“You’ve become overly sensitive. Take a break for now. But you must come out for the dress fitting in the afternoon. I’ll bring your father’s medicine.”

Saying only what she wanted, the Duchess clasped her hands, gracefully walked out of the room.

Catherine, who had been educated in the opposite way of what she was experiencing, wanted to scream loudly.

No one in this household listened to her. She had only learned to obey and submit, never to bring shame to the family. The Lady who had always been submissive and obedient, didn’t know what to do here.

‘Can’t I just not become the Empress?’

Even if she worked hard, the Emperor wouldn’t look at her. Yes, logically, that made sense. The Emperor wasn’t interested in any woman.

But what if the Emperor compromised with the grand nobles? What if he compromised and made a suitable marriage alliance? Before that faint possibility, Catherine felt terrified even at the thought of meeting the Emperor as a candidate for empress.

‘I don’t want to run into him. No, I don’t even want to be in the same space…!’

How fearful it was at the reception. Not just Catherine but also other young ladies and even sturdy gentlemen were overwhelmed. However, people thought of those who fainted as ‘fragile’ and dismissed them as insignificant.

‘What should I do?’
As an Empress candidate, what should Catherine do if she doesn’t want to face the Emperor even a little? She couldn’t find the answer from her brother, and her parents were even less helpful.

What should she do? Her lips, trembling with fear, quivered. Catherine knew that if she left the safe dukedom, she would be nothing. She understood that.

Run away.

Among the people she had asked, Rustica Gennes, the only one who was not from the East, said brightly to abandon everything and selfishly run away.

That wasn’t an option for Catherine. Even if she ran away, her family would find her and bring her back. Catherine already knew the famous story where a young lady who escaped for love was caught by her family, and her lover had to witness her death.

“Catherine, you can do anything.”

Remembering her dead first brother, Manuel, who lied shamelessly that she could do anything, Catherine sat up in bed. She couldn’t stand in front of the Emperor, and she couldn’t leave the safe dukedom either. She was an Alanca.

For the past few days, Catherine had been brushing her face, which hadn’t smiled properly. Then she smiled blandly, without any emotion. A lifeless smile drawn on dull paper. It was the same smile as the one the Duchess had just made.

It felt eerie. Rustica lowered her sword and looked around.

Birds were singing, and water was pouring from the fountain. Icarus was rolling on the grass with Bella and Sia in the distance.

This was the peaceful Glera Palace. However, she clearly felt the sharp claws of screams, vitality, and monsters that humans could hardly bear.

Ah, it’s felt again. She would be able to catch the monsters that ravage the fertile land with a large-scale magic. Of course, that wouldn’t be the end. Rustica shuddered.

‘This isn’t my thought?’

Once again, a chilly sensation swept through her spine. She instinctively grabbed her head with one hand. Was the curse still lingering on her head? Was that why?

No, it wasn’t her judgment. Rustica slowly turned around to find the person she had to talk to first. The eerie feeling of facing monsters continued.

“Hey…, Dean.”

She had to go meet him. Without even realizing it, she called out the name she relied on the most as she moved her steps. Where should she go? To the central palace?

“Yes, Lou, what’s wrong?”

Before taking another step, Hayden, who should be in the central palace, was suddenly standing in front of her, wrapping his arms around her and asking.

“Dis……”

“Yes.”

Lou gripped his arms.

“I see something strange, something strange… I don’t know if it’s a vision or not… Whether I see it or feel it…”

She murmured incoherently, and her slightly bent body straightened out in embarrassment. Hayden looked into her eyes with his wildly shaking green eyes.

“Did monsters appear in Caleta?”

It wasn’t something she felt. If that was the case, it would be the influence of the powerful sorcerer Carlos Arthur Ingram, who cursed her head. Lou came to a creepy and frightening conclusion.