After parting with Letia, Kallion left the castle immediately.

This was the imperial villa hidden behind the Gaudium Temple.

Of course, he didn’t find this place on his own. As soon as he came out of the Red Forest, Moila, the empress’s lady-in-waiting, appeared as if she had been waiting.

***

Moila knelt before Kallion with a very determined expression and bowed her head.

“Your Highness, please forgive my mistake.”

“Mistake?”

Kallion, still holding the unconscious Letia, coldly glared at her as she put on this worthless act.

“At the crown prince’s engagement ceremony, the congratulations for Your Highness’s victory were conveyed incorrectly. I deeply apologize for causing you to make an unnecessary trip.”

“Huh?”

Is this pathetic excuse all she could come up with to cover things up?

At that moment, Kallion’s gaze turned to Kiyan, who had just safely escaped from the Red Forest.

Kiyan also heard Moila’s words and shook his head slightly with a chilled expression.

At that action, the corners of Kallion’s mouth gradually turned upwards.

‘The letter from the empress has disappeared.’

Just then, Moila, who had been keeping her head down, glanced at Letia in Kallion’s arms and without asking who she was, stood up and continued speaking.

“It seems you need a healer. I will escort her.”

The moment Moila carelessly reached out towards Letia without permission, Kallion’s low voice made her shrink back.

“You made me take an unnecessary trip due to your mistake, and you think you can just brush it off with words?”

But Moila knelt down again without even blinking.

“I wouldn’t dare. If you want my life, I’ll give it to you.”

Then she closed her eyes nonchalantly.

Such a soulless attitude.

Kallion found the empress’s actions to be vicious.

‘Creating a scene by casually throwing away a life.’

As if that was the easiest thing to do.

“Disgusting.”

In the end, Kallion covered up this situation and spent the day guarding Letia at the villa as guided by Moila.

***

Surely Empress Terisia won’t leave Letia alone like this.

Kallion slowly clenched the hand he had extended to Letia while staring blankly at the villa.

“So stop being stubborn and grab my hand quickly, Letia.”

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, Kiyan ran towards Kallion with a voice full of dissatisfaction.

Kallion completely turned his gaze away from the villa and listened to Kiyan’s voice bombarding him like an explosion.

“You’ve finally come out of the villa! And you didn’t even let me take a single step inside!”

“……”

“What exactly happened in the Red Forest? Did you find Spinel’s magic circle? And who on earth was that woman? I don’t see her now?”

Kiyan was especially curious about the mysterious woman who appeared with Kallion from the Red Forest.

To think that His Highness the Grand Duke would appear carrying a woman in his arms.

In all the time he had served him, he had never seen anyone other than men around him.

So although he didn’t show it, Kiyan was a bit worried about this imperial order.

It would be troublesome if he openly disobeyed the imperial order in front of the nobles.

But Kallion opened his mouth in a leisurely tone.

“I met the spring that was still there in the Red Forest.”

“…Pardon?”

“The engagement ceremony will proceed as planned, right?”

Leaving behind a dumbfounded Kiyan, Kallion completely changed the subject.

“Ah! Yes. The nobles are arriving one after another.”

“Then, I should prepare properly. Now I need this engagement ceremony too.”

Kiyan was utterly unable to follow Kallion’s thoughts, but when the engagement ceremony was mentioned, his expression changed.

“By the way, this engagement ceremony doesn’t seem quite right.”

Kallion lowered his voice as he saw Kiyan’s chilling expression.

“What do you mean?”

“It seems that Duke Crossent will be attending this time.”

Duke Panel Crossent.

Currently the only blood relative of Emperor Kalua left in the imperial family.

At this unexpected name, Kallion’s eyes widened and then immediately filled with delight.

“He’s coming to see me. This will be very interesting.”

***

Letia was led, almost dragged, by Moila and stopped in the middle of the reception hall prepared in the villa.

Although it was called a villa, as a place where royalty stayed, it was a dazzlingly luxurious and extravagant space.

The most out-of-place flaw in this place was Letia, covered in ashes.

Letia was so nervous that she couldn’t even look around properly and tightly clenched her trembling hands.

‘It’s okay. It’s okay, please. It’s okay….’

At that moment, a chilling coldness mixed into the air around her.

Letia immediately turned her head, and at the end of her gaze, Empress Terisia came into view.

A woman born to the Yezerte ducal family, the most prestigious noble house in Elmorte.

The undisputed second sun of the Elmorte Empire, holding power second only to the emperor in the imperial family.

Letia, whose body had stiffened, quickly bowed her head.

“I have come to see Your Majesty the Empress…”

“Oh my, Letia. It’s been a long time.”

Before Letia could finish her words, a cheerful voice pierced her ears.

