At that moment, there was a thud outside the door.

It seemed someone who had been eavesdropping had collapsed from rising blood pressure.

Helene spoke even more nonsensical words with delight.

“Both the prince and princess will yield to Her Majesty the Empress. I’m a saint anyway, so I shouldn’t have a baby.”

Helene’s attitude was very condescending.

She doesn’t even try to hide that she’ll give me something like a baby since she doesn’t need it.

‘She probably wants me to get upset and slap her.’

But the age gap between you and me is easily over a thousand years.

Blinded by this first love, betrayed by that love, and having all my strength taken away, I was left as a mere human and struggled to control my emotions for a moment.

But talking with Helene actually allowed me to calm down.

‘It was good to meet you.’

I feel like I can finally view my hatred and resentment rationally.

After seeing Helene off, I glanced at the items she left behind and tapped on the table.

“How can someone be so rude and arrogant!”

Just then, Lady Bertolt walked in quickly, exploding with anger. Yet, her every step was so elegant that I inwardly exclaimed in admiration.

“Sitting next to Her Majesty the Empress without permission! Who does she think she is! Even if Her Majesty invited her first, she should have declined!”

“She must think she’s on par with me.”

“How can that be! A lowly Quid!”

Lady Bertolt was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes.

I quietly stood up and patted the lady’s shoulder.

“Susan. I have a task for you from now on. But you have to move very carefully. There might be ears of the saint in our palace too.”

“You mean…!”

“I don’t doubt your loyalty. Charlotte’s too. But honestly, I can’t trust anyone else.”

Helene is cautious. She’s good at acting and knows how far she can be arrogant.

Also, she enjoys making moves like in chess.

I knew Helene’s type well.

She won’t be satisfied until she has everything in her palm, so there must be spies in the Empress Palace.

“I’m sure of it. I noticed it after talking to her just now. The saint has planted ears in the Empress Palace.”

Honestly, Helene didn’t drop any clues in our earlier conversation. It’s just that my eyes can easily see through it because I’ve lived for so long.

Lady Bertolt clenched her fists and quickly whispered.

“I will find them. I will certainly expel them.”

“On the contrary. Figure out who we can really trust. I’ll cut off the rest. And there’s something more important.”

Even after making sure no one was eavesdropping, I brought my lips close to Lady Bertolt’s ear and lowered my voice to a whisper.

Hearing my words, Lady Bertolt’s expression turned serious and she nodded.

“Then please call Duke Achillo now. We need to continue our interrupted conversation.”

I’m getting tired, but I have to wrap up the conversation. There was something I needed to ask Duke Achillo.

“Are you alright, my daughter?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“This time, you must completely suppress them. The Emperor greatly cherishes the saint… There won’t be a second chance.”

Despite having to wait a long time due to an unexpected visitor, Duke Achillo showed no anger. He only showed concern for his daughter.

Although it wasn’t my will to dwell in this body, now that it’s come to this, I wanted to show Duke Achillo that his ‘daughter is living so well’.

“Don’t worry. Oh, I have something to ask you, Father.”

“What is it?”

“There must be a real reason why the Desert Kingdom requested a meeting with Nyx. Tell me that.”

As I said that, I called a maid and instructed her to bring the map I had borrowed from the old man after buying it.

Duke Achillo stared at me with a slightly clouded gaze.

The real Leonarda probably wouldn’t have asked such a thing. She wouldn’t have had a world map, let alone spread it out on the table.

It was natural for him to find it strange.

“…I’m not certain, but from what I’ve learned, the atmosphere in the Desert Kingdom is peculiar.”

“Peculiar, you say?”

However, Duke Achillo eventually answered the question.

“Yes. Last year, some revelation was given to their high priest.”

“But you don’t know the content.”

“That’s right. But it’s certain that the request for a meeting came after the revelation.”

Revelation.

Humans think that gods give revelations, but that’s actually extremely rare. Even demons of the monarch class can easily give revelations.

And the Desert Kingdom has deeper ties with demons than with gods.

‘Could it be that my elder sisters did something?’

I had a momentary suspicion that it might have been my elder sisters who planned to put the soul of our foolish youngest sister, who died without listening and being stubborn, into this body.

I bit the soft flesh inside my mouth as I recalled my elder sisters who cherished me so much, overwhelmed by the rising longing.

“Other than that, is there anything special happening in the Desert Kingdom? I thought it might help with preparing for the banquet.”

