Mastiff found himself in Estria's empty mansion. Ayla no longer came here. He knew that, but he also wondered why he kept coming here, as if searching for a lost object.
“Hello, problem child.”
Mastiff, sitting alone on the sofa, sipping tea, heard a familiar yet cool voice behind him and slowly turned around. He saw a tall young man standing in the dimly lit room. His silver-white hair was darkened by the overcast weather.
“What brings you here? How did you know I was here?”
Noah tilted his head toward Mastiff and smiled. Instead of answering, he offered congratulations.
“Congratulations. You’re a father.”
“On the surface, it will be your child. The Princess will spread it like that.”
“There was no need to give me such a wedding gift. It’s a shame.”
Mastiff picked up the teapot and poured tea into the empty cups that had been placed there.
“Sit down. It’s a nice tea.”
Noah, who was leaning back on the sofa opposite, raised his chin and made a raspy voice.
"This is not a good way to go forward. It's ungentlemanly and messy."
"Your wife wouldn't even bat an eye at such a rumor anyway. She's incredibly indifferent."
Noah, holding the teacup, slowly opened his eyes and answered.
“She's just pretending.”
"Yeah, I cut the back of her hand with a knife. Did she pretend like nothing happened then?"
As soon as Mastiff finished speaking, the table shook violently, and the teacup and teapot fell, shattering sharply. In an instant, Noah subdued Mastiff, pinned beneath him by his neck, his turquoise eyes narrowed.
“You are really.”
Noah, his voice hoarse, leaned closer to Mastiff and chuckled. Despite his commanding demeanor, his voice was gentle.
"It's still useless. Why won't you listen to me?"
Mastiff's forehead bulged with a blazing tendon as he was gripped tightly by the neck. Despite his face flushing red from the tightening grip, he wore a bitter smile.
“You left me without even telling me what to do.”
“Not even a kid. You can do that on your own now, right?”
Mastiff, who had grabbed Noah's wrist that was holding his neck, turned his eyes to one side in despair and tightly closed his mouth before letting go again.
“I don’t know.”
"Then I can't kill you anymore. You're not worth killing. Whether you die like a dog or with honor, I won't remember you at all."
"I thought you'd forgotten your original purpose, so I tried to take your place. Am I wrong?"
“Are you going to reveal Diana’s identity?”
"As long as the current fake exists, if her true identity is revealed, it will be your wife who dies. The Queen will do whatever it takes to bury the truth. If it's revealed that the true heir is a mixed-blood illegitimate child, other royal families will stir up controversy over legitimacy and succession rights within the royal family."
Noah's lips parted slightly, then curved in a strangely pleased expression.
"Well, you're smart. You even know how to threaten me and ask for a deal."
Mastiff laughed at Noah's compliment, which didn't seem like a compliment, and pushed away Noah's hand, which had lost some strength.
His turquoise eyes looked straight up at Noah.
"Because the real Princess is holding you in her hands. Even if you secure her the throne, not only will you not be able to maintain your marriage, but she'll also live her entire life tormented by the accusations of being a half-blood, illegitimate Queen. If you don't like that, you can just take her back to Frogen. It won't be a bad thing, right?"
Noah had a blank expression on his face, completely unable to read his intentions.
If your plans to marry her and be with her were to go awry, you wouldn't be able to bear it. I didn't know you'd so blatantly expose your weakness. Mastiff, subjectively interpreting his expressionless face, drew his own conclusion and relaxed.
“The best way would be to kill me here and now.”
Noah covered his mouth with one hand and smiled. A faint laugh escaped through the gap between his hands.
"I told you I wouldn't kill you, didn't I? It's nice to see you trying to prove your worth to me."
He continued speaking in a languid voice, like a predator who had fully filled his stomach.
"I like it, except for the fact that you slashed my wife's hand and tried to frame the maid for having my child. That would really tarnish Erita's claim to the throne."
Mastiff's thoughts were bewildered by the unexpected and satisfying reaction.
“What does that mean?”
"In the end, Diana will be the Queen. Marriage? That's just a formality, defining a relationship. It doesn't matter. As long as I stay by her side as a loyal subject, a devoted servant, that's all I need. Still, she's mine. Forever."
