The banquet grew livelier as the evening wore on, and with every passing minute, Kira became more certain that someone was waiting for her to make a mistake.

Lyra.

Although her smile remained as gentle and flawless as ever, Kira noticed the subtle changes almost immediately. Every few moments, Lyra's gaze drifted toward the crystal goblet in Kira's hand before quickly looking away again. She laughed at conversations a heartbeat too late. She checked the ballroom clock twice within a few minutes. To everyone else, she appeared as calm and graceful as always.

To Kira, she looked like someone whose carefully arranged schedule had begun falling apart.

"By now, I should already be dizzy," Kira thought, keeping her expression pleasantly composed as she thanked another elderly countess for her birthday blessing. "The medicine wasn't meant to make me collapse immediately. It only needed to cloud my thoughts enough that I wouldn't question where someone led me afterward."

Instead...

She stood before hundreds of guests without the slightest sign of discomfort.

For the first time since returning to the past, Kira realized something encouraging.

The future wasn't fixed.

Lyra excused herself from her conversation and drifted naturally through the crowd, never approaching Kira directly. Instead, she greeted nobles, introduced acquaintances, and subtly encouraged guests to gather around her sister.

"My elder sister has always been too shy," Lyra laughed sweetly to a visiting duchess. "Please don't let her hide in the corner all evening."

Within minutes, another group approached Kira.

Then another. Then another.

She barely had enough time to finish one conversation before someone else politely requested a moment of her attention.

At first glance, it looked perfectly innocent.

A future Crown Princess attracting admiration from the Empire's most influential families was only natural.

But Kira quickly understood what Lyra was doing.

She wasn't trying to make Kira popular.

She was making sure dozens of witnesses could later testify that Lady Kira had been smiling, speaking normally, and moving freely throughout the banquet.

If Kira disappeared later...

Everyone would believe she had left of her own accord.

"You changed the plan quickly," Kira admitted silently. "The moment one move failed, you built another."

That alone told her something important. Lyra wasn't simply cruel.

She was adaptable.

The realization made Kira even more cautious.

Across the ballroom, Julian rose from his seat as a servant struck a small silver bell, drawing the guests' attention. The lively conversations gradually faded until only the musicians continued playing softly in the background.

Julian stepped onto the raised platform with effortless confidence, his warm smile earning approving nods from nearly every noble present. Even after living through one lifetime, Kira had to admit he possessed a rare charisma. He knew exactly when to smile, when to pause, and when to lower his voice so people leaned forward to hear every word.

"I'd like to thank everyone for joining us tonight," he began. "Today celebrates not only Lady Kira's birthday, but the future of two families whose loyalty to the Empire has never wavered."

Applause echoed through the ballroom.

Kira listened quietly.

"Our Empire stands because honorable men and women continue protecting its traditions. Loyalty is the foundation of every great family. Integrity is the foundation of every great marriage. And purity, both of character and conduct, is the foundation upon which trust is built."

Her fingers tightened ever so slightly around the stem of her glass.

The words settled over the ballroom like gentle snowfall, earning approving murmurs from countless nobles.

Everyone admired the speech.

Everyone except Kira.

She remembered it.

A year later, after she had been accused of sharing another man's bed, Julian had stood before the Imperial Court and repeated these same ideals almost word for word.

"A Crown Princess must remain beyond suspicion."

"The people deserve someone worthy of respect."

"Even the appearance of impropriety weakens the throne."

Back then...

She had still believed he was trying to protect her. Now she understood. He hadn't been defending her.

He had been preparing everyone to accept her downfall long before it happened.

Every noble applauding tonight would remember this speech when the accusations surfaced.

How tragic.

The prince who valued honor above everything...

Forced to abandon the woman who failed to uphold it.

The story had already been written.

While the applause continued, movement near the western corridor caught her attention.

A young servant carrying a tray of crystal glasses hesitated in the middle of the hallway. Another servant walked past him without slowing, casually adjusting the cuff of his sleeve before brushing two fingers across the side of his neck.

The gesture lasted less than a second.

The young servant's face immediately paled.

His hands began trembling.

A crystal goblet slipped from the tray and shattered loudly against the marble floor.

