And the best room used by Zion Laurel was just one floor below, on the third floor of the east wing.

So Evie was able to find her way to Cassel Montra’s room without any trouble, passing through a secret passage.

The path was clear of dust, thanks to Count Laurel having used this secret passage a few times to come and go to Evie’s room.

But that didn’t make navigating this narrow gap any more pleasant.

So, having undressed and changed into the simplest dress, Evie stepped forcefully on the steep ladder, grinding her teeth.

“What’s the scheme, you brat?”

Earlier, Evie had encountered blatant exclusion and provocation in Cassel Montra’s room.

Something was certainly going on, as if they all hid it as if they’d made a pact, and yet subtly gave it away.

It’s like the attitude of onlookers saying, “You’re in big trouble now.”

Their deceit and exclusion made Evie quite uneasy.

Evie could not shake the ominous premonition even after leaving the Count’s room.

So, she decided to find out for herself what they were hiding and was on her way to his room through the secret passage.

“Is this the place?”

Upon climbing the ladder, a space that resembled an attic appeared.

It was a space with a ceiling so low that one had to crawl, and above that, there were marks where the dust had been swept away.

Evie followed the trail with a small light, crawling forward.

The dustswept marks ended in the middle of that space, and instead of footprints, there were handprints. The Count had not come down from above but had come up from below.

“This is the Count’s room. Then above is the Duke’s room.”

Evie knew she was in the right place and held her breath quietly. Not long after, she heard loud laughter from above.

“What’s the big deal? You must know when to step forward and when not to.”

Cassel’s voice.

It wasn’t as mocking as when he dealt with Evie, but the voice just heard was definitely Cassel Montra’s.

“She looked so pitiful to me.”

“What’s pitiful? There are plenty around who’ll take her just because she’s pretty.”

And this was about Evie.

Her name hadn’t come up yet, but Evie couldn’t help but feel it.

“It was too much from the beginning. A saint from a commoner, right?”

Then the feeling turned to certainty, and all the ominous premonitions were confirmed.

Evie covered her mouth with both hands, to suppress the sobs and screams that might burst out at any moment.

Evie held her breath desperately, while the conversation continued above.

“Then why have you been supporting Evie Ariate until now?”

“I followed the trend. Everyone expected her to become a saint. In fact, whoever becomes a saint doesn’t really matter to me, and I liked Evie. But seeing her overstep her bounds, I thought it wouldn’t work.”

Cassel Montra grumbled, and so, in the midst of her trembling fingertips, Evie let out a hollow laugh.

Overstepping my bounds? When did I?
“Ah, she said Bis was her hometown, right?”

“Hometown or not, I heard she performed the Saint’s duties quite well there. If not, it won’t work. Once the mainland people start clinging, you know how tenacious they are.”

Cassard clicked his tongue.

“She’s so uneducated that she doesn’t even know why something is taboo. What if she actually becomes the Saint? The mainland rabble will be after her day in and day out, won’t they?”

“My father and uncle are worried about that too. Once a precedent is set, the demands from Bis will only increase, and if something goes wrong with Evie Ariate being summoned there, who will do the purification?”

“I heard that too. That’s why they plan to make Lio Tuahna, who resembles the sister, the Saint, and keep Evie safely in Tienda, so she doesn’t come back tainted with the smell of Bis.”

Cassard said in a voice that was light and careless, as if he could fly away.

So Evie mulled over those words with a vacant expression, as if she were dreaming.

This meant Cassard was no longer pushing Evie to be the Saint.

Instead, he had resolved to choose Lio Tuahna as the next Saint.

The reason was that Evie had purified the poison that had engulfed the village of Bis.

The people of Bis must not become accustomed to being saved by the Saint.

Evie Ariate must continue the purification in Tienda.

Evie could hardly believe what she had understood.

Throughout this, the gibberish about Evie continued above.

“Ariate probably still thinks she’s going to be the Saint.”

“I wonder what her face will look like when she finds out she’s not?”

“I don’t know about her expression, but she’ll probably hate you to death.”

Cassard chuckled at his friend’s jest. That laughter sounded eerily clearer to Evie than the other conversations, giving her chills.

“Hating me would only be cute. Come to think of it, it’s actually nice? Being utterly obedient is boring.”

At those words, Evie’s mind went blank.

No more thoughts came to her.

She was not even angry.

It was just too strange.

That the conversation determining my fate was so light.

So trivial that my future was being decided without my knowing, in some unknown place.

Evie scratched the floor with her nails at the feeling of something churning inside her. If she didn’t, she felt like something would happen.

But at that moment, the floor where Evie was lying suddenly shook and opened.

Evie fell without a chance to be surprised. And before she could realize she was falling, she was caught by something.

Evie stared at the man who caught her, her face pale and drained of all color.

The man who stood holding Evie as she fell from the ceiling was Zion Laurel.