Mastiff's forehead furrowed as he was confused by the crazy talk that even a crazy person like him couldn't understand.
"You were trying to make her Queen? Weren't you hiding the fact that shs were a true Princess to prevent her from becoming Queen?"
"It's not time yet. I'm just trying to show you a surefire way to get your hands on Frogen, even without me by your side."
Noah's smooth fingers straightened his crooked tie and tapped it as if finishing it.
"Your father, the Emperor, rules over the people by force and subjugates them by fear. Fear is the ultimate means of control. I agree with that."
"So, Noah, you're probably also obsessed with that development plan. It's like gaining the right to control and restrain nations and rule the world."
"I won't perfect it during the current Queen's reign. I intend to utilize it until it's almost finished, and it's a power that will only be realized during the reign of Queen Diana. A question of qualifications? No one dares to speak of the origins of a monarch with overwhelming power and authority. You will become one of them."
“So you’re asking me to cooperate?”
He couldn't tell how much of Noah's words were true. A vague distrust flickered in Mastiff's eyes.
Noah, who had been dominant, seemed to be signaling a hierarchy and reached out as if to help him up. His mouth curved gently, revealing his white teeth. At first glance, it seemed like a model smile.
"Mastiff, you wanted to be the supreme leader of the Frogen Empire. The Emperor is insane, and the Crown Prince is too weak to kill a bug, so he's useless. You're going to act so foolishly, even with such favorable terms? I worked hard to create this opportunity for you, my bastard."
“What is that...”
Mastiff felt a fleeting image of a beautiful boy, smiling and holding a vial of arsenic, overlapping Noah's gaze. He remembered how countless doctors and religious leaders had tried to cure the Emperor's fits and madness, yet none had improved. He even remembered that Noah and the Crown Prince, who had suffered for days from the shock of seeing a gruesomely corpse, had once been friends.
Only then did Mastiff realize the oddity of the situation. The Emperor's usual medication. While he would see some relief after taking it, if he stopped taking it regularly, the seizures would return, and in fact, they seemed to worsen. Perhaps he had bribed the imperial doctor, injecting him with a maddening ingredient, and had him use it long-term. What if the trauma inflicted on the Crown Prince as a child was all part of his plan?
“Noah Rotsilt. Since when?”
His plan to overthrow the Froid Dynasty and replace the Frogen Empire was put into action at least since he was a teenager. It was likely secretly prepared by the Rotsilt family for generations, even before he was born.
“Do you understand now?”
Noah, with a calm smile like a boy from a long memory, whispered a gentle command into Mastiff's ear.
"Well, I've been with you all along, and I've kindly told you what you wanted to do. Now do what you have to do, Mastiff. If you want my approval."
It was still a gentle, captivating tone. The master's elegant, authoritative whisper was undeniable. Was it all his intention? Even the actions the other person had chosen themselves?
He possesses a remarkable ability to manipulate others as he wishes. His personality, stripped of unnecessary emotions, resembles a weapon rather than a human being. He is an ideal war hero, determined to achieve his goals unconditionally. He is, in fact, the most qualified leader of a nation.
Mastiff discovered something slowly emerging from the sea of meanings contained within his language and the thoughts derived from them. Noah Rotsilt seeks to place his chosen ruler in charge of the nation. Perhaps he seeks to become a ruler above rulers, a master of the world who stands in the shadow of the throne, controlling it like a puppet.
“True domination...”
Mastiff, who had been muttering softly, felt a kind of awe as he wiped his face as if washing it. It took a while for his body, frozen in helplessness, to move freely.
"Why did you choose to run away from Frogen back then? Even without that, you could have done it. No, if you had stayed, you would have achieved what you wanted faster. Even the current fake Princess could have done it."
The corners of Noah's mouth rose subtly at Mastiff's question.
“It was because of the variables.”
Noah, who had neatly dressed himself, picked up the stuffed cat on the table and looked at it from side to side as he added.
"I heard the maid with your child is dying soon. Just as a courtesy, come see her. Um, why did you give her something you didn't make? It only has one eye."
Mastiff's tightly clenched lips parted, creating a gap. The pupils within its fierce, turquoise irises dilated completely.
