“What brings you to my palace? Arthur.”

At Ileon’s words, Arthur smiled broadly and pulled out a potion from his bosom.

The red liquid sloshed inside the bottle.

At a glance, Ileon recognized the liquid in the vial as an aphrodisiac and narrowed his eyes.

“Why do you have this? I gave this out specially because Reina asked for it.”

“Ileon, tell your damn sister to stop doing useless things. She might end up getting killed if she’s not careful.”

Arthur said as he put the potion back into his bosom.

“…Celiya, no. Princess Anastasia is mine. I’ll kill anyone who interferes.”

Arthur’s bright yellow eyes flashed fiercely. Seeing this, Ileon raised one eyebrow.

This one and that one, they were all crazy about Celiya.

Beautiful flowers naturally attract insects.

But far too many insects were drawn to this particular flower.

Butterflies, flies, cockroaches – all sorts of insects coveted that flower.

‘Is it something that draws one in like a magnet, making one want to possess and desire it?’

Ileon mulled over the words Celiya had said to him.

−I must decline Your Majesty’s invitation to dance.

It was the first time in his life that Ileon had been rejected.

‘I thought she had eyes, that she wouldn’t be able to refuse easily.’

Celiya was like sand slipping easily through his fingers, never once caught.

The princess of the Shan Kingdom.

Ileon never expected the person from the prophecy to still be alive.

If she was indeed a threat to him, it would be right to kill her.

But could that fragile Celiya really be in a position to threaten him?

Even if she was once a princess, Celiya was now nothing.

Without Dietrich, she would crumble in an instant in his hands.

For the first time, Ileon thought that the prophecy he believed in might have been wrong.

“If you’re thinking about Anastasia, I’ll kill you.”

Ileon narrowed his eyes at Arthur’s words, who had returned even more of a madman than before.

“What exactly are you planning to do with that aphrodisiac?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Arthur smiled sinisterly.

Ileon knew Arthur’s dark intentions but deliberately pretended not to notice.

“Deal with the consequences yourself, Arthur.”

“Of course I will.”

Arthur sneered as he got up from his seat.

Just before leaving the room, Arthur turned his head back and said.

“Tell your sister. If this happens one more time, I’ll tear her limbs apart and throw her as food for the demons.”

Clack.

The door closed.

Alone in the room, Ileon thought of his sister who would be thrown as demon food.

Reina was nothing but a hindrance, of no particular help to Ileon.

Of course, it was Ileon who had made Reina that way.

He had thought she might be somewhat useful, but now she was no longer needed.

“…I think I could throw her to the demons as food right now.”

Celiya dreamed of the past.

Fluffy clouds floating in the blue sky, the red lion banner of the Shan Kingdom fluttering in the wind, her mother’s bright laughter. Her father, the king, teaching her dagger techniques and worrying about her, saying men couldn’t be trusted.

−Princess, Princess!

Popo, the talkative parrot with red feathers, a gift from her father.

It was truly a nostalgic dream.

−Princess, all men are wolves. You must be especially careful because you’re beautiful. Use your ability to teach them a lesson.

−Princess, men are especially weak down there, so if anything happens, stab them there with your dagger!

−There’s nothing we can’t say to the Princess!

Her personal maids, who were even more talkative than Popo.

Celiya reached out towards them as they smiled at her.

As Celiya reached out, their bright faces were covered in blood.

The kingdom’s flags burned, and all those close to Celiya died with terrible screams.

−Princess, run away!

As they died, they didn’t cry out to be saved.

They told her to run away.

A powerless life where she could do nothing despite having an ability.

In the ruined space, Celiya burst into tears.

A kingdom turned to ashes in an instant. Allied nations that perished in a single day.

All of this happened because of a single prophecy.

With a final image of Ileon smiling at her, Celiya woke up in a cold sweat.

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was Dietrich sleeping with his eyes closed.

