Chương 93: Chapter 92: Nina

Nina stood in the corner of the banquet hall, slowly twirling a glass of champagne between her fingers before taking a sip. As she did, her mind returned to what had happened a few days ago. After recognizing who the person was, she and Seraphina had a rather productive conversation. Well... Most of it had consisted of Seraphina talking down to her....

"Have you come to your senses?" Seraphina walked toward her. At the time, Nina had merely glared at her, half confused and half still influenced by the instinct that screamed at her to kill the woman standing before her.

"Looks like you're not in control yet." Seraphina stopped in front of Nina before lightly sitting on the table. She crossed her legs, using one hand to steady herself against the edge as she looked at Nina, who remained pressed down by the force of the trap.

"It's quite fascinating, Nina, that you don't seem to remember." Seraphina tilted her head.

"The number of times I've killed you should exceed five. If I remember correctly, I've killed you about six times." Nina's expression remained blank.

"And then, at the very end, you took the rather fateful step of killing yourself when the plan had only just reached its end." Seraphina was prepared to continue, but the confusion and utter dumbfoundedness on Nina's face made her stop. She sighed.

"It really can't be helped." Seraphina stepped down from the table and began walking toward the door. As she walked, she spoke lightly.

"I know for certain that you're not from this world. If you wish to return, you'll need my help. As you have already failed once." She paused briefly.

"You can ask that little creature, that entity thing accompanying you, for the details. I'm not in the mood to explain everything to a lost lamb." Seraphina lightly pulled a piece of cloth from her pouch and placed it over the door before opening it.

"This is the room that has been assigned to you. You may rest here as you wish, though you will need to change out of that attire." She glanced back at Nina.

"This trap should end in approximately six hours. I do hope that by then you've come to your senses and learned to control the instinct within you." Her expression remained calm.

"If not..." She shrugged lightly.

"Well, another stay in the slammer should do quite nicely." After that conversation, Nina remembered that she had ended up sleeping on the ground. The next day, however, the murderous instinct that had taken hold of her had decreased. It had never truly disappeared. If anything, it had simply become quieter. That, in turn, meant that no matter where Seraphina was, Nina could subconsciously sense her general direction, regardless of the distance between them. It was rather inconvenient.

Right now, for example, Nina's eyes sharply turned toward a cluster of nobles who appeared to be surrounding someone. Under normal circumstances, she would have had no idea who the individual was. But Nina intuitively knew. Seraphina. She was somewhere within that crowd. Whenever Nina looked in Seraphina's direction, Seraphina would also return her gaze. At least, that was what happened whenever nothing obstructed their line of sight. It was rather strange.

Seraphina would look at her, and Nina would feel like prey being watched by a monster. Yet whenever she turned to meet that gaze, she found Seraphina staring back without any malicious intent. If anything, Seraphina had grown almost indifferent toward her. And yet, whenever their eyes met, a strange sense of calm seemed to descend upon them both. Nina couldn't help but wonder. Does she feel like prey too? Does she feel like something is watching her? She shook the thought away. Enjoying this book?

Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Before she could dwell on it any further, another guard announced an arrival with a bell.

"The Crown Prince, His Highness Ronin McCann, and Lady Furen Boswe." Nina's attention immediately shifted toward the entrance. She watched as the two entered the banquet hall. Furen was holding onto one of Ronin's hands. Nina stared at them for a moment. Has it gotten to that part of the plot already? She thought about it carefully. If the two of them were already together, then despite the timeline being accelerated, certain events must have already taken place. They had already dealt with the Great Evil One.

That meant Duke Valcrest had likely already begun moving against the Empire. But... Three years? That was far too fast. There was no way they could have gained enough faith from the people for them to willingly follow the Duke into a rebellion in such a short amount of time. No. There were certain things that still needed to happen. Nina took another sip of her drink. Whatever. I don't need to worry about them. It had nothing to do with her. Another bell echoed through the hall. Nina glanced around.

I thought all the nobility should be here already. Could it be that His Majesty was finally going to appear? Wasn't he always thirty minutes late just to make sure everyone knew he was the most important person in the room? Before Nina could finish the thought, the announcement began.

"Lord Marcus Hemmingsway, Lady Abellina, and Sir Jake have arrived." Nina turned her head. Interesting. She watched the three enter. I wonder what they're doing here. Was this not some sort of gathering specifically for the nobility? A few young ladies nearby began whispering among themselves.

"Is that Lord Hemmingsway?"

"He's even more handsome in person."

"I thought I heard he wasn't going to appear."

"That was only a rumor."

"Who is that young lady beside him?"

"I'm not sure. Abellina... Is that even her family name?"

"Are there any lower nobles with that name?"

"I don't think so."

"And what about that boy, Jake?"

"Could they be commoners?"

"Wait, no, no, no. I know who they are."

"You do?"

"Yes. They're commoners, but Lady Abellina is that rising merchant, isn't she?"

"The one who founded the Can't Make It, But I Can company?"

"Really?"

