Sylvia’s heart began to pound in her chest.
‘I know that man…’
His hair was shaved so badly that his scalp was visible, so people without keen eyes might not recognize him, but that wasn’t the case for her.
…He was apparently a paladin of the Temple of Tunia.
Even among the Knights of Actilus, there were rumors that he wasn’t ordinary and the paladins were often looking for him because he was away so often that she remembered him.
The man behind the window hurriedly drew the curtains. Still, it was already too late.
‘Why is a paladin from the Temple of Tunia here… and looking like that?’
Sylvia picked up a light stone from the ground as it flew quickly from the side of her ear. It hit squarely by the window through which only faint light leaked through the curtains. Since the stone was light enough that it didn’t break the glass, the rock just rattled the window frame before it bounced right off.
There was no response from the inside.
But since she already expected it, that didn’t disappoint her. He wouldn’t be able to consistently ignore it if she kept throwing the stones anyway.
Thinking so, Sylvia picked up a half-dozen stones and glared at the window.
˚ ·: * ✧ * :· ˚
Inside the room, Eden was also staring at the curtains.
The lady-in-waiting Angelica had brought to the subjugation seemed to have the intention of continuing to throw the stones, so loud blows were heard through the window. To make matters worse, the stones hitting the window were getting heavier and heavier. It was as if he continued to ignore it, she had the will to break it altogether.
In the end, Eden finally drew the curtains temperamentally and opened the window. Sylvia, holding a stone in her hand, smirked from the alleyway where dusk descended.
“Open the door. I need to see the lady-in-waiting.”
He had no choice but to open the door.
His footsteps as he left the room carried a fury he didn’t know where to direct. When a thumping sound came from the room of the always cultured ‘Daniel,’ the maids poked their heads in, wondering what was going on.
Eden ordered them sharply.
“It’s none of your business, so stop looking around and stick your head in the room.”
“Daniel, what are you talking about…”
The maid, who was about to reprimand him for his cruel words, quickly dropped her tail when she saw Eden’s wide eyes.
Meanwhile, it seemed that Cisen came out at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and as her eyes locked with Eden’s stony face, she seemed to realize something was wrong.
“Your coworker is outside your house.”
Even though she had seven coworkers at work, Cisen quickly guessed who was visiting.
“Sylvia?”
“I don’t know her name. D*mn it, I think she knows my face.”
As he strode impatiently to the gate, Sylvia was already waiting for him to open the gate, with her face impassive, as if she had never done something like slinging a stone.
When the latch on the gate was unlocked, she even greeted him.
“I saw you at the temple, didn’t I?”
Furious at being discovered, Eden turned and walked away without a word, but Sylvia didn’t care.
˚ ·: * ✧ * :· ˚
Five minutes later, the three of them had an unwelcome meeting in Cisen’s study.
When neither Eden nor Cisen had the slightest hint of opening their mouths, Sylvia brought up the subject first.
“I thought it was very suspicious, but I’m glad I trusted my instincts. What are you up to?”
There was no answer.
Sylvia bit her lip, her eyes glistening as she continued.
“No matter how you look at it, it looks like you’re trying to avoid His Majesty’s gaze and do something, don’t you?”
Cisen’s independence, no matter how you think about it, seemed to have the intention of escaping the Emperor’s sight.
“The Empress created a faction in Actilus to keep Duchess Nerma in check? That’s ridiculous, and if she was thinking of creating a faction…”
Sylvia knew the subject well. She took a deep breath and spat out the rest of her words quickly.
“She wouldn’t have kept me that close.”
Instead, she would have kept someone else around who was more useful. Moreover, Angelica didn’t make any effort to expand her power.
“Even now, His Majesty is looking at the map instead of holding a social gathering. So, what are you talking about?”
Her biggest concern was the route of the expedition that she wouldn’t even follow.
Eden crossed his arms and stared blankly at Sylvia.
“What do you want?”
“Tell me what you’re planning to do.”
Since he wasn’t about to give anything away, Eden pretended not to know.
“I’m not doing anything special.”
Sylvia’s voice grew fierce.
“Then why are you here, and not in the Temple of Tunia?”
“Because I was exiled. This is a job I got lucky with.”
As his jaw clenched as he spat out his words, Sylvia’s eyes glistened and her mouth twisted into a smile.
