“Annie! Where are you? Annie!”

“Yes, milady!”

Hearing my urgent voice, Annie hurriedly entered the bedroom.

“Go to the traveler’s lodge at the central cathedral right now and call Emlyn. If he’s not there, tell the monk managing the place that I’m looking for him!”

She nodded firmly and ran out the door. I sat down on the chair, exhaling a slightly rough breath. An uncontrollable anxiety gripped my heart.

* * *

How much time had passed?

As I was getting anxious while looking out the window, an ivory pigeon flew in through the open window. Seeing him, I spoke with delight.

“Emlyn!”

My vision blurred, and in the place where the pigeon disappeared, Emlyn appeared. Dressed as a traveler, he grinned with a playful, youthful face and said,

“Hello, milady. You were looking for me?”

“The maid who was imprisoned in the imperial palace’s underground dungeon was found dead last night.”

Faced with the bluntly delivered point, Emlyn sat on the chair across from me with a stiff face and said,

“…Explain in more detail. How did it end up like that?”

I told him everything that was written in the imperial princess’s letter. After listening to my words with a pensive expression, he sighed.

“…I see. Somehow, I had a feeling this would happen.”

“It’s obvious who did this. But there’s one thing I don’t understand. How could they have handled that maid Belladonna while deceiving the eyes of Knight Tott and everyone else?”

I asked, frowning. Emlyn seemed to think for a moment, then continued with a meaningful expression.

“Do you happen to know how that maid lost her life? Like, you know. Whether she was stabbed with a knife or something.”

“According to the investigator who examined the maid’s corpse, her heart and lungs ruptured simultaneously. But what about it?”

When I asked back in puzzlement, Emlyn let out a soft sigh and said,

“It seems there is another witch among them.”

“Another witch?”

“Yes. And a very high-ranking one at that. For a high-ranking mage or witch, deceiving a lower-skilled mage or witch is easier than twisting a child’s wrist.”

“Who the hell is that witch? Emlyn, you don’t know?”

Emlyn slowly shook his head and replied,

“Sorry. I don’t know yet either. If a high-ranking witch of that caliber decides to hide their identity, it’s not easy to notice. Even old man Erzed, the grand mage of the 9th Circle, would have a hard time with that.”

“Then what should we do? We can’t just leave that witch to harm and curse people as they please.”

I spoke to him, feeling frustrated. Emlyn stared at me for a while, then suddenly grinned and opened his mouth.

“Who said anything about leaving them be? I said it’s difficult to notice, not that there’s no way at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You know how I revealed the identity of that witch Belladonna at the imperial palace, right? The goddess who created this world has no mercy for those who go against her providence.”

“That means…?”

“Witches who recklessly take lives, curse others, and try to turn back time with forbidden magic will inevitably pay the price. The goddess’s curse will eat away at that witch’s soul and cause it to rot. The more lives they harm, the more their soul will decay, and then an unbearable stench that can’t be hidden will flow from that soul. It’s like the smell of rancid blood or the terrible stench of rotting meat.”

“Then we just need to find someone among Uncle, Duke Klein, and those close to the crown princess who has that smell.”

Emlyn nodded and said,

“That’s right. But it won’t be as easy as it sounds. That witch by the crown princess’s side was good at hiding her scent. …To the point where even a mage of my caliber would have a hard time noticing right away.”

“……”

“So be careful. The imperial princess and the duke are also a problem, but I’m most worried about you, milady. Divine grace and the energy of death always seem to follow you simultaneously. It’s a strange thing.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I nodded seriously. Emlyn laughed as if deflating and placed his hand on my head, ruffling it wildly.

“But don’t get too bogged down in worries either! I told you, didn’t I? That I would help you. Once I safely retrieve the mana stone from Elsi Castle and return, I won’t leave your side for a moment, so just stay safe until then!”

“Yes, thank you. Emlyn.”

I smiled weakly at him. Although Emlyn told me not to worry, hearing his words made my heart feel even heavier. It was probably because that very ‘witch’ was the real culprit who harmed my father and Princess Liz, and I felt at a loss as to how to defeat such a person.

‘I can’t just rely on Emlyn because I’m at a loss. I need to find a way somehow too.’

I clenched my teeth, steeling my resolve.

