However, at that moment, the crowd began to see Ermedillin not as an object of unknown fear but as a human being with feelings.

Suddenly, the tears she had been holding back started to well up again.

Tears were filling her eyes, and now her throat was clogged.

It was a strange thing.

People she had never met, and their consolation based on misunderstandings.

Yet strangely, it was emotionally overwhelming.

Throughout her life, she had faced tragedies alone, even keeping them from her boyfriend and enduring them by herself.

As someone who never felt a familial love, she had grown into an adult who thought that others were just others.

But now, someone with no connection to her tragedies was hurting and consoling with the same heart.

To Ermedillin, or rather, to the human Yoon HyeYoung, this moment felt miraculous.

Unable to hold back the tears any longer, her vision blurred.

Though she seldom cried in sorrow, she was almost completely defenseless against happiness, and Ermedillin wept uncontrollably.

The Countess of Ellion, who was unaware of the previous situation, saw the inexplicable consolation from the crowd and Ermedillin’s tears and began to churn her thoughts rapidly.

Due to unexpected events, she ultimately didn’t go to the mask workshop.

When Ermedillin returned to the palace, she went to Henri’s office to request a meeting with Ferdant, but Henri wasn’t there.

Henri had gone to meet Balleryer with the custommade mask.

Eventually, she left a message with the Chief Steward and returned to her room, where Loony was puckering her lips and grumbling.

“What? Her Majesty does everything herself because she is shorthanded, and the Countess can’t even show her nose, but she went to meet Balleryer?”
As soon as she returned to the palace, Lady Elion, who had gone to Valliere, was clearly upset when Runi spoke up.

“In truth, all the administrative work is being done by the official…”

Ermedillin cast a halfhearted smile while looking at Pellio, who stood silently beside her.

“That’s right. I’m the one doing everything. And I don’t need any help. I’ve already said this…”

“Yes. Yes. There’s no one more competent than an official! Whether I know it or not, you have no idea how grateful I am to you!”

Ermedillin caught Pellio’s words with an exaggerated tone, sporting a malicious grin.

Her eyes were swollen as if she had cried a lot, yet her face transformed into that of a mischievous girl when she smiled.

Crying then laughing. Truly a woman who recovers quickly.

An utterly unpredictable person.

Pellio, who was generally emotionless and cold, found this kind of Ermedillin strangely fascinating, while also being amazed by his recent changes.

‘An ice official? Anyone would laugh if they heard that.’

A little while ago in the carriage, when Ermedillin was having difficulty breathing, Pellio felt as though he had been plunged into darkness, seeing nothing for a moment.

Because the thought that Ermedillin could die had caused all the blood flowing through his veins to come to a complete stop.

The feeling that he would die first before Ermedillin’s breath ceased.

In that moment, he was able to call a cleric only because the thought of needing to save Ermedillin forcibly opened his lips.

‘Wait? To wait for someone else to die instead of me?’

Looking at Ermedillin, who was gazing at the budget with a somewhat refreshed face, Pellio realized that a corner of his soul was gradually dying.

‘Dying? Ermedillin dying? Someone else killing her?’

If Ermedillin and Runi hadn’t been there, Pellio would have laughed scornfully at his pathetic self.

The very thought that Ermedillin might die caused his soul to wither and his blood to halt.

Pellio had realized.

The day Ermedillin died and this terrible love ended, he too would die.

He couldn’t even recall how the time had passed while reviewing and signing the documents.

Throughout that time, Pellio felt ragged, having been swept up in a whirlwind of emotions, traversing heaven and hell countless times.

Her intermittent smiles, light jokes, and serious glances.

Pellio experienced heaven in all of them.

And after that heaven, a terrible sense of guilt and fear always followed.

Selfloathing had now become completely familiar.

Feeling proud that he didn’t collapse from a heart attack, Pellio was about to leave Ermedillin’s reception room when she quietly called out to him.

“Official. Thank you.”

“Pardon?”

“I am genuinely grateful for everything you are doing for me.”

“Yes, well. I’m also happy to be able to help public welfare.”

In response to the Empress’s words, Pellio gave a polite answer fitting for the scion of a powerful family.

“And official…”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“I’m also thankful you called the cleric to treat that woman today. Whether it was our previous conversation in front of the orphanage or now, it seems you can read my heart.”

Seeing Ermedillin’s face smile purely and seemingly joyful, Pellio was once again propelled to the highest point of heaven.

And from that endless ascent, he tumbled back into hell at some point.

It was a trivial matter, but the fact that their hearts connected was both joyous and made him wonder how wonderful it would be if he could truly see into her soul.

There are so many things I’m curious about, like what she thinks of me, and what meaning I hold in her heart, but the thought of actually being able to see it is also terrifying.

Ermedillin is a witch that everyone in this world fears.
If this was all an act, if all her changes were a scripted performance?

What if her inner self was still a lightless, dark abyss?

Pellio had shivered at the mere thought.

Because he knew he would willingly plunge into that unknowable abyss.