“Have you been well? I missed you terribly.”

Although it seemed like a friendly greeting, Letia kept flinching.

“Raise your head. Why such a cold greeting between us? Otherwise, I might misunderstand.”

Terisia slowly closed the distance with Letia.

Letia saw the shadow cast over her.

In an instant, the instinctive fear she remembered gradually pulled her into a deep quagmire.

Finally, the corners of Terisia’s mouth, who was standing in front of Letia, deepened.

“That I abandoned you. So you resent me.”

At the cold voice, Letia suddenly raised her head.

“Your Majesty, how could I ever think such a thing!”

At that moment, Terisia’s hand slowly traced Letia’s cheek and deeply buried itself in her gray hair, freezing Letia’s movement.

Terisia’s cold eyes swept over Letia as she murmured.

“Right? I’m thinking wrong, aren’t I? My child, Letia. I cherished you so much while educating you for over 10 years. How upset and sad I was that you weren’t a jewel.”

Every time her fingers stroked through her hair, it felt like needles piercing Letia.

When this hair first turned to ashes.

Terisia had murmured indifferently with drooping eyes.

“No jewel? I’ve been taming something useless all this time?”

But her appearance hadn’t suddenly changed.

From the first time she met the empress at the imperial palace, she had been an object of contempt in her eyes.

“Child, from now on, you’ll be called the crown princess and eventually the empress. But don’t forget. You’re just an accessory for the crown prince. What the crown prince likes, you like too. What the crown prince dislikes, you dislike too. You must only breathe the air that the crown prince exhales.”

For reasons unknown, even at a young age, or rather because she was young, she felt it more clearly.

The empress disliked her from the beginning.

When it was revealed that she was a Nebula, she couldn’t forget the empress’s eyes that said she was sorry.

Those eyes that were thrilled to the point of shuddering.

‘But why did she suddenly want to see me? She missed me? That’s nonsense.’

Unable to understand Terisia’s intentions, Letia’s body tensed more and more.

At that moment, Terisia stared at her as if observing.

As Letia was about to open her mouth first at her suddenly silent appearance.

“You’re becoming more and more alike.”

At her inadvertent whisper, Letia hesitated.

‘Alike? With whom?’

But even Terisia flinched before calmly continuing as she withdrew her hand from her.

“It seems you’re still on good terms with the crown prince.”

Letia immediately realized that this referred to their meeting at Selene Palace and shook her head fearfully.

“No, Your Majesty. It was truly a coincidence with His Highness the Crown Prince…”

“Why are you making such a fuss? Do you think I misunderstand your relationship? There’s nothing to misunderstand between you two. Right?”

“Of course.”

“Now the House of Cristalos and the imperial family will become one family. It would be even better if you could congratulate them happily without feeling upset.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will also bless His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Of course you will. Oh my, I’ve kept you too long in my joy of seeing you. Serina has already arrived and is in the midst of preparations.”

“……”

“You should hurry and go too. You must be tired in many ways, so I’ve specially prepared a carriage for you to ride.”

“I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, and this too.”

Terisia personally pinned a brooch made of blue jewels to her chest.

“This is…”

“It was a gift I had intended to give you. It took too long, but please accept it even now.”

Letia clutched the brooch with a heavy heart.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Yes. Then I hope your journey is comfortable. It was truly nice to see you one last time, child.”

Letia silently bowed her head and turned around.

Terisia clicked her tongue as she watched Letia’s retreating figure.

“I thought she might be useful in killing Kallion. Letia, you really are of no use to me from beginning to end.”

Terisia slowly wiggled the finger that had given Letia the brooch, thinking of Asiz.

“So there’s no choice. I’ll just have to get rid of her.”

***

Letia, who had left the reception hall, had no time to catch her breath.

“Miss Letia!”

The maid that Serina had brought bowed to Letia.

At that sight, Letia pressed her fingertips firmly.

‘It’s impossible to run away secretly now.’

They already knew that she was safe.

She opened her mouth in resignation.

“Is Serina looking for me?”

“You must hurry.”

“Alright. Let’s go quickly.”

But the place Letia headed wasn’t to Serina.

In the blink of an eye, Letia was thrown into a very luxurious porcelain bathtub. And other maids also rushed in and began to adorn Letia.

“Wait, wait. What are you doing now?”

“There’s no time if you want to hurry and attend the engagement ceremony.”

“That’s why I’m asking what you’re doing. I’m supposed to be helping Serina as her…”

She swallowed the word ‘maid’ that she couldn’t bring herself to say, but the immediate response made her think it might have been better to be a maid.

“You’re also attending as a lady of the House of Cristalos, miss. This is all prepared by Miss Serina.”