Celiya realized she had been sleeping with her head on Dietrich’s lap all this time.

Dietrich had fallen asleep in this position, unable to move for fear of waking her.

Celiya saw Dietrich’s sleeping face for the first time now.

Dietrich always fell asleep later than her and woke up earlier than her.

Celiya examined Dietrich’s sleeping face closely.

Dietrich was sleeping without making even a breath sound.

Flawless skin, long lashes turned downward, a masculine jawline, a sharp nose bridge, lips tightly closed as if they didn’t know how to smile.

Celiya marveled anew at Dietrich’s face.

Even though it was the face she saw most often, Dietrich’s face always felt different each time she looked at it.

Celiya’s finger touched Dietrich’s cheek.

Her finger slid along the contours of his face and touched Dietrich’s lips.

Celiya pressed Dietrich’s lips gently and then released them.

Celiya closed her eyes and laughed silently at the soft sensation.

When Celiya stopped laughing, Dietrich had already opened his eyes and was looking down at her.

Dietrich blinked his eyes slowly a few times.

Red pupils appeared and disappeared repeatedly under his long eyelashes.

“Celiya.”

It was Dietrich calling her in a voice still heavy with sleep.

“…I’ll protect you.”

At Dietrich’s words, Celiya felt a lump in her throat.

Feeling the anxiety that had been pressing on her heart completely disappear, Celiya nodded with a faint smile.

“I’ll protect you too.”

At Celiya’s words, a gentle expression came over Dietrich’s face.

Dietrich answered as he tidied Celiya’s disheveled hair.

“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll do the physical work, so you don’t need to overexert yourself.”

“I want to protect you too.”

Dietrich nodded.

“If that’s what you want.”

The two smiled at each other.

Where doubt had completely disappeared, firm trust took its place.

In a world where no one could be trusted, being able to trust each other completely was a great fortune.

In the quiet dawn before the stars had set.

Celiya and Dietrich’s clear laughter carried on the wind.

The next day.

“Reina, I hear you gave the aphrodisiac I gave you to someone. Please make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future. Or at least don’t get caught by anyone. You’re not a five-year-old child anymore, are you?”

Reina had to listen to Ileon’s nagging from the morning.

“What about you, asking that Celiya woman for a dance? What are you doing?”

“‘Elder brother’? You should call me ‘Your Majesty’ now.”

Ileon smiled, narrowing his eyes.

With his hair cut short and dressed in dark fabrics, Ileon no longer looked as gentle as before.

As Reina puffed up her cheeks in displeasure, Ileon took something out of his bosom and placed it in Reina’s hand.

“…What’s this?”

“It’s a needle containing a sleeping drug. If injected into a blood vessel, even an elephant won’t be able to get up for half a day.”

Reina’s eyes widened at Ileon’s explanation.

“Really? You’re giving this to me?”

“Yes. But there’s only enough for one use, so use it carefully.”

Ileon smiled benevolently, putting on the face of a gentle elder brother.

“Thank you! You’re the only one I can rely on, elder brother.”

Reina left the room happily.

Clack.

As soon as the door closed, Ileon looked at where Reina had been sitting with a contemptuous expression.

‘She’s really so simple. Foolish and easy to manipulate.’

It was Ileon who had raised Reina to be such a spoiled child.

Reina wasn’t always this foolish from the beginning.

Those who inherited the blood of House Gredrik tended to be far more intelligent than others.

Ileon took care of all the things Reina should have done, saying they were his responsibility.

Thus, Ileon raised Reina like a delicate princess.

He thought a foolish sister who knew nothing was better than a clever one.

Reina was also of direct lineage, so originally she should have competed for the position of head of the family, but the spoiled Reina had no interest in the family headship and only showed interest in glittering jewels, dresses, or the handsome Dietrich.

In this way, Reina became Ileon’s doll.

A foolish sister who could be manipulated at will.

She would soon become demon food, but this was of no concern to Ileon.