“At that time?”

I asked calmly, but my heart was beating fast.

He said he should have killed them then.

‘Did he try to kill Tikan at some point?’

No, maybe it wasn’t just Tikan.

Recalling how he tried to infiltrate the Rosemary mansion with even a magician…

But wasn’t that all just to confirm my death?

Did he send someone to kill me before that?

If he tried to kill Tikan in the process…

It’s awkward to say this about myself, but we siblings were quite famous enough to be a hot topic among the nobles.

Tikan, who always held the handkerchief of victory as the youngest Sword Master.

Me, who constantly ignited hot topics with scandals involving the Crown Prince following my role as an aide.

All of that was enough to become the target of checks and balances.

Especially Diarob, who wanted to produce an empress from his family, would have wanted to crush Rosemary more than anyone else.

Come to think of it, he must have been making meticulous plans to put Viodel by Casius’s side for a long time.

It’s been a long time, but I remembered Tikan facing off against Viodel in the final match.

At that time, he who rarely showed himself in public appeared for some reason at the tournament to decide the position of the Crown Prince’s guard.

Appearing with his face hidden by a helmet, he easily made it to the finals and then used a vile method to seriously injure Tikan.

Of course, despite that, Tikan still won the match in the end, seizing the glorious position of the Crown Prince’s guard.

‘Was it from then? Trying to kill Tikan.’

But that’s all, as far as I know, Tikan had never directly faced such a threat.

Of course, since it failed, his kin must still be walking around the palace quite intact.

Just as I was stroking my heart with relief, anxiety surged.

Diarob, lost in thought with a serious face, slowly came into view.

He was clearly still thinking about getting rid of Tikan from Casius’s side.

‘Surely he’s not trying to harm Tikan again?’

To attempt such a thing without any justification.

It’s not for nothing that nobles exert all their efforts to find justification to eliminate their political opponents.

Evidence remains for everything, and if actions taken without justification come to light, the family’s prestige plummets to the bottom. Depending on the severity, it can even lead to ruin.

Diarob, as if not wanting me to know about this issue, said with a frown:

“You don’t need to know.”

He has a persistent side that never lets go of something once he’s attempted it.

To have tried to kill me and Tikan even while taking on such great risks.

He’s probably trying to do such things even now.

The fact that my family could be hurt was chilling just to imagine.

Trying hard to hide all those emotions, I put on a smile.

“Even if someone like Tikan is by His Majesty’s side, what difference would it make?”

“What difference? Don’t you know how important the position next to the Emperor is?”

“If I just bear an imperial heir, it will all be over, so why would there be any need to do such dangerous things?”

Diarob tapped the table as if lost in thought.

As the dull sound cut through the space, killing intent swirled over Diarob’s gaze.

Diarob is clearly hiding some scheme.

If Viodel stands by Casius’s side instead of Tikan according to his plan…

It would be no different than handing Casius’s lifeline over to Diarob.

If I were him, what would I try to do with Viodel by Casius’s side?

The moment I bear an imperial heir, if Casius is killed… the imperial authority would fall into Snowfel’s hands.

‘The imperial authority would dance in Snowfel’s palm.’

Yes. That’s what he wants.

To be planning such madness that would be more than enough for execution without a second thought.

The more I dug into it, the more certain it became that Diarob was a madman.

Let alone such delusional plans.

To have planned to kill Tikan to achieve that.

More precisely, doesn’t it mean he had already attempted to kill him?

Killing intent still swirled at the end of Diarob’s gaze.

“I’ll take care of that matter, so you just focus on winning over the Emperor.”

“…”

“You mustn’t lose the Emperor’s attention that you’ve barely gained.”

Diarob stood up immediately as if he had finished what he wanted to say.

As he was about to leave, he suddenly turned and stared at me silently.

“By the way.”

An ominous light settled thickly over Diarob’s face shadowed by shadows.

“Why is he suddenly showing interest in you?”

If I speak wrongly here, it could easily be misconstrued.

There was no need to further provoke him when he was already obsessed with doing something to Tikan.

The most convincing yet not strange thing to say.

The answer was in the midst of his words.

“Beauty.”

“…”

“As you said, Father, in the end, even His Majesty is a man who succumbs to his instincts.”

Diarob’s silver-gray eyes stared at me intently.

He soon nodded as if in agreement and disappeared outside with a satisfied smile.

‘Huh….’

It was fortunate, but he was an unbelievable fellow.

I laughed bitterly while checking the mirror again and flipped it over, wondering what I was doing.

This wasn’t the problem right now.

*

As I tried to train my mind and body by gripping the strengthening stone, my mind settled calmly.

Over that, the sounds Diarob had made floated around at will.

The floating impurities coagulated and converged into one.

“If only I had killed Tikan, that bastard, then. Things would have been much easier, tsk.”

Scenes scattered chaotically through my mind, which had become cloudy as if covered in steam.

The unwanted memories from Rosemary Mountain.

The scene of the monster moving to tear me apart.

