I twisted my red lips upwards.

“A visit? My job is to guide His Highness.”

After the poisoning incident, all the servants in the Crown Prince’s palace were newly hired.

The butler was no exception.

It was uncomfortable how he tried too hard to please me.

Now he’s blocking my way?

Does he think he’s nobility too?

“Please understand. It’s all for His Highness’s sake.”

“Are you saying I could harm His Highness?”

“We’re just trying to prevent accidents. Don’t unfortunate incidents often occur around Lady Elizabeth?”

The tone implied I was the source of all problems.

It was I who had my life threatened and safety violated.

Anger flared up inside me.

‘Would I have been treated this way if I were nobility? If I had a family and lineage…’

Elizabeth’s parents were traveling the continent.

Even if they were here, it would have been difficult to deal with nobles full of entitlement.

Money is money.

Background is background.

I was sick of those who kowtowed when needed, then changed their attitude.

Swallowing my bitterness, I asked.

“Has your decision been reported to His Majesty?”

“Ah… I knew you’d bring up His Majesty.”

“It’s only natural to ask about the intentions of His Majesty, who has the final say.”

“Lady Elizabeth. How long do you think His Majesty’s favor will last?”

The butler couldn’t hide his pitying expression.

His gaze held unconcealed contempt.

“Right now, His Majesty may listen to whatever Lady Elizabeth says. But there are many beauties in the world.”

“I know. And?”

“There are no eternal flowers. The same goes for a woman’s beauty.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“In a few years, no, a few months, His Majesty’s attention will move to another woman. Just as it always has.”

The butler’s final words pierced my heart like a blade.

A throbbing pain rippled like waves.

At times like this, my mind grew calmer.

I wasn’t a greenhouse lady who would burst into tears at a few harsh words.

I wasn’t the type to be shaken by petty provocations or back down easily.

Nor did I have the generosity to look down on a scoundrel who changed his attitude depending on the situation.

“You’d better put away such loyalty. I’m not in a position to receive advice from you, butler.”

The butler’s face turned bright red.

Those who speak carelessly to others often can’t stand being insulted themselves.

“You’ve become so arrogant. Has receiving some love from His Majesty made you lose your mind?”

Why are villains all the same?

Why do they always ramble on about what they want to say, missing the point?

“Don’t misunderstand. I spoke as the education officer responsible for the Crown Prince.”

“I’m nobility. You’re a commoner!”

“Within the palace, I’m your superior. Did you not know that, or are you just stupid?”

“T-That’s…!”

“Bill Sarif. Age 40. Third son of Viscount Sarif. Separated from wife Roanna. Known to be due to personality differences, but confirmed to be due to wife’s infidelity.”

As I recited his personal information, the butler’s face turned pale.

“A third son who couldn’t inherit a title is merely a quasi-noble. What will you do if you lose your job too?”

“Are you saying you’ll fire me?”

“Did you expect to be safe after obstructing a superior’s duties without just cause, insubordination, and speaking rudely?”

“I, I mean, I just… M-Marquis Brenden told me to…”

The butler stammered, belatedly coming to his senses.

I shook my head.

“I wondered why that name hadn’t come up. A palace servant colluding with an outsider is punishable as a serious crime.”

“C-Colluding?”

“Be honest. Did he say he’d give you a position if you disgraced me?”

“Lady Elizabeth will soon have all her assets confiscated and be expelled from the palace…”

“On what grounds?”

“B-Because you rigged the match through unfair means…”

The butler said in a shrinking voice with hunched shoulders.

‘Nikolai killing Simon is match-rigging? Since his son died, he wants to take my money instead? His obsession with money is beyond imagination.’

On the other hand, it was fortunate.

I could now guess how Marquis Brenden would act.

“Thank you, butler. You’ve been a great help.”

“So I won’t be fired?”

“That’s unrelated.”

“What?”

“Get out right now. You seriously violated service regulations, so you won’t get severance pay. Understood?”

The underground passage of the imperial palace was shrouded in damp darkness.

The stone slabs were slippery due to the green-red moss.

Burnt wax dripped from the copper candlesticks on the walls.

Nikolai hurried his steps, listening to the hollow echoing of footsteps.

There were no attendants or guard knights following.

Only a select few knew of the existence of the black room hidden beneath the palace.

“You’ve arrived, Your Majesty.”

Careth was one of them.

Nikolai placed his hand on the shoulder of Careth, who covered his nose and mouth with a white triangular handkerchief.

Inside the room, devoid of any decoration and permeated only by coldness.

A marble bed was visible in the center.

As was Simon’s corpse, covered with a white cloth.

“You’ve worked hard until late.”

“I merely did my duty.”

Careth answered mechanically yet indifferently.

Nikolai felt both gratitude and apology towards his loyal servant.

‘Without you, I would have been utterly exhausted. I will surely repay your loyalty, Careth.’

He had thought this many times, but never said it aloud.

Some relationships were sufficient with silence alone.

Such was the case with Careth and Nikolai.

