“I have something to say about the magic mirror.”

Casius’s voice was gloomy and low.

“In a few days, it will be Duke Diarob’s birthday.”

“So you’ve come to invite me to a birthday party now?”

Casius frowned as if to say to cut out the unnecessary talk.

“Didn’t I say I have something to say about the magic mirror?”

He seemed to have no intention of mixing words except about the magic mirror.

Looking straight into his fierce eyes like a roaring beast, I said,

“On that day, I will bring out the magic mirror.”

Casius’s gaze fell upon me.

It was a look gauging the truth of my words.

“What’s the reason for your sudden change of mind?”

“There are conditions.”

“Conditions…”

Casius smiled slightly.

Yes. This is how an empress should act.

In fact, as long as the conditions weren’t absurd, it was better for the empress to stake something.

Rachel said long ago.

That you must always give something worthy to your trading partner.

Otherwise, that deal would never be properly made.

“Let’s hear it.”

Casius’s casual face looked up at me.

My expression became somewhat solemn as I prepared to speak.

“If it turns out Rachel is alive, I will cleanly step down from the position of empress.”

Perhaps because it was words that didn’t quite suit me.

Questions bloomed on Casius’s face.

The distorted look that soon followed was tinged with anger.

“Is the empress now certain that Rachel is not alive?”

“How could that be? What I wish for is Your Majesty’s happiness.”

“…”

“If it turns out she’s dead, please accept me as Your Majesty’s woman.”

Casius’s gaze pierced through me.

His blue eyes held an indecipherable light.

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

Seemingly pleased with my proposal, Casius slowly rose from his seat and approached me.

“True love always receives its reward.”

A cool scent resembling fresh wood gently brushed my nose.

His eyes curved, filled with their characteristic sensuality.

“I hope the empress’s words are true.”

*

Casius’s gaze followed the empress’s slow steps back to her palace for a long time.

Until she became a dot and disappeared.

Casius, who had been staring into empty space, lit a cigar.

As the flickering gray smoke rose, Tikan returned to his place.

Casius murmured softly towards him.

“The empress said she would bring the magic mirror.”

“Her Majesty the Empress, you mean?”

Tikan tilted his head, recalling the empress he had just encountered.

As she came out, she maintained an elegant posture with a proud face like a lion.

Tikan tilted his head and added.

“Does Her Majesty the Empress perhaps not know the purpose of the magic mirror?”

It was clear she didn’t know that what His Majesty was looking for with the magic mirror was his sister.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said she would bring it herself.

And with such a calm face at that.

Thinking of it that way, his lord was truly cruel only to her.

Tikan quietly observed his lord with his head bowed.

It was only for a moment that Casius, who had been wearing a hardened expression, opened his mouth.

“No. The empress knows everything.”

“…”

“Who I’m trying to find with that magic mirror.”

Even stronger questions bloomed on Tikan’s face.

“Her Majesty said she would do so even knowing that?”

“…That’s what she said.”

Casius recalled the empress’s eyes from earlier.

The eyes that asked him not to turn away from her if she brought it, and to acknowledge her love, held a great trembling.

‘What’s the real reason the empress changed her mind? Is she plotting something again?’

Otherwise, there’s no way she would say she’d bring it with her own hands.

The clear face that dared to discuss Rachel’s death flashed through Casius’s mind.

Casius clenched his fist with a hardened face.

*

Diarob’s birthday approached quickly.

As expected, he sent a letter insisting that I must attend his birthday.

It was a transparent move by Diarob to show off his influence by demonstrating once again that he was the empress’s father.

In any case, it was fortunate that Diarob moved as expected this time as well.

There would be no better opportunity than this to bring the magic mirror.

On the way to the Snowfell mansion, wearing the cumbersome dress Diarob had sent,

The gargoyles engraved with snowflake patterns and the stone fountain spewing cool water caught my eye.

Everything in Snowfell was so solid and still beautiful that it made my blood boil.

Diarob, in the midst of receiving congratulatory greetings from numerous nobles, spotted me and approached.

“With the empress’s busy duties, you didn’t have to come.”

It was words clearly intended to show off that his daughter, the empress, was a strong ally.

Recalling the coercive tone written in the letter, it was laughable.

Of course, the nobles enthusiastically played along while knowing this.

“Oh my, Her Majesty the Empress has come all the way here!”

“Duke Diarob must be so pleased to have such a reliable daughter!”

“The harmonious father-daughter relationship looks so wonderful!”

