‘Is this a side story?’

It was unlikely that the Emperor had called her to this place to talk without any deeper reason.

As she had expected.

[Now, Welcome to the Side Story ‘Sweet, Subtle Tea Time’!]

“This must be your first time meeting officially. Beatrice, were you seventeen when you left to study abroad?”

“Yes. Even when I visited the temple, I only saw you a few times from afar.”

The young lady elegantly smiled at Evanessa.

“My name is Beatrice Sagrina of the Sagrina Family, Saintess. It’s an honor to my family to meet you like this.”

“I am Evanessa Halyn. Nice to meet you, Lady Sagrina.”

Evanessa picked up her teacup. Her head was spinning.

The Imperial Family’s assistance was needed in order to escape the temple. In order to obtain the help of the Imperial Family, it was best to gain the favor of the Emperor, who was the master of the Imperial Palace, and sat at the top of the power structure.

Since the moment the Emperor had called her here, she had been running through her options in her head. Evanessa silently drank her tea with a smile.

Just as Beatrice was leading the conversation, a topic related to ‘festivals’ on other continents popped up.

“Over there, when it became evening, everyone took off their shoes and danced together.”

Evanessa set down the teacup and laughed.

“You must like festivals.”

“They’re interesting and fun because the atmospheres vary from country to country.”

“Did you know that the Empire is in the middle of the Lunium Festival?”

“I heard that it was, but I haven’t been able to truly experience it yet. I have been busy with various things after returning home.”

Fortunately, Beatrice also admitted that she had never properly participated in the Lunium Festival before she left to study abroad.

The Emperor’s expression became strange as he listened to the two’s conversation from the side.

This was the very image the Emperor had wanted to achieve by calling Evanessa here. The meeting was intended to show that the temple was clearly subordinate to the Imperial Family by having the Saintess perform a public display of her support for Lady Sagrina, a long-time loyalist, whose family was one of the founders of the nation.

However, as if she had already pinpointed his true intentions, Evanessa brought up the idea first.

“If you don’t mind, why don’t we attend the festival together? I haven’t fully experienced it yet either.”

If this were like the game, it would have been impossible for Evanessa to visit the festival with the lady. This was due to the Pope, who would have noticed what the Emperor wanted to imply and made excuses to bar the two of them from going out together.

At this point, Evanessa heard a system message.

[ Lady Beatrice Sagrina feels a slight affinity towards your proposal.]

Beatrice smiled widely.

“I would love that.”

A satisfied smile flickered across the Emperor’s lips and then disappeared. The Empress sat silently beside him, drinking her tea with a quiet expression on her face.

.

Evanessa mentally breathed a sigh of relief.

‘The Emperor seems to be satisfied for the moment.’

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to build up an acquaintance with Beatrice, who had a strong influence in the game.

‘In order to get Daniel, this lady is a mountain that needs to be overcome.’

No matter how hard she thought about it, the best route for a happy ending was Daniel’s route.

However, Evanessa’s plans would not go smoothly. Because, the next afternoon, Evanessa would visit the tower and encounter a problem.

The day had finally come. The day that Evanessa would be forced to enter the den of the number 1 person that she did not want to get involved with.

Although she had spent the entire night sleeplessly trying to think of a solution; there was no way for someone from twenty-first century Korea to suddenly perform magic.

‘For now, should I just try to mimic the motions?

Evanessa stared up at the white tower that bathed in an artificial fog. It was so tall that she couldn’t see how high it went.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Saintess! My name is Terry and I look forward to receiving your guidance!”