Hyeyoung instinctively threw herself toward the child.

However, the approaching carriage was one step ahead of Hyeyoung.

The carriage, without slowing down, hit both Hyeyoung and the child and disappeared into the darkness.

It was a common possession story, an unremarkable tragedy.

‘I saved them this time! I did!’

Ermedeline recalled the moment of death, but the joy of saving the baby in front of her felt much greater than that shock.

Even after returning to her bedroom, she sat in the corner, smiling brightly, and tears of joy streamed down her face.

However, to the maids who were unaware of the situation, her behavior seemed quite strange, and all three of them stood in the corner, just watching.

Eventually, the youngest Rooney, who didn’t know any better, approached Ermedeline and knelt beside her.

“Your Majesty the Empress, are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere? Perhaps completely purified…”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Tears were flowing, but she wasn’t sobbing, so the response came immediately.

“Yes?”

“It’s not because I’m in pain. It’s just that the baby survived… so I’m just relieved, that’s all.”

“Oh, I heard that story too. They say you breathed into the baby’s mouth, even though there might be a contagion. The entire palace is buzzing with that story.”

“Really? The rumor spreads fast.”

“Of course! It’s not an ordinary matter! Your Majesty the Empress, you risked your own safety to save a commoner’s baby!”

“All babies are the same, you know…”

Thinking that she needed to pull herself together, Ermedeline tried to stand up after wiping her hands. However, due to sitting for so long, her legs felt numb.

“Ouch.”

Her wobbly body was supported by Rooney, who was nearby, and Helen, who rushed to her side.

The youngest, the smallest, and the most inconspicuous child.

But strangely, even as Helen supported Ermedeline, she couldn’t stop rolling her eyes and seemed extremely restless.

“It’s okay. I’m fine. I’m really fine, so go back to your tasks. I want to be alone for a while.”

Ermedeline pushed everyone away and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

As the swirling whirlwind of emotions subsided and her mind cleared, the memories of her death once again came to the forefront.

In truth, her death itself wasn’t particularly unfair or regrettable.

After all, she had been living day by day, simply lacking the courage to die.

So, when she realized that she had transmigrated into a novel, she didn’t feel much-lingering attachment to her past life.

But that child.

She wanted to save that child, but she couldn’t.

Facing the blinding headlights and sensing her impending death, she also saw the child’s body being thrown far away, just out of her reach, in the midst of the impact.

For a few seconds before life left her body, Hyeyoung had to gaze at the lifeless child’s body, lying motionless with blood trickling from its head.

“Sigh…”

More distressing than the fact that she had died in a hit-and-run was the constant replay of the child’s death in her mind.

‘Did someone retrieve the body? It probably didn’t lay on the cold road for long.’

‘Did that child also get a second chance like me?’

‘If it transmigrated, I wish it had been into a happier novel instead of this melodramatic one.’

Her ongoing contemplation took a back seat to the nagging thoughts.

Lost in her melancholic musings, Ermedeline was interrupted when Rooney informed her of someone’s visit.

“Who?”

“Countess Elion urgently requests an audience, madam.”

“The Countess? Me?”

“Yes. What should I do?”

A noble’s visit at this moment was rather unexpected, but Ermedeline decided to meet with her for now.

“Let her in.”

The Countess Elion was a plump woman with chestnut-brown hair and deep brown eyes. However, her vivid expression seemed excessively venomous, which left Ermedeline unsure of how to approach her.

Therefore, Ermedeline deliberately maintained a neutral expression and silently watched the Countess.

Countess Elion, seemingly accustomed to such reactions, didn’t change her expression and proceeded to discuss her business without missing a beat.

“It’s a big one.”

‘A big one?’

“She’s a local viscountess, and they say she’s about to give birth.”

“Expecting?”

“Yes. But she doesn’t want to have any more children, so it looks like her talks with the Marquis didn’t work out after all.”

“Marriage negotiations gone awry?”

“Well, it’s an unremarkable story. An old, dirty rich marquis meets a young viscountess on the pretext of marriage, gets tired of her, and dumps her, and there’s a complicated succession issue involved.”

“What?”

“Isn’t that common? If she doesn’t get married, the child in her belly will be illegitimate anyway, so she might as well take a cut and get rid of it, and the marquis will pay for everything.”

‘Oh… could this be?’

A memory from a dusty and crumpled spellbook she had skimmed through came to mind.

The curse of death upon the child in the womb.

Under the curse, there was a list of numerous noble ladies and mistresses.

“This woman really seems to have done some unpleasant things.”

Misinterpreting Ermedeline’s uncomfortable expression, Countess Elion continued, “The marquis owns a mine. The payment is not… unpleasant.”

“No, for now, I cannot.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve just arrived and haven’t heard the details yet, but I received a purification from the priest a little while ago. So, I cannot use the curse right now.”

“Purification? What happened at the palace?”

Countess Elion, who had been composed all along, suddenly sharpened her hazel eyes, like a predator presented with a delicious prey.

“If you’re curious, ask someone on your way out. I’m tired, so I need to rest for now.”

As Ermedeline sat back with a cold demeanor, the Countess didn’t press further and quietly left the bedroom.

She might wear a curious expression, but she seemed perceptive.

