“Aurora!”
Aurora, with her innocent and carefree expression, stood there, grinning.
She was alone, with no coachman, guard, or maid by her side.
“What? What are you doing here? And why are you blocking the road all of a sudden?”
“Well, I was just passing by when I saw the steam carriage of the Count of Viviana. I had a feeling you might be inside, so I thought I’d say hi!”
“Were we ever close enough to exchange greetings?”
“Hey, that’s a bit harsh.”
Since Seraphina also considered Aurora somewhat of a friend, she responded in a relatively relaxed tone.
“But why are you passing through here alone? This isn’t the kind of road to travel alone.”
“Oh, I’m up to something fun.”
Aurora giggled and continued.
“You know Lady Rosa, right? I heard that Young Lord Joff has been pestering her lately. So, I thought I’d give him a little scare.”
“How?”
“I was planning to dig a trap on the road he often takes near the Joff Viscounty and fill it with horse dung!”
“Wow, that sounds really fun. I’d love to see his reaction!”
“Right?”
The two burst into laughter, locking eyes. But then, as if suddenly remembering something, Seraphina gasped and lifted her head.
“Oh, right! I need to go! Princess Eva is waiting for me!”
“What? You’re going to see Princess Eva?”
“Yeah! She personally invited me to the palace as the first noble lady to visit! Jealous?”
“Hmmm….”
However, Aurora’s expression turned complicated as she looked at Seraphina. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then sighed and nodded as if there was no other choice.
“Well, if Princess Eva summoned you, then I suppose there’s nothing you can do… But if you ever want to see me, you’re welcome to visit the Marquess of Shae.”
“Hmph, like that’s going to happen! I’m off now!”
With that, Seraphina signaled for the carriage to depart toward the palace. As the carriage passed through the palace gates, her heart pounded.
And then, her memory cuts off.
Hours later, Seraphina’s carriage was leaving the palace. She was trembling violently.
“This… this can’t be happening….”
Her hair, once neatly styled by her maid, was now a mess, tangled from her frantic grasping. Her hands, slick with sweat, clutched at her dress, wrinkling the fine fabric.
Her trembling was even more intense than the jolts of the carriage—fear had consumed her entirely.
“What happened?”
Abigail’s voice reached her, but Seraphina didn’t answer.
Instead, she glanced at Abigail from the corner of her eye, subtly inching away as if she were afraid of her.
“I have to run. What do I do? I have to escape….”
Muttering like a madwoman, Seraphina was lost in her own thoughts—until the carriage came to a sudden stop again.
Standing in the road, once again, was Aurora.
“Hey, Seraphina! I just finished setting up the trap! Honestly, I kind of smell like horse dung now, but can I hitch a ride on your carriage—”
The moment Aurora saw Seraphina’s face, she stopped talking.
The laughter vanished from Aurora’s expression, and she asked with a serious face,
“…What happened?”
“I have to run… I have to escape….”
“Seraphina, I don’t know what’s going on, but tell me. I’ll listen to everything. No one else will hear about it—I promise to keep it a secret.”
“No… If I tell you, you’ll die too….”
“Seraphina?”
Aurora firmly grasped Seraphina’s trembling hands. Only then could Seraphina meet her gaze. Seeing Seraphina’s expression, Aurora’s face grew even more solemn.
“Listen, no matter what it is, it’s okay. I can help you. Just tell me what happened.”
But at that moment, Seraphina was beyond reason. Fear had completely overtaken her, leaving her unable to think clearly.
“I have to run. But I can’t. She’ll chase me again. If she realizes I’m trying to escape, everyone will die. I’m useless—I can’t even use magic….”
“So what if you can’t use magic? I can’t either. And unlike you, I don’t even have a single thing I’m good at. But you—you’re brilliant in humanities.”
“But if I had magic, even a little….”
“Can’t you use humanities to understand magic?”
“No, magic is entirely based on mathematical principles….”
At that moment, Seraphina’s expression changed as if she had realized something.
“But math and philosophy might not be so different….”
She fell silent, deep in thought.
“…Yes, it might be possible….”
“What? Did I actually help you?”
“But it’s still not enough… I have to run away… But I can’t….”
“Seraphina….”
Aurora looked at her with concern, but Seraphina only muttered to herself like someone lost in madness.
Even after returning to the Viviana estate, Seraphina spent the entire day curled up in her bed, trembling, refusing to let anyone in.
Then, the next day, a visitor arrived at the Viviana estate.
It was Aurora.
“Seraphina, this won’t do. Come with me.”
“Go out? But I—”
“You need to clear your head. A change of scenery will help you think.”
Without giving her a chance to resist, Aurora dragged Seraphina out. The place they ended up at was a theater.
“This is my favorite play. Every time I watch it, I feel like I gain some kind of enlightenment. It clears my mind.”
