Chapter 9

Due to the war, many people harbored hostility toward the Variessa royal family.

Naturally, Cynthia became a target of scorn as well.

Behind her back, people regarded her as nothing more than “Massera’s spoil of war” as he was a war orphan who clawed his way to the top.

“I’ll turn around and cover my eyes. Please draw a simple picture and I’ll try to guess what it is.”

Setting her champagne glass down, Cynthia approached the assemblyman and handed him a pen and paper.

The assemblyman burst into hearty laughter as he took them.

“Haha, goodness… Isn’t this just child’s play?”

“But wasn’t it you who asked me to demonstrate my special ability as a member of the royal family?”

With a wistful expression, Cynthia continued speaking in a steady and clear tone.

“I don’t really like reading people’s minds since it can be an invasion of privacy. After all, there have been times I got in trouble for exposing secrets—things like infidelity or crimes.”

Hearing that, the assemblyman’s expression stiffened slightly.

Watching his reaction, Cynthia’s lips curved subtly.

There was no such thing as a completely clean politician. He was likely an opportunist, especially given how far he made it.

Without giving him a chance to speak, she began to tell her story.

“You see, I don’t remember much of my childhood. It may be because of the trauma I suffered from losing my relatives during the royal family’s downfall, but I happened to develop a keen intuition. So I can usually tell what people are thinking by the way they look, talk, and act.”

Murmurs of sympathy spread through the crowd. Some deliberately avoided her gaze.

Turning around, Cynthia covered her eyes with both hands.

“But now, I don’t even need to observe. It’s like I just know. Strange, isn’t it?”

She was like a natural-born storyteller.

People were completely absorbed in her story, which she explained in a calm voice.

“Now then, please go ahead and draw.”

All eyes shifted from Cynthia to the assemblyman.

The assemblyman set down his champagne glass and, aware of the watchful crowd, began drawing on the paper.

“Have you finished drawing?”

At Cynthia’s voice, which came the moment he lifted his pen, the assemblyman blinked.

Still facing away, Cynthia spoke—

“You drew a snowman, right? I almost thought it was a standing caterpillar, but then noticed you drew a carrot for its nose.”

The crowd stirred with a buzz.

Their attention drew to the paper bearing the drawing of a snowman.

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

The assemblyman instantly broke out into a cold sweat, the hairs on his neck standing up.

“How did you do that? It couldn’t possibly be a trick… I mean, being able to read thoughts…”

Cynthia smiled as she listened to the flustered voice of the assemblyman. In her palm, she held a small, round hand mirror.

‘Everything I said was a lie, made up to make everyone believe.’

She had pretended to cover her eyes and peeked at his drawing through the mirror in hand. It was a common trick she had seen on magic shows in her past life.

This made her think of the long-standing manipulation committed by the Variessa royal family.

The deification and indoctrination that was no different from a cult.

That was the so-called “special ability of the royal family.”

The assemblyman wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, his eyes wandering aimlessly. He was deliberately avoiding Cynthia’s eyes.

“How fascinating. It’s like a superpower.”

Trying to play it off, the assemblyman forced a wink as he lifted his champagne glass.

“It’s nothing amazing. Everyone has their own thing they’re particularly good at, don’t they? This is just one of those. And I’d say—”

Cynthia grinned.

“—I have pretty good luck.”

“Oh, wasn’t the legendary Frost Queen of the Variessa royal family also called the ‘Goddess of Fortune’?”

The assemblyman gave an awkward laugh and gulped down his champagne.

Cynthia’s eyes widened as she watched.

“Wait, that was my glass…”

And just then—

Clang!

“Ugh… Urgh!”

The assemblyman who had dropped the glass clutched his throat and groaned in pain.

With bloodshot eyes, he glared at Cynthia.

“You damn wench… How the hell did you know and switch the glasses?”

“What? You’re the one who grabbed that glass, old man. But what you’re saying is that I was supposed to drink that?”

