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Chapter 58
“Isolation Tower. Right?”
“My name is Riana, actually.”
“I don’t care about your name, Miss Isolation Tower. I just want to know—what kind of mess are you here to cause this time?”
The woman looked at her like someone waiting for a monkey to perform tricks at a zoo.
But that didn’t bother Riana. At least it gave her a chance to talk.
Riana bent her knee politely and gave a graceful bow.
“Actually, this time I came to find the noble Lady Trimirazé.”
She didn’t really care about the woman’s name, but she remembered it from the meeting list earlier.
René Trimirazé. She had been sitting beside Deborah as a senior researcher.
“Oh my—me?”
René clasped her hands over her chest, her red lips curving into a wide smile.
From that cheerful reaction, Riana could tell René was sincere—she didn’t seem to dislike her.
Ah, so she feels a sense of camaraderie just because we both dislike Deborah.
This was her chance. Riana leaned in and whispered like she was hatching some scheme.
“I want to know something about Lady Deborah. I was very impressed by your conversation last time.”
René’s eyebrows twitched. She had clearly misunderstood, assuming Riana wanted to join her in bothering Deborah.
“Oh, I’m curious too. What do you want to know?”
“I heard that during today’s meeting, Lady Deborah left for a while. Do you know why?”
René nodded.
“She was called out because there was an unusual reaction in one of her experiments. No meeting, no matter how important, could take priority over her research.”
“And… who called her?”
“Hmm, I think it was one of the maids from Genevieve Castle.”
A maid.
Riana’s eyes sharpened.
The note had been thrown from the maids’ building, too. That meant the mysterious person who knew her identity could very well be… a maid.
“Do you remember which maid it was? What she looked like?”
René frowned like the question was ridiculous.
“How would I know? They all wear the same clothes and do the same jobs. I can’t tell one from another.”
Riana gave a bitter smile.
Well, I didn’t really expect much. Nobles never notice maids—they’re just the background of their world.
And truthfully, I’m not much better. I can’t tell background extras apart either.
So she let it slide.
“Anyway, thank you for telling me.”
“Nothing else? Is that all you want to ask?”
René leaned in eagerly, but Riana politely shook her head.
“Yes, that’s all.”
“But I know so much more…”
René bit her lip in disappointment. But Riana really didn’t have time—she needed to return to the Isolation Tower.
And because the two of them were infamous, people had started to stare and whisper at the sight of them together.
I need to end this quickly.
So, deciding on a flashy exit, Riana put on her best villainess expression and cackled.
“Keheheh! The information you gave me today will be used for something truly eeevil!”
“Oh my! I knew it! I can’t wait to see it!”
“Hoho! Yes indeed! Look forward to it!”
René bounced on her toes, beaming with excitement.
Riana bared her teeth like a wicked villain.
“Then I’ll be off—to plot the most dreadful scheme!”
“I’ll be cheering for you!”
René’s cheerful send-off rang out, even as passing researchers gave them both disgusted looks.
Still, Riana managed to slip away.
Clouds parted and silver moonlight lit up the desk in Riana’s small maid’s room in the Isolation Tower.
On the desk lay an open notebook, the red heart-shaped bottle, and the scrap of paper note.
Sitting in front of them, Riana muttered:
“A new variable has appeared.”
Whoever had thrown that note had revealed their existence at the worst possible time. She didn’t know their motive.
But the simple fact that someone else in this world knew about the original story was a huge complication for her.
She couldn’t guess their identity or their abilities.
But maybe… they weren’t as all-powerful as she’d first feared.
“After all, all they did was throw me a note.”
If they’d really wanted to, they could have tied her up, threatened her, or stolen the love potion.
Maybe they didn’t even consider her a true “enemy.”
Tapping the page with her pen (careful not to dip it in ink), Riana came to a decision.
“I’ll stick with the plan.”
But she would carry it out more carefully.
Her face hardened with determination.