At first, Seraphina was still trembling, but soon, she became immersed in the performance.
The play was Hamlet—a classic that Seraphina had likely seen at least once before. Yet, no matter how many times one watched it, it had the power to send shivers down their spine.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
The more she watched the play, the more Seraphina’s eyes sparkled.
In truth, Hamlet was a play depicting a young man tormented by complex conspiracies and evil, lost in contemplation and despair.
It wasn’t a cheerful story by any means. However, Hamlet had the power to make people reflect deeply on the world.
“This world I live in…”
During the intermission, Seraphina murmured with a thoughtful expression.
“How to escape this world… What lies beyond it…?”
As the play resumed, Seraphina’s gaze became more and more entranced.
By the time the performance ended, her face looked refreshed.
“This is it… I think I understand now….”
“Huh?”
“I’ve figured out a way. First, I need to trap ‘her’ in the capital.”
Aurora remained silent, but from her expression, it was clear she understood that the “her” Seraphina referred to was Princess Eva.
“But that’s only a temporary solution… How do I keep her contained permanently?”
“What do you need to do?”
“I need to scatter magical artifacts all over the place to create a barrier… But if I leave the capital, it’ll raise suspicion….”
“What kind of artifact are you talking about?”
“I will embed my realization into the objects I possess. If I do that, they too will gain an absolute power beyond this world. They will become part of the natural law itself.”
“Uh… That’s some complicated talk. But basically, all we need to do is spread those artifacts around, right?”
Aurora watched Seraphina mumbling to herself with a peculiar expression.
Finally, as if making a firm decision, her face turned resolute.
***
“The magical artifacts scattered across the continent—that was my doing.”
Aurora spoke in a calm voice.
“You probably don’t remember because you weren’t in your right mind back then, but you showed me the magic artifacts yourself. You didn’t even notice when I took them.”
“……….”
“I spread those artifacts everywhere I traveled.”
It was likely Seraphina who had used magic to keep Princess Eva confined within the capital.
But the one who carried it out was none other than Aurora.
“And remember how you said you couldn’t run away?”
Aurora’s serious voice continued.
“So instead of you running away, I made sure you chased me.”
“…….….”
“Seraphina, do you even know what you looked like back then?”
Aurora’s voice was filled with concern.
“Anyone could see you weren’t in your right mind. If I had left you alone, you might have just died.”
Ah… so that’s why….
“I had to save you somehow. Since you couldn’t make a rational decision, I had to lure you into running away.”
Under the sunlight, Aurora’s golden hair gleamed like the sun itself.
“Seraphina, I ran away to save you.”
Hearing those words, I stared blankly at Aurora for a long time.
At first, I had treated Aurora like a naive, childish girl.
But as I pursued her, I realized she had her own thoughts and purpose.
Her escape to the Eastern Continent, her journey to Eiken—it had all been to achieve her own goals.
But I had never imagined that her flight had also been for my sake.
I had never once thought that Aurora ran away… to save me.
“Aurora….”
“Hey, we’re friends, right? Of course, I’d do at least this much for you.”
In the end, Aurora succeeded in saving me.
The original Seraphina had managed to use humanities-based magic to escape this world and find a safe place. She was now Yoo Sera.
As for me, now Seraphina, if it weren’t for Aurora, I would have fallen right into Princess Eva’s grasp.
If Aurora hadn’t stolen my money and fled, I wouldn’t have considered leaving the capital. I wouldn’t have joined forces with the male leads either.
“I knew you’d need help along the way. You were a noble lady who had never stepped outside the capital before, after all.”
Aurora continued in a calm voice.
“That’s when I thought of my friends. I figured you’d get along well with them. You could support each other and build good relationships. So, I stole your things, and in the end, it worked out.”
By now, all of us were completely focused on her words.
“First, by stealing the Monteverdi family’s seal, Simone couldn’t authorize any more approvals. Since he’s a key figure among the senators, his decision affected the other members as well. That way, we could push the government away from Princess Eva’s influence.”
Simone’s eyes widened. Even he hadn’t foreseen Aurora’s true intentions.
“By stealing Ghieuspe’s leverage over the Magic Tower, the mages had no choice but to cooperate with me. They couldn’t side with Princess Eva.”
“You…”
Ghieuspe parted his lips as if to say something but remained silent.
“And by stealing Raffaelo’s gun, I ensured he’d never give up on chasing me. He couldn’t afford to lose his weapon and risk imprisonment.”
“You… you planned all of this?!”
Raffaelo looked utterly shocked. Meanwhile, Arkhangelo, fascinated, asked with a grin,
“Then why did you steal the opera offer letter I received?”
At this, Aurora smiled cheerfully and replied,
“Oh, that? Just for fun!”
“Aurora!!”
Damn it. In the end, Aurora was still Aurora.
