“I’m afraid an audience with His Imperial Majesty will not be possible today.”

The Emperor’s aide, who had come to greet them, spoke politely.

He introduced himself as Ludwig and said they could comfortably call him Duke Ludwig.

Duke Ludwig appeared to be at least sixty years old, but his back was not bent at all, and his posture was remarkably upright, making him look like an old body inhabited by the soul of a young man.

The momentary impression of his spirit and composure suggested he must have been a swordsman in his youth.

Katharine, Charlen, and Rose, who had arduously entered the Renel Empire after traveling non-stop for a week and a half by carriage, could only be dumbfounded by his words.

“Has some urgent matter arisen?”

When Charlen asked, Duke Ludwig shook his head with a somewhat meaningful expression.

His complexion was not at all bright, as if something unpleasant had happened to Emperor Farnese.

“It’s a personal matter, so I cannot provide details. Please understand with a generous heart.”

“Surely you don’t mean this is a simple refusal due to a whim?”

“How could that be? His Imperial Majesty greatly respects you, the state guests from the Khan Kingdom. Today, please relax and recover from your journey by strolling through the garden. You’ll likely be able to meet him tomorrow or the day after.”

“Well, well. The Renel Empire’s hospitality towards state guests is quite disappointing compared to its reputation as the hegemon of the Western Continent.”

Who could have expected that from the very first day of their visit, the Emperor would stand up the king of a neighboring country?

The Emperor of the Renel Empire, Farnese Escalo, was a man surrounded by all sorts of ominous rumors.

It was said that he would immediately take any woman he fancied, regardless of time or place, and when bored, would kill her brutally.

It was rumored that he killed all subjects who displeased him without question, his hands never free from the stench of blood.

They say he was able to become Emperor at a young age because he murdered his father and usurped the throne.

Aware of these terrifying rumors, Charlen could not bring himself to blame the Emperor directly and only expressed his disappointment with a single remark.

* * *

With the audience canceled and nothing to do, Katharine went out to tour the imperial palace, partly to memorize the layout.

Indeed, this was the Renel Empire.

The Renel Empire was the only imperial state in the Western Continent, with a territory four times that of the Khan Kingdom, and most of its land was fertile plains.

Befitting its reputation, there were five palaces, each the size of a small city, giving a sense of the young Emperor’s absolute power.

“Where am I, anyway?”

Katharine, who had lost her way after walking aimlessly, stopped abruptly and looked around.

She must have come quite deep, as there were no people passing by, and everything around was a vast forest.

‘An artificial forest inside the imperial palace… How wealthy must His Imperial Majesty be?’

Katharine walked on without direction.

Following a path lined with lavishly blooming purple irises, she came upon a garden as lush as a real forest.

In the center of the garden stood a massive flowering tree that must have been at least several hundred years old.

Captivated by the mystical sight of flower petals fluttering in the silky breeze, Katharine walked towards the tree in a daze.

‘Someone’s there.’

A man was lying askew beneath the flowering tree.

He was dressed in a manner that made it difficult to guess his status.

Judging by his dark, plain clothing, he didn’t seem to be royalty or nobility. Katharine guessed he might be a gardener who liked to slack off in secret or perhaps a lower-ranking noble.

For such a great tree, surely managed by the imperial family, to have someone carelessly sleeping beneath it.

If the Emperor were to see this, his head would surely roll.

“Excuse me.”

She called out softly, but he didn’t stir, seemingly in a deep sleep.

Just as she approached to get a closer look at the man’s face.

“Ah…!”

In an instant, her vision flipped, and in the blink of an eye, the back of her head hit the ground.

The man gripped Katharine’s neck with one hand and roughly pressed her down.

Opening her eyes with a groan at the throbbing pain, she saw a man who resembled half an elegant angel and half a ferocious beast looking down at her.

Katharine momentarily forgot her situation and was dazed.

Silver hair like fallen snow.

Beneath it, his sharp features showed the very extremes of beauty.

His eyes, like a mixture of golden stardust and melted honey, held a chilling coldness contrary to their color.

“Who sent you?”

A voice as dark and desolate as a winter sea resonated in her ear.

It seemed there had been a misunderstanding.

“Sent? What do you mean?”

“…I’m in quite a foul mood today. If you answer honestly, I’ll specially grant you mercy and kill you painlessly.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

Just as she was about to hurriedly explain that she had merely wandered into the garden while taking a walk.

Blood suddenly burst from the man’s shoulder blade as he slightly twisted his posture, staining the green grass a dark red.

