There were eyes watching Cassian as he looked back at the path he had come, flustered.

On a distant hilltop, a pair of eyes flashed between the bushes.

A man sharply observed the fifth prince standing defenseless with only one servant accompanying him.

The prince tried to hurriedly return the way he came, and the servant followed him, saying something.

Something seemed to have happened. The other person who was said to accompany this hunting competition was not there. It was a good opportunity.

As the man raised his hand, silent feet quickly moved downwards.

Seeing those who ran down the hill surrounding the fifth prince and his servant, the man smiled with satisfaction.

“I was wondering how to separate them since the Duke of Hardness’s daughter was accompanying him.”

Things were unfolding more easily than expected.

The assassination of Prince Cassian Theron Diastara was planned for this imperial hunting competition.

He usually only brought a few servants to each hunting competition, so it wasn’t bad for carrying out the deed secretly.

But this time, he received news that the Duke of Hardness’s daughter would be attending the hunting competition as his partner.

Of all times to attend this hunting competition, it was too big a variable. None other than the only daughter of the Hardness ducal family.

It was a well-known fact in the empire that Duke Hardness cherished his daughter dearly.

If they rushed to carry out the plan and his daughter got hurt, it could potentially turn into a big problem.

Unable to move carelessly, they carefully watched for an opportunity from afar. But who knew such a good chance would come so soon.

“By the way, I heard the Duke of Hardness’s daughter is quite pretty.”

“Oh my, is my beauty becoming rumored?”

“That’s right, it’s rumored-!”

The man hurriedly turned his head. At that moment, a strong impact hit his head. Huk! The man fell face down without even being able to scream.

The man gasped for breath as he clutched his injured head. Something red dripped onto the ground. It was blood flowing from the man’s head.

Crawling forward to avoid the shock, the man tried to grasp the situation.

Was it an attack, and by whom? Could it be that Prince Theron had noticed his assassination plan?

The man turned his body. A certain figure was caught in his blurry vision.

Low-heeled boots and a plain skirt, a tight leather vest, a thin cloak covering it, crimson eyes peering through swaying light brown hair with a mischievous smile.

“Harder than I thought?”

“Y-You are!”

The one who appeared before his eyes was none other than Veronica Hardness, who had disappeared.

Veronica approached one step closer with a smile. Something dropped beside her with a thud.

The man’s gaze naturally turned towards it. A stone with its center stained red. It revealed what had caused the impact moments ago.

“I wondered who was trying to assassinate him at this hunting competition.”

Veronica stared down at the man bleeding from his head. The face mixed with bewilderment and fear dredged up an old memory.

“I remember you.”

When was it? In her returned life, Veronica attended a banquet she originally wouldn’t have attended, and there she received a marriage proposal from a noble man.

The man actively pursued her, and Veronica naturally rejected his advances.

It was when she already knew that even if she married another man, the future where the Hardness family was exterminated wouldn’t change.

The man was persistent. Even afterwards, he sent dozens of letters and expensive gifts, and requested meetings.

After meeting him a few times and rejecting him, he even showed up at the mansion unannounced without an appointment.

He did so even knowing she was the fourth prince’s fiancée.

Eventually, as the predetermined ending approached, her father was arrested, and soldiers sent by the imperial family monitored the mansion.

It was a time when she wasn’t even allowed to go out. Then one night, as Veronica, unable to sleep, left her room, that man appeared before her.

‘Oh dear, it would have been better to stay quietly in the room.’

The man immediately rushed at her and tried to rape her. In the mansion without Harry, there was no one to help her under surveillance.

Veronica bit the man’s hand covering her mouth and ran away. She ran through the corridor in the middle of the night hoping for help, but it was futile.

Most of the servants had left the mansion, and the remaining people were all asleep at that hour.

It would have been good if someone heard the commotion and came out, but such a thing never happened.

Veronica was soon caught by the man. Her thin nightgown was cruelly torn off. She struggled, not giving up.

‘How dare you lay hands on whose body! Do you want to keep your life after touching the prince’s fiancée?!’

‘You speak like someone who doesn’t know the ways of the world. No matter how much you scream, no one will come to save you. Not even your precious fiancé, the prince. Maybe he already knows.’

A cackling laugh echoed in the dark silence.

