I pretended to be insane to the Empress, but whether she believed me or not was a separate issue.

Even if she had suspicions, she wouldn’t easily cancel the duel.

Hertrian’s persuasion had a track record of failure.

Then there was only one option left.

‘Convince Serdis?’

No.

That would be insane.

However, the only option without considering other possibilities was why choosing Serdis seemed like a quicker choice.

I didn’t expect to consider Serdis as an option.

‘It’s a contradiction. Saying that I won’t cause any misunderstandings and then engaging in a conspiracy with Serdis is the same thing.’

Violet, who found out about it, had no reason not to misunderstand me.

Even if I considered other options, there was no answer.

Leaving the Imperial Palace, I wandered around like a lost person, just like before.

I wanted to confide in someone about my worries.

And the answer was the same as before, then and now.

“Let’s go find Mikael.”

Someone who always kept a distance and objectively assessed the situation whenever something happened to me.

That person was only Kassian to me.

After meeting in person, it became difficult to confide in him like before, but Mikael had heard the news, so he must have some thoughts.

By now, he would probably be working in the Prince’s Palace, so I turned my steps in that direction.

I didn’t expect to visit Serdis’ palace in person.

Entering the palace cautiously to avoid encountering Serdis as much as possible, I arrived at the terrace.

I pondered while looking up.

‘Should I wait until he comes out?’

There was a way to secretly meet using a shijong, but I couldn’t trust the shijong in the Prince’s Palace.

If Serdis saw me, he would definitely have something to say, and if seen by others, it could lead to another misunderstanding.

Therefore, I couldn’t meet Serdis hastily right now.

The entire palace felt like a minefield.

I decided to wait a little until Mikael or Serdis came out.

I had nowhere to go immediately anyway.

Now it was awkward to see Hertrian.

‘I wonder what Hertrian is doing.’

I was bothered by the harsh words I had said.

“What am I doing here?”

I didn’t have peace of mind since coming to the palace.

‘What is Hertrian doing now?’

I also felt uneasy about the harsh words I had said.

“Have you come?”

It was when I leaned against the terrace wall and took a break.

A voice from a shady place outside the terrace reached my ears.

I held my breath at the low male voice.

Soon, the man’s voice continued.

“Did you come after hearing the news?”

When I listened carefully, the male voice belonged to the one I was waiting for.

‘Mikael, right?’

I saw a glimpse of Mikael’s characteristic silver hair in the back.

However, I couldn’t go out and pretend to know him.

I couldn’t figure out the identity of the person who approached Mikael.

Someone with a small stature.

The small voice scattered in the rustling sound, making it difficult to discern the identity.

Mikael’s voice continued.

“The duel will proceed smoothly.”

Duel?

It seemed like he was talking about the duel between Serdis and Hertrian.

“Although Her Majesty the Empress did come, there was no separate information received. How do you view the results? If it doesn’t matter, I won’t interfere much.”

The words exchanged between the two were quite subtle.

It sounded like a voice reporting to a superior.

And the other party was definitely not Serdis.

If it were Serdis, there would be no need to secretly report like this.

‘Then who is he talking to?’

I stretched my neck a little and looked at the person in the robe.

Someone who felt vaguely familiar.

Someone I had seen in the alley of the capital from the carriage.
The clouds cleared just in time, and the sunlight shone brightly. Thanks to that, the hidden color of the hair inside the robe sparkled.

A vivid violet color.

It was a moment, but I saw it clearly.

At that moment, I naturally thought of Violet.

‘But it’s not Violet.’

Violet herself denied it, and there was no reason for Violet to meet Mikael.

So, it must be someone I don’t know.

I wanted to see more closely, but the obscured sunlight eventually cast darkness back into the robe.

‘Who is Mikael meeting?’

It could be a member of the family.

I recalled meeting Mikael in that alley from behind.

‘They must have met at that time.’

What was certain was that Mikael had a deep connection with that person.

“I did not admit to the contract. And the story the Crown Prince brought doesn’t seem right either.”

And it seemed like he was reporting something related to me to someone.

Not admitting to the contract meant, perhaps, that I hadn’t talked to Mikael about the contract?

Mikael didn’t go into detail.

“When will you pay the promised fee? Within this week? Okay. If you don’t delay, I’ll contact you at home after the duel ends.”

The person in the robe left this place, pushing through the bushes.

I couldn’t hear the opponent’s voice in the end.

I couldn’t call Mikael who was left alone.

Mikael also left the quiet space soon.