“Hmm. The atmosphere in the royal family is… relatively fine, but the general public is in a grim state.”

“Is that so?”

Are the officials exploiting the people while the Emperor squanders money?

Even looking at that boy, he didn’t seem to be receiving proper treatment.

If his personality is so vile that he would drive his much younger sibling to the brink of death out of wariness, it wouldn’t be strange to call him a tyrant.

“Do you see this large river, my daughter?”

“It’s the Nashtep River. The huge lifeline that runs through the Desert Kingdom.”

“That’s right. But last summer, the Diawan River, a small tributary branching off from the Nashtep, completely dried up.”

“Dried up? Without a single drop remaining?”

“Yes. And as the river dried up, an ancient ruins buried deep in the riverbed was apparently discovered. I heard the excavation work has only progressed about 3% so far. They say they might even discover ruins from the Magic Empire a thousand years ago.”

“So that’s why you said it’s peculiar.”

There would be people struggling due to the Diawan River drying up, but there would also definitely be those who are delighted by the discovery of the ruins.

And those delighted ones are most likely from the noble class.

‘The commoners have every right to be angry. There must have been those whose livelihoods depended on that single river.’

A summit taking place amidst such turmoil.

Tapping my lips while looking at the map, I roughly checked the diagonal area above the Diawan River with my eyes.

The name of that region, located a certain distance beyond the border, was none other than ‘Ansel’.

“The Emperor lived in the Ansel region when he was young, right?”

“Pardon? Yes. He has a very deep attachment to that place.”

“That’s fortunate. That area will soon become a sea of water and be submerged.”

“!”

“So have the local residents evacuate to nearby territories and prepare relief supplies in advance.”

Duke Achillo gaped. He wondered what I was talking about.

Realizing my mistake, I gently curved my eyes.

“Where do you think all the evaporated water goes?”

“If it evaporated, it’s gone, isn’t it?”

“That’s not true, Father. There are rules to everything in the world. If a river dries up to that extent, that water must pour down somewhere.”

I can’t explain why it’s Ansel though.

Humans wouldn’t understand anyway, even if I told them.

How could they know that the world is a tightly woven net of cause and effect?

I can simply calculate and read that causal relationship.

‘If the ruins were discovered in the summer, it’s now the dead of winter, so there’s not much time left.’

What would happen if a large amount of water pours into an area that has never experienced flooding before?

There was only one answer.

Everyone will die.

Even those who barely survive will be swept away by the infectious diseases left by the flood.

I intended to prevent that in the name of the Empress.

The saint and the temple can handle the aftermath.

“But never spread the word widely. Proceed quietly. The saint will definitely stay in the capital until the summit ends. Even if she receives a report that something happened, she won’t take action.”

“Then, you mean all the relief will be done in the name of Her Majesty the Empress, and the temple will only move after that?”

“Yes. But if she hears news that I did something, she’ll definitely rush over. We can’t let that happen. The people of Ansel must be saved solely by our help.”

If I spoon-fed him this much, the duke would take care of the rest.

Both forming a good public opinion and forming a bad public opinion about the saint and the temple.

I slowly moved my lips while looking down at the now-cold teacup.

“If you save the hometown he cherishes so much, the Emperor will bow his stiff head at least once.”

“If it really rains in Ansel… it’s a miraculous move.”

“It will rain.”

Having said that with a confident tone, I looked straight at Duke Achillo.

“Crushing the enemy’s heart with your teeth is the way of Achillo. That’s what you taught me, Father.”

“…Yes, I certainly did.”

“Do you believe in revelations, Father?”

Suspicion flickered again in Duke Achillo’s red eyes.

Knowing that his daughter is dead and mistaking her for being alive.

I don’t know which is better. I’ve never been a parent.

But I needed this body now.

At least until I completely finish my revenge.

“Isn’t revelation a term used in the Desert Kingdom?”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, let’s change it to prophecy. They mean the same thing anyway.”

“Has the divine descended upon you?”

Duke Achillo asked in a surprised tone. I just smiled without a word.

Because I found it amusing to say that the divine had descended.

But I deliberately used the term revelation to make him have that misunderstanding.

I elegantly brought my hands together and assumed a posture as if offering a prayer to the divine. Then, in the most sacred and solemn tone possible, I slowly opened my mouth.

“If you’re going to die anyway, enjoy the highest position with power that no one can touch, and then die. That’s what I was told.”

It was a brazen lie that would make one slap their forehead if it had been heard by the divine.