“Your Majesty?”

Franz rose clumsily from under the dense shrubs.

‘I’ve already arrived at the Imperial Crown Prince’s garden…’

Bewitched by the wolf’s insolent voice, he hadn’t even realized how far he’d come.

Swallowing a bitter smile, he asked his young half-brother.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course! Did you perhaps come to see me?”

A bright joy spread across Franz’s face.

Franz threw away the wooden stick he had been holding.

It seemed he didn’t want to be caught looking like a child.

‘I didn’t come to see you, but to search for traces of Elizabeth.’

He couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth.

Franz’s body was imbued with a faint cherry blossom scent.

It was a faint trace that could only be found by sharpening all senses.

But for Nikolai, who hadn’t smelled Elizabeth’s scent for a long time, it was like a ray of light.

‘It’s maddeningly enchanting.’

A feeling of bewilderment beyond embarrassment washed over him.

He thought he had gotten used to the stench, but his obsession with the fragrance only grew stronger.

It was all because of the incident Elizabeth had caused.

No, it was because he had completely lost his self-control.

“Ah… You came to see Teacher Elizabeth.”

Franz awkwardly scratched his hair.

‘I know Elizabeth isn’t here. I received a report that she went on vacation. I came to pick up the crumbs she left behind, like the wolf said. Like a starving dog with no shame.’

The sharp-witted Franz couldn’t have missed that.

But he didn’t expect him to suddenly ask this.

“Your Majesty, do you like Teacher Elizabeth?”

Everything went dark and distant before his eyes.

It felt like the center of his soul had been trampled by a horseshoe.

He had been pointed out by the wolf several times, but he didn’t expect to hear it through Franz’s mouth.

‘If it’s desire, I can acknowledge it. I won’t deny that I’ve been captivated since the moment we first met. It’s true that I want to possess Elizabeth. But what does it mean to like someone?’

A tangled mess of threads filled his head.

His heart rattled like a broken carriage wheel, and the back of his ears flushed for no reason.

Liking someone and wanting to have them must be clearly different.

He could sense that much, but it was merely theory.

Nikolai was ignorant of his own emotions.

He couldn’t easily name the trembling and impulses that had taken over him at will.

If it were just possessiveness or a desire to monopolize, it wouldn’t be this painful.

‘Is he asking why I’m giving her special treatment? Or does he mean if I miss her? If I feel affection for her? If that’s really what he means, then I already… like Elizabeth.’

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

He felt dizzy and wanted to sit down.

If it weren’t in front of Franz, he might have fallen to his knees with a thud.

Though it might seem like a silly question to others, it was serious for Nikolai.

Not because he lacked experience with women, but because he had believed he shouldn’t like anyone.

“The Emperor must not be swayed by lust. He must not pursue personal happiness. Do not let your heart be stolen by anyone. You must live not for one person, but for all the people. That is the Emperor’s mission.”

The late Emperor was a more excellent monarch than historians praised.

But he wasn’t a good father.

He didn’t know how other fathers disciplined their young sons.

If he had known, he probably wouldn’t have hammered into his ears that he shouldn’t be happy.

But he respected such a father.

A hero who saved the country from a deadly plague.

A sage king who lived his whole life for the people.

Nikolai wanted to become such an emperor too.

He followed his father’s teachings and last will, even enduring shameful finger-pointing.

But then Elizabeth appeared.

It was a trick of fate.

‘Because of Elizabeth, I broke conventions and laws several times. I gave her an undeserved high position, and didn’t punish her insubordination. I endured words bordering on insults. How am I any different from a tyrant bewitched by a woman?’

That’s not all.

He wanted to strangle Douglas, who kept hovering around Elizabeth.

He wanted to behead anyone who spoke carelessly about her or didn’t respect her properly.

He was curious about everything about Elizabeth.

He even tried to understand her past.

Even her incomprehensible aspects were only endearing.

‘I have no choice but to admit it. I like Elizabeth…’

Nikolai’s head drooped lifelessly.

He could almost hear the late Emperor’s wailing from underground.

To Nikolai, sunk in guilt, Franz said,

“I don’t dislike Teacher Elizabeth either. Well, I don’t like her that much… but she’s not bad.”

“What is the reason?”

“She doesn’t try to impress me, and doesn’t make a fuss pretending to like children. She seems to forget that I’m the Crown Prince.”

“She often forgets that I’m the Emperor too.”

“She’s a bit unique, isn’t she?”

“Seriously.”

Was it because of the shock of having his inner feelings exposed to Franz?

Or was it the emptiness of abandoning his lifelong duty?

Nikolai was babbling unnecessary words.

“Does Teacher Elizabeth like Your Majesty too?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I can help you. Like how I stopped the meeting between Marquis Nettleton and Teacher Elizabeth!”

“My previous request was rash. Forget it.”

“I can deliver letters, or arrange a place for you two alone. Also…”

“It’s alright, isn’t it?”

His voice rose without realizing it.

Franz froze stiff.

“You said you trusted me, didn’t you?”

“This is not something for you to meddle in.”

“You said I was the only one you could trust. Was that just empty words?”

What should he say at times like this?

Observing Franz?

Thinking from Franz’s perspective?

Elizabeth’s advice came to mind, but Nikolai’s lips were pressed into a single line.

