Celiya blinked her eyes a few times before bursting into a clear laugh. Celiya’s bright laughter echoed through the room.

On the other hand, Dietrich seemed very displeased.

“What’s so funny that you’re laughing?”

“You’re just so amusing.”

Celiya approached Dietrich, laughing with her eyes crinkled.

Dietrich looked down at Celiya, who barely reached his shoulder, with narrowed eyes.

“There are bread crumbs on your mouth. I wish you would wipe them off.”

At Celiya’s words, Dietrich frowned as if incredulous.

“Don’t try any tricks.”

Celiya looked at Dietrich as if he were strange. If he had been an ordinary man, he would have blurted out to her not only why her ability didn’t work on him, but also things she didn’t want to know.

Still, the fact that he was expressing his emotions better than before was a good sign for Celiya.

Celiya was throwing silly jokes at Dietrich, but it wasn’t without thought.

Celiya knew well that Dietrich was different from other men.

Even when the knight entered the prison to do something to her, if she had left the knight behind and escaped from the prison, she would have been caught soon after.

Since Dietrich had said with his own mouth that her life was his, he would try to decide when to take it as well.

So she used her ability, even at the cost of her lifespan, waiting for Dietrich who might come at any time. It was all to soften Dietrich’s vigilance.

The moment Dietrich fully trusts her may never come. Of course, vice versa, Celiya didn’t trust Dietrich either.

Even while making eye contact with him and speaking nonsense, Celiya was always calculating Dietrich in her mind.

When Dietrich would answer about the ability, how he knew about the existence of the ability.

‘And, what’s your true identity hidden behind the position of Imperial Knights Commander.’

Dietrich wouldn’t answer this now. Celiya hid her true thoughts and spoke mockingly.

“How is wiping off bread crumbs a trick? Did you, by any chance, have strange thoughts about me?”

“…”

At Celiya’s words as she widened her eyes, Dietrich’s eyes sank. Eyes as deep as a distant abyss quietly gazed at Celiya.

Instead of responding to Celiya’s foolish words, he laid out the real point.

“…You have to go with me soon to have an audience with the Empress.”

“The Empress?”

Celiya blinked at the incomprehensible words. Dietrich took out a handkerchief from his breast and roughly wiped off the bread crumbs on Celiya’s mouth.

“To take out your anger like this… Can’t you be a little gentler?”

Dietrich looked utterly disgusted. He all but shoved the handkerchief into Celiya’s hand and continued speaking.

“I succeeded in getting you out of prison, but you’re still the person who assassinated the Emperor. Are you aware of that?”

“Of course I’m aware.”

Dietrich didn’t like Celiya’s response. Usually, if someone saved your life, you’d know to grovel, but she maintained her insolent attitude both in prison and now.

Not only did she not use honorifics, but she was even trying to toy with him.

Dietrich knew that the Celiya who was writhing in pain and the Celiya in front of his eyes now were the same person. But it was hard to believe even seeing it.

Acting like this in front of him as if she had several lives, and that weak appearance begging to be saved.

Is this bold, even daring appearance the real one now? Or was that weakened appearance from before the real one?

Dietrich’s gaze lingered on Celiya’s red lips. Seeing those lips, which had bitten and sucked on his own and refused to let go, now looking much healthier than before, anger belatedly surged up.

Despite the fact that it was he himself who had given saliva to the pained Celiya.

Celiya looked at Dietrich strangely. Dietrich now had the same face as when he first saw her, the one who had assassinated the Emperor.

“Why do you suddenly look at me like that in the middle of talking?”

“…”

“What are you dissatisfied with? If you’re dissatisfied, say it. What is it? If you pile things up one by one and explode later, you’ll get sick.”

Look at that innocent expression as if she knows nothing. It was beyond shamelessness, to the point of being detestable now.

But Celiya wouldn’t be able to laugh as comfortably as before. Because her getting out of prison was by no means a good thing for her.

This meant that she became an easier target for others to aim at.

The men outside the palace weren’t bearing Celiya’s sins in her stead.

Those who slept and lived without lacking anything in society actually spread rumors that Celiya had been framed and lost nothing.

Those who actually lost something were the people incited by them. Those incited were poor men who had never even seen Celiya’s face.

