She had been fighting with the mirror since morning. Selena Verdia sat before her vanity, staring intently at her own face. Deep amber eyes. Short black hair. Refined features. No problems. Perfect. "I will seal away my emotions," She spoke the words aloud. She had done the same thing last night. It hadn't worked, but today would be different. Today there was a secret meeting in the royal gardens. This was a negotiation. An information war. Not romance. Absolutely not. "[serious]I will seal away my emotions," A second time. With slightly more force. The girl in the mirror seemed to have something she wanted to say. As she finished preparing and turned to leave her room, she suddenly noticed something. Vald's secret letter—the one she had put away in a drawer last night—was somehow in the pocket of her dress. Selena froze. (…When did I move it? When did I move it?) It was completely unconscious. She had no memory of opening the drawer. Yet the folded paper was definitely there in her pocket, asserting its presence. (This isn't the behavior of someone who's successfully sealed away their emotions, is it?) She muttered an internal complaint while hurriedly returning the letter to the drawer. The drawer closed with a soft click. "[whispers]…Forget about this," She whispered to the empty room, then left the mansion to board the carriage. ＊ Inside the carriage heading to the palace, Selena clasped her hands together on her lap. This was an information-gathering opportunity. To discover what Vald Granveria was thinking, what he knew. Emotions were unnecessary noise. Today she would move with composure, exactly as calculated. (Yes, calculation. I am a calculating woman. In my past life and this one. I can live on calculation alone.) The carriage ran across the stone-paved streets of Fortina, the royal capital. People hurried home before dusk, and the spires of Kouyoku Palace rose black against the orange sky. The moment Selena stepped down from the carriage in front of the palace gates, she saw it. Beside the garden fountain. Silver-gray hair standing against the setting sun. The thin orange light painted it faintly gold. Something pulsed deep in her chest. (…My emotional seal is already crumbling.) Crumbling far too quickly, she thought to herself as she slowly made her way toward the garden. ＊ The royal garden was wrapped in the quiet peculiar to dusk. During the day, courtiers passed through this place, but at this hour, there were almost no people. The fountain expelled water in steady rhythm, its sound the only thing echoing through the garden. Beyond the flower beds planted with white roses, Vald Granveria waited quietly for Selena. Not in formal dress, but in a composed navy jacket. A single scar across his forehead caught the sunset. Ice-blue eyes captured Selena. Selena bowed respectfully. "[serious]I have come in response to your summons," Vald was silent for a moment, observing her, before he spoke. "[cold]Yesterday at the tea house, you were blushing in front of your friend," Selena's expression remained perfectly composed. But internally— (What? How do you know that? Through the Jade Leaf? Did Maria tell you everything? How far was the Akatsuki Bureau watching!?) It was a scream. A complete internal scream. "[serious]…I was unaware that intelligence networks extended beyond the palace walls," "[sarcastic]It would be harder to find a place they don't reach," He stated it flatly, then continued. "[cold]And I also know that you are feigning attachment to the crown prince. I won't ask why," Something hardened in Selena's throat. (Everything was exposed. Since when? From the beginning? At the grand audience? Which means I thought I was calculating, but I was being played the whole time?) Information raced through her mind at tremendous speed. Meanwhile, her expression—didn't move an inch. The mask of the Verdia family's young lady, built up over twenty-two years, worked at full capacity in this moment. "[serious]…Since when have you known, Your Majesty?" "[cold]Roughly since we first met," (Roughly!? What does roughly mean!? My calculations only functioned in the roughly parts!?) Selena's mind reeled while a small smile played at her lips. It was the maximum composure she could muster. "[sarcastic]Then you have been overlooking this performance, I take it," "[serious]Precisely. And I will continue to overlook it. There is a condition," Vald took a step closer. "[cold]I want you to work as my information broker. I need intelligence on the Six-Winged Council's interior, particularly the movements of House Savoline and House Dragnoot. Your position as a young lady will allow you to approach them naturally," Selena calculated quickly in her mind. House Savoline and House Dragnoot—both constituent families of the Six-Winged Council. If the Emperor was wary of these two houses, the power struggle within the kingdom might be more serious than she thought. And if