CHAPTER 54……….
‘At this rate, we’ll all burn to death.’
She chased after Noah to stop him. But because of the flames, getting close wasn’t easy—she had to move around toward the corner.
Just then, as she hurried her steps—
Crash!
She accidentally knocked over a porcelain vase with her shoulder, shattering it.
That was when Noah turned his head to look at Linaria.
‘No… he’s not looking at me.’
His unfocused gaze lingered as he slowly approached. Standing protectively behind her, Kaas kept watch.
“Broken things should be thrown away. They’re useless.”
Noah muttered as he looked down at the shattered porcelain. At the same time, the flames roared more violently, and Linaria’s cheeks flushed hot from the heat.
“Liri. Give the order.”
Kaas was on the verge of drawing his blade. Linaria quickly shook her head.
‘We can’t kill Duke Ignas.’
And right now, Duke Ignas didn’t seem to be in his right mind. This wasn’t a situation where they could simply eliminate the opponent.
“I’m sorry. I was the one who broke the vase. It was my mistake, so I’ll find a way to fix it.”
For now, she pretended to be a maid and spoke up.
By blocking Noah’s path, she could at least keep the fire from spreading further.
“It’s a waste of time. Even if you fix it, it’ll just be a damaged product. That’s trash.”
The harsher Noah’s words became, the fiercer the flames grew. Linaria tried her best to speak calmly.
“No, it’s not some defective product.”
“……”
“So please, leave it to me.”
Noah still looked dazed. It didn’t seem like he was really listening.
“Oh, my name is Anna. I heard you were looking for me a few days ago.”
Outside, the festival was in full swing—people’s voices and songs filled the air.
But around Noah, it was as though walls had risen up; the sounds barely reached him.
Only the name Anna rang clearly.
In that strange silence, the boy spoke.
“You are…”
His eyes, reflecting the blazing fire, glowed red.
“…so it’s you.”
His words slurred.
But when Linaria, having read his lips, froze—
Thud.
Noah suddenly collapsed.
At once, the fire that had raged as if to consume the world vanished like a mirage, leaving only black ash behind.
Linaria could only look down at the fallen Noah with trembling eyes.
Time.
He had definitely looked at her and said “time.”
‘In the end, I couldn’t deliver Auguste’s words. But more important than that is Duke Ignas.’
After moving the collapsed Noah to his room and sneaking back home, Linaria’s mind was in turmoil.
Her anxiety in particular grew heavier.
‘He definitely looked at me and said “time.”’
She had no idea how he noticed.
But if he really knew about her contract with the Divine Beast of Time…
‘He might try to kill me.’
After all, it could be the only way to undo his parents’ deaths.
If there was any small mercy, it was that he believed she was Anna, a maid from Brimstone, and not the noble daughter of Obel.
‘The letter I sent to the Tower Master went unanswered, and even Brimstone, the Divine Beast, doesn’t seem likely to give me a clear answer.’
After all that effort to infiltrate, all Linaria had to show for it was the porcelain shard she had taken by accident.
“Ah.”
A stifled groan slipped out, breaking her thoughts. The culprit was Kaas.
“It’s fine. Go on.”
Kaas was applying a poultice to her arm. She had gotten a mild burn when she tried to approach Noah.
Because sneaking into House Ignas was a secret, she couldn’t show this wound to “Anna” either.
“All done.”
The poultice was stuck on crookedly, not neat at all.
Smiling, Linaria told a small lie.
“You put it on nice and neat. Come to think of it, is your wound alright? You hurt your arm last time, remember?”
The wound he had drawn himself and pretended about was something even he had long forgotten.
“It still hurts a little…”
But he kept up the pretense.
Startled, Linaria immediately rolled up his sleeve. Without even a bandage anymore, the scar was clearly visible.
“It looks mostly healed, but it still hurts?”
“Yeah.”
The wound had nearly closed—there was no way it still hurt. But this was Kaas.
A man who had endured pain worse than death.
If even Kaas said it hurt, then surely it must.
Linaria had no reason to doubt him.
“Do you want to rest today instead of studying?”
Everyone in the manor believed they were alone for Kaas’s lessons.
Realizing she was trying to send him away, Kaas quickly shook his head.
“Being like this makes it hurt less.”
“Because your arm’s unwrapped?”
“No, more like…”
Kaas pulled Linaria closer to him. Sitting side by side on the sofa, she ended up almost leaning against him because of their size difference.
