The Story Is Not Over Yet

It was the first time she had ever seen him get so absorbed in something, both as the human Duke Ferial and the devil Zagnac.
Azela always only saw him with a light smile from the side, so it felt different to see him like that.

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“It is… well done?”

Azela asked, sneaking up to the desk.

Zagnac nodded, writing down many unrecognizable numbers on the paper.
It seemed that he was sorting out the figures and budgets of the decorations written in her report.

She had been recognized…

The corners of her lips went up to the sky without knowing the end.
No matter how much she grabbed and pulled it down, it wouldn’t come down.
Azela, unable to hide her happy lips, turned her gaze to the side.

Then, she saw the letter on the top of the pile of papers on her desk.
The letter was stamped with the seal of the Imperial Family.
The name of ‘Liviahat den Argen’ was written in blunt and cute handwriting.

Liviahart Den Argen.

It was a familiar name that Azela knew because it was the name of the Eighth Princess of this Empire.
Though why did she write a letter to Zagnac…?

Curious, she tilted her head.

“Here.”

As she had been glancing at the name written on the letter for a long time, she hurriedly turned her gaze to Zagnac’s voice.

“If you could make up for the part I wrote next to it, there’s room for improvement.
I wrote down the wrong dimensions, the ones with a different budget, and the ones that would be better if they were replaced.”

“Yes.”

“I wondered what would happen if Count Todd’s family took over the business.”

Zagnac uttered with a frown on his lips.

What made him talk like that? Receiving the report, she calmed her prickly chest and smiled after him.
The report was densely packed with the opinions he had written.

“And, the suggestions written there were also interesting.”

“It’s not nonsense?”

“If you bring it to the capital as it is, there is no need to build it on the outskirts.
It was a new perspective for those in the capital, as well as those from other places, to find something special to visit the second store outside of the capital.
It was very interesting.”

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“…Really?”

A constant smile was drawn on her lips.

No matter how hard she pressed her lips, she couldn’t stop her bursting laughter.
She did it in her own strength.
Although she had help from someone, Azela herself spent several nights rolling her head to get the results.

For this moment, even with Daniel and Sylvia in front of her, she was in a good mood to smile.

“I have to start over again from architectural design.
I’m glad I trusted you.”

‘It was good to trust her,’ there was no more praise for Azela than those words.
It tickled deep in her chest.
Her desire for achievement, which had been suppressed for years, was wriggling.
It seemed to be yelling at her to get to work soon, and to show off her skills quickly.

Azela, who suppressed her inner joy as she glanced at Zagnac’s gaze, turned her back in embarrassment.

“Well, what is that?”

“Yes?”

Azela pointed to the letter from the Eight Princess she had seen a moment ago on his desk.
To be honest, she had no idea and was just trying to divert the conversation from her embarrassment.
Zagnac followed where her fingers were pointing and turned his gaze.

He put the letter in his hand.

“You also exchanged letters with Her Highness the Princess… As expected, the ‘Duke Ferial,’ who is trusted by His Majesty’s Emperor, is very different.
That is amazing.”

“….”

His face went cold as she heard Azela’s selfless congratulations.
For a moment, it was as if she was really seeing the ‘devil’ in him.

It wasn’t Zagnac, it was definitely the ‘devil.’

Seeing the sender of the letter, he took it in his hand and strode past Azela towards the fireplace.
The next moment, he put the letter into the fireplace without the slightest hesitation.

The letter was clearly unopened.
Obviously, this was something that he would never do, so Azela couldn’t help but be surprised.
It was an act that no one could do—to burn the letter of the Imperial Family so arbitrarily.

“The, the letter from Her Highness the Princess…? What if there is an important story written inside?”

She clung close behind Zagnac and cried out in a bewildered voice.
The letter that entered the fireplace had already turned to ashes.
There was no way he could read the letter from Princess Livia unless he turned back time.

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Azela stared at him with a puzzled gaze.
Still, his gaze was still cold.

“I don’t need it.”

