Chapter 6.

 Please, Just Fall Unconscious…

Could that red mark on his wrist be the wine that got on him earlier, or was it Marquis Desmond’s blood?

‘Sob… I don’t know. I’m scared….’

In the middle of the quiet garden.

The smell of blood filled the air more thickly than the scent of flowers.

The Third Prince’s shadow stretched long beneath the moonlight.

Only then did it truly sink in that I had witnessed something I absolutely should not have seen.

‘Who decided that this would be the meeting place…?!’

And why, of all places, did the Third Prince have to be disposing of someone here?!

I resented everything in the world.

But most of all, I resented—

The person quietly gesturing for me to come closer,

wearing the most pleasant smile imaginable.

“Vanillin? I said, come here.”

His voice was gentle, which only made him more frightening.

—Come here and let me kill you in my hands.

That was what it felt like he was whispering.

“If you were in my position, Your Highness… would you go…?”

“Vanillin, you’re not me.”

“…….”

The moment I went over there, I would die.

Anyone who wasn’t an idiot could figure that out.

My tear ducts had already stopped functioning properly.

‘God, why are You putting me through such a trial….’

But I couldn’t run away, either.

If I ran, I had no idea what would happen behind my back….

Yeah. I didn’t even want to imagine it.

“Sob….”

In the end, I swallowed hard and took a step forward.

One step.

Two steps….

And the Third Prince’s face drew closer.

Even at a time like this, he looked incredibly kind and beautiful.

His eyes shone even more brightly beneath the moonlight,

and the corners of his lips curved into a lovely smile.

Truly, he had a frighteningly beautiful appearance.

Scuff.

I moved another step.

Now that things had come to this, there was only one way out….

With tears welling in my eyes, I examined the Third Prince’s vital points.

Between the eyebrows, the eyes, the throat, the solar plexus….

Places where I could knock someone unconscious in one blow.

‘Dai told me not to hit people.’

He said I could kill someone if I made a mistake.

He had told me not to throw my fists around carelessly just because I was absurdly strong.

But….

‘Dai isn’t here anymore.’

And what am I supposed to do when I’m about to die?!

I still want to live!

I squeezed my eyes shut.

And then—

“I’m sorry, Your Highness…!”

I simply surrendered my body to instinct.

Bam!

My fist slammed straight into the Third Prince’s solar plexus.

I put every last bit of strength I had into it.

So hard that it felt as though every bone in my body was trembling.

“……!”

The Third Prince’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected it.

Slowly, very slowly, his upper body bent backward.

And then—

“…Well, look at you.”

His smile disappeared.

What remained was an expression devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

His gaze was so cold and terrifying that it was downright murderous.

It was as though he had finally revealed his true nature.

“……!”

His bloodstained hand reached toward me, calm yet swift.

If he caught me, I would die. I was certain of it.

I swallowed my tears.

I thought that much strength would be enough….

‘Dai, you said I was strong….’

Liar…!

I should have hit him harder!

Regret surged through me, but the deed had already been done.

There was nothing I could do.

Crying, I swung my fist again.

Whoosh!

Thud!

The attack struck him once more.

The Third Prince flinched as he sucked in a breath.

“Urgh…!”

Drip, drip.

Blood fell onto the grass.

He had coughed up blood.

“You, Vanillin….”

The Prince’s eyes were unfocused.

It seemed as though he was desperately clinging to consciousness despite how badly he wanted to collapse.

One step,

then another.

The murderous intent directed at me prickled against my skin so intensely that it was terrifying.

I could feel his determination to kill me.

However—

“P-please, just fall unconscious….”

I was desperate too…!

With tears welling up in my eyes, I clenched my tiny fists and trembled as I pleaded.

Then, pouring all my desperation into it—

Bam!

I struck the same spot again.

And finally—

“Guh…!”

Thud!

The Third Prince collapsed.

He had passed out.

“H-haah…. I’m alive.”

I sank to the ground.

The garden was utterly silent, without even the sound of birds or wind.

“Waaah.”

I sat there and cried tears of relief.

“Okay. I’ve cried enough, so now I should get to work….”

Fighting!

I weakly pumped my fist in determination.

The garden of the Fifth Detached Palace.

I hugged my knees while sitting between the three fallen men, trying to organize my thoughts.

‘As I thought… maybe there really isn’t a god in this world.’

Who could have known?

Who would have guessed that the gentle Saint’s true nature was that of a monster?

I had my suspicions, but still….

The fact that he had stepped on Marquis Desmond’s cloak in front of the Celestial’s Porcelain had definitely been intentional.

‘How did he even know about this place? Did he follow Dai?’

Then was the wine on his sleeve part of his plan too?

Had he naturally left the banquet hall just so he could come here and kill those two…?

