Immediately after ending the communication, Paris lay on the sofa with a cigarette in his mouth.
Then he lit the cigarette of the silver-haired woman sitting beside him. It was a completely different demeanor from the playful one he had shown earlier.
“Was that person just now the master?”
“Mhm. Isn’t she pretty?”
“Well, I suppose she is.”
“You wouldn’t know, but if you saw her in person, she’s so pretty she’s almost lovable.”
At those words, she pouted her lips.
“You used to say I was the prettiest.”
“You are different from her. So don’t be jealous.”
Paris lightly twisted her nose as he held it.
He flicked away the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth and stood up from the sofa.
“Sitri, release the boys.”
Paris looked at her and grinned.
“It’s time to work for our master.”
Sitri quietly helped the standing Paris put on his coat, then followed behind him.
***
One day after contacting Paris, Liliana was able to obtain the item she wanted.
As expected, Anais’s necklace had been included among the items that were to be put up for auction in the black market.
Paris had bragged that he had swiftly taken it out from the auction items circulating in the black market.
“Thank you for bringing it to me yourself.”
On a quiet night, Liliana summoned Paris in her study and received the item from him.
“To think someone as beautiful as you is my master, I am deeply moved.”
Paris, looking at her with a rapturous expression, resembled a puppy wagging its tail.
Liliana took the necklace out of the box and examined it.
The necklace, with its striking sky-blue diamond, was designed with exquisite craftsmanship.
“After examining it, I found that this necklace is the work of the dwarf Nathan, who is called a master among masters.”
“Dwarf Nathan?”
“He is one of the most renowned craftsmen among the dwarves. In particular, they say that the technique of coloring diamonds is something only he can do.”
The sky-blue diamond was a gem that perfectly reproduced the eye color of the deposed Empress Anais.
Since it was a necklace the Emperor had given her as a wedding gift, its meaning was special.
Liliana placed the necklace back into the box and put it into the drawer.
“I think it would be best if you left now. Someone is coming.”
At Liliana’s words, after sensing a presence outside the study, Paris made a disappointed face.
“Ah, when will I be able to see you again…?”
“Hurry and go.”
“Yes, though it is unfortunate. I will see you another time, Master”
As soon as Paris left, Cedric opened the study door and entered as if he had been waiting.
“Sister, spar with me! I’m confident this time.”
Cedric grinned with a very confident expression. It was absurd.
“Do you know what time it is?”
It was late at night. And yet he was asking to spar.
“It has to be now. I might forget the strategy I just came up with.”
“Ha, honestly you…”
“Hurry!”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
If he insisted that much, she had no choice but to put him through it.
Liliana changed into her training clothes and worked Cedric hard in the training grounds.
“What? Why is it not working?”
“The strategy you worked so hard to come up with was just distracting the opponent’s gaze?”
The strategy Cedric had come up with was to confuse the opponent’s gaze with a technique, then aim for the opening and strike.
But there was no way that would work on Liliana. Instead, it was Cedric whose opening was exploited.
“Damn it, I was really confident this time…”
“It’s not bad, but the problem is that your method is too obvious. If you want to confuse someone’s gaze, it should at least be at this level, shouldn’t it?”
“Huh?”
The sword Liliana thrust forward suddenly split into dozens of branches before his eyes. It looked like an illusion.
As dozens of swords flew toward him as if to pierce his whole body, Cedric had his gaze stolen by the sight and failed to react.
Tap.
When the illusion disappeared, Liliana’s sword was touching Cedric’s chest precisely.
“W-What did you just do?”
“I just moved the sword quickly.”
“Th-That’s impossible.”
“It is possible. Here, watch me.”
Liliana slowed her movements and showed Cedric the motion from before.
“Your steps are too flashy.”
“This is the key.”
Liliana began stepping faster and faster. As the speed increased, her feet became impossible to see.
Keeping that speed, she raised her sword. As the stepping speed increased, the speed of her thrust also became faster.
Liliana adjusted Cedric’s posture.
“A little faster.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, that’s it. Now increase the speed while keeping that.”
Cedric’s stepping speed increased.
