“If you want to run away, now is your only chance. If you take my hand and lead me out of the palace, then...”
“At that time?”
He skipped the answer and smiled again.
'Was he always this funny? Yesterday, he was standing there so stiff that I couldn't even breathe.'
But why is his smile so scary?
‘What on earth are you trying to say...’
I swallowed hard and looked up at him.
Although it was a very long time ago, many royal ancestors enjoyed bathing in the blood of children or offering people as sacrifices to pray for victory in war.
A lot of crazy things happen in the royal family.
'Andrea and Kavala alone framed my mother's death as suicide and accused me of being crazy.'
Because of the environment in which I grew up, I couldn't just dismiss his words as a joke.
In this day and age, if you do something so ridiculous, you will be socially condemned and buried.
But that's the case among the nobles in the capital. How could I know what it's like in faraway Ronheim?
Ronheim had only recently been incorporated into the Empire and was still an unknown land with little contact with the mainland.
‘By any chance... is it because you kept looking at me earlier that I looked delicious?’
When he came into my room, I thought he looked like a wild beast. Could it be that it was a danger signal from my instincts?
I asked cautiously.
“Marquis, will you eat me too if I have to?”
“...?”
“Are you threatening to eat me if I don’t benefit you?”
I looked up at him seriously.
“If that’s the case, you won’t eat me.”
Because I'm going to take everything that Andrea is greedily collecting.
In the process, Callius would benefit rather than suffer losses.
At my determined expression, he suddenly bit his lips. Then, all of a sudden, he let out a big sigh.
'What is that sigh?'
I couldn't figure out what the sigh meant.
“I will eat the Princess... Sigh.”
He sighed once more.
“...Nothing will happen.”
'Why do you keep sighing? Are you sad that you can't eat me?'
I insisted with force in my voice.
“Yes. It would be a great loss for you to eat me. You’ll see. Besides, as you can see, I’m so skinny that I don’t have much to eat.”
He sighed again and said,
“Ahem…l... I don’t eat my trading partners.”
“Yes then.”
I felt a little relieved when I heard the answer. Of course, that doesn't mean I wasn't scared at all.
But it was clear that it would be much better for him if I were alive. I didn't trust him; I trusted that fact. He would soon find out.
It's unsettling, but as long as my safety is guaranteed, I don't care who he is.
It is beyond my power to decide whether to stop dealing with him and stop cannibalism or to reveal his true identity to the world and save his victims.
It may be selfish, but right now, I'm overwhelmed just by being able to leave the palace with just my body.
He let me go and said goodbye politely.
“If Your Highness’s determination remains unchanged, I will see you on the day of departure, my bride-to-be.”
The attitude was that persuading the Emperor and Empress would be no problem.
The carriage carrying Callius left the palace.
As soon as he did that, he burst out laughing, the laughter he had been holding back the whole time.
"Ha ha ha!"
He laughed so hard that the coachman opened the window connected to the coachman's seat slightly to peek inside, wondering what was going on.
Callius laughed until tears welled up in his eyes.
“Marquis, will you eat me too if I have to?”
“I’m so skinny I don’t have much to eat.”
Why are the eyes looking up at me while saying that so cute?
From the moment he saw Chloe again, there was only one thought on his mind.
'You're still as cute as when you were little.'
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
How many deep breaths did he take to keep himself from laughing when he saw Chloe's serious eyes as she clenched her fists and said that eating her would be a loss?
'I was just trying to scare you.'
I couldn't figure out what Chloe thought of Ronheim.
Did she ever think deeply about what effect marrying him would have on her?
He doesn't know why she wants to leave the palace, but if she chose him out of shallowness, he hopes she'll be scared by his words and change her partner.
Ronheim is by no means an easy place.
It was a place where he wouldn't have even been able to offer an empty invitation to come visit sometime if she hadn't asked him to take her there first.
'If she goes to Ronheim, she might cry and beg to be let go.'
He was very worried about her.
“At that time?”
He skipped the answer and smiled again.
'Was he always this funny? Yesterday, he was standing there so stiff that I couldn't even breathe.'
But why is his smile so scary?
‘What on earth are you trying to say...’
I swallowed hard and looked up at him.