“Did Erita break her promise?”
"Judging by your reaction, it seems the maid didn't act according to your plan. I've experienced this myself. It's a kind of fatal variable. It might be close to an error."
Noah asked, fiddling with his stuffed animal.
“Was I useful to you?”
“You bake cookies well.”
"I see."
Noah threw the stuffed animal he was holding onto the table, stood up, and turned around.
After he left, Mastiff, left alone, picked up the doll that had been carelessly thrown on the table.
“I’m dying...”
“Please let me out! I can’t stand it anymore!”
Trapped in a narrow, windowless room, Ayla screamed and pounded on the door. The room was empty. Dark, dingy walls, a cold, hard stone floor. Without even a single worn blanket, the temperature dropped at night, chilling her body, making it impossible to sit or lie down comfortably.
Food was given in small amounts, just enough to keep her from dying, and no one entered the room.
Every time she complained about her suffering, the man outside the door always said the same thing.
“If you promise to follow orders, you can get out of there.”
Locked in a dark room for days without a single ray of warm sunlight or fresh breeze, her mind, let alone her body, was in no condition.
“This is too harsh. It’s hard. It’s too...”
The empty room, even when the darkness became familiar at night, made it impossible to see even an inch ahead, exacerbating the fear and isolation. Yet, what kept her going was the distant light of hope, visible like a lighthouse.
“Mastiff will come to you.”
Ayla, remembering Noah's words, figured that if he knew she was being treated like this, he would come to her aid.
Because he is the child's father. Because he clearly said that the child is precious.
Just when it was becoming impossible to even remember what day it was or what week it was, the Princess arrived. Through the open door, a maid appeared, carrying a tray of delicious food. Ayla's hungry sense of smell and sight were focused solely on the food.
“You won’t be able to overcome your instincts. Like an animal.”
Erita, who had her nose covered with a handkerchief from the musty smell in the room, giggled at her.
"If you do as I say, I'll treat you to a sumptuous meal in a luxurious room and treat you like a noble lady. How about that?"
Ayla's dead eyes turned to the demon who was asking for a deal.
“Hello, problem child.”
Mastiff, sitting alone on the sofa, sipping tea, heard a familiar yet cool voice behind him and slowly turned around. He saw a tall young man standing in the dimly lit room. His silver-white hair was darkened by the overcast weather.
“What brings you here? How did you know I was here?”
Noah tilted his head toward Mastiff and smiled. Instead of answering, he offered congratulations.
“Congratulations. You’re a father.”
“On the surface, it will be your child. The Princess will spread it like that.”
“There was no need to give me such a wedding gift. It’s a shame.”
Mastiff picked up the teapot and poured tea into the empty cups that had been placed there.
“Sit down. It’s a nice tea.”
Noah, who was leaning back on the sofa opposite, raised his chin and made a raspy voice.
"This is not a good way to go forward. It's ungentlemanly and messy."
"Your wife wouldn't even bat an eye at such a rumor anyway. She's incredibly indifferent."
Noah, holding the teacup, slowly opened his eyes and answered.
“She's just pretending.”
"Yeah, I cut the back of her hand with a knife. Did she pretend like nothing happened then?"
As soon as Mastiff finished speaking, the table shook violently, and the teacup and teapot fell, shattering sharply. In an instant, Noah subdued Mastiff, pinned beneath him by his neck, his turquoise eyes narrowed.
“You are really.”
Noah, his voice hoarse, leaned closer to Mastiff and chuckled. Despite his commanding demeanor, his voice was gentle.
"It's still useless. Why won't you listen to me?"
Mastiff's forehead bulged with a blazing tendon as he was gripped tightly by the neck. Despite his face flushing red from the tightening grip, he wore a bitter smile.
“You left me without even telling me what to do.”
“Not even a kid. You can do that on your own now, right?”
Mastiff, who had grabbed Noah's wrist that was holding his neck, turned his eyes to one side in despair and tightly closed his mouth before letting go again.
“I don’t know.”
"Then I can't kill you anymore. You're not worth killing. Whether you die like a dog or with honor, I won't remember you at all."
"I thought you'd forgotten your original purpose, so I tried to take your place. Am I wrong?"
