“I’ll do it! I’ll do anything if it means I can live and if there’s a chance!”

Rondun smiled with satisfaction at the sight of Nine’s desperation as she chased after her greed.

‘In that case, I’ll use the Duchess for the final experiment. Once I secure the Prince and Empress, the experiment will be complete!’

“So hurry up and get me out of here!”

“No, no, the experiment isn’t finished yet. we’ll have pursuers on our tail If I whisk you away now. The experiment will be completed soon, so please be patient. The empress’s execution won’t be decided so quickly.”

“How can you expect me to stay here for even one more day?”

“Geez, just hang in there a little longer. I’ll finish this as quickly as I can.”

Clinging to the hope of escaping her current situation, Nine shouted urgently.

“If you need anything, I’ll do whatever it takes!”

“Alas, there is nothing the Empress can give me. What I really need is Duchess Judeheart.”

Hearing Rosalie’s name from Rondun’s mouth made Nine ground her teeth. That name filled her with deep, burning hatred.

“Why do you need her?”

“I’d love to explain, but there’s no time. Just know that she’s important! I’ll be back soon. Wait for me!”

As Rondun’s words echoed in her mind, Nine’s lips curled into a sneer. 

No matter what, someone would have to be sacrificed if the experiment were to succeed. Nine thought that it would be deeply satisfying and gratifying if that someone was Rosalie.

‘It seems the gods haven’t abandoned me after all!’

“I’ll come back to get you soon, so don’t tell anyone about this conversation.”

Nine reached out towards Rondun as he vanished from sight, her fingers brushing the iron bars as if he were a mirage.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

The next day, as planned, Rosalie entered the Empress’s palace with Venick. Despite Rosalie’s protests, Derivis, who was busy arresting nobles based on the evidence, had insisted that Venick stay with her.

“Your Grace, this way.”

Following Venick’s guidance, Rosalie headed to a room on the top floor of the palace, the most secluded one. The palace was so vast that the room appeared untouched by human hands at first glance. But in reality, it had been deliberately left that way under Nine’s orders.

Venick pulled aside the heavy curtains blocking the windows, flooding the room with light. As Rosalie looked around at the clean floor, she began to clear the table in the center of the room.

“Let me help.”

Seeing this, Venick stepped forward, and together they moved the chairs and table. Finally, Rosalie picked up the carpet covering the floor.

“Oh, it’ll stir up dust if you lift the carpet. I’ll open the windows.”

“Alright.”

As Venick started opening the windows around the room, Rosalie lifted the carpet. Surprisingly, little dust was stirred, revealing the wooden floor underneath.

‘As I thought…’

Just as expected, a magical circle appeared, and Rosalie reached out towards it.

“Your Grace!”

As soon as Rosalie touched the circle, it hummed and began to glow. Startled, she tried to pull back, but the explosion was faster.

Boom! Boom!

The blasts weren’t powerful, but two consecutive explosions sent Rosalie flying into a wall, where she was struck by falling furniture and lost consciousness.

“Duchess! Are you alright?”

Having been by the wall while opening the windows, Venick wasn’t thrown by the blast and only bumped into some flying furniture.

“My, my, you’ve been hurt~.”

“Who are you?! Keuk—!”

Venick grabbed at the strange glowing rope tightening around his neck, struggling in vain to free himself. Rondun, holding the unconscious Rosalie, smiled as he watched Venick gasp for air.

“I’d deal with you, but I’m afraid someone scary might come running if they hear the explosion, so I need to leave now.”

As soon as Rondun finished speaking, he and Rosalie vanished without a trace. Gasping for breath as he was freed from the strangling rope, Venick collapsed to the ground.

“Cough, cough… I must inform His Highness at once!”

Venick quickly got to his feet and ran out of the room, heading straight for Derivis.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

Rosalie awoke with a throbbing pain in her head. As she slowly opened her eyes, she glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings, trying to gather her thoughts.

‘The magic circle exploded, and I lost consciousness. Where am I now?’

She remained calm while assessing the situation. She was locked inside a cage, and the ring that summoned her dagger was gone. Though her feet were bare and she was disheveled, she was still wearing the clothes she’d had on before.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

“…Rondun.”

As Rosalie’s vision cleared, she recognized Rondun’s face and spat out his name with venom. Rondun then entered the cage and lifted her chin.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? I’m sorry. I stopped by the palace to make sure the magic circle would react to you. I didn’t expect that it would cause such an injury.”

Rosalie’s first instinct was to twist the arm that was gripping her chin, but her body refused to cooperate. Her limbs felt weak, betraying her intentions.