Although it was a very long time ago, many royal ancestors enjoyed bathing in the blood of children or offering people as sacrifices to pray for victory in war.
A lot of crazy things happen in the royal family.
'Andrea and Kavala alone framed my mother's death as suicide and accused me of being crazy.'
Because of the environment in which I grew up, I couldn't just dismiss his words as a joke.
In this day and age, if you do something so ridiculous, you will be socially condemned and buried.
But that's the case among the nobles in the capital. How could I know what it's like in faraway Ronheim?
Ronheim had only recently been incorporated into the Empire and was still an unknown land with little contact with the mainland.
‘By any chance... is it because you kept looking at me earlier that I looked delicious?’
When he came into my room, I thought he looked like a wild beast. Could it be that it was a danger signal from my instincts?
I asked cautiously.
“Marquis, will you eat me too if I have to?”
“...?”
“Are you threatening to eat me if I don’t benefit you?”
I looked up at him seriously.
“If that’s the case, you won’t eat me.”
Because I'm going to take everything that Andrea is greedily collecting.
In the process, Callius would benefit rather than suffer losses.
At my determined expression, he suddenly bit his lips. Then, all of a sudden, he let out a big sigh.
'What is that sigh?'
I couldn't figure out what the sigh meant.
“I will eat the Princess... Sigh.”
He sighed once more.
“...Nothing will happen.”
'Why do you keep sighing? Are you sad that you can't eat me?'
I insisted with force in my voice.
“Yes. It would be a great loss for you to eat me. You’ll see. Besides, as you can see, I’m so skinny that I don’t have much to eat.”
He sighed again and said,
“Ahem…l... I don’t eat my trading partners.”
“Yes then.”
I felt a little relieved when I heard the answer. Of course, that doesn't mean I wasn't scared at all.
But it was clear that it would be much better for him if I were alive. I didn't trust him; I trusted that fact. He would soon find out.
It's unsettling, but as long as my safety is guaranteed, I don't care who he is.
It is beyond my power to decide whether to stop dealing with him and stop cannibalism or to reveal his true identity to the world and save his victims.
It may be selfish, but right now, I'm overwhelmed just by being able to leave the palace with just my body.
He let me go and said goodbye politely.
“If Your Highness’s determination remains unchanged, I will see you on the day of departure, my bride-to-be.”
The attitude was that persuading the Emperor and Empress would be no problem.
***
The carriage carrying Callius left the palace.
As soon as he did that, he burst out laughing, the laughter he had been holding back the whole time.
"Ha ha ha!"
He laughed so hard that the coachman opened the window connected to the coachman's seat slightly to peek inside, wondering what was going on.
Callius laughed until tears welled up in his eyes.
“Marquis, will you eat me too if I have to?”
“I’m so skinny I don’t have much to eat.”
Why are the eyes looking up at me while saying that so cute?
From the moment he saw Chloe again, there was only one thought on his mind.
'You're still as cute as when you were little.'
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
How many deep breaths did he take to keep himself from laughing when he saw Chloe's serious eyes as she clenched her fists and said that eating her would be a loss?
'I was just trying to scare you.'
I couldn't figure out what Chloe thought of Ronheim.
Did she ever think deeply about what effect marrying him would have on her?
He doesn't know why she wants to leave the palace, but if she chose him out of shallowness, he hopes she'll be scared by his words and change her partner.
Ronheim is by no means an easy place.
It was a place where he wouldn't have even been able to offer an empty invitation to come visit sometime if she hadn't asked him to take her there first.
'If she goes to Ronheim, she might cry and beg to be let go.'
He was very worried about her.
He hopes she is happy as much as he missed her.
Callius' expression darkened slightly as he thought about that.
'Was it my greed that made me accept this deal? Wasn't there another way to help her?'
That's been on his mind the whole time.
But there were rumors going around that she was crazy, even though she was perfectly fine.
Besides, as she said, she was worried about her skinny body.
'If you propose to me even though you don't remember me, then it means you're in such a desperate situation that you need to grab hold of anyone and run away.'
As surprising as it was to learn so much about Chloe, Callius had a suspicion that something terrible was going on with her ever since he saw her at the party.
So he accepted the offer.
'Wasn't it just a rumor that the Empress and the Prince were killing the late Empress and targeting Chloe?'