she refused—the "performance" that had been overlooked until now could be exposed somewhere. She had no choice but to accept. But that meant her plan to avoid destruction flags was being transformed into something the Emperor could use. (This is the worst development. I thought things were going according to plan, but I was in the Emperor's palm from the start. Where exactly did my destruction flag avoidance plan fall apart?) "[serious]May I ask for details regarding the conditions?" She entered negotiation mode. Her mind moved before her emotions, and Selena felt slight relief at that. "[cold]Monthly reports. In emergencies, use messenger birds. I guarantee your safety. I will also stop any unnecessary interference with House Verdia," "[serious]What specifically do you mean by guaranteeing my safety?" "[cold]I will prevent the Condemnation Edict from being invoked. That should be sufficient," —The Condemnation Edict. A system for publicly executing Six-Winged nobles who committed treason against the imperial house. The method by which Selena was executed in the original story. Something solidified in her chest. (He said he would stop it. He would stop me from meeting the original ending.) "[serious]…That is not an unfavorable trade," As she spoke, Selena sat down on the edge of the fountain. Sunset reflected off the water's surface, wavering. She needed time to gather her thoughts. Then. Vald sat down beside her with a natural motion. The two of them side by side on the fountain's edge. The distance between their shoulders was less than twenty centimeters. Selena instinctively tried to pull away. "[cold]Why do you flee?" His quiet voice spoke right beside her. "[serious]…The distance is too close," "[serious]I see. Then let me be precise," Vald turned to face her. Ice-blue eyes looked directly at her. "[gentle]I want to be near you," No words came back. Her calculations stopped. All the negotiation cards she had arranged in her mind turned to blank paper. Her knowledge from the otome game in her past life, her twenty-two years of training as a noble lady—none of it mattered in this single second. The sunset cast long shadows across the garden. The fountain water flowed down, dyed orange. Vald's silver-gray hair glimmered faintly in the light. Sound left Selena's throat. (I swore this morning to seal away my emotions. I said it twice to the mirror. But right now, it's not working at all. The seal is completely shattered.) A sweet silence flowed between them. The sun tilted lower. The white roses in the garden turned orange. Selena finally opened her mouth. "[serious]…Please allow me to defer my answer. I need more time to consider the details of this arrangement," "[cold]Very well," Vald stood. He took one step, then another—and stopped. Without turning back to face her, he spoke in a low voice. "[whispers]I am waiting for the day you acknowledge your own feelings," With that, he left the garden. His footsteps faded, then disappeared. Selena was left alone before the fountain. She sat there for a while, then seemed to lose all strength and collapsed back onto the bench. She gazed up at the sky. The dusk sky, shifting from orange to purple, spread out vaguely above her. "[whispers]This is the worst…My emotional seal, completely failed…" She whispered softly. No one was listening. Confirming that, she whispered again. "[whispers]Completely failed," The fountain water continued to flow. The roses swayed in the evening breeze. The royal garden was beautiful and quiet, utterly indifferent to Selena's internal turmoil. Eventually Selena stood and boarded the carriage back to House Verdia. On the way home, she noticed her hands trembling slightly where they rested on her lap. (Is it fear? Or—) No. This wasn't fear. She knew this sensation. She had felt it before in her past life. That night in the library when she saw Vald's profile, that afternoon when Maria pointed out her red face—this feeling had accumulated bit by bit each time. (It's anticipation. This comes from anticipation.) The moment she admitted it, pain bloomed in her chest. She couldn't tell if it was pleasant or agonizing. ＊ She returned to House Verdia when night had fully fallen. After finishing dinner and heading toward her room, a maid came running from her father Edward's study. "Miss Selena, your father has a message. Today, His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed a special mission upon House Verdia. He wishes to explain the details tomorrow morning." Selena stopped for a moment. "[serious]…I understand. I will visit him in the morning," After the maid left, Selena stood in the corridor without moving for a while. A special mission. For House Verdia. From His Majesty the Emperor. —The arrangement Vald had proposed in the garden today was already moving forward without waiting for her answer. Both her emotions and her position were being bound. That was the kind of night it was.