Anesa changed her expression grimly as she recalled her private meeting with Sien.

Yes, Sien Mirmode.

That child did seem quite clever for her age.

But…

‘Yes, that Mirmode family. A place where we can use any worthless puppet as much as we want.’

Somehow, it seemed strange that the previous duchess or Princess Delphia would protect that young child so excessively. Sien couldn’t have properly manipulated the Mirmode family members, could she?

It still leaves an uneasy aftertaste…

‘That loving gaze was a bit peculiar though.’

If she had decided to be hostile to the imperial palace, she could have easily faked affection through acting. Anesa snorted and said:

“If Matthias Mirmode becomes hostile to us, how exactly will things unfold?”

“As you know, the Mirmode and we will become enemies. What a shame.”

“…”

“I wanted to use them without them even knowing they were being used, and then finish them off with my own hands.”

A vile look appeared on the crown prince’s face.

“But I want to personally teach that annoying girl a lesson.”

A smile so sinister it even surprised Princess Anesa played on the crown prince’s lips.

“Don’t worry, Anesa. I plan to kill that bait first.”

“…What exactly are you planning to do?”

When Anesa asked the crown prince with a half-doubtful expression, he curled his lips.

“Right now, that ‘bait’ Sien Mirmode will be with Matthias.”

“…I suppose so. And then?”

“As for how I plan to deal with that bait and the Mirmode family…”

The crown prince whispered subtly to Anesa. As she listened to his plan, Anesa’s expression changed moment by moment before finally softening.

“In short, you mean to set a trap.”

“Yes. I intend to properly use that young bait. Once that girl is cast out, the prestige of the Mirmode family will also plummet.”

Regardless of outward appearances, the Mirmode family seemed to cherish Sien.

It meant it would be easy to frame and incite that they had fallen for a ten-year-old fake and showered her with affection.

“We could also plant our own fake into the Mirmode family.”

“That’s exactly it.”

“The trap… Do you plan to start setting it from today?”

“Probably from today.”

The gazes of the crown prince and princess met in the middle.

[This is the timeline separator]

At that time, Matthias Mirmode was with Sien.

“Sien,”

“…Father.”

I was sitting on Father’s lap. Even though I’m already ten years old, I love sitting on Father’s lap the most!

‘For some reason, Father’s mood seems a bit scary today?’

I pretended to braid my pink hair while keeping my senses alert to what Father behind me was saying.

After waiting a bit, Father spoke up.

“…Sien.”

“Hmm?”

“I wonder what our daughter is thinking? Why can’t I tell? When you were younger, I could read your thoughts so clearly.”

I gripped my head tightly, feeling caught out.

‘Father probably already knows that I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old.’

Until now, I’d been glossing over it by saying I’d developed genius through Mirmode’s education, but now the limits of that excuse were starting to show.

It wasn’t a problem for him to think I was a special person.

But it would be troublesome if he discovered that I was actually a reincarnator.

‘Since I’m not a “real child”, it could create distance between Father and me.’

Thinking that made my body sink down to the floor.

In the five years since I turned from five to ten years old, there have been quite a few changes between Father and me.

For example…

“Our daughter is too smart. What’s that trendy saying?”

Father’s gentle voice pierced my ears. Ted, the knight who had been hiding his presence as if he wasn’t there, quietly chimed in.

“It’s like she’s on her second playthrough of life, sir.”

Matthias chuckled softly in satisfaction and muttered to himself.

“Is that so. A second playthrough of life.”

He looked as if he was really pondering it, making me feel caught out.

‘It really is my second life!’

Then Father’s gentle laugh was heard.

“Our daughter is smart enough for such absurd ideas to come up.”

It’s not absurd at all…

‘I guess the idea of reincarnation is hard to believe.’

I was mumbling while diligently braiding my hair, then suddenly stopped.

‘Father, you just sounded like a villain. Lately, I’ve been getting strangely villainous vibes from you…’

And so, Father and I had reached the stage of suspecting each other.

Of course, it’s still just a tiny spark for now.

I quietly jumped down from Father’s lap.