Rumor had it that she was so beautiful, but men too poor to even afford to pay the viscount’s house were in no position to even see her from afar.

Whether Celiya had assassinated the Emperor or not didn’t matter to them at all.

If they could just see the beautiful Celiya even once, if she would be released from prison because of this and express gratitude to them… maybe they could even get along well with her.

They each harbored vain hopes that would never come true, and caused riots all over the country.

Even when they were imprisoned with the stigma of being humans who incited mobs, they thought that if Celiya learned of this, she would be deeply moved and accept them.

From what they heard, Celiya was very beautiful, and her heart was as kind as an angel’s.

The angel of Brillian would surely come to save them.

They truly believed so until the moment they died in prison.

In fact, Celiya didn’t know about the outside situation, let alone their existence.

Dietrich didn’t tell Celiya about this. He judged that there was nothing good in letting her know about the ongoing situation.

Moreover, Celiya was merely a tool to achieve his purpose, as the dead Emperor had been to him.

He thought it wasn’t a bad judgment to make her, who had ruined his unusable tool, his new tool. Of course, only under the condition that the new tool would be useful to Dietrich.

There might have been ways to disobey the Empress’s order if he looked, but Dietrich didn’t do so.

Dietrich needed a tool, not a burden that couldn’t do anything without him.

This was also a test he was giving in the name of the Empress.

“The Empress ordered me to bring you to her palace at noon today.”

At Dietrich’s words, Celiya tilted her head.

“Why does the Empress want to see me?”

“She probably judged it strange that a criminal who assassinated the Emperor is living openly.”

“You said you’d take care of the aftermath.”

At Celiya’s brazen words, Dietrich smirked and said.

“You said you were curious about how I know about the ability. If you want to know, prove your worth yourself in this palace.”

“…”

“This palace isn’t as easy as you think. The Empress you’ll meet today isn’t soft like me, so you’d better be careful.”

If others had heard Dietrich’s words, they would have been appalled.

Those who had seen the fate of people who didn’t follow Dietrich’s orders or tried to harm him would never agree with these words.

However, it was true that Dietrich was treating Celiya somewhat softly, at least compared to others.

Celiya also seemed to know well about the ability, and Dietrich judged that her ability would be quite useful to him.

“What exactly should I do?”

“Use honorifics, and if the Empress asks you anything, answer obediently. Never mention the ability. It won’t do you any good to talk about it anyway.”

“…”

Celiya had no intention of revealing to the Empress that she had an ability anyway. Celiya realized from Dietrich’s words that he wanted to hide things about the ability from others.

In a way, it was natural. If others found out that Celiya had an ability, they might try to use her.

Wasn’t that why she had kept it strictly hidden when staying at the viscount’s house?

Celiya was quite troubled by the males of Brillian who frequently broke into her room at night.

Every time that happened, she used her ability to numb their senses, check if there was anyone in the corridor, put them back in their beds, and thoroughly lock their doors.

Looking at the thoughtful Celiya, Dietrich added.

“If you disobey my words and reveal that you have an ability, you might be used as much as possible and eventually be accused of being a witch and burned at the stake. It would be a fitting end for a criminal who assassinated the Emperor.”

Celiya thought it was a bit ridiculous that Dietrich was pretending to worry about her while trying to use her himself.

Of course, Celiya didn’t show these thoughts outwardly.

“I won’t mention the ability, so you don’t need to worry. We’re in the ‘same boat,’ aren’t we?”

“…”

Dietrich stared at Celiya, who emphasized ‘same boat,’ with an indescribable expression.

“Are there any other precautions?”

“The Empress will ask you various things, like why you assassinated the Emperor. She’ll surely probe into our relationship too. Answer the reasons as you see fit, and when asked about our relationship, say that we’re nothing to each other.”

“We’re not nothing to each other, but you want me to say we are?”

At Celiya’s innocent words, Dietrich was about to say something but closed his mouth. He shifted his gaze to the window outside and said.

“As soon as I bring you into the palace, the Empress will surely try to separate you and me.”

“…”

“If you fail to prove your worth, I can no longer protect your life.”

Dietrich had already fixed his gaze on Celiya.

“It’s time.”