Mr. Pantalone has no crazy plans today.

For him now, the most important thing is to play his role well and not let others see anything unusual, so even if he has many doubts, he can only suppress them.

He took a deep breath and stared into thought at the 'Void Dream Terminal' in his hand.

"As for this thing, let's put it away..."

Although this thing is very effective, he shouldn't try to use his dreaming ability again without fully understanding the situation.

He didn't plan to visit that dream again until he figured out what was going on.

Chapter 81 The Empress and the Girl Still Have a Promise

Deep within the desolate Winter Palace, the Queen's figure awoke from her frozen throne.

What came into view was the same cold and icy palace as always. If there was anything different, it would probably be the girl standing on the edge of the steps.

If Pantalone were here, he would recognize the figure of the girl whose entire body was covered by a coat as white as silver frost.

The girl, with her long, smooth black hair cascading down to the ends tinged with purple, and the feathers adorning her hair ornaments, was as beautiful and elegant as a little dove.

That was none other than Columbia, the "girl" who was the third seat of the Fools' Enforcers.

Upon seeing the Empress awaken, she gracefully approached her side and, with the refined elegance of a young girl, asked the aloof Empress on the throne.

"Your Majesty, you seem... a little different today?"

"It was just a dream I had after a long time."

The Empress exhaled softly and spoke in a cool, indifferent tone.

If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't bother to investigate further.

As one of the people who had been with the Queen the longest, she naturally knew the feelings behind these seemingly plain words, or rather, the calm demeanor they conveyed.

But for someone who had been with the Queen for so long, being able to discern such subtle emotions from those details was something that would have been considered a significant emotional response for the Queen in the past.

She smiled gently and then peered behind the Queen.

"Let me guess, it's something related to 'him,' isn't it? Given Your Majesty's personality, it would only be something related to 'him' that could make you care so much, wouldn't it?"

"Can I just say I couldn't hide it from you?"

The queen's gaze lingered on the girl for a moment, but she did not deny it.

“I don’t deny that this is indeed something that has something to do with ‘him’.”

"After all, Her Majesty's thoughts become especially obvious when it comes to things related to 'him,' so it's not that hard to guess."

The girl, as delicate as a little dove, put her hands behind her back and chuckled softly.

Such an assessment made the Queen ponder for a moment, then she looked up at Columbia and asked.

"Are my emotions that obvious?"

"Hmm... no, others naturally wouldn't notice, but since I'm one of the people who have followed you the longest, probably no one else would notice your subtle emotional changes."

Columbia gently shook her head in denial, then added a sentence.

"Of course, perhaps Del Piero could be included as well."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this answer, the Empress displayed a thoughtful expression.

This made her start to think that maybe she needed to be more careful.

Just as she was pondering this matter, the fairy-like girl suddenly asked a question.

"To be honest, I've always been curious about what his plan was. As his closest confidante, Your Majesty, I want to know what promises 'he' made to you back then?"

Even though she knew that a certain man was indeed plotting something, she still couldn't glimpse the deepest secret in his heart.

Even though she was the one who watched him grow up, that's why she was curious about what kind of promise that arrogant and conceited man had made to the Queen on that day.

But when she asked the Queen with great curiosity, the Queen simply shook her head and gave this answer.

"I do not know."

"...How could that be?"

The girl looked confused; in her mind, the empress should be the one who knew the inside story.

But when she asked this question, this was the reply she received.

She didn't think the Queen was deliberately hiding it from her, because there was no need for that.

If the empress really didn't want to tell others, she would have told them directly that this was something that couldn't be told to others. But what she never expected was that the empress told her that she didn't know.

In response to Colombia's doubts, the Queen simply smiled gently.

"Even as someone who watched him grow up and witnessed his growth trajectory, how could I possibly know things that even you don't know?"

This answer left Columbia speechless for a moment.

This irresponsible answer was hard for her to understand.

"Isn't that the ideal you've poured your heart and soul into? Is it really okay to just be stuck on an answer you don't even know yourself?"