I had assumed Daisy and Jelly shared some kind of history—that she would turn out to be a supporting character, perhaps an assistant or best friend to the main heroine. But judging by Kanna's troubled reaction, I was wrong.
That left only one possibility.
Since I had entered Evangeline's body and transformed this story into a romance about a villainess—and since the original heroine, Kanna, now doted on me and showed no interest in interfering with my love affairs—they must have added a *secondary villain*. An obstacle on the path to love. A complication to make the story more dramatic.
Now everything fell into place.
I had been wondering where this mysterious girl with a dark past had come from. Besides, Daisy was a nun now, which meant she would likely become a saint one day. A saint and a villain? The *perfect* dramatic pairing!
This meant Daisy would constantly appear before Gabriel and Jelly, scheming to sabotage my relationships with them.
Honestly, I wanted to say, *"Please, love each other to your heart's content!"* But Evangeline was a villain. And in romance novels, a villain who never experiences love is doomed to suffer. So forgive me, Gabriel—I'm not toying with your heart willingly.
"Please, have a seat."
Gabriel, blissfully unaware of his fate, pulled out a chair for me with practiced gallantry.
"I instructed Yuriel to escort you," he said, his brow furrowing slightly. "Why did you arrive with Rafaella? Where is he?"
"Yuriel's in the infirmary," Rafaella replied. "He's unharmed—it's Michel who got injured."
"Michel?"
"It's... a long story."
Rafaella launched into an explanation of everything that had transpired. How they had encountered Yuriel and me while escorting Daisy to the gates. How they had heard screams and rushed toward the commotion. How they had arrived to find the painting already engulfed in flames.
After listening in silence, Gabriel's frown deepened.
"The painting burned..."
"Yes. Completely. The cause of the fire remains unknown. We'll need to question everyone who was present."
Rafaella shrugged. What *had* caused the blaze? The painting couldn't have ignited on its own—someone present must have set it alight. But would the culprit confess? They would likely deny it to the bitter end.
Still, even without a confession, the truth would surface eventually. There were too many witnesses.
"Lady Lohanson," Gabriel turned to me. "Do you have any theories?"
I hesitated. What if they accused me of slandering people? But the painting *couldn't* have caught fire spontaneously. Someone had deliberately set it ablaze.
Honestly, I was most suspicious of Rafaella and Michel. I had arrived later and found Michel already burning.
"I don't know," I answered evasively.
Gabriel didn't press further.
Rafaella continued her account. How Michel—who had been locked in a room for his own protection—had somehow appeared in the gallery and thrown himself into the flames. How I had extinguished the fire using holy water.
_What?!_
Michel had *deliberately* hurled himself into the inferno? Was he insane?! *Why?!*
Now I understood why everyone had simply stood there watching. They weren't callous—they were *stunned*.
Gabriel, hearing of such recklessness, didn't so much as blink. A true romance novel hero: cold and composed with everyone except his beloved. Ah, if only he had been born in the frozen north, he would be absolutely perfect.
"Thank you for saving Michel," Gabriel said, inclining his head.
*Now* he looked like a proper noble knight who cared about his subordinates.
I exhaled with relief. I hadn't saved Michel out of noble intentions, of course, but it was still gratifying to earn some points in Gabriel's eyes. Perhaps it would help offset Evangeline's past misdeeds.
"It's fortunate that Bishop Javaniya arrived in time," Gabriel added.
"Do you truly think so...?"
"The bishop shares our perspective on certain matters."
"True. At least he'll help suppress any... complications."
_Now that's what I call a hero!_
Gabriel, without even being present at the scene, had understood exactly how events would unfold based solely on Rafaella's account. The tedious old bishop disliked Donau's paintings and would help keep things quiet. There would be controversy, certainly, but since the painting had burned, everything would be much simpler to manage.
"Our investigations have also yielded useful results," Gabriel continued.
Apparently, he wanted to demonstrate that he hadn't been sitting idle—that he had been working to protect me. Excellent. Time to turn on the charm.
"Really?" I tilted my head with what I hoped was endearing curiosity. "And what did you discover?"
_Is that enough?_ I couldn't suddenly transform into a sweet, sunny heroine and squeal, *"Wow, you went to such lengths for me! I'm so touched!"* But a single phrase wasn't sufficient. I needed to add something more.
"You summoned me here because a witness appeared, didn't you?"
That's right—Daisy had just given testimony. And, of course, she hadn't merely *testified*. She had undoubtedly gossiped about me as well.
Wait... What if...
"And what exactly did she tell you?"
"Commander!"