My mother jumping in to protect me, and that day when I couldn’t even move while watching it all…

All those scenes connected one by one, sweeping through my mind like a panorama.

When I opened my eyes again, a clear landscape came into view.

At the same time, a strange sense of déjà vu welled up to the tip of my chin.

‘No way…’

But Tikan and I were too young then, having achieved nothing.

Does it make sense that they would send a monster to check us at such a young age?

It seems unlikely, but there’s no harm in confirming.

I pulled the bell rope, and soon Marianne approached me.

Now that I was about to ask about that day, my heart trembled and I hesitated for a moment.

Seeing my strange behavior, Marianne asked worriedly:

“What did you call me for?”

“By any chance… has Duke Diarob ever traded monsters?”

Marianne was silent for a moment as if lost in thought.

The words that followed brought a massive shock.

“Yes. I heard there was such an incident long ago.”

“Long ago… do you remember around when that was?”

“It must have been about 20 years ago, since it was not long after I came here.”

20 years. My heart sank coldly.

As I glared into empty space with lowered eyes, Marianne asked worriedly.

“But why suddenly…”

“Just had something I was curious about.”

“Then shall I look into it?”

Marianne, who wouldn’t have stepped forward in the past, now jumped in without hesitation when it came to my affairs.

However, if it became known that she was snooping around, Diarob wouldn’t leave Marianne alone.

“No. There’s no need.”

Above all, the situation was all too clear.

The monster suddenly appearing in Rosemery, which had been a clean zone.

The captain of Rosemery’s knights disappearing as if on cue.

Diarob Snowfel, who had traded monsters on the black market…

Everything fit together like puzzle pieces.

What those pieces created was one fact.

‘Diarob, this bastard is the culprit who killed Mother.’

Blood vessels bulged over my clenched fist, and tears of blood flowed down my eyes.

Under my tightly closed fist, my nails dug in, forming clear marks.

To think I couldn’t recognize the enemy even when he was right before me.

A solemn determination raised its head.

‘I will surely tear you to shreds and kill you.’

*

Casius found himself thinking of the Empress more often.

If she wanted to remain in his memory even as a madwoman, her strategy was clearly successful.

As his thoughts became more complicated, he lit a long cigar.

In his hand was a paper that Tikan had handed over earlier.

Casius stared blankly at the telescope-shaped drawing with a bitter expression.

Whatever it was, if it was something Lord Siron was looking for, it must be related to Rachel.

Lord Siron was searching for Rachel more desperately than anyone else.

Even after 7 years, when one might have faltered, he still hadn’t given up hope.

It was certain that he felt the same way as himself, but could someone like him dare to fathom the depth of that feeling?

Even trying to fathom it would be nothing but an arrogant thought.

Casius, who had been quietly watching the burning smoke, only raised his head slowly when he heard someone approaching.

Tikan, who had brought the report documents as usual, began his report.

At the end, there was something mixed in about Siron.

“Father has returned. But…”

Casius frowned, feeling strange at Tikan trailing off.

“What is it?”

“Do you remember the drawing I showed you before?”

Casius pointed to the paper he had put down on the table.

“You mean this?”

“Yes. It turns out this is called a magic mirror, a tool that can determine whether a person is alive or dead.”

“There’s an object that can tell if someone is alive or dead?”

Does that mean with just this, we could confirm whether Rachel is alive or dead?

Casius’s hand holding the paper trembled aimlessly.

He had never seen or heard of such a thing before.

So it could be a false lie made up by someone.

But his desperate wish blinded him to all of that. As always.

Tikan fell into thought watching this scene.

‘I knew this would happen, that’s why Father said not to tell His Majesty…’

But faced with His Majesty’s fierce gaze, Tikan could no longer hide it.

“From what I’ve heard… that’s what they say. And they say it can also determine location.”

Father, who had researched the magic mirror for a long time, had read through all the books brought in from far-off foreign lands.

This was information found only at the end of that.

However, the closer they got to the truth, the more afraid Tikan became.

Could His Majesty, Father, and himself handle this storm-like truth?

His Majesty clenched his fist tightly as if he had found hope in the existence of the magic mirror.

There was even a fierce gleam in Casius’s eyes.

“Did Lord Siron go to find the magic mirror?”

“He left for a distant foreign land after locating the item… but returned empty-handed.”

Casius’s face noticeably crumpled.

“Why?”

“Someone bought it recently, they say.”

“Recently?”

Casius’s face was tinged with despair.

For a moment, something flashed through his mind like lightning.

The customs passage documents he had seen recently had an enormous amount stamped on them.

Those documents, etched in his mind due to the huge sum, were the customs documents of the Snowfel family.

He had tried to look into that item, but the thorough Diarob had brought it in well disguised as some ordinary object.

‘I wondered what kind of amazing item they were bringing in to pay such a high price… Could that item have fallen into Diarob’s hands?’

Casius, who had jumped up from his seat, quickly headed towards the Empress’s palace.

Vivian, who had been preparing lunch, slowly turned to look at him who had made an early visit.