He was ashamed of losing control of his emotions and worrying his young half-brother.

Franz seemed to take the silence as stubborn refusal.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interfere, I just wanted to help Your Majesty.”

After bowing in apology, Franz turned and ran away.

He couldn’t stop the child as he moved away.

Nikolai realized anew that he was only accustomed to the Emperor’s duties, but was a clumsy human who couldn’t even form basic relationships.

‘I don’t have the right to like someone. I don’t have the talent for it either. I should live in solitude like now. With the wolf.’

As he was about to turn away, he noticed a drawing on the dirt ground.

Though crudely drawn, it was skillful enough to capture attention.

Suddenly, he remembered the wooden stick Franz had thrown away.

The end of the stick was covered in wet soil.

‘Did Pinch draw this?’

He looked at the dirt drawing once more.

An affectionate man and woman, and a small boy between them.

It was a picture of a harmonious family, like a scene from a fairy tale.

****

I looked around, holding a paper with the address of the herb shop.

‘Susan had reason to worry. This is the first time I’ve seen such a sight in this world.’

I hurried past dilapidated wooden houses on the verge of collapse and piles of garbage.

Improperly treated sewage mixed with animal excrement, emitting a rotten stench.

Begging children. Men sprawled out drunk.

Women staring into space with worn expressions.

These were the typical faces of a slum.

‘Why are you surprised? When you were young, you only lived in places like this, didn’t you?’

I had already become accustomed to the luxurious lives of the wealthy and nobles.

I bickered with the Emperor, whom ordinary nobles wouldn’t dare to look up to, and treated the Crown Prince like a neighborhood kid.

I thought I was going through horrible days plagued by nightmares, but that wasn’t it.

The slums were disorderly, filthy, and filled with fear and despair.

The poverty I had temporarily forgotten was a more realistic and direct threat than the guillotine.

“Hey, red hair! Where did such a pretty lady come from?”

Along with a whistle, a murky voice was heard.

Some men in the alley were looking me up and down.

“Do you work somewhere expensive? You’re damn pretty!”

“Come here. Big brothers will treat you nicely!”

I ignored them, but it was useless.

The rowdy men started following me.

“Hey, pretty one. Stop acting so haughty, will you?”

“If you came here at this hour, you must be interested too, right?”

Why didn’t I understand that it was dangerous for a woman to be alone in the slums?

Moreover, I was extremely beautiful.

Even if I wore rags, I couldn’t hide my fiery red hair like a freshly bloomed rose and my long, slender limbs.

It wasn’t unreasonable for these dim-witted guys to drool.

‘Boritz is a character that doesn’t move during the day. Even meeting Claudia was at dusk.’

I had to take some risks until I found Boritz.

But I had no intention of tolerating these dung flies.

“Look at this hair. We could get a good price at the wig shop, huh?”

One of the dung flies grabbed my hair.

It was as disgusting as a thousand maggots crawling on bare skin.

“How dare you put your hands on me!”

I glared coldly at the dung fly with bad manners.

For some reason, the dung flies giggled.

“Look at her, getting all high and mighty because we’re being nice?”

“Arrogant wenches need to have their noses pushed down!”

Such cliché bastards.

‘Is there an academy that only teaches dirty words? Do they go hand in hand to learn? With a group discount?’

If I were a female knight like Claudia, I would have drawn my sword without hesitation.

I would have taught them a lesson to make them wet their pants.

Unfortunately, all I had was money and deadly charm.

I didn’t want to seduce just anyone because I was in a hurry.

Of course, it wasn’t such an urgent situation either.

“Stop talking nonsense and get lost. If you want to return alive.”

“What is this red wench babbling about?”

“Did you get a stake driven through your ears? I. Said. Get. Lost. Now.”

I emphasized each syllable.

The dung flies glared with their eyeballs and spat dirty saliva.

“This wench is running her mouth recklessly?”

“Do you know what happens to girls like you who act up here?”

If this were any other romance novel, a handsome stranger passing by would have saved me.

He would have defeated the men with an expressionless face and then said to me,

‘Walking alone as a woman, are you crazy and want to die?’

But this world was a hardcore survival adventure for me from start to finish.

It meant I had to dig my own way out to survive.

Snap, I flicked my fingers.

On cue, armed men sprang out.

They were private bodyguards I had hired for a large sum.

As expensive as they were, their skills in concealment and ambush were excellent.

“W-who are these guys?”

“Damn it! She had company?!”

The dung flies, realizing things had gone wrong, trembled like sewer rats.

Where was all their tough act from earlier?

“You should have left when I told you nicely.”

“W-we’re sorry! Please forgive us!”

The dung flies begged as if their hands were their feet.

Far from feeling refreshed, I felt a bad taste in my mouth.

Money was indeed good.

If I didn’t have the wealth to hire bodyguards, it would have been me begging in fear right now.

The head bodyguard asked in a dry voice.

“Miss. What should we do?”

“Beat them. Just keep them alive.”

“That’s a difficult task.”

“You can do it easily. They’ll only cause harm to others if they live anyway.”

“I’ll try to keep them alive as much as possible.”

Screams that should only be heard in a slaughterhouse filled the slum sky.

As I was trying to feel some satisfaction for the money spent, a dark shadow rose from the alley.

That shadow was staggering directly towards me.