Chapter 23
“What?”
Count Seighton frowned deeply.
“It wasn’t the Emperor. It was me. I personally slit the throats of those noble bloodlines in the Grand Duchy and crushed the breath from the little ones too. Every last one of them was killed by my own hands.”
“…Ridiculous! You were only fifteen back then!”
And yet he was claiming he had massacred an entire family?
“At fifteen, one is more than old enough to cut a person’s throat. Besides, as you well know, I happen to possess an exceptional natural talent for killing.”
As he spoke, Declan casually flicked his sword, severing the remaining tendon in Count Seighton’s leg.
Unable to endure the horrific pain, the Count screamed.
“Isn’t this a common occurrence anyway? Blood relatives tearing each other apart in a struggle for power—whether in the past or now, it’s always the same.”
“Ugh… y-you… how dare you…!”
“Count, aren’t you exactly the same? Protecting your family, avenging my sister and nephew? What nauseating nonsense.”
Declan’s crimson eyes curved strangely like crescent moons.
“You were simply driven mad by your greed for the title of Grand Duke of Caesar.”
At that moment—
Behind Declan’s back, a grotesque black aura began to rise, as though it could swallow even light itself.
At the horrifying sight, Count Seighton’s blood-covered lips trembled violently.
The being before him was no longer human.
“…You… don’t tell me… in a human body… you made a contract with an evil god?”
Instead of answering, Declan merely smiled like a demon.
Now Caesar…
What in the world would become of it?
“S-spare me…”
Still smiling, Declan slowly raised his sword high.
Stepping through pools of blood, Declan approached Seighton’s sacred relic.
He gazed with interest at the reflection shimmering in the water-filled vessel.
“I wondered what was so entertaining that you kept staring at it…”
So this was it?
Declan’s gaze darkened heavily.
Soft pink hair swayed gently with the ripples.
Beyond it, a pair of eyes seemed to meet his own exactly where he stood.
Locking eyes with the reflection on the water’s surface, Declan let out a dry laugh.
Could sacred relics malfunction too?
“This thing is supposed to be my weakness?”
The figure there was none other than—
Prina Crowell.
His hand suddenly disturbed the water.
Though the violent ripples seemed ready to erase the woman’s face, once the surface calmed again, she still remained.
“Well now…”
This was troublesome.
His investigation into Prina Crowell had already been completed.
She lost her parents in a fire, struggled alone to raise her younger siblings, and desperately worked to pay tuition for the Academy. That was all.
Had he overlooked something?
Declan’s hand remained submerged in the cold water.
This time, instead of stirring the surface, he reached straight for her throat.
But the moment his fingers touched her image, the figure dissolved mockingly into the water once again.
For now, he couldn’t reach her anyway.
Once he left this place, he could kill her whenever he wished. It wouldn’t even be difficult.
And yet a being like that was supposedly his weakness.
A dark smile finally spread across Declan’s lips.
But the smile soon faded away.
Morning on the way to work.
Having left Caesar’s ring at home, Prina was filled with unease.
‘Once he obtains the tracking orb, Declan will find the ring.’
So she couldn’t keep it forever. Not unless she wanted Declan to discover she possessed the family heirloom.
…And above all, there was an even bigger problem.
“When I return, give it back then.”
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why Hugo—no, Declan—had given her the ring.
‘If I keep this ring for too long, I’m going to die.’
Literally.
Because of the sacred relic’s curse.
The Ring of Caesar had, for generations, formed a bond with the head of the family. Declan was no exception.
But there was one fatal issue.
A bonded sacred relic accepted only its master’s touch. If anyone else attempted to possess it…
‘…it would inflict a horrifying curse of agony.’
Especially relics ranked third-tier or higher.
Honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange if Prina had died long ago. She still didn’t understand how she had survived an entire year unharmed… perhaps she had simply been lucky.
At the very least, the ring still hadn’t realized it had been separated from its rightful owner.
‘Declan knew I could die from the curse, and he still gave it to me.’
She had no idea why, but the more she thought about it, the more betrayed she felt.
Then there was only one option left.
‘Break Declan’s bond with the ring and form a contract with it myself.’
…If that happened, not even Declan would be able to harm Prina or her siblings.
She wouldn’t have to live in fear of when he might recover his memories. He would be incapable of doing anything to her.
Just as she arrived at Daisy Hall—
“Did you hear the news this morning? Count Seighton apparently attempted to escape prison last night! Quite bold of him.”
“I heard. But they say Grand Duke Caesar personally chased him down and executed him on the spot.”
“Tsk tsk. They should’ve put him on the guillotine and wiped out his entire bloodline publicly. The Grand Duke was too merciful.”
The commoner officials gathered near the entrance were gossiping amongst themselves.
‘Count Seighton died last night?’
Until recently, he’d seemed relaxed enough to take interest in the tracking orb auction, but apparently Declan had moved swiftly.
‘If I hadn’t actively defended myself in the interrogation room, then maybe I too…’
…might have disappeared alongside Count Seighton like dew beneath the executioner’s blade.
The thought sent chills through her.
Just then, her eyes met those of the gossiping officials.
“C-cough! I should get to work now.”
“Th-thanks for the sandwich! I’ve got piles of paperwork waiting, so…”
Avoiding her gaze, they hurried away.
‘What was that?’
Sure enough, even the knights slacking off in the corner quietly slipped away as well.
Apparently rumors about Prina being taken into the investigation room had spread overnight.
‘They’re probably afraid they’ll get caught up with me.’
Especially when not even half a day had passed since Count Seighton’s execution.
Still, she didn’t resent them. Everyone here worked to survive, after all.
Especially those with families waiting at home.
In truth, Prina was somewhat—no, painfully—familiar with this sort of cold atmosphere.
Back when she lived in the vast Orbanon Marquis estate as an unwanted dependent—
The quick-witted servants treated her like a ghost, terrified they might get dragged into trouble. They didn’t want to earn the hatred of the direct bloodline either.
So it was only natural for these people to avoid her—
“You bastards!”
She jumped in surprise.
“Since when did you all become such hardworking model employees?! Stop the bullshit and sit your asses down!”
From inside Daisy Hall, the head chef bellowed thunderously, one hand planted on his hip like a giant iron cauldron lid.
“Exactly! What terrible crime did our Prina commit for everyone to avoid her like Moses parting the Red Sea?!”
…Well, she did seem pretty avoidable…
“Working in the Imperial Palace means sometimes people get unfairly dragged into interrogations once or twice, doesn’t it?!”
Actually, ordinary people usually go their whole lives without experiencing that…
“W-we weren’t avoiding her! We just happened to have urgent business!”
The officials and knights, already edging backward, made pitiful excuses before fleeing the dining hall.
“Ugh, those shameless, disloyal bastards! Write down the names of everyone who just left! Starting tomorrow, those idiots get nothing but dry bread without even a drop of soup!”
The head chef angrily waved his ladle at the retreating men.
Prina, who suddenly found herself under the ironclad protection of her coworkers, could only blink blankly in confusion.
“What kind of disaster is this? Look how pale our Prina’s become!”
“Prina, after surviving a brush with death, I bet you’ve completely forgotten that lousy ex-boyfriend who disappeared on you!”
“Hannah, do you seriously think that’s comforting?”
It had been a long time since such overwhelming attention had been directed at Prina, and she didn’t know how to react.
