Ingrid walked down the corridor with light steps, her skirt swaying gently with each movement.
Sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows and danced across her silver hair, bathing it in a soft halo.
From any angle, it was a gentle, beautiful scene.
If one ignored the twisted smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
Halfway to success.
She chewed the words over and over in her mind. With every repetition, the delight in her heart swelled larger.
That idiot Prim was completely finished.
That proud princess, that woman who had always thought herself so superior, had just knelt on the floor crying like a stray dog.
It was—so entertaining!
Ingrid had nearly laughed out loud on the spot.
But she held it in.
Right now her role was that of a “woman who had seen the error of her ways,” a “knight seeking atonement,” a “good friend who had finally realized what truly mattered.”
So she had to be gentle. Sincere. Repentant. Grateful.
She had to make everyone believe she had changed.
Aiko.
The moment the name surfaced in her heart, a complicated wave of emotion surged up.
Pain. Rage. Resentment. And more.
The betrayal of someone close hurt far worse!
She had once trusted Aiko so completely.
They had grown up together in the church, carried out missions together, sneaked out to play together, and lain on the roof staring at the stars together.
Those nights, Aiko would lean against her shoulder, soft hair brushing her cheek, and whisper, “We’ll always be together, right? Best friends for life!”
She had believed it.
She had truly believed it.
And then?
Then that man appeared.
Then Aiko left with that man.
She had even said, “You only ever think about yourself!” and “Don’t ever come looking for me again!”
How utterly heartless could she be?
Ingrid stopped walking and stood before a window.
Her reflection stared back from the glass—the face she had once been so proud of now looked utterly foreign.
Betrayal.
The word echoed again and again inside her.
Aiko had betrayed her.
The church had betrayed her.
That man had taken everything.
Everything.
Her parents.
Her glory. Her future. Her only friend…
Ingrid’s fingers clenched tight around the window frame.
In the glass, the reflected face had red-rimmed eyes, yet the corners of its mouth curved into a strange smile.
Since you love that man so much and crave his favor…
Then I’ll steal him away from you.
The thought took root in her heart, sprouting and growing until it became a towering tree that blocked out the sky.
She would get close to that man.
She would make him obsessed with her.
She would make him drop every last guard in front of her.
And then, in front of Aiko—in front of the woman who had betrayed her—she would loop her arm through his and give him the gentlest smile imaginable.
She would watch Aiko’s face. She would watch shock and despair slowly bloom across it…
That would be so much fun, wouldn’t it?
Ingrid couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud.
The sound echoed eerily through the empty corridor.
She quickly covered her mouth and glanced left and right. No one was there.
Calm down. Stay calm.
She told herself.
It wasn’t time to celebrate yet.
That man still didn’t fully trust her, and there were still so many annoying women standing in her way.
Elfi—that maid who kept watching her with wary eyes. That woman wasn’t simple.
Ingrid could feel the deep suspicion in Elfi’s gaze.
Aruma—that crazy woman whose brain only ever thought about “having children.”
She looked like the easiest to deal with on the surface, but who knew if she would suddenly go berserk and ruin everything?
And then there was the one still hiding in the shadows…
Ingrid’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The woman with the purple-red ponytail who called herself the “Second Angel Mephir.”
If she remembered correctly, the Second Angel was also known as the “Angel of Destruction.”
Because of her unstable emotions, she should have been secretly eliminated by the church long ago.
So why was she still alive?
And why was she helping her?
That night in the forest, when Ingrid had been kneeling on the ground crying in despair, the woman had suddenly appeared and whispered in that eerie voice:
“Let’s destroy this world together!”
At the time, Ingrid had been too desperate, too furious, too heartbroken to hesitate.
She had accepted the woman’s “help” almost immediately.
But now that she thought about it…
Was that woman really helping her?
Or was Ingrid just another pawn in her hand?
Ingrid stood by the window, staring at her own reflection.
Her expression flickered between light and shadow.
It doesn’t matter.
She decided in the end.
Whatever that woman’s goal was, as long as it helped her achieve her own, it was fine.
She would get revenge on Aiko.
On that man. On everyone who had betrayed her.
And then…
She hadn’t decided what came after that yet.
Maybe she really would do as that woman said—
Destroy this world.
After all, there was nothing left in this world worth staying for.
She turned and continued walking.
At the far end of the corridor, a flash of purple-red slipped past.
Ingrid saw it but pretended she hadn’t.
For now, her only job was to keep playing the role of “Ingrid who had seen the light.”
Everything else could wait.
***
In Prim’s room on the other side of the mansion.
Crash! Smash!
Vases, teacups, mirrors, ornaments—everything that could be smashed was hurled and shattered.
Prim stood amid the wreckage, chest heaving, her face streaked with tears and twisted with fury.
“Ingrid! That bitch!”
She grabbed the last remaining vase and hurled it at the wall with all her strength.
The vase exploded into fragments that flew everywhere.
It’s over. Everything is over.
The thought filled her with despair.
Abel must hate her now.
The tiny bit of goodwill she had struggled so hard to build was gone.
The situation she had fought desperately to salvage had been completely destroyed by that silver-haired bitch.
And the worst part was—
She had no way to explain herself!
What could she possibly say?
“I didn’t add poison, it was a witch’s secret potion meant to turn you into my loyal dog”?
That would only make her look even more guilty!
Prim collapsed to the floor, fresh tears pouring down.
What do I do…? What do I do…?
If she went back like this, what would Father do to her?
Banish her to a monastery?
Strip her of her princess title?
Or something even more terrifying?
She remembered her father’s cold eyes and the tone he had used when he said, “If you refuse again, there will be no need for this princess to exist.”
At the time she had thought it was only a threat.
But now…
Now she had truly messed up.
And not just once—twice!
The first time, she had humiliated Abel at the arena entrance and caused him to reject the royal family’s offer.
The second time, she had tried to fix everything with the witch’s secret potion and ended up framed as a poisoner!
Both times had been her own doing, and each mistake was worse than the last.
Father is going to kill me…
Prim hugged her knees tightly, buried her face in them, and trembled violently.
At that moment—
“Your Highness?”
A familiar voice spoke.
Prim lifted her head through tear-blurred eyes and saw her personal maid standing in the doorway.
It was an ordinary-looking girl with chestnut-brown hair and brown eyes, her face showing the perfect mix of respect and concern.