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Episode 104: Like Moths to the Flame
‘How hard it must have been to be crushed.’
I looked at Deborah and thought.
‘You must have worked very hard to hide your nails all this time.’
‘Because there’s a hole to live in, you’re going to take on the challenge right away.’
She seemed to already consider herself a marchioness.
With Yuria’s ‘self-play’, she would have a place in the social world and as a marchioness, and thus was sure to be filled with the sweet dream of defeating me.
But how dare she
 I didn’t expect such a blatant challenge.
‘You haven’t progressed a bit from the top of the social world. You sent a chilled turkey on my first day in Aktoum.’
“

This.”
Seryl said with trembling eyes.
“This is too much, Madam Deborah!”
Apparently, Seryl knew what this ‘ruby crown’ meant in Spinel.
Deborah smiled with a tight look on her face.
“Did I give a present to Lady Seryl?”
There was a thorn in that smile.
It seemed to mean to screw off because you were not part of this conversation.
Deborah became even more pretentious.
“Besides, I don’t know what’s too much
? Is there anything wrong with the gift I carefully prepared for Her Majesty the Queen?”
She definitely did prepare it carefully.
Deborah, she must have spent all night thinking about how to mess up my mood.
I raised a hand to stop the agitated chicks, and spoke calmly to Deborah.
“In Spinel, this crown is a consolation gift to a woman who has ‘miscarried’.”
“Oh!”
Deborah did a perfectly amazing job.
She immediately bowed her head and spoke as if she was not sure what to do.
“I was ignorant and had no idea, Your Majesty!”
“
.
”
It was a gift carrying the notions of a curse, that if you got married and had children, you would have a miscarriage.
As Deborah bowed her head, she couldn’t hide the slightly raised corners of her mouth. Or, it was something she didn’t want to hide.
“Please, forgive me, Your Majesty.”
“I can’t forgive you.”
“?”
Deborah, in her embarrassment, raised her head, looked at me, and then bowed deeper.
“
I made a mistake because I didn’t know. Your Majesty the Queen! Please have mercy on me.”
“I’m not usually tolerant.”
“!”
All this while, I was just pretending to be a gentle human being because I wanted to get married in Aktoum.
The wedding was tomorrow.
Besides, now more than half of the nobles were on my side.
It was no longer necessary to be self-conscious.
“
.
”
Deborah’s expression began to show the thought of ‘f*ck’ in real time.
For Deborah, the sudden change in my attitude must be shocking.
However, like the Deborah now who was forced to squat while observing the state of affairs, I had been lying low, only observing the situation, when I came to Aktoum.
Now, I had finished grasping the situation, and the situation had changed from then.
“I really don’t know
!”
Furrowing my eyebrows, I asked,
“If a beggar insults a noble because he is ignorant of etiquette, is he ‘innocent’ or has he committed the ‘crime of insulting a nobleman’?”
When I pointed it out, Deborah didn’t answer for a moment, as if she was at a loss for words.
I drove in the wedge with an expressionless face.
“Madam Deborah, you have just ‘blasphemed’ out of ignorance.”
“!”
When the words of ‘contempt of the imperial family’ came out, Deborah paled, as if blood was gushing out of her face.
Things became bigger than she thought.
‘Contempt of the imperial family’ was not something that could be overlooked.
Immediate disposition was also possible.
“I-I didn’t intend to do that
!”
I calmly narrowed my eyes and smiled.
“Or is it ‘Spinel blasphemy’?”
“!”
If this happened, it would become a diplomatic issue.
Finally, Deborah’s head bowed sincerely.
“Your Majesty the Queen
!”
There was no longer a single trace of a smile on the corner of her lips.
She seemed to have realized it now.
That the person who was given the chilled turkey and the person now were in a very different situation.
“I will issue a summary sentence for ‘contempt of the imperial family’, Deborah. It’ll be an order to be detained in the Tenesin Jail for three days.”
Tenesin was a prison north of Aktoum Imperial Palace, boasting the worst facilities and conditions for a noble to be imprisoned.
Even Deborah would never have ever been detained there.
“
Y-Your Majesty the Queen! I have committed a great sin!”
I answered nonchalantly.
“Yes, it’s a really great sin, so you have to pay for it.”
“!”
Deborah was really at a loss. At that moment, Mary Jane DeCzech, the maid who was standing next to Deborah, spoke up.
“

Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, but you are too harsh.”
I cut her words off.
“Did I punish you?”
Mary Jane blinked, startled.
I returned the words Deborah had shot at my chick earlier.
“Shut up and step back.”
‘If you’re not involved, go away.’
‘If you bother me one more time, I’ll lock you up with her.’
I looked at the guards near the carriage. They were prepared to pop out at any moment.
Then, I jerked my chin slightly.
“Take her away.”
“Yes!”
The strong guards came, grabbed Deborah’s arms, and forcibly pulled her away.
Deborah screamed in surprise and flailed.
“
Let go of me! Can’t you let go?! Your Majesty the Queen! Please, forgive me!”
I said with relentless contempt.
“How noisy, shut her mouth and drag her away.”
The guards covered her mouth.
“Uhhhhh
! Eup?!”
Deborah struggled to avoid being dragged, but she couldn’t hold out.
In the end, in a fuss, she was dragged over the corner and out of sight.
“You’re going to take this and burn it.”
I handed Mary Jane the ruby crown.
She accepted it politely with both her hands.
“Let’s go.”
I got into the carriage with the chicks.
* * *
“Madam Deborah
!”
As soon as Yuria saw the current state of Deborah, she screamed and rushed over.
The dark and gloomy Tenesin prison.
Fat rats were crawling around, a huge spider spinning a web.
Deborah was sitting shabbily in the harsh environment.
Her hair was messy, and her face was pale after a few hours of detention.
But her eyes were full of poison and resentment.
“That Spinel bitch locked me here!”
Deborah grabbed the iron bars and came closer to Yuria.
Yuria was still staring at her as if the shock had not gone away.
As soon as she heard that she had been detained, she came to see her, but she did not know that it was going to be like this.
“I gave her a ruby crown as a wedding gift, and she said it was a contempt of the imperial family.”
Deborah burst into laughter like she found the situation to be incredulous.
“For a person that is not yet the Crown Princess of Aktoum
”
“
.
”
“It’s absurd to pretend to be the Crown Princess of Aktoum already!”
Deborah frowned and asked for Yuria’s agreement.
“You have to have the wedding to become an official wife, don’t you?”
“
.
”
“When will she realize her position!”
She must get married to be the crown princess. Then that would be blasphemy!
All this while, Deborah only pretended to be for Yuria
 But now, she was so angry that her inner feelings were seeping out little by little.
Yuria, who had been quietly listening to the naked malice, opened her mouth, breaking her silence.
“You were careless this time, Madam Deborah.”
“!”
There was a flicker of surprise in Deborah’s eyes.
But that emotion soon burned deep within her chest, turning into irritation and fiery rage.
‘What is this mouse-like bitch talking about, now?’
Yuria looked at her calmly and continued,
“Tomorrow is the wedding and you should have contained yourself.”
“

”
‘Did you go crazy when I told you you’re lovely?’
This girl was a puppet that she was playing in her grasp.
When she confronted her, trivial feelings and anger arose at the same time.
‘Anyway, for someone of nothing more than a cleaning tool
!’
If tomorrow’s plan succeeded, Yuria would be caught in Deborah’s trap.
The naive Yuria didn’t know.
How Deborah would use a human being who was vulnerable, sucking even the bone marrow and using it miserably.
‘I can’t get angry here and make a mistake.’
Deborah quickly adjusted her expression and spoke.
“Well, Lady Yuria is going to risk her life tomorrow.”
“
.
”
Yuria’s light blue eyes casted a depth of water.
Deborah asked quietly.
“Did the Heart of Eros do its job well?”
“!”
Shocked, Yuria scanned around to see if there were any ears around.
Deborah sneered and said,
“There is no one here, Princess.”
“
It worked well.”
Oh, my.
“He wants me. Earnestly.”
Yuria put a hand on her chest with a dreamlike expression.
Deborah could feel a distant obsession with Rixus in those eyes.
‘You’re totally crazy now.’
You went around muttering about that worthless ‘grace’, but aren’t you satisfied that you have now gained his love?
“It’s like this, so I won’t be able to attend in person tomorrow, Lady Mavis.”
“

.”
Anxiety passed quickly in Yuria’s eyes.
But Deborah reached out over the grate and held her little hand tightly.
She put in a lot of strength. So that her puppet could be empowered.
“But you can do it.”
“
.
”
“After tomorrow, the lady will get eternal love
!”
And the times of light would come again for Deborah.
‘If I could wield even the Crown Princess with my own hands
 What makes me different from the Emperor?’
Anyway, Rixus would be swayed by the crown princess’ hands.
Just the thought of it made her exhilarated and crazed.
It was tomorrow.
The day that Deborah’s long-cherished wish would come true.
Deborah spoke with more conviction than ever before.
“Tomorrow, no matter what happens, there must be no mistakes.”
Yuria responded with equally determined eyes, like a person with a cliff behind her.
“Absolutely.”
The two women, mixed with their respective desires, held hands and burned their wills.
Facing the blazing fire, thinking that it was the beautiful moonlight, and jumping in

Like moths.
* * *
On the day of the wedding.
I sat, looking in the mirror.
‘Finally
 Such a day is coming.’
It made me think of the first time I came to Aktoum.
At that time, I thought that I had no support from Rixus, no support from the nobles, no support from the people.
Marriage was far away, and it felt like an impossible mission.
Marriage decided just for the sake of an alliance, to avoid death.
However

While wading through this muddy pool, so many things happened.
And I received a lot of valuable things.
The support of the people of Aktoum to me.
The support of the nobles.
The support of my maids.
And

‘Rixus.’
The man who made my chest tingle when he called my name.
‘Today, for everyone, I have to do well.’
Therefore, risking my life today was well worth it.
I slowly pulled a necklace out and put it on the table.
It was an artifact of the imperial family, which was a gift to me by Rixus. This was the last thing I could get help from for today.
Next, I took out Shadow’s ‘Welcome Gift’ from the drawer.
The scarlet gas inside the glass bottle resembled a sunset.
It had a color that matched its characteristics.
The sunset that burned brightly and turned into a black night

After looking at this glass bottle for a while, suddenly, the ‘warning’ from Shadow came to mind.
<What the hell are you going to use this dangerous thing for?
I hope you don’t eat it.
Even the Queen will die.>
Ignoring that warning, I inhaled the gas inside.
“Hah
”
After that, I checked the glass bottle that had been emptied as it was, and went outside.
“The preparations are over.”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Queen!”
An endless group of maids and escorts slowly led me to the wedding hall.
Today’s wedding;
No one really knows how it would end.

Even me.
My heart was bursting with tension.
Ame: LET’S GO!!! (i’m kinda sad deborah isn’t going to see her plans fail before her very eyes, and and and and what’s that gas Berylia took????)
Dea: Does Berylia plan to die and come back to life?? everyone involved in this wedding seems to have a plan, bless the guests they’re about to have a whole spectacle unfold in front of them, all while eating cake haha