As he listened to Mastiff's words, Noah's eyes narrowed coldly, the corners of his eyes lifting fiercely. His eyes, now transformed into an icy blue, fixed on him.
"As long as the current fake exists, if her true identity is revealed, it will be your wife who dies. The Queen will do whatever it takes to bury the truth. If it's revealed that the true heir is a mixed-blood illegitimate child, other royal families will stir up controversy over legitimacy and succession rights within the royal family."
Noah's lips parted slightly, then curved in a strangely pleased expression.
"Well, you're smart. You even know how to threaten me and ask for a deal."
Mastiff laughed at Noah's compliment, which didn't seem like a compliment, and pushed away Noah's hand, which had lost some strength.
“Though I tried to use that blinded, the fake Princess to dig her own grave and swallow Medea and her vast colony whole...”
"Because the real Princess is holding you in her hands. Even if you secure her the throne, not only will you not be able to maintain your marriage, but she'll also live her entire life tormented by the accusations of being a half-blood, illegitimate Queen. If you don't like that, you can just take her back to Frogen. It won't be a bad thing, right?"
Noah had a blank expression on his face, completely unable to read his intentions.
If your plans to marry her and be with her were to go awry, you wouldn't be able to bear it. I didn't know you'd so blatantly expose your weakness. Mastiff, subjectively interpreting his expressionless face, drew his own conclusion and relaxed.
“The best way would be to kill me here and now.”
Noah covered his mouth with one hand and smiled. A faint laugh escaped through the gap between his hands.
"I told you I wouldn't kill you, didn't I? It's nice to see you trying to prove your worth to me."
He continued speaking in a languid voice, like a predator who had fully filled his stomach.
"I like it, except for the fact that you slashed my wife's hand and tried to frame the maid for having my child. That would really tarnish Erita's claim to the throne."
Mastiff's thoughts were bewildered by the unexpected and satisfying reaction.
“What does that mean?”
"In the end, Diana will be the Queen. Marriage? That's just a formality, defining a relationship. It doesn't matter. As long as I stay by her side as a loyal subject, a devoted servant, that's all I need. Still, she's mine. Forever."
Mastiff's forehead furrowed as he was confused by the crazy talk that even a crazy person like him couldn't understand.
"You were trying to make her Queen? Weren't you hiding the fact that shs were a true Princess to prevent her from becoming Queen?"
"It's not time yet. I'm just trying to show you a surefire way to get your hands on Frogen, even without me by your side."
Noah's smooth fingers straightened his crooked tie and tapped it as if finishing it.
"Your father, the Emperor, rules over the people by force and subjugates them by fear. Fear is the ultimate means of control. I agree with that."
"So, Noah, you're probably also obsessed with that development plan. It's like gaining the right to control and restrain nations and rule the world."
"I won't perfect it during the current Queen's reign. I intend to utilize it until it's almost finished, and it's a power that will only be realized during the reign of Queen Diana. A question of qualifications? No one dares to speak of the origins of a monarch with overwhelming power and authority. You will become one of them."
“So you’re asking me to cooperate?”
He couldn't tell how much of Noah's words were true. A vague distrust flickered in Mastiff's eyes.
Noah, who had been dominant, seemed to be signaling a hierarchy and reached out as if to help him up. His mouth curved gently, revealing his white teeth. At first glance, it seemed like a model smile.
"Mastiff, you wanted to be the supreme leader of the Frogen Empire. The Emperor is insane, and the Crown Prince is too weak to kill a bug, so he's useless. You're going to act so foolishly, even with such favorable terms? I worked hard to create this opportunity for you, my bastard."
“What is that...”
Mastiff felt a fleeting image of a beautiful boy, smiling and holding a vial of arsenic, overlapping Noah's gaze. He remembered how countless doctors and religious leaders had tried to cure the Emperor's fits and madness, yet none had improved. He even remembered that Noah and the Crown Prince, who had suffered for days from the shock of seeing a gruesomely corpse, had once been friends.
Only then did Mastiff realize the oddity of the situation. The Emperor's usual medication. While he would see some relief after taking it, if he stopped taking it regularly, the seizures would return, and in fact, they seemed to worsen. Perhaps he had bribed the imperial doctor, injecting him with a maddening ingredient, and had him use it long-term. What if the trauma inflicted on the Crown Prince as a child was all part of his plan?