“Why is it that she, the Empress’s maid, always appears like a ghost only when something happens at the palace? How did she hear the rumors so quickly this time?”

“My maid?”

It seemed that the person who had visited a while ago was one of the Empress’s maids who had been missing for a few days.

“Well, I don’t really know.”

“Anyway, sometimes I wonder if Countess Elion comes as a maid because she wants to be the first to hear palace rumors.”

Though Rooney, who didn’t know the true purpose of Countess Elion’s visit, made a sarcastic remark, her speculation wasn’t entirely off the mark.

It wasn’t because of rumors, but she had been working as a maid to be closer to the broker who could provide her with curses.

“Well, it’s better to hear something than nothing at all, isn’t it?”

“That’s true. Marchioness de Grania and Princess Viella  don’t even visit.”

‘Grania, Viella.’

Ermedeline, who unexpectedly acquired this information, silently memorized the names she had just heard, all while Felio came to visit her.

As they entered the reception room, they saw Felio standing there, emitting an aura that was not only cold but almost frigid, compared to the previous visitors.

He truly resembled an exquisite ice sculpture, befitting his nickname of the “Ice Prince.”

“Did you come because of the lawsuit…”

“What’s your ulterior motive?”

“What?”

“Did you hire a child with a contagious disease in advance to make your case in the lawsuit look more favorable?”

“What?”

Ermedeline was dumbfounded and flabbergasted. What a ridiculous misunderstanding!

She had saved the child, and now she was being accused of such a thing. Ermedeline suddenly felt the weight of being cast as a formidable antagonist.

“Whether I hired the child or not will become clear after an investigation. I had no ulterior motive. It was just a reflexive reaction.”

Even with Ermedeline’s explanation, Felio’s ice-cold silver eyes showed no signs of thawing.

“The lawsuit preparations are proceeding well. Although we were followed, it’s better not to continue meeting at the palace to avoid unnecessary attention. I’ll send a carriage like last time when there’s something to report.”

“Followed?”

“Didn’t you know? Two carriages followed us.”

“?”

Ermedeline showed no sign of awareness, prompting Felio to sweep his dark blue hair back with his long, elegant fingers and let out a short sigh.

“So, you didn’t expect that we wouldn’t be followed? It’s the tail from Her Majesty and Valliere.”

“Ah…”

Ermedeline finally understood.

She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

After all, even among the closest attendants of the Empress, there were spies, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there were tailing involved.

“While we can’t avoid being followed, you should make sure the details of the lawsuit don’t leak.”

“I will do that.”

She considered confessing that she had already received threatening letters but decided not to appear any more incompetent. Ermedeline sealed her lips tightly.

As Felio left and returned to her bedroom, she saw Helen holding a duster and standing on tiptoes to clean a high cabinet.

‘She might trip like that…’

Before Ermedeline could finish her thought, Helen’s outstretched hand, reaching for a dusting ornament made of stone, brushed it and caused it to fall.

In the moment of panic, Helen, with her balance lost, extended her hand holding the duster and brushed against the ornament more forcefully. As the stone ornament teetered on the verge of falling onto Helen’s body, Ermedeline quickly rushed over. With one hand supporting Helen’s slender waist and the other hand holding the quite heavy ornament, Ermedeline prevented the accident from happening.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Ermedeline asked, and in response, Helen jumped up and twisted her waist.

“I-I’m, I’m sorry, um, thank you, thank you very much. And I’m sorry.”

Perhaps it was the embarrassment of receiving support from the Empress, but Helen’s deeply bowed waist remained bent.

“I’m fine. Lift your head. As long as you’re not hurt. Next time, don’t take unnecessary risks, and use a sturdy chair…”

Ermedeline advised, relieved that Helen was unharmed.

“I, I apologize. I am guilty of death, Empress!”

Ermedeline was about to say in a low voice, but suddenly Helen screamed and fell to her knees, leaving Ermedeline deeply embarrassed.

“No, what’s wrong with this? Get up! Don’t be…… ‘ob-’ No, don’t overreact!”

In my panic, the slang word ‘oba’ almost came out.

“I’m so sorry. Your Majesty, please kill me.”

“Oh, really! This is not a big deal…….”

A note flashes through my mind as I speak.

“No way…… you?”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to tell the Empress what happened, and he said…… that if I did that, he wouldn’t drag me to the Duke’s mansion, so I did. I’m so sorry.”

“Ha…….”

She can feel her neck is stiff.

Ermedeline sighed deeply and lifted her head to look up at the ceiling.

“Are you the one who left the note on the bed?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what’s written inside?”

“I don’t know. The Duke de Françoise just told me to place the note, that’s all.”

Ermedeline had been curious about the name Ferdant and wondered if Helen might know something. However, Helen seemed genuinely unaware of any information related to it. It was unlikely that a lowly maid like her would be privy to important matters.

Lowering her gaze, Ermedeline observed Helen, whose small, thin frame was trembling uncontrollably. Her shoulder bones peeking out from beneath her clothes were so pronounced that they seemed ready to break. Ermedeline had no desire to reprimand the young girl.

“If you were going to hide it, why did you confess? You should know what kind of person I am.”

Ermedeline deliberately asked in a cold tone.