Callius sat in his bare office, furnished only with a desk and chair, looking over some paperwork that needed to be done.
This mansion, which he rented for a short time during his stay in the capital, was simple and plain, unlike the splendid townhouses owned by the empire's long-standing noble families.
In the first place, Callius had no intention of wasting time in the capital enough to spend a lot of money on accommodation.
It was entirely Chloe's fault that the plans changed and the return to Ronheim was delayed.
“Your Excellency.”
“Brentian.”
Brentian, the aide, walked into the office.
For a Ronheimer known for his sturdy physique, he had a slender build and long, neatly tied blue hair.
There wasn't much furniture or objects in the office, so Brentian's neat footsteps could be heard all the way to the ceiling.
“Is everyone doing the work they were asked to do?”
“Yes. Everyone is happy and says it’s a free drinking party every day without any reason.”
“That went well.”
Callius nodded with satisfaction.
He had recently been sending his men to bars all over the capital to spread rumors.
It was a rumor about a holy relic with mysterious powers that the Saint of Ronheim possessed.
A gift from the gods that can restore the dead to their original state, restore lost health, and bring back lost youth.
It was originally considered a legend.
Ronheim, which had little contact with the world, was an unknown land that no one was interested in. No one believed the legends that came from such a place.
However, as travelers began to seek out Ronheim, the story of the relic's existence began to spread. As a result, people began to come after it all over the world.
In an instant, the beautiful and pure snowfields of Ronheim became a bloody graveyard.
Still, the stalwart warriors of Ronheim have defended their territory and sacred relics for hundreds of years.
However, a dozen years ago, the holy relics of Ronheim were lost in an attack by strange men, and the Saintess who was in charge of the relics was murdered.
No one has ever known where the missing relic went. Officially.
Brentian asked with a worried look on his face.
“There are already many exaggerated stories about the holy relic, so is it okay to create more rumors?”
“If it’s already been inflated, what difference would it make if one or two more were added to it?”
“It may become more difficult to recover the holy relic.”
“It’s not like it’ll get easier if I just stay still. Nothing’s going to change.”
Brentian was silent for a moment, then stubbornly continued his story, this time in a more formal tone.
“I don’t want to get in the way of what you’re trying to do, but as your old friend, I have to say something. Why wouldn’t things change? If we use you as bait, you’ll be in danger. They’ll target you.”
“That’s what I’m after, Brentian.”
Brentian raised his voice slightly, as if he was frustrated.
“Don’t do anything dangerous. We have already made great sacrifices for the relic. Have you forgotten that they brutally murdered the Saintess?”
“Did I forget?”
Callius stared at Brentian, indicating that he had a lot to say but wasn't going to say it.
Then Brentian hesitated.
"Sorry."
There was no way Callius had forgotten that.
Because the Saintess of Ronheim is Callius's mother.
Callius sighed and calmed the anxious Brentian.
“If Empress Kavala takes any action in this matter, it will be proof that she stole our things. Up until now, we were cautious because it was only a suspicion, but from now on, we can move with confidence.”
He was confident.
Although he said it was only a suspicion, Callius spoke as if he were certain that the Empress Kavala had the holy relic.
“Besides, Empress Kavala cannot harm me until she discovers the identity of the key.”
He was the only one who had the information.
At that moment, a chilly night breeze from the imperial mainland blew in from somewhere and swept sharply through the office.
However, the two of them were people who could withstand the harsh snowstorm of Ronheim with their bare bodies.
The sticky wind typical of the South left only a slight discomfort, but dispersed without affecting them much.
“The Empress will try to plant a seed to get more information. But it won’t be easy.”
Callius smiled leisurely.
He had come with only a few elite knights, without any servants or common attendants.
Informally, it never occurred to anyone to join the group without their knowledge.
“I wonder what kind of bold method the Empress will use to plant the seeds?”
Callius' smile as he spoke was ambiguous.
I lay on my side and stared blankly at the morning sunlight streaming in through the curtains.
The long night that seemed like an eternity has passed, and the day has come. Again.
