My heart fluttered with anxiety.

I thought Diarob couldn’t have noticed the true nature of the relic, but now his gaze…

After a brief moment passed, Diarob finally spoke.

“So this is its relic.”

Diarob’s gaze was fixed on Rosemary’s seal.

Most noble family members had their family seal engraved on their tiara.

“Yes. I took it directly from Rachel’s room.”

Only then did a satisfied smile bloom on Diarob’s face.

“Now if we can just confirm that Rachel is dead, I’ll be able to rest easy.”

Diarob seemed to realize he had misspoken, as his face stiffened for a moment.

He didn’t seem pleased that I would learn about the magic mirror.

I feigned an innocent voice and asked.

“What do you mean by that?”

It was truly regrettable. It would have been quite amusing to see him squirm upon learning I was alive, but I had to miss that sight.

However, for now it was safer if he believed I was dead.

Either because he was in a good mood or thought it no longer mattered if I knew, Diarob revealed information about the magic mirror.

“With this, we can confirm whether it’s alive or dead.”

A smile spread across his face as he clutched the necklace.

But anxiety also rippled beneath it.

“Don’t worry. The person seen recently was probably just someone who looked similar.”

“…”

“If it were alive, there’d be no reason not to appear, right?”

“Who knows. It could have amnesia and be holed up somewhere.”

“Even so, there’s no need to worry.”

I needed to gain his trust a bit more to make Diarob share more of the plan with me.

“We can find and kill it first.”

I set down my teacup and put on the cruelest smile in the world.

“Getting rid of that thing in Snowfel would be no big deal, right?”

I had merely voiced the thoughts he was likely having, but Diarob looked at me with quite a blank expression.

It seemed Vivian wasn’t usually this bold.

For a tense moment, Diarob burst into hearty laughter.

“Of course.”

Judging by his expression, my words seemed quite satisfactory.

Taking advantage of Diarob’s good mood, I casually asked what I was curious about.

“By the way, it’s so refreshing that the former emperor died like this. Was it Father’s work?”

Diarob, seemingly pleased about the former emperor’s death, spoke of things he normally wouldn’t today.

“A senile old man who brings up talk of a concubine when he has a perfectly good crown princess – it was about time for him to die.”

‘I expected it, but to think it was really Diarob’s doing.’

The thought that he might turn such a blade on Casius someday jolted me to attention.

But I didn’t let any hint of this show in my words.

“I still have a long way to go before I can match Father.”

Outwardly, I made sure to put on a casual smile as if I was truly pleased.

Just knowing that Diarob had actually assassinated the former emperor was an enormous piece of leverage.

Yet anxiety also welled up alongside it.

‘If this fact were to be revealed, not just Diarob but the entire Snowfel family would be wiped out, yet he carries out such dangerous acts without hesitation…’

Diarob couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face, as if the former emperor’s death still delighted him.

Seeing this, I felt somewhat relieved that I would be the one to become empress.

With his daughter rising to be empress, I thought he wouldn’t try to harm Casius, who had handed over that thread of power.

Of course, that would only last until I bore an imperial heir.

If an imperial heir was born and that child grew up, Diarob would try to eliminate Casius.

To enthrone a new ruler with Snowfel blood.

He was more than capable of doing so.

‘Would a man who killed the former emperor not be able to do it twice?’

Just as I calculated Diarob’s thoughts, his irritated voice rang in my ears.

“The imperial family must have some ungrateful, disloyal quality mixed in their blood – I got rid of the former emperor, and now that one is acting up even more.”

Wasn’t ungrateful and disloyal the symbol of Snowfel? He had quite the talent for projecting his own traits onto the imperial family.

Seeing him fuming, it seemed he was quite heated about Casius bringing up the concubine issue.

As long as Casius showed reluctance in taking a concubine, it was up to Snowfel to handle the matter.

And for that to happen, Duke Diarob absolutely had to take action.

I subtly probed about which family the potential match was from.

“I heard he’s trying to make a marriage alliance with Lady Evelina Winterdell.”

“What? Evelina Winterdell?”

It seemed this hadn’t yet reached Diarob’s ears either.

“Yes. I heard it directly from His Majesty.”

Diarob slammed the table with a loud bang.

“Duke Winterdell, I should have known when that bastard interfered in my business and opened a new club.”

Though weaker than Snowfel, Duke Winterdell was exceptionally talented at charming those around him with his unique kindness and gentle nature.

Of course, I wasn’t naive enough to believe that his kindness in social circles was his true nature.

“I heard the former emperor already sent a promise of marriage.”

As expected, Diarob’s eyes flashed fiercely.