The sudden crash drew dozens of curious glances.

"Oh, you foolish child," an older steward scolded, hurrying forward. "Clean that immediately."

The frightened servant apologized repeatedly while dropping to his knees.

Within moments, the music resumed and conversations continued as though nothing had happened.

No one questioned it.

Except Kira.

Her gaze lingered on the western corridor.

The servant who had made the signal was already gone.

Too smooth.

Too practiced.

That wasn't coincidence.

It was communication.

"So the next stage has begun."

Instead of unease, an unexpected calm settled over her.

She had spent an entire lifetime wondering how everything had unfolded so perfectly against her.

Now she was finally seeing it. No single person had ruined her. It had taken dozens.

Servants. Witnesses. Messengers. False evidence. Carefully timed conversations. Every piece moved into place with frightening precision.

Which meant there was only one way to dismantle the trap. She had to see all of it. Not part of it.

Every piece.

Kira quietly placed her untouched wine glass onto a passing servant's tray before approaching Lord Solis.

"Father." He glanced at her impatiently.

"What is it?"

"I've been greeting guests for quite some time. Would you excuse me for a few moments? I'd like to freshen up before the birthday dance."

Lord Solis barely looked at her.

"Don't be long. His Highness dislikes waiting."

"Of course." Kira offered a graceful curtsy before turning toward the eastern side of the ballroom where the ladies' retiring rooms were located.

She didn't hurry. She didn't hesitate. She walked exactly as Lady Kira had done in her previous life.

If someone happened to be watching...

They would see nothing unusual. Behind her, Lyra's shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.

"She's going," the younger woman thought with quiet satisfaction. "Everything is finally back on schedule."

Kira continued down the beautifully decorated corridor lined with polished mirrors and fresh flowers. The cheerful music from the ballroom gradually faded until only the soft rustle of her skirts accompanied her footsteps.

She reached the ladies' lounge without incident.

Empty. Exactly as she remembered.

She stepped inside.

The room smelled faintly of lavender and rosewater, its elegant furnishings untouched despite the celebration filling the manor.

Kira walked toward the window.

Waited and Listened.

Then... A quiet metallic click echoed from somewhere behind her.

Not loud nor dramatic.

Just enough.

Someone had locked the corridor door from the outside.

The trap had officially begun.

The ladies' lounge fell silent once the lock clicked into place.

Kira remained seated beside the open window, her hands resting neatly in her lap as though nothing unusual had happened. The cheerful music from the banquet drifted faintly through the gardens outside, carried in by the cool spring breeze. It almost made the room feel peaceful.

Almost.

She slowly lifted her eyes and studied the room once more.

Last time, she hadn't seen any of this.

She had entered laughing softly after one of the noble ladies recommended a stronger perfume to calm her nerves before the first dance. By then, the sleeping herb hidden in her wine had already begun taking effect. She remembered feeling strangely tired, convincing herself she had simply skipped breakfast because of the excitement surrounding the banquet. Her vision had blurred shortly afterward, and before she realized something was wrong, darkness had swallowed everything.

When she finally woke... She hadn't been alone.

The memory made her stomach tighten.

She forced herself to breathe slowly before standing from the chair. There was no panic in her movements. If anything, she became calmer with every passing second. Panic had cost her one lifetime already. She refused to let it cost her another.

Instead of rushing toward the locked door, she began examining the room.

The lounge had been prepared for noble ladies needing a quiet place to rest during long banquets. Elegant sofas lined the walls, a polished vanity sat beneath a gilded mirror, and several scented candles burned beside porcelain vases overflowing with fresh flowers. At first glance, everything appeared perfectly ordinary.

It wasn't.

Kira walked toward the center of the room and lowered her gaze.

Someone had recently crossed the polished wooden floor wearing heavy boots.

The marks were faint enough that an ordinary guest would never notice them, but they stood out against the thin layer of dust that always gathered beneath the furniture. Noblewomen didn't wear riding boots inside banquet halls, and servants usually entered through another door.

Someone had been here before her.

She followed the trail until it stopped beside an inner doorway leading to a smaller resting chamber.

The room beyond remained empty.

