IEGM 04

Chapter 4

Still, I knew this was my limit, so I gathered the last of my strength and tried flattering her.

“Isn’t Lira cute? I think it’s such a perfect name for someone small and adorable like you!”

“Kiing. Ng. Ng!”

Was it just my imagination, or did she sound like she was saying, “I don’t totally love it, but it’s the most normal one, so I’ll tolerate it”?

Anyway, after the difficult and exhausting naming session finally ended, fatigue suddenly washed over me.

‘I’m stuck in this room until tomorrow anyway… maybe I should sleep for a bit?’

It was still early, not even lunchtime yet, but since this basement room didn’t have a single window, all I had to do was turn off the magic lamp and it would become as dark as midnight—perfect for a nap.

Having made up my mind, I immediately pressed the button beside the iron door and switched off the light.

Pitch-black darkness descended, but unlike before, it didn’t make me nervous.

“Sleep well too, Lira.”

In an office overflowing with luxurious decorations, a blond man sat arrogantly in his chair.

It was Marquis Serentia.

He asked in a flat voice,

“The preparations?”

“It seems Miss Tiamia’s mana circle is unstable, so the ritual cannot be performed immediately.”

The middle-aged man who always wore a gentle smile answered with an unusually stiff expression.

“How long must we wait?”

“We should observe her for about a month.”

“Tch. Foolish, just like her mother.”

The marquis clicked his tongue in irritation, and the middle-aged man merely bowed his head deeply.

“A month is too long. Shorten it as much as possible.”

“I will do my best.”

Still displeased, the marquis leaned deeper into the sofa and said,

“As long as she can be used as a sacrifice, I don’t care if the rest of her ends up ruined.”

“Understood.”

After sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while, I woke up feeling refreshed.

“Lira, did you sleep well?”

“Kiiing.”

Yawning widely, I got up and skillfully turned on the magic lamp in the darkness.

The now-bright room looked exactly the same as before I fell asleep.

“I wonder how much time has passed.”

Judging by how hungry I was getting, lunchtime had definitely passed.

The tightly shut iron door remained silent, showing no sign of opening.

Lira used my mana as energy, so she didn’t need food.

Unfortunately, I did.

“Are they not going to feed me?”

“Kkyuu.”

As I endured the growing hunger, a disturbing thought crossed my mind.

Since people placed in this room supposedly fell into a near-death state, maybe they didn’t bother feeding them during that time.

‘Then has Ansharie always been starving in here? She’s only ten years old… No way. Surely not.’

When I’d briefly seen Ansharie that morning, she’d been smaller than other children her age, but she hadn’t looked skeletal.

She was probably given at least the bare minimum to survive.

‘Still, it didn’t seem like she was ever allowed to eat her fill.’

The realization slowly filled me with anger.

Locking up a child during the age when she should be running around and playing—and not even feeding her properly?

My opinion of Cain and Marquis Serentia, already trash to begin with, sank even lower.

I almost felt bad for comparing them to trash.

‘Calm down first.’

I forced myself to suppress my anger.

Escaping came first.

‘Revenge can wait until after I leave this damned family.’

If the marquis refused to repent and continued opposing House Achelide, then even if I did nothing, destruction would eventually come for him anyway.

In any case, the most important thing right now was meeting Ishtar.

To carry out the plan I’d made in my head, I needed her help.

‘My plan can’t even begin unless I meet Ishtar.’

But no matter how much I thought about it, no good solution came to mind.

How much time had passed?

In the silent room, the sound of my stomach rumbled loudly.

Grrrrr.

‘Ah, I’m so hungry I can’t think straight anymore.’

Clutching my empty stomach, I lay back down on the bed.

“I wish mana could fill my stomach too.”

I complained to Lira, who, as a familiar, didn’t need food as long as she received mana.

I made a mental note to secretly bring snacks with me the next time I was sent to the recovery room, then stared blankly at the ceiling and sighed.

“Haah…”

I was worried about whether Ansharie was eating properly, and I also wanted a chance to talk with her somehow.

Being able to think calmly without Cain’s surveillance was nice, but the more I thought, the more unsolvable problems piled up.

From how to meet Ishtar to all the worries surrounding Ansharie—

‘The wall feels impossibly high.’

For a moment, I began wondering whether saving Ansharie instead of the original protagonist was simply impossible.

Just as despair threatened to overwhelm me—

Something soft touched my cheek.

It was Lira’s tongue.

“Kkiing!”

Lira continued tickling my cheek with her tiny tongue.

Little by little, the heavy emotions weighing me down seemed to scatter.

“Are you trying to comfort me?”

“Ng! Ng!”

“Thank you.”

I hugged Lira tightly.