But soon, doubt clouded his gaze.

“The former emperor wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing… I’ll look into it myself.”

Diarob would use any means necessary to prevent a royal consort from entering until I bore an imperial heir.

My desire to prevent a concubine from entering, even if it meant reaching out to him, wasn’t simply due to jealousy.

It wasn’t because I was worried about a concubine who would spend her days in boredom without emotion.

Since the other party was Evelina Winterdell, I was concerned she might try to harm Casius in some way.

That woman was just as ambitious as Vivian, if not more so.

Moreover, she wasn’t just lacking and simple, but malicious, calculating, and two-faced.

It was impossible to know what kind of threat she, who hid her claws so well, would pose to Casius.

*

A few days later, late at night.

Tikan, having received a report from the Wolfdor Knights, hurriedly visited the Crown Prince’s palace.

He began his report to his lord, who showed no reaction, lost in thought.

“I investigated the relationship between Duke Diarob and Her Highness as you requested.”

Casius stared intently at a burnt leaf, speaking dispassionately.

“And?”

“There was one strange point.”

“A strange point?”

Only then did Casius’s eyes sparkle as he set the leaf down on the table.

“Around the time Her Highness was born, the Duchess of Snowfel suddenly went to the Kingdom of Ersia.”

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s strange that she went to a foreign country just before giving birth, and no one saw the Duchess pregnant at the time.”

Tikan paused, lost in thought.

Come to think of it, the Crown Princess didn’t resemble Duke Diarob at all in appearance.

The questionable points didn’t end there.

‘Love advice, stones, relics, traces of a magician, and now… a secret birth.’

Tikan was about to report on recent events but closed his mouth.

It was because of his lord’s tendency to overreact when it came to Rosemary.

There was no need to cause unnecessary confusion when nothing had been confirmed yet.

While Tikan organized his thoughts, Casius drew a conclusion from the report.

“Then… are you saying Vivian might not be Snowfel’s legitimate child?”

“It’s not certain, but we can’t rule out that possibility.”

Casius stroked his lips, seeming intrigued.

Honestly, when Vivian claimed to have an extremely bad relationship with the Duke, he had thought it was just a tantrum to gain love.

‘Then does that mean everything Vivian has said so far is true?’

“Is that why she hid the fact that she’s a magician?”

“Pardon?”

This sounded out of the blue to Tikan, who couldn’t know Casius’s thoughts.

Casius tapped the leaf on the table as if to show off.

The blackened leaf came into Tikan’s view.

In a moment, he grasped his lord’s meaning.

“Are you thinking Her Highness might be a magician?”

To Tikan’s doubtful words, Casius picked up the leaf and mused.

“How else would this be explained?”

“If that were true, wouldn’t Duke Diarob have no reason to hide it?”

Until receiving the report just now, that had been a question for Casius as well.

Duke Diarob wasn’t the type to keep quiet if he knew that fact – he would have exaggerated it if anything.

But as soon as he heard Tikan’s report, he had a hunch.

“Vivian might have hidden from Duke Diarob the fact that she’s a magician.”

Tikan tilted his head, not understanding Casius’s meaning.

But Casius was certain. That Vivian was a magician.

“Look into Vivi’s birth in more detail.”

“Understood.”

Left alone after Tikan disappeared, the words Vivian had spoken flashed through Casius’s mind like a panorama.

‘If all this is true…’

Revenge might become much easier.

After all, mocking the imperial family was a grave crime among grave crimes.

But this situation didn’t sit entirely well with Casius.

If Snowfel fell, Vivian wouldn’t be safe either.

In a way, Vivian might be the biggest victim.

She would live her whole life as Diarob’s dog only to meet a miserable death.

Though he wondered why he should care, his mind was already occupied with thoughts of Vivian jumping in to protect him.

But such thoughts quickly vanished.

He was reminded of the condition Vivian set in exchange for keeping quiet about the trap incident.

He pondered for a long time how to handle it, but for now, Casius had no choice but to accept that condition.

He moved with heavy steps toward the Crown Princess’s palace, like someone about to do an unpleasant chore.

But.

On the way, he stopped at an unbelievable sight in the central garden.

A figure was reflected on the large lake in the center of the garden.

That place was a space no one but members of the imperial family could enter.

Above all, no sane person would strip and enter the Crown Prince’s private property like that.

‘What brazen bastard is here?’

As Casius approached, staring at the shimmering shadow as if entranced, he noticed the figure was a woman and was taken aback.

In an instant, the woman’s face came into view as she turned.

His eyes widened in shock as he confirmed her identity.