‘Could it be that Ari is being mistreated at the palace?’
She was left alone like this, so the thought naturally crossed my mind, but I didn’t say it out loud.
If it were true, it might hurt her.
Pretending not to notice anything, I took a sip of the tea she had poured and brought up the main topic.
“How’s Ray? You still haven’t found a way to check his condition, right?”
I couldn’t help the slight urgency that crept into my voice.
After all, he collapsed while trying to save me.
Ari looked at me and grinned.
“Ah, actually, I did find a way.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. So… Lovey, can I sleep over tonight?”
This was what Ari meant: although visits to Ray’s palace were still prohibited…
“Then we’ll just sneak in.”
She said it boldly.
There were too many eyes watching during the day, but she figured that at night, when visibility was low, there would be a way to slip in.
Was that really okay?
I hesitated.
It was the imperial palace, after all.
If we got caught, it wouldn’t be a light matter.
It wouldn’t just end with me getting punished—Ari, who helped me, and even the family that raised me would be held responsible…
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
What if the “monster” the fairy had warned me about was tormenting Ray?
I laughed inwardly.
Fairies, monsters… I never believed in such things.
But once I found out fairies were real, everything changed.
‘If a monster really is tormenting Ray…’
Then maybe if the original target—me—appeared, it would stop bothering him.
“Alright. Let’s sneak in.”
“Yay! Awesome! I mean, of course you didn’t bring pajamas or anything. I’ll lend you mine. Let’s pick one out now!”
Ari beamed and dragged me into her dressing room.
After choosing pajamas and goofing around, her brother, who had just returned from work around dinnertime, came to pick me up—only to hear I’d be staying the night.
His jaw dropped.
“What?! Then I’ll—”
“Are you crazy?!”
What kind of guy thinks it’s okay to hang out with girls at a sleepover?
I punched him to knock some sense into him, but he didn’t seem fazed at all, which made it even more annoying.
When I kept saying no, he looked like he was about to throw himself on the floor.
So I threatened to do the same. Startled, he immediately got up.
“Girls shouldn’t lie on the cold floor!”
“Boys shouldn’t either. So just go home. I already sent a letter to our parents saying I’d be sleeping over.”
“Fine. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow then.”
He finally gave up and left.
Whew.
Who on earth is going to marry that guy?
I shook my head and looked at Ari.
I just hoped she wouldn’t judge all knights based on that guy’s behavior.
Fortunately, Ari just smiled like she thought it was funny.
After overcoming the biggest obstacle—my brother—we had dinner together.
Even then, I couldn’t help but notice that there were no palace attendants around.
“What’s wrong, Lovey? Are you uncomfortable?”
I tried to hide it, but Ari was perceptive and noticed something was bothering me.
I almost said “no,” but then changed my mind.
I needed to know the truth to decide whether I could help.
“Are the palace staff ignoring you?”
The thought of Ari, who wasn’t even royalty, being mistreated and ostracized by the palace staff made my chest ache.
Poor things—Ray and Ari.
Both of them were struggling with family issues.
With Ray, I’d seen it firsthand.
Ari hadn’t said anything directly, but I could tell.
‘If her family was kind to her, she’d be living at the duke’s estate.
Why would she be living in the palace like this?’
From what I’d learned through other noble daughters at gatherings, the youngest daughter of the Esteban family was known to be too frail for public appearances.
‘Using her illness as an excuse to neglect her like this…’
It made my blood boil. In my previous life, I’d never seen Ray or Ari.
Ray might’ve been hidden away due to being royalty, but Ari had no such reason.
Even though we were the same age, she had never attended a single debutante ball.
Some people debut late for personal reasons, but it’s usually before they turn 20.
But by the time I was 23, I had never once seen her.
‘It will be different this life.’
If the duke’s family wouldn’t do it for her, then I would earn enough money and make her a dazzling debutante gown myself.
I reached out and held Ari’s hand.
Startled by the sudden gesture, she widened her eyes, but then smiled with joy.
As she hummed and repeated my question in her head, her expression shifted as if she’d finally understood my true meaning.
“So, what Lovey’s really asking is… why there’s no one else in the palace?”
“Yes.”