“Everything has to be perfect.”
The pen pressed faint indents into the paper.
“Gray can be controlled.”
She marked a star beside that thought.
“Gray can make Deborah move.”
This time she marked a question mark.
“The last piece is…”
Ding—
The sound of a bell echoed in her ears, making her lift her head sharply.
“…I guess I’ll find out right now.”
Riana slowed her pace as she walked down the corridor. This wasn’t the usual path to the duke’s office.
Why is he in the bedroom?
The bell rope was connected to wherever the Duke was at the time. And this time, Killian had pulled the cord in his bedroom—a rope that had never once been used before.
He never even slept, so what was he doing there?
“What is—”
As soon as she pushed open the heavy wooden door, a rich fragrance hit her face.
“You’re here.”
Killian was sitting casually on the bed, greeting her. His clothes were deliberately relaxed, far from his usual formal attire.
Beside him was a narrow round glass table. Killian pulled the stopper from a crystal decanter resting there.
There were two wine glasses.
He poured wine into both, the dark liquid glinting in the light.
Riana stayed rooted to the door. Killian looked up at her.
“Why are you just standing there?”
“…I thought you’d be busy with work tonight.”
He didn’t look like a man with paperwork to do.
“You’re the one who told me to use the bedroom more often, remember? I figured I could grant you that little wish. After all, you showed me such a fine trick earlier.”
He raised one of the glasses slightly, smiling invitingly.
Riana forced herself to look away and calm her racing heart.
When she’d said “use the bedroom,” she had meant for him to sleep, not this.
But, just like with Gray, now wasn’t the time to fight—it was the time to compromise.
I’ll need to draw him into my play eventually anyway.
She might not manage the kind of shameless compliments the curly-haired knight suggested, but she would at least need to humor him a little.
She stepped forward slowly.
“Did you… prepare all of this yourself?”
She gestured at the table—the wine and the little dishes.
She was the only maid in the Isolation Tower. If this had been set up without her knowing, it was obvious who had done it.
Killian tilted his head in acknowledgment, and Riana gave a wry smile.
“Ah… so this is an attempt to fire me for neglecting my duties.”
“No gentleman would ever make his invited lady prepare the drinks herself.”
The closer she came, the deeper Killian’s smile grew. He looked at her like a predator savoring the sight of prey walking straight into its trap. He swirled his wine glass as if tasting an appetizer before the real feast.
His lips, stained red by the wine, curved as he spoke.
“Stay with me.”
The words sounded casual, but his blue eyes were heavy and persistent.
“You wouldn’t leave me here to drink alone, would you?”
Riana finally sat on the stool beside the little table and replied:
“I can keep you company while you drink…”
But she folded her arms tightly, making it clear she had no intention of touching her own glass.
“…though don’t you think this setting is a little too obvious?”
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“Then I lose a lot of points?”
“You already have a perfect score for your face, so you don’t need to worry.”
Riana swallowed back the words on the tip of her tongue about his muscles—barely restraining herself.
Instead, she thought about the “script” she’d already written.
The first scene:
Gray would deliver food to Deborah. Of course, it would be laced with the love potion.
Right after, Gray would be forced to leave. Alone, Deborah would taste the food before it grew cold.
The moment the potion touched her tongue—
Killian would appear before her.
That was the perfect setup.
My goal is to get him to appear at the exact place and time I want.
So instead of running from him, she needed to build a cooperative relationship.
Riana lifted her eyes to the “third actor” in her play.
And Killian’s blue eyes were already fixed on her. They were as deep as the sea—impossible to read, impossible to guess what thoughts lived inside.
The quiet, heavy air seemed to ripple as he spoke again.
“Thank you.”
“…For what?”
Riana’s eyebrows rose.
Surely he didn’t mean her silly compliment about his face.
Had she responded too willingly to his invitation? Was he mistaking her sitting down as… some kind of agreement?