"I heard they partnered with the Roosevelts."

"And they even had Lord Hemmingsway's backing."

"I thought those rumors were all lies."

"Apparently not. She actually arrived with Lord Hemmingsway."

"That's incredible."

"But didn't Lord Hemmingsway say he would never appear at social gatherings?"

"Shh. Someone might hear you." One of the women sighed dreamily.

"I heard another rumor about him..."

"What rumor?"

"She was apparently the woman who—""Shh!" The woman's eyes widened.

"If it were me, I'd come out and say, 'I forgive you, Lord Hemmingsway. Let us be together forever.'""Are you insane?"

"You'd regret saying something like that."

"Do you not know anything about propriety?"

"Last time someone publicly said something similar, they lost everything."

"Enough. Change the subject."

"Fine. What other gossip is there?"

"I heard one of the Duke's daughters is keeping a cat in the manor."

"No way."

"Really." Nina slowly stepped away from the group. She had heard enough. The banquet hall had gradually begun filling with people she hadn't expected to see, and the appearance of Marcus, Abellina, and Jake had certainly attracted enough attention. Nina briefly considered going over to speak with Abellina. She should probably make sure everything was fine. But after seeing all three of them alive and well, Nina intuitively understood that Abellina had not broken the contract. There was no reason to interfere.

Everything was fine. The company was making money. That was all that mattered. It wasn't her business. Nina turned away from the crowd. But after taking a few steps, she paused. Seraphina's words returned to her mind. If you wish to return to your world, you'll need my help. Nina huffed wryly. Yeah, right. There were other ways. Who said she even wanted to return? She didn't need Seraphina's help. Nina walked toward a quieter, more isolated corner of the banquet hall.

Once she was alone, she attempted to call out to the System. Nothing. Instead, a familiar notification appeared. [System currently unavailable.] Nina stared at it. Maintenance? She knew better. The System was simply ignoring her. Probably because it didn't want her asking questions. Seraphina had claimed that Nina had killed herself. She had far too many questions she wanted answered. Yet the one thing that might have been able to answer them had conveniently disappeared. Nina sighed.

She leaned against the wall and watched the bustling banquet hall from her isolated corner. Music filled the room, nobles laughed, glasses clinked here and there, and people danced with one another. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. And Nina simply watched. For once, she had no intention of involving herself. At least... Not now. … When Ronin heard the names of the people who had arrived moments after them, his eyes quickly turned toward the opposite direction in surprise. But when he saw Mr.

Hemmingsway enter with an unfamiliar woman holding his hand and a child trailing behind them, he couldn't help but fall into a deeper stupor. Marcus Hemmingsway was the Marquis of House Hemmingsway and one of the Empire's most influential military figures. He was also my second cousin. His grandmother had married into the Hemmingsway family, while her sister-in-law was none other than my grandmother, the Grand Empress.

The two had always shared a surprisingly close relationship, which was one of the reasons the Hemmingsway family had remained so closely connected to the Imperial Family. Marcus himself had inherited that connection. He was the Master of the Imperial Sword, having completely mastered the Imperial Sword Art and earning the right to teach it to members of the Imperial Family. He had personally served as my swordsmanship instructor and had also guided me in matters of governance whenever I needed his advice.

Beyond that, he held command over much of the Imperial Army and maintained his own forces within the territory granted to House Hemmingsway. Despite all of that, Marcus had never been particularly interested in accumulating power. Most of the responsibilities he carried were simply things he had accepted because someone needed to carry them. In my previous life, he had even helped ensure that my grandmother's body was safely sent away after her death. He had always been there.

That was why his death had never felt like the death of some distant noble. It had felt like losing a member of the family. One of the reasons I had been so desperate to bring everything to an end as quickly as possible was because I knew what I wanted to do once I was finally free. I wanted to find the woman Marcus had been searching for all this time. In my previous life, he had spent so long looking for her, only to discover that she had already died. The truth had destroyed him.

I couldn't change what had happened then. But this time, I had been given another chance. And thanks to the letter Nina had left for us, I had been more grateful than she could have known. It meant I could finish everything sooner. It meant that, once things had finally quieted down, I could begin searching for her. Maybe this time, I could find her before it was too late. But Ronin looked at Marcus's happy expression and stared at the woman and child beside him. He knew nothing about this woman.

That alone was enough to make him wary. There was a chance that she was simply someone Marcus had met in this life, someone who had brought happiness into his life where there had once been nothing but regret. Ronin sincerely hoped that was the case. But he couldn't afford to assume. If he was going to search for the woman Marcus had wronged in his previous life, then he would also need to investigate this woman thoroughly. He needed to know who she was, where she had come from, and what connections she possessed.

He couldn't allow Marcus to become entangled in another trap. Not again. Marcus was his sworn brother. Ronin had already lost him once. He wasn't going to allow himself to lose him again because he had failed to look closely enough. And so, once everything had fully settled down, he would begin his search. He would find the woman Marcus had been looking for. And he would find out who the woman standing beside him now truly was.