“Well, like you guessed, there is ostracism going on. But I’m not the one being ostracized—it’s them.”
I had been nervously blinking when I heard that.
My mind went blank.
What did she mean?
“I just didn’t want to see their faces, so I told them not to come around.”
Ari gave a bitter smile.
I knew she avoided people, but I hadn’t realized it extended to palace staff too.
During our trip, she had avoided crowds but had never shown discomfort around her attendants.
“Raymund is the same as me. He doesn’t really like people either… so if we go to his palace tonight and no one’s around, don’t be surprised.”
Even Ray…
I realized that the darkness in their hearts ran deeper and darker than I had imagined.
It wasn’t just discomfort—they truly disliked being around people.
It made me wonder if I was really okay being close to them, but Ari said firmly,
“You’re fine, Lovey. No, only you are fine.”
She leaned on my shoulder as she said that, and I gently patted her back.
Later that night, we lay in bed together.
The bedding was so soft that my eyes naturally closed, and just as I was about to doze off…
“Shall we go now?”
It was around the time of the guard shift change, which made it the perfect time to sneak out.
I wondered how she even knew that, but Ari just grinned mischievously.
Wearing slippers that made no sound, we tiptoed through the corridors.
“Wait, hide!”
We ducked into some bushes.
Soon after, we saw knights pass right in front of us.
Holding our breath, we stayed still—luckily, they didn’t seem to notice us.
After they disappeared, we resumed walking cautiously.
Before long, Ray’s palace came into view in the distance.
“Oh no.”
Ari, who was walking ahead, let out a distressed voice.
When I peeked out slightly, I saw knights gathered around the entrance.
“Looks like they’ve already changed shifts. That’s earlier than usual.”
“What should we do…”
Just as I was about to feel disappointed, thinking this plan wouldn’t work either, Ari glanced at me and turned around with a resolute expression.
“I’ll distract the knights. While I do that, you go inside, Lovey.”
“What? That’s too dangerous. Let’s not do it.”
“It’s not dangerous at all. I’ll be fine. Trust me.”
I tried to convince her several times to just go back, but Ari remained firm.
She even pleaded, saying she could really do this and to believe in her just this once.
In the end, I had no choice but to nod.
Otherwise, she probably would’ve dashed out right away.
“Listen carefully. Raymund’s room is the farthest room on the left on the second floor. Don’t forget. Second floor, far left.”
“Got it. Second floor, far left.”
Only after I repeated it did Ari, who had been emphasizing it like a mantra, finally look reassured and jump to her feet.
“Hyaaah!”
Then she ran straight toward the knights.
Watching her scream—whether it was a cry or a shout—I slowly started moving.
The knights chased after the fleeing Ari, leaving the entrance completely empty.
‘There’s no one inside.’
Just like in Ari’s palace, Ray’s palace was also deserted.
I wondered if there were no permanent attendants at all.
Even with all the commotion at the entrance, no one came out to check.
Feeling bitter, I quickly headed up to the second floor.
‘But why the farthest room on the left?’
The closer the room was to the stairs, the better it was.
The larger rooms were usually reserved for the master or for honored guests.
Naturally, the farther you went to the edge, the lower the status of the rooms.
So there was no reason for Ray, the owner of the palace, to use the last room…
“Ah.”
I reflexively tried to recall what was to the right of Ray’s palace and remembered something.
A little distance away, if you kept going right, you’d reach the Empress’s palace.
Though it wasn’t my business, I felt a pang of sorrow.
The idea that a child chose the room farthest away to avoid his mother broke my heart.
Slap, slap!
To shake off the sinking feeling, I slapped my cheeks hard.
I might run into Ray while he was awake, and I didn’t want him to see me with such a serious expression.
‘Leftmost room.’
I opened the door and peeked inside.
In the narrow room—which was small for a prince—the center of the bed was bulging up slightly.
I couldn’t see clearly, but Ray must’ve been lying there.
“Ray…”
I carefully called his name and stepped inside.
Why is it so dark?
I knew it was night, but it was darker than it should’ve been.
Maybe it was because the curtains were drawn.
Feeling my way through the darkness, I slowly walked toward the bed.