“Sit.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Despite what was churning inside her, Camilla sat where the Emperor indicated with a bright, pleasant smile. Tea and sweets had already been laid out on the table.

So you don’t know his name?

Her gaze slid, just once, toward the ghosts lined up behind the Emperor again.

A few days ago, after counting them, Camilla had carefully traced her way back through the Imperial Family genealogy.

Because she’d thought that would let her identify the name of the insane Emperor who had stolen the first child’s body.

Alberto de Fable... isn’t it this one?

No.

No? If the number of dead matches, it should be him.

Someone called him by that name, so I tried it just in case, but he didn’t react at all.

Then what is it? Who the hell is inside that body?

He might not have been Imperial blood to begin with.

Just to be sure, she wrote down a few more names before and after and showed them to him, but all she got back from Habel was the same answer.

So you’re saying someone who isn’t even Imperial is playing Emperor?

Even worse.

It meant something with no Imperial blood was borrowing bodies and sitting on the throne as Emperor.

“I’m not sure the tea will suit your taste.”

“The fragrance is wonderful. I’ll drink it gratefully.”

Even with goosebumps crawling over her scalp, Camilla didn’t let her radiant smile falter. The more tension climbed, the more her acting flared. Good job. Praise yourself.

“I’ve heard things around you have been rather... noisy, as of late.”

The Emperor of Fable began speaking without losing his benevolent smile.

“Rania, was it? They say she died while displaying a very strange phenomenon.”

Strange was right.

Her whole body rotted through in an instant, crumbling apart as she died.

And that phenomenon—don’t you know it better than anyone?

She was your accomplice.

“I also heard it happened after she spoke with you for the last time.”

Camilla forced down the urge to swallow dryly. For a split second, the look in his eyes had been vicious.

And only then did she understand.

The reason the Emperor had summoned her alone like this was...

He’s probing me right now.

Did he catch on to something?

From the hunting grounds to this Guardian’s Sword incident—there were piles of things that had gone wrong because of her.

From his perspective, how much of a thorn in his eye was she?

Still, he wasn’t seriously planning to dispose of her right here, was he?

“She saw a Guardian and suddenly became like that.”

“A Guardian?”

“Yes. The Guardian of my house let out a single great cry, and she collapsed, and her body began rotting rapidly.”

Camilla concealed, completely, the fact that she’d erased Rania by using her True Name through Habel, and instead brought up a Guardian.

“Heh... a Guardian....”

The Emperor of Fable let out a peculiar chuckle and sank into thought for a moment, as if measuring whether that was possible through a Guardian’s power.

Watching him, Camilla forced herself to look calm and smiled softly.

I don’t know anything. Acting like this is nothing.

“The Guardian’s Sword?”

“Honestly, that’s what’s been giving me a headache these days.”

Before he even finished the question, Camilla shook her head as if she were truly troubled.

“I saw the head maid of House Jevillan try to steal the sword, so I hurriedly snatched it up... and then it suddenly started shining.”

That wasn’t a lie.

“And after that, I don’t remember. Everyone says I took down the enemies, but... I don’t know. More than that, it felt like the sword was controlling me....”

Also true.

Zeno was conveniently missing from the story, but the fact that the moment wasn’t clear in her mind was real.

“So there isn’t much I can tell you about what happened that day.”

Smile, smile.

“.......”

The Emperor stared straight through her, but Camilla kept smiling as if she truly knew nothing.

As he looked at her, the smile on the Emperor’s face slowly faded.

Wow. Damn.

Cold.

With his smile gone, there was nothing left of the kindness or warmth she’d felt just moments ago.

“What do you know about me?”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing in particular?”

No—there’s too much, that’s the problem.

At the question he tossed out, Camilla’s heart dropped again. She kept her expression steady by sheer force.

So he really had set this up to test her?

But she hadn’t expected him to ask so blatantly.

“Your Majesty’s achievements are known by every citizen of the Empire. I am one of them. How could I not know?”

A gentle voice and sparkling eyes, too.

When she looked at him as if she sincerely admired him, he again said nothing for a long while.

She could feel his gaze sharpening, but she kept grinning like an idiot who didn’t understand a thing.

I should’ve brought Zeno with me.

Everyone had known she was coming here today, and she’d figured nothing could happen inside the Imperial Palace.

But that man’s presence is... really not normal.

No one being around, too.

If things went sideways, was she actually going to die here?

In the Imperial Palace, it wouldn’t be difficult for an Emperor to dispose of a single corpse.

