The ones who felt affection for me, or even worshipped me for no particular reason, were countless. If all of them were receiving a collective punishment, then it would imply that the second race of humans should be punished for generations, which wasn’t the case.

So it means only a portion of those who liked me are receiving collective punishment, and similarly, only a portion of those who found me distasteful are being punished as time goes on.

“Snakes always speak ambiguously, after all.”

Granted, the snake wasn’t a god and didn’t directly point out who should be punished with me, so it’s understandable. Even narrowing down the scope logically didn’t yield a clear answer.

“Wait, there was a demon among those who disliked me!”

Suddenly, a memory flashed through my mind, and I sat up, but remembering that I had never encountered a demon before, I lost my spirit and lay back down.

“At this rate, I can’t even tell who the snake was referring to, aside from the World Tree and Yongyong.”

I thought maybe a proxy of the god might be somewhere on Earth, but if that were the case, I would have recognized them, considering they have frequent contact with me. I excluded them from the potential answers.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the Empress.”

“Come in.”

Frustrated that nothing was going right, this was a welcome distraction. I sat up and stretched both arms above my head.

“Why the sudden letter?”

I expected Jeff and Jang to appear, tearfully asking if I was still studying at this hour, but then something seemed off.

“The Empress insists that you check it immediately.”

“Alright.”

Miranda handed me the letter and then quietly left the room after refreshing my drink, indicating she wouldn’t disturb me until I summoned her again.

“Hmm….”

I skillfully peeled off the wax seal with a small knife and unfolded the letter to read. The writing felt hastily done, but its elegance suggested my teachings had been effective.

‘Suddenly, I’m reminded of the time Hecate had terrible handwriting.’

I chuckled to myself, shrugged, and focused on the contents of the letter.

[To our lovely Dazzling,] [Daughter, Mom has urgent business and must travel to Vladimir’s domain.] [The Duchess has invited me to handle a matter that requires my immediate attention.] [By the time you read this letter, Mom will already be on horseback.] [I’ve left this letter in case you anxiously search for me.] [I’ll be back soon.] [Dazzling, who is much loved by mother,]

What was all this about? As someone who was an emperor in a previous life, I sensed something amiss.

“Even if the Vladimir family is close to the royal family, it’s strange for the Empress to take action personally.”

If there had been a formal invitation, either Hecate or Jeff, one of the two, would have informed me beforehand.

Both were absolutely committed to me. When I had to go out, they insisted on accompanying me or, if that was not possible, explained the reason for a temporary separation.

“How impulsive could they be to leave all of a sudden?”

This wasn’t a war, so what was it?

“It’s really strange.”

I had an uneasy feeling, but as a grand marshal, I assumed she would take a couple of trustworthy people with her. It’s not like she needed to mobilize a large number of people for whatever the issue was.

I hoped nothing had happened and that perhaps she had even taken Lilith with her. But I was reminded of the unsettling aura of the Duke’s wife when I first visited the Vladimir estate, and the equally unsettling behavior of the Duke himself, as well as the aura of death that pervaded the mansion.

“Come to think of it, Sasha did say that the medicine to cure my sister was completed.”

Though there were many uncomfortable possibilities, the most likely was Sasha’s sister.

Sick and weak nobles who cannot participate in social activities and are unrecognized have little use, so the Duchess might have secretly requested something in relation to this.

“Is this connected to that? Or is it for some other reason?”

Was she hiding the sudden recovery of her sick child to reveal it later? If so, it was a cautious move that I approved of.

Still, I didn’t like the fact that they had secretly summoned the Empress and Grand Marshal of the Empire at such an ambitious time.

They could have easily sent this information secretly through an emissary, I strongly felt.

“I’ll have to ask when they return.”

I crossed my arms and resolved to find out, although Hecate said not to make any allegations without solid evidence.

“Ah, that just makes me want to know even more.”

I’m not someone who’d go around blabbering! Although it was frustrating that things weren’t going as I wanted, it wasn’t so urgent that I would die if I didn’t find out now, so I let it go and eventually forgot about it.

Then, naturally, my interest shifted to other matters, and the issue gradually faded from my mind like paint diluted in water.

“Dazzling, you don’t have to study all day today.”

Several days later.

Enjoying the fresh air outdoors and a meat dish for breakfast, I unexpectedly received good news and gleefully shouted ‘Yahoo!’ in my heart, bouncing around with excitement.