“If I could become the crown prince and become the only emperor of this country in the future—”

“.....”

“I promise that the descendants of Valentino will rule the tower from generation to generation.”

Gerard’s words were aimed precisely at Belsac’s own desires, and the latter’s eyes lit up.

Belsac Valentino, who abandoned a? pregnant woman and even the child in her womb, but did not abandon his ‘pride as a wizard’, had to admit it.

That at this very moment, he also gave up his pride as a wizard.

At last, he was relieved.

It was only now that he made up his mind to try to defeat an opponent he couldn’t win against through his own skills with dishonest power.

The fact that the opponent was ‘Heinrich’, the son he had abandoned, would be a disgusting situation in the eyes of others.

But he couldn’t fail.

He had to become the magic tower lord himself, and he wanted to somehow make his son, who rolled a ‘1’ when it came to magic talent, succeed him.

He had to prove that his choice was right.

Belsac swallowed his saliva and, as if determined, finally put down the vial, releasing it from his grasp.

The red vial was shining brightly. As if showing off the terrible things it could do.

“Prince, this paralyzing poison is made of special ‘blood’.”

“..The ingredient is blood?”

Inside Gerard’s mask, his bizarrely distorted red eyes gleamed.

‘The ingredients are very unique.’

There were normally two ways to make a paralyzing poison.

Using poisonous herbs, or casting a curse on a liquid drug that worked quickly.

But, ‘blood’?

“It is made by mixing the blood of ‘Valentino’ with the blood of ‘Ramosa’.”

If it was Ramosa, then it was the family of Belsac’s wife. A venerable marquisate.

From generation to generation, it was a family with a long history in magic.

Magic flowed in the blood of the wizard, and each family had its own unique characteristics.

Gerard had a rough guess, but he couldn’t figure out how.

How did he create such a monstrous poison?

“This poison.. How the hell did you make it?”

Eventually, when Gerard asked out of curiosity, Belsac’s eyes curved along with a smirk.

“I can’t tell you that.”

Was it a secret even to the person you’re holding hands with?

“However, I can tell you that this poison has recently reduced someone to a doll that only breathes.”

‘A doll that only breathes!’

That was what Gerard wanted for Annette. And at the same time, ‘someone’ came to mind.

Not long ago, for no particular reason, the current tower lord lost consciousness and became a doll that only breathed.

He was an old but healthy man, but he collapsed out of the blue.

Gerard smiled lowly, as if he had guessed it.

‘..The effectiveness of this paralyzing poison is certain.’

It was quite encouraging that the culprit who put the tower lord in such a state had not been identified to this day.

‘Isn’t that proof that it’s really a poison that doesn’t leave a single trace?’

“This poison is lethal to all beings who do not inherit the blood of Valentino and Ramosa.”

“..You made a monster.”

It was a poison that only his children and descendants would remain intact from; it could destroy everything else.

Even Gerard frowned at the viciousness.

He was familiar with Belsac’s strong desire to lead Valentino as the head of the family, but..

A poison that harms everyone but his family?

“The effect is immediate, but there will be no traces.”

Belsac’s merciless eyes shone.

“Add this to the person’s food or drink.”

His voice deepened.

“Or dip it in a hidden weapon or a dagger.”

“.....”

“Then the Prince will surely be able to achieve the wanted results.”

“..Okay.”

Gerard’s lips tore open into a smile.

“It’s refreshing to think about seeing that girl and the crown prince perish!”

This time!

He felt it. If this ‘regression’ fails, there would be no ‘next’. His body was dying little by little even now.

The beginning of this great operation was the fall of Annette.

“From now on, Valentino will be the Prince’s friend. Forever.”

And, even a strong archmage ally.

‘I’m not confident.’

‘..Not confident that I’ll fail!’

“Ahahahahaha!”

Gerard’s frenzied laughter echoed through the air.

━━━━???━━━━

The Founding Eve.

A splendid banquet was held at the Imperial Palace ahead of the National Foundation Festival, El Dorado’s largest national event.

“..It has been a long time since I’ve attended such a grand banquet.”

I think it’s the first time since the banquet held at the Imperial Palace when I received ‘socialization training’ about 10 years ago.

‘It seems like the country has become a huge jewel.’

Among the beautiful fountains and decorations, nobles, who were also in their most elaborate fashion, passed.

The Imperial Palace felt like a small jewel adorned with diamonds.

It made me feel excited for no reason.

“It’s because the Founding Eve is special.”

In a neat dress, Victoria was also dressed up beautifully today.

“It’s a place where one can hide their identity with a mask, and both the imperial family and the aristocracy freely mingle.”

She whispered in hush.

“And because each other’s identities are not known, young ladies and young lords sometimes forget their status and fall in romantic love.”

Oh my, how romantic.

“At the last founding banquet, a lady and lord of two enemy families fell in love, causing a big scandal.”

“....!”

Oh my god, like Romeo and Juliet?

“The two of them escaped at night and were caught.”

‘Wow, El Dorado nobles are wild.’

