Chapter 1

I Came to Keep My Promise

It was a dark night, and Edellis was making her final preparations. Tomorrow night, she would leave the house she had grown attached to.

I almost forgot the most important thing.

She suddenly remembered that she had not prepared any gold coins.

Since she might not be able to exchange her jewelry for gold coins right away, having some coins was essential.

Edellis bent down to take out the pouch she had secured under her bed.

But at that moment, the window suddenly opened, and a strong wind blew inside.

The heavy curtains shook wildly in the wind.

Edellis’s long, curly golden hair, which reached down to her waist, was also blown about, suddenly covering her eyes.

When she brushed her hair aside with one hand, she saw the shadow of a man flickering between the curtains.

Edellis was startled and tried to scream, but she was so shocked that no sound came out properly.

She hurriedly stood up and reached out to pull the cord to call a maid.

But before she could, a large hand grabbed her wrist.

It was the man who had appeared between the curtains.

Unable to do anything, Edellis trembled and looked up at the owner of the hand.

It was too dark, and he was standing with the moonlight behind him, so she could not see his face properly.

But her eyes, accustomed to the darkness, soon noticed his red hair and beautifully shining golden eyes.

The moment Edellis confirmed the color of his eyes and hair, her eyes widened.

“Could it be you, Rehan? Is it really you?”

“Do you… remember me?”

“How could I forget?”

He had once been similar to her in height, but now he was a head taller than her, with broad shoulders. Anyone could clearly see that he had the appearance of a knight.

Edellis found his appearance completely unfamiliar.

If he had not had red hair and golden eyes, she might not have recognized him.

But even with only those clues, she recognized that he was Rehan because she had never forgotten him.

“How have you been all this time?”

When Edellis happily called Rehan’s name, which had become unfamiliar after so many years, he smiled softly and sat down on the edge of the bed where she was sitting.

There were so many things she wanted to talk about with Rehan.

What he had been doing all this time, whether he had been well, why he had never sent her even a single letter, and… whether he could help her.

In the end, Edellis could not wait for Rehan to answer and quickly continued speaking.

She was planning to leave this place tomorrow, so she did not have much time.

Rather than waiting for his answers, she needed to tell him what she wanted to say first.

“Rehan, do you remember? The promise you made to me before you left…?”

Back then, when we were children, we made a promise.

You promised to save me.

You said you would protect me from anyone, no matter what you had to do.

“I have never forgotten it. Not even for a single moment.”

The tension on Edellis’s face disappeared when she heard his determined words.

“But… may I still keep that promise?”

“Of course!”

Unlike Rehan’s hesitant attitude, Edellis was so happy that she got up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Surprised by the warmth of her delicate body after so many years, Rehan’s eyes widened.

He could not move a single finger for a moment.

Then, at last, he hugged her back and buried his face against the nape of her neck.

The sweet scent of perfume mixed with Edellis’s natural fragrance filled his nose.

“Ah!”

Edellis laughed in relief, but then remembered her situation and pushed him away.

“Why are you doing that?”

With her hands on his shoulders, Edellis spoke urgently.

“Take me and run away!”

“What?”

“A person came a little while ago. The Emperor says he is going to make me his Empress. I don’t want to become Empress!”

The eyes of the man who had felt as though he possessed the entire world while holding her trembled with confusion.

Rehan’s face darkened. He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally forcing the words out.

“Is… marrying the Emperor really that terrible to you?”

I hate it. Of course I do.

Ever since Edellis learned that this world was a novel and that she was the same person as the ‘Edellis Brill’ who appeared in that novel, her goal had always been to escape the Emperor.

For some, becoming the Empress was the greatest honor.

But if she became Empress, she would be stabbed to death by the Emperor’s sword.

So she had promised herself that she would never become Empress and would simply live a long life as the daughter of a marquis.

“I want to be with you, Rehan, not the Emperor.”

Before coming here, Rehan had constantly worried about what he would do if Edellis had forgotten him.

Even if he had never forgotten her for a single moment, Edellis might not have felt the same way.

Expecting a mere commoner like him to remain unforgettable was far too much to hope for.

But Edellis was saying that she did not want the Emperor.

She only wanted to be with him…

Rehan was overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion and could not continue speaking.

“You… want to be with me?”

Rehan forced the words out as if he were chewing on them.

There was something restrained in his voice, making Edellis shrink back.

