Who are these guys now?

I glared at the six or seven men with irritated eyes.

The burly men held thick clubs and folding knives in their hands.

“Hehe. We were just going to take Boritz. Who knew there’d be pretty girls too!”

“We could sell these girls and recover our principal with plenty left over.”

“Today’s our lucky day!”

Their vulgar tone marked them as cheap thugs at a glance.

I turned to Boritz, meaning for him to explain.

Boritz, pulling his black hood down again, trembled like a willow leaf in a drizzle.

“They’re debt collectors. They said they’d come next month… I don’t know why they came today.”

Boritz was afraid Susan and I would be harmed because of him.

“Oh? This red-haired girl looks familiar.”

“It’s that woman from before! The one who went around with a bunch of guards!”

So they did look familiar.

Those thugs whose faces I’d rubbed in the gutter.

They were the thugs I’d encountered in the alley behind the shop while looking for Boritz.

One of the thugs pointed at me.

“Looks like you don’t have any lackeys with you this time! We’ve been looking for you to teach you a lesson!”

“Oh, it’s you guys from before? Happy to see me? I’m not particularly glad to see you.”

“Still got that cheeky mouth! We’ll see if you can still wag your tongue after we beat you like a dog!”

The thug charged at me, flexing his arm muscles.

The others snickered as they watched their comrade attack.

Their expressions were confident I would end up begging for mercy.

Just then, Franz shouted.

“Shade. Protect Elizabeth!”

There was no answer.

A man simply appeared out of thin air in the empty space.

‘What kind of technique is that? Did he really jump out of the shadows?’

Before I could even wonder, Shade charged towards the thugs.

Even that movement was invisible.

A black shadow fluttered in the air.

It was fast, silent, and graceful.

Wherever the shadow passed, men wielding weapons fell screaming.

“Argh!”

“What’s happening? Ack!”

Even as they coughed up blood, the thugs didn’t know what had hit them.

A horrific scene unfolded one after another.

Franz’s eyes filled with shock.

He may have been cunning, but he was still a 10-year-old child.

A boy raised nobly, surrounded by gold and jewels.

Susan hugged Franz tightly from behind.

“Don’t look. It’ll be over soon.”

Susan covered Franz’s eyes with her small hands.

She seemed to want to protect Franz, even though she was trembling herself.

Franz couldn’t pretend to be gentlemanly or grown-up.

Boritz couldn’t move either.

The farm that had been full of warm sunlight and fresh herb scents was now drenched in blood.

The bodies of men whose life or death was uncertain lay sprawled at Shade’s feet.

“You didn’t have to kill them, did you?”

Shade didn’t answer.

“They were just worthless debt collectors. Couldn’t you have just chased them away?”

Shade stared at me blankly with eyes devoid of emotion.

That appearance made him look like a pure boy, too peaceful.

He didn’t look like the grim reaper who had just taken at least seven lives.

“Are you not talking? Or can’t you talk?”

“……”

“Next time, never do that. Ask for my permission before killing anyone.”

I jabbed his chest with my index finger as I coldly warned him.

Shade seemed to think for a moment.

He nodded almost imperceptibly.

Did his eyebrows droop a little? It must be my imagination.

“Elder sister! We need to go back quickly. His Highness… he’s having trouble breathing!”

Susan, hugging Franz, said.

Franz’s lips were dried white.

His complexion was as pale as wax.

My heart ached seeing Franz struggling to breathe properly.

‘It’s all my fault. I was too rash.’

Pushing down the rising guilt, I shouted.

“Shade. Take His Highness the Crown Prince back to the palace! As fast as you can!”

The long day faded into dusk.

I bit my thumbnail in the darkened corridor.

“He was just very startled, there are no other problems. He should be fine after resting for a few days.”

Even after hearing the court healer’s words, I couldn’t feel at ease.

I didn’t have the courage to enter Franz’s bedchamber.

‘Why didn’t I predict this situation? I knew Boritz was being hounded by back-alley debt collectors.’

It wasn’t that I didn’t know, I had neglected it.

I only thought Boritz needed to harshly realize the reality.

That he would move according to my will like a docile lamb.

I knew they would pressure Boritz in dangerous ways.

I deliberately didn’t pay off his debts.

If I saved him at the right time, he would be even more grateful.

This was the result.

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I caused trouble by being stubborn.”

Franz said as he was carried on Shade’s back.

Franz’s kindness in worrying about me even in that moment pierced my heart.

‘You did nothing wrong, Franz. You should just do what you want like a normal child. I’ll take responsibility for the rest.’

I should have protected Franz no matter what.

As the education officer, I had forgotten the most important thing.

If Shade hadn’t been there, even Susan and Boritz could have been in danger.

Our safe return was just luck.

‘I was too confident knowing the original story. I can’t even protect precious people with my own power. I was truly the irresponsible one.’

Regret washed over me like a tidal wave.