“Noah Rotsilt. Since when?”
His plan to overthrow the Froid Dynasty and replace the Frogen Empire was put into action at least since he was a teenager. It was likely secretly prepared by the Rotsilt family for generations, even before he was born.
“Do you understand now?”
Noah, with a calm smile like a boy from a long memory, whispered a gentle command into Mastiff's ear.
"Well, I've been with you all along, and I've kindly told you what you wanted to do. Now do what you have to do, Mastiff. If you want my approval."
It was still a gentle, captivating tone. The master's elegant, authoritative whisper was undeniable. Was it all his intention? Even the actions the other person had chosen themselves?
He possesses a remarkable ability to manipulate others as he wishes. His personality, stripped of unnecessary emotions, resembles a weapon rather than a human being. He is an ideal war hero, determined to achieve his goals unconditionally. He is, in fact, the most qualified leader of a nation.
Mastiff discovered something slowly emerging from the sea of meanings contained within his language and the thoughts derived from them. Noah Rotsilt seeks to place his chosen ruler in charge of the nation. Perhaps he seeks to become a ruler above rulers, a master of the world who stands in the shadow of the throne, controlling it like a puppet.
“True domination...”
Mastiff, who had been muttering softly, felt a kind of awe as he wiped his face as if washing it. It took a while for his body, frozen in helplessness, to move freely.
"Why did you choose to run away from Frogen back then? Even without that, you could have done it. No, if you had stayed, you would have achieved what you wanted faster. Even the current fake Princess could have done it."
The corners of Noah's mouth rose subtly at Mastiff's question.
“It was because of the variables.”
Noah, who had neatly dressed himself, picked up the stuffed cat on the table and looked at it from side to side as he added.
"I heard the maid with your child is dying soon. Just as a courtesy, come see her. Um, why did you give her something you didn't make? It only has one eye."
Mastiff's tightly clenched lips parted, creating a gap. The pupils within its fierce, turquoise irises dilated completely.
“Did Erita break her promise?”
"Judging by your reaction, it seems the maid didn't act according to your plan. I've experienced this myself. It's a kind of fatal variable. It might be close to an error."
Noah asked, fiddling with his stuffed animal.
“Was I useful to you?”
“You bake cookies well.”
"I see."
Noah threw the stuffed animal he was holding onto the table, stood up, and turned around.
After he left, Mastiff, left alone, picked up the doll that had been carelessly thrown on the table.
“I’m dying...”
***
“Please let me out! I can’t stand it anymore!”
Trapped in a narrow, windowless room, Ayla screamed and pounded on the door. The room was empty. Dark, dingy walls, a cold, hard stone floor. Without even a single worn blanket, the temperature dropped at night, chilling her body, making it impossible to sit or lie down comfortably.
Food was given in small amounts, just enough to keep her from dying, and no one entered the room.
Every time she complained about her suffering, the man outside the door always said the same thing.
“If you promise to follow orders, you can get out of there.”
Locked in a dark room for days without a single ray of warm sunlight or fresh breeze, her mind, let alone her body, was in no condition.
“This is too harsh. It’s hard. It’s too...”
The empty room, even when the darkness became familiar at night, made it impossible to see even an inch ahead, exacerbating the fear and isolation. Yet, what kept her going was the distant light of hope, visible like a lighthouse.
“Mastiff will come to you.”
Ayla, remembering Noah's words, figured that if he knew she was being treated like this, he would come to her aid.
Because he is the child's father. Because he clearly said that the child is precious.
Just when it was becoming impossible to even remember what day it was or what week it was, the Princess arrived. Through the open door, a maid appeared, carrying a tray of delicious food. Ayla's hungry sense of smell and sight were focused solely on the food.
“You won’t be able to overcome your instincts. Like an animal.”
Erita, who had her nose covered with a handkerchief from the musty smell in the room, giggled at her.
"If you do as I say, I'll treat you to a sumptuous meal in a luxurious room and treat you like a noble lady. How about that?"
Ayla's dead eyes turned to the demon who was asking for a deal.
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