There was a rumor about that for a while, about ten years ago.
But the rumor suddenly disappeared at some point when the courtiers testified that Prince Andrea and Empress Kavala took good care of Chloe, and that Chloe followed them well.
After that, he didn't hear much from her for a long time, so he thought she was doing well.
Callius' expression hardened coldly as he recalled the Empress Kavala.
'I can't let Chloe fall into the hands of the Empress.'
It was only natural to help Chloe.
Because he owes her a great favor in the past.
Besides, he had a grudge to repay against Empress Kavala.
A late, rainy night.
Two servants working in the palace were moving secretly, trying not to leave footprints on the marble floor.
They were carrying a box just big enough to fit one person.
“Another person is dying.”
As one servant muttered anxiously, another servant shouted in a small voice.
“Don’t say anything. Just shut up and go quickly.”
“But is this the first or second time this has happened?”
“Shh, who’s going to hear that?”
The two quickly walked down the hallway and into the rainy back alley, seemingly trying not to run into anyone.
The crunching sound of footsteps on the wet grass was lost in the sound of the rain.
But then, behind a pillar in the hallway they had passed through, someone suddenly appeared in a place where they thought there was no one.
He was a man with a long scar on his left eyebrow.
“...”
He stared at the backs of the servants as they disappeared into the darkness, then followed the same path they had taken and headed toward the residence where Empress Kavala was staying.
The maid guarding the front of the residence recognized the man and opened the door.
“The Empress is waiting.”
The man entered Kavala's bedroom as if he were familiar with it.
Kavala's bedroom, decorated with red rambres and black furniture, was intense, passionate, and old-fashioned.
The bedroom in the middle of the night was noisy with the howling wind. Even though it was raining, all the windows on the wall were wide open.
A bedroom filled with damp and chilly wind. Inside, Kavala's maids were trying hard to hide something behind their expressionless faces.
“You’re here. Dnieper.”
Kavala, who had just finished bathing, greeted the man and pushed aside her maids.
“I have something to talk to the Marquis about, so you guys go out.”
With her voluptuous body that was not even covered by a bathrobe and her flowing, voluptuous, copper-colored hair, Kavala exuded a very alluring aura.
He looked very young, which made it hard to believe that he was the father of a son in his 30s.
The man smelled the pungent smell of blood from Kavala as she passed by, a scent that could not be washed away even after bathing.
No matter how much she ventilated the room, the pungent smell of blood that lingered in the room was coming from Kavala.
“Sister.”
The man who gave off a rough impression of being more like a mercenary than a nobleman was Kavala's younger brother, the Margrave of Dnieper Blanco.
He advised.
“You will have to re-elect the servants who clean up after those who speak loudly.”
Kavala frowned.
“Are you going to go out and open your mouth again? Those damn cubes.”
Kavala let out a short sigh, but soon returned to a relaxed expression.
“You handle it yourself like you always have.”
“Yes, sis.”
Kavala sprayed toner on her face and asked.
“By the way, what did you ask me to do?”
“I found out. The Marquis of Rodrian’s entourage happened to be gathered at a bar and talking loudly.”
“Did you get any good information?”
Dnieper took a step closer to Kavala and whispered softly.
“As rumored, there is a separate key to awaken the holy relic held by the Saintess of Ronheim.”
Kavala, who was looking at the mirror, suddenly turned around.
“That was true. For some reason, no matter what I did for over ten years, it just wouldn’t work.”
A sharp smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Where is that key? Whose hand is it in?”
“Callius Rodrian. He alone is said to know.”
Kavala emphasized in a voice full of desire.
“I absolutely, absolutely have to find it.”
“Yes, sis.”
Dnieper lowered his head, and then he saw a red stain of blood on the hem of Kavala's bathrobe.
Kavala looked down and saw what Dnieper was looking at and smiled.
“I had a little fun today.”
It was a smile that gave people the creeps.
Callius' expression darkened slightly as he thought about that.
'Was it my greed that made me accept this deal? Wasn't there another way to help her?'
That's been on his mind the whole time.
But there were rumors going around that she was crazy, even though she was perfectly fine.
Besides, as she said, she was worried about her skinny body.
