Faced with Serina’s light laugh, Letia, with a pale face, didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

No, her emotions themselves weren’t calming down.

Her throat hurt as if it had been scratched, and her eyes stung.

But she didn’t want to show her crying face in front of Serina anymore.

Letia, while restraining her breathing that kept trying to become uneven, even biting her lips, spoke in a voice without trembling.

“You. You say that. So nonchalantly. With your own mouth?”

“So what? You’ll soon die and become real ashes. Just as no one cares about your mother’s death, it’s the same for you.”

Serina tapped Letia’s forehead, tap, tap.

“Did you really think I brought you here to congratulate me on my engagement? I needed to make a plausible reason.”

Recalling the whispers poured on Letia at Gaudium, Serina smiled slyly.

“They’ll think you committed suicide because you couldn’t bear the contempt and disdain. That your mother died from the shock of giving birth to a stone, as they all believed.”

As she continued speaking, Serina seemed to realize something and clapped her hands.

“Oh my, so in the end, it’s not because of me or Her Majesty the Empress, but really all because of you. If only you hadn’t been a failure, none of this would have happened, right? You killed your mother.”

Finally, tears like drops of blood welled up and fell in a single stream, and her heart grew cold.

In fact, she thought her mother had abandoned her too.

She believed that even the only person left on her side had turned her back.

‘I resented her a little. Thinking she loved me because I was a Gemma. But because I was a Nebula. So I thought she regretted giving birth to me. But mother, mother had never abandoned me.’

The fact that her mother had met with Empress Terisia to take her away stung deeply.

‘From beginning to end, she was really the only one on my side……’

“Letia, you thought you were noble? But you’re wrong. In the end, it was all mine. You’re the fake. Not me, but you are the fake.”

Serina, who had been stroking Letia’s hair, frowned as if it were dirty and tried to remove her hand, but Letia grabbed her wrist tightly.

“What are you doing?”

Letia stared at Serina with calm eyes.

“I. I was just going to run away.”

A dry emotion flowed with frightening calmness.

“I hated both Gemma and the Imperial family so much. So I was just going to leave quietly.”

“Is that so? Then you should be grateful to me. I’m letting you run away. I’m letting you leave this world entirely.”

“But I shouldn’t run away.”

The tips of her fingers that gripped Serina’s wrist naturally tensed.

Serina felt an unpleasant chill as a sudden cold sensation sank in.

“I never wanted it, and I didn’t care if it wasn’t mine.”

Serina twisted her hand violently, but Letia pulled her more strongly and stared into Serina’s blue eyes as if to pierce them.

Caught in that gaze, Serina was momentarily frozen, unable to move.

Letia raised her other hand and rubbed Serina’s eyes while murmuring.

“I have to take it away. Because I don’t want to give it to you.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“First, I’ll take this engagement away from you.”

Serina was stunned for a moment, then laughed as if it were ridiculous and pushed Letia violently.

Letia fell to the floor and didn’t move.

“Who do you think you are? Do you know what you’re called? Nebula, just dust and stone. You’re just a failure that wouldn’t matter if you disappeared from this world, not even remembered. How could you possibly do anything? Is this your last struggle before death?”

“……”

Serina took out a dagger from her bosom.

“Until the engagement ceremony is over, you’ll go mad here. The suggestion will only be lifted when your breath stops.”

Then she threw the dagger towards Letia.

“In the end, you’ll take your own life. So just run away forever as you wish. Take it away? Pfft! Go ahead and try if you can.”

After Serina disappeared, in the completely closed darkness, a ringing sound echoed, and then the suggestion of death began to unpleasantly stir Letia’s mind.

As if nails were being driven into her entire body, something pounded, thump, thump, and then a terrible agony that seemed to sear her body swept through her entire body.

Letia bit her lips so hard they almost tore and writhed in intense pain.

The suggestion placed on her was constantly pulling her into the mire of death.

But she couldn’t die like this.

“When a person. Is pushed to the edge of a cliff. Again and again……”

Letia stretched out her hand again and again and grasped the handle of the dagger Serina had discarded.

Her blood vessels had all burst, turning the whites of her eyes dark red, but her gaze no longer wavered.

“It’s not that you think you should just die.”

Just once. Just this once.

“I want to return the same to the person who pushed me to the cliff.”

It didn’t mean she wanted to kill.

Just dying would be peace.

“That despair of standing on the cliff, just as it was.”

Letia gripped the blade tightly.

At the end of the pain of her skin tearing, her mind gradually cleared.

She thought the pain was pushing away the suggestion, but a bright light from Letia’s heart enveloped her and completely shattered the suggestion.

***

The nobles watched as Kallion and Asiz faced each other.

Whether the Crown Prince’s power would grow, or if a new force would emerge in the political world.

This was a very important issue for them.

But Kallion and Asiz were actually caught up in a different problem, not such complicated matters.