“It hurts less this way.”
That being close together could lessen pain—
This wasn’t even folk medicine.
Linaria was about to protest, but before she could, Kaas opened the book he’d brought.
And began to read aloud.
“In the beginning, there was light.”
Today’s text was for Kaas, who lacked basic knowledge.
Seeing his focus, Linaria eventually gave up and quietly leaned into him.
“In the world filled with light, its shadow followed, and earth, wind, water, and fire were born in turn. And nature came to us in the form of animals, called ‘Divine Beasts.’”
Those who received direct blessings from a Divine Beast could borrow its power.
Thus were born the first contractors—the first emperor and dukes.
“We believe without doubt that this is the love of the gods.”
The power granted by the Divine Beasts was love itself.
The royals and ducal houses, direct descendants, were those most blessed by this love.
From birth to death, the contractor’s seal was carved into their bodies.
So people believed it to be an unchanging love, stronger than even that of parents or lovers.
“All done reading?”
It seemed like it had taken him twice as long as usual.
Though there were no pages left, Kaas didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he slowly closed the book, reluctance in every motion.
‘If he normally liked studying this much, I would’ve at least pretended to believe it.’
Linaria now realized his “pain” was just an act.
It had been a ruse.
“Well done.”
Instead of scolding him, Linaria lifted her head slightly.
Because they were so close, it was easy to press a kiss against his cheek.
“……”
Kaas froze instantly.
At the same time, Linaria felt his grip around her loosen.
She easily slipped free and stood.
“Kaas?”
She looked back at him, still frozen as though broken, and smiled faintly.
That was when—
Knock knock.
With the knock came unwelcome news.
“My lady, someone has come from the Imperial Palace.”
“From the palace?”
She frowned instinctively.
As expected, the sudden visitor from the palace brought unpleasant words.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has sent gifts.”
Servants entered in a line, laying out flowers, dresses, shoes.
And at last, they handed over a splendid tiara adorned with aquamarine.
“Isn’t this Her Majesty the Empress’s tiara?”
“You recognize it. His Highness said Her Majesty graciously agreed to part with it, so you needn’t worry too much.”
It was the tiara the late emperor had gifted the crown princess before ascending the throne.
The late empress had passed it to her son, and the current emperor had given it to his own empress, just as his father had.
Twice over, it had become tradition—
The Imperial Tiara, symbolically given by the crown prince to his bride.
“Tell him I don’t like sudden gifts and return it.”
“His Highness said you must dispose of it yourself. Should you refuse, he might think you hold the Imperial Family in contempt.”
Which could only mean—if she returned the gift again, they could accuse her of treason. It was a threat.
The attendant left after relaying the message, leaving behind a mountain of gifts.
“……Rumors will spread.”
“Rumors?”
“Anna, if an unmarried woman receives the traditional bridal tiara of the Imperial House, what do you think people will assume?”
“That he’s proposing marriage to me… Oh.”
Anna’s face went pale.
“But the engagement was called off!”
“Seems he doesn’t want to accept that. No matter my will, the scariest thing in society is rumor.”
As it stood, gossip would soon spread that she was betrothed to the crown prince.
Maximilian clearly intended to spread a convincing lie first—and then turn it into reality.
To Linaria, the beautiful tiara looked like nothing more than an expensive shackle.
“Liri, what is going on?”
“Father.”
Hearing the commotion, Dante came down.
After she explained the situation, his expression turned grave.
“I made it clear to His Majesty, but it seems something was miscommunicated. I’ll request an audience again.”
“No, Father, you don’t need to. Whatever the Crown Prince feels, it’s clear Her Majesty the Empress supports this marriage, so this must be her will.”
“Her Majesty? How do you know that?”
“When I met her at the dressmaker’s last time, she said she was fond of me because she and Mother were close friends.”
“……”
“But I refused the proposal.”
“I see.”
Dante looked deeply troubled.
“Father, what if rumors spread that I’m an unchaste woman?”
“Then we’ll deal with whoever started them.”
He didn’t get angry.
As always, his tone was calm and rational.
“And we’ll make sure they can never spread such rumors again. Once others see that, no one else will dare spread lies.”
“…But what if I really am unchaste?”
“Whether it’s true or false, speaking ill of others is wrong.”
“That’s true.”
It somehow felt like a cruel answer—but strangely, it was convincing.