* * *

One month after the day Emlyn left for Elsi Castle.

A powerful earthquake struck the empire’s largest port city, Moldov Castle, completely destroying it. It was a disaster that occurred at least three months earlier than in my previous life. The active trade with other empires came to an abrupt halt, and the emperor ordered his vassals to immediately find a castle that could replace the existing port, just like in my previous life.

And naturally, they chose Enward Port. The small port of Enward, which had been on the outskirts, rapidly expanded in size, and a tremendous amount of gold coins entered my possession in an instant.

In just a few days, I became wealthy enough to be counted among the top five in this empire.

In contrast, the situation in the Yusten and Klein duchies was not good at all.

It was because, as Danae had insisted, they planted poppy seeds in the fallow fields, but none of the precious seeds they had painstakingly obtained sprouted. The land, which had already consumed a great deal of fertility, became even more desolate, and the precious seeds rotted helplessly along with the soil.

Receiving a letter from a spy predicting that next year’s crop yield in the two territories would be less than half of last year’s, I burst into a soft laugh.

A few days later, upon receiving the same letter, Duke Yusten was unable to contain his rage and collapsed, unable to get up for some time.

Before collapsing, he shouted at me and the wailing Danae.

“I will never discuss anything with you again in the future! Christine! From now on, don’t discuss anything related to household matters with this child! You foolish thing! If you weren’t my daughter, I would have kicked you out immediately!”

At those words, Danae cried even more miserably, screaming how he could say such a thing, and I watched the scene with pleasure. It was all a result they brought upon themselves.

* * *

On the afternoon of the day when Duke Yusten finally recovered his health and left the residence to attend the imperial court meeting for the first time.

A letter was delivered to Danae, who had been staying in her bedroom with a gloomy expression, her eyes swollen from crying.

Seeing the contents of the letter sent by Leonard, her expression brightened, and she shouted towards the closed bedroom door.

“Emma! Emma!”

“Yes, milady!”

“I need to go out right now, so get me ready. Bring my dresses and jewelry too.”

Danae ordered Emma, who hurriedly entered her bedroom. Emma immediately called the maids. But unlike usual, the water in the bathtub was lukewarm. Danae frowned and said,

“What? Why is the water so lukewarm?”

“I apologize, milady. It seems the mana stone used to heat the bathwater has reached the end of its lifespan. Shall I immediately boil some water from the kitchen?”

“Tsk, what are you doing not replacing such things on time? Forget it. When will I wait for the water to boil? I’ll just do it like this today.”

Danae immersed her body in the lukewarm water. The maids exchanged strange glances and then washed her. After finishing her bath, Danae wrapped herself tightly in a towel and sat in front of the dressing table. As she examined the dresses hanging in the portable wardrobe and the cosmetics placed in front of the dressing table, she spoke in a sharp voice.

“What? Why did you bring the dresses I had made two months ago? What about the new dresses I had made last month? And why are there only these cosmetics? I told you to buy new ones last week!”

“…About that, milady.”

Emma hesitated for a moment, looking troubled, and then said,

“We couldn’t pay the craftsmen on time.”

“What?”

“…As you may know, milady, the family’s financial situation has been terrible lately… The steward told us to postpone payments for anything that isn’t urgent, like groceries or wages for the servants.”

Danae burst into an absurd laugh and retorted,

“So? The old steward said he couldn’t pay for my dresses and cosmetics?”

“…Yes, milady.”

“Has this old man gone crazy? Tell him to pay immediately! Otherwise, tell him I’ll speak to Father right away and have him kicked out of this residence!”

“…Actually, milady. The one who said to reduce your allowance and dress purchase expenses until the situation improves was the head of the family…”

“Ha! Father said that?”

Danae asked back in disbelief. Emma and the other maids hesitated and lowered their gazes. It was a silent affirmation. Danae gritted her teeth in anger. The duke was clearly doing this because the poppy flower cultivation had failed. He must have been retaliating because the wheat harvest in the territory had decreased because of that. Danae inwardly criticized her petty father.

Is it my fault that the poppy flowers couldn’t sprout properly? It’s all because the land in the territory is terrible, the mages didn’t want to help me at all, and the administrators refused to purchase fertilizer.

‘So I didn’t do anything wrong. This is all their fault.’