Chapter 19

Larienne glanced around the room as if worried someone might be listening, then lowered her voice.

“At the three-way fork, you found the correct path as if you already knew it. And you knew where the giant spider monster was too, didn’t you?”

“Well, that’s…”

I did know.

But I think she’s misunderstanding how I knew.

Apparently, Larienne thought I had used clairvoyance to navigate.

That must be why she had asked whether I had an ancestor from the Am Sparrow bloodline.

Ah… I can’t exactly tell her the truth. This is tricky.

“I heard that you were asleep for a long time. Ayrbet, I came because I don’t think you understand the danger you’re in.”

“I’m… in danger?”

“Ayrbet, listen to me seriously. If His Majesty finds out that someone with the power of Am Sparrow has appeared…”

Larienne couldn’t bring herself to finish the frightening sentence.

She didn’t need to.

The emperor’s reaction was obvious.

If the long-destroyed Am Sparrow’s power had somehow passed to me, then not only I, but House Titanoa could be punished.

If they discovered I was a transmigrator, it was the gallows.
If they mistook me for a prophet, it was extermination of my entire house.

Wow. This was getting messier by the minute.

I insisted that what happened in the dungeon was pure coincidence, that it had nothing to do with abilities.

Larienne nodded earnestly, agreeing that it should be coincidence, that it must be coincidence.

She even apologized again for misunderstanding.

And she looked at me with eyes full of pity and empathy, as if we were suffering the same kind of misfortune.

Honestly, it would’ve been easier if she’d just snapped at me to stop lying.
I had no idea how to lie to someone who pretended to believe me while clearly not believing a word.

After our misunderstanding-filled conversation ended, Larienne repeatedly urged me to be careful, then left.

“She’s too soft-hearted for her own good.”

I murmured with a complicated feeling as I watched Larienne’s back disappear.

It wasn’t just about me, she shouldn’t be worrying about me right now.

Since the announcement of Larienne and Heide’s engagement, her path was going to be nothing but thorns.

The emperor wasn’t trying to marry her to Heide for a happy union.

Nor was it to stabilize the empire through a political alliance with House Toned.

Larienne Toned, the saint who manifested the strongest healing power in that family.

The emperor was plotting to steal her power… and destroy House Toned entirely.

“The emperor’s always the problem, always.”

“His Majesty the Emperor?”

Right then, Ruby approached with dresses in her arms, having overheard my muttering.

“Oh… yesterday, I noticed His Majesty is quite handsome.”

“Right? I heard that when he was younger, he looked exactly like His Highness the Crown Prince now.”

Thankfully, she didn’t hear clearly. I changed the subject and Ruby followed along.

Relieved, I pointed at the pile of dresses Ruby was carrying.

“What’s all that?”

“Candidates for the dress you’ll wear on your date today.”

Ruby neatly hung six dresses on hangers as she answered.

After accepting Cheryl’s gifts and receiving Larienne’s visit, the last item on today’s agenda was dinner with Linus.

Father suggested inviting him to our home, but I thought it would be better to go outside if we were going to talk about the dungeon.

So we decided to have dinner at the largest restaurant in Arendel.

“His Grace gave permission, but I’m still worried, my lady. They say you shouldn’t believe all rumors, but a chimney doesn’t smoke without fire.”

Ah… right, the rumor.

I meant to find out what the murder rumor was about, but the gate appeared and everything slipped my mind.

He didn’t seem like someone who would do anything gruesome like murder, but I should try to probe gently over dinner.

As I was thinking of how to bring it up, I noticed Ruby laying out six sets of accessories to match the six dresses.

“Ruby, for someone who’s worried, you look awfully enthusiastic.”

“It’s our young lady’s first date. This is the minimum.”

“It’s not a date, it’s just dinner.”

“That is a date.”

“Come on, it’s not like that.”

Even as I protested, the dresses Ruby brought suddenly looked different to me.

The only places I had gone since arriving in this world were our home, the palace, and Linus’s garden.

Thinking about actually seeing the splendid city of Arendel described in the novel made me excited too.

Well, since I’m going out, I might as well enjoy it a bit.

As I touched a pale pink dress close to my hair color, Ruby offered me a necklace box.

