Without a single movement like a model knight, while guarding the surroundings, a question was gnawing at Keslan’s mind.

Contrary to the general perception, she was timid instead of brave and meticulous instead of bold.

That’s why she was extremely skilled at observing her surroundings and finding unusual things, but she never revealed the doubts in her mind.
Moreover, decisively, he had a keen sense. He himself didn’t realize it because he had never told anyone, but his intuition was almost beyond human levels.

Simultaneously, his luck was quite good.

If he felt something suspicious or ominous, it often turned out exactly as he sensed, 100 out of 100 times.

However, his thoughts couldn’t go any deeper.

“Knight Keslan.”

Greta’s voice, which had been repeating greetings inside, was calling him.

Keslan, who immediately opened and entered the door, approached Greta, suppressing the momentary discomfort that she felt again.

“You called, Your Excellency.”

“Yes. I need to announce the presence of the princess soon, but I want to confirm something.”

“If it’s within my ability, I’ll do my best to help.”

As if she were measuring the answer she had to give to her target of protection, Keslan answered without a hint of hesitation and immediately felt a shiver creeping up her neck.

However, it was truly momentary, and her body, trained through exercises, showed no signs of such unease.

Only Keslan herself was churning in the whirlwind of confusion in her mind.

What on earth was that creepy feeling just now?

An attack, perhaps…

But he couldn’t continue to think any further.

“No need to help. I won’t remember anyway.”

As Keslan was about to ask what Greta meant by the incomprehensible words,

Greta’s eyes glittered like a serpent, and the focus disappeared from Keslan’s eyes, who were looking at her.

Greta, enduring the pain as if a needle were piercing her head, opened her mouth.

“I’m going to kill the princess.”

“I’m going to kill the princess.”

Then, the same words flowed from Keslan’s mouth simultaneously.

Greta didn’t turn Keslan into a puppet because she had a great plan or a plausible reason.

It was just the result of an impulse like, “Should I try it once?”.

That impulse arose from frustration, impatience, thirst, and desire.

Despite coming all the way to the Empire, she had not seen Cryer even once.

Not to mention up close, she hadn’t even seen the tips of his hair from a distance.

You have to endure. You have to endure. Because that’s what He wants.

She didn’t know how many times she chanted that.

But from time to time, flames rose inside her, once every second.

It wasn’t for the ‘purification’ that would burn the whole world, but for the fire of animosity towards Olivia, who took his place.

Moreover, it seemed that Bonita’s strange attitude was thrown into that fire.

Greta wasn’t stupid. No matter how blinded by love she was for Cryer, it wasn’t to the extent that she couldn’t notice Bonita’s subtle aversion to their meeting with the princess and Cryer.

And also, the fact that the reason she gave might not be entirely true.

Whether it was the intuition of a person in love or the intuition of someone who had made a deal with a deity.
As the time the princess and Cryer spent together grew longer, Greta became more anxious.

Therefore, right after coming to the Empire, she forgot the resolution not to make dolls unless she had some spare time or it was absolutely necessary.

Originally, Greta’s ‘purification,’ carried out through a deal with the ancient deity, was not executed with a remarkably delicate touch. To be more precise, it was closer to crushing with overwhelming power, or rather, shattering with Cryer.

If she had been the type to brainstorm efficient methods for achieving her goal, she probably wouldn’t have even purified her father, the magician, with her own hands.

So, it wasn’t anything special that she dismissed logical and rational conclusions.

Greta learned from Bonita that her guardian, Keslan, had a pretty decent background and reputation.

Right after that, she immediately thought of a plan to use her as a dagger to kill the princess, or at least to make her suffer excruciating pain at an unexpected moment.

Greta’s doll-making, which began with impure impulses and plans that seemed infinitely plausible to her, quickly reached its limit.

Controlling a completely new doll while controlling a Nordian doll, as initially expected, was too difficult.

Keslan, who uttered only one word, did not say more. No, she couldn’t.

“Is this… the extent of it? Making and controlling two dolls at the same time is almost impossible.”

Greta, grinding her thumb back and forth, looked at Keslan again with her eyes that were now red with burst blood vessels due to pain.

“If only the distance were closer. But the distance is too far. If it turns out like this, should I just give up on the Nordian doll? No, if I do that, the pretext for staying in the Empire will disappear.”

Muttering to herself, Greta stared fixedly at Keslan once again.

Then, like the king of Nord, her doll and Keslan, too, lost focus in Keslan’s eyes, and she blinked not once as if she had forgotten the essential ‘act of blinking.’

The moment the sweat flowing down from Greta’s forehead fell to the ground through her jaw, Keslan, who found her sitting heavily on the sofa, bewilderedly watched her eyes, which were now filled with confusion.