'I couldn't sleep today either.'
I sighed. After not being able to sleep for several days, my body didn't move as I wanted it to, as if the connection between my soul and body had become loose.
'It feels like my soul is leaking out somewhere.'
After my regression, I got insomnia along with a desire for revenge.
As soon as I closed my eyes, the moment I died came back to me vividly.
It's not the fear or shock of death that torments me.
What torments me is the truth I learned at the moment of my death: the betrayal of someone I trusted.
"What a stupid woman you are, to say the least."
The words of the knight who killed me kept lingering in my head.
'Why didn't I know for all those years? Why was I deceived?'
My teeth are chattering.
'Was I stupid?'
It was Andrea and Kavala who deceived me. They were the bad ones. I knew it in my head.
But the anger inside me wasn't just directed at them; it was also targeting myself.
'Why was I so stupid? Why didn't I suspect anything? Looking back, it's full of strange things. Why didn't I notice it then?'
Self-blame, self-blame again.
Even though I hadn't eaten anything, my chest felt heavy as if something was weighing on me, and it was hard to breathe.
I kept recalling my childhood days, when Andrea would smile kindly and say, “This brother is always on your side, Chloe.”
'Disgusting.'
I barely managed to raise my heavy body, which felt like water-soaked cotton, and grabbed my hair.
'I believed it.'
It seemed as if someone was constantly whispering in my ear, “Stupid Chloe, stupid Chloe. It’s all your fault. It’s because you were stupid.”
I felt a sense of unease as if someone was going to attack me from all sides.
I groped and pulled the blanket over me, wanting to protect myself in some way.
That was when.
“Chloe.”
Karl peeked out from behind the curtain.
It seemed that he had successfully sneaked into the palace again today.
"Karl!"
I greeted Karl in a small voice that the maids outside the door couldn't hear.
When I saw Karl, it felt like my breathing, which had been blocked, suddenly cleared up.
Karl looked at me with worried eyes, panting like someone who had just come out of the water.
“You couldn’t sleep again? I was worried, so it was good that I came early. What’s wrong with you these days? Are you really sick?”
I smiled faintly and shook my head.
The words, 'My heart hurts,' rose to the tip of my tongue, but I didn't say them.
"Well."
As he watched me say that, Karl let out a sigh as if he was frustrated.
“You have a face that tells you you’re not having good thoughts.”
I looked down because it stung.
“Is that right? Oh my.”
Karl sat down next to me and spoke to me in a scolding, yet affectionate voice.
“I don’t know what happened to you, but it’s not your fault.”
“How do you know that?”
“I don’t know the circumstances, but I know you. Of all the bad things that happen around you, there are rarely any cases where it was your fault.”
“...!”
“Trust yourself, Chloe. You’re better than you think.”
The feeling of guilt that had been strangling me disappeared in an instant at the words of Karl.
When the tip of my nose got tingly, tears welled up in my eyes.
I just laughed and cried, striking Karl with my hand.
“Tch, you don’t know anything.”
If I hadn't had Karl, would I have been able to endure it? I wouldn't have been able to. Not in my past life, not even now.
I hugged Karl tightly and wet his small shoulders with tears.
“Karl, now I only trust you and me. I won’t trust anyone else. I won’t live like a fool again.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can do it.”
My only comfort, my only peace. That's what Karl was to me.
“I’m glad you’re here, Karl.”
After leaning on Karl's small shoulder like that, I raised my head and looked at him sadly.
“But if I leave for Ronheim, we...”
In my past life, I lived with Count Pelsus in a mansion in the capital, not far from the Imperial Palace.
So even after marriage, I was able to meet Karl secretly, but Ronheim was too far away from the capital.
“We...”
I couldn't bring myself to continue speaking and just held onto Karl's hand tightly, but he said something unexpected.
“Chloe, wherever you go, I will be with you.”
“What...? But how...”
“Don’t worry. There is a way.”
As he said that, Karl smiled brightly.
“...!”
I just blankly stared at him.
It was because the smiling Karl's appearance and Callius's appearance overlapped somehow.
