Chapter 9
“What, seriously?”
Sara’s eyes widened when she heard the news.
“She wasn’t even registered in the family registry?”
“Yeah. Look at this.”
Lellia held out a document. On the certificate, only the name ‘Lellia Sylvester’ was written — nothing else.
“It’s true… And all that time, he acted like your father…”
Sara bit her lip. No matter how you looked at it, it was too cruel.
She had joined the palace as a maid just to avoid being sold off to an old man and had sent all her earnings over the past six years to Baron White.
As payment for raising her, maybe, but in truth, it had been Lellia’s mother who raised her. She had tried to raise Lellia without touching any of Baron White’s money.
In other words, Baron White had done absolutely nothing for Lellia.
“All the money and time you spent… it’s such a waste.”
Sara fumed on Lellia’s behalf, but Lellia remained calm.
“I’m still young, so it’s not that much of a loss.”
She didn’t know how the real Lellia felt.
Still, Sara felt a heavy weight lift from her chest. She had always felt bad for Lellia being pushed around.
If things continued like this, then even if she met that man again after regaining her memory, she would remain strong. Sara felt certain of it.
“Now you can earn money for yourself. Congratulations, Lellia.”
Lellia smiled at Sara’s heartfelt congratulations.
“Thank you.”
Now the only thing that mattered to Lellia was finding a way to escape the imperial palace.
But seeing Lellia’s eerie smile again, Sara’s face filled with worry.
Her kind-hearted but slightly dim friend was definitely thinking about doing something reckless again.
“Another letter from Baron White?”
“Yeah.”
Without hesitation, Lellia tore the letter without reading it and threw it in the trash.
It had already been over a month of constant letters. The two men who had been living off Lellia’s income were now in trouble with the money gone.
“Gambling ruins people.”
Sara clicked her tongue in disapproval.
When Baron White had first married Lellia’s birth mother, the household wasn’t drowning in debt.
He had gambled moderately.
But the turning point was Camilla’s death. After that, Baron White plunged into gambling and a life of indulgence.
What could his son Storm possibly learn under such a father?
He followed in the same footsteps, and Lellia had barely held their crumbling household together.
Sara grasped Lellia’s shoulders firmly and gave her a stern warning.
“Don’t you dare go soft. They never did anything for you. Don’t forget, they even tried to sell you.”
“I won’t. Don’t worry.”
She didn’t even feel any affection for them. After all, she wasn’t the real Lellia.
“Take a knight with you when you go out. At least Sir Cedric.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Do you know how scary people who are obsessed with money can be? The baron is probably waiting for you to come out with his eyes wide open.”
As Sara predicted, Baron White and Storm had been taking turns guarding the palace gates. All in an effort to trap Lellia once again.
Baron White deeply regretted not registering Lellia in the family registry, but it was too late. Lellia felt a deep sense of relief about that.
While their emotions clashed, Lellia had spent the past month searching for an escape route — even a dog hole — but to no avail.
“By the way, hasn’t Her Majesty the Empress been unusually quiet lately? Even His Majesty hasn’t visited her much.”
“Well, she’s probably running away…”
Then Lellia cut herself off mid-sentence.
The Empress had indeed been quiet lately. That meant she was preparing to flee the palace. There was no time to be looking for a dog hole now.
‘Wait a second. What if I escape during the chaos when the Empress runs away…?’
But Lellia shook her head.
If she didn’t find a secure escape route beforehand, she’d likely get caught amid the chaos. Especially after the Empress escapes, the entire Empress’s Palace would be in upheaval. All the palace staff would surely be detained.
They wouldn’t be killed immediately — only once the Emperor, unable to control his temper over failing to find the Empress, gave the order.
‘So escaping in that moment of confusion is too risky. I’d get caught before getting far.’
Lellia felt like disappearing into thin air as the situation grew more and more complicated.
“Your Majesty the Empress!”
Flinch.
Diana turned around at the sudden voice. Seeing Lellia running at her with blazing eyes, she straightened herself in surprise.
“What is it, this late at night?”
“Y-Your… Y-Your…”
Lellia was panting so heavily from running that she couldn’t even speak. Worried she might pass out, Diana instinctively patted her back.
“Y-Your…”
“Catch your breath first.”
“T-Thank…”
“No need for thanks…”
Still coughing, Lellia finally exhaled deeply and looked at Diana with a face that seemed to be coming back to life.
“Are you out for a walk?”
Diana nodded a little awkwardly.