“Y-Yes! It isn’t like I only have disadvantages! I studied things like medicine, agriculture, and commerce a lot, so even if I live as a commoner, I won’t be too much trouble… probably?”

She thought so, but Rehan might think differently.

There is no reason for Rehan to be chased by the Emperor just to save my life.

As she thought about it, confidence gradually disappeared from her voice.

If this had been the Rehan she knew from the past, he would have agreed to follow her without even thinking about it.

But seven years had already passed since they had separated.

Just as his appearance had changed, his thoughts might also be different from the Rehan she remembered.

“I also prepared a lot of jewelry and gold coins that I received from the Emperor as engagement gifts. If we live without being greedy, won’t we be okay?”

Rehan raised one hand and gently stroked Edellis’s cheek.

It was something he had often done before leaving her, but somehow, she felt embarrassed now, and her face turned red.

His hand was much larger than before, and rough with calluses. It felt unfamiliar.

Rehan pressed his forehead against hers.

Just like the day he had left.

“Please be greedy. Very greedy. I want to give you everything.”

“If I become greedy, even my father won’t be able to handle it. I don’t intend to lose all sense of my position and become greedy while running away.”

“Your position…?”

Rehan gave a strange smile as he continued stroking her flushed cheek.

His actions were not much different from how he had acted before leaving her.

But his atmosphere was completely different.

So Edellis turned her head slightly away and continued speaking.

“A-Anyway! Do you think it would be easy for me to give up everything I’ve enjoyed until now?”

Rehan looked at his hand, missing the warmth that had slipped away from it.

Then he wrapped his arm around Edellis’s waist, who was still in his embrace.

“You don’t have to give anything up. I will come to take you before it gets late tomorrow, so please wait for me.”

“I was originally planning to leave by myself tomorrow night.”

Rehan let out a sigh of relief.

While he had been hesitating, wondering whether she had forgotten him, he had almost lost her.

Naturally, his arms tightened around her.

“If you don’t come by tomorrow afternoon… I’ll leave by myself. And then I’ll never wait for you again. Understand? So you have to come and get me, okay?”

Edellis held tightly onto his arm as she spoke.

Her words sounded almost like a threat.

But in truth, she needed him desperately, and that desperation could clearly be heard in her voice.

Rehan was even more desperate than she was.

He nodded, promising himself that he would come early.

“Don’t worry, my lady. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will definitely come for you. It will be a long journey, so please rest.”

Rehan laid Edellis down on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her neck.

He told her to sleep, but she could not fall asleep because of her anxiety and kept looking at him.

Knowing she would leave with Rehan gave her a sense of security, but the anxiety about the future that she had deliberately ignored while preparing to leave alone began to rise again.

If he did not come, it felt as though it would hurt even more than when she had planned to leave alone in the first place.

“You have to come tomorrow.”

“I will come for you early.”

Rehan’s large hand covered Edellis’s green eyes.

His warm body heat coming through her darkened vision gave her a sense of security.

Even after hearing him promise several more times that he would return for her, Edellis finally fell asleep, satisfied.

Edellis was making one final check of the luggage she would take when she left with Rehan.

She was wondering whether to wear comfortable clothes for the escape or clothes decorated with many ornaments that could later be exchanged for money.

“A-Afraid you’re there, my lady!”

At the urgent voice of a maid outside, Edellis hurriedly shoved the packed bag under the bed.

She pretended to be embroidering and told the maid to come in.

The maid, who had been impatiently stamping her feet outside, opened the door.

“This is no time for embroidery! I was told that His Majesty the Emperor is personally coming here to take you!”

“What?!”

Edellis’s face turned pale.

It had only been a week since she had heard that she would become Empress.

And there were still three days until she was supposed to enter the palace.

But of all days, the Emperor is coming to take me today, the very day Rehan and I planned to leave…!

Edellis quickly organized her thoughts.

She knew that blaming the Emperor or complaining about the situation would only make the distance between herself and the Emperor grow shorter every moment.

Then what about Rehan? I finally met him!

She was worried about Rehan, who had promised to wait until noon today, but she had to escape before entering the Imperial Palace.

She desperately comforted herself by thinking that since Rehan had not forgotten her, she would be able to see him again.

Already, she could see horses racing toward the estate in the distance, raising clouds of dust.

Regardless of whether the maid beside her was surprised, Edellis pulled out the bag of comfortable clothes she had hidden under the bed and tried to leave the room.

But her father opened the door before she could push it open.

