The empire is a country where the use of magic has been strictly forbidden.

For as long as three hundred years.

And yet, there are forces using such mysterious powers within the central barrier where the imperial palace is located, of all places.

“No way. The security within the barrier is almost perfect…”

Perfect, is it?

Delphine trailed off, recalling the strange murder cases that had occurred recently.

Belly interrupted Delphine’s words in a chilling tone.

“One clear fact. One of the proofs is the eyes.”

“The eyes…!”

Delphine’s eyes widened at that word finally being mentioned.

Belly nodded and continued.

“When using the power contained in this black crystal, the caster’s eyes change as if they’re no longer human.”

The woman called Marian added in a calm tone.

“Also, all the victims affected by that power have their eyes missing.”

“For example, was there anything unusual about the eyes of the severed head?”

Suddenly, goosebumps spread all over her body.

Delphine unconsciously hugged herself with both arms and shivered.

So that’s why Glasscock asked me such a strange question…!

“But what exactly is this power…? And…”

What connection does it have with Ioan?

Belly concluded in a heavy tone.

“Unfortunately, this is all we’ve discovered through countless sacrifices.”

Delphine couldn’t easily find words to say and pressed her lips into a firm line.

Her head was in confusion.

North continent items with delicate magical engineering technology.

Fossium.

The black crystal containing unknown power, and the beings within the barrier who use it.

…And Ioan.

Ioan, who returned as a marquis after being a slave.

The man said to possess strangely strong power.

Above all, Glasscock whose eyes had disappeared.

“What on earth…”

Delphine stammered with a pale face.

As her legs suddenly weakened and she staggered, the man called Lin immediately jumped up from his chair and caught her.

Delphine barely managed to stand with the support of his strong arms and muttered.

“I’ve never heard of such things before…”

It felt as if she had become a puppet in a marionette show.

Playing with strings attached in a predetermined script.

“Yes. There are strange and unusual things in this empire.”

Belly’s gaze reached far away, probably towards where the barrier was.

“The existence of the barrier and the black crystal. …And Marquis Pryde. We are investigating, thinking there might be some great secret in this empire.”

Then he turned his gaze back and looked at the pale Delphine with an intense gaze.

“My lady. Is your desire to know the truth still valid?”

Lin and Marian’s gazes also fixed on her.

Delphine’s eyes trembled slightly.

Again.

They were testing her once again.

“Even if I know the truth, will anything be different from now? It might just make reality more cruel.”

Was this what the man in the carriage meant when he said that?

But the hesitation was only momentary.

Her mind remained unchanged.

She, Delphine Pembrook, had no intention of closing her eyes, turning away from the truth, and being swept along by fate.

Delphine bit her lip hard and nodded.

A satisfied smile appeared on Belly’s lips.

“You still have the radio, don’t you?”

Delphine nodded again.

“Keep it charged whenever you can. We’ll radio you when we find out new information.”

Then Lin, who had been looking at Delphine with an unreadable gaze, suddenly blurted out.

“The radio. Never let that man find out about it.”

It was a very blunt tone.

By that man, does he mean Ioan?

As she raised her head with a puzzled face, the man turned his gaze away and muttered lowly.

“He’s famous for being cruel as a devil. …His wife would be no exception.”

No, surely he wouldn’t lay a hand on her.

Behind all her bold actions was the belief that he would never harm her.

But somehow, she hesitated to speak up in Ioan’s defense in this place right now.

Delphine’s lips quivered, but in the end, she just gave a slight nod in response.

The room after Lady Pryde left.

“What are you up to, Belly?”

Lin, who had been silent with a strange expression for a while, opened his mouth in a displeased tone.

“You said you’d radio her. She’s just a nobly raised aristocratic woman.”

“Do you really think so, Lin?”

Belly asked with narrowed eyes.

After hesitating for a moment at that gentle question, Lin answered irritably.

“…If you’re thinking of using her to draw out the mad dog, forget it. That Pryde wouldn’t fuss over one woman, would he?”