“If you’re choosing that dress, how about this necklace? It’s one of the gifts Count Sidonia sent this morning.”

“Oh, that’s nice. It would match well.”

I had been too flustered earlier to look properly, but the red gemstone sparkled as brilliantly as Linus’s eyes.

I didn’t know much about gems, but something that sparkled this strongly must be expensive.

The other gifts looked expensive too…

Wait… were magic stones valuable in this world?

I hadn’t thought about it because they just looked like translucent rocks.

“Ruby, about magic stones. Are they expensive?”

“Magic stones? How do you know about magic stones, my lady?”

“I heard a friend mention them yesterday.”

“Oh, then Count Sidonia must have said it. She’s a mage, so she would be very interested in magic stones.”

Interested indeed.

Just one magic stone instantly made me Cheryl Sidonia’s first and only friend.

I nodded and formed a circle with my hands, slightly bigger than my fist.

“How much would a magic stone about this size cost?”

“I’m not sure about magic stone prices either. Only mages buy them. If you’re thinking of repaying the Count, shall I look into it?”

“Would you?”

“I will. Then, this dress and this necklace. How should I do your hair?”

Ruby picked up a curling iron heated in the brazier like she was drawing a sword.

The look in her eyes as she studied my hair was sharp enough to belong to an assassin.

There was no stopping Ruby when she had that expression.

Experience had taught me that resisting would only prolong the process, so I obediently surrendered my hair and muttered,

“Make it pretty… very pretty…”

* * *

“If Duke Toned had created the black hole, he wouldn’t have let Lady Larienne get caught in it.”

“If not Toned, then it must be Sidonia.”

“For what reason would Count Sidonia do such a thing?”

“If he gets rid of Toned’s girl, he thinks he’ll be able to marry you.”

“If Count Sidonia intended to assassinate Lady Larienne, he wouldn’t need such a troublesome method. And he would have no reason to drag me into it as well.”

The memory of Cheryl’s eyes, filled with resentment, came back to Heide, making his chest tighten, but the emperor only snorted.

“The imperial mages are investigating with all their strength. The truth will be revealed soon. Until then, keep the royal guards close at all times. More importantly, we need to move your marriage forward.”

“The engagement was only announced yesterday. You said you’d think about the wedding slowly.”

“If you’re going to marry her anyway, why delay? And as you said, if that hole is the work of another faction, then their goal is likely to obstruct your marriage to the Toned girl. It’s better to settle it before something else happens.”

“What do you mean? I already told you I don’t want this engagement, and now you’re talking about marriage?”

“It’s already been discussed with Duke Toned. Just accept it.”

“No!”

Heide couldn’t hold back and shouted.

He had accepted the engagement only because he was forced to submit to the excuse of imperial peace, but marriage?

Heide had planned to persuade Duke Toned after the engagement stabilized the political climate.

He believed there would surely be another way to negotiate peace without binding the imperial family and House Toned through marriage.

But now what was he supposed to tell Larienne, who had begged him to reject the engagement because she couldn’t refuse His Majesty’s command?

As Heide lowered his head in despair, the emperor, who had been watching his son with a sideways glance, spoke as if consoling him.

“Do you dislike the Toned girl that much? There’s nothing to worry about. Once you get what you need from her, you can cast her aside.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hurry and produce a child. Once Veserys’s heir manifests healing power, there will be no reason for Toned to exist.”

“Your Majesty…”

“Don’t worry about Sidonia. I’ll deal with him soon. His magic is tempting, yes, but magicians are common. Healing power, on the other hand, Toned monopolizes it. It’s wasteful to simply eliminate it. Wasteful indeed.”

The emperor let out a low, vile chuckle, pleased with his own scheme.

Heide was stunned by the situation.

Disgust flickered in the son’s eyes as he looked at his father, but the emperor didn’t care and only laughed louder.

One emperor, one imperial family.

One sun was enough to shine over Dioretta.
While Ayrbet’s hair was sizzling under the curling iron, Crown Prince Heide was having a private audience with the emperor.

He had just insisted that the series of black holes appearing must be the work of another faction.

But Emperor Behemoth clicked his tongue and dismissed his son’s words.

“You still speak such naïve nonsense. Those black holes are clearly Toned’s doing.”