“Now try extending the sword like that.”
The speed of his thrust became much faster.
“Increase the speed and repeat striking and withdrawing.”
“Ugh, this is hard.”
As the speed increased, his steps tangled and he staggered.
“You call yourself a man, and your lower body is this weak?”
“No!”
When his lower body was criticized, Cedric shouted angrily, as if his pride had been hurt.
“This won’t do. Your steps keep tangling. You need to train your lower body first.”
“What?”
“Come here.”
“What are you trying to do now?”
“Stay still.”
Liliana approached Cedric, grabbed both his ankles, and cast a weight-increasing spell.
“Sister, my feet suddenly feel heavy.”
“I cast a weight spell. It should feel like you have about ten kilograms attached to both ankles.”
Cedric looked at Liliana with a surprised expression.
“Live like that for a few days. Of course, keep it on when you train as well.”
Cedric narrowed his eyes and looked at Liliana.
“Are you sure this will actually work?”
“Weither it works or not, we can check in a few days. Do you think I would lie to you about something like this?”
Liliana drove the point home.
“You said you want to go to the Knight Academy, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then shouldn’t you work yourself to death? There will be plenty of people there who are better than you, won’t there?”
Now that he heard it, it made sense.
Perhaps convinced, Cedric quietly accepted it.
***
Not long after, the day of Liliana’s appointment with Estevan arrived.
Liliana dressed as splendidly as possible. As Anna helped her get ready, she asked with a curious expression.
“My Lady, you are putting in unusual effort today.”
“Does it look that way?”
“Yes. You even took out a rose corsage you normally never wear, and that red dress you rarely put on.”
“It’s my own kind of battle outfit.”
“Battle outfit? Are you going somewhere to fight?”
“Mhm, something like that.”
Anna looked confused, but Liliana only smiled.
“There, it is done.”
Anna, having finished the preparations, showed her the mirror.
Her red hair was half tied up and decorated with a rose corsage, and the red dress that emphasized her waistline was studded diagonally with diamonds all the way down the skirt, making it sparkle.
It was a dress she normally didn’t wear because it was excessively glamorous, but today she had taken it out for the occasion.
To complete it, she put on red gloves that reached her elbows and red shoes, making the look perfect.
“I will be back.”
“Yes, make sure you win your battle.”
With Anna’s encouragement, Liliana boarded a carriage and headed to the townhouse on 11th Street in District J.
After riding in the carriage for about an hour, she arrived at a place suitable for a quiet meeting.
When she arrived in front of the townhouse, a handsome man with blue hair grown to his shoulders and emerald-colored eyes was waiting for her.
“Welcome, my Lady. I am Leon, the aide who serves His Highness Prince Estevan.”
“It is nice to meet you.”
“His Highness is waiting inside. I will escort you, my Lady.”
“Thank you.”
Guided by Leon, Liliana headed toward the central hall of the townhouse.
In the middle of the wide hall stood a tea table, and a man with golden hair and ruby-red eyes was reading a book with an elegant posture.
Even from a distance, he looked like a painting.
If a god carefully shaped a person, would they look like that? His appearance naturally inspired admiration.
“Your Highness, I have brought the Young Lady.”
Only then did he put down the book he had been reading and gaze at Liliana.
Liliana also looked at him.
‘Estevan.’
He was the man who had killed her.
Seeing such a man again before her eyes brought unfamiliar feelings.
He too was a pitiable person, just like herself.
Because of the schemes of the Imperial Consort and his half-brother, he had lost his mother overnight and spent his childhood confined.
How hateful it must have been.
Since she had ended his revenge with her own hands, it weighed on her mind.
So she had allowed him to kill her. She wanted to comfort him that way.
After her revenge was over, she no longer had any desire to live.
That was why she had climbed the snowy mountain to die, and she was glad that her end had come at Estevan’s hands.
Yet she had never imagined that a day would come when they would face each other again while alive. Strangely, she felt glad to see him.
Liliana offered him a formal greeting.
“May glory be with the Empire. Liliana Dayan greets Your Highness Prince Estevan.”
