The way to the main palace seemed endlessly far away.
The stench of the Underworld Flower paralyzed his sense of smell.
In that moment, he yearned madly for a woman.
“Elizabeth….”
He wanted to hold her in his arms and deeply inhale her intoxicating scent.
He wanted to bury his nose in her sunsetlike, shimmering reddish hair and restrain her until she moaned.
But right now, Elizabeth was unfairly labeled a wicked woman because of Nikolai.
“Everything has happened because of Elizabeth. We should drive her out immediately.”
“How could a commoner woman be in charge of His Highness the Crown Prince’s education? It was preposterous from the start.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince has virtually ceased his swordsmanship training. I suspect Simon was driven away due to Elizabeth’s schemes.”
“The kidnapping case is also absurd. It might be a selfstaged drama.”
It was Nikolai who killed Simon.
He had thrown the short knife himself, and Simon died on the spot.
If anyone were to be blamed, it should be Nikolai.
But no one spoke of Nikolai.
All they did was parrot that it was all because of Elizabeth.
“I am the coward, unable to reveal the truth.”
Nikolai clenched his fist.
His nails, turned pale, dug into his palm.
His anger at himself hadn’t dulled in the slightest.
Would it be better to disclose the truth about the Underworld Flower outbreak?
Before he could even settle on the question, the wolf sneered.
“Do you want to turn the entire empire upside down?”
“Don’t interfere, wolf.”
“If your father knew, he’d jump right out of his grave.”
“Don’t disrespect the Emperor with your filthy mouth.”
“Your father loved the empire more than himself and didn’t hesitate to make sacrifices. He wasn’t swayed by emotions like you.”
“……”
“Do you want to ruin all the effort you’ve put in so far by being like your father?”
Nikolai wanted to shut the wolf’s mouth.
But there was no way.
As long as Nikolai lived, the wolf would prattle on, imposing responsibilities and duties.
“Pull yourself together, Niki. This matter is extremely dangerous. Upon doublechecking… Simon had no Underworld Flower seeds.”
“Underworld Flower is a disease that starts from seeds.”
“This is the first time I’ve encountered such a case. It’s completely off the typical pattern.”
Up till now, the course of the Underworld Flower infectious disease had always been the same.
For unknown reasons, the seeds of the Underworld Flower are planted in the body.
The seeds germinate.
Red flowershaped rashes appear and a low fever begins.
That’s when it becomes contagious.
It transfers the seeds to others.
After that, symptoms like coughing, high fever, blood clotting, and convulsions rapidly worsen.
Its contagion also intensifies.
Once the red rashes cover the entire body, death follows.
“If he had carried the seeds, I would have found them.”
“Do you mean the disease progressed without seed germination?”
“The stranger thing is that he wasn’t contagious. That woman he dueled at close range is clean.”
Claudia stayed in various parts of the imperial palace.
She was essentially imprisoned, as she was forbidden to go out or move.
“Simon changed like the others and cornered Claudia. It’s impossible with his usual skills.”
“It might be symptoms of the Underworld Flower, Niki.”
“Explain in detail.”
“The Underworld Flower drastically heightens all the nerves and senses in the body. If it broke out while he was healthy, it could dramatically enhance physical capabilities.”
“Are you saying he deliberately triggered the Underworld Flower?”
Nikolai’s voice trembled thinly.
It was a hypothesis he neither wanted to believe nor accept.
“How could he do such a thing?”
“Sorry, but I don’t know. But nothing else explains it.”
“Have you heard anything from the goddess of Morasinshia?”
“Do you think I’m some kind of divine envoy? I was born from a god but never received any divine mandate. I just moved from your father to you, following divine orders.”
“You’re no better than a plague.”
Nikolai spat out the words.
The wolf responded in amusement.
“Could be. As long as I’m here, neither you nor your lineage will ever be free.”
“……”
“Nicky. I too find the proliferation of underworld flowers distasteful. But I’ve also grown accustomed to the scent, just like you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know who planted those underworld flowers for Simon… If we hadn’t been intoxicated by Elizabeth’s scent, we would have noticed sooner.”
“Don’t blame Elizabeth. She’s done nothing wrong.”
“Is that so? Have you forgotten why your father distanced himself from Laila?”
The wolf whispered in a soft voice, as if calming a tormented child.
Nikolai’s handsome face darkened even more.
“She’s a dangerous woman. You’re also dangerous to her. The closer you get, the deeper you both sink into a pit of despair and unhappiness.”
“Shut up. Wolf.”
“Too bad. I can’t even root for a friend’s first love.”
First love.
That word pierced Nikolai’s heart like a redhot poker.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