Self-reproach followed one after another.

The person I least wanted to meet right now called my name.

“Elizabeth.”

I couldn’t raise my head.

Nikolai called my name once more.

“Elizabeth.”

His baritone sometimes exerted a magical power.

It turned reality into fantasy, and dyed the cloudy sky a clear blue.

It drove away the loneliness densely packed within me, and breathed in an unfamiliar excitement.

So I liked it.

I was happy because of it.

But just for today, I didn’t want to meet you.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

I apologized as formally as possible.

“Raise your head.”

“I am a sinner. How could I dare look upon Your Majesty’s face?”

“Drop that strange way of speaking too.”

“I deeply apologize for my rudeness all this time.”

“It’s unfamiliar. Uncomfortable.”

I had been on such casual terms with Nikolai that speaking formally felt awkward.

I enjoyed countless privileges spending time alone with the emperor.

I didn’t even realize they were privileges.

I was deluded.

I resented Nikolai.

For not telling me why he killed Simon, for not meeting me, for not stopping the criticism pouring from all sides.

I was hurt as if I were his real lover.

Then I missed him every night.

‘This incident made it clear. Nikolai is Nikolai, and I am just me. I have to take care of my own affairs.’

It was dangerous to be cared for by someone like this.

Because I kept relying on him.

Because I kept wanting help even for things I could solve on my own.

I had grown accustomed to the comfort Nikolai gave, like a baby bird in its mother’s embrace.

It couldn’t be tolerated any longer.

‘This incident will surely become a big excuse. The longer I stay in the palace, the more rumors will spread that I’m the villainess and Nikolai is a tyrant. We shouldn’t be together. For Nikolai’s sake. For my sake.’

It was an extremely rational judgment.

I wanted to ignore it to the end.

I wanted to stay by Nikolai’s side, pretending to know nothing.

I wanted to burrow into his broad, warm embrace.

I wanted to keep this man who made me feel more special than anyone else by my side.

No matter what anyone said. No matter what future awaited.

But I couldn’t.

I didn’t.

Because I loved Nikolai.

“As the education officer, I failed to fulfill my responsibilities. Please give me an appropriate punishment.”

I spoke with my gaze fixed on my feet.

Nikolai made excuses for me.

“Pinch said it was he who insisted on going together.”

“Soothing the young prince is also my job. The fact that I put His Highness in danger remains unchanged.”

“Everyone was safe. That’s enough.”

“Would you say the same if Sir Shade hadn’t accompanied us?”

Nikolai didn’t answer.

Only then did I stare at Nikolai.

‘Why does your face look so haggard? How upsetting…’

How long has it been since we last met, for him to have become so gaunt as if he hadn’t even had gruel to eat?

His tired eyes were flecked with bloodshot.

His disheveled black hair still shone like wet silk, but the arrogantly confident aura was gone without a trace.

Sympathy welled up to the tip of my tongue.

What had happened in the meantime?

The image of Nikolai suffering alone flashed through my mind.

‘He’s not the type to ignore me for his own comfort. He must have had reasons he couldn’t speak of. Yet I was disappointed and resentful again.’

I wanted to hug him.

I wished he could rest in my arms for a moment.

But now was not the time.

“So. What… do you intend to do?”

Nikolai, unable to hide his expressions in front of me.

He asked with a face like a wounded beast.

He looked like a predator paralyzed by fear it had never faced before.

Because of my existence, which he couldn’t control despite reigning over all.

“I wish to leave the palace.”

“…Denied.”

“I will leave. Please allow me.”

“Do you want to be imprisoned?”

“Even if I’m released later, I will leave. My decision cannot be reversed.”

I stated firmly.

It was words to convince myself, not him.

“You signed a contract. You can’t leave my side until it’s over.”

“I will give it up.”

“Can you handle the consequences?”

“I will give you everything I own – my mansion, land, goods, merchant rights, everything.”

“I’ll sell you and your parents as slaves.”

“I’ll become a runaway slave and hide.”

Nikolai’s blue-green eyes widened.

I faced the anxiety and fear contained in them.

I too was anxious and afraid.

“Are you saying you’ll run away from me?”

He took a step closer, suppressing his anger that seemed about to burst.

The man’s scent washed over me, ensnaring me.

‘I’ll regret today, pounding the ground. No matter how much I cry, I won’t be able to turn back this moment.’

But all I could do was push him away.

“The current situation… You know well, don’t you, Your Majesty?”

“I don’t.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

“You’re the one being stubborn. It can’t happen no matter what.”

Nikolai growled.

It sounded like an order, but it was a plea.

“You absolutely cannot leave. You are mine.”

He was begging me not to leave.

What should I do with this man?

My heart that wants to possess this man.

“Your Majesty.”

I reached out without realizing.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and raised my heels.

I pressed my lips to his.

A single tear rolled down my cheek.

The third kiss tasted of tears.