“You’re lying…!”
Eden flinched at the madness on her face.
Worried that a big fight might break out between the two, Cisen kept them apart. It was because since Sylvia and Eden were both trained fighters, any physical conflict would make it difficult for her to mediate.
“Sylvia, I don’t know why, but you seem to be on edge. You should leave it here and go back. Her Majesty the Empress is alone, and since it’s a big issue to leave your place carelessly, I’ll pretend I didn’t see you here.”
Cisen calmly scolded her.
However, Sylvia was already full of conviction, even though all of this couldn’t have been a mere coincidence. She giggled and pointed her finger at the two of them.
“If this is all just a misunderstanding on my part, why are you two so nervous and on edge?”
Even though Cisen remained calm, Eden, who had been agitated since she threw stones at the window, couldn’t hide his distress as Sylvia continued.
“Show me the paladin’s room. If you really don’t have anything to hide, that should be fine, right?”
A chill ran down Eden’s spine.
In his drawer was a notebook that contained the information Angelica had given him, such as the route of Raniero’s expedition and the places they had decided to make a base before crossing the border. If he had known that there were people who would question him, he certainly wouldn’t have left it as a record.
‘If this woman gets in the way…’
He thought quickly
It couldn’t be helped. He had no choice but to remove her at the peril. No matter how strong the bodies of the Actilus people were born with, they wouldn’t be able to defeat him, who was a warrior…
Watching Eden’s pupils move, Sylvia came to the conclusion that these people were very much mistaken.
She had no intention of interfering with whatever the Empress was planning. Rather, she wanted to cooperate with them as they crept about outside the palace without being caught by the Emperor. It was because whatever it was, it seemed like it wouldn’t be a pleasant present for Raniero Actilus.
In the end, she realized that she would have to play her hand first in order to draw them out from behind the wall.
“I hate the emperor… I hate him very much.”
She chewed up her words and spat them out.
Cisen’s face turned white. She covered her mouth with both hands, just like she did during tea time with Angelica not long ago. In the meanwhile, Eden’s gaze began to change the temperature little by little.
“In his eyes, everything in the world is a toy. My screams, which will be stained with blood for the rest of my life, are just entertainment for him to relieve his momentary boredom.”
Sylvia paced around in a state of resentment, sometimes biting her own skin as she couldn’t overcome her frustration.
“I couldn’t win until now, so I gave up and obeyed. Still, that doesn’t mean I’ve ever been alright with it…”
With a villainess smile on her face, she placed her hands behind her back.
“Do you know that the Emperor has been getting a little foolish lately? Distracted with his frail wife from a small country, he doesn’t even suspect you right now.”
It was good news that Raniero wasn’t suspicious. Eden tried hard not to show his relief too much.
“If the Empress wants to stab the Emperor in the back of the head, I’m ready to sacrifice myself for whatever it takes… Her Majesty is the only one who can grab him by the scruff of the neck and drag him through the mud.”
“But she loves the Emperor.”
Eden had unwittingly brought up something that had bothered him all along. Although Angelica promised that her life would come first so the plan would go smoothly, for him, her love was a factor that added a distribution to the plan.
However, Sylvia, who heard his words, suddenly laughed out loud.
“Love? The Empress loves the Emperor?”
Cisen stiffened at the sound of shrill laughter. She closed her mouth tightly and stared at Sylvia.
Sylvia’s laughter went on for a while. It seemed that it was so funny that she held her stomach and giggled as if she couldn’t believe how ridiculous it was, then said in a voice that still couldn’t quite get over her laughter.
“The Empress can’t love the Emperor, not if it means giving her heart away, not ever… Her mind is too fragile to handle a horror like Raniero Actillus!”
A low moan leaked from Cisen’s closed lips.
Cisen, who watched Angelica closely, had already realized it.
“She can be excited and dependent because the strongest person who can protect her is the Emperor. If she stays in his shadow, she can avoid all other dangers…”
As Eden was silent, his gaze fixed on her ever-changing expression, Sylvia twisted her face and smiled.
“Seducing him is just a survival strategy for the Empress. Don’t you think so, lady-in-waiting? You should know best?!”
Cisen dropped her head.
At the same time, in the bedchamber of the Empress’s palace, Angelica, naked and entwined with Raniero, was constantly pouring words of love into each other’s ear.