to go against the Emperor.

Karan clutched the hem of her dress tightly and barely opened her mouth, head bowed.

“I’m sorry, Lady. It seems I made a big misunderstanding.”

Honestly, Ibnel was too angry and didn’t want to accept an apology that was just words. But if she did that, this banquet would truly be ruined. She didn’t want that.

“I’m glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up. But I hope this never happens again.”

Karan’s group, after looking around cautiously, bowed to Shuher and hurriedly left the place. Ibnel could only feel dumbfounded at their retreating figures, as if fleeing. They had been so confident just a moment ago.

As Shuher silently swept his gaze around, people tactfully moved away from her. They didn’t even spare a glance, as if nothing had happened.

“Your Majesty, this…”

“Follow me.”

Before she could express her gratitude, he said that and walked ahead.

Ibnel didn’t understand what was happening, but she sent a reassuring look to Henea, who had been watching worriedly since earlier, and followed behind Shuher. And Peldin was watching those two people walk away.

‘I was a step late.’

Peldin had been chatting with noble acquaintances when he belatedly discovered the scene of the problem. Just as he was about to step in himself, seeing them insisting despite showing the wound, Shuher appeared before him and perfectly resolved the situation.

It felt as if his opportunity had been stolen.

“Can’t he even hide it anymore?”

This confirmed it. To protect Ibnel even at such an official place, isn’t his feelings obvious? Though he himself doesn’t seem to be aware of it yet.

Around them, people were already busy spreading various words about what had just happened.

Among the confused people was Davian. More than the incident caused by himself, he was more concerned about Shuher and Ibnel who had disappeared from sight together.

After finishing his conversation with Karan, he had spotted him and tried to speak, but Shuher had passed him by without hesitation and approached Ibnel. Moreover, while he was clearly the protagonist of this event, people were now busy talking about Ibnel.

“Honestly, I was a bit surprised seeing that wound.”

“Me too, actually. I thought it was just an exaggerated rumor, but it seems it’s true that she played an active role in the subjugation last time. Even in this incident, there’s talk that thanks to the lady’s efforts, nothing serious happened.”

“That too, but I was more surprised seeing her in person today. I didn’t know she was such a beautiful person. That dress isn’t easy to get, is it? Even with a reservation, you have to wait for months.”

Davian unconsciously gripped his dress tightly enough to wrinkle it at the numerous stories pouring out about Ibnel.

The place Shuher headed to was a small terrace connected to the banquet hall, where one could spend a brief private moment. When the door closed, it was completely cut off from the noisy atmosphere of the banquet hall.

“Haah.”

Ibnel, feeling stifled, took a deep breath of the cool air. Thanks to that, she felt like her insides were clearing up.

‘Now I can breathe a little.’

As expected, the gathering where people laughed and chatted didn’t suit her.

“Quite a relieved expression.”

Only then did her gaze turn to Shuher. At the same time, she became aware of what had just happened. She immediately approached the railing where he was standing, ready to question him.

“This is not the time for such words. Why did you step in?”

“Then why didn’t you mention my name from the beginning? I was the one who first suggested you come to this banquet.”

Shuher had been watching from there. Her attempt to evade talking about the purpose of coming to the banquet. Hearing that he had been watching, Ibnel was even more confused.

“If you protect me at a place like this, it’s obvious what kind of talk will spread among people.”

“That’s why I’m asking why you didn’t mention my name. If you had, things wouldn’t have escalated this far.”

Ibnel kept her mouth shut on that point. He was right. She wasn’t in a position to worry about others, yet she tried to protect the Emperor of all people.

Realizing this, she showed a rueful smile.

“You’re right. I can barely take care of myself, what am I doing? Still, if someone has to be the subject of gossip, isn’t it better if it’s me? I already have so much talk about me that adding one more thing probably wouldn’t even be noticeable.”

Despite the joking tone, there wasn’t a hint of a smile on Shuher’s face. Hearing directly that she had taken that risk for his sake made him angry rather than grateful. Why was she so foolish?

Then Ibnel remembered an important thing she hadn’t said and looked at him.

“I’m late in saying this. Thank you for helping me. It was really reassuring.”

Regardless of everything else, she was truly grateful to him for appearing and helping her in a difficult moment. Whether it was because of the warmth this clothing gave, or the reminder not to bow her head, she felt strength.

As soon as Shuher heard those words of gratitude, his hardened expression softened in an instant. In fact, when he saw Ibnel fall, his feet moved first. At that moment, he simply couldn’t maintain cool reason.

“Still, this time I didn’t apologize for something I didn’t do wrong.”

“Are you expecting praise for doing well now?”

“I’m just saying. Ah, the clothes.”

Ibnel tried to return the coat she was wearing to him, but Shuher stopped her.

“Keep wearing it. You’ve torn your dress too.”

And as if to block the cold wind, he even tightened the outer garment around her. Perhaps because of the significant difference in their builds, the coat seemed to envelop her.

“I wonder where the idea to tear your clothes came from. That’s why people call you reckless.”

His tone was indifferent, but it clearly contained concern for Ibnel. Ibnel couldn’t help but smile at his actions that were completely different from his words.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Well, I can’t help but agree a little with what Davian said.”

At this moment, strangely, she remembered what Davian had said about Shuher before.

“That Your Majesty is a kind person.”

She had thought it was something that absolutely didn’t suit Shuher, if not the opposite. She had thought it was just how he appeared in the female protagonist’s eyes. But now, that thought was slowly wavering.

“You bandaged me, just now you helped me, and you lent me your clothes. When you act like this, it’s confusing. Your Majesty,”

After saying that much, Ibnel met his eyes and somehow couldn’t continue the next words. It just felt like something that shouldn’t be spoken aloud.

Soon, she slightly turned her body towards the railing and looked up at the night sky.

“Anyway, I guess I somewhat agree with Davian’s opinion.”

“It’s not exactly a pleasant nuance to take as a compliment.”

“I’m just saying.”

‘Right, there’s no way. To Your Majesty, I’m just a person from Aodin.’

There was no way he would forgive her, acknowledge her, or view her favorably.

Ibnel tried to shake off various idle thoughts while feeling the cool breeze. But the more she did so, the warmth enveloping her body at this moment seemed to grow more intense.