Since he used informal speech first, she returned the favor.

Did they put poison in it or something? When Cynthia gave him a puzzled look, he summoned the last of his strength and shouted—

“You filthy Variessa royal—you’re a disgrace to the world! You think we don’t know your filthy plan to restore the monarchy?! Guh… Kegh!”

Coughing up blood, he collapsed to the ground as screams erupted around him.

Meanwhile, a brown-haired man standing among the guests narrowed his eyes and looked down at the fallen assemblyman.

‘We said no assassinations! As if poisoning wasn’t enough, he ends up drinking it himself?!’

He looked over at Cynthia, who stood there with a blank expression on her face.

‘Damn it. What’s with that woman? It’s like she knew our entire plan!’

They were members of the Liberty Council who were trying to prevent the monarchy’s return, and their target this time was none other than Cynthia.

They had planned to kidnap Cynthia and use her as a hostage to demand ransom from the Queensguard family and Massera.

As this estate was always heavily guarded, this engagement party, where many outsiders were present, was their only opportunity to carry out their cause.

Unbeknownst to Cynthia, they spent the entire banquet trying every possible method they could to kidnap her.

They had tried to spill a drink on her dress to lure her outside, but she suddenly turned and they ended up spilling it on someone else.

They’d also tried to trip her so they could escort her away while pretending to help, but she unexpectedly turned around and caused the one trying to trip her to fall instead.

In the end, they had to change their plan.

“This won’t do. We’ll have to cause an accident to send her to the hospital.”

They even crawled into the ceiling to drop the chandelier, but she narrowly avoided it by just a few steps.

And in the end, even the assemblyman’s solo attempt to poison her had failed.

“Block the exits and search everyone.”

As Massera raised his hand commandingly, the soldiers stationed in the banquet hall moved in perfect coordination.

Soon, all the exits of the hall were secured.

At that moment, a young man stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“The royal family must be wiped from this world! We will fight to the very end!”

The man was a member of the Liberty Council who panicked and acted impulsively in the unexpected chaos.

‘What is that idiot doing?! Is he trying to get himself captured and tortured to death?! We have no coordination at all!’

The brown-haired man, visibly flustered, ducked back into the crowd.

Their opponent was Brigadier General Vicente.

If they were caught by him, it was clear that not only would they be wiped out, but three generations of their family would be as well.

Bang!

Just then, the young man fired the pistol he had hidden at Cynthia.

Screams erupted from all around.

Cynthia instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and ducked down. At that moment, she felt someone pull her into a protective embrace.

Ting!

“Aaghh!”

The sharp sound of a bullet ricocheting off something rang out, followed by a man’s scream from somewhere nearby.

The brown-haired man groaned, clutching his side.

By an incredible stroke of luck, the bullet that missed Cynthia had hit the brown-haired man among the guests.

Trembling, Cynthia slowly opened her eyes and met Massera’s gaze as he held her close.

“Why…”

‘Didn’t he hate me? Sure, it’d be troublesome if I died, but is it enough for him to risk his own life?’

Still holding Cynthia with one arm, Massera immediately aimed his gun somewhere.

“What the hell is that woman… Is she an actual demon? How did she dodge the bullet?”

The stunned young man standing at the end of Massera’s barrel muttered in disbelief.

Bang!

The man hit by the bullet collapsed to the ground.

“The Goddess of Fortune who stood with the Variessa dynasty… It must be the goddess’s blessing.”

Someone murmured in a daze.

It was an unbelievable sight, as if every misfortune in the world simply passed her by.

The reporters hiding under the tables began to furiously scribble notes.

[The royal family’s special ability. The reincarnation of the Frost Queen, who was said to have dodged ten thousand arrows — Is this a mere coincidence or the revival of an ancient legend?]

This was the first incident through which Cynthia came to deceive the entire world, marking the beginning of an unprecedented scam.