Veronica’s pride fell to the floor. As the cloth tore, her fair skin was revealed.

Seeing this, the man’s eyes gleamed with dirty desire. Veronica felt humiliation at the hands touching her body.

Filthy breath touched her neck. Veronica groped the floor. Then she grabbed the candlestick she had dropped earlier when she fell and swung it at the man.

‘Aack-!’

The man’s forehead was stabbed by the sharp part in the middle of the round candle holder. The man screamed. Meanwhile, Veronica crawled away from the man.

The man raised his face while holding his bleeding forehead.

‘You crazy b**ch!’

Veronica staggered to her feet.

The man cursed and shouted that he wouldn’t let her off easily. Veronica stood still, catching her breath.

Soon feeling the unusual atmosphere, the man stopped speaking and looked at Veronica.

Even in her tattered nightgown fluttering and hair disheveled as if torn out, there was no fear on her face.

Her two eyes revealed an undiminished killing intent even in the darkness.

‘I know he won’t come either.’

‘What?’

Veronica showed him the candlestick.

‘But I’d rather die than be defiled by the likes of you.’

‘Wait-‘

She stabbed the candlestick into her own neck. That’s how she bled and died.

“Right, I remember. There was such a bastard.”

Seeing the familiar face, the old memory becomes as clear as yesterday.

Even after coming back then, she resented Asher, not that man. She harbored revenge against him for silently allowing her to be defiled by another’s hands, knowing it would happen.

“It’s been a while- though you wouldn’t understand if I said that.”

“Wh-What are you saying.”

“Well. Would you understand even if I told you?”

Veronica chuckled as she took another step closer to the man.

Somehow finding that face creepy, the man flinched.

Veronica picked up something that had fallen on the ground. It was the dagger the man had dropped earlier.

As she unsheathed the blade from the handle, the sharp edge gleamed. A delicate face was reflected on the blade.

“It’s a good dagger. Well-maintained, should be easy to use. That’s fortunate. I’m still not good with longswords right now.”

I just started learning. The casual addition didn’t fit the situation.

The man looked over Veronica holding the dagger with a blank face. He couldn’t believe it even as he saw Veronica approaching him again.

That a frail and fair-faced noble lady was revealing killing intent.

“Actually, I was just going to hit you lightly from behind to knock you out.”

“Wh-What are you doing.”

“I changed my mind.”

The moment the smile disappeared from her face that had been relaxed all along, Veronica rushed at the man.

After climbing on top of the man, she plunged the dagger down. The man grabbed Veronica’s wrists with both hands to block it.

The blade that stopped precariously hovered before the man’s eyes.

Veronica put strength into the hand holding the dagger. The man gritted his teeth. Even though he had lost his dagger, his opponent was just a powerless woman.

The man pushed Veronica with all his might. Veronica fell backwards from the strong force.

Then the man rushed at Veronica. He tried to kick her and pounce on her.

Veronica grabbed some dirt and threw it in the man’s face. The man screamed, covering his eyes with both hands.

“Aack!”

As the man fell forward again, Veronica kicked him repeatedly. The man helplessly received Veronica’s attacks.

“Haa. Ha.”

Catching her breath, Veronica picked up the dagger again. Then she stepped on the man’s body lying sideways.

Veronica, who climbed on top of him, firmly held down his heaving body with both thighs.

Then as she grabbed the man’s face, his appearance, messy with tears and snot, was worth seeing. His eyes, barely open on one side, were bloodshot and in poor condition.

“You crazy b**ch!”

“You know well. Then you should have been careful.”

“You b**ch, I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!”

“If you can kill me, by all means.”

That was exactly what she wanted. Smiling happily just imagining it, Veronica brought the blade to the man’s eyes.

His eyes, filled with fear, frantically wriggled.

“I’ve always disliked those eyes.”

Those eyes that seemed to secretly violate her.

“Actually, I tried to stab your eyes back then too, but I stabbed wrong and pierced your forehead instead.”

“D-Don’t. Don’t do it!”

“Are you scared? Or afraid of your own helplessness.”

“Huk, huk.”

The man took rough breaths. It was a face terrified of what was to come.

Veronica happily observed the man’s face. A forgotten sensation burst forth.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die.”

She was confident in that area.