Zagnac, who spoke briefly with an attitude like it had nothing to do with him, turned his back on the fireplace without any regrets.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Liviahart den Argen.

The Eight Princess, born to Emperor Alberto and his concubine Serina.
She officially turned sixteen on her birthday a few days ago.
A lovely girl with pale pink hair reaching her waist and big red eyes, though no one in the imperial palace loved her.

Slaap!

Livia’s small head turned to the left with a loud noise.
She was hit so hard that her body shook.
Her tender lips burst open, and the taste of blood flowed from her mouth.

However, she clenched her teeth and endured the pain.

“You’re not doing anything right, Livia.”

There was always no reason for her to be right.
If she had to find a reason, it was because her mother was not in a good mood, or because the Emperor visited another concubine’s bedroom, or no other reason…

In other words, Livia was to blame either way.

“I’m… I’m sorry, mother.”

Serena did not love her.

Even though Livia’s hair and eye color, was without resemblance to her mother, Serina and father.
It wasn’t even that Emperor Alberto doubted Serina’s infidelity.

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“It’s because of you, it’s all because of you.”

Obviously, at first, Serena also struggled to love Livia, the child whom she gave birth to.

It wasn’t until Livia was two years old that she used an ancient taboo magic she had never been taught.

Not only in the imperial family, but in Serina’s family, no one possessed magical powers.
There could be no child with magical powers between the two of them.
However, Livia was different.
In the imperial palace, she was called ‘the witch,’ and in the end, Serina’s resentment and anger were directed at her daughter.

“Mo, Mother… I’m sorry.
Sorry.”

She had since desperately wanted Livia to die, thinking that she was only a thorn in her eye and a stumbling block for her.
She had been ruthlessly beating Livia for a long time, left the bedroom, breathing with a red face.

Livia, who had been holding her breath as if she had died, was only able to take a deep breath when she noticed that her mother’s footsteps were moving away.
She put down the hand on her head, and her nanny, Diran, rushed to her feet and lifted her.

“…Does mother hate me?”

“Please, don’t say that, Princess.”

“I heard that His Majesty is trying to marry me to a duke.
I’m only sixteen now…”

The nanny, Diran, gave Livia an ice pack on her swollen cheeks and gave a sad expression.

Even though she wanted to say no, she couldn’t… Either way, everything the girl asked was true.
Eventually, she would be sold and she would marry the Duke because no one would refuse a marriage to the Royal Family.

“I think that it’s better, Princess.”

“Yes?”

“If you get married, you can leave this palace and live freely.”

“….!”

When the nanny Diran said so, Livia’s red eyes widened.

…Could she get out of the palace and live freely? It was something she had never even thought of or dreamed of.

To be free… Her?

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Thinking that, Livia’s eyes fluttered slightly.

“Can, can I have the cake I want?”

“Yes.”

“Can I not get up early every morning?”

“You can oversleep.”

“Ah, can I not get hit by mother every day?”

“Yes, of course.
I don’t think you’ll meet Lady Serena every day.”

Livia raised her trembling hand and covered her lips with a look of excitement.
Seeing her pitifully, the nanny Diran took the little girl in her arms and stroked her back.

“I heard that Duke Ferial has good manners and is a wonderful person.
I have seen him from afar, and he has a handsome face and is very tall.”

“But, but Marquis Nervia’s face was all wrinkled, and his white hair looks sparse.
What would Duke Ferial be then?”

“No, he had very dark black hair, not white hair.
You can trust me, Princess.”

As the nanny Diran said so, Livia took a small deep breath as if she had not yet calmed down.
She couldn’t believe it… No, actually, it didn’t matter if his face was wrinkled and he had white hair.
If he could set her free from this palace, that was enough.

Livia, trembling with emotions, escaped from Diran’s arms and ran to her desk.
She lifted the quill without hesitation.

“What are you going to do?”

“I will write a letter.”

“A letter? To whom…?”

“To Duke Ferial.”

Save me, help me out of this palace and set me free…

Livia put her heart into the letter by squeezing words of plea.
The first sentence of the letter starts with, ‘My savior.’