After being repudiated and becoming the subject of rumors in high society, Brai was finally cast out from the family and decided to go to a remote rural area in a far-off country.

Wherever he went, people gossiped about him, so Brai could no longer show his face in the Diastara Empire.

He felt resentful that he had to go through this alone when they had held the wedding ceremony together.

It was a long-planned opportunity that was almost within grasp.

There was only one reason for the failure. Since the repudiation, Brai had thought of only one person.

Veronica Hardness. If it weren’t for that woman, Lining would have been his.

Having grown up deprived of many things by the eldest and second sons, he had to create something of his own.

He didn’t expect anything grand anyway, he just hoped to have his own place, however small.

Lining was an appropriate opportunity. It was no big deal to seduce a naive woman who had grown up overprotected.

But this woman ruined everything.

Rumors said she was a thoughtless girl, but the Veronica Hardness he actually saw was frighteningly calm and gave off a strange sense of pressure.

He couldn’t understand how Magnolia had gotten involved with such a woman. Where did it all go wrong?

The chain of questions eventually led to one thought.

He couldn’t leave quietly like this. Bringing out the dagger was quite impulsive.

He intended to threaten her a bit, make her kneel at his feet and apologize. He planned to bring that Magnolia bitch too and vent his anger together…

But what was this situation now?

Brai’s lips trembled. He couldn’t understand how things had turned out this way.

He was the one who threatened with a dagger, so why was he sitting here stupidly while that woman was threatening him?

What was with that composed face? Did she really kill someone before?

“Snap out of it. You didn’t faint with your eyes open, did you?”

“Ahh!”

As the hand holding the blade waved in front of his eyes, a startled Brai pushed Veronica away and crawled on the floor.

He crawled, trying to get away from Veronica. Red marks were left on the floor where Brai’s palms touched.

As he felt around the floor, Brai found the dagger he had dropped earlier. He grasped it and stood up hesitantly.

“D-Don’t come any closer.”

“That’s too much. You threatened me first.”

“I said don’t come closer! Stay away!”

“I haven’t moved a single step.”

Where did that arrogant attitude from earlier go? Veronica sighed and brushed off her crumpled skirt.

Brai nervously waved the dagger in his hand.

He shouted that he wouldn’t let her off if she came any closer, but Veronica had no intention of doing anything more to him.

If he hadn’t charged at her in the first place, she wouldn’t have done anything.

After hearing about Magnolia’s broken engagement, she thought Brai Cole might come looking for her at some point.

With his well-progressing plans ruined at the last minute, it was obvious where his anger would be directed. Honestly, she would have been disappointed if he hadn’t come.

But really, it was such a predictable situation and predictable behavior.

Veronica was starting to get bored with Brai Cole, who didn’t deviate from her expectations at all.

“It’s dangerous to swing it like that.”

“Stay away!”

“I told you, I’m not moving.”

Veronica’s gaze fell on the fallen guard behind Brai.

With blood flowing from his head, it seemed he needed treatment before he died.

Veronica moved her feet in that direction, but mistaking it as her coming towards him, Brai shouted loudly.

“I said don’t come closer!”

He charged at Veronica again, swinging the dagger.

Veronica raised one arm to block the dagger flying towards her. A strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Her body was pulled back. Before her surprised face could turn, a foot shot out from behind and kicked away Brai’s dagger.

The dagger flew off, and Brai’s shocked face turned sideways with a thud. Then Veronica’s body was lifted up.

The guards who had been absent from the front appeared.

“Your Highness Theron!”

“There’s another thug here! Stop him if he chases!”

After giving orders to the guards, Cassian started running towards the exit he had discovered earlier.

It seemed the thugs they hadn’t dealt with yet were chasing, but once they completely left the back alley, they no longer followed.

Apparently, they didn’t chase beyond their own territory.

They walked, blending into the crowd again. They also met up with the guards they had separated from earlier.

Only when they reached a safe place did Cassian put Veronica down.

I thought you’d leave me behind. Veronica stared at Cassian as she straightened her disheveled clothes. Feeling her gaze, Cassian turned his head too.

Then he noticed the blood splattered on Veronica’s chest and sleeve, and his face crumpled.

When he raised his gaze further, he also saw a reddened cheek.

“Your cheek…”

His fingertips gently brushed the swollen cheek.

“Are you hurt?”

“It’s not my blood.”

Veronica added calmly as she rubbed her own cheek. After confirming that Veronica wasn’t hurt anywhere, Cassian raised his face again.

“You’re really dangerous! Confronting an armed robber barehanded!”

“Not barehanded. I carry this for self-defense.”

Veronica opened her hand to show a thin blade.

Short and thin enough to be hidden in her hand, it was a good weapon for self-defense as it wasn’t noticeable.

Only the tip was sharpened to avoid the risk of cutting, and there was a round loop on the other end to fit her finger, making it convenient to use.

She also carried a dagger, but something like this was useful at times.

“Still, it was too reckless. He was trying to kill you, wasn’t he?”

