“Are you alright, My Lady?”
Theor asked, his expression full of concern.
I did my best to feign dizziness and replied, “My head is spinning.”
“Let’s head to my carriage first.”
“Eek?!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Theor swept me up into his arms in a bridal carry, causing me to let out a startled shriek before I could stop myself.
“Ah, I’m so dizzy….”
I meant to tell him it was nothing, but the situation was so mortifying that I just rested my face against his chest and continued to play the part of a lightheaded damsel.
Besides, I had just used dark magic—a power similar to his own—right in front of an actual dark attribute user. How was I supposed to explain this?
Furthermore, I had used healing powers; he would surely try to dig into the source of my abilities, one way or another.
Should I just be honest, considering how things had turned out?
After all, I was planning on showing off a dark attribute I’d “bought with money” at the upcoming debutante.
To pull off that plan, I had to resolve the biggest hurdle: who would steal Theor’s dark attribute, when, and how, in order to store it in an object capable of holding properties?
Of course, this entire plan was a fabrication. Since the object didn’t actually exist, I planned to forbid its production after the debutante by framing it as a security risk, citing fears that it could be used for dangerous purposes.
In the end, what mattered was ensuring my debutante didn’t become a laughingstock like it was in the original story.
Therefore, this was actually a good opportunity.
I didn’t intend to hide this power forever, anyway, since I planned to use it to pave a flowery path for Pere *unni*.
So, if I explained the situation to Theor and got him to dip his toes into my scam, I could tell him my secret in exchange for his cooperation….
Lost in thought, I suddenly snapped my eyes open, but seeing a head full of black hair filling my vision, I jumped in surprise and shrieked, “Huuuff!”
“Ah. Are you alright, My Lady?”
G-goodness…!
I didn’t know when Theor had brought me into the carriage and settled me against the plush cushions, but I hadn’t realized he was watching me from such a close range, and my heart nearly stopped.
But what was he staring at?
Seemingly flustered by my suspicious glare, Theor spoke.
“I was looking at your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Yes, the one you used to heal with dark magic.”
“Ah….”
It seemed Theor was intensely curious about how I’d healed a wound using dark magic.
Curious enough to approach someone pretending to sleep and examine their fingers closely.
I swallowed a curse internally.
*Damn it, have I been caught?*
“Um… well, you see….”
I scrambled, not knowing how to explain it, but an idea flashed through my mind, and I quickly looked at him.
“It’s an experimental device!”
Theor’s eyebrow twitched at my exclamation.
“It’s a relic currently being developed by, um, the academy. It’s made to manifest something that looks like a dark attribute… Ah, anyway, it’s classified, but my father has a lot of money… so, this is classified information that I shouldn’t be talking about, but it’s not illegal, okay?”
I babbled on, my explanation making absolutely no sense.
As soon as I finished, I looked at Theor’s expression and saw it had shifted from confusion to utter disbelief, making me realize I was doomed.
*Oh, please, just let this go….*
I inwardly paced back and forth, but on the outside, I plastered on a forced smile and said,
“Classified, it’s strictly classified.”
*Nod, nod.*
At Theor’s muttered words, I nodded vigorously to emphasize that it was the truth.
Watching me, Theor curled the corners of his lips and narrowed his eyes.
“Interesting.”
“Ah… ahaha. Right? It’s interesting, isn’t it? Ah, anyway, please keep it a secret, as we don’t want any strange rumors going around.”
As I spoke as imploringly as I could, Theor’s red eyes began to shimmer like a serpent’s.
“Intriguing.”
It wasn’t a confirmation, but a response with a chilling nuance that left me feeling like I was truly done for.
I screamed internally.
*‘Interesting my foot. Please, just kill that interest and promise to keep it a secret!’*
“A-anyway, so once this is properly implemented, I’m going to use it at the debutante.”
At my words, Theor looked puzzled.
“Is there really a need to go that far?”
“Of course there is! I have plenty of money, but I don’t have any attribute abilities, do I?”
Theor watched me in silence.
“If I don’t use something like this, I’ll be the laughingstock of the debutante. Because I’m a commoner who can’t use an attribute ability….”
“So you want to announce that you can at least use it in that way.”
“Exactly. That is the only way for someone in my position to avoid becoming a laughingstock.”
*See? I can buy attribute abilities with money too!* When I put it that way, Theor let out a small, dry laugh.
It was a laugh of genuine disbelief, and though I felt a bit insulted, I didn’t show it.
“Anyway, the ability I can use just happens to resemble the Empire’s only dark attribute, doesn’t it? Imagine if a mere commoner like me suddenly used an ability like that; wouldn’t the Empire be turned upside down?”
