n

n

n“Oh, I’m sorry.”

nDalia pulled back in surprise.

n“It’s okay.”

nCedric replied as if it wasn’t a big deal.

nHe seemed to be interested in their stories. He was holding his chin with his eyes shining. Didn’t he say that he didn’t get along with Aceras?

nDalia recalled the information from the original.

nCedric muttered at that moment.

n“No wonder. I was suspicious of him when he sold me out at the ball.”

n“……What?”

n“It’s about our Aceras, I don’t know what it is, but he got something up his sleeve. I’m going to get my revenge this time.”

n

n

nCedric said with a grim smile for some reason. The two seem to have a really bad relationship.

nThen, she heard Adrisha’s enraged voice.

n“What the hell are you thinking while spreading those rumors?”

nAceras smiled without batting an eye.

n“What do you mean I spread it. I only said it to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

n“……”

n“Looking at you coming to see me in such a rage, I guess it is ‘her’.”

n“…….What?”

n“There were two candidates. You and her. You’re so kind that I thought you’d be trying to explain that you did it if she were blamed because of someone else. But it seems that I have hit the nail on the head and as you don’t give any explanation, so it means that’s her doing.”

nAdrisha’s expression slowly turned from confusion to bewilderment.

nShe looked as if she had realized her big mistake.

nAceras laughed and added more.

n“I’ve learned something, but isn’t this too low?”

n“You…… are really crazy.”

n“Can you talk to me like this? It seems like the imperial family wants to keep this strictly confidential……”

nDalia seems to not understand what they were talking about.

nWhat was certain was that Aceras was mocking Adrisha, rather than falling for her.

nAnd Adrisha seemed very angry.

n‘……Is this my fault too?’

nIt seems the original plot has ruined.

nAdrisha, who was supposed to be loved by the three male protagonists and Hikan, was already fighting two of them.

nWell, it was a terrible story that deserved to be ruined.

nThen, Aceras said.

n“In the end, it means that she is the one who brought the Duchess of Blueport back from the mana explosion.”

n“Gasp.”

nDalia hurriedly closed her mouth.

n“That’s about me!’

nThe talks that the two continued to heat up was what happened to the Duchess Blueport.

nAnd of course the person they were talking about was Dalia.

n‘……How does Aceras know that?’

nShe was sure that the Emperor said he kept it a secret that she was there.

n“Ahh, this is about the Duchess of Blueport. It’s my first time hearing such news, it’s amazing.”

nAt that time, Cedric calmly added a reply. Only then did Dalia remember the existence of the person next to her.

n“Y, yes it is.”

n“Who is ‘her’? Do you know who that is?”

nDalia, who was looking at the two, became stiff as a rock after listening to Cedric sitting next to her.

nThen she shook her head.

nCedric, who was looking at her, sounded somewhat depressed.

n“Aha.”

nThen he turned his gaze back to them.

nNo matter who looks at it, he has the ‘so you know’ expression on his face.

nStill, he didn’t seem to be that interested in the Duchess Blueport case.

nThat’s a relief.

nDalia, who knows the character of the original Cedric, who is not interested in anything other than his own business, breathed a sigh of relief.

n‘By the way, what do we do about Aceras?’

nIn no time, Adrisha left the balcony huffing and puffing. All who remained were Aceras.

nHe was such a wicked human being.

nDalia disliked him more and more, the feelings that had been accumulated ever since she played the original work.

n‘What are you going to do now that you figure it out?’

nIf there is something that Adrisha and Aceras misunderstand is that, the incident is not something that Dalia did on her own will, but a miracle that even the Emperor cannot explain.

nThere’s no guarantee that it will happen twice……is this information so valuable to find out?

nDalia stared at Aceras and fell into her own thoughts.

n“Well, I’ll be on my way now.”

nAt that time, Cedric told Dalia and dropped a small piece of quartz into her hand.

nDalia took it in the moment of confusion.

n“You, you’re leaving?”

n“Now that I’ve had a rough idea of Aceras’s plan, there’s no reason to stay here any longer. If you break this, it will drop you over there.”

nCedric grinned.

nThe quartz piece was the best tool to hold mana, so it was often used in magical items.

nCedric seems to be a mage too.

nDalia looked at the piece in her hand with curious eyes. She looked up to express her gratitude, but Cedric was already gone.

n‘He’s really fast.’

nHe was a very interesting person in many ways.

nDalia lowered her head again and watched Aceras, who was still lost in thought. She then overlapped her other hand on the piece of quartz in her palm.

nIt should be cold because it’s a piece of stone, but she felt a warm energy due to the mana.

nShe was fascinated and fiddled with it.

nCrack.

nThen the quartz split in half.

n‘……Huh?’

nDalia looked blankly at her palm.

n……The quartz piece was cut in half.

n‘Is, is this thing easy to break?’

nWait, it’s broken.

nDalia just thought about Cedric’s words.

n“If you break this, it’ll drop you over there.”

nWhich means…

nDalia’s bottom is floating.

n“Ahhh!”

n‘No! Aceras is still there!’

nBut it was useless.

nDalia was forced to come down from the tree and settle down gently on the balcony, even though she knew that Aceras was looking at her in surprise.

n“……”

n“……”

nThere was a moment of silence.

nIt was Aceras who broke the long silence.

n“……Miss Dalia?”

nDalia wanted to die.

nNo matter who sees it, it looks like she got caught while eavesdropping.

n* * *

nThe two didn’t say anything for a while.

nAceras was looking at Dalia with a cold gaze as if he were measuring something.

n“Did you hear it all?”

nDalia swallowed her words for a moment in shame. However, when she thought about it, this wasn’t right.

nSo this situation is……

n‘You got caught talking about me behind my back!’

nOne thing is clear here.

nIt was not Dalia but Aceras who had to be cautious. So Dalia can be more confident in this situation.

n“I didn’t hear anything.”

nOf course, in this case she shouldn’t say that she listened to everything.

nEven nobles could not speak freely to Aceras, a servant under the direct control of the Emperor.

nOf course, with Dalia’s status, it can give her some leeway but it still was a little uncomfortable.

n

n

nAlthough she lied, for some reason Aceras didn’t seem to believe it.

nEven when she was with Cedric earlier, it seems like people can tell when she lied.

n“……I’m sorry. I’m late to introduce myself.”

nAt that time, Aceras bowed down for his greetings.

nDalia secretly looked at his round parting under his rich brown hair.

nLooking at how calm he is, it was unbelievable that he was just fighting hard until now.

n“I’m Aceras, His Majesty’s direct servant, Miss Dalia.”

n‘I know.’

nDalia thought so to herself. And she bowed her head awkwardly and received the greetings.

n‘Let’s be careful. There’s a black snake in there.’ (*t

/n: as in wicked

/black hearted)

n