“F-Father.”

“Edell, His Majesty the Emperor will arrive soon, so you must go to the entrance immediately.”

Her father was about to grab Edellis’s wrist when he noticed the bag in her hand.

“Are you making Her Majesty the Empress carry her own luggage? Take it downstairs immediately and load it into the carriage.”

The maid looked wronged, but quietly obeyed the order.

Edellis suddenly had the luggage she had prepared taken away from her.

It was obvious what would happen if she left the estate alone without anything.

In the end, she had no choice but to give up everything and follow her father down the stairs to stand at the entrance and greet the Emperor.

Edellis desperately repeated Rehan’s name in her heart.

Rehan, Rehan… please! You said yesterday that you would come before it got late!

But contrary to her hopes, countless horses and carriages were rushing toward where she stood.

One horse, decorated far more splendidly than the others, was far ahead of them.

When the person riding it dismounted, Edellis could not believe her eyes.

The person who walked toward her with slightly hurried, wide strides and stopped before her was…

The person she had been desperately waiting for.

“Rehan!”

Edellis called Rehan’s name desperately.

She had almost given up hope.

But he had come, just as he promised.

Overjoyed, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest.

Rehan’s strong arms wrapped around her in return.

“Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor.”

It was only after hearing the stiff voice of her father, Marquis Brill, that Edellis realized the Emperor had arrived.

She was afraid of what the Emperor would do after seeing his fiancée embracing another man.

Knowing his personality, he would be furious, believing that she had trampled on the pride of the Imperial Family.

Edellis hurriedly pushed Rehan away and looked around for the Emperor so she could defend him.

She was already destined to die by the Emperor’s sword, but Rehan was not supposed to suffer the same fate.

But what Edellis saw was her father bowing deeply.

The knights who had arrived afterward also knelt on one knee and bowed their heads as if greeting their lord.

“My wife, Edellis. I have come to keep my promise. From now on, I will protect you.”

Rehan spoke with a bright smile, paying no attention to those around them.

But Edellis was filled with nothing but confusion.

The person standing before her was definitely the same Rehan who had come to see her last night.

He had red hair, golden eyes, and still had traces of his childhood face.

No. Maybe not. Even if the person standing before me is Rehan, there is no way Rehan could be the Emperor.

How was she supposed to accept this?

She still could not accept reality.

“…I’m asking just in case.”

“Please, ask.”

Rehan smiled brightly and pulled her into his arms.

“Are you, by any chance… the Emperor?”

“I am, my Edellis. May I call you Edell?”

“That isn’t important right now! Are you really the Emperor? You?”

Rehan smiled shyly and nodded.

As Edellis looked at Rehan’s fresh, smiling face, she felt as though all the blood had drained from her body.

This can’t be. This makes no sense…

Rehan had returned after seven years.

As the tyrant who would kill her in the future.

That day had been no different from any other day for Edellis.

She received lessons from her tutor about the qualities expected of a noblewoman, and during her free time, she quietly read books in her study.

She ordered a maid to bring her some simple refreshments and looked around the study, wondering what book to read.

She thought she had already read almost every romance novel in the study, but then she discovered a book she had never noticed before.

The spine of the book seemed to shine as if it wanted her to discover it.

Wondering about it, Edellis called for the maid.

But the maid had not yet returned from the kitchen, so there was naturally no answer.

The fact that it was a book she had never seen before attracted her attention, so she pulled it from the bookshelf.

“The Fate of Flowers…?”

Inside the opened book, there was nothing but blank white pages.

“What? It’s only a cover?”

She gripped the book and rapidly flipped through the pages.

Then she found some letters.

Curious about what could possibly be written in a book that was practically a sketchbook, she searched again for the pages containing the writing.

When she opened the page and tried to read it, a bright light suddenly burst out.

A clear image appeared in midair.

Edellis was so surprised that she dropped the book, but the image remained without shaking.

『Her Majesty the Empress!』

『Your Majesty the Emperor, how could you do this to Her Majesty the Empress…!』

Middle-aged men of considerable age called out to the Emperor and Empress in agitated voices.

A young woman was clutching her chest after being stabbed by a sword.

But a young man with a blurred face cruelly pulled the sword from her chest.

An enormous amount of blood burst from her chest.

But the man seemed to have no interest in it anymore and sneered.

『Ha! Empress? Do you not know what Edellis Cronod, no, Edellis Brill, did while holding the position of Empress?』

Edellis was shocked as she watched the image.

