“I guess so. There’s no way something like that could be on the teacup… Well, Sophia?”

“Of course. The First Prince must have misseen it.”

“There’s no way the teacup changed. I’m sure I put the Empress’s teacup inside.”

Sophia, with trembling eyes, glanced at the teacup and made a small gesture towards Evelyn. Evelyn seemed to glance at Sophia for a moment but soon turned her head coldly.

“Your dress seems messy. I should have chosen my words carefully. I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Evelyn looked down at her tea-stained dress, slightly furrowing her brow.

‘I only received three pills from Dylan, and this was the last one… Moreover, I almost died, didn’t I?’

She pressed down her eyelids as if trying to suppress the boiling anger. When Evelyn opened her eyes again, a subtle smile, as usual, adorned her lips.

‘It’s just medicine; I can ask Dylan to get more.’

“As the First Prince said, my dress is in a mess, so it’s better to postpone the teatime to later.”

“Then, please, Your Majesty.”

Without giving a single glance to Sophia, Evelyn turned and left. Sophia hastily placed the teacups on the tray and followed Evelyn.

As soon as the office door closed, Ian leaned back deeply on the sofa. Overwhelmed by fatigue, Nathan, with a worried tone, asked, “Your Highness, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“…It was the Empress. I didn’t expect her to come in so openly with tea.”

‘Having the murderer who killed my mother right in front of me, and I can’t do anything.’

Ian clenched his fist tightly, looking at the place where the Empress had been sitting until recently. His anger and helplessness surged up to his head, and his adam’s apple shook violently.

“If we use a method other than the medicine…?”

“At best, we can only send an assassin.”

“The Empress believes in that medicine. So, until she sees me taking it, she will shamelessly come for teatime again.”

“But if Rosabella becomes the Crown Princess… wouldn’t she be in danger too?”

“I won’t propose to Rose right away.”

“Yes? Then when will you…”

“At least after cleaning up this palace.”

“What’s going on here?”

“Vivian suggested going together…”

Herman, who had been grinning, threw a meaningful glance outside the window.

We were uncomfortable seeing each other’s faces, especially with Rosabella, but Vivian came to my room and asked to go together.

Can you believe that looking at me now?
“Vivian, do you want to go to the kitchen with Ann and pick out the dessert you like?”

“Sure! I’ll also pick what my sister likes.”

Following the excited Vivian, Ann tactfully closed the door behind her. I silently stared down at the teacup with rising steam and then lifted my gaze.

Now that I think about it, even when she came to my room suddenly after the suppression, she asked if I was hurt anywhere.

I don’t remember when Herman and I faced each other like this alone, but I need to find out why he’s acting like this all of a sudden.

“You came to my room because Vivian asked you to?”

“Yeah. It’s not strange enough to ask to the extent of checking.”

A familiar expression appeared on Herman’s face above his unusual blush. It was the expression he showed when he disliked Rosabella.

“Take a look at your father’s actions. Have you ever said a warm word to me first?”

“You, who found it horrifying just to look me in the eye like a hedgehog, was Rosabella, right?”

“Could young me easily accept my father remarrying shortly after my mother’s death? And he didn’t even stay by my sick mother’s side.”

Whether it was a memory distorted by Rosabella or an empathic projection onto my past self, a choked voice involuntarily emerged.

“I searched for medicine at
Did Olivia like Herman from the beginning and set her sights on Liliana’s position? Did Herman remarry because he needed someone to be a mother to Rosabella?

“Why didn’t you tell me this story sooner?”

“After Liliana died, and you blamed me, it was also hard for me to comfort my heart. Olivia was like that at that time. She said time would be the cure for this. So if your heart feels relieved, approach me then.”

However, there was no trace of forgiveness in Rosabella’s heart toward Herman. Rosabella hoped to be an irritating presence to Herman, causing discomfort.

So, she didn’t easily leave the mansion. She thought that if she disappeared, it would only be a good thing for Herman.

If I had heard this fact, could something have changed?

“But when I look into your resentful eyes, words don’t always come out. Sometimes it seemed like Liliana was alive and blaming me.”

“I thought you hated me.”

“Olivia often talks about you in front of me. Even without directly asking you, I could know about your situation through stories Olivia told. Olivia has taken good care of you since you were young, but you always seemed to show only aversion to Olivia, which was unpleasant.”

Olivia took good care of Rosabella?

Yes, that’s how it looked to others. So, no matter what I said here, Herman wouldn’t believe it.

“Rather than ave
“I did not forget.”

Olivia, who gently lifted the hem of her dress, walked gracefully into the room. The gaze that alternated between me and Herman slightly shook at the end, but Olivia casually raised the corners of her mouth.

“Rose, it’s a rare day off today. Would you like to go out together?”

“I’m a bit tired, so I want to rest. Please enjoy your time together.”

At my words, Olivia seemed surprised and curled her fingers slightly. Olivia’s eyes, which seemed a bit stiff, quickly softened.

“Then I’ll be going now, Herman.”

As the two left, a deep silence filled the room. Resting my hand momentarily on my stiffened eyes, I sat down at the desk.

There’s nothing good for me in continuing to confront Herman. If Olivia used that medicine on Liliana, I need to uncover the truth.

Given the circumstances, it seems like Olivia was aiming for Liliana’s position and used the medicine…….

With Herman’s strong trust in Olivia, vague evidence might backfire. First, I need to find clear evidence, and it might be wise to try to repair the relationship with Herman at least a little.

Brushing off my thoughts, I took out the letter envelope from my pocket. The contents inside were a total of three pages.

As I picked up the first page and started reading the first line, my eyes widened.

“Did I read this correctly?”

It felt like a strong blow to the back of my head. Although I had clearly read the words with my eyes, it felt like the words were flowing backward.

Taking a calm breath, I read the first line aloud.

“The fact that you found this means that, as Fortuna said, another soul has entered my body, right?”