Rafaella, ever vigilant, recognized that her superior had stumbled into a romantic snare and attempted to intervene. I silenced her with a sharp glare. She fell immediately quiet.
"I asked *you*," Gabriel said, his gaze fixed on me.
I met his piercing blue eyes. They reminded me of a distant planet—one without a speck of land, only endless expanses of sea and sky. And it felt as though I was the first person to desecrate that pristine world with my footprints.
"Daisy told you about me," I insisted.
Gabriel didn't look away. Neither did I, too busy admiring his beauty to back down.
_Gods, I nearly lost my composure!_
He really was stunningly handsome. Jelly was attractive too, but Gabriel outshone him completely.
"Most likely, she was indeed speaking about you," Gabriel said evenly.
"So she *was* discussing me."
"I don't know. I haven't heard anything of concern."
He was *lying*! Daisy had admitted it herself!
Seeing my obvious disbelief, Gabriel reached across the desk and handed me a sheaf of papers.
"The witness's testimony."
It appeared to be an official document containing Daisy's full account. The first page described some monastery.
Apparently, the abbess of this monastery had used the same magic circle depicted in the painting to summon something sinister and gain power—power she then wielded for evil purposes.
_What?!_
_What has my magic circle come to?!_
She had actually managed to summon a creature! *Who* had she summoned? Donau had called forth a fire elemental; perhaps she had something similar?
_Why don't **I** have an elemental?!_ It was completely unfair! She committed atrocities with a summoned creature, and I... well, I wouldn't do that, but still...
_I don't want a werewolf! I want a cute little elemental!_
And how did she know the summoning method? Why didn't *I* know anything about this?!
Wait... What if the fire in the gallery was connected to her? That abbess must have wanted the magic circle for herself! She possessed a fire elemental—she could have started the blaze from a distance!
_That scheming witch... she's exploiting my magic circle... or rather, my mother's circle._
"I would like to meet this abbess," I declared with sudden determination.
I would find her and *shake the soul out of her*!
But wait—that wasn't important right now. I had nearly forgotten my original goal, distracted by thoughts of elementals.
I turned the page. There should be information about me now.
*Evangeline Lohanson...*
At that moment, everything swam before my eyes.
The letters blurred, shattered into tiny fragments, and jumbled together, transforming into an unreadable mess.
_Seriously?!_
The translator had broken at the *worst possible moment*!
> □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□.
>
> □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□.
_What is this?! Why am I illiterate again?!_
"I didn't hear anything concerning," Gabriel said with an air of quiet importance.
He didn't know my translator had malfunctioned. Perhaps he genuinely hadn't read anything damaging? I had seen my name clearly... Maybe there was nothing significant there?
No—that couldn't be right! Daisy had definitely said *something*!
That left two possibilities: either Daisy had downplayed my crimes, or Gabriel was so blinded by his love for the villain that he had become incapable of rational thought.
"You may keep this," Gabriel said, gesturing toward the document.
_So it's the latter..._
His words made me shudder. I had been calculating how I might reread the testimony once my translator started working again—and it was as though he had read my mind!
*This* was what it meant to be the hero of a romance novel.
I smiled with genuine satisfaction and, tearing the relevant page into careful shreds, handed the pieces to Kanna. The girl, who had been staring intently at the paper until then, reluctantly tucked the scraps into her pocket.
_Why was she looking at them like that?_
Could it be that Kanna couldn't read either?
I had assumed the main character would be literate by default... Although, this world was cruel, and the heroine was meant to suffer. Perhaps illiteracy was simply part of her trials.
It seemed I needed to learn to read as well. When we returned home, I would begin studying immediately.
"Are you satisfied?" Gabriel asked.
_Absolutely!_
I would have been devastated if he had kept the document for himself. Now I could examine it properly once the translator was repaired.
"Quite," I replied.
"I invited you here precisely to show you this." His voice was earnest, his gaze steady. "I told you I wished to help you."
Was he trying to emphasize that he had no intention of concealing anything from me?
I had planned to manipulate *him*, and instead, *he* was manipulating *me*! How eloquent he was! I admired his romance novel hero skills once again.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
*Knock-knock.*
"Enter."
"Commander," said the knight who stepped inside, "Bishop Javaniya has conveyed a message. He wishes you to know that Lady Lohanson's holy water has been delivered to her bodyguard. Additionally, he requests an audience with you."
"Very well. I'll be there shortly."
"Yes, sir."
So Jelly had completed his task. I hoped he had counted everything correctly. I would need to verify the quantity later.
Well then—was it time to return home?