Chapter 8
The guards’ loud voices echoed as they saluted. Assad returned to his chair and sat down. Dressed completely in black, he looked even more like a grim reaper. Shuri stood firmly beside him.
“So, do you feel like telling me now how you knew about the heavy rain?”
Mia moved her lips, then spoke as if she had made up her mind.
“I’ll tell you… if you send everyone else out.”
One of Assad’s eyebrows rose with interest. He tilted his head slightly, and the guards left the room. Mia then looked at Shuri, who was still standing beside Assad.
Shuri pointed at himself.
“…Me? You want me to leave too?”
Assad turned his head toward Shuri. It was a silent order.
“No, Your Grace! Who knows what she might do—”
“Do you think I can’t handle one woman tied with a rope?”
“She’s not just any woman! She climbed down a stone tower in that rain with her bare body!”
“Shuri.”
At Assad’s warning tone, Shuri frowned and walked out. Even as he left, he didn’t forget to glare at Mia.
“If you hurt His Grace again, you’ll regret being alive. Remember that.”
After Shuri left, only the two of them remained. Facing the man she had once liked in a book felt strange. Mia shook her head. Before she got distracted again, she needed to take a risk.
This time, her weapon was honesty.
“The reason I knew about the heavy rain… is because this place is inside a novel called The Moon That Reflects Your Face.”
Assad said nothing.
Did it… work?
Mia felt a small sense of hope. Then he slowly spoke.
“So… you really are an idiot.”
Mia closed her eyes tightly and held back her anger.
You idiot Grand Duke! It’s true!
She wanted to shout everything in her mind, but she held back. Her life depended on it.
“I’m not an idiot. This place is inside a novel, and I came from another world. As proof…”
His calm eyes stared straight at her.
“I’ll tell you the name of the person you love deeply… and hate just as much.”
She remembered this clearly from the original story.
“I’ll kill you.”
The moment Assad said that, Mia felt something was wrong. His eyes were filled with intense anger.
“Your mother.”
With just those words, his cold attitude completely changed.
Assad stood up and grabbed her neck tightly.
“Ghk—!”
His mother’s death was clearly still a deep wound for him. But Mia couldn’t stop now. This was her only proof.
“What do you know… to speak about that so carelessly?”
Even while struggling to breathe, Mia looked at him.
“During the rebellion led by the former Grand Duke Ulliel… your mother killed your father and then stabbed herself in the neck.”
His black eyes shook.
“To make her young son… not the child of a traitor… but a hero who stopped one.”
His grip tightened.
“B-because… she truly loved you…”
Assad suddenly let go.
Mia gasped for air. He turned away, so she couldn’t see his face.
For a moment, it felt like his shoulders were trembling. His tall figure looked like a lonely boy who needed comfort.
After a while, he turned back. His face was calm again.
“You… whose spy are you? Did that rat Junpei Masabiel tell you this?”
“I’m not a spy. Even if you deny it, it’s the truth.”
“Then prove it.”
He leaned closer, threatening her. This time, Mia didn’t back down.
“I already told you about the past, but you don’t believe me.”
“Then talk about the future. If you’re really from another world, you should know it.”
Mia bit her lip. Her neck still hurt.
“If you heard our conversation, your life depends on this.”
His words made her feel a chill.
She quickly tried to remember the story.
In the original novel, Mia became Assad’s secretary, which led to Valentina meeting the Crown Prince. Later, at the debutante ball…
Wait. The Crown Prince’s mistress.
“Is the Crown Prince’s mistress Kisha Astrid right now?”
Assad nodded slightly, still suspicious.
Hope appeared on Mia’s face.
“This year’s debutante ball will be held two months earlier! And Kisha Astrid will organize it!”
Assad shook his head.
“That’s impossible. The debutante ball is the responsibility of the imperial family. It wouldn’t be given to a mistress.”
“It’s because of the rain.”
Mia quickly continued.
“The damage from the rain will make people unhappy. So they’ll hold a grand event to distract them and encourage spending.”
“That makes some sense… but still, giving it to a mistress? The late Empress would never allow it.”
“You’ll see.”
Their eyes met.
After a moment, Assad spoke.
“Fine. I’ll wait one month. Shuri!”
Shuri entered, still looking annoyed.
“Lock her up and watch her carefully. And you, Mia Lisitsa—pray that your head is still on your shoulders in one month.”
Mia replied boldly.
“If what I said turns out to be true, you’ll have to treat me differently.”
Shuri looked at her like she was crazy. But Mia didn’t waver.
“I know a way for everyone to be happy without bloodshed. You don’t want your people to die, do you?”
Assad stared at her.
“…Take her away.”
The guards dragged Mia out. Assad kept watching her as he spoke to Shuri.
“Investigate Mia Lisitsa. Check if she’s been acting strange. Bring me everything.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Junpei Masabiel, the “rat,” looked like a sharp and impatient man.
He was walking in the courtyard of the Masabiel mansion, filled with foreign plants. Red wooden walls surrounded the area, and a deep pond sat in the center.
He was not alone.
“The Grand Duke Ulliel shows no sign of leaving the capital.”
“I didn’t expect a simple threat letter to scare him. We’ll need another way.”
“Yes. As you said, the blame for the threat has fallen on a woman named Mia Lisitsa. She’s locked in the tower.”
“Good. Using her handwriting was a smart move.”
Junpei tossed corn kernels into the pond. Colorful fish jumped up to eat them.
“There’s more interesting news.”
The shadowed figure stepped closer.
“The Grand Duke received a second threat letter.”
Junpei frowned.
“What? I didn’t send a second one.”
“The handwriting is exactly the same.”
“Then who wrote it? The expert I hired is under watch.”
The figure stayed silent.
Junpei narrowed his eyes.
“So… you have someone in mind.”