'What is this feeling of awkwardness?'
Then, suddenly, a noise was heard outside.
I hurriedly put Karl down.
“Go ahead, Karl!”
“I'll come again.”
This mansion, which he rented for a short time during his stay in the capital, was simple and plain, unlike the splendid townhouses owned by the empire's long-standing noble families.
In the first place, Callius had no intention of wasting time in the capital enough to spend a lot of money on accommodation.
It was entirely Chloe's fault that the plans changed and the return to Ronheim was delayed.
“Your Excellency.”
“Brentian.”
Brentian, the aide, walked into the office.
For a Ronheimer known for his sturdy physique, he had a slender build and long, neatly tied blue hair.
There wasn't much furniture or objects in the office, so Brentian's neat footsteps could be heard all the way to the ceiling.
“Is everyone doing the work they were asked to do?”
“Yes. Everyone is happy and says it’s a free drinking party every day without any reason.”
“That went well.”
Callius nodded with satisfaction.
He had recently been sending his men to bars all over the capital to spread rumors.
It was a rumor about a holy relic with mysterious powers that the Saint of Ronheim possessed.
A gift from the gods that can restore the dead to their original state, restore lost health, and bring back lost youth.
It was originally considered a legend.
Ronheim, which had little contact with the world, was an unknown land that no one was interested in. No one believed the legends that came from such a place.
However, as travelers began to seek out Ronheim, the story of the relic's existence began to spread. As a result, people began to come after it all over the world.
In an instant, the beautiful and pure snowfields of Ronheim became a bloody graveyard.
Still, the stalwart warriors of Ronheim have defended their territory and sacred relics for hundreds of years.
However, a dozen years ago, the holy relics of Ronheim were lost in an attack by strange men, and the Saintess who was in charge of the relics was murdered.
No one has ever known where the missing relic went. Officially.
Brentian asked with a worried look on his face.
“There are already many exaggerated stories about the holy relic, so is it okay to create more rumors?”
“If it’s already been inflated, what difference would it make if one or two more were added to it?”
“It may become more difficult to recover the holy relic.”
“It’s not like it’ll get easier if I just stay still. Nothing’s going to change.”
Brentian was silent for a moment, then stubbornly continued his story, this time in a more formal tone.
“I don’t want to get in the way of what you’re trying to do, but as your old friend, I have to say something. Why wouldn’t things change? If we use you as bait, you’ll be in danger. They’ll target you.”
“That’s what I’m after, Brentian.”
Brentian raised his voice slightly, as if he was frustrated.
“Don’t do anything dangerous. We have already made great sacrifices for the relic. Have you forgotten that they brutally murdered the Saintess?”
“Did I forget?”
Callius stared at Brentian, indicating that he had a lot to say but wasn't going to say it.
Then Brentian hesitated.
"Sorry."
There was no way Callius had forgotten that.
Because the Saintess of Ronheim is Callius's mother.
Callius sighed and calmed the anxious Brentian.
“If Empress Kavala takes any action in this matter, it will be proof that she stole our things. Up until now, we were cautious because it was only a suspicion, but from now on, we can move with confidence.”
He was confident.
Although he said it was only a suspicion, Callius spoke as if he were certain that the Empress Kavala had the holy relic.
“Besides, Empress Kavala cannot harm me until she discovers the identity of the key.”
He was the only one who had the information.
At that moment, a chilly night breeze from the imperial mainland blew in from somewhere and swept sharply through the office.
However, the two of them were people who could withstand the harsh snowstorm of Ronheim with their bare bodies.
The sticky wind typical of the South left only a slight discomfort, but dispersed without affecting them much.
“The Empress will try to plant a seed to get more information. But it won’t be easy.”
Callius smiled leisurely.
He had come with only a few elite knights, without any servants or common attendants.
Informally, it never occurred to anyone to join the group without their knowledge.
“I wonder what kind of bold method the Empress will use to plant the seeds?”
Callius' smile as he spoke was ambiguous.
***
I lay on my side and stared blankly at the morning sunlight streaming in through the curtains.