I immediately became immersed in the story, asking,

“So what happened?”

Victoria smiled softly, her eyes gently curving.

“Can you resist a love so passionate to the point of being willing to abandon everything? ..In the end, the heads of the two families made a peace treaty.”

“Good for them!”

The Romeo and Juliet in El Dorado didn’t end in tragedy.

‘Happy endings are always fun.’

‘Can you resist a love so passionate to the point of being willing to abandon everything?’

The question― for some reason, ran through my heart once more.

While chatting with Victoria, I arrived at the banquet hall.

“I won’t be serving you in the banquet hall. I also have to find a man to be passionate about tonight.”

“..Victoria.”

I burst out laughing at her words. But I knew the rules of this banquet.

First, do not bring a personal attendant.

Second, wear a mask.

Victoria and I wore masks according to the second rule.

Somehow, I felt very excited.

‘To be free without being bound by anyone.’

There was neither the duty of the ‘Duchess of Valienne’ nor ‘Annette’ in this.

When I finally opened the golden door and went inside, the gatekeeper called out loudly.

“―An anonymous beautiful young lady has arrived!”

In an instant, everyone’s eyes were focused on me.

It was a tense moment.

..However, soon everyone’s eyes naturally dispersed.

If they had known that I was ‘Duchess Valienne’, the gazes would have stayed for a long time.

‘I guess they really can’t recognize me.’

‘Fufu, then there is something I must do.’

‘—Eat a lot of bread!’

I couldn’t eat a lot of delicious bread in the banquet hall because I was playing the role of a dignified duchess.

Even though I had heard of the awesomeness of the imperial bakery.

It was at that time when the bread lover was making a grand plan.

“....?”

A gaze was felt from somewhere. As I followed the gaze, I found a mask-wearing man by a pillar.

The man with silver hair, as beautiful as it appeared fine, was wearing a mask made as delicately as glass.

The eyes inside that mask..

..were a cold and deep purple like a winter dawn.

In an instant, my heart sank.

‘Heinrich.’

He was wearing a mask, but I could recognize him.

Because,

‘—Heinrich, it’s you.’

‘Even if you hide in the countless shining stars, I will always recognize you.’

‘Because you are always the brightest in my eyes.’

‘Even when I first possessed this world, I could only see you in the crowd.’

“.....”

We couldn’t close the distance. We could only look at each other.

Feeling my heart throb, I put my hand on my chest.

It was during this gap. A crowd of gorgeously decorated ladies passed by and obscured my view.

And the next moment.

“....!”

Heinrich, who had been in sight, disappeared.

As if he was a ghost, without a trace.

‘Where did you go?’

It was when I took a step forward and glanced around.

A man of solid physique appeared in front of me.

He was a man with jet-black hair and beautiful blue eyes.

His face was covered with a mask, but he couldn’t hide his splendor.

‘Is it a person I know.. No, it’s not.’

He bent down and held out his hand in a manner consistent with restraint and propriety.

“Lady.”

“.....”

“Will you give me the glory of your first dance?”

“Ah.”

Suddenly, a new song rang out, and people were gathering in the dance hall.

I wanted to refuse, but it was not in accordance with the empire’s etiquette to refuse the ‘first dance’.

Unconditional acceptance was the rule.

In addition, tonight must have been an exciting night for the other party.

I didn’t want to spoil the mood of this harmless person.

“..With pleasure.”

I was forced to hold his hand.

“It happened to be a waltz, Lady.”

The man smiled softly, and, unlike that smile,?Tuk!?A firm arm wrapped around my waist, squeezing me into a hug.

‘..A very passionate dancer.’

It was a little nerve-inducing.

‘Isn’t that a bit rude?’

Just hugging a lady’s waist.

Tak!?I placed a hand on his toned chest.

I could feel him stiffen for a second.

The wonderful muscles of this chest were tightly tense.

I brazenly looked at him with an expression of ‘why, well, you did it too’ (although, of course, the mask didn’t convey all of my shamelessness).

He hugged my waist tighter and whispered.

“I want to dance all night with you.”

I gave strength to the hand on his chest.

“Me too.”

‘Who the hell is this crazy guy?’

But it was really weird. Somehow, there was familiarity.

..This body scent.

Moreover, the attitude was somewhat natural.

I asked as I danced to the light waltz.

“Do you know me?”

“Yes.”

‘..This is a man I know?’

‘But the only men I know are Sislin, Heinrich, and Kyle.’

It wasn’t any of those three men.

‘He must have misunderstood.’

I was certain he mistook another woman for me and came up with this kind of prank.

I said,

“It must be a mistake. My social circle is small, so I only know three men.”

Then he laid me down slowly, lifted me up again, and whispered in my ear.

In a voice so low that my heart pounded.

“I am among those three.”

“....?!”

Ame:?*munching on rice crackers* place yer bets!

Tassie:?Honestly, at this point, it could be any of them XD I wanna say Kyle cuz we haven’t seen him in a while but it could easily be the other two lol