Navia took out a thick winter coat from the wardrobe and put it on.
When she slid her arms in, the sleeves sprang up; it was a coat she had worn when she was seven, so it couldn't be helped.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, her body remained unchanged and skinny, fitting her perfectly.
Before leaving the room, Navia turned back for a look.
A room dedicated to the true bloodline, accessible only after nine attempts.
A room every girl would dream of, but to Navia, it was a place that sent shivers down her spine and felt repulsive.
"Finally, I'm leaving this place."
There was no sense of anticipation as Agnes was about to leave.
Navia couldn't afford such sentiments; her plan was far too dangerous.
"If I fail, death is the only outcome."
Navia clenched her fist with a resolute look in her eyes.
Looking out the window, she noticed the rain was thinning.
"This should mean Nikan has set off for the Duke's mansion."
The road from Agnes's mansion to the Imperial Palace was well-maintained, so the journey was short.
Yet, Navia was not in a hurry.
If a spark is thrown, it needs time to blaze up.
Navia walked down to the lobby, lightly stepping.
It was time to create an alibi.
"Are you ignoring Vivian's words now?"
Just as she expected, she heard a shout and stopped on the stairs.
Looking down, she saw Vivian blocking Philippa, who was being dragged back to the prison.
"Release the nanny! Hurry!"
The knights responded bluntly. "The young master ordered to imprison this person again."
Vivian had been considered terminally ill, receiving various conveniences until now.
In fact, stress had nothing to do with the magical reflux disease, but everyone treated her as if she were truly ill.
If by bad luck, Vivian's mood was upset at the same time as a magical outburst occurred, simply being beheaded would not be the end of their crimes.
But things are different now. Vivian, cured of her illness, was nothing more than a normal and healthy six-year-old girl.
Hence, she could no longer use her illness as a right she had enjoyed.
"Follow not my brother's, but Vivian's command!" Vivian was the only one unaware of this fact.
Lyndon, with a troubled expression, tried to dissuade Vivian.
"Miss, it is only natural to follow the heir's orders in the master's absence. Please return to your room."
Then Philippa shouted "How dare you!"
Philippa, having pinned her hopes only on Vivian, raised her voice in protest.
"You all! Do you not realize that the lady's recovery means she will become the future Empress? She will be royalty, and can you bear the consequences of this disloyalty?"
"That's…"
Confronted with the word 'Empress,' they hesitated to retort and fell silent.
True to the saying, even a decaying halibut is still a fish, Philippa did not back down and continued to pressure them in her usual manner.
The knights held Philippa, unsure of what to do, waiting for Lyndon's decision.
Lyndon, who was to bury his bones here, did not want to plant unnecessary resentment in Vivian's heart.
As everyone was troubled, Navia walked down the stairs, asking in a clear voice for all to hear.
"Vivian becomes an Empress?"
Everyone's gaze shifted to Navia.
Vivian, thinking that Navia had come to hinder her, glared at the maids she had ordered to stay away.
'You didn't listen to Vivian, and now my sister has come to interfere!'
Philippa's expression was even more fierce and venomous than Vivian's.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying it's strange for our Lady Vivian to become an Empress?" The atmosphere turned cold at Philippa's words.
They thought it was presumptuous for a common lady, who didn't even know the subject, to envy Vivian for aspiring to the position of empress.
Philippa continued with momentum.
"Originally, if Lady Vivian were not unwell, she would have been engaged to Prince Ares long ago. You, of course, wouldn't be aware of that fact, right?"
One of the servants murmured.
"Tsk, a loose tongue."
Navia calmly spoke as if she hadn't heard.
"Of course, I would be delighted if Vivian becomes the next empress."
Then, with a hint of concern, she asked,
"But, Nanny, has an official letter regarding Vivian's engagement been issued?"
At the mention of an official letter, Philippa's eyebrows twitched.
"W-Well, not exactly, but... this is a matter of course!"
Navia, with a relieved expression, smiled proudly.
"I guess I worried too much for no reason. Discussions related to the royal family are dangerous, so I overreacted."
Making claims about the future empress without an official letter could be interpreted as an act of treason. The servants, realizing how dangerous Philippa's statement was, sealed their lips like clams.
As the situation reversed, Philippa gasped for breath, and her eyes twitched.
"That conniving...!"
Vivian suddenly understood.
