Chapter 7.

Shall We Make a Deal…?

“…….”

Yulian’s eyebrow twitched.

‘She didn’t run away.’

He had expected her to flee for her life.

And what was with that posture, like a five-year-old child being punished?

Faced with a situation he could not comprehend according to common sense, Yulian let out a hollow laugh.

“What are you doing right now?”

“C-can’t we settle this by talking?”

Watching Vanillin smile awkwardly, Yulian exhaled softly.

Talk?

“Sure. That sounds good.”

As if it did.

If he were really that softhearted, he never would have killed Desmond.

The corners of Yulian’s eyes curved gently.

‘How irritating.’

His secret had been discovered.

And by someone he had never expected.

The only thing he could offer someone who had witnessed the side of the Saint that even the Emperor did not know about was death.

“Next time, I’ll definitely try talking it out.”

Still wearing his gentle smile, Yulian drew the dagger he had hidden against his thigh.

His target was that slender neck.

He intended to pierce it in a single stroke.

Whoosh!

The bright blue blade rushed toward her defenseless neck.

But at the very moment the blade was about to pierce her skin—

“L-let’s talk this out….”

An inexplicable force pressed down on him.

His movements were completely restrained, as though some unknown power had suddenly immobilized him.

It wasn’t me who stopped him.

It was simply that some mysterious force had acted upon him, preventing him from moving.

“…….”

Yulian’s eyes turned cold.

“What did you do?”

“I’m not doing anything….”

I said it in a tiny voice while desperately trying to calm my racing heart.

‘I thought this might happen… but he really is scary!’

My heart was pounding.

It had to be because of the speed of his attack.

The blade had been at my neck before I could even blink.

‘He looks like he wouldn’t even pluck a flower….’

I should have realized it when he remained perfectly fine even after taking several blows to his vital points, but he possessed a body that was practically beyond human limits.

I simply hadn’t noticed because it was hidden behind that soft, smooth mask.

“Vanillin.”

His chilly voice fell over my disheveled pink hair.

I looked up.

The smile had disappeared from the man’s face.

“I’m not playing word games with you, so speak clearly.”

“…Yes.”

“What did you do to me?”

There it was again—the face I had seen earlier.

Yulian’s expressionless eyes were chillingly cold.

The air itself seemed to press against my throat.

I shrank back slightly and held out a sheet of paper.

“…This.”

Yulian silently took the paper from me.

Unlike ordinary paper, its material was unusually smooth and stiff.

The corners of his lips twisted upward.

“Haha—A Divine Contract?”

“Yes…. That’s right.”

I forced the corners of my trembling lips upward.

A special piece of trash that meant I would surrender my soul to the nearest member of the Imperial family the moment I used it.

But now that I was facing death, I had remembered something else.

—But why do you call it a contract…?

—Do you use everything only for its intended purpose?

That was what the head maid had told me when I asked about the Divine Contract.

In other words, its original purpose really was to serve as a contract.

Then… couldn’t I add clauses to it?

It had been a gamble with my life—

‘And now that I think about it… it looks like I succeeded, right?’

Thank goodness….

Swallowing back tears, I looked up at Yulian.

He was reading the contract in a cold voice, as though spitting out every word.

“‘Oswald Yulian shall not cause any harm whatsoever to Vanillin, the other party to this contract….’”

His voice was so icy.

It was enough to make me wonder if winter had suddenly arrived.

“No murder for hire, no poisoning, no torture of any kind…. You’ve written down every conceivable method of killing someone in meticulous detail.”

“Haha….”

“How amusing.”

Your eyes certainly don’t look amused….

I avoided his gaze, doing my best to ignore the murderous aura pouring down over me.

The man spoke sarcastically in a gentle voice.

“You might as well have added that I would die if Vanillin died.”

“There’s another page. Should I add that too…?”

“…….”

Yulian fell silent, looking utterly dumbfounded.

I mumbled awkwardly, realizing my mistake.

“Ah…. You were being sarcastic…?”

“…….”

For some reason, the look he gave me became even more terrifying.

I quietly knelt down again.

“Your Highness, couldn’t you please spare me?”

“After all, I can’t kill Vanillin anymore.”

“It seemed like you were planning to kill me somehow….”

Yulian didn’t deny it. He merely raised an eyebrow.

So he really had been thinking about it… How scary.

Swallowing both a sigh and my tears, I smiled awkwardly.

“Instead of killing me, would you perhaps consider making a deal with me?”

“A deal?”

“Yes, I mean, um….”

“Vanillin, you’re more devious than I thought.”