“Ahh…. Never mind. That’s not what matters right now.”

I muttered gloomily.

My eyes fell on Dai’s body, sprawled in the distance.

“Serves you right. Making a little girl work for you.”

Muttering absentmindedly, I finally began to grasp the reality of it.

Dai really wasn’t here anymore.

And I was finally free from being worked like a slave, too.

“Do we… need a funeral, Mr. Fixer?”

If I were the one who had died, I was sure that was exactly what he would have said.

Grab. Scrape, scrape….

I grabbed one of Dai’s legs and dragged him away.

Soon, his body disappeared behind the tall bushes.

Surprisingly, I felt almost nothing.

Well, he had died after mouthing off to a prince, so perhaps it was practically a natural death….

Next was Marquis Desmond.

Surprisingly, he was still faintly breathing—

But I did the same thing.

I grabbed him by the leg and dumped him beyond the bushes.

He was a big man, so this one was a little more difficult.

“And next… His Highness the Prince.”

I looked down at the Prince’s face for a moment.

His motionless face looked angelic, even though I knew what was hiding inside.

“He really is handsome….”

Those honey-colored locks, those long, sorrowful-looking eyes….

‘Enough.’

I shook my head vigorously.

This was no time to leisurely admire his face.

Knocking him unconscious was only a temporary solution.

‘Can this be called a blessing in disguise?’

Fortunately, I had something useful.

With a sigh, I pulled out the Divine Contract I had carefully stuffed into my pocket.

I had kept carrying the contract because I was afraid Fixer Dai would hit me if I threw it away.

‘A contract that stakes one’s soul….’

“…….”

My deliberation was long, but my decision was swift.

I searched through the abandoned building from top to bottom and found a pen lying around.

Then I began scribbling additional clauses onto the contract.

“…Urgh.”

Yulian opened his eyes with a frown.

Perhaps because he had lost consciousness, his head was throbbing as though it might split apart.

He pressed a hand to his forehead and searched through his memories.

‘I was dealing with Desmond Gordon.’

The dog of the Second Prince who, drunk out of his mind, had lost all sense of what he should and shouldn’t say and finally gotten on Yulian’s nerves.

Remembering the things he had spewed, Yulian twisted up the corners of his lips.

—I know people like Your Highness very well. The type who pretend to be gentle to people’s faces while plotting all sorts of schemes behind their backs!

Well, he had quite the sharp instinct.

—I’ll uncover everything, for the sake of the Empire!

Of course, he had been an idiot to the point of practically begging Yulian to take his life.

‘Uncover everything?’

How could Yulian possibly sit still after hearing something like that?

Everything had been perfect right up until he dealt with that idiot….

Yulian’s brow furrowed sharply.

“Vanillin.”

Right. He remembered now.

The pink-haired maid who had held the porcelain.

That woman had interfered again this time.

‘How should I deal with her?’

Yulian clicked his tongue in irritation.

There was no denying it—this was a crisis.

Vanillin had seen his true nature.

‘I absolutely cannot let her live.’

His ugly inner self was a secret even the Emperor did not know.

He played the role of a Saint, pretending he had never spilled a drop of blood with his own hands, but it was nothing more than an act.

A foolish Emperor,

and siblings who were even more foolish.

Yulian found it unbearably unpleasant that everyone above him was an idiot.

That was why he had become a Saint.

Pretending that he had no interest in the throne,

pretending to be nothing more than a good and benevolent man.

It made dealing with his political enemies easier, and it even allowed him to become the one exception in the eyes of the suspicious Second Prince.

Hide beneath the surface, then overturn everything in one decisive move.

He had endured all these years for that very purpose.

‘…So no. I can’t let everything be exposed now.’

After building such an elaborate tower, shouldn’t he be allowed to enjoy its fruits?

Yulian slowly stretched his body.

His upper abdomen was still throbbing.

He almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

“That tiny little thing….”

Who would have thought she had been hiding such incredible strength?

He had been completely fooled by her appearance—her trembling, helpless act as she pretended to be weak and pitiful.

That had been his mistake.

‘For now… I need to move.’

How much time had passed?

An hour? Two hours?

It would be troublesome if it was too late to return to the banquet hall.

The Marquis’s death had to have nothing to do with him.

He couldn’t afford to arouse even the slightest suspicion.

But he also needed to hurry over and deal with that tiny, adorable maid….

“…How irritating.”

Everything had become a mess.

Just as Yulian’s eyes were beginning to turn cold—

“Did you call for me…?”

A voice came from a few steps away.

A clear, bright voice that seemed completely out of place in this gloomy backyard.

“…….”

Yulian slowly turned his head.

And there, astonishingly, stood Vanillin.

“I’m sorry….”

Vanillin was kneeling with both hands raised, as though she were being punished.