She just wanted to forget about her past for a brief moment. In the end, her wish wasn’t fulfilled.

<>

Following Leopold, Lena arrived with the wizards at the Solar Palace. It was said to be the most magnificent place in the Imperial Palace.

As if to prove that the rumors were not an exaggeration, the entire palace was adorned with ivory-colored marble and gold.

“This is it.”

With the professor’s words, everyone’s steps came to a halt. Lena’s eyes then revealed the appearance of the Solar Palace garden.

The spring garden of the Solar Palace, known to be as beautiful as the Rose Palace, radiated majesty befitting the residence of the emperor.

However.

“Why do the trees look so withered…?”
Unlike the vibrant roses in the Rose Palace, the spring garden of the Solar Palace was sprawled with trees and flowers that had lost their vitality.

Even the leaves of the cherry tree, which could be considered the symbol of the spring garden, had almost all fallen. All that remained were the fallen pink leaves, and it was only by guessing that it was a cherry tree.

“I understand why the maintenance cycle is shorter than in other palaces.”

The condition of the garden seemed unbelievable for just two months ago.

Even though it was an imperial palace, it was a challenging task for wizards to manage the garden every day. Leopold also raised his eyebrows, as if sensing that something was off.

“Something’s strange this time; the condition is a bit severe.”

After muttering for a moment, he couldn’t delay any longer and instructed the wizards who followed him.

“All right, you all know what to do, right? Do it quickly, and let’s return.”

As soon as the professor’s words ended, the wizards moved to their designated positions as if they were already familiar with them.

And then, when Leopold started to mutter something, the flowers, which had withered due to the light emitted from his fingertips, began to regain their vitality.

“Wow…”

Lena exclaimed at the fascinating sight.

The color of the once-dead flower petals became vivid, and blue leaves and petals began to intertwine on the previously shriveled branches.

And at that moment, Lena, captivated by the scene, unintentionally reached out her hand to touch the flower petal right in front of her.

“Don’t touch…”

When Leopold tried to stop her, Lena’s hand had already touched the aster leaf in front of her.

“Ouch!”

Simultaneously with touching the flower petal, a tingling sensation, as if sparks were flying, sharply passed through her fingers.

Drops of red blood dripped from Lena’s white fingertips.

“You shouldn’t touch flowers created by magic; they last for about thirty minutes. I have a mountain of things to teach you.”

“…I’m sorry.”

As if she had no face to show him, Lena lowered her head.

Given the closed nature of wizards, without formal education, self-study had its limitations.

That’s why, despite living for a long time, Lena’s knowledge of magic was quite shallow.

“Still, I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt. But the bleeding won’t stop quickly. First, go back to the Crystal Palace. Do you know the way?”

“Yes.”

“Never wander beyond the designated areas. This is where the Emperor resides. Even palace residents cannot casually move around here.”

If Lena didn’t have the clear status of the Duchess of Fermannes, even if it was Leopold, he probably couldn’t have allowed her into the Solar Palace.

“Don’t worry. I know the way back…!”

With confidence, Lena said as if there were no problems. However, that confidence didn’t last long.

<>

“It seemed like this path for sure…”
“Don’t worry,” Lena bravely said to Leopold for a moment. However, Lena soon lost her way.

It was already time to leave the Solar Palace a long time ago.

She tried to find palace servants to ask for directions, but strangely, there was not a single person passing by.

“Why is there no one around?”

In such a vast place, not seeing a single person managing the palace gave Lena an uneasy feeling, so she stopped her steps.

“It won’t work; let’s go back to the garden.”

Rather than getting lost here, it would be better to return to the garden. At that moment, when Lena was about to retrace her steps to go back to the garden, she felt a presence at the end of the corner.

“Is that person working here?”

If so, there was no need to go to the garden; Lena could just ask that person for directions.

“Excuse me, just a moment!”

Lena called out to him to ask for directions. However, he passed by so quickly that he didn’t seem to hear her voice.

“Where did he disappear to?”

She thought she had followed right behind him. When she turned the corner, all that was visible was an empty corridor.

“Well, there’s nothing to be done.”

Since it was impossible to loudly call for someone in the palace where the Emperor resided, Lena gave up and turned her steps again.

Not far from Lena, she noticed that a door was slightly open.

“Did he go in there?”

Considering the strange presence emanating from inside, it seemed like the man she had seen a little while ago had entered this room.

Lena cautiously examined the gap in the open door. However, perhaps the lights had already been turned off, as the room was shrouded in darkness, and nothing was visible.

“It seems like he went in here for sure…”

As Lena debated whether to enter or not, she felt that she couldn’t delay any longer and opened the door.

“…Excuse me, are you there?”

However, it was quite strange.

As Lena went deeper inside, an unpleasant smell, overlaid with a strong disinfectant, began to pierce her nose.

Despite thinking she shouldn’t go any further, Lena’s body moved on its own.

“What’s this smell?”

Although the smell was covered by the disinfectant, an unknown rotten odor became increasingly intense.

Could such a smell come from the palace where the Emperor resided? Despite the worsening unpleasant odor, Lena covered her nose and mouth.

“Where’s the light…”

As Lena, who had reached the thick curtain covering the window, was about to open it to ventilate the room, the view inside the room became visible.

At that moment, what entered her eyes was…