“Father.”

“Yes, Sien.”

“…I’m smart. I’m smart so I know well.”

Father smiled with his characteristic kind, gentle, and cute smile and said.

“Sien.”

“Yes?”

Father’s hand gently stroked my hair.

“Do whatever you want to do, Sien.”

“Huh…?”

Father murmured in a warm voice.

“I’ll firmly support you from behind.”

As he said that, Father’s eyes looked strangely intense.

Just like the villain in a fairy tale!

‘Gasp, is Father really growing into a villain?’

Or was Father’s nature originally villainous?

After thinking that, I shook my head to clear away the thoughts.

There was no need to deliberately think scary thoughts. I tried hard to shake off the strange feelings and decided to accept only Father’s sincere love and trust in me.

“Okay!”

I jumped down to the floor. Soon I ended up standing on Father’s large shadow, but…

“I’ll be going now.”

Father tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“Now? Where are you going?”

To reassure Father who looked anxious, I put my hands on my waist and shouted bravely.

“It’s a secret! But don’t worry. I have a plan.”

Father looked a bit uneasy. But I stood straight, looking at Father with my chin raised. Finally, a gentle voice flowed from Father’s mouth.

“Alright, let’s go with Sien’s plan. This time.”

It was an attitude of trusting me no matter what kind of person I was.

I quietly looked at Father and then handed him the key in my pocket.

“Then, I have a request. Please go to the family vault.”

“What is this… Who did you get this from? Only the mistress of the family has this.”

“Grandmother gave it to me.”

Father’s complexion turned pale as he checked the key. I looked at Father and smiled brightly.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“When you go into the family underground vault with this key, there will be a swan sculpture. You know what the swan sculpture looks like, right?”

“I do. But why the swan sculpture…”

“If I’m in danger, you must take it and come to the imperial palace to rescue me. Understand?”

“Sien? Suddenly…”

Towards Father who looked bewildered, I quietly moved my lips and spoke seriously.

“Today, we’re partners working together! So please trust me. I’ll explain the reason later!”

There wasn’t time now to explain the details of the situation to Father.

I ran out the door without waiting for Father’s response.

“Well then, Father. I’ll be waiting at the imperial palace!”

The voice I shouted loudly echoed in the corridor until it disappeared, never looking back.

I had to leave this place as quickly as possible.

[This is the timeline separator]

Inside the imperial palace.

Ambassador Heinrich quietly sighed. The image of the protesters from the principality kept appearing in his mind.

They had grabbed his arm and cried out in anguish.

“We did it because we were wronged, because we were wronged.”

“…Wronged, they say.”

“Yes! Because all our achievements were taken away!”

They couldn’t properly prove what had happened to them. So there was no way to help them. Although it was clearly his duty to protect his own citizens.

‘I can’t cause a disturbance in the empire just based on those words…’

The Mikel Mine was certainly important, but the other party was the empire. There were orders from the emperor to act with minimal friction.

‘…How should I handle this matter?’

Is there no way to resolve everything peacefully? After pacing around the annex for a while, he got up to take a walk.

As he was walking for some time. Someone entered his field of vision.

Sien slightly raised the corners of her mouth. She stared at Ambassador Heinrich and then tilted her head.

“What are you worrying about?”

A little child who suddenly appeared.

It was Sien Mirmode, whom he had seen and briefly spoken with earlier.

After blankly staring at the girl’s fluttering hair, the ambassador replied half a beat late.

“…Lady Mirmode?”

“Yes. You can call me Sien!”

Hair gently swaying in the wind, a soft voice too.

A fairy-like atmosphere different from what he saw earlier in the ballroom.

Ambassador Heinrich held his breath slightly, and at that moment,

Sien smiled cutely and whispered.

“You know, mister! I saw it earlier while riding in a carriage!”

“What? What did you…”

Sien whispered innocently.

“The people protesting outside the imperial palace! The maids said they were from the principality!”

Ambassador Heinrich’s expression subtly twisted. He already felt guilty about those people, and now that part was being directly poked. Whether knowing this or not, Sien tilted her head and smiled.

