Chapter 2 Part 2

The silent carriage soon arrived at the Duke’s residence.

Maybe because it was a dark night without a trace of moonlight, I rather liked the more gloomy atmosphere than usual.

“Lynn.”

“Yes?”

Taking a deep breath, I quietly called Lynn who was following behind me.

“What do you think I’m going to ask you to do?”

“…Collect the newspapers?”

“Good that you know. Should you hurry?”

“Yes…”

Though I heard a somewhat regretful voice, I turned my back, pretending not to notice.

Now that Hertiana has appeared, I shouldn’t get involved with Abel in any way.

This kind of encounter should be the last.

Anyway, if Abel wants to, he can meet Hertiana anytime, not just today.

Earlier, my interference only worked because there was no immediate reason for them to meet, but I probably won’t be able to prevent all their chance encounters in the future.

In this situation, I need to secure a treatment for my heart through Hyle as soon as possible.

If Abel and Hertiana fall in love now, I’ll die entangled in the story like before, without even having a chance to treat my heart.

“My lady, Master has called for you to his office.”

As I entered the mansion while steeling my resolve, the butler approached and discreetly informed me of father’s summons.

“…Is it because of Abel?”

It was quite rare for the Duke to call for me personally.

That’s because we weren’t close enough as father and daughter to have casual conversations.

True to its notorious reputation, House Laté was a family where the concept of “blood ties” wasn’t particularly important.

They only cared about whether someone’s existence benefited the family or not. Nothing else mattered.

“Father, you called for me?”

The unusually large office door closed with a thud.

“I hear you’ve been getting close to the Crown Prince lately.”

Duke Laté spoke in a dry voice without even looking at me.

As I thought, it was about Abel.

“Yes, I even received the most valuable and sought-after gift in the empire.”

When I reached the Duke’s desk and responded with a strange smile, only then did his gaze meet mine.

Under his deep rose-colored hair, dark red eyes flashed sharply as they stared at me.

‘Mattio Laté’ was what people commonly called a ‘heartless’ human being.

For him, it was natural to kill anyone who crossed him and eliminate anyone who interfered.

“I trust you’re not being foolish enough to create weaknesses deliberately.”

“Father, the Crown Prince is merely a means to clearly demonstrate to everyone that House Laté stands ‘above’ House Feros.”

Despite my smooth answer, the sharp red gaze swept over me suspiciously, still seemingly unconvinced.

Though Mattio was Rosiel’s ‘father’, he was also an incredibly cold-blooded man as the head of House Laté.

I knew well that if I proved unhelpful to him, he wouldn’t hesitate to thrust a sharp blade into me, child or not.

“When do you plan to break off the engagement?”

The barb in his abrupt, concise words was blatant.

The only reason Mattio had approved my engagement to Abel in the first place was because of House Feros.

After the engagement, as planned, everyone implicitly understood that House Feros was beneath House Laté.

So Mattio bringing up breaking the engagement meant that since the goal had been achieved, House Laté had no more reason to be involved with the Imperial Family.

Pulling my lips into a gentle smile, I spoke with a faint smile.

“I have no hobby of playing with faded toys.”

“That’s good to hear. Take care of it soon.”

“Yes.”

He must have known about my failed attempt to break off the engagement.

This was a warning.

To stop getting involved with the Imperial Family.

This was truly the time Hyle needed to appear before me.

While returning to my room from the Duke’s office, Raphla flew in from afar.

Landing naturally on my arm, Raphla projected an image while its red eyes gleamed.

“Finally arrived.”

Beyond the projection, Hyle and his knights were just entering the Black Forest near the capital.

It was time to start the plan.

I released my prepared magic power and sent fog magic into the Black Forest through the projection.

While ordinary people would easily collapse from the fog’s poison, for the Feros knights with their holy power, it would only have the primary effect of blocking their vision.

That was enough.

The monsters would take care of the rest; I just needed to set up the optimal stage.

While they wandered in the forest thick with fog, I planned to monitor the female lead’s movements through Raphla.

I was curious why Hertiana had appeared earlier than in the original story.

Between Abel refusing to break our engagement and everything else, I had no idea why the original story was being twisted.

“Raphla, could you find this woman for me?”

While stroking Raphla’s wing joints for its hard work, I transmitted the image of Hertiana I’d seen earlier today to Raphla.

The original story is changing subtly but surely.

I need to know why so I can respond accordingly – I can’t just sit and watch.

While Raphla nodded and went off to run my errand, I turned my steps toward the monster pen to check on their condition.

Grrrr –

The monsters’ roars violently shook as they sensed my magic power.

When I released the dark magic I usually kept hidden, their fierce eyes came alive.

To magical beasts, their master’s magic power was like a stimulant.

Of course, the higher-grade the beast, the more it drains my energy, but…

It was my form of protection, since it would be troublesome if my children died while dealing with Hyle.

“…Hm? The connection with Raphla was cut.”

While I was checking the monsters’ condition, the resonance suddenly broke off.

What’s this? This has never happened before.

“Raphla?”

No matter how much I called, Raphla didn’t respond.

Seeing that the magic power I had injected into Raphla hadn’t returned, it wasn’t dead.

“…Tch.”

Finally, I quickly left the Duke’s residence after making rough preparations.

As I traced my magic power that had seeped into Raphla’s body, an unpleasant feeling of déjà vu began to grow.

“This road, could it be…”

The closer I got to Raphla’s presence, the closer I got to the Grand Temple.

When I arrived at Raphla’s last trace, I pressed my forehead in bewilderment.

“Raphla… what is a first-class magical beast doing at the Grand Temple? No wonder the connection was cut.”

For Raphla, a magical beast, the Grand Temple full of holy power was like the enemy’s headquarters – in other words, a grave.

Yet Raphla’s traces abruptly ended right in front of the Grand Temple’s entrance.

Anyway, if Raphla is here… that means Hertiana is here too.

But something’s strange. In the original story, those who weren’t official Saints couldn’t stay at the temple…

Hertiana should still be just a Saint candidate, not an official Saint yet, right?

“Hah, no choice.”

Whatever the situation was, having no other options, I stepped into the Grand Temple after a deep sigh.

Finding Raphla took priority over Hertiana for now.

If Raphla, a crystallization of dark magic, caught the eye of a high priest or higher-ups, it would surely be destroyed on the spot.

Since magic power from magical beasts destroyed by holy power doesn’t return to their master, finding it quickly was urgent.

Moreover, since Raphla was a rare species among magical beasts, it was uncertain whether I could summon it again once it was destroyed.

Please just don’t catch the priests’ eyes…!