“No, I’m not trying to use her as such a card.”

Belly’s blue eyes gleamed meaningfully.

“…Just between us, I’ve calculated the chances of the revolution’s success to be about 20% so far. Of course, it went down to 3% after Pryde appeared.”

“…What?”

Both Lin and Marian looked dumbfounded at those words.

Belly was a genius of the century.

Born in the muddiest part of District 3, he had risen to this point by organizing La Rouge through his own power.

Even the initial revolutionary funds for the organization were all won by Belly in gambling dens.

With his genius mind, he could calculate all the probabilities happening in gambling in real-time.

In the first place, the reason Lin and Marian jumped into this revolution was solely because they trusted Belly.

“…You bastard, you sweet-talked me into this, but you saw the probability that low?”

In response to Marian’s incredulous mutter, Belly replied with an unconcerned expression.

“That’s how gambling is. …But just now, I think we’ve discovered a wild card.”

“What?”

“What do you mean by that? Explain in detail, Belly.”

“I’ll tell you when it becomes more certain. Now is not the time to be sure… Yes. Not yet…”

As he muttered incomprehensible words to himself, he suddenly jerked his head up and exclaimed.

“First, I need to look into Lady Pryde’s… no, Delphine Pembrook’s family lineage.”

“What? She’s from an ancient noble family. Of course…”

However, Belly seemed to no longer hear the words around him and continued to mutter to himself.

“So it’s the maternal line after all… But the question of ‘why’ still remains…”

“Hey, Belly!”

Despite Lynn’s shout, Belly’s face still showed no sign of hearing anything, as if possessed by a strange fervor.

“Yes. There… the success or failure of this revolution depends on her.”

A madness akin to a gambler on the brink of a comeback victory flashed briefly in his blue eyes.

When leaving the headquarters, Delphine had to cover her eyes with a black cloth again.

After enduring the terrible stench and the carriage’s rocking for a while, the carriage soon came to a stop.

The place where she alighted after removing her blindfold was near the eastern gate of the barrier.

“The record of your entry and exit today will soon be erased, my lady.”

The operative who had heard about her using a maid’s identification quietly explained.

The one wearing the rabbit mask said it was too dangerous to approach any further, then left her behind and departed leisurely.

Delphine covered her head and face again with a white handkerchief, then walked towards the barrier.

“Hmm. An errand from a noble house to District 3?”

As expected, the inspection was more thorough when entering the barrier than when leaving.

The knight standing guard at the gate, scrutinizing the identification certificate she presented, asked again.

“What name did you write on the list when you left the gate?”

“Betty… sir.”

“Hmm. You left with a coachman, but why are you returning alone?”

“Well, it was a confidential request from the master, so the details are a bit…”

As Betty had advised, she trailed off without speaking too clearly.

Indeed, seeming reluctant to pry into matters related to nobility, the knight didn’t pursue it further.

Instead, he gestured half-heartedly towards her handkerchief and ordered.

“Show your face.”

Oh no.

Delphine bit her lower lip hard with a troubled expression.

She had wanted to avoid exposing her face as much as possible, just in case.

‘Surely they don’t know my face.’

This place was far from District 1, and judging by the knight’s appearance and manner of speech, he didn’t seem to be a high-ranking knight of noble origin.

Fortunately, the identification certificate didn’t have a photo, so face comparison was impossible.

Delphine slowly pulled back the handkerchief.

“Your identity seems certain, but usually they don’t send just one maid to District 3…”

At that moment, the knight stopped speaking.

What is it? Did he notice something strange?

Delphine quickly lowered her eyes to hide her eye color.

The knight, who had been staring at her with a momentarily lost expression, asked with a somewhat dumb look.

“…You. Which family did you say you were a maid for?”

She hadn’t said anything of the sort.

Before she could even think about why he was asking such a thing, the answer came out instinctively.

“The Baron Herth household, sir.”

Even the knights standing a bit further away were looking this way and murmuring.

Why are they acting like this?

She had been told that no one would pay attention to a single maid walking on the street…