In response to Heathcliff’s agitated words, the Rat King raised his jet-black eyes. When his gaze, which had been looking down, blocked by pale eyelids, turned towards me, Heathcliff forgot about his previous outburst and held his breath. The distinctive chill in the Rat King’s demeanor was not a type to be underestimated.

“Good grief, can’t even endure those repulsive eyes.”

Heathcliff inwardly grumbled, not wanting to admit defeat to the determination of the Rat King. However, he soon gave up, realizing that pretending to be strong only made him more pathetic.

“Anyway, never liked him from the beginning.”

The first encounter between Heathcliff and the Rat King was around the time I heard unsettling words about Yurisien’s roots.

“Though it was due to misunderstanding and deception, I loved the prince more than a savior.”

“Not now.”

Hearing those words, Heathcliff immediately went to Greta and begged. For Yurisien’s favor. For Yurisien alone. Greta, like a child clinging to him, embraced him and promised to grant him anything he desired.

Not long after, the Rat King secretly approached Heathcliff.

“I am in the imperial prison.”

He disappeared like that before Heathcliff could even ask what he meant by that. At first, Heathcliff thought it was a dream, but he couldn’t forget the vivid sense of reality and got up. Dressed, the Rat King, who headed to the imperial prison, seemed as if he had been confined there for a very long time.

“Who the hell are you?”

“The Rat King, everyone calls me that.”

“Does that mean you’re a criminal caught by my mother?”

“Caught? Me? Haha.”

The sharp laughter of the Rat King, with gleaming black eyes, shot towards Heathcliff. It was the same gaze that had made Heathcliff flinch with fear until now.

“I came here on my own two feet.”

“Directly… came? Then…”

“Her Majesty the Empress probably doesn’t know I’m here. Even if she’s a goddess, can she know the number of mice in the world?”

“Well…”

Greta might have known somehow, but during Heathcliff’s journey here, there was no one who blocked his way. Not even Greta’s maids, who always restrained Heathcliff unless Greta ordered otherwise, were seen tonight.

“Why did you summon me here?”

“I want to return that question to you. Why did Prince Yurisien chase a stranger here after being chased away by the rude words of a stranger?”

“Well…”

“Because you were expecting something, right?”

The Rat King whispered cunningly.

“Because of greed?”

“Greed…?”

“Establishing the prince’s independent power.”

“…”

“Release the mouse. Show it to the arrogant cat. Because of a foolish and self-willed cat playing with a mouse, don’t you know when and what it will do?”

Yes. The opponent is Greta. It was a revelation that, for the first time in this fortress held by Greta, an unfamiliar outsider had appeared. In other words, it meant that Heathcliff’s breathing, restrained by Greta, had opened. Whether the hesitant Heathcliff noticed it or not, the Rat King, speaking in a lower voice as if tempting, continued.

“Release the mouse. Show it to the arrogant cat. Because of a foolish and self-willed cat playing with a mouse, don’t you know when and what it will do?”
“[Think a little…]”

At that moment, Heathcliff didn’t readily comply with the Rat King’s words. However, the situation had changed now. Everrium Viscount was dead at Greta’s hands. There was no reason why she, who had killed even her own father, wouldn’t kill Heathcliff.

While tracking Greta, Heathcliff went to meet the Rat King, and the Rat King, as if waiting, spoke to Heathcliff.

“Soon, the Crown Prince and the Lady will come to visit the temple.”

“How do you know that?”

“Every Rat King in the world is right in front of you.”

The Rat King, with a sly grin, said this, raising the corners of his mouth.

“I will weave a plausible history here to enchant the Crown Prince and the Lady. So, please tell me what you want, Your Highness.”

“What do I want? Obviously, it’s Yurisien Agathe Windsor, isn’t it?”

“Well…”

The question Heathcliff foolishly missed last time. The answer to the question of why he would pledge loyalty to him, the Rat King brought it up first. With a menacing look in his black eyes, he said,

“Allow me to kill Greta Rodit Everrium Openheid with my own hands.”

It couldn’t be anything but a shocking story. To offer Greta’s life as the price of having Yurisien. But Heathcliff’s hesitation didn’t last long.

“If you say you’ll let me have Yurisien…”

Greta concealed her traces. Even Heathcliff couldn’t find where she had hidden. After Greta disappeared, the brainwashed maids lost their memories. Every few years, I couldn’t believe that I had been brought up in a certain way. Every time I saw that, Heathcliff realized how great Greta was.

“And how wicked she was.”

In the end, the search for Greta failed. Even searching the entire Soljereon Empire, there was no trace of Greta. In the meantime, rumors were spreading that Greta had disappeared due to the grief of losing her father or an unexpected accident. But Heathcliff knew.

“No, Mother is alive.”

Although Heathcliff didn’t have the excessively sharp sense that Yurisien had, he could still sense it. The sticky gaze that even in the fortress where Greta’s brainwashing was lifted, felt the oppressive gaze trying to possess and wield him. Even if its strength had increased, it had never weakened, so Heathcliff didn’t doubt that Greta was alive.

“Why aren’t you answering?!”

Heathcliff shouted at the Rat King, who had been silent all this time. After a long silence, as the maids who were trembling near the door disappeared with hesitant steps, the Rat King spoke.

“I understand.”

“Huh?”

At the too concise response, Heathcliff burst into a bitter laugh. Just as Heathcliff, who had been lying on the sofa in any position, was about to say something more, the Rat King spoke.

“I will prepare tonight.”
Finally, the Rat King said something that Heathcliff could comprehend. Heathcliff, who had been holding a pen holder on the table, seemed to nod as if urging him to continue talking and put down what he was holding. However, it seemed that the Rat King had no intention of following Heathcliff’s words to the end, and what he said was very concise.

“Just prepare to take the great Windsor.”

Before Heathcliff could ask exactly what he was thinking, the Rat King disappeared like that.

“…Damn it!”

The pen holder thrown by Heathcliff hit the floor and shattered. Whether it was because of Greta or because Heathcliff was particularly sensitive to those who ignored him, he felt an unbearable shame in an instant.

“This one and that one!”

Heathcliff, who stood up from his seat, couldn’t control his emotions and went on a rampage. In the midst of it, he took out a ceremonial sword hanging on the wall and tore apart the sofa he had been lying on just a moment ago.

Due to his rampage, the cotton from the sofa scattered in the air in a chaotic manner. After tearing the sofa into pieces, not to mention the sofa, Heathcliff, with a deep thrust of the ceremonial sword, finally regained his composure while glaring at the torn fabric.

‘I made a mistake if I thought I would tolerate your arrogant attitude forever.’

Heathcliff, who deeply thrust the ceremonial sword into the battered sofa, glared at the torn fabric. Sweat dripped down his rugged neck and sharp nose. In his eyes, a mixture of green and blue, anger sparkled.

And that night, Yurisien disappeared like magic.