The man cut me off before I could explain what kind of deal I meant.

He lowered his eyes with a sorrowful expression.

…If it weren’t for those clothes and the blood on his hands, he would have looked so pure and delicate.

“I can’t even lay a finger on Vanillin, and yet you’re suggesting that we make a deal?”

I pressed my lips together.

“Yes. That’s right.”

I absolutely couldn’t back down here.

“Because I know my place.”

“Ah.”

“If you spare my life, I’ll become someone who can help Your Highness in any way I can.”

Yulian slowly tilted his head to one side.

“Someone who can be useful.”

“I’m very capable!”

I clenched my fist and explained.

“If there’s someone Your Highness dislikes, I can quietly and efficiently take care of them for you… And I can also get rid of all those troublesome people who keep bothering you.”

Well, probably.

“So… would Your Highness consider taking me into your service?”

Blink, blink.

I put on the most harmless expression I could and appealed to him.

I said I wanted to be useful to him, but of course, I was doing this entirely for my own sake.

‘That personality of his…. I’m sure of it. There’s no way he’ll leave a potential threat alive.’

Having spent so long with Dai, I knew quite a lot about people with seriously warped personalities.

A persistent man like him would definitely find some loophole in the contract and kill me somehow.

So before that happened, I had to become his ally.

I had to make him think I was worth keeping alive.

The man stared at me for a while before giving a slight nod.

“What did you do with the two of them?”

The subject suddenly changed.

He meant Marquis Desmond and Dai.

I answered half a beat late.

“I… hid them in the bushes.”

“Why?”

“Because the younger nobleman was dead, so I wanted to conceal his body. And I wasn’t sure whether you intended to kill the Marquis or not.”

I answered and swallowed nervously.

I could feel it.

This was an interview.

‘I have to answer well.’

Was Vanillin worth turning into an ally?

I had to prove it.

“The bleeding was severe, but it wasn’t enough to kill him instantly…. I don’t know the circumstances, but there might have been a reason to keep the Marquis alive. So I thought it would be better not to do anything more to him.”

I continued calmly.

“At the same time, it couldn’t become known that something had happened to Marquis Desmond, so I hid him. I stopped the bleeding, but I didn’t treat him. I waited for Your Highness to regain consciousness.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Yulian nodded with an impassive expression.

As if that was enough.

But I didn’t stop.

“And—”

My voice trembled, yet each word came out clearly.

“I also sent word to the banquet hall. I told them that, out of consideration for the servants who had worked hard all day, Your Highness had taken some time to personally freshen up and tidy yourself.”

“Oh?”

Yulian’s eyebrow rose.

As though he hadn’t expected me to think that far ahead.

“So even if Your Highness returns an hour or two from now, there shouldn’t be any trouble.”

I finished speaking and firmly closed my mouth.

My eyelashes trembled with nervousness.

Did I pass?

…What if I failed?

‘Should I hit another vital point…?’

While I was desperately debating it in my head, the man got to his feet.

“That was a decent response.”

“…! Then….”

“Let’s see, for now.”

He gestured for me to stand while I was still dutifully kneeling.

Then he turned around abruptly.

He didn’t even bother to check whether I was following him.

‘I-I’m alive….’

At least, my life had been extended for the time being.

I hurried after the Third Prince and led him over.

“I hid them over here.”

“You hid them better than I expected.”

Yulian lightly pulled aside the bushes.

On top of Dai’s body,

Marquis Desmond was still lying completely motionless.

He was literally hanging on by nothing more than a thread.

“Oh dear.”

With a sympathetic expression, Yulian swung his dagger at the Marquis.

“He’s still alive. Persistent, isn’t he?”

“Guh—urk…!”

The Marquis, who had been faintly twitching, soon stopped breathing altogether.

Without hesitation, Yulian kicked the now-cold body farther away.

They were so far inside that no one would notice them unless they deliberately searched for them.

Watching him, I cautiously asked,

“Was killing him really the right answer…?”

“No. Leaving him alone would have been the correct choice. Vanillin had no way of knowing what decision I would make.”

“But what if he had somehow escaped…?”

“If he had managed to leave alive in that condition, then that too would have been God’s will.”

The man said it as though it were nothing important.

Somehow, that answer surprised me, so I looked up at him.

“Do you… believe in God?”

“What do you think?”

I really don’t think he does….

When I swallowed my words, Yulian gave me a flawless smile.

“Follow me. We’re going to the palace.”

“Th-then…?”

“Let’s discuss the details.”

He glanced at me.

“About our deal.”