The man was calling the woman writhing in pain ‘Edellis Brill,’ the same name as herself.

Moreover, the face of the woman lying on the floor and coughing up blood looked very much like her own.

Seeing a woman who shared both her name and appearance bleeding to death made Edellis’s heart pound with an inexplicable sense of unease.

Even though it was only an image, the blood pouring from ‘Empress Edellis Brill’ looked so vivid that it seemed as though it would soak the entire carpet of the study.

『My Empress will become _____. If anyone has a complaint, step forward now.』

The Emperor pointed his sword at the others as he spoke.

The people who had just protested about how he could stab the Empress all fell silent like mute people with their mouths full of honey.

With that scene as the last image, a bright light burst from the book just as it had when the first image appeared.

Then, as if nothing had happened, only the ordinary study remained.

Edellis picked up the book from the floor and examined it again.

It was no longer shining.

“What on earth happened?”

A strange glowing book had suddenly appeared, along with a video.

And the video had shown her name.

Unable to calm her shocked heart, Edellis told the maid who arrived at that moment.

With her heart trembling from anxiety, she showed the open book to the maid.

But nothing happened.

“Huh? That can’t be. It was definitely there just now…!”

She insisted that it could not be true, showing the book and telling the maid to look at it, saying that the writing was right there.

But the maid asked what on earth she was talking about and said that she could not see any writing at all.

Edellis could not believe her.

She took the book and went outside.

As she passed other maids, she showed the book to them as well.

But contrary to Edellis’s expectations, none of them could read a single word from the book.

Edellis ordered the maids to keep what had happened today a secret and decided to think about it alone in her room.

After returning to her room, Edellis sat at her desk and tapped the cover of the book with her fingertip.

Unlike before, the book was no longer shining.

Looking at it, Edellis murmured softly.

“Writing that only I can see, my name, a face that looks like mine… A face could be similar, but the name and even the family are the same?”

The first page of the book, which had definitely been blank before, now contained the words ‘Characters.’

To find out what had changed, Edellis held the book close, almost as if she were about to enter it, and read through it.

There were four main characters in total.

Of them, only one had a name written down.

Edellis Brill.

Herself.

『The only daughter of Count Brill. After ____ becomes Emperor, she becomes Empress. Later, she becomes jealous of the ____ who appears and commits all kinds of evil deeds, eventually being stabbed to death by the sword of ____.』

Edellis was overwhelmed by a strange feeling as she read the description of ‘Edellis of the Brill family,’ who shared her name.

The woman who was stabbed to death by the Emperor even had the same family relationships as her.

This isn’t real. It’s fiction. This makes no sense.

Even as she thought that, her heart began pounding faster because of the possibility that it might be true.

What if… it’s actually true?

She took a deep breath.

First, she decided to gather information, so she turned her attention to another character mentioned in the book.

His name was not written.

Only a short description was given.

Edellis traced the sentence with her fingertip and quietly read it aloud.

“He has red hair and golden eyes. He was kidnapped when he was young and, without knowing anything about his past, was called ‘Rehan’ and became a gladiator in the arena.”

There was only one sentence.

She was disappointed by the lack of information, but nothing would change simply because she wanted more.

“What should I do with this…? I suppose I have no choice but to find out.”

Rather than worrying endlessly about whether she would really be stabbed to death as she had seen in the book, Edellis decided to do what she could first.

She closed the book with a snap and hid it beneath her pillow.

Then she pulled the bell cord and instructed the maid to help her prepare to go out.

After getting ready, she climbed into the carriage that was waiting for her.

Once inside, Edellis gave the coachman an order.

“Take me to the arena.”

She had to find out whether the book really showed the future or whether it was merely fiction.

When Edellis arrived at the arena, she sat down with a trembling heart according to the guide’s instructions.

Watching gladiator matches was a popular hobby among nobles who had plenty of free time.

Therefore, even though the special seats were reserved for nobles of Count rank or higher, many nobles filled the seats.

In the arena, an attendant was already dragging away a gladiator by the ankle who looked as though he had already stopped breathing.

The floor was covered with bloodstains from earlier matches, and a fresh trail of blood appeared wherever the gladiator was dragged.

Why would anyone come to watch something like this?

Edellis cursed inwardly while enduring the bloody scene and somehow managed to remain seated.

“This match will be Red Rehan versus White Jak!”