“Get your hands off me.” 

She growled, jerking her head away with a rough motion. Rondun responded by gripping her chin even tighter, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“You know, it would have been so much easier if you had just cooperated with my experiment from the start! You’re the most troublesome test subject I’ve ever encountered!”

“Ugh.” 

Rosalie spat in his face. However, Rondun didn’t lose his smile as he wiped the spit from his cheek and slowly stood up.

“I’ll let this slide since I can’t afford to hurt you right now, but don’t do it again!”

“Disgusting bastard.”

Despite her harsh words, Rondun pretended not to hear. Meanwhile, Rosalie still couldn’t understand why her body felt so weak.

‘Is it because of this bracelet?’

She glanced down at the thick, unfamiliar silver bracelet clasped around her wrist. It had to be some kind of magical item designed to drain her strength.

“I’d love to start the experiment right away, but the preparations aren’t quite finished yet. Let’s give it our all starting tomorrow, okay?”

With a wave, Rondun vanished, leaving Rosalie alone in the dimly lit room. She struggled desperately to remove the bracelet, but it wouldn’t budge and only scraped across her skin painfully. 

Realizing she couldn’t waste her energy, she decided to conserve her strength and wait for the right moment.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

Two days had passed since Rosalie disappeared from the palace. Walking in the deepest part of the palace garden, Derivis stopped in front of a large tree and spoke.

“Nathan.”

At his call, Nathan emerged from behind the tree. Normally, even he wouldn’t hide so deeply within the palace to avoid trouble, but at this point, nothing else mattered to him.

“Your Highness! You can’t just let outsiders in—!”

Venick, who was behind Derivis, shouted, his face pale at the sight of Nathan. However, Derivis’s cold gaze silenced him. Raising his voice at Derivis in this state was as good as signing his own death warrant.

“Devi. What are you going to do now?”

“The Empress knows that magician.”

“Are you planning to torture Her Majesty?”

Venick stepped in front of Derivis, blocking his path. No matter what, they couldn’t just torture an imperial family member; this went true especially for one whose guilt hadn’t been proven.

“Step aside.”

“But—!”

“Move, unless you want to be held responsible for failing to protect Rosalie.”

Venick immediately clamped his mouth shut. Then, he resolved to do whatever he could to stop Derivis.

“If the Emperor finds out about this…”

“Go ahead. Tell him.”

But Derivis remained unperturbed. It was clear he had no intention of backing down.

“Let him know that I can’t guarantee his or Nine’s safety if he sends knights to stop me.”

Leaving a frozen Venick behind, Derivis motioned for Nathan to follow him and headed toward the underground prison where Nine was being held.

“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince…!”

“There’s no need for formalities. Everyone, leave.”

Derivis’s command caused the knights guarding the prison to hesitate in confusion. After all, they had been ordered by Patrick to keep a close watch on Nine.

“Didn’t you hear me? Get out.”

“Y-yes, sir! We’ll leave at once!”

Unable to withstand Derivis’s icy demeanor, the knights hurriedly handed over the keys and rushed out of the prison. With the keys in hand, Derivis opened the cell where Nine was confined.

“Ha! Have you come to torture me?” 

Nine snarled as she looked at Derivis. In just a few days, she had become a mess—her hair was disheveled, and her skin was cracked and dry.

“Tell me where the magician is hiding while I’m still asking nicely.”

Derivis looked down at her as she sat on the cold floor.

“Hahaha! Rondun must have succeeded! To see the Crown Prince looking so desperate!”

Nine laughed maniacally, but the bloodthirsty aura emanating from Nathan who stood behind Derivis made her laughter falter. For the first time, she felt genuine fear.

“Do you really think I’ll tell you?”

‘This is my only bargaining chip! There’s no way I’ll give it up!’

Nine clamped her mouth shut even as her body trembled with fear.

“I’ll make sure you’ll want to tell me.”

Derivis summoned a sword to his hand. The blade gleamed in the dim light, as if eager to be stained with blood.

“His Majesty would never allow you to torture me!”

“He already knows.”

Derivis had already sent all the knights away and threatened Venick. The fact that no one had intervened indicated that Patrick was aware of the situation and had chosen to turn a blind eye. 

Nine, realizing this, shook her head in disbelief.

“Devi~ I’m better at torture than you are.”

Nathan’s sinister words heightened Nine’s terror, and she forced herself to remain calm.

‘This body is doomed anyway. I just need to hold on a little longer.’

Derivis blocked Nathan with his arm and stepped closer to Nine, one step at a time.

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