Chapter 17
Prina stared at the wine Declain had taken, feeling a sense of utter futility.
‘What on earth have I done?’
Not only had she hovered around an assassin to save Hugh and swapped the drink for Daisy Hall’s, but she had even gone as far as to switch the poisoned wine itself... all to save Declain Caesar.
“You shouldn’t look so disappointed.”
“...Pardon?”
A soft voice drifted down from above her. The empty glass tilted once more at the tips of his fingers.
“That’s why people mistake others for someone else. Did you think I was Dven?”
Declain’s eyes curved in a way that was terrifyingly beautiful.
Who was Declain Caesar?
He was a cruel man who possessed the martial prowess to crush a human skull from the shadows with a mere flick of his wrist, and he was a man who stopped at nothing—torture, imprisonment, threats, and ruin.
A man like that... was Hugh?
The knight who had been suddenly named trembled beside them.
“This fellow is so stiff, he’s no fun at all.”
Declain smiled as if he were amused, but Prina and everyone else froze like stone.
His voice carried a light, melodic laughter, but it held a confirmation, not a question. It was a warning disguised as curiosity.
“...”
“I’ve never had an experience like this before.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“I’m struggling to decide how I should react.”
It meant he already suspected her. He knew she had swapped the contents.
Prina felt a chill that made it hard to breathe. The sensation crawling down her spine was so vivid that she couldn’t even deny it.
‘This is...’
It looks like I’m completely ruined.
“You may go now.”
His voice was gentle, but to Prina, it was a tone she had always feared. He had been scary when he was Hugh, but now, that terror had doubled.
“Oh, and just to add, this isn’t a farewell.”
He smiled brightly. It was an excessively pretty smile, as if nothing at all had happened.
* * *
After leaving the banquet hall, Prina fled back to the Imperial kitchen as if running for her life.
‘No! Nooo!’
She simply could not accept this situation.
“...F-first, c-c-calm... calm down and, l-let’s, let’s try to organize the situation.”
I don’t even know what I’m saying right now.
1. Hugh is Declain Caesar.
2. But why was he in a relationship with me...?
-He even confessed that it was love at first sight.
-I repeat, Hugh—no, Declain—confessed that.
3. But he doesn’t seem to remember me. Probably...
4. I boldly ruined his plan right in front of his eyes...
“Argh!”
My head is going to explode.
I tried to organize my thoughts, but nothing is making sense!
‘The confession of love at first sight was suspicious from the start!’
But at the time, Prina had fallen for it. Why? Because Hugh’s face was so beautiful, and...
‘I thought it was a transmigrator buff...’
...I must have lost my mind.
But life was reality.
‘Is Hugh really Declain?’
If so, why did he date me? Why did he...
Every action of Declain Caesar in the novel was a result of thorough calculation. He was a man who, by nature, loved no one and never allowed anyone to get close to him. However, whenever he needed something, Declain would seduce his target without hesitation. As a result, many fell for his despicable acting. They believed without a doubt that he loved them, and they followed him to their ruin.
‘...But do I have any value to him that would make me worth using?’
At that moment, a passage that had flickered through the novel came to mind. Does one’s memory not become clearer on the threshold of death?
[He used the anxiety of a bastard living like the dead as bait, seduced them with sweet words to break them down, approached a noble on the verge of collapse with the face of a savior, and to the knight who swore loyalty...]
And Prina’s thoughts naturally stopped at one sentence.
‘A bastard living like the dead.’
Could that possibly... be me?
It certainly seems that way...
Somewhere, she could hear the sound of her life hitting a dead end.
* * *
On the outskirts of the Imperial Palace.
A locket pendant floating in the air shimmered under the moonlight.
*Click.*
The lid of the pendant opened, revealing a blood-stained portrait. The subject’s face was completely obscured by the dried blood.
Declain stared intently at the pendant. Why hadn’t he thrown away this piece of trash yet? He couldn’t fathom the reason.
Something felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, yet it wouldn’t surface. It had gone beyond annoyance to the point of thirst. Whenever he stared at the pendant, an impulse to return to the past would rise within him. If he hadn’t shed blood in the enemy nation’s castle back then, would he have known the owner of the face that annoyed him so?
He couldn’t even remember why he had injured his head in the first place. It was certain that a portion of his memory had been blown away. He had thought it was fine since it wasn’t enough to interfere with his daily life, but...
That was his miscalculation.
It was incredibly bothersome.
He would have preferred the delusion to last longer.
“...Your Excellency, why did you drink the wine yourself?”
The leaves rustled in the eerie wind. The aide watched Declain, who was carefully rolling the pendant in his hand under a tree.
According to the plan, that wine was supposed to be swallowed by Dven, the knight planted by Count Seaton. The spy was supposed to receive his karmic retribution right there. Declain had merely intended to watch the face of Count Seaton turn pale with leisure.
But he had suddenly changed his plans.
“There was no poison in it to begin with.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
The servant who brought Count Seaton’s ceremonial wine was an assassin they had bribed. And they had even received word that the mission was a success.
“Investigate the maid who brought the wine.”
“Yes. I will look into it immediately as you instructed.”
Renia Felt.
It was certain that she had intervened. He needed to know the reason why she had done such a thing. Whether she was truly a spy for Count Seaton...
“Are you the knight of Lord Caesar?”
Why did that voice suddenly come to mind?
The ones who benefited most from the wine being swapped were Dven, who was supposed to die smoothly, and Count Seaton, who was to be framed. Was she trying to save Dven? Since there were many contradictions in her actions to label her a mere spy, his thoughts naturally concluded there.
Perhaps because of that thought, he felt irritated.
That was why he kicked the man who had collapsed at his feet.
“Gah!”
“Sir Dven, you’re bleeding quite a bit. Does it hurt?”
Declain looked down at the dying Dven, who was bleeding out. The foolish knight had ambushed Declain as soon as the banquet ended. It seemed the back of Declain, who hadn’t even brought a sword, had looked defenseless.
“What can you do? If you were going to live like a dog, you should have properly judged who your master was.”
“Ugh... you... you too, one day... will never be safe, you terrifying monster...”
Even in the pitch-black silence, countless stars floated in the sky. Declain seemed lost in thought for a moment before he slowly laughed.
“It seems I must send another gift to Count Seaton.”
Declain slowly picked up the longsword that had fallen to the ground. It had originally hung at Dven’s waist, but now it was a sword held entirely in his own hand.
This was the outskirts of the Imperial Palace, where human traffic was cut off. Therefore, there was plenty of time to appreciate the screams as he carved away the flesh throughout the night.
“...And Your Excellency, I have something to report regarding the stolen Caesar heirloom.”
“Report it.”
Declain replied indifferently, pointing the tip of his blade.
An object that had vanished without a trace while he was away at the battlefield. It was a ring he had always worn. Who on earth had stolen it, and by what means?
Declain’s red eyes sank coldly.
Even if they had stolen it, they would never be safe. The moment the ring recognized that the wearer was not its master, it would emit a terrible curse, miserably withering and killing the usurper’s body.
“It is said that a tracking relic was discovered on the Arche Plateau. It is coming up for auction soon.”
At the unexpected news, Declain rested his chin on his hand.
“It seems I will be able to find the heirloom soon.”
The life of the thief, whose whereabouts were unknown, was already as good as being in his grasp.
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