The long night that seemed like an eternity has passed, and the day has come. Again.
'I couldn't sleep today either.'
I sighed. After not being able to sleep for several days, my body didn't move as I wanted it to, as if the connection between my soul and body had become loose.
'It feels like my soul is leaking out somewhere.'
After my regression, I got insomnia along with a desire for revenge.
As soon as I closed my eyes, the moment I died came back to me vividly.
It's not the fear or shock of death that torments me.
What torments me is the truth I learned at the moment of my death: the betrayal of someone I trusted.
"What a stupid woman you are, to say the least."
The words of the knight who killed me kept lingering in my head.
'Why didn't I know for all those years? Why was I deceived?'
My teeth are chattering.
'Was I stupid?'
It was Andrea and Kavala who deceived me. They were the bad ones. I knew it in my head.
But the anger inside me wasn't just directed at them; it was also targeting myself.
'Why was I so stupid? Why didn't I suspect anything? Looking back, it's full of strange things. Why didn't I notice it then?'
Self-blame, self-blame again.
Even though I hadn't eaten anything, my chest felt heavy as if something was weighing on me, and it was hard to breathe.
I kept recalling my childhood days, when Andrea would smile kindly and say, “This brother is always on your side, Chloe.”
'Disgusting.'
I barely managed to raise my heavy body, which felt like water-soaked cotton, and grabbed my hair.
'I believed it.'
It seemed as if someone was constantly whispering in my ear, “Stupid Chloe, stupid Chloe. It’s all your fault. It’s because you were stupid.”
I felt a sense of unease as if someone was going to attack me from all sides.
I groped and pulled the blanket over me, wanting to protect myself in some way.
That was when.
“Chloe.”
Karl peeked out from behind the curtain.
It seemed that he had successfully sneaked into the palace again today.
"Karl!"
I greeted Karl in a small voice that the maids outside the door couldn't hear.
When I saw Karl, it felt like my breathing, which had been blocked, suddenly cleared up.
Karl looked at me with worried eyes, panting like someone who had just come out of the water.
“You couldn’t sleep again? I was worried, so it was good that I came early. What’s wrong with you these days? Are you really sick?”
I smiled faintly and shook my head.
The words, 'My heart hurts,' rose to the tip of my tongue, but I didn't say them.
"Well."
As he watched me say that, Karl let out a sigh as if he was frustrated.
“You have a face that tells you you’re not having good thoughts.”
I looked down because it stung.
“Is that right? Oh my.”
Karl sat down next to me and spoke to me in a scolding, yet affectionate voice.
“I don’t know what happened to you, but it’s not your fault.”
“How do you know that?”
“I don’t know the circumstances, but I know you. Of all the bad things that happen around you, there are rarely any cases where it was your fault.”
“...!”
“Trust yourself, Chloe. You’re better than you think.”
The feeling of guilt that had been strangling me disappeared in an instant at the words of Karl.
When the tip of my nose got tingly, tears welled up in my eyes.
I just laughed and cried, striking Karl with my hand.
“Tch, you don’t know anything.”
If I hadn't had Karl, would I have been able to endure it? I wouldn't have been able to. Not in my past life, not even now.
I hugged Karl tightly and wet his small shoulders with tears.
“Karl, now I only trust you and me. I won’t trust anyone else. I won’t live like a fool again.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can do it.”
My only comfort, my only peace. That's what Karl was to me.
“I’m glad you’re here, Karl.”
After leaning on Karl's small shoulder like that, I raised my head and looked at him sadly.
“But if I leave for Ronheim, we...”
In my past life, I lived with Count Pelsus in a mansion in the capital, not far from the Imperial Palace.
So even after marriage, I was able to meet Karl secretly, but Ronheim was too far away from the capital.
“We...”
I couldn't bring myself to continue speaking and just held onto Karl's hand tightly, but he said something unexpected.
“Chloe, wherever you go, I will be with you.”
“What...? But how...”
“Don’t worry. There is a way.”
As he said that, Karl smiled brightly.
“...!”
I just blankly stared at him.