As I forced a rose-like smile to my lips, the surroundings quickly fell silent.

As if they shouldn’t interfere with this damned play between Diarob and me.

In the midst of it, I acted passionately.

“Congratulations, father.”

Normally I would have ended it here, but today I needed to play along with him thoroughly.

To infiltrate the underground, it would be advantageous in many ways for Diarob to be wandering around in a good mood and drunk.

“This is a gift sent by His Majesty.”

Of course, it wasn’t sent by Casius, but there was nothing better than this to flatter him.

Although Diarob surely knew this as well, he smiled broadly as if satisfied with my acting.

He didn’t stop there and immediately opened the gift in front of the nobles.

The liquor, which looked precious at a glance, greatly elevated Diarob’s mood.

“I said you didn’t have to come, but how could you make such a precious visit, haha.”

The nobles trying to curry favor with Diarob had moved eyes as if watching a family play.

Even the audience’s acting was nothing short of excellent.

*

A night with sweet alcohol accompanied by music.

Only after receiving countless greetings did the nobles finally move away from me.

As I tilted the champagne glass, a bitter taste flowed down my esophagus.

Now it was time to move in earnest to find the magic mirror.

According to Marianne’s report, the location of the magic mirror was in Snowfell’s historic underground storage.

Arriving there, a massive iron door stood in place.

Above the iron door, an unsightly snowflake pattern was engraved largely in the form of a unique magic circle.

‘To even install a closure magic circle in the house.’

Moreover, the amount of magical power imbued in it was considerable.

As expected of someone with much to hide.

I looked around, but fortunately there seemed to be no human presence near this underground storage.

Well, the Grand Hall where the party is taking place is at the end of the 2nd floor, and this is the end room of the gloomy basement.

‘No one would come this far.’

After calmly starting to unravel the magic circle, my hair stood on end after a while.

‘How many magicians were mobilized for this task?’

The size of the magical power was incomparable even to when unraveling the note before.

As I approached the center, it felt even more distinct.

He’s thorough indeed.

‘Perhaps others would never have been able to solve it.’

But who am I?

With a creaking sound, the iron door opened and the interior revealed itself.

In an instant, footsteps echoed sharply through the space from behind.

I hurriedly closed the door and turned around, but it was too late.

The owner of the footsteps stepped down the last stair and stood before me.

“Why are you here?”

The drunken guest who made a loud noise was Biodelle.

‘Why of all people is he here…!’

I looked at him, trying hard to feign calmness.

On the opposite window, my image was reflected satisfactorily, with upturned eyes looking cold yet serene.

“I just lost my way due to intoxication.”

Fearing there might be a gap in the iron door, I stood still without moving my body.

Tension sharply enveloped the space.

Fortunately, Biodelle seemed uninterested in the door.

“This wench becomes empress and her manners go to hell, how dare she to her brother…”

With a bright red face as if completely drunk, he approached fiercely, unable to hide his anger.

“If you want to be treated as a brother, act accordingly.”

Biodelle looked stunned, as if he didn’t expect me to say such things.

Openly mocking that look, I curled up one corner of my mouth.

“There’s no treatment to be given to the likes of you anywhere.”

Biodelle’s face instantly turned red and blue with rage.

His face, flushed from alcohol, was riddled with boiling anger.

A disgusting smell of alcohol wafted from him as he approached to less than a step away.

“You dare…”

He finally couldn’t give up his bad habit and raised his hand.

In an instant, my body shrank involuntarily and countless memories flashed through my mind.

These are the memories of the body’s owner, Vivian.

The body, conditioned by abuse, naturally contracted and trembled instinctively.

‘So this is what Vivian endured every time.’

My fist clenched on its own.

Just before Biodelle’s hand could graze me, I raised magical power in my hand.

Wrapping it in concealment magic and releasing it, he collapsed straight to the floor.

I looked down at him writhing in pain with emotionless eyes.

After having a seizure, Biodelle finally passed out.

‘What a trifling thing.’

After letting out a sigh, I placed my hand over his head.

He won’t be able to recall the recent memories properly now.

As much as I’d like to not erase the memory and let him remember that fear forever… it’s better to be cautious in everything.

Also, although he won’t be able to recall the memory, he will feel instinctive fear when he sees my face.

‘Now how to dispose of this guy…’

If he’s found collapsed here, it might be considered strange.

There was no need to create unnecessary suspicion.

A good place to dispose of him came to mind immediately.

After raising magical power.

Looking at the empty space where he had disappeared, the corners of my mouth curled up into a smirk.