“Too extravagant? Do I look so stingy that I would begrudge such a gift?”

“No…… no. That’s not it…… Your Majesty the Empress is naturally generous and magnanimous…….”

Ermedillin did not listen to Loony’s excuses and rushed to the corner to pick out a pretty silk hat, which she placed on Loony’s head.

“I’m stingy, so instead of a reward, I’ll give you a punishment. A punishment that you must cherish this hat until you die!”

“Nee?”

Loony was momentarily flustered but realized she had been had as she smirked and watched Ermedillin tie the ribbon of the hat herself.

“A punishment? What’s the crime that warrants such a severe punishment?”

An eye for an eye.

At Loony’s witty response, Ermedillin, having tied the ribbon, slowly raised her head to wink at Loony.

“A crime of being too cute?”

Laughing and touching foreheads at their playful behavior, Ermedillin and Loony were approached slowly by someone.

“Your Majesty the Empress, to see you in such a place?”

Turning their heads at the unfamiliar voice, they saw another nineteenyearold girl standing statuelike with a cold expression.

“Princess Biella. Long time no see.”

In response to the Empress’s words, Biella lifted her skirt and bowed respectfully.

The green eyes of the girl, which must have been emitting a clear light, were now emitting a dull and dark light, but the girl’s etiquette was faultlessly perfect.

The memory of that day, at the funeral, is still vivid.

She knew she was reincarnated into a hated villainess, but it was the first time she had starkly realized that the people who wanted to kill her really existed because of that event.
As soon as she noticed being pierced by the sword, Princess Velia’s face showed no expression.

But her eyes, the eyes that stared at Ermedillin without a hint of wavering in a situation where everyone was panicking, those eyes.

Eyes that were emitting precisely the same light as now.

Surely, the death of Prince Ilenian was Ermedillin’s responsibility.

But it was also not her responsibility.

Now, Ermedillin was a soul of another world, perfectly innocent.

A burden she must bear even though she is completely innocent.

Ermedillin did not want to make any excuses or pleadings to the princess who had just lost her brother.

She only wanted to offer her sincere condolences.

Ermedillin cautiously approached Velia.

“It is truly regrettable about the prince. I sincerely hope the princess and her family will overcome this well…”

“Sincere?”

Velia turned her head and snorted.

Her bold and rude words momentarily froze not only Rooni but also the employees of the boutique.

“That’s right. I truly hope so.”

“The trial of the boy who tried to assassinate the Empress is tomorrow, right?”

With her chin held high, Velia asked Ermedillin in a provocative tone.

Velia’s attitude was unbelievably reckless and rash, knowing who was behind the Empress’s assassination attempt.

“That’s right.”

“It seems like it will be an easy trial. The boy dared to try to assassinate the royalty of the Tribian Empire, so he’ll surely be sentenced to death, right?”

“Well, I hope not?”

A momentary ripple of anxiety appeared and vanished on Velia’s haughty face.

“Currently, isn’t it the boy’s act alone? I heard that no accomplice who handed the dagger to the boy was found.”

The reason for Velia’s courageously ignorant attitude was precisely this.

She seemed to know that there had been some deal between her father, Count Ilenian, and Anri.

“That’s right. No accomplice was found. They vanished without leaving a trace.”

Ermedillin deliberately emphasized each word in her last sentence.

“Well, if you really want to find out about the accomplice, you’d have to keep the boy alive, right?”

Velia guessed that Ermedillin wanted to keep the boy she had stabbed alive to pressure her.

‘What a twisted person to deal with. Of course, with her personality like that, she would attempt assassination. I really want to slap her instead of dealing or anything!’

Of course, she knew why she had become this way. Nothing would be visible in the eyes of a sister who had lost her brother.

So, she would have taken up the blade knowing that it could turn back on her.

Ermedillin, unable to accuse Velia of being the culprit in front of watchful eyes, ended the conversation, holding back her anger.

“Well, whether it’s necessary or not, punishment is for the one presiding over the trial to decide.”

“What’s this?”

Late that afternoon, Pellio, who had entered the palace to check the final preparations for tomorrow’s trial, frowned, looking very troubled.

“What do you mean, what? Can’t you see it, with such a big ribbon?”

Whether Pellio was troubled or not, Ermedillin was insistently pushing a small box into his face, resting it on her palm.

“Why give this to me…….?”

He’s refusing again.

‘There’s always a way in times like this.’

“It’s a punishment.”

“Punishment?”

Offering a gift box and calling it punishment, Pellio was utterly confused.

‘Is this also a tactic unique to women?’

“Hehe.”
Pellio suddenly looked at Raul, who burst out laughing next to him, but Raul immediately averted his eyes and avoided his gaze.

“So. The prince is in the midst of receiving a punishment to cherish this for the rest of his life.”

“Why am I being punished when I haven’t done anything wrong?”

Pellio, who had resolved not to interfere any further, asked with a determined expression and a firm voice.

“Why is there no wrong? You’ve glared at me, the empress, and even answered back impudently, haven’t you?”

Though he called it a punishment, anyone could see that the box in front of him was a gift. Therefore, Pellio’s mind became a mess when Ermedillin, who was expected to speak well, suddenly mentioned something he really did wrong.

“Yes?”

“This is not the end! The biggest mistake among them is….”

Gulp.

Ermedillin almost couldn’t hold back her laughter when she saw Pellio’s adam’s apple move violently.

“The sin of making me laugh.”

While Pellio was flustered, Ermedillin quickly grabbed Pellio’s hand and handed him the box.

Then, she looked up at Pellio with a proud smile.

“How will you make me laugh this time?”

Ermedillin’s eyes, asking with a playful voice, were exceedingly mischievous.

“Ah… there… that, that….”

Pellio’s mind began to tingle, and everything in front of him turned white.

He couldn’t even distinguish whether he was dreaming or in reality.

Pellio tried to react somehow with his nonfunctioning mind, but his empty head utterly ignored his request.

In the meantime, Ermedillin, who found Pellio’s frozen state amusing, brought her face closer to him with a more sinister smile.

“Come on! I’m not expecting anything, am I?”