“The body?”

“As expected.”

“I’ll confirm with my own eyes.”

Careth stepped back.

Nikolai swiftly pulled off the cloth covering the corpse.

Dust scattered in the air.

Dust accumulates on the bodies of the dead.

Insects also gather.

It decays, rots, and crumbles.

Those killed by the Netherflower hasten time, returning to a handful of blood.

“It’s the Netherflower…”

A low voice like scraping metal flowed from Nikolai’s throat.

Simon’s corpse was covered in disorderly red spots.

A sweet floral scent and foul stench emanated simultaneously from the spots resembling scattered petals.

The plague that had driven the empire to the brink of death had once again bared its sinister fangs.

“For a young man to contract it. How could this happen?”

Careth asked with a sigh.

If word got out that the Netherflower had returned, the empire would be paralyzed overnight.

How the people, gripped by fear and anxiety, would act.

How daily life would be destroyed.

History had proven it.

“Originally, the Netherflower struck regardless of age or gender.”

“For six years, the Netherflower only targeted young women.”

“They merely carried the seed. No symptoms, no infectiousness. As long as they’re isolated in my and the wolf’s domain, they pose no threat.”

“Why couldn’t the wolf find Simon?”

Nikolai harbored the same doubt as Careth.

The doubt was close to bursting anger.

If the wolf had fulfilled its duty, it wouldn’t have committed murder with her possession before Elizabeth’s eyes.

Voices erupted from all directions saying the villainess Elizabeth should be expelled.

Everything was blamed on Elizabeth.

Nikolai couldn’t reveal the truth.

He couldn’t protect Elizabeth.

He found himself more disgusting than those who cursed her.

“It all seems like a well-orchestrated play.”

“The fence incident also seemed somewhat clumsy. The expected gains were small compared to the risk taken.”

“Elizabeth wasn’t the target. It was merely to buy time.”

“If Lady Elizabeth hadn’t approached the fence… they would have done something else to stop the duel.”

“Simon changed in that short time.”

Nikolai had sensed something strange about Simon.

An unpleasant premonition he couldn’t quite pinpoint.

If he had stopped the duel then, perhaps the worst could have been prevented.

“The wolf was quiet. It signaled that the Netherflower had bloomed the moment Simon tried to take Claudia’s life.”

“If we hadn’t dealt with Simon, everyone in the grand plaza would have been infected with the Netherflower.”

“…”

“If there’s any silver lining, it’s that corpses aren’t infectious.”

The word ‘fortunate’ sounded pathetic and powerless.

Since his ascension, Nikolai had fulfilled his duty to protect the empire.

Along with the wolf, he had shielded the people from the Netherflower.

But what if the Netherflower had mutated?

If a Netherflower beyond the wolf’s abilities appeared like this time, Nikolai could do nothing.

His people withering like candles before a typhoon.

Spreading death and despair as they coughed blood and emitted foul odors.

He would have to watch it all helplessly.

“The wolf and I were focused on the southern border.”

“You mean the Inted Islands commanded by Lord Roseloise?”

“The new empress was also brought from there. What was that woman’s name again?”

“Tara. Daughter of Baron Joyce, a branch family of Marquis Brenden’s house.”

Careth spoke as if suggesting he should at least remember the empress’s name.

Nikolai’s expression remained unchanged.

That day was still a great wound.

‘I had to push Elizabeth away to isolate that woman.’

Elizabeth, who wouldn’t meet his eyes for a while.

Nikolai, who couldn’t tell Elizabeth his true feelings.

The same question tormented him each time.

‘Can I really protect her? When the emperor’s duty always comes first?’

He had broken the late emperor’s dying words not to love anyone.

He had taken to heart a woman he shouldn’t have.

Dulled senses awakened anew.

The loneliness he had forgotten stabbed at him.

The cherry blossom scent that lingered around Elizabeth.

Only her smile and fragrance saved Nikolai.

Happiness breathed only by her side.

But Nikolai continuously hurt Elizabeth.

Far from protecting her, he put her in danger.

‘If not for me, Elizabeth wouldn’t be called a villainess. She wouldn’t be threatened either. Is it right to keep her by my side when I can’t even protect her? If I truly care for her, shouldn’t I send her to someone who will love only her?’

Why did Douglas’s handsome face come to mind now?

Nikolai bit the inside of his cheek.

A tangy smell wafted, but he couldn’t taste blood.

All he sensed was Elizabeth’s fragrance and lips.

“We need new information. Summon Archbishop Arcansaw of Morasyncia Temple, who is said to be researching the Netherflower.”

“What shall we do with Simon’s body?”

“…”

“Marquis Brenden is protesting, asking for at least the body to be returned.”

Nikolai’s gaze turned to the deceased.

A promising talent.

Heir to a noble family.

Simon had crossed a river of no return.

An eerily cold voice flowed from between Nikolai’s lips.

“Burn it like any other corpse.”

Until then, he didn’t know what had happened to Simon.

Not until the wolf spoke again.