“He couldn’t kill me. That man doesn’t have the courage.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“It’s Brai Cole. The man who was repudiated at the last wedding. You said you didn’t like him either, Your Highness.”

Cassian immediately remembered who it was, but he didn’t relax his expression.

“It’s still just as dangerous. Even if you don’t die, you could get injured, and depending on the depth of the wound, you might not wake up or be left disabled.”

“I thought that much was fine. Even if I died, well, there’s not much to be done about it.”

“…Are you saying you wouldn’t have cared if you died just now?”

Cassian asked in disbelief. Veronica stared up at him. For a moment, Cassian felt a sense of dissonance.

The face of someone who had been threatened and nearly killed was too calm.

“That’s not what I meant to say, but Brai Cole came looking for me because of me. I ruined Brai Cole’s plans. Whether that was right or wrong, from his perspective, I interfered and messed things up, so he had no choice but to harbor ill will. If he came looking for me to take revenge because of that, if he really intended to kill me, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“So you’re saying if someone harbors ill will and comes for you, you’ll just die for them?”

“I’d resist as much as I can, but there are times when it’s difficult.”

“…”

Cassian was suddenly silent after hearing her answer.

His expressionless face quietly looked down at her. Just as the silence seemed to be growing long, Cassian opened his mouth again.

“Are you always like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you’re always this reckless. Throwing yourself away carelessly, saying it can’t be helped if you get hurt or die.”

“Did I say something strange?”

Veronica couldn’t understand his words. What could she have done in response to someone who came at her with a dagger?

She wasn’t the type to just take it passively, so she would resist as much as she could, but if she ultimately couldn’t avoid death, she would have to accept it. What else could she do?

Even if she got angry and inflicted a wound or two before closing her eyes, it wouldn’t matter since she would return to being 16 anyway.

But Cassian’s face as he looked at her seemed very angry.

He didn’t show his irritation as usual or raise his voice, but a quiet anger could be felt from his calm face.

Rather, because it was suppressed, its depth was unfathomable. What had she said this time to upset him?

“It seems I’ve made Your Highness uncomfortable again.”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

“You really!”

Cassian squeezed his eyes shut as if he was about to burst out shouting.

He seemed to be suppressing his anger. Veronica couldn’t understand at all why he was angry.

Could it be that he was worried about her now? Soon she thought that couldn’t be. Wasn’t he still a man who disliked her?

As the atmosphere seemed to be growing heavy, Veronica changed the subject for now.

“I thought you had left.”

“I told you it wasn’t like that. Even I wouldn’t leave you alone in such a dangerous place.”

“How diligent of you.”

Displeasure clouded the bright blue eyes that flew open. Ah, was it time for him to shout again?

Veronica took off her blood-stained gloves and threw them away, deciding to silently listen to his incomprehensible irritation. But instead of raising his voice, Cassian let out a calm voice.

“I… dislike people who carelessly throw themselves away.”

“…”

“I also dislike those who think their own lives are worth nothing.”

The throbbing head dug up old memories. Cassian suddenly remembered when he fell into the lake at the imperial palace.

He couldn’t understand at all why she asked why he had saved her, with a tired face wet from the water.

Thinking back, Veronica had remained still in the water.

Her body, which seemed to resist a little at first, quickly lost strength and was quietly sucked down to the bottom of the water. As if she had been waiting for death.

This woman’s life is light to her. It has no value, less than a feather, less than a leaf, as much as a rolling stone.

It was clearly the wrong attitude to think it couldn’t be helped if she died.

He didn’t know why this woman had come to think like this, but Cassian couldn’t stand it.

He firmly grasped both of Veronica’s shoulders.

“Run away instead.”

Then he said with a serious face.

“If someone threatens you again, don’t respond like you did now, but run away. Please don’t do anything.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Veronica gave him the answer he wanted.

In reality, if a similar situation occurred again, she would act no differently from now, but calming him down came first.

However, the blue eyes that had turned fierce saw through her lie. Veronica became perplexed.

Cassian closely examined the face before him. She was someone with thoughts far from normal.

He easily realized that she didn’t understand his words now but was trying to humor him.

Even if she pretended to be expressionless, he could sense an uncharacteristic confusion.

Cassian just hoped that if a similar situation arose, she wouldn’t do anything to provoke the other party, wouldn’t accept that it couldn’t be helped if she died, and would quietly avoid danger.

Suddenly, his vision fell on the shoulders he was holding.

The shoulders with little flesh felt bony even with just a light grip. He carefully stroked down her arm with the hand holding her shoulder.

It was weak as if it might break at any moment. She had a bit more muscle than an average woman, but it was still insufficient in his eyes.

Similarly, her small hands and frail body, disheveled hair and face reddened on one side from being hit, all came into view one by one.

He hadn’t noticed before because she always swung him around and flustered him, but the person in front of him was also a woman.

She might have learned some tricks, but in terms of physical strength, she was an ordinary woman.

Wouldn’t she be completely hidden if embraced? Wouldn’t she break if he applied force with his hand? So defenseless and small, what on earth did she trust to respond to someone who came to kill her?

The slightly misaligned eye level made her look even smaller.