The empress palace was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.

After Casius talked about the magic mirror and left, my heart sank coldly.

I thought I had at least a corner of your heart now, but for this to happen…

Casius’s eyes were bloodshot as he spoke of the magic mirror.

It was clear that Casius was convinced I was alive.

Why? The answer comes out simply when I think about it.

Casius said the magic mirror is in Snowfel now.

He would also guess that Diarob’s intention in getting the magic mirror was to confirm Rachel’s life or death.

Nevertheless, the fact that he didn’t hand over the magic mirror to him… He would think it’s clearly because Rachel is alive.

In fact, Diarob would be making plans to hand it over to Casius by now.

But in reality, everything Diarob knows is a lie, and I am alive and well here.

If the magic mirror falls into your hands, you will cling to my vanished image and wander around looking for me again.

The more that happens, the clearer one truth becomes.

The magic mirror must never fall into Casius’s hands.

If it’s like this with just a glimmer of hope in the far distance… If you find out that I’m alive, the outcome would be too obvious.

So I can’t hand it over to you.

Even if the room in your heart shrinks again, I can’t send hope into the abyss of despair.

The problem was Diarob.

‘If Casius goes to find Diarob…’

Now that he’s convinced Rachel is dead, if Casius asks for the magic mirror, that bastard will readily hand it over.

No, with his crazy temperament, he’ll hand it over as if making a deal in exchange for something great.

Then he will roam all over the empire looking for me, who has no form.

I… will be abandoned by Casius.

The remaining time will dwindle helplessly and we will die within it.

Like a plant stem that withers without seeing the sun.

Just imagining such a dizzying future made my head complicated.

I need to find a way.

Closing my eyes while holding the Strengthening Stone, my mind raced quickly.

‘It’s impossible to make Casius believe I’m dead…’

I have to prevent the magic mirror from falling into Casius’s hands.

To do that, I need to make Diarob believe Rachel is alive first.

Tens of thousands of thoughts flashed by, but the answer was set.

‘What if I let Diarob know that keepsake is not mine?’

The overlapping myriad of thoughts were sorted out in an instant.

In fact, this problem ends as long as Diarob is not convinced of my death.

After making up my mind, I pulled the bell string and Marianne entered.

“Marianne.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“When did you say Father is holding his social club?”

As the host of the Felmel Club he leads, Diarob used to have regular meetings.

I’m sure that bastard will flaunt his power this time as well, advertising that Casius and I went to Keshtine alone.

As expected, Diarob had a meeting scheduled according to the regular schedule.

“It’s in two days.”

“Do you know the list of that club?”

Unlike before when she would have hesitated, Marianne began to stammer out all the names she knew, recalling the list.

“The Countess of Dex and Duke Gaspard, also Lady Railin and…”

At the end of the countless names that followed, the desired name came out as expected.

“Lady Kendall Smeraldo.”

The Viscountess Kendall.

She was the last hope I could reach for now.

Marianne’s face hardened for a moment upon hearing the plan, but soon she went out with a determined expression.

*

It wasn’t long before the plan was realized.

Not long after Marianne came with a pale face to inform me of Diarob’s visit, the door swung open.

Bang-

At the end of the dull sound that rang through the space, Diarob entered with a vicious expression.

As expected, the bastard seemed unable to contain his anger.

His deeply furrowed look and large strides evoked a sense of terror just by looking at it.

The image of him grasping the seal earlier overlapped on top of it, and cold sweat flowed down the back of my neck.

But what can I do?

It had already happened, and it had to be done.

Diarob, who had come striding over and taken a seat in front, placed something on the table as if throwing it.

What was placed on the table was none other than my mother’s keepsake that I had handed over to the bastard not long ago.

Since I had anticipated everything, there was nothing to be surprised about.

I immediately hardened my expression and raised my head, pretending not to know anything.

“Why is this…”

Diarob, who had been staring at me blankly, let out a long sigh.

“How is there not a single thing you can do right!”

“What do you mean…”

I also put a trembling tone on top of my gaze, as if perplexed.

Diarob, as if he was sick and tired of even that, vented without even looking at me.

“If I put in that much effort, you should have done what you were told properly!”

“…”

“This damn necklace turned out to be not Rachel’s, but her birth mother’s keepsake.”

