Kavala received a message from Sernia, whom he had completely forgotten.
Red letters flying in the shape of birds landed in order on Kavala's desk, forming sentences.
“I guess you managed to survive.”
She even received a report that Sernia was locked up in the prison in Ronheim.
She thought she would have already died there, but she seemed to be still alive.
[It appears the knight you recruited has failed his mission. I've heard rumors that the wizards were found frozen to death in the blizzard.]
The sentence did not end there and continued on.
What should I do now? Please let me know how my brother is doing.
The message ended like that.
Kavala scoffed.
"Waste my precious blood on such useless talk. You idiot."
The blood given to Sernia was limited, and once it was all used up, her needs would end.
This would be the last message Sernia could send, since she hadn't donated much blood.
Sernia was once again completely erased from Kavala's mind.
“The wizards froze to death...”
What happened?
They weren't the kind of people who would die so meaninglessly.
“Something is wrong. Something is...”
Kavala doesn't know what happened, but even without Sernia's message, something was definitely wrong.
According to the plan, the Dnieper should have invaded Ronheim by now, but they were still unable to move from Elbern County.
Unable to contain her anger and impatience at the failure of her plans, Kavala bit her fingernails until they broke.
"Aack!"
Startled by her short scream, a maid who had been outside the door came rushing in.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
Kavala, already on edge, threw the ink bottle on the desk at the maid who had opened the door and entered without his permission.
“Who dares to come into my space without permission! Get out!”
“Ah!”
The maid was hit on the head with an ink bottle, defenseless, and ran away in fear.
Left alone in her office again, Kavala, unable to contain her anger, threw things here and there.
"You damn Ronheim! Nothing ever goes my way!"
Thinking of Ronheim was like a thorn in her hand, driving her crazy.
If not for the Holy Grail, that insignificant territory was too far from the shadow of the Imperial Palace.
For that reason, they were marginalized, but for the same reason, they were also threatened.
"Why do I have to worry so much about pushing away that one little piece of land! Aaah!"
The maid who came out of Kavala's office cried in hiding, wiping the blood flowing from her head.
Her hands were trembling with fear.
Her trembling hands bore the ugly scars of her having trampled on the shards of the mirror Kavala had broken some time ago.
'How many times has this happened already?'
Not only her hands, but also her head and all over her body were lacerated and bruised by objects thrown by Kavala.
The maid Liena bit her lip with a tired expression and swallowed her tears.
'I can't do it at all.'
Just looking at the shadow of Kavala made her heart pound, and she felt breathless.
Although Kavala had often been irritating in the past, she never lost her elegance.
But lately, Kavala has been a monster itself.
She was always angry and on edge, so she had to be careful about even her breathing.
A sob escaped between her parted lips.
“Ugh...”
She really can't do it anymore.
When Kavala chose her as a maid, even though she was the daughter of a fallen noble family, and restored her father's title, she swore to be loyal to Kavala for the rest of her life.
But she gradually lost confidence in keeping that promise.
'I can't do it...'
If she told her father that she wanted to quit being a maid, he wouldn't forgive her.
Maybe she'll die at her father's hands.
But she felt like she was going to die anyway, whether it was from Kavala or her heart bursting from the pressure and fear.
If she was going to die this way or that way, she wanted to run away.
If only she could.
If she just had the courage.
However, Liena, who was ready to run out of the palace at any moment, tidied up her appearance and headed back to Kavala when the blood stopped flowing from the wound on her head.
Her hands were still shaking, but she still didn't dare to put her thoughts into action.
“This is incredible.”
Count Elbern sighed in despair as he watched Andrea and her group and the army retreat.
The Count had not received any promises from Andrea, who had left in a hurry, leaving only the words that things had gone wrong and that he would disband the army and return to the palace.
"Ha!"
This winter, it seemed like it would be particularly cold in the Elbern County.
Ever since I heard from Luca about the Black Magician Training Academy, I've been sighing deeply several times a day without even realizing it.
Andrea was an illegitimate child, not a single drop of royal blood, and Kavala was said to be conducting vivisections on young women. It was absurd.
“It’s more horrible than I thought.”
The more I dug into the two people, the more shocking stories I found.
They were people who deserved to fall.
I realized that this revenge was not just for myself.
“I must succeed.”
My mind was filled with thoughts of revenge.
Granada, who couldn't stand to see me spend the whole day lost in thought with such a serious expression, spoke with a stern face.
"You'd better get some fresh air. The sun is shining brightly today, so don't even think about coming back to your room until lunchtime. Instead, go for a walk somewhere sunny."
I reluctantly pushed myself out of the building, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Kavala and Andrea.
On that day, Lamia, who had been watching blankly, suddenly picked up something and threw it.
Puck!
"Oh!"
Suddenly hit by a snowball, I looked at Lamia in surprise.