The bed had been freshly made.

The curtains were neatly tied back.

Yet the air carried the unmistakable scent of candle smoke.

Kira's attention shifted toward the small brass candleholder resting on a side table.

The wax had only just hardened.

Someone had extinguished it moments ago.

"They were waiting for me..." The realization didn't frighten her.

It confirmed what she'd already suspected.

Her gaze swept across the chamber one careful inch at a time until something caught against the edge of a carved chair.

A single loose thread. Dark blue.

Thick wool.

She carefully picked it up between her fingers. Not servant's clothing. Military fabric.

Her brows drew together.

The mercenary.

In her previous life, everyone believed she'd willingly invited a strange man into the manor before being discovered together in this very suite. The scandal had spread through the capital before sunset, destroying her engagement overnight.

She had spent months insisting she had never met the man.

No one believed her.

Because every piece of evidence had pointed toward her guilt.

Kira slowly closed her fingers around the thread.

This time...

She was seeing the stage before the actors arrived.

A faint smile crossed her lips.

"If you're setting a trap," she murmured quietly, "then I should leave something behind as well."

Instead of restoring the room exactly as she'd found it, Kira deliberately walked toward one of the upholstered chairs and pulled it several inches away from its original position. The movement looked insignificant, but anyone carefully examining the room later would immediately realize furniture had been disturbed before any struggle supposedly occurred.

Next, she crossed to the window overlooking the eastern gardens and pushed it fully open.

Cool air swept into the chamber.

If investigators ever questioned how an unknown man entered or escaped the manor, an open window would immediately create doubt.

Finally, she removed a delicate silk handkerchief from her sleeve and lightly brushed away one of the clearer boot prints near the doorway while intentionally leaving the others untouched.

Not enough to erase them.

Only enough to make it obvious that several different sets of footprints had once overlapped.

Questions.

That was all she needed. She didn't have to prove her innocence today. She only had to ensure the lies weren't perfect.

A perfect lie was impossible to defeat. An imperfect one slowly unraveled itself.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside the corridor. Kira immediately returned to the chair beside the window and sat down as though she had been peacefully enjoying the fresh air all along.

The footsteps stopped. Silence followed. Then the door slowly creaked open.

A young servant slipped inside carrying a neatly folded bundle wrapped in white linen. She couldn't have been older than seventeen.

The moment her eyes met Kira's, every trace of color vanished from her face.

She froze so completely that even her breathing seemed to stop. Her terrified expression told Kira everything.

This girl had expected an unconscious victim.

Not someone calmly watching her from across the room.

Neither of them spoke for several heartbeats.

The servant's eyes darted nervously toward the inner chamber before returning to Kira.

She looked trapped.

Like a frightened rabbit realizing the hunter had seen it.

Kira's voice remained gentle.

"So..." The girl flinched. "Who sent you?"

The question landed harder than an accusation.

The servant's lips parted, but no answer came.

Instead, her trembling hands loosened around the bundle she'd been carrying.

The cloth slipped from her fingers.

It struck the floor with a dull thud before unraveling across the polished wood.

A wide leather belt rolled free first.

Then a man's outer robe stained with spilled wine Finally...

A torn white undergarment. The girl's eyes widened in horror. She had ruined everything. This evidence wasn't supposed to appear until Kira was unconscious beside the mercenary.

Now it lay scattered across the floor in plain sight.

She stumbled backward.

"N-No..."

Her voice cracked.

"I..." She turned and fled before Kira could say another word.

The door slammed behind her.

Silence returned once more.

Kira didn't move.

She looked down at the items scattered across the floor before quietly shaking her head.

The servant had never been the mastermind.

She was only another frightened pawn.

Chasing her would accomplish nothing.

Someone intelligent enough to prepare every detail before Kira ever entered the room.

And people like that...

Rarely trusted servants to finish the job alone.

Kira slowly lifted her gaze toward the still-open doorway.

"They'll come themselves," she whispered.

"I only have to wait."

Outside the room, another pair of footsteps echoed steadily through the corridor.

Unlike the servant's frantic running, these steps were slow.

Measured. Confident.

Whoever was approaching had no intention of hiding anymore.