“Actually, I saw you listening intently to those people’s stories too! As expected, you’re amazing, Ambassador!”

“No. I mean, I didn’t…”

As Ambassador Heinrich shook his head with an uncomfortable expression, Sien smiled brightly.

“Hehe, those protesters must believe in you too, Ambassador!”

“…There’s not much I can do for them.”

Looking into this tiny child’s green eyes made him feel at ease. So he ended up saying whatever came to mind.

‘She’s just a young child after all.’

As an envoy dispatched to the empire, he too was well aware of the Mirmode family’s notorious reputation.

He also knew how much the crown prince was wary of that family. But when faced with such a cute and lovely little child, the barriers in his heart would melt away before he knew it.

Sien whispered quietly.

“But you know. Isn’t there something you can do?”

“Pardon?”

“It seems like you don’t want to antagonize the empire…”

Sien smiled brightly and held out a small business card. The card looked very large in her tiny hand.

“Ta-da, Sien Mirmode Trading Company!”

As his expression twisted in confusion, Sien smiled sweetly.

But just then. A middle-aged man’s voice was heard, sounding as if it was coated with greasy oil.

“Ambassador Heinrich, so you were here.”

Sien and Ambassador Heinrich looked in that direction at the same time. There stood Count Yoter, a close associate of the crown prince and rival of Sien’s trading company. He raised the corner of his mouth as if mocking and said.

“What’s going on here?”

“Ah, I have no business with the ambassador right now. The one I have business with is over here.”

With those words, Count Yoter raised his hand and rudely grabbed my arm. Ambassador Heinrich opened his mouth in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“Arresting a criminal.”

“A criminal? To a noble lady?”

“Ha! Noble? This one is a fake who dared to falsely impersonate the Mirmode name.”

“What? No, that’s… I’d like to hear more about-”

“Ambassador Heinrich.”

He coldly cut off Heinrich’s words as he looked at him.

“Please be quiet now. From here on, this will be a matter between the imperial palace and the Mirmode family.”

“…Such.”

Heinrich, who had been quietly staring at Count Yoter and Sien, helplessly lowered his hand after seeing Sien’s tightly closed lips.

“A paternity test kit directly developed by our Yoter Trading Company.”

Sien looked at Count Yoter with bright eyes and asked.

“What does a paternity test kit have to do with me?”

As if he had been waiting for those words, Count Yoter smiled mockingly.

“What does it have to do with you? You know too, don’t you? That the truth about your identity has spread to the public.”

“You mean about me being a fake daughter?”

“Yes. Through this paternity test kit, I will present decisive evidence that you are a fake daughter. It’s a favor the imperial palace has personally bestowed upon the Mirmode family.”

Sien, who had been quiet, stroked her chin and spoke her next words.

“Is that so? Even if that’s the case, you can’t hold a trial right away, can you?”

A trial involving high nobility required the attendance of at least one member of the imperial family.

Right now, the emperor was pretending not to know about this mine issue and had handed over real power to the crown prince while staying out of it.

But Count Yoter puffed out his chest and said proudly.

“You’re trying to be clever, little one. But it’s entirely possible. His Highness the Crown Prince will personally preside over the trial right now. Come with me immediately.”

Count Yoter’s plan was as follows.

While promoting the effectiveness of his paternity test kit, he would frame Sien as a fake daughter.

The story of a fake daughter infiltrating the Mirmode family was sensational material, so after the trial ended, the paternity test kit he created would naturally be promoted.

‘So-called noise marketing. We have nothing to lose on this side.’

Count Yoter roughly bound Sien. Ambassador Heinrich bit his lip hard and tried to step forward, but Sien smiled brightly as if it wasn’t a big deal and waved her hand.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll go. But can we bring the ambassador to my trial too?”

Her attitude seemed relaxed, as if she had planned all of this.

Count Yoter roughly grabbed Sien’s small body and whispered.

“Sure, let’s bring him. Let the ambassador see your downfall too. This will be the last day you act so arrogant.”