“What the heck is this...”
But then, before I knew it, Lamia had quickly made another snowball and was holding it in her hand. She laughed like a mischievous child and threw it at me.
“Ah!”
I tried to block the subsequent attacks by waving my hands, but I was so slow that I could clearly see Lamia throwing a snowball at me, and I was hit by it.
“What are you doing, Lamia!”
“Have you ever had a snowball fight?”
“No, there isn’t any!”
“Neither do I! Try it now!”
Lamia quickly rolled her eyes and threw it at me again.
“Lamia! You’re really rude!”
I was struggling and making a noise.
Leviche, who couldn't stand to watch, quickly rolled her eyes and put the snowball in my hand.
“Madam, throw it too!”
“I won’t let you stay still, Lamia!”
I threw a snowball at Lamia with a pouty face.
That's how my first snowball fight began.
Callius put down the papers he was reading and went to the window as if in a trance, hearing Chloe's laughter outside the window.
Chloe was playing with the maids, making snowballs.
The jewel-like blue eyes that had been round when they saw Lamia throw a snowball at Leviche soon took on a mischievous look and then rounded again.
Callius stood with his arms propped on the windowsill, his eyes closed as he felt the cool autumn sun.
Chloe's innocent laughter, like that of a little girl, made him feel at ease, as if he was listening to a good performance.
'She used to laugh like that when she was little, too.'
The memory of that day was vivid.
Her round forehead sparkled in the sunlight, her blue eyes half-disappeared in her smiling expression, her lips forming a cool shape.
The girl who laughed at trivial things, listened to others' stories, and grieved together grew into a lady who still laughs at trivial things, listens to others' stories, and grieves together.
How comforting it was to Callius to see Chloe, whose face had been stained by the strange shadows that had been covering her when she left Arrental and came to Ronheim, gradually fading away, and her old smile returning to her face.
“Callius!”
Chloe waved to Callius, who was leaning on the windowsill and looking down.
The cheeks and hollow under the eyes that had been pale due to the curse were now filled with life.
The sunlight had lost its power in the colder season, but it was strange why it shone so dazzlingly on Chloe's face.
“Come down, Callius!”
Chloe flirted with her flirtatious gestures.
What justification would it take to overcome that temptation?
Callius passed without resistance and soon found himself in the castle courtyard.
But Chloe, who had been calling his name so sweetly, was nowhere to be seen.
Red letters flying in the shape of birds landed in order on Kavala's desk, forming sentences.
“I guess you managed to survive.”
She even received a report that Sernia was locked up in the prison in Ronheim.
She thought she would have already died there, but she seemed to be still alive.
[It appears the knight you recruited has failed his mission. I've heard rumors that the wizards were found frozen to death in the blizzard.]
The sentence did not end there and continued on.
What should I do now? Please let me know how my brother is doing.
The message ended like that.
Kavala scoffed.
"Waste my precious blood on such useless talk. You idiot."
The blood given to Sernia was limited, and once it was all used up, her needs would end.
This would be the last message Sernia could send, since she hadn't donated much blood.
Sernia was once again completely erased from Kavala's mind.
“The wizards froze to death...”
What happened?
They weren't the kind of people who would die so meaninglessly.
“Something is wrong. Something is...”
Kavala doesn't know what happened, but even without Sernia's message, something was definitely wrong.
According to the plan, the Dnieper should have invaded Ronheim by now, but they were still unable to move from Elbern County.
Unable to contain her anger and impatience at the failure of her plans, Kavala bit her fingernails until they broke.
"Aack!"
Startled by her short scream, a maid who had been outside the door came rushing in.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
Kavala, already on edge, threw the ink bottle on the desk at the maid who had opened the door and entered without his permission.
“Who dares to come into my space without permission! Get out!”
“Ah!”
The maid was hit on the head with an ink bottle, defenseless, and ran away in fear.
Left alone in her office again, Kavala, unable to contain her anger, threw things here and there.
"You damn Ronheim! Nothing ever goes my way!"
Thinking of Ronheim was like a thorn in her hand, driving her crazy.
If not for the Holy Grail, that insignificant territory was too far from the shadow of the Imperial Palace.
For that reason, they were marginalized, but for the same reason, they were also threatened.
"Why do I have to worry so much about pushing away that one little piece of land! Aaah!"
***
The maid who came out of Kavala's office cried in hiding, wiping the blood flowing from her head.
Her hands were trembling with fear.
Her trembling hands bore the ugly scars of her having trampled on the shards of the mirror Kavala had broken some time ago.
'How many times has this happened already?'
Not only her hands, but also her head and all over her body were lacerated and bruised by objects thrown by Kavala.
The maid Liena bit her lip with a tired expression and swallowed her tears.
'I can't do it at all.'