“They would say the oracle was wrong.”
“Exactly!”
When I clapped my hands, Theor’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“So, I can’t reveal this power to the world just yet.”
Originally, I had intended to wait until the time came when my sister, Pere, was in danger, use it then, and shrug it off by saying, “Oh, this must be a revelation from God,” claiming it was a divine gift.
“However, as you said, My Lady, that ‘classified experimental device’ is dangerous, regardless of whether it is fake or real.”
Theor said.
The phrase “regardless of whether it is fake or real” made it clear he didn’t believe me, but there was nothing else I could do, so I pretended not to notice.
“Even if it’s dangerous, it’s classified, so no one will know, right?”
“That is exactly the problem. If you go around boasting that you’ve created an experimental device that hasn’t even been invented yet, how do you plan to deal with the fallout?”
He was now speaking as if he clearly knew I was lying.
Since he was basing his argument on the fact that it was a lie, I offered a solution based on that premise.
“Couldn’t we just wrap it up by saying it was destroyed because it was too dangerous?”
“That’s easier said than done. If you claim to have created such an item, people will try to get their hands on it by any means necessary.”
I shrugged my shoulders at his words.
“But it’s an object that doesn’t exist in the world anyway, isn’t it?”
“That is not the point. Once people have the idea of such an object in their heads, there will be those who try to find it in one way or another. Of course, there might even be someone who actually tries to create it.”
“Oh, boy.”
“Regardless, you should think of another way.”
“Hmm….”
At Theor’s suggestion, I frowned slightly, wondering if there was actually another way.
He pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said,
“If you use that ability at the debutante, the Great Temple will definitely be stirred up.”
“That’s why I have to say it’s a power I received from the Grand Duke, not my own true power.”
I told him he needed to help me think about how to “borrow” his dark attribute for just a brief moment so I could make it seem like it was mine.
However, Theor’s reaction was that he didn’t know why I had to go that far.
*This won’t do. I’ll have to tell him the contents of the original story.*
How pathetic and infuriating Ellinea’s debutante was in the original.
Of course, I would mention it as a “precognitive dream”—one I had never dreamed of in my life.
“Actually, I’ve been having precognitive dreams.”
“Precognitive dreams…?”
“Yes, they are so accurate it gives me goosebumps—they’re truly incredible dreams. Anyway, these dreams showed what happened at my debutante, and that’s why, no matter what, I refuse to let my debutante become a laughingstock like in the dream. So….”
“The lie about storing the attribute in a necklace is out of the question. The mere fact that such an object exists would throw the Empire into chaos as people fight to possess it.”
However, Theor shook his head firmly.
*Don’t tell me…*
“Even precognitive dreams don’t work?”
“Why is that? Even if the commoners don’t, all the nobles possess elemental abilities.”
“Because those who don’t have a certain elemental ability are the nobles who crave to possess it.”
“……Ah!”
I hadn’t thought that far.
Everyone has their own elemental ability, and their affiliations are split between offense and defense based on those abilities.
It was obvious that those with defensive abilities who preferred to attack would want offensive ones, and those with offensive abilities who preferred a defense-oriented combat style would want defensive ones.
And there would be more people here than anywhere else who wanted to possess both abilities at the same time.
“That would certainly be confusing……”
My brow furrowed involuntarily at a point I hadn’t even considered.
“Anyway, try thinking about it from a different angle.”
“Hmm……”
Even if he told me to think about it from a different angle, what other method could there possibly be?
No matter how much I thought about it, no good ideas came to mind.
Then, Theor, who had been silent for a moment, slowly shook his head and said.
“As I thought, if you use that ability at the debutante, the Empire will be in an uproar.”
“That’s why I’m saying we can just claim it’s an experimental device infused with the darkness attribute, not my own power.”
At that, Theor looked at me with a pitiful expression.
His emotions were clearly revealed through his gaze.
He was undoubtedly thinking about whether this woman was stupid or just daring.
That thought was spot on.
Theor had accurately discerned the emotions of Ellinea, who was doing her best to hide her embarrassment and wearing a daring expression as if to bluff.
He also quickly noticed the look in her eyes, which was a mix of anxiety and guts.
For some reason, that unstable balance grated on Theor’s nerves.
He wondered if it was simply because it was bothersome that he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“In any case, that method is out of the question, no matter how much I rethink it.”
Theor continued, showing no outward reaction.
“So, let’s just go together.”
“Yes.”
I blurted out a reflexive response, but my eyes widened belatedly at the suggestion that we go together.
“Pardon?”