***
The next day, right after breakfast, I went for a walk with Hiel.
“Let me know if you sense even the slightest trace of Luciel.”
“Don’t worry. If he’s anywhere nearby, I’ll definitely feel it.”
Hiel sounded confident.
Delight was worried. How could they possibly find Luciel just by wandering around such a vast imperial palace?
But in reality, there was no need to search the entire palace gardens.
‘I already know the locations of all the secret prisons and underground chambers in the imperial palace.’
The palace had multiple prisons.
Luciel wouldn’t be in one of the well-known ones.
He was likely hidden somewhere even most palace residents were unaware of.
So, although this looked like a casual stroll, I was actually checking the areas near the most suspicious secret prisons.
Luciel was definitely in one of them.
I walked slowly, pretending to admire the flowers and trees.
No one paid attention to Hiel, who was following behind me.
Thanks to that, I could observe my surroundings freely while keeping up the act of a simple walk.
“Shall we go to the right?”
“That path is blocked. Let’s go the other way instead.”
Just as I naturally pointed in the opposite direction in response to Hiel’s words—
“How does the princess know that?”
The empress was approaching from the very direction I had just pointed toward.
“Princess, what a coincidence to meet you here. You seem to be taking a walk.”
The empress greeted me with a warm smile and spoke.
“But this should be your first time in Ilnord, and yet you know your way around quite well?”
Oh no.
I had been so familiar with this place that I accidentally revealed my knowledge without thinking.
I should have been more careful, knowing there might be watching eyes.
This was a mistake.
How should I cover this up?
“Well… actually, I was here yesterday with Serdin.”
After all, I had met Serdin last night.
I decided I would talk to him later and make sure he played along with my excuse.
“But there wasn’t much time last night because of the banquet. Or…?”
The empress tilted her head slightly, deep in thought.
Oh no, I think she misunderstood something.
“It seems the two of you are closer than I thought.”
“N-No, that’s not—!”
“It’s fine. You’re getting married soon anyway. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
It was already too late to fix the misunderstanding.
‘Still, this is better than being found out.’
I put on a shamelessly shy smile, pretending to be flustered.
“But if my father and mother find out, they’ll be angry, so please keep it a secret.”
“What do you like about Serdin?”
“Hmm. Everything!”
“…I see. That’s nice.”
“Right? I think we suit each other quite well too.”
I deliberately flashed a wide, happy grin.
Like a bride-to-be excited for her upcoming wedding.
After all, I was supposed to be playing the role of someone madly in love with Serdin and pushing for the marriage.
“You must have been shocked yesterday. I wasn’t exactly at my best.”
The empress stepped closer to me, bringing up what had happened the night before in a more familiar tone.
“It’s okay. Just don’t act that way next time.”
I did my best to sound encouraging while subtly pointing out her mistake.
I even clenched my fist and cheered her on.
“Huh?”
“Parents make mistakes too. And Serdin is mature, so as long as you do better in the future, he’ll understand.”
It was something I had wanted to tell her since the banquet last night.
Words no one else had said on Serdin’s behalf.
What you did to him all this time was wrong.
The empress narrowed her eyes slightly, as if trying to read my true intentions.
In response, I only smiled even brighter, maintaining a perfectly innocent expression.
In the end, she couldn’t be sure and forced a small, awkward smile.
“Hmm. Yes, the princess is right.”
She hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
“There are still things Serdin and I need to work through, but I want to get along well with you.”
The empress didn’t try to cover up her past mistakes.
Instead, she smoothly reframed them.
“Since we ran into each other like this, why don’t we take a walk together? There’s something I’d like to teach my future daughter-in-law.”
It seemed she had no intention of letting me go.
This was troublesome.
I was contemplating how to handle the situation when—
“Ollia. So this is where you went for your walk.”
Blueny appeared.
“Oh, the empress is here as well.”
She then greeted the empress, as if only now noticing her presence.
“We didn’t get much of a chance to talk at the banquet last night.”
“That’s true. It was a shame.”
The empress responded in agreement.
“I was actually planning to visit you soon anyway, so this is perfect timing.”
“…What?”
The Empress of Ilnord hesitated, and Blueny took the chance to step in, her eyes gleaming as she delivered the final push.
