When Adeline was targeted with poison for the second time inside the lord’s castle,

her mother, without hesitation, sent Adeline’s name to a close aide of the princess who was recruiting attendants.

A few days later—

“Madam, a letter has arrived from the imperial palace.”

The bribed head maid quietly brought an envelope to Adeline’s mother.

The imperial seal was stamped clearly upon it.

Inside was only a single enigmatic task.

[Write your thoughts and decision regarding the situation I present.

A young lady is on a small boat, and the boat is sinking.

Nearby there is a small plank that only one person can cling to, yet a child is reaching for it just as desperately.

What choice will the young lady make?]

After reading the letter, Adeline gave a faint, amused smile.

Her mother, by contrast, looked serious.

“Her Highness is testing your loyalty. Write that you will sacrifice yourself for the child. Quickly.”

Adeline began writing her reply in her mother’s presence.

[With reverence, I present my answer to the noble princess.

According to moral principles, I believe the child should be protected first.

A child’s life holds more time and possibility than mine.

Therefore, I will willingly yield the plank and accept death.]

When she placed the final period, she saw her mother nod in satisfaction.

Her mother patted her proudly on the back and left the room.

But Adeline did not seal the letter.

She took out another sheet of paper and continued.

[In truth, everything written above is the answer my mother wished me to present to the princess.

However, if I may speak honestly, I would choose the plank for myself.]

Adeline knew that by writing this, she would most likely not become an attendant.

All the other candidates would write what her mother desired.

They would imply that they were ready to give their lives for the princess.

But Adeline did not want that.

If she fled to the capital as an attendant, her mother would remain alone in the castle.

[My life belongs to me. Can anyone live it in my place?

I am obligated to choose myself.

To yield the plank to the child would be noble—but it would be a lie to myself.]

After truly finishing, Adeline held back her tears and sealed the letter.

She wrote that her life mattered most to her.

But in reality, her mother’s face stood before her eyes, and so she deliberately gave the wrong answer.

Deep down, Adeline understood.

From the moment her foolish father left behind such a will, her and her mother’s chances of survival had ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) become negligible.

To her uncle, Adeline was the primary target.

And most likely, he would achieve his aim.

As soon as he obtained the authority of lord, he married a highly skilled mage.

The letter reached the princess safely through the head maid.

And then—

“Adeline! You did it, you did it!”

Several weeks later, the reply came—she had been accepted as the princess’s attendant.

“At last we can breathe. At last....”

Adeline could not say a word as she looked at her mother, weeping with joy.

She had written the wrong answer.

Why had the princess chosen her?

But once summoned, she had to go.

Now even her uncle, who held the lord’s authority, could not stop her.

“...You’ve devised quite an interesting move, sister-in-law.”

“Have we? It is still a great joy that our Adeline was summoned by the princess. I was just thinking what dress to send with her in three days. Tell Lecia to help choose.”

Her mother was nothing like her father, who saw no farther than the tip of his nose.

She always smiled at Reginald and continued a dangerous game balanced on a blade’s edge.

And on the night before Adeline’s departure, she came to her mother’s bedroom and spoke seriously.

“Do not worry about me, Adeline.”

Stroking her hair, her mother added:

“You only need to make sure you never return. Once everything here is settled, I will follow you.”

“......”

“For your life, I am capable of anything. Whatever Reginald wants—let him take it.”

That night, Adeline broke down before her mother, who seemed so strong.

Though she was cleverer than her peers, she was only fifteen.

Fifteen—after her father’s death, after losing the authority of her house, after enduring daily assassination attempts.

She did not show it, but inside she had long since burned out.

“Do not cry. Smile. If you cannot smile, remain silent.”

Her mother wiped away her tears and repeated:

“The harder it is, the more you must do so. So your enemies cannot see your heart and lower their guard.”

Do not be ruled by emotion. Look at reality.

Then a path to survival will appear.

And so she arrived in the capital.

The princess was nothing like what Adeline had expected.

After several months of observation, she understood why she had been chosen.

“Always remember your answer, Adeline. In this world, there is nothing more important than yourself.”

Within the palace, the princess was astonishingly different from the public image known to the world.

She resembled Adeline in the days when she had lived in the castle.

There were assassination attempts every few days.

Anyone who approached seemed to hide a blade within their sleeve.

“...Every family has its secrets. The imperial house is no exception.”

The princess would say this on the days Adeline had to tend to her wounds.

“I will not live long. If something happens—run.”

With a faint smile.

Over time, Adeline grew deeply attached to her.

Sometimes she thought it might be better to abandon Kaldenbine Ridge entirely and settle in the capital.

She began searching for a house in the center of the capital for her mother.

She laid out a garden.

Hired servants.

Even if she remained in the palace, her mother would need a place to live.

But it was then that a letter arrived from her uncle.

Adeline’s mother was gravely ill.

Most likely, she had only a few days left.

Adeline smiled.

“I knew it. Uncle. Or Lecia—they did something to Mother.”

Enzo and Raul listened with stone faces.

Tie as well.

‘Adeline unni....’

Her mother’s words—smile when it is hardest—surfaced in memory.

And so the smile now resting on Adeline’s lips pierced like a thorn.

“I told the princess I had to return to my homeland.”

At first, the princess was surprised by the sudden request.

But she soon allowed her to leave without protest.

‘Yes. You do not belong in the cage of the palace.’

That very day, Adeline packed her belongings and returned home.

She did not spare a thought for the house prepared for her in the capital.

And only upon arriving at Kaldenbine Ridge did she discover—

the princess had secretly placed a vast quantity of jewels and gold into her luggage.

But there was no time to reflect upon it.

“I pounded on the castle gates like a madwoman. After a long while, they opened them—but I could not go inside.”

As she recalled it, Adeline smiled faintly again.

“They were carrying my mother’s body out before me. She was already dead.”