After passing a few stone stairs and several narrow stone gates, the group finally reached the central hall of the Fransoir Duchy’s castle.

Although there were several intersections along the way, Ermeldilin never once took the wrong path and always found the right way.

‘I’m lucky to have marked them all. I was prepared to get lost a bit.’

The interior, made of dark rocks, was different from the imperial palace, which was white and gold. It seemed as if the castle’s foundation had been directly carved from a large cliff.

Casting a sidelong glance at Felio and Bellest, who looked like tourists, Ermeldilin thought, ‘But isn’t it too empty even for something as spacious as this?’

The vast hall, capable of accommodating several hundred people, felt strangely empty to the point of being desolate.

There was only one large portrait hanging awkwardly, depicting the Fransoir Duke, his wife, and Ermont.

‘Didn’t that portrait sell well? By the way, my portrait is not in the family portrait.’

For a moment, disappointed, Ermeldilin naturally moved her steps towards the gentle staircase on the left side of the hall.

Since it was her first time visiting this place, she couldn’t understand the structure at all, but strangely, her feet moved on their own.

‘Yes. Since I lived in this house for a lifetime, my body might remember. Let’s trust the feeling for now.’
This time, after climbing a few stairs and passing through a few narrow corridors, a large wooden door appeared. Although Ermeldilin couldn’t recall it from memory, the door felt nostalgic.

When she pushed it slightly with her finger, it swung open effortlessly, as if it had already been opened.

‘Usually, shouldn’t it open to the outside?’

Feeling somewhat puzzled, Ermeldilin tried to fully open the door, but Felio blocked her way.

“I’ll go in first.”

Without hesitation, Felio opened the door wide and entered the room.

Inside, there was a carpet clearly made of fur but crumpled to the point where its shape was hard to discern. Most of the furniture was made of solid wood. It was a bedroom with a mature yet heavy atmosphere, not reminiscent of a young woman’s room.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

As soon as Ermeldilin entered the room, her breath was suddenly taken away. A forceful headache surged through her, as if an invisible hand was squeezing her throat with all its might. It felt like someone was forcibly inserting a sharp pen into her white mind, drawing a picture.

“Your Majesty! Are you okay?”

Surprised, Bellest shouted and supported Ermeldilin, while Felio immediately checked the surroundings, wondering if it might be a curse. However, there was nothing suspicious.

“Ha, hack… Gasp… Gasp…”

Although nothing came to Ermeldilin’s mind, her body involuntarily reacted to the memories etched into her. The experiments with poison that began at the age of 7 and the continued abuse by the Duke even after leaving for the imperial palace. The pain of burning in the fire, the piercing pain of a sharp knife, the dreadful fever caused by chemicals flowing through the veins, and the agony of broken bones and pierced flesh felt almost ordinary.

Indeed, it was the history of prolonged abuse accumulated over a long time. With all this pain overwhelming her at once, Ermeldilin found herself in a state where she could do nothing but scream.

“Aaaargh! Uaaaaaargh!”

After screaming for a while, Ermeldilin collapsed on the spot, unconscious.