Just looking at the shadow of Kavala made her heart pound, and she felt breathless.
Although Kavala had often been irritating in the past, she never lost her elegance.
But lately, Kavala has been a monster itself.
She was always angry and on edge, so she had to be careful about even her breathing.
A sob escaped between her parted lips.
“Ugh...”
She really can't do it anymore.
When Kavala chose her as a maid, even though she was the daughter of a fallen noble family, and restored her father's title, she swore to be loyal to Kavala for the rest of her life.
But she gradually lost confidence in keeping that promise.
'I can't do it...'
If she told her father that she wanted to quit being a maid, he wouldn't forgive her.
Maybe she'll die at her father's hands.
But she felt like she was going to die anyway, whether it was from Kavala or her heart bursting from the pressure and fear.
If she was going to die this way or that way, she wanted to run away.
If only she could.
If she just had the courage.
However, Liena, who was ready to run out of the palace at any moment, tidied up her appearance and headed back to Kavala when the blood stopped flowing from the wound on her head.
Her hands were still shaking, but she still didn't dare to put her thoughts into action.
***
“This is incredible.”
Count Elbern sighed in despair as he watched Andrea and her group and the army retreat.
The Count had not received any promises from Andrea, who had left in a hurry, leaving only the words that things had gone wrong and that he would disband the army and return to the palace.
"Ha!"
This winter, it seemed like it would be particularly cold in the Elbern County.
***
Ever since I heard from Luca about the Black Magician Training Academy, I've been sighing deeply several times a day without even realizing it.
Andrea was an illegitimate child, not a single drop of royal blood, and Kavala was said to be conducting vivisections on young women. It was absurd.
“It’s more horrible than I thought.”
The more I dug into the two people, the more shocking stories I found.
They were people who deserved to fall.
I realized that this revenge was not just for myself.
“I must succeed.”
My mind was filled with thoughts of revenge.
Granada, who couldn't stand to see me spend the whole day lost in thought with such a serious expression, spoke with a stern face.
"You'd better get some fresh air. The sun is shining brightly today, so don't even think about coming back to your room until lunchtime. Instead, go for a walk somewhere sunny."
I reluctantly pushed myself out of the building, but I still couldn't stop thinking about Kavala and Andrea.
On that day, Lamia, who had been watching blankly, suddenly picked up something and threw it.
Puck!
"Oh!"
Suddenly hit by a snowball, I looked at Lamia in surprise.
“What the heck is this...”
But then, before I knew it, Lamia had quickly made another snowball and was holding it in her hand. She laughed like a mischievous child and threw it at me.
“Ah!”
I tried to block the subsequent attacks by waving my hands, but I was so slow that I could clearly see Lamia throwing a snowball at me, and I was hit by it.
“What are you doing, Lamia!”
“Have you ever had a snowball fight?”
“No, there isn’t any!”
“Neither do I! Try it now!”
Lamia quickly rolled her eyes and threw it at me again.
“Lamia! You’re really rude!”
I was struggling and making a noise.
Leviche, who couldn't stand to watch, quickly rolled her eyes and put the snowball in my hand.
“Madam, throw it too!”
“I won’t let you stay still, Lamia!”
I threw a snowball at Lamia with a pouty face.
That's how my first snowball fight began.
***
Callius put down the papers he was reading and went to the window as if in a trance, hearing Chloe's laughter outside the window.
Chloe was playing with the maids, making snowballs.
The jewel-like blue eyes that had been round when they saw Lamia throw a snowball at Leviche soon took on a mischievous look and then rounded again.
Callius stood with his arms propped on the windowsill, his eyes closed as he felt the cool autumn sun.
Chloe's innocent laughter, like that of a little girl, made him feel at ease, as if he was listening to a good performance.
'She used to laugh like that when she was little, too.'
The memory of that day was vivid.
Her round forehead sparkled in the sunlight, her blue eyes half-disappeared in her smiling expression, her lips forming a cool shape.
The girl who laughed at trivial things, listened to others' stories, and grieved together grew into a lady who still laughs at trivial things, listens to others' stories, and grieves together.
How comforting it was to Callius to see Chloe, whose face had been stained by the strange shadows that had been covering her when she left Arrental and came to Ronheim, gradually fading away, and her old smile returning to her face.
“Callius!”
Chloe waved to Callius, who was leaning on the windowsill and looking down.
The cheeks and hollow under the eyes that had been pale due to the curse were now filled with life.
The sunlight had lost its power in the colder season, but it was strange why it shone so dazzlingly on Chloe's face.
“Come down, Callius!”
Chloe flirted with her flirtatious gestures.
What justification would it take to overcome that temptation?
Callius passed without resistance and soon found himself in the castle courtyard.
But Chloe, who had been calling his name so sweetly, was nowhere to be seen.
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