The first thing Brentian saw when he entered the Marquis's bedroom was Chloe sitting on the bed—and then collapsing.
"Your Highness!"
Startled by the unexpected turn of events, he instinctively ran toward her and shouted.
"Wake up...!"
At that moment, crimson letters materialized before his eyes.
Brentian knew that Chloe had told Callius she would secretly create a teleportation circle there. He'd heard that she promised to stop Kavala and revive Ronheim with it.
But what about Kavala's message—stating she would send magicians to that exact location to set up a moving magic circle?
Brentian's eyes rolled rapidly, as if calculating a thousand possibilities at once.
"They said a wizard would appear soon to set up a moving magic circle. Could it be that she was sent by Kavala? Was Chloe in league with her from the very beginning?"
From the start, everything had been a scheme to completely bring Ronheim into the Empire's hands.
No—to be precise, it was Kavala's scheme to obtain the power of the Holy Grail.
The witch wanted to achieve eternal youth through the Grail's power. That was why she had kept such a close eye on Ronheim all this time.
'Just for youth!'
As someone devoted to his kingdom, Brentian could not comprehend it at all.
How could anyone understand the base selfishness of destroying an entire kingdom and causing unspeakable suffering to its people—all for the sake of one's own youth? For immortality?
Brentian, who had been briefly fooled by Chloe's apparent actions for Ronheim and its people, could not contain the anger boiling inside him.
'How dare she tempt our King with such a scheme?'
Chloe's slender neck looked as though it could easily be broken with just three fingers.
Several people could attest that she had been gravely ill, unable to leave her bed for days. Even if she died like this, no one would suspect him.
Brentian's eyes, gazing down at the fallen and defenseless princess, were eerily sharp.
'Just one gesture.'
It was always best to nip the buds of misfortune quickly—before they could bloom into disaster.
Meanwhile, I writhed in a hazy state of consciousness.
'I have to explain to Viscount Brentian that everything was a misunderstanding.'
He was already suspicious of me. He must have seen the message Kavala sent.
I desperately tried to wake my mind, which was sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss of darkness.
It was painful—agonizing—but I felt that if I didn't force myself awake now, I would fall into a deep sleep and never wake again.
Beside me, in the darkness, was the illusion of Karl.
"Why are you struggling like this?"
"Viscount Brentian will try to drive me out. He won't listen to me."
"If this is not a place you can be, then leave, Chloe."
"I will not leave Ronheim."
"Why?"
"Because I fell in love with this place."
All I could feel were hot tears welling up in my eyes, without being able to see anything.
'I want to be in Ronheim. This is my place.'
Ronheim was the first place where I—someone who had drifted without resistance for so long—wanted to put down roots.
My place. Where I belong. A place where I felt happy just imagining my future rooted here.
Had I ever felt this sense of belonging before?
It was a feeling of fullness I had never experienced. If I left Ronheim, I would never feel something like this anywhere else.
If I left Ronheim, I would once again become a puppet of Kavala and Andrea—forced to live a life I didn't want to live.
I wondered if I had any hope if I could not escape their shadows even after running this far.
I desperately tried to claw my way out of the darkness.
But as I struggled, black shadows kept crawling up my ankles, pulling me down into the dark abyss.
Every time I lost strength, negative thoughts would surface in my head, one by one.
'I won't be able to adapt to the cold of Ronheim. I'm becoming increasingly unsure.'
The illusion of Karl gently stroked my hair. It was a sweet touch.
"It's okay to give up, Chloe."
It was a warmth I could not deny.
For a moment, I thought, "Could that be it?" at that ticklish touch.
My body felt like it weighed a ton. I was fighting against a drowsiness that felt like death itself.
But why was that?
The warm touch of Karl brought to mind the embrace of Kavala from my past.
The warmth that seeped into my longing heart without mercy.
In my past life, I wouldn't have been able to reject that warmth, no matter how false I knew it was. No matter who it came from.
