The azure blue seawater and the sun-shimmering sandy beach came into view.

On it, unidentified seaweed was being pushed in by the waves and swept away again, and the sound of unseen seabirds echoed all around.

“Askal!”

Aron was tied to a tree near a rocky cave on Roded Island, which looked like a perfect vacation spot. It was done by the sailors on Askal’s orders.

“If it becomes known that you treated your only elder brother like this, you won’t get away with it!”

Aron struggled, twisting his whole body. But the more he moved, the more scratches from the tree bark increased.

Askal paid no heed to his threats and surveyed the surroundings. The sound of waves was so loud that even if he shouted, it probably wouldn’t be heard at the villa.

“Curious where this is?”

To his question, Aron kicked the air, saying it was obvious.

“If you’re lucky enough to survive, you’ll find out where this is on your own.”

“You… If I escape from here, I won’t let you off easily!”

“Looking forward to it.”

Askal raised his hand and waved it slightly. The waiting sailors all turned around at once. Aron wriggled, trying somehow to undo his bindings.

“I… I was wrong! So don’t leave me like this! Please…”

No one looked back at his plea. Only one person, Askal, was looking at him straight on.

“Askal, my younger brother. I’ll do anything you say, so let’s untie this and talk first. Hm? I don’t need titles or money.”

“That’s good. This is a place where you don’t need titles or money.”

Realizing that appealing to emotions wasn’t working, Aron spat out curses.

“You… you son of a bitch! Kheuk.”

Aron, who had been kicked in the shin by Askal, screamed and writhed in pain.

“Listen well. I was never your younger brother, and you were never my elder brother.”

A bitter smile spread. It was because he knew this was for the best.

“You’ll live the rest of your life in this hell where there’s not a single thing you like.”

“Eek…!”

Askal raised his head to look at the sky. The sun was so hot it hurt his eyes.

“Scream as much as you want. If anyone hears your voice, they might come to rescue you.”

“You bastard!”

He put down the water canteen he had brought from the ship next to Aron’s feet.

“If you feel you absolutely can’t go on, drink this. You can go without pain.”

Askal stepped back a few paces. Then he turned completely and headed for the ship they had come on. The screams mixed with curses gradually faded, buried under the waves.

Returning to the ship, Askal leaned against the wall, dizzy. His whole body felt feverish.

“Your Excellency, are you alright?”

A sailor behind him approached and grabbed his arm. Then he cried out in shock.

“Your body is burning hot!”

Askal shook off the sailor’s hand trying to hold him and headed for the bed. When he took off his top, the bandages were stained bright red. It was because the wound had opened, and blood was seeping through the gap.

The sailor who had treated him on the fishing boat appeared hurriedly with a medicine box. While re-stitching the opened part, Askal chewed painkillers and fever reducers.

“Your Excellency, having a fever is not a good sign…”

The sailor worried, his hands trembling. Askal gestured for him to go out if the treatment was finished, saying he wouldn’t die.

After sending away the sailor who wanted to stay by his side, calling him annoying, he took out the letter sent from Artenbach and read it. If he could just endure for about a day, he would meet the doctor sent by Schmidt and could receive proper treatment.

Lying on the bed wearing only newly wrapped bandages and pants, he caressed the letters inside the small note with his fingers. He missed her after being apart for a few days.

“It would be nice if there were a machine that could hear voices even from far away.”

Askal vowed to look for an inventor related to electrical communication when he returned to Artenbach.

He must have fallen asleep without realizing it. His foggy mind, which had been like water with soap dissolved in it, became clean and clear like water freshly drawn from a well. The throbbing headache was gone, and his body, which had felt as heavy as iron, became light.

“Are you awake?”

Askal’s eyes flew open at the familiar voice. Turning his head, he saw Baron Deli looking at him from beside the bed, seated in a wheelchair.

“Baron Deli?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Askal quickly racked his brain. And he concluded that he had arrived at the deserted island while he was asleep.

He groggily tried to raise his body to get up from the bed. Then a voice came from the opposite side.

“You mustn’t get up! Don’t move your arm either. Just lie still.”

It was the doctor’s voice. Askal turned his head. There was a long, unidentifiable line attached to his arm.

“It’s a treatment called an IV drip, recently developed in the Western countries. The Duchess somehow knew about it and insisted we bring it, and thanks to that, your recovery was faster.”

The doctor pointed to his side where the bandage had been newly wrapped, as he spoke.

“We’ve also redone the sutures. We’ve disinfected it too, so don’t bathe for a while.”

Askal nodded. The doctor finally sighed in relief.

