The discussion about the deal did not drag on for long. Carlos will not kill her while taking his revenge. Mercedes will cooperate with him in killing her.

That was it.

Even though she knew Carlos had nothing to gain, Mercedes thought he would accept this deal.

Because… he didn’t come to kill her even after several days had passed.

Mercedes erased the thoughts of Carlos that kept rising in her mind.

The goal in front of her now was clear.

To create the final hell for the Count.

It seemed like the Count, who wanted to make Flora the empress, had come to pressure her.

What would the empress dowager gain from that? Perhaps she thinks of using and discarding the Count?

It might be easy to drive a wedge in the trust between the two.

She would have to find out slowly through observation.

Letting the Count loose would be disadvantageous for her position in the social world, but it was good to have the opportunity to observe him by encountering him. It was worth taking a closer look.

In order to live, Mercedes forcibly stuffed food into her mouth and moved to another room for her lesson with a heavy stomach.

“You’ve come, Your Highness the empress.”

Mrs. Fisher’s eyes, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, were filled with worry. Mercedes smiled brightly and bowed her knees in greeting.

“I apologize, Mrs. Fisher. It seems I’ve caused you to worry. I was a bit unwell, but I’ve fully recovered now so it’s alright.”

There was no flaw to be seen in Mercedes’ attitude as she said that. But Mrs. Fisher noticed it immediately.

Something had happened. Something very bad for Mercedes. At the same time, Mrs. Fisher’s face hardened.

“…We won’t have a lesson today.”

“Pardon?”

Mercedes was very surprised by the bombshell declaration thrown by Mrs. Fisher, who could be called the epitome of etiquette without any exaggeration, even omitting the greeting.

“Please wait. I have something to tell Your Highness’s maids.”

“Ah, yes…”

Seeing her stern face, Mercedes wondered if she was going to give her some kind of punishment. Then would it be corporal punishment? She thought and laughed.

After meeting her father again, she naturally thought all punishments would involve tormenting the body. There’s no way Mrs. Fisher would punish her physically.

Soon, the lady who returned led her away.

Mercedes followed as Mrs. Fisher wished.

“You don’t have to look at me, take a look around instead. It would be better to bask in the sunlight today. Since it’s a rare reunion, let’s throw away stiff things like lessons.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve been confined for over ten days. I can see you haven’t eaten? I’m worried because you’re too thin, so please relax a bit.”

“…But.”

I can’t relax.

Mercedes was struggling with the urge to spit out the words lingering in her mouth. The man she loves is trying to kill her, and her father chased her all the way here to strangle her neck.

How can she relax in this situation?

But she swallowed it down out of habit.

Soon, a plausible tea table was set up, and the shade was lowered appropriately. Mrs. Fisher and Mercedes each sipped their tea while looking ahead.

“I came here on an empty stomach, so I’m hungry. I heard Your Highness has already eaten, so please try a little of the dessert. Every time I come, I feel that the taste is really good.”

Mrs. Fisher spoke to her kindly, loosening her stern expression. Mercedes nodded her head and cut a small piece of brownie and put it in her mouth.

“Resting for over ten days was quite boring. I think I need to work. Since there are no lessons-.”

Mrs. Fisher was not usually a very talkative type.

The lessons flow smoothly, but she never talks about anything personal, as if the previous love consultation was the first.

But today, she was telling her own story. A peaceful life. A life that is sometimes unbearable. About such things.

For a moment, Mercedes envied this person who could talk about such a life.

“The aroma of the tea is nice.”

So she had no choice but to respond to her stories with other words.

Mrs. Fisher never asked why she had become so thin or why she had canceled the lesson.

“I had tough times too. I was a duke’s daughter who ran away to live with a poor husband. How hard it must have been to become an academy professor. I even had a rough wedding night. Starting with premarital relations, being stupid, life is over… I heard all kinds of things in the social world. There were plenty of slanders and put-downs. So I had to become even more confident.”

The story Mrs. Fisher was telling somewhat resonated with Mercedes.

“Living like that, the days get tedious, the darkness is fearful. There are times when you want everything to end. But you know what, Your Highness. I think that’s what being human is. Whether you lose or win against those things, you live on anyway. So you finally see your own sun rising. That’s why I’m here now, isn’t it?”

At Mrs. Fisher’s words, Mercedes bit her lip.

“…What if only things that want to kill me exist in front of me?”

And she ended up asking. Mrs. Fisher pondered for a moment and asked back.

“Do you have a goal, Your Highness?”