When the announcer called out ‘Rehan,’ Edellis unconsciously stood up.

The person sitting beside her looked at her in confusion.

“My lady, the last match is the most entertaining one. Why are you getting up now?”

“…I’m not.”

Edellis felt cold sweat running down her back.

There really was a gladiator named Rehan in the arena!

She was sitting in a place where she could see the match quite well, but Rehan was wearing a helmet, so she could not tell whether his appearance matched the main character from the book.

Please, don’t let it be him…!

The gladiators, wearing red and white cloaks respectively, exchanged blows with their swords several times, leaving increasingly deep wounds on each other’s bodies.

Blood poured from their wounds, and every time they created an even deeper wound, the audience cheered.

As they continued bleeding, a pool of blood gradually formed on the floor.

Gold? No? What color is it?

Edellis desperately tried to see the color of Rehan’s eyes.

At that moment, a bright light reflected off his eyes, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.

And Rehan, waiting for that very moment, was suddenly slashed by Jak from his chest down to his abdomen.

Blood poured from his body as he collapsed to the ground.

“No!”

Without realizing it, Edellis cried out toward the falling Rehan.

Her voice was drowned out by the cheers, so there was no way he could have heard her.

Yet Rehan suddenly forced himself up and drove his sword into Jak’s abdomen, who had been smiling in confidence of his victory.

Finally, Rehan lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Jak, unable to understand what had happened, looked back and forth several times between the sword stuck in his abdomen and Rehan.

He tried to pull the sword from his abdomen, but soon collapsed to the ground.

“Woooooah!”

“Rehan! Rehan!”

“Jak! Jak!”

The audience erupted in excitement, shouting the names of the gladiators they had placed their bets on.

The announcer climbed into the arena and checked both men.

A faint breath could still be felt from Rehan.

But Jak’s pulse had completely stopped.

“T-The winner is…!”

The audience held their breath, waiting for the announcer’s next words.

“…Rehan! Rehan is alive!”

The moment the announcer finished speaking, the attendants who had entered the arena roughly pulled the sword from Jak’s corpse and grabbed both his ankles, dragging him outside the arena.

Rehan was treated little differently.

With an attendant holding each of his ankles and wrists, he was carried away in such a way that it was impossible to tell who had won and who had lost.

The place they passed was covered in fresh blood from today’s match.

The audience was thrilled by the horrifying scene and screamed until their voices became hoarse.

Edellis desperately resisted the urge to cover her ears.

She took the pouch she had prepared just in case and spoke to the guide who had been waiting in the special seats.

“Take me to the manager.”

The guide saw the thick pouch in Edellis’s hand and smiled brightly as he led her to the manager.

As Edellis followed him, the name of the gladiator Rehan continued to circle around in her mind.

There really is a gladiator named Rehan.

Then am I really going to die after being stabbed, just like in the book?

No. That can’t be… It could just be someone with the same name, right?

She repeated to herself several times that it could not be him.

Before she knew it, they had arrived in front of the manager’s office.

Inside, a manager wearing a black mask that covered more than half of his face welcomed her with a smile.

“Welcome, young lady of House Brill. What brings you to someone as lowly as me?”

The manager greeted her while trying to hide the excitement pounding in his heart.

When Edellis saw the manager’s greedy smile, she felt a strange chill.

“I heard there is a gladiator named Rehan.”

The moment Edellis mentioned Rehan’s name, the manager rejoiced inwardly.

If Rehan were sold today, there would be no need to spend money disposing of his corpse.

“Can I see him now?”

“Hmm, I’m sorry, but he is an important ‘product.’”

“You wouldn’t sell a ‘product’ without showing it to the ‘buyer,’ would you?”

The moment the word ‘purchase’ came from Edellis’s mouth, the manager’s smile grew even wider.

“Of course not.”

They left the office and descended into the basement, where a musty smell filled the air.

The manager knocked twice on a door, then opened it without even waiting for an answer.

The moment the door opened, the sharp metallic smell of blood filled the air.

At the manager’s instruction, the guide and a gladiator who had been exercising inside the room left.

Two men were lying on the beds, both unconscious from whatever matches they had fought.

The manager led Edellis to the bed farther inside.

On the bed before her was a gladiator with red hair.

It was Rehan.

The main character from the book.

A person who was clearly directly connected to her death.

At last, Edellis could no longer deny it.

What she had seen in the book was her own future.

She was going to be stabbed to death by the Emperor’s sword.