“If the Lady hadn’t sent me, it could have been very serious. Do you know you had fainted?”

“Did I?”

“Yes, you did. You can’t imagine how shocked I was to see you collapsed when you had been fine even after being attacked by a beast.”

“I thought I had just slept and woken up.”

“You almost slept eternally.”

Askal chuckled. It was because he didn’t dislike the doctor speaking impolitely while telling him to be grateful to the Duchess. The worried look in his eyes and tone were sincere, and there were also words praising Schmidt’s excellence, so he decided to let it pass.

He had no idea how much time had passed. He didn’t even have the strength left to brush off the ants crawling on his sunburned skin.

After repeatedly falling asleep and waking up while tied to the tree, the sun was rising again. It was time for the hot sun to torment him once more.

“Is anyone there?”

In his fading consciousness, he heard a woman’s voice. Aron could barely open his eyes and only moved his lips, without the strength to answer.

“Could it be… Aron?”

As soon as his name was called, he opened his eyes with all his remaining strength. There stood Hegelia, wearing a dress made of shabby cloth and a thin veil covering her head and face.

“Why… why are you, cough cough.”

He coughed involuntarily due to his parched and hoarse throat. Seeing him like this, Hegelia raised one hand upwards, muttering.

“Oh, God. You’ve given me a chance for revenge.”

Hegelia’s eyes changed terrifyingly. Then she picked up a thin twig that had fallen to the ground.

Whack.

“What are you doing!”

Aron shouted with a voice that barely came out due to hoarseness.

“Because of you, my life is over! I’m stuck in this place!”

Whack.

“How is that my fault… ugh.”

Hegelia placed her hand on the cheek of the man she once loved. Then she slapped him hard. Aron’s head turned to the side and then came back.

“You bastard, even killing you wouldn’t be enough!”

Hegelia’s palm and the twig beat Aron’s sunburned skin mercilessly. He took the beating quietly without resisting.

“You terrible man…”

Tired from hitting, Hegelia dropped the twig with a thud. Then her eyes met Aron’s.

“I… I was wrong. I hurt you, so you can hit me as much as you want.”

His eyes were moist with tears. Hegelia’s heart, which had been venting her anger, was shaken by his tears.

“I won’t be fooled. There’s no reason for you to say such things to me!”

“…”

Aron said nothing. He just kept his head down. So she decided to ask something else.

“Who tied you here?”

“Askal.”

If it was the Duke of Artenbach, sending one person to an island owned by the imperial family would be no big deal.

Hegelia felt sorry for Aron, who looked like a dog with its tail between its legs.

“Hegelia, I’ve been tied here for two days. It’s been… so hard.”

Charming black hair and eyes like the sun were looking at her. She finally moved her hand slowly to untie the rope binding him to the tree.

“Let’s go to the villa for now. You should eat some… Aack!”

He staggered weakly towards her, barely able to stand properly. Then suddenly he changed, grabbing her hair.

“What are you doing!”

“Ahahaha! Who would have thought this was Roded Island.”

Aron gripped Hegelia’s hair more tightly and threw her to the ground. She fell with a thud, overpowered by his strength.

“You shouldn’t have untied me from this tree.”

Aron’s eyes flashed dangerously. Hegelia gritted her teeth.

“Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this to me? I’m the Crown Princess!”

“You talk like a Crown Princess.”

Aron opened the cap of the canteen Askal had left. Then he grabbed Hegelia’s chin, who had fallen, and forcibly opened her mouth.

“How dare you lay hands on my body?”

Hegelia couldn’t do anything, frightened by the strong man’s strength. She resisted weakly but became docile after one kick from him.

“This island can’t sustain two people. So I have to live.”

Aron tilted the canteen and poured it into Hegelia’s mouth. She drank it unconsciously, gulping, and then screamed, realizing she had drunk poison, scattering sand that had gotten into her fist.

“I’ll just have to endure here for a few months and then leave on a supply ship.”

Aron turned away, leaving Hegelia choking and coughing.

He grinned, thinking he could stay here until his creditors forgot about him, then trick someone who came on a supply ship and go to a foreign country. At that moment.

Thwack.

His vision flashed, and blood flowed from his temple. He had been hit on the head.

“You… you bit…”

When he turned around, Hegelia was standing with her eyes blazing, holding a wooden club.

Aron saw Hegelia raising the wooden club high in his blurring vision.

Watching her scream about how dare he try to kill her, he realized that Askal had lied about putting poison in the canteen filled with water.

He also realized that he might have to live in this hell with Hegelia, a terrible nemesis.