But now I know.
Not all warm, loving touches are meant for me.
I learned that I shouldn't live my life intoxicated by the warmth others give me, chasing after it like a moth to flame.
I also learned that things that are truly for me are not only sweet—they can also be difficult and painful.
I gritted my teeth and shook off the illusion of Karl.
"I won't give up."
It's different from before.
"I won't give up easily. I won't give in. I won't let others dictate my life. I'll keep trying."
At that moment, it seemed like I could hear Lhasa's voice in my ear.
"Don't keep relying on empty promises. They may be sweet in the moment, but they're not beneficial. They'll only weaken you. You need to cut yourself off from the things that keep lingering around you."
'...!'
I looked at the illusion of Karl.
That wasn't the real Karl.
But beyond this welcome illusion, I remembered the existence of the real Karl.
Why do I wonder if the 'empty thing' that Lhasa spoke of might have been Karl?
It was confusing.
"No, of course not. You're my most precious person, aren't you?"
"Well then, Chloe. I will always be there to comfort you."
Karl's welcoming smile looked just like the real Karl's.
Even if you had said it was the real Karl, I would have believed it.
Karl was such a being.
But why? Why is Karl such a thing? When did it start? When did Karl become a natural part of my existence?
Why does Karl give me so much?
It felt like Karl lived only for me—to the point where he even came with me to Ronheim.
I didn't think it was strange before, but now I did.
As I looked at the illusion of Karl in confusion, it smiled and said:
"You decided so."
The smile was very friendly, but somehow it felt uncomfortable.
That's just an illusion of Karl. What's strange isn't Karl—it's the illusion.
Thinking like that, I tried to calm my confused mind.
Then, with difficulty, I turned away from the outstretched hand of Karl and turned my back on him.
Although the pain—too much to bear alone—was weighing on my body, I did not rely on the illusion of Karl.
'I have to wake up.'
The illusion of Karl called out to me from behind, but I didn't answer. I just flailed my arms and legs as if I were trying to swim out of deep water.
"Don't let death consume you."
Lhasa's voice became my guide.
'Wake up, Chloe. Get a grip, Chloe...!'
It was best to nip the buds of misfortune quickly.
But Brentian couldn't bring himself to harm Chloe, who had fallen unconscious.
He weakly lowered the hand he had been holding near Chloe's neck.
'My heart feels like a chimney about to collapse.'
He didn't have the confidence to do something that would incur Callius's wrath.
He wanted to protect Ronheim and live on this land—which had finally become peaceful again—until the day he died. He was not willing to make the enormous sacrifice of being driven out of Ronheim by provoking Callius's fury.
Even to prevent Kavala's schemes, he could not do something as foolish as burning down the house to catch a flea.
'First, it would be best to report this to Callius.'
The priority was to report to Callius that Chloe and Kavala were secretly communicating—and that Kavala was attempting to set up a teleportation circle where the gold mine was located.
Brentian knew his place.
'Acting unilaterally now would be nothing more than an abuse of authority against Callius.'
Before they were friends, the two were King and subject.
Brentian did not forget that fact.
It was just as he turned his back—preparing to tell the others that Chloe had collapsed and to take action—when a faint voice reached his ears.
"I won't... leave... Ronheim."
"...?"
Brentian turned around in surprise at the sudden sound.
Chloe's eyelids were fluttering.
"Your Highness, are you awake? Your Highness!"
No matter how much he called her, she wouldn't wake easily. She gasped and moved her lips as if trapped in a nightmare.
Brentian tried to shake Chloe awake, but stopped when he heard her mumbling.
"Because I... have come to love... this place."
Tears flowed from her closed eyes.
"I want to be in Ronheim. This is my... place."
Brentian's gaze wavered violently.
Even in the depths of unconsciousness, her heart spoke the truth.
But would it be enough to save her from suspicion?
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