'Ah, my sister is jealous of me becoming the empress. That's why she's acting like this.'
"Is my sister jealous that I'm becoming the empress? I get it now!"
Lyndon urgently covered Vivian's mouth, hugged her, and shouted,
"Close your mouth, Philippa!"
Philippa flinched at the thunderous scolding. Vivian was so startled she almost hiccupped.
But Lyndon was too busy to care about such things.
"How dare a traitor who betrays his family even think of harming Agnes!"
Lyndon's action was appropriate.
By mentioning Philippa as a traitor who betrayed Agnes, he undermined the credibility of her words, rendering her claims about the empress null and void.
"Butlor, this is a frame-up. Please believe me! It's all a plot devised by that fake!"
"Quiet! Lock up that criminal immediately!"
The knights forcefully dragged Philippa away as she struggled, mentioning Navia.
"That woman will ruin this family!"
Navia watched Philippa being dragged away and then silently smirked.
'You'll die before you even see it.'
Navia sneered at Philippa, lifting one corner of her mouth.
Philippa shook violently, as if she was about to fall backwards.
"That... that wretched woman!"
A knight knocked Philippa unconscious when her struggles became too much to handle.
Vivian, shocked by Philippa's demonic appearance, froze and then began to sob.
"Hu... "
Everything was strange. The nanny becoming strange, her anger, the butler shouting.
"Huuuk... Lyndon, where's dad? Where is he? Vivian is scared."
Tears streamed down Vivian's face as she sobbed weakly.
"Vivian is scared of unnie..."
When not throwing a tantrum, Vivian, with her doll-like beauty and lovable appearance, was the epitome of a little angel.
Seeing Vivian crying out of fear evoked sympathy from onlookers.
This aspect of Vivian was certainly far superior to Wood's.
Her ability to use her adorable appearance to escape crises and turn those against her into villains was a tactic that shone brightly in social circles later on.
People treated Navia as a wicked step-sister, each adding their own comment.
"Do you really think she's Lady Agnes?"
"A rolling stone trying to dislodge a set stone. She doesn't know her place..."
They were harsher in their scorn, knowing that Navia had now become useless.
Vivian's sobs turned into heart-wrenching cries.
"I want to see dad... Huaaang!"
The servants gathered around Vivian as she burst into tears.
"Our poor miss!"
"Come here. Shall we wait for the master while eating your favorite sweet cake?"
Vivian's dedicated maids hurried to fetch her, deliberately bumping into Navia as if they didn't see her.
Navia stumbled back several steps.
The maids received Vivian from Lyndon with a smug look.
"We'll take her."
"Let's all go! It'll be less scary with more people around."
Maki glanced at Navia with a sneer.
"Oh, looks like Miss Navia is going out?"
Lyndon asked with an annoyed look.
"Where are you going?"
Navia hesitated.
"To buy a gift for the family..."
Just then, Vivian cried louder, disliking even the sound of Navia's voice.
Lyndon wanted to scold her for shopping on a rainy day and told her to stay locked up in her room.
But seeing Vivian crying as if her life depended on it, he thought it better to let Navia go out.
She might catch a cold shopping in such weather, but well, she wouldn't die, would she?
"Then call a carriage..."
"Miss!"
Just then, Kate, who had been out of sight, rushed in and hastily said with an awkward smile.
"I have prepared a carriage for you, Miss. Please go."
The fact that someone who shouldn't have known she was going out had prepared a carriage amused her.
Lyndon, relieved of unnecessary trouble, replied without even bowing his head.
"Then go."
None of the servants, including Lyndon, thought to see Navia off, so they all went up to the third floor with Vivian.
Vivian, surrounded by the attention and care of adults, stopped crying and smiled brightly.
Navia, shrugging off her intimidated look, watched their backs with a cold gaze.
It was a warm and peaceful scene.
But how long could such harmony last?
"Miss, it's raining outside..."
"Let's go."
Navia cut off Kate, who was anxiously urging her.
Kate, preoccupied with carrying out 'someone's' orders, didn't find Navia's cold tone strange.
Navia followed Kate out of the lobby.
The carriage was parked not in its usual spot, but in a corner out of sight.
The carriage bore no family emblem, and the coachman was someone Navia had never seen before.
Beside the coachman sat a mysterious boy, wrapped in a cloak from head to toe, concealing his appearance.
