It seemed that fate was showing me a bit of mercy.

“Where is that herb shop? Is it in the countryside?”

“It’s in the capital, but…….”

“I have to go see it right away. I can’t delay a task for His Highness!”

The position of being Franz’s tutor always provided a plausible excuse.

But my heart was already in the bean field.

My heart pounded at the thought of meeting Boris.

If I could steal Claudia’s power and build my own forces, I could survive without Nikolai.

Go away, damned Casanova!

“It’s near the slums, so it might be dangerous if you go alone.”

Susan made a troubled face.

“I have the knight escort assigned by His Majesty.”

I intended to shake him off.

Only then did Susan reveal her true intentions.

“Why don’t you go with my brother?”

“Isn’t Douglas with His Highness at the palace?”

“He’ll be back soon. He’s good with directions.”

“But…….”

“Elizabeth, you deliberately came on the day of the literature class to avoid seeing my brother, didn’t you?”

“I can’t fool you, Susan.”

I gave an awkward smile.

I didn’t want to hurt Susan, who liked me.

So I drove another nail.

“Susan. I appreciate the thought, but I don’t plan to get back together with Douglas.”

“My brother has changed.”

“I know.”

“He works out regularly and makes a lot of money now. It may seem laughable to you.”

“It’s not laughable at all. I’m glad Douglas is improving. I’m sincerely happy for him.”

“But you still won’t?”

“I’m sorry, Susan.”

“You know my brother is a good man, right? And that he’s yearning for you.”

“He’s too good for me.”

Still, it won’t work.

I didn’t need to finish my sentence.

Tears welled up in Susan’s eyes, big like a deer’s.

I felt sorry for not being able to respond to her stubborn yet pure heart.

‘Douglas didn’t give up on Elizabeth until the revolution. He didn’t believe in her evil deeds either. This time…… Will Douglas hate me like he did in the original work? Resenting himself who loved me?’

It seemed like I had seen Douglas and Susan under the guillotine in my dreams.

Thinking that I might become a subject of contempt to the deer siblings who loved me more than anyone, a prickling sensation crept up my heart.
But to me, benevolence and sympathy were nothing more than empty words.

At present, I urgently needed to find a way out.

Nikolai was taking a stroll in the garden.

To be honest, he was pretending to stroll while heading towards the Prince’s Palace.

His plan was to bump into Franz, feigning coincidence.

The reason was simple.

Franz would carry the scent of Elizabeth.

‘A true piece of trash. To use my only blood relative for such a purpose.’

He couldn’t lift his head from the shame and selfloathing.

Yet, he didn’t turn his steps around.

It had already been eight and a half days since he last saw Elizabeth.

He had even driven Elizabeth, who had come to his office, away.

She would never know.

The fact that she was leaning against the door while he was conversing with Cares.

That he was immobilized by the painfully sweet scent seeping through the door gap.

The number of times he had held and let go of the door handle, recalling the touch that had grazed her lips.

He wanted to swing open the overly ostentatious door.

He wanted to meet Elizabeth’s appetizing black eyes.

He wanted to commit something even deeper and more intimate than that.

He bit his lip until it bled, suppressing his vicious desires.

He resented his patience, which was still at work even at that moment.

‘I can’t meet Elizabeth yet. The seed of the Underworld Flower on me could transfer to her.’

The wolf, who had read Nikolai’s inner thoughts, chuckled quietly.

‘Poor Niki. Wasting your precious time deceiving yourself again.’

Nikolai pretended to be calm.

But he couldn’t completely erase the shock.

The wolf should have cowered under Nikolai’s unconscious until he smelled the Underworld Flower.

‘Does it pop out so often? Has the wolf gone out of my control?’

He had some guesses.

The wolf was a parasite on Nikolai’s desires and senses.

Nikolai was barely controlling it with his mental strength, but it would sometimes raise its head to seize his flesh if he let his guard down.

As his revived senses grew more sensitive, the wolf became more free.

It increasingly interfered in Nikolai’s life at will.

As Nikolai lost his rationality, captivated by his desires, the wolf’s voice grew louder.

The selfinflicted situation was even more embarrassing and frightening.

‘You only quarantined the woman with the seed of the Underworld Flower, right? What’s the reason for keeping Elizabeth away?’

“Only young women are being contaminated by the seed of the Underworld Flower. We haven’t even found out why.”

‘We can’t sprout seeds where we are together. The reason why we keep the women in the palace is because of that.’

“There’s no guarantee it will stay that way. We can’t let our guard down until the ninth day of quarantine, when the stench subsides.”

‘Elizabeth is special. Why are you worried about a woman who even dispels the stench?’

“Elizabeth is the only hope. I can’t put her in danger.”

‘You said you would use her as a diffuser? Use her as a flamethrower to flush out the rats?’

“The plan remains the same.”

‘It seems you are so precious to Elizabeth, you don’t know what to do?’

“…….”

‘Hey, Niki. You won’t win Elizabeth’s heart like that.’

“Stay out of it, impudent wolf.”

‘You won’t regret it? I’m offering to teach you a lesson.’

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

‘I’m a real Casanova, compared to a rookie like you. Haha.’

Not all the women in the harem were swayed by Nikolai’s appearance and power.

There were those who had lovers or husbands.

There were also women like Elizabeth, who refused to become the empress.

Each time, the wolf had to step in.

Only after the wolf exhibited his unique charm did the women follow to the palace.

Nikolai did not pay attention to that process.
Though he hadn’t slept with them, it was sufficiently shameful to be overpowered by the wolf, mingling with women against his will.

“Do as you’re told. I’ll let you have Elizabeth.”

“Did you forget how Elizabeth was terrified because of you?”

“You cunningly approached her first, didn’t you? Wouldn’t you have gone insane too?”

“Get lost, cunning wolf!”

“Both you and I want to be close to Elizabeth. It’s not the first time we’ve communicated like this, right?”

“…….”

“Stop thinking about scavenging for scraps and leave it to me. I will surely succeed.”

The blue tendons on the back of Nikolai’s clenched fist bulged.

Impulse undercut his pride.

Desire was gnawing away at his reason.

What would happen if he pretended to lose and accepted the wolf?

Then, there was a sign of someone behind him.