Outwardly she kept pretending to be calm, but she couldn’t stop the cold sweat from running down her back.

I can’t breathe.

Camilla barely managed to crush the instinct screaming at her to stand up and bolt.

Under the Emperor of Fable’s silent stare drilling into her, it became harder and harder to maintain that calm façade.

Clack.

“Excuse me.”

That was when it happened. Someone pulled out a chair and flopped down without waiting for the Emperor’s permission.

“May I have a cup of tea as well?”

It was Duke Kais Escra.

At his sudden appearance, the Emperor of Fable’s eyes widened slightly, then his brow creased.

Even seeing that, Duke Escra only met his gaze with an indifferent expression.

“Or is the tea party already over? If so....”

As if he’d never intended to drink tea in the first place, he took the Emperor’s lack of reaction as his cue and stood right back up.

“I’ll be taking my daughter now.”

Again, he didn’t bother waiting for permission. He took Camilla’s hand and pulled her to her feet.

I’m going to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ lose my mind.

This man—this isn’t just anyone, it’s the Emperor—and he’s acting like this right in front of him?

She’d known he’d misplaced fear a long time ago, but you can’t do this while you’re here as an envoy. You can’t.

Even as she screamed internally in horror, Camilla didn’t resist his grip.

“Kais.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Only then did the Emperor of Fable speak in a low voice.

“I don’t recall inviting you today.”

“Good. At least your memory is still intact.”

Camilla stared at Duke Escra again, aghast.

“I watched you drain all the life out of my daughter, so I thought perhaps you’d gone senile.”

Senile—he just called the Emperor senile to his face?

“Are you unwell? You seem not quite yourself.”

Oh, wow. You too, with the polite way of saying have you lost your mind?

“I hear that often.”

What now? The impact is completely zero.

Duke Escra gave a bland little nod, then started walking, taking Camilla with him.

No—seriously. Is this okay?

Following him out, Camilla couldn’t even bring herself to look back. The back of her head felt hot, and she could imagine exactly what kind of expression the Emperor wore right now.

“I told you to let me make a mess from the start.”

“What on earth are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking?”

They didn’t stop until they’d left the conservatory and put some distance behind them.

“Do you not know who that was?”

“I do. The one my daughter didn’t seem to want to meet.”

The one—he just called him the one?

Camilla’s face stiffened as she hurriedly scanned the area, afraid someone might have overheard.

“What if you end up thrown in prison?”

“Who? Me?”

At her urgent outburst, Duke Escra actually let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“Who would dare?”

Camilla’s mouth fell open.

Was there anyone else alive who wore the word dare so naturally?

With him standing there at the absolute peak of arrogance, Camilla couldn’t speak for a while.

“...But were you worried about me just now?”

The corner of Duke Escra’s mouth slid upward.

“I’m worried a war will break out. A war!”

“Call me ‘you.’”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve got plenty of things I want to deal with here anyway. If a war breaks out, that only makes it better for me.”

...The people you “want to deal with” aren’t the Sorpel family, right?

“Anyway. Has my daughter finished everything she needed to do today? Then shall we have a cup of tea?”

“I’m busy.”

“You’re not the only one who’s busy. I’m busy too. Still, I was going to make time for you—”

“You don’t need to. Let’s each handle our own business.”

“That’s harsh.”

Leaving Duke Escra grumbling behind her, Camilla strode quickly and exited the Imperial Palace.

She never wanted to come here again.

*****

“Is it finally made?”

“Yes. Someone from the Magic Tower came a little while ago.”

“Oh.”

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Camilla headed straight for the Ghost Trading House. She let out a short exclamation as she looked at the small machine placed in front of her.

“If I put a Video Stone in here...?”

“An image will come out.”

At Chris’s answer, Camilla took out a Video Stone she’d kept in a drawer.

It was one she’d recorded because it was cute—King and little Rio playing together, sharing fruit in the garden.

“Here. This one.”

The moment Rio put the last slice of apple in his mouth, King jumped and leaned in to snatch it away.

As soon as the scene she wanted appeared, Camilla pressed the stop button. The way they fought over a single apple had been ridiculously adorable.

WUUUUNG—

When the video stopped, light flowed from the machine, and a picture—no, a photograph—slowly slid out.

It captured the two of them perfectly, each biting one side of the apple.

“It really works.”

Camilla beamed as she watched the scene from the video print into a physical photo.

It was the moment the camera was born in this world.