/
“Tell me what you talked about with the god of the underworld earlier.”
On the way to Marquis Borneau’s estate, Theodore and Rex, seated across from me in the carriage, glared at me.
I felt intimidated by their piercing stares, so I folded my hands in my lap and stared at my toes.
This must be what it’s like to be interrogated. Fiddling with my index fingers, I hesitated before speaking.
“Father will die because of me
”
“Why? What did you say?”
This
 might sound offensive at first. However, Theodore didn’t seem to be joking or sarcastic, just genuinely curious about why Grand Duke Estin would die because of me.
“God put a curse on our family
”
“

what god?”
“The God of the Underworld.”
“No, why did he
right, what curse did he place?”
“I don’t remember exactly, but if a child with eyes that can see magic is born, the Lord of Conler will die
”
When I finished talking, Theodore folded his arms and leaned on his back.
After closing his eyes and falling into deep thought, he suddenly opened his eyes and vigorously scratched the back of his head with his hand.
“Are you saying that the god of the underworld is really a god?”
“Brother, there seem to be ancient temples in Tahata dedicated to gods. Could it be related to the appearance of the god of the underworld there.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Rex, who was pondering with me, said to Theodore. He was sharp-witted. That’s right, that man said the same thing too. I was about to chime in, but held my tongue.
“What is that black dog that looks like Arsene?”
“I don’t know. Whenever I’m in danger, he shows up. I call him Arsene

.”
Theodore and Rex exchanged eyes and nodded at the same time as if they understood something.
I turned my eyes out of the window as I felt left out.
“But what is Mary
?”
“Huh?”
Theodore seemed to say, but I had to ignore him, because a familiar carriage was passing by ours.
As I kept my gaze fixed on the window, Theodore looked out as well.
“It’s an imperial carriage. Why did it come here?”
Looking at the fancy appearance and the red color reminiscent of the sun, it was indeed an imperial carriage. Did they come to meet Astina? Is it Lausanne?
Or
 Demimore?
Did they come to visit Astina because she was sick? Astina only mentioned Sofia in the letter. I felt strange for some reason.
***
There was thick black fog when Theodore, Rex, and I arrived at the Marquis Borneau’s mansion in a hurry.
Employees from the mansion stood next to the fog and looked lost. They attempted to touch the fog, but were deflected by an unidentified force.
“What’s going on?”
“Miss Astina is engulfed in fog!”
“We can’t get into the fog.”
Upon hearing it, Theodore got to his feet. The Marquis’ employees looked at Theodore eagerly. He put his hand in the fog and it went in like a lie.
Then he took it out like he was pulling something out. Astina was dragged out of the fog by Theodore.
“Are you alright?”
Astina, who had only just emerged from the fog, was dazed and unable to comprehend the situation.
Theodore nudged her, and she slowly turned to see who had saved her.
When she recognized Theodore, her eyes welled up. She then burst into tears and embraced him.
I guess she’s relieved. Seeing Astina cry like that made me want to cry as well.
“Where did the marquis go?”
“The First Prince asked him to step aside while he spoke with Lady Astina, so the Marquis and the Marchioness went for a walk together. He’s probably on his way now.”
The royal carriage we encountered earlier must have been Cameron’s.
Wait, Cameron? Not Demimore?
Why did that dimwit visit Astina? And he asked the owner of the mansion to make way for him because he had something important to say. Such a joke.
“Uhm
”
Theodore stood awkwardly, as Astina suddenly hugged him.
He then turned to face me and pointed at Astina. It was the first time I’d seen Theodore look so awkward.
In order to calm Astina down, I motioned for him to pat her on the back.
When Theodore realized what I meant, he let out a heavy sigh. He then gave Astina a half-hearted pat on the back.
“Astina, are you okay?”
“Mary!”
I asked when I noticed her crying seemed to stop after sniffing in Theodore’s arms for a long time.
She then gave me a hug. Her entire body was slightly trembling. It didn’t appear to have totally calmed down yet. I tapped Astina on the back and questioned.
“What’s that fog?”
“So, Sofia