“The Crown Prince’s fiancée is late. Shouldn’t you go look for her by now? Or shall we go together? I’ve been worried about Lady Letia all along.”

When Letia’s name came out of Kallion’s mouth again, Asiz could no longer hold back and asked.

“Elder brother. Don’t tell me you know Letia……”

At that moment, a loud bell sound rang out in all directions, and everyone bent their knees towards one place with tense expressions.

Kallion also paid his respects with an expressionless face.

Terisia appeared where they had bowed their heads.

She immediately saw Asiz and Kallion and barely managed to control her furrowing brow as she stepped forward.

Asiz felt an increasingly stifling feeling and opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

But Terisia ignored Asiz and stood in front of Kallion.

She said nothing, and Kallion smiled coldly at the suffocating atmosphere that continued.

‘Coming before the Emperor. This empire really has two suns.’

Finally, a thorny voice reached his ears.

“Welcome, Duke Harencloud. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you at a social party like this. I thought I’d never see you again since you’ve been on the battlefield for so long.”

Kallion kissed Terisia’s hand and raised his head.

“You look the same as ever, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Terisia’s eyes curved coldly at Kallion’s strangely irritating words.

“You look the same too. Too much, as if you haven’t changed at all.”

“It sounds like you’re disappointed.”

“Not at all. I’m glad you look healthy.”

“Thanks to Your Majesty the Empress, I was able to arrive safely in the capital.”

“What did I do? Next time, I should pay more attention to welcoming you. It’s been a while since you entered the capital, I was too indifferent. Wasn’t I?”

“I’m looking forward to it if you’re going to pay more attention than now.”

The air in the great hall was filled with tension due to the nerve-wracking battle where neither side gave an inch.

The nobles watching were having a terrible time because of these two.

Fortunately, Serina’s appearance changed the atmosphere.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I apologize. I’m too late.”

Terisia immediately exchanged glances with Serina and smiled brightly.

“It’s alright, Lady Serina. Come here quickly. You don’t know how much the Crown Prince has been waiting for Lady Serina.”

Contrary to Terisia’s words, Asiz stood still with a stiff expression, and Serina alone approached Asiz’s side with a shy expression.

Terisia smiled with satisfaction at the sight of the two.

“My, how well they match. We can start the engagement ceremony as soon as His Majesty arrives.”

Kallion smiled bitterly at the overly artificial play and looked around.

‘Where is she?’

When Letia, who had disappeared with Serina, was not in sight, Kallion moved to find her but had to stop soon.

“Oh my. Finally, all together in one place!”

“Oh my……”

Letia appeared in the great hall, and the noblewomen who had been holding their breath could not help but open their mouths at this moment.

As the atmosphere suddenly became unsettled, Terisia quietly glared at Serina.

‘How did you handle the matter?’

But Serina was equally surprised.

‘What? Why isn’t she dead?’

She looked even more fine than before.

Asiz tried to go to Letia out of concern, but Terisia immediately grabbed him.

“Asiz, maintain your position properly as the main character of the engagement ceremony. Don’t lose your dignity. You are the Crown Prince of this country.”

Asiz tried to shake off Terisia’s hand, but under her grip that dug in deeper like a hook, the color gradually drained from Asiz’s face.

Kallion narrowed his brow at the sight of Letia standing still with no expression and tried to approach her.

But there was no need, as her gaze turned to Kallion and for the first time, Letia walked towards him first.

Kallion felt that her appearance standing in front of him was completely different from before and carefully opened his mouth.

“Are you alright?”

“If I ask you to ruin the engagement ceremony, would it be troublesome for Your Highness the Grand Duke?”

Despite the unexpected words, there was no change in Kallion’s expression.

“I told you before. Who would dare trouble me? Everyone values their own life.”

Kallion once again reached out his hand towards her.

“Do you need me now?”

“Will you really be on my side?”

“Who should I take care of first?”

Terisia and Serina were visible over Kallion’s shoulder. And suddenly Rimia’s voice came to mind.

“Make them beg to want you, not let them manipulate you as they please.”

It didn’t quite resonate then, but now it was different.

‘I’ll listen to mother’s words now. I’ll make them beg me.’

“Let’s get married first.”

Finally, Letia took Kallion’s hand.

“Right now, right here.”

For a moment, Kallion burst into laughter, unlike himself, to the point where his Adam’s apple moved greatly.

The nobles were bewildered by Kallion’s laughter, and Terisia’s eyes also sank strangely.

Especially Asiz couldn’t take his complicated gaze off Letia, who was holding hands with Kallion.

Letia, still holding Kallion’s hand, calmly asked.

“Is it really not possible?”

“How could it not be? It’s good not to waste time, and it’s an even better declaration of war to properly turn things upside down. And.”

He wrapped her hand more gently.

“From now on, nothing you want will be impossible.”

Kallion turned around with Letia and approached Terisia. And before Terisia could say anything, he raised his voice so that everyone could hear.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I will marry Lady Letia Cristalos.”