'If you propose to me even though you don't remember me, then it means you're in such a desperate situation that you need to grab hold of anyone and run away.'
As surprising as it was to learn so much about Chloe, Callius had a suspicion that something terrible was going on with her ever since he saw her at the party.
So he accepted the offer.
'Wasn't it just a rumor that the Empress and the Prince were killing the late Empress and targeting Chloe?'
There was a rumor about that for a while, about ten years ago.
But the rumor suddenly disappeared at some point when the courtiers testified that Prince Andrea and Empress Kavala took good care of Chloe, and that Chloe followed them well.
After that, he didn't hear much from her for a long time, so he thought she was doing well.
Callius' expression hardened coldly as he recalled the Empress Kavala.
'I can't let Chloe fall into the hands of the Empress.'
It was only natural to help Chloe.
Because he owes her a great favor in the past.
Besides, he had a grudge to repay against Empress Kavala.
***
A late, rainy night.
Two servants working in the palace were moving secretly, trying not to leave footprints on the marble floor.
They were carrying a box just big enough to fit one person.
“Another person is dying.”
As one servant muttered anxiously, another servant shouted in a small voice.
“Don’t say anything. Just shut up and go quickly.”
“But is this the first or second time this has happened?”
“Shh, who’s going to hear that?”
The two quickly walked down the hallway and into the rainy back alley, seemingly trying not to run into anyone.
The crunching sound of footsteps on the wet grass was lost in the sound of the rain.
But then, behind a pillar in the hallway they had passed through, someone suddenly appeared in a place where they thought there was no one.
He was a man with a long scar on his left eyebrow.
“...”
He stared at the backs of the servants as they disappeared into the darkness, then followed the same path they had taken and headed toward the residence where Empress Kavala was staying.
The maid guarding the front of the residence recognized the man and opened the door.
“The Empress is waiting.”
The man entered Kavala's bedroom as if he were familiar with it.
Kavala's bedroom, decorated with red rambres and black furniture, was intense, passionate, and old-fashioned.
The bedroom in the middle of the night was noisy with the howling wind. Even though it was raining, all the windows on the wall were wide open.
A bedroom filled with damp and chilly wind. Inside, Kavala's maids were trying hard to hide something behind their expressionless faces.
“You’re here. Dnieper.”
Kavala, who had just finished bathing, greeted the man and pushed aside her maids.
“I have something to talk to the Marquis about, so you guys go out.”
With her voluptuous body that was not even covered by a bathrobe and her flowing, voluptuous, copper-colored hair, Kavala exuded a very alluring aura.
He looked very young, which made it hard to believe that he was the father of a son in his 30s.
The man smelled the pungent smell of blood from Kavala as she passed by, a scent that could not be washed away even after bathing.
No matter how much she ventilated the room, the pungent smell of blood that lingered in the room was coming from Kavala.
“Sister.”
The man who gave off a rough impression of being more like a mercenary than a nobleman was Kavala's younger brother, the Margrave of Dnieper Blanco.
He advised.
“You will have to re-elect the servants who clean up after those who speak loudly.”
Kavala frowned.
“Are you going to go out and open your mouth again? Those damn cubes.”
Kavala let out a short sigh, but soon returned to a relaxed expression.
“You handle it yourself like you always have.”
“Yes, sis.”
Kavala sprayed toner on her face and asked.
“By the way, what did you ask me to do?”
“I found out. The Marquis of Rodrian’s entourage happened to be gathered at a bar and talking loudly.”
“Did you get any good information?”
Dnieper took a step closer to Kavala and whispered softly.
“As rumored, there is a separate key to awaken the holy relic held by the Saintess of Ronheim.”
Kavala, who was looking at the mirror, suddenly turned around.
“That was true. For some reason, no matter what I did for over ten years, it just wouldn’t work.”
A sharp smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Where is that key? Whose hand is it in?”
“Callius Rodrian. He alone is said to know.”
Kavala emphasized in a voice full of desire.
“I absolutely, absolutely have to find it.”
“Yes, sis.”
Dnieper lowered his head, and then he saw a red stain of blood on the hem of Kavala's bathrobe.
Kavala looked down and saw what Dnieper was looking at and smiled.
“I had a little fun today.”
It was a smile that gave people the creeps.
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