Upon closer inspection, his body was covered in stab and slash wounds.

It must have been excruciating pain, as if flesh and bone were torn apart, yet he didn’t even furrow his brow.

“You’re bleeding!”

“Stop talking and answer…”

“You’re bleeding, I said! You’ll die from excessive blood loss!”

As Katharine screamed in panic, his eyes widened.

There was no time to wonder how he had gotten so injured in the supposedly safe imperial palace.

Katharine hastily tore off a part of her dress made of the most absorbent material she could find.

As her white legs were exposed, the man frowned deeply and turned his head away as if he had seen something he shouldn’t.

“Move aside.”

“My goodness. Your flesh has been torn off. How can you be so nonchalant with such wounds…”

“Don’t touch my body carelessly!”

“Alright, just stay still! You can strangle me to death later if you want!”

Katharine raised her voice uncharacteristically, excited by the sight of blood.

At her scolding tone, the man finally fixed his wavering eyes on her.

Taking advantage of his docility, Katharine wrapped the fabric around his shoulder and tied it tightly.

His build was so sturdy and his chest so broad that even after tearing off half of her skirt, she almost ran out of cloth.

At first, the man clearly showed a fierce demeanor like a wounded beast, seemingly wary, but as he watched Katharine bustling about with her small frame, he slowly caught his breath.

“What on earth happened? Who did this to you? Was it a thug? Rebels? A spy? Should I go report this?”

There was no answer.

The man just stared at Katharine, slowly moving his straight eyelashes up and down.

“Alright. You don’t want to answer, is that it? Then let me at least ask your name. I’m Katharine Roberfon. And you? Surely you don’t intend to withhold even this much?”

“…You’re a noisy woman.”

“Your manners are quite poor. After I tore my clothes to stop your bleeding. At times like this, you should say thank you for the help.”

A whistle of air escaped between his teeth.

It seemed like he just sneered.

“And who are you to be wandering around here as you please?”

Katharine was about to feel annoyed at his naturally impertinent informal speech, but this man probably had no idea she was a lady-in-waiting to the queen.

“What’s wrong with taking a stroll in the garden? And I’m the chief lady-in-waiting to the Queen of the Khan Kingdom. How about that? Do you feel like showing at least a minimum of sincerity now?”

“No.”

“You’ve been speaking informally to me for a while now. I’m not of such low status that you can address me so casually. While I’m not one to dwell on status, shouldn’t we at least observe basic courtesy when meeting for the first time?”

The man, who had been turning his head away, suddenly looked directly at her.

Feeling as if she had just locked eyes with a wild wolf, Katharine involuntarily flinched.

“That’s my line.”

“Pardon?”

“I, too, am not of such low status that you can brazenly talk back to me without fear.”

No matter how high his status might be, he could at most be a noble, so where did this confidence come from?

Everything he said was displeasing.

Katharine deliberately tightened the knot of the fabric.

She meant for it to hurt a bit, but it was somewhat vexing that he didn’t even furrow his brow, let alone groan.

“So what? I don’t think I’d be afraid of you even if you were His Imperial Majesty. Because everyone deserves respect regardless of their status. You’re the one who’s wrong for being impolite upon our first meeting.”

In truth, this was a lie.

With the widespread rumors about what kind of person the Emperor of the Renel Empire was, how could she not be afraid?

It was a statement made with some exaggeration, and half in jest, since there was no possibility of him being the Emperor.

But the man showed a strange glint between his lowered eyes, like a skilled fisherman who had caught a good fish in a casually cast net.

“Are you confident you won’t regret those words?”

“Pardon?”

Katharine was taken aback but tried to nod calmly.

Where on earth did such confidence come from?

“O-Of course.”

“…Is that so?”

Why was there a chilling sensation creeping up on her since a moment ago?

What was this uneasy feeling, as if her instincts were screaming at her not to say another word?

The man stood up without a single word of thanks for her help.

He coldly brushed past Katharine and started walking away, then suddenly stopped.

“I’ll be sure to ‘report’ today’s events to the Emperor. Impertinent woman.”

Katharine stood dazed until the man’s figure disappeared into the forest.

What did he mean by reporting to the Emperor, and what was that about not regretting?

‘Surely he can’t be close to the Emperor? No. He can’t be. His hands were rough, and his clothes were ordinary.’

Katharine tossed and turned that night.

She hoped nothing would come of this, but an event that would make her heart pound occurred from the very next morning.

“Thank you for your patience. His Imperial Majesty has granted an audience.”

For some reason, the Emperor who had stood them up just yesterday suddenly changed his mind.