“Yes. I enjoy evening walks…”
A lie.
Lellia instantly realized the Empress was lying. In the novel, the Empress didn’t like nighttime walks, especially in the summer when bugs were rampant.
And now, during the season when moths swarm around lights, she was taking a stroll?
‘She’s looking for a chance to escape!’
Lellia’s eyes sparkled with realization. The intensity of her stare made Diana subtly avert her gaze.
‘I’ll pretend to help her look… and escape first.’
Lellia grinned slyly. Diana unconsciously took a step back. It was nice to see her so lively, but she looked a little mentally unwell.
“Lellia, are you alright?”
“Of course. But it’s dangerous to go out without an attendant, so I’ll accompany you.”
“…Very well.”
What Lellia didn’t know was that, unlike the novel, Diana did actually enjoy night walks.
She wasn’t looking for a chance to escape — her escape plan was already set. She would switch places with her brother and sneak out under the pretense of leaving the palace.
Preparations were nearly complete, and before leaving, Diana was simply taking one last stroll around the Empress’s Palace.
In other words, Lellia was unnecessarily involving herself in something she didn’t need to.
“You want it to look like we’ve cut ties?”
“Yes. That way, no one will suspect anything when I don’t come here for two months.”
He had been coming too often lately. If he suddenly stopped, it would be suspicious. Especially the Emperor, who had been closely watching their movements whenever Banteon entered the palace.
It was obvious that knights had been planted all around. Though Banteon had spread his aura wide to keep them at bay, it was still bothersome.
“What happens to the duchy if you’re not there?”
“I’ve already handled it. Just worry about your part. I left documents, a map, and escape funds in the second drawer. Use them, and you won’t be tracked.”
Diana didn’t even bother asking when he had snuck into her room. It was entirely like Banteon to do so.
“The operation starts in fifteen days.”
“The artifact?”
“Sigh…”
Banteon raked his fingers through his hair, clearly annoyed.
“What about giving it to Anse? He could disguise himself as you.”
Anse was the commander of the First Knight Order of the Archduke of Actillus. He was also a skilled knight who, like Banteon, could easily enter and leave the palace undetected.
Diana lowered her voice, glancing around.
“Do you think appearance-altering magic is easy? You know it only works because you and I resemble each other.”
It was true. You could change your eye and hair color, but not your facial features.
Appearance-altering magic was a form of illusion magic. But even that only worked effectively on blood relatives.
If used by someone who wasn’t family, the altered face would appear grotesque and distorted. But with blood ties, shared features made the magic more convincing.
In short, only Banteon could convincingly take Diana’s appearance. Changing body shape or height was relatively simple.
However, the artifact took significant time and money to create — and if used incorrectly, could permanently distort one’s real face. It was a forbidden magic in the Empire.
But Banteon didn’t care about such things. He only regretted that it had taken so long, delaying the plan. He didn’t mind the enormous cost.
After all, under his command was a grand magician who was fiercely loyal to him.
Finally, Banteon sighed instead of snapping.
Watching his mood, Diana cautiously brought up another topic.
“After I escape… the palace servants…”
“I’ll make sure they’re not killed, so stop worrying about others.”
Banteon answered coldly, then gestured toward a striking platinum-blonde woman.
“That her?”
Lellia, who was far away under the shade of a tree, looked sleepy — but her hair shimmered under the sunlight.
Diana glanced at Lellia and smiled softly.
“She’s the one who helped me make up my mind.”
“The one who’s been following you around lately?”
Diana nodded awkwardly. Banteon clicked his tongue and frowned, displeased.
“She’s the closest to you lately, so if something seems off, she’ll notice it first.”
As he slowly tapped the table, Banteon spoke.
“Are you sure she hasn’t figured out your plan to run away?”
His gaze sharpened. Diana chuckled lowly and shook her head.
“She’s just a pure-hearted girl.”
“Hmph.”
Banteon studied Lellia closely.
She had a lovely face, though her slightly sullen expression didn’t quite match. Losing interest quickly, Banteon turned back to Diana.
“Do you really need to keep her around?”
Diana stared at him at the sudden comment.
“If you’re worried about being found out, just send her out of the palace.”
“Why are you acting like she needs to die?”
When Diana frowned, Banteon looked at her as if she were the crazy one.
“Get her resignation letter. What’s in your head?”
“….”
Normally, this kind of cold logic came from Banteon. But now that he was making her out to be the strange one, Diana was left dumbfounded.