.”
“Sofia?”
“Suddenly, Sofia appeared in front of me, and she, uh, smiled and then, uh, there was black fog on her body, and then
”
Theodore stood in front of the dense fog once more, his face irritated as he listened to Astina’s rambling speech.
The black fog split in two as he pulled out the sword he was wearing around his waist.
I was astounded by how cleanly the fog was cut. I find it hard to believe a fog can be cut. For the first time, Theodore looked cool.
“Sofia?”
Sofia was actually there in pitch-black fog.
Maybe the phrase “she was in it” wasn’t quite right? Anyway, Sofia was there. Sofia stood upright and stared at me.
Sophia looked awful. Her hair, which was always so lovely and neatly tied, was uncombed and untidy, and her eyes were black as if she had soot on them.
It was unfamiliar to me because Sofia always tried to shine beautifully.
“What happened to you?”
“Tsk.”
As I stared at Sofia in shock, Theodore next to me clicked his tongue.
“What happened? I even borrowed such power?”
It had a very melancholy voice. What sort of power did Sofia borrow to alter herself in such a way?
Rex grabbed my wrist and pulled me away as I approached her cautiously.
“Sister, stay behind me.”
I was proud of Rex, who seemed to take care of me in the middle of everything.
But I said I have to move forward, if I stay behind like this
 No, Grand Duke Estin said I don’t have to interfere, so it’s okay.
I’m looking at Sofia from behind Rex’s back, and her mouth is moving slightly. She seems to be muttering something incessantly.
“What are you saying?”
Theodore scowled as he made his way toward Sofia. I poked Rex in the back to let him know I wanted to move in close to hear what Sofia was saying.
Rex walked toward her as though he understood. I leaned in to listen while holding on to Rex’s back.
“It’s hot, it’s hot.”
Sophia was murmuring that it was hot. What’s so hot?
Take off the robe if it’s that hot.
“Take off the robe if it’s hot.”
Theodore verbalized what was going through my head. We really are siblings. That’s why I don’t like Theodore.
I was staring blankly at Sofia, who was muttering the word hot, and suddenly she closed her mouth. She then turned her head to face me.
“Mary Conler.”
Sofia called my name. I was startled and hid behind Rex’s back. What’s going on? I’m scared.
“Be careful.”
Are you warning me?
It didn’t seem like a warning, though. The voice had a somewhat depressing tone. I slipped off of Rex’s back and looked at Sofia.
Sofia’s eyes were hard to see. She looks like Sofia but doesn’t sound like Sofia.
“Don’t make sacrifices like me.”
“Are you trying to place the blame on Mary? She made no sacrifices.”
“Beware of similarities

.”
Sofia continued to mutter only meaningless stories as Theodore, who was listening, screamed in rage.
I slipped off Rex’s back and started to approach Sofia to ask for more details but Rex grabbed my wrist.
“Wait, what do you mean
”
The imperial carriage, which had passed by our carriage earlier, was entering the mansion through the main gate.
The one who got off the carriage was really Cameron. Did he return when he saw our carriage?
Cameron approached us leisurely.
Despite witnessing this scene, he didn’t appear surprised. He gave off a relaxed air as if he already knew everything.
“Why is the prince here
”
“I came back because I left something behind.”
It is unquestionably a lie. Cameron made a clicking noise with his tongue as he examined Sofia’s condition, as if he knew something. It was the same reaction as Theodore’s earlier.
“Sophia, I am truly disappointed.”
Coldness radiated from Cameron. Sofia just smiled and giggled.
“What sort of conduct is this toward my fiancĂ©?”
What?
Who is your fiancĂ©? It’s not Sofia, and it’s not me either. And I doubt it’s Theodore or Rex!
Astonished, I looked toward Astina. Her face turned pale as she closed her eyes tightly.
How did Astina become engaged to Cameron?
“Sofia Bruno, I will exile you at the northern end of the country, Nicor, a land of bitter cold.”
My body trembled.
What came out of Cameron’s mouth was a very familiar line.