‘Right. I’m the only one who can save my favorite character. I haven’t even tried anything yet, so I can’t fall apart already.’

I steadied my resolve once more and spent the rest of the time in the recovery room thinking through various plans.

Eventually, after being hungry for so long that even my stomach stopped growling—

I suddenly had a feeling that Cain would arrive soon.

‘I need to restore the room before he gets here.’

Looking at Lira, curled up in my arms, I asked,

“Lira, can you relight the candles that went out?”

“Ng!”

Her answer sounded completely confident.

‘I want to avoid being exposed to the mind magic as much as possible, but…’

There was no helping it for now.

I absolutely couldn’t let them discover that I had nullified the mind magic.

“Can you do it?”

“Kiiing.”

At the same time, the same smoke I’d seen yesterday rose from Lira’s body, and a dark purple flame that looked deeply unpleasant appeared.

Even seeing it again, it was still fascinating.

‘What exactly are Lira’s abilities?’

I was staring curiously at the unusual familiar—one that hadn’t even appeared in the novel—when, just moments later, the heavy iron door opened with an unpleasant screech.

It was Cain.

“Miss Tiamia, it is time to leave.”

Recalling Ansharie’s behavior from yesterday, I copied it exactly.

As I slowly stepped into the brightly lit hallway, he studied my expression and spoke.

“Lady Tiamia, tell me what you felt while staying in the recovery room.”

He was probably checking how deeply the mind magic had taken hold.

“I am a good daughter who obeys Father’s commands. Father’s words are absolute and must never be defied.”

I repeated exactly what Ansharie had said yesterday.

Keeping my face expressionless, while carefully avoiding meeting his gaze.

After a brief pause, Cain finally spoke.

“…Today, after your meal, we will continue practicing mana circle stabilization.”

“Understood.”

Fortunately, Cain didn’t seem to notice anything unusual and treated me normally before shutting the door.

‘He doesn’t inspect the inside of the room carefully.’

I engraved even the smallest details of his behavior into my memory.

They might become useful during my escape.

The opportunity arrived from an unexpected place.

“There will be an imperial palace tea party tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“Conduct yourself properly so as not to disgrace the family name. Especially since Her Majesty the Empress will also be attending.”

“Understood.”

The moment I heard the marquis’s words, a scene flashed through my mind.

It was none other than the episode where Ishtar first met the male lead.

‘The imperial tea party hosted by the Empress to help the First Prince build connections.’

In the Babylonian Empire, nobles usually began participating in social activities after turning ten.

The higher their rank, the earlier they began forming connections.

Among those events, the imperial tea party was a gathering where the Empress invited prestigious noble families for the sake of the First Prince.

Ever since the First Prince turned ten, it had been held once every month, and Tiamia had attended every single one.

Normally, it should have been Ansharie—the future heir of House Serentia—who attended such events.

But the marquis never allowed her outside until her brainwashing was completely perfected.

That was why Tiamia attended social events in her place.

‘In the original story too, Ansharie didn’t properly appear until around age fifteen.’

Anyway.

Because I still hadn’t fully synchronized Tiamia’s memories with the novel’s contents, I hadn’t remembered it immediately, but Ishtar’s first social appearance had definitely been at the imperial tea party.

‘So maybe… I’ll be able to meet her there.’

The next day.

After waking up early in the morning to train in controlling the mana within my mana circle, I was hastily dressed up and boarded the carriage headed toward the imperial palace.

‘In other novels, noble ladies spend hours preparing and dressing beautifully for social gatherings. So why am I still training even on the day of a party?’

I swallowed my sigh inwardly.

Cain was riding in the carriage with me.

‘At least Lira is coming too.’

Honestly, since it was a tea party hosted by the Empress, I expected them to forbid familiars from attending.

But unexpectedly, Cain himself had suggested I bring my familiar along.

I had no idea what he was plotting, but since Lira could nullify mind magic, I was more than happy to have her with me.

Soon, we arrived at the Empress’s palace garden, where many nobles had already gathered.

The noblewomen accompanying their children sat at the tables in the back, while children around my age sat at the front tables near the seats of honor.

Knights and attendants who had come as escorts—like Cain—waited at the very rear.

After some time passed and all the invited seats were filled, the Empress and the First Prince, Enkirion, entered.

Seated at the head table, the Empress gave a formal greeting thanking everyone for attending, and the tea party began.

Carefully watching Cain’s gaze from afar, I quickly scanned the garden.

But I couldn’t spot the silver hair symbolizing House Achelide.

It seemed Ishtar hadn’t attended after all.

‘Well, figures.’

The novel had never mentioned Tiamia meeting Ishtar at the tea party where Ishtar first appeared socially, after all.