Turning to me, Blueny asked casually, as if seeking my permission,
“Ollia, the mothers would like to have a chat. Would you mind if we go ahead?”
“Of course not.”
I nodded willingly.
“Even though the wedding preparations are already complete, I’m sure there’s still a lot for the mothers to talk about.”
“That’s true. In that case, shall we go to a place where I often have tea?”
Blueny warmly built rapport, and soon enough, the Empress turned her attention toward her.
“That sounds good to me.”
Blueny naturally linked arms with the Empress and led her away in the opposite direction.
As the two of them disappeared from sight, I smirked inwardly.
‘Hehe, nice move, Blueny!’
She had deliberately taken the Empress away so she couldn’t keep holding me back.
“Let’s hurry and go.”
There were still more locations I needed to check today.
I didn’t want to linger here, in case the Empress returned and tried to detain me again.
Just as I was about to move—
“Wait a moment.”
Hiel’s eyes suddenly flashed as he grabbed my sleeve.
Then, narrowing his eyes, he sniffed the air carefully.
“…It’s close by.”
His voice was serious.
“You sense it?”
“Yes. I can feel Lord Luciel’s presence strongly in this area.”
Hiel was certain. But then, his expression twisted slightly, as if something was off.
“But the trace of him keeps disappearing.”
He focused even harder, tilting his head in confusion.
“This has never happened before… Maybe he’s here, but still too far away?”
As I listened to his murmuring, I fell deep into thought.
If Luciel really was somewhere nearby…
We were in the imperial palace’s back garden, where vines covered much of the space.
During the summer, the dense foliage made it feel like a secluded forest.
This area wasn’t marked on the official palace blueprints, but I had drawn it myself in a personal map.
‘There was an old underground prison here.’
A nearly abandoned dungeon, so forgotten that few even knew of its existence.
Not only that, but it was layered with multiple magical barriers, making it an extremely secure location.
‘That must be it.’
Now that I had an idea of where Luciel was, there was no time to hesitate.
Of course, I couldn’t rescue him immediately.
If Luciel suddenly disappeared, Ilnord’s forces would instantly suspect us.
That would make escaping the palace nearly impossible.
Besides, I still didn’t know what condition Luciel was in.
How had a dragon ended up captured in Ilnord?
Why hadn’t he been able to escape or contact anyone until now?
“Hiel, we’ll move tonight.”
“Understood.”
“First, we’ll find Luciel and hear his side of the story. Then, we’ll come up with a plan.”
Tonight, we were going to meet Luciel.
***
The Emperor stood at a distance, observing the Empress and the Princess of Promian as they conversed.
However, the moment the Empress of Promian appeared, his interest seemed to fade. He turned away and closed the window.
“The princess is quite intriguing.”
The Emperor addressed Serdin, who was seated across from him.
“She seems to care about you a great deal. Seeing how fiercely she protects you, she must truly love you.”
He smirked, watching Serdin with an amused expression.
Then, his gaze turned sharp.
“But you lied to me as well, didn’t you?”
Serdin remained silent.
The Emperor continued in a low, knowing tone.
“You have feelings for the Promian princess.”
His lips curled into a twisted smile.
“Why did you deceive me?”
“…..…”
“Did your heart waver?”
“It holds no value worth wavering over.”
“It better be the truth.”
“You have nothing to worry about.”
“You’re certain she drank the potion, right?”
“Yes. She definitely did.”
Serdin lied without hesitation.
“Good. Then give her this during the wedding.”
The Emperor handed him a vial of red liquid.
“She will go berserk in the middle of the ceremony.”
Serdin took the potion without a word.
The Emperor smiled benevolently, as if rewarding a loyal subject.
“I don’t mind if you have feelings for the princess. In fact, if you carry this out properly… Once Promian is destroyed, I will give her to you.”
His tone was disturbingly kind.
“Think of it as my gift to you.”
Serdin said nothing.
“So make sure everything goes according to plan on the wedding day.”
With that, the Emperor left, offering words of encouragement as he departed.
Serdin remained still, silently watching the Emperor’s retreating figure.
He didn’t move until the doors shut behind him.
The Emperor planned to use this wedding to bring about Promian’s downfall.
He was already thinking about what would happen once Promian ceased to exist.
‘Give her to me? Who does he think he is, giving people away?’
Serdin’s eyes turned cold.