Diarob spat out his anger, panting constantly.

I looked at the bastard with my mouth open in shock, raising my surprised eyes.

“That can’t be. I definitely brought it from Rachel, that woman’s room…”

“Damn it. Do you know how much hardship I went through with Viscountess Kendall clinging to this necklace!”

Diarob kept panting and revealed what had happened at the meeting.

At the center of that story was none other than Lady Kendall Smeraldo.

After marrying Viscount Smeraldo and becoming the viscountess, she was a close friend who maintained an intimate relationship with my mother long ago.

Even after marriage, the two maintained a sisterly relationship.

Lady Kendall never forgot to celebrate my mother’s birthday.

Among them, the most meaningful gift she sent was that necklace.

Because they shared it as a lifelong pledge of friendship.

I thought she might not recognize it after a long time…

Fortunately, she recognized it and moved as expected.

“She made such a fuss, asking how something I gave as a gift long ago ended up here.”

It was natural. That necklace was made through a direct order and even had an engraving on the back.

It was only natural to be surprised that such a gift was in the hands of none other than the Duke of Snowfel.

Aiming for that on purpose, I told Marianne to move the necklace to a place that would catch her eye on the meeting date.

Marianne zealously carried out that dangerous task, and everything went according to plan.

Now that it has come to this, Diarob will not be able to be certain of Rachel’s death.

Now there will be no such thing as the bastard handing over the magic mirror to Casius.

It was like buying time until the day Diarob searches for my keepsake again.

I felt relieved inside, but on the outside, I trembled as if surprised, matching Diarob’s tone.

“Is that true? I’m sure I brought it out from Rachel, that thing’s room…”

“Pathetic!”

Diarob clicked his tongue and kept pushing me.

Finally, when he had spat out everything and reached the point where there was nothing more to say, the bastard got up from his seat.

Is he finally leaving now? The corners of my mouth twitched involuntarily.

Trying to hide my joyful heart, I watched as the bastard gave a final warning.

“You haven’t forgotten the seal engraved on your body, have you?”

“…”

“You should always keep in mind. Your life and death are in my hands.”

“…”

“No matter how useless a dog is, how could I raise it to the end just because it’s my child? I will handle the task of bringing Rachel, that thing’s keepsake, so you must fulfill your usefulness without fail.”

It was difficult to listen to his disgusting words until the end.

Not only did he engrave a seal on his child, but he kept threatening with it until the end.

I felt my flesh trembling.

But as always, I didn’t forget to put on an alluring smile.

“I’m sorry. But I will do well this time, so don’t worry.”

Fortunately, Diarob, who was in a good mood these days and seemed to consider this incident a complete mistake, disappeared outside without further ado.

Only then did a long breath escape.

Soon, a deep night visited the quiet space.

Although Diarob said he would find Rachel’s keepsake again, that won’t be easy.

After the bastard secretly sent a mage to Rosemary before, Casius strengthened the barrier of the Rosemary Mansion several times.

I didn’t know how fortunate it was that I had Rodgo send traces of the mark to Casius to make him take action back then.

Maybe I’ll have a fair amount of time from now on.

If I’m lucky, Diarob won’t be able to find my keepsake until the day I have to fulfill the contract.

Lying down on the bed, my body was soaked with fatigue.

But my eyes didn’t close easily.

Diarob seemed to have been handled well, but Casius was the problem.

His distinct words came to mind.

He said love requires trust.

Since that day, Casius has been urging me to eat with a more affectionate tone and acting kindly at every luncheon.

But in fact, all of that would be just a mask to get the magic mirror.

You, who perfectly hide your words about finding Rachel and say you will try to love, are a thorough deceiver.

I feel like I’m caught in a trap.

But the trap Casius set was too perfect.

So much so that I can’t even think of escaping.

If I can’t give you the magic mirror…

Then how will the mask you wore come off?

What expression will be behind that mask?

Fear surged in like a tidal wave, suffocating my chest.

*

The next day, lunchtime that started as usual came as a stress.

It was because of Casius, who became even kinder as if trying to match me.

I was deliberately dragging out the time and avoiding talking about the magic mirror.

Cutting the steak in the stillness, he asked with a kind smile.

“How is the magic mirror coming along?”