“Revenge. It’s revenge.”

That voice resembled the desperation when she first started the lessons, so Mrs. Fisher’s heart ached.

“Then what if the revenge ends?”

This time, Mercedes did not answer.

She couldn’t say death in front of this kind woman.

“I’m not against revenge. Well, I’ve taken petty revenge too.”

“…”

“If it makes you happy and refreshed, and allows you to move forward, it’s okay. But from what I see… there doesn’t seem to be any of that at the end of Your Highness’s revenge.”

“…Is that so.”

“Your Highness. I hope you find happiness. After the revenge ends, I hope you have a new goal and become vibrant again.”

Happiness.

She wishes for her happiness.

“If I… become happy, what good would it do for you, Mrs. Fisher?”

Perhaps that’s why.

Mercedes suddenly wanted to cry. And she ended up asking back a bit emotionally.

No matter how miserable she was, she never wanted to cry.

She thought her tears had dried up. Even the tears that came out last time when she was acting…

It seemed she had been treated so undeservedly for a long time.

Seeing how she kept trying to regain her emotions.

She somehow swallowed her tears back into her throat. Her throat hurt and her nose stung.

“As a teacher, there is no greater joy than seeing my student happy. Especially if it’s my most cherished student. Your Highness the empress, please forgive my rudeness. I want to call you by name after a long time.”

“…”

“Mercedes. There are many people who want to share your happiness. Do you know how worried your maids are? And that this is the first time I’ve been this worried about a student. Do you know?”

Mercedes drank the tea again without answering. In fact, she couldn’t even feel the aroma of the tea.

“So please be happy. You can use this teacher if you want. Mercedes.”

Ah. Mercedes finally realized it then.

It wasn’t just Carlos, but the happiness given by those around her for the past six months. This dull heart finally realized that… which is why it hurts more than when she was dying in shame.

“…I’ll try.”

Mercedes smiled sincerely. It was a smile distorted with sadness, so Mrs. Fisher closed her mouth.

“There will be a way. Remember what I taught you. There’s a reason for everything, and if you dig into the reason, there’s a solution. So don’t give up easily. You have to keep taking lessons with me.”

Mrs. Fisher’s words were more sincere than ever.

However, at the moment, Mercedes could only see revenge and death.

“If it’s difficult, I’ll help you find it together.”

But the advice Mrs. Fisher gave her, ‘find the reason and devise a solution,’ unknowingly became a seed deep in Mercedes’ heart.

Whether that seed would grow, rot, or become a giant tree to make her strong was still unknown.

* * *

Carlos was convinced that the empress dowager had deliberately drawn the Count in to reach the room. In the process, he was also convinced that the Count had the greed to make his other daughter the empress.

It was just a bit ridiculous and absurd.

What kind of confidence was it?

No matter how much he degrades Mercedes, it would be over if he doesn’t make Flora the empress. The empress dowager wouldn’t intend to make Flora the empress either.

It was clear to see. The empress dowager will use the Count to create a flaw in Mercedes and then discard him.

And the Count, not knowing her inner thoughts, will strut around confidently believing in the power of the empress dowager.

Nevertheless, there was nothing Carlos could do yet.

Damn this ‘ties of kinship.’ If he doesn’t treat that father who would obviously abuse Mercedes instead of helping her, there would surely be talk.

He instead planned to eliminate the Count from the unseen darkness.

He reinforced security, urged Leopold and Skylar to investigate the shadow knights on the empress dowager’s side, and told them to find out if there was a mage on their side.

Of course, it was very difficult. There were too many of the empress dowager’s strongholds in the capital. There were also many high-ranking noble ladies who aided her.

Days passed without much progress.

During that time, Mercedes ate to live, faced Carlos for revenge, and entered the couple’s bedroom with him every night to suppress false rumors.

Carlos always slept curled up on the sofa, and she fell asleep on the bed.

Occasionally, when she woke up at dawn and saw him looking cramped on the sofa that seemed too small for his large build, she became lost in thought.

She sometimes thought about the ‘reason’ Mrs. Fisher mentioned.

She wasn’t curious about the reason since he was going to kill her anyway. But what if there really was an incomprehensible reason and another solution?

Perhaps there was hope left by Mrs. Fisher’s kindness. Mercedes would habitually think about it, then stop and quietly gaze at his sleeping figure.

She watched his body rise and fall as he breathed.

Then sometimes.

She impulsively wanted to ask him.

‘Why are you trying to kill me?’