In the temple, after recovering Helen’s corpse and purifying the surroundings, the sun had already slanted quite a bit.

The road back to the imperial palace, where everyone present had been investigated.

Ermedillin, having an unfinished story with Pellio, ended up going with him to the imperial palace.

The orphanage, the trial related to the regicide, and much to talk about, but they sat in heavy silence inside the carriage.

Because of the atmosphere of Ermedillin, who had sunk endlessly due to Helen’s death, Pellio was being careful.

Even Luni, who would usually make a frivolous sound to ease Ermedillin’s mood, was merely troubled with what to say.

Helen’s plump, white cheeks, yet to lose their baby fat, were dotted with cute freckles.

Her small and thin body seemed as if it would fly away with the wind, so Ermedillin used to watch her carefully whenever Helen was cleaning, just in case she might get hurt.

Even in the moment when the curse covered her body with a dark hue, her red lips and white walls retained their color.

Her deep blue eyes, looking up at him with a desperate face as if something was left to say, kept coming back to his mind.

Due to the powerful curse, even her corpse could not return to her family.

She had simply turned into a handful of ash.

‘Mother and sister are captured, right? I must rescue them first. But how? Although I inherited the Duke’s property, all the mercenaries were confiscated by Anri. Do I have to hire mercenaries?’

Anri saved Duke François for political reasons, but, in fact, Ermedillin was a little relieved by the result.

Whether there existed some deep emotional bond between the two related women, all that the current Ermedillin wanted was to recover the money loaned to the Duke.

She felt that the Duke’s punishment was light, but on the other hand, she thought the punishment was fair, as the family tied by blood did not die due to her accusation.

She didn’t know then.

No matter how evil the family of a villain, she never imagined that a father would sincerely try to kill his daughter.

‘If the Duke had been executed then…….’

A frightening thought suddenly brushed past Ermedillin’s mind.

Chilled by her own horrifying thought, Ermedillin hugged her shoulders.

“Your Majesty? Are you cold? Do you perhaps have a fever……”

Luni, who saw her, searched for something to cover her, restlessly.

“No, it’s not that. I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Ermedillin, with her head bowed, looking at the floor, replied in a somewhat subdued voice.

After hearing her response, Luni made a momentarily sad face, then grabbed Ermedillin’s shoulders and forcibly straightened her hunched torso.

“You can’t be okay? Anyone can see you’re not okay. Right? Your Highness?”

Pellio, sitting across from them, looked momentarily confused but soon nodded lightly in agreement with Luni’s words.

“How can I be okay when my father tried to kill me? I can’t imagine, but if my parents tried to kill me, I think I would be really sad.”

‘Sad?’

Ermedillin finally slowly lifted her head and looked at Luni’s face. The tender brown eyes were filled with moisture.

‘Ah, I’m sad. Right now.’

This uneasiness, this constant pain jabbing at one side of her heart, Ermedillin finally realized what it was.
“Right. I’m sad that the illusion of family has shattered, and the master of this body is sad that Dad really tried to kill me. So, is that why my heart aches?”

I had found the answer, but now a headache started to come on.

One side of my head throbbed with pain, and wrinkles appeared on Ermedillin’s forehead.

“So, I’m sad now.”

With a very small voice, almost a whisper, Ermedillin, who had acknowledged Lunie’s words, lost consciousness, feeling an intense headache.

Anri was distressed.

By now, Valiere should have come running with a tearful smile, but there was still no news.

‘I must have seen it…….’

Anri had always engraved words of love on the back of the jewels he gave to Valiere.

Sometimes, he sent shy words of confession, sometimes words of apology, bending his pride.

And every time, Valiere would run to him with the brightest smile and embrace him.

But this time, there was no news.

Despite having had time to see the back of the earring, Valiere was nowhere to be seen.

‘Did she get pretty angry this time?’

Tired of waiting for Valiere, Anri eventually decided to go and find her himself.

He had also been concerned about how depressed she looked in the morning.

“His Majesty has arrived!!”

At the maids’ cry, Valiere put away the dessert she was eating and knelt before the statue in the bedroom.

Thanks to her perfect timing, when Anri entered the bedroom, Valiere was able to greet him on her knees.

“Have you arrived?”

Suddenly kneeling and trying to get up again, she naturally felt dizzy.

Valiere wobbled for a moment, and Anri immediately rushed to support her.

“What are you doing with your body not well? Why aren’t you lying down?”

“No, I’m not. Lying down just makes me think bad thoughts.”

Valiere, supported by Anri, was actually in a very bad mood.