It was because the smiling Karl's appearance and Callius's appearance overlapped somehow.
'What is this feeling of awkwardness?'
Then, suddenly, a noise was heard outside.
I hurriedly put Karl down.
“Go ahead, Karl!”
“I'll come again.”
Karl disappeared through the window just as he came in.
As soon as the boy disappeared, the bedroom door opened precariously, and the maids rushed in.
“You’re awake.”
They spoke in a sullen tone, pulling me around like a paper doll, making me sit down, standing me up, dressing me, and caressing my hair with not-so-friendly hands.
A maid finished her final check by looking me up and down as I surrendered myself to them like an inanimate object.
“Well, I think that’s enough. Then, let’s go out now.”
"Get out?"
I was curious. They preferred me to stay in the bedroom all day like a doll.
I hesitated and went out to the reception room, wondering what was wrong. Then I was surprised.
“What is all this?”
The living room was filled with brightly blooming red roses.
The errand boy was holding a letter on a tray and handing it to me.
The envelope had the words 'Callius Rodrian' written clearly on it.
A curious maid poked her head out from behind my shoulder.
“Isn’t this a love letter? Read it quickly! Quickly!”
Even though I wasn't very interested, my love life seemed interesting.
'Since it's a letter sent so publicly, I guess it's okay to read it here?'
I opened the letter carefully, quickly read a few lines, and then opened my mouth blankly.
[ Princess Chloe, more dazzling than the sun during the day and more sparkling than the stars at night. I first saw you a few days ago at a party at the palace.
That night was especially beautiful. Looking back now, I can see that all the beautiful things, the trees, the flowers, the wind, were definitely foreshadowing our fateful meeting.
Ah, the intensity with which my soul burned when I first met you is still vivid... ]
After reading that far, I double-checked the name written on the envelope: 'Callius Rodrian.'
And as if that wasn't enough, I asked the attendant too.
“Is this really a letter from Marquis Rodrian?”
The attendant nodded confidently.
“That’s right.”
'I might be wrong. Tell me I'm wrong.'
How on earth should I interpret this letter?
'Is this an assassination attempt to stop my heart by staring at me...?'
It was a reasonable doubt.
As soon as the boy disappeared, the bedroom door opened precariously, and the maids rushed in.
“You’re awake.”
They spoke in a sullen tone, pulling me around like a paper doll, making me sit down, standing me up, dressing me, and caressing my hair with not-so-friendly hands.
A maid finished her final check by looking me up and down as I surrendered myself to them like an inanimate object.
“Well, I think that’s enough. Then, let’s go out now.”
"Get out?"
I was curious. They preferred me to stay in the bedroom all day like a doll.
I hesitated and went out to the reception room, wondering what was wrong. Then I was surprised.
“What is all this?”
The living room was filled with brightly blooming red roses.
The errand boy was holding a letter on a tray and handing it to me.
The envelope had the words 'Callius Rodrian' written clearly on it.
A curious maid poked her head out from behind my shoulder.
“Isn’t this a love letter? Read it quickly! Quickly!”
Even though I wasn't very interested, my love life seemed interesting.
'Since it's a letter sent so publicly, I guess it's okay to read it here?'
I opened the letter carefully, quickly read a few lines, and then opened my mouth blankly.
[ Princess Chloe, more dazzling than the sun during the day and more sparkling than the stars at night. I first saw you a few days ago at a party at the palace.
That night was especially beautiful. Looking back now, I can see that all the beautiful things, the trees, the flowers, the wind, were definitely foreshadowing our fateful meeting.
Ah, the intensity with which my soul burned when I first met you is still vivid... ]
After reading that far, I double-checked the name written on the envelope: 'Callius Rodrian.'
And as if that wasn't enough, I asked the attendant too.
“Is this really a letter from Marquis Rodrian?”
The attendant nodded confidently.
“That’s right.”
'I might be wrong. Tell me I'm wrong.'
How on earth should I interpret this letter?
'Is this an assassination attempt to stop my heart by staring at me...?'
It was a reasonable doubt.
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