Chapter 03

I drove the final nail into the coffin.

“If you go through with what you’re planning, something terrible will happen before long.”

“Something terrible?”

“The very thing you desperately want to avoid. Ronheim’s Snow Mountains will once again be stained with blood.”

And while trying to protect Ronheim, you’ll be caught up in Andrea’s schemes and murdered.

I swallowed the rest of those words.

If I spoke openly about his death, it would only provoke needless resistance.

Instead, I elaborated.

“If you sell that gold mine to Count Elvern to raise funds for your army…”

Although his expression barely changed, the brief silence that followed told me I’d caught him off guard.

After all, I had just revealed a plan that only he was supposed to know.

“Count Elvern will use it to join forces with Andrea. He’s not interested in the mine itself. He wants to station troops there. He may look foolish, but he’s actually quite cunning.”

“Let’s assume everything you’ve said is true. Why would Count Elvern do such a thing?”

“Because Andrea, the future emperor after getting rid of me, despises you.”

The fact that Andrea had spent so much time around me to convince everyone I was insane also meant that I had spent just as much time around him.

I knew far more about Andrea than most people realized.

For some reason, he hated Kallius with an intensity that made no sense.

The two had hardly ever crossed paths. Kallius spent most of his time either managing his territory or fighting on distant battlefields.

Yet Andrea loathed him.

In my previous life, Andrea tried to kill Kallius whenever an opportunity presented itself.

That was one of the two reasons I had chosen him.

I looked steadily into the man’s eyes.

This time, I’ll save him with my own hands.

No matter how desperately Andrea sought to kill him, I would keep him alive.

My goal in this new life was simple:

To obstruct everything Andrea wanted to accomplish.

To steal everything he desired.

And the first step toward that goal was marrying the man Andrea hated most and saving his life.

If Andrea hears I’m going to marry Marquis Rodrian, he’ll absolutely lose his mind.

I couldn’t wait to see the look of fury twisting his face.

Kallius tilted his head.

“Weren’t you on good terms with the prince?”

“That’s only a rumor. Just like the rumors that I’m insane… or that you’re a cannibal.”

“…”

I met his gaze with dignified composure.

“You should choose me, Marquis.”

I spoke with complete confidence.

But Kallius wasn’t so easily persuaded.

“If what Your Highness says is true, why would you agree to a marriage where you gain nothing in exchange for a worthless gold mine?”

His sharp eyes searched mine, trying to read my true intentions.

“What exactly do you stand to gain from this marriage?”

It was an easy question.

Without hesitation, I answered,

“I want to leave this place.”

Whether he believed how desperately important that was to me didn’t matter.

I looked him straight in the eye.

“I think… you’re the one who could take me farther away than anyone else.”

At those words, that strange smile appeared on his lips again.

“If your goal is simply to escape as far away from here as possible… then Ronheim would certainly be the perfect destination.”

He had used the word escape.

That single word told me he had decided to believe me.

Just then, I saw Andrea’s attendants pouring out of the banquet hall.

They were obviously looking for me.

I hurriedly addressed Kallius.

“If you decide to accept my offer… come find me.”

There really wasn’t any time left.

Several of Andrea’s attendants had already entered the garden.

“Then… goodbye.”

As I turned to disappear into the shadows beneath the trees, he stopped me.

“One last question.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so interested in that gold mine?”

I answered with a mysterious smile.

“I’m going to plant a flower garden.”

“…A flower garden?”

“As I said before, I simply adore flowers.”

Especially flowers that would one day become worth far more than gold itself.

His grip on my arm loosened.

Then something settled gently across my shoulders.

He had taken off his coat and draped it over me.

“…?”

Startled by the unexpected kindness, I looked up.

“My clothes are soaked.”

“You’ve gotten wet.”

For some reason, his voice felt much warmer than it had only moments ago.

“Th-thank you. Then…”

I’d never imagined what to do in a situation like this.

So I awkwardly bowed my head before fleeing as if I were escaping.

Using the shadows cast along the palace wall as cover, I hurried back toward my residence.

Behind me, I faintly heard Kallius let out a quiet, amused laugh.

* * *

After Chloe disappeared, Kallius remained where he stood, quietly watching the place she’d left behind.

“I’d heard the rumors and worried she wasn’t doing well…”

Remembering the determined expression she’d worn while declaring she wanted to plant a flower garden, a smile slowly spread across his lips.

It was completely different from the cold, dangerous aura he had exuded only moments before.

“You’ve grown into quite an interesting woman, Chloe.”

Everything she’d said had astonished him.

How had she known all of that?

And what kind of circumstances was she hiding?

At first, he’d assumed she was trying to blackmail him with some weakness she’d uncovered.

But hearing the tremble in her voice had made all that suspicion seem ridiculous.

“Shaking like that…”

He lowered his gaze slightly, the faint smile still lingering on his lips.

A trace of disappointment flickered through his eyes before disappearing beneath lowered lashes.

“So… you didn’t even recognize me.”

“That hurts.”

* * *

After parting ways with Kallius and leaving the garden, a cool breeze swept over me.

I hurriedly pulled his coat tighter around myself.

It was so large on me that it felt more like a blanket.

Although it was still late summer and the wind wasn’t especially cold, this body had always been unusually sensitive to the cold.

Every time the wine-soaked hem of my dress brushed against my legs, goosebumps spread across my skin.

Thank goodness I’m wearing thick pajamas.

Kallius’s coat certainly helped, but my thick sleepwear was doing just as much to keep me warm.

I was probably the only person wearing pajamas this heavy in the middle of summer.

That had allowed me to sneak out quietly without calling any maids to help me change.

If I’d worn lightweight summer pajamas, they would have been too revealing to leave my room in.

Not that Andrea’s maids would’ve let me leave in the first place.

Andrea constantly worried that his mentally unstable younger sister might disgrace the imperial family.

So, despite being a princess, I had no personal maids or attendants of my own.

How generous of him to assign his maids to me instead.

They stayed glued to my side day and night, never allowing me a single moment alone.

Such touching devotion.

Sneaking out was unbelievably difficult.

Their surveillance had been relentless.

The fact that I’d managed to slip through and attend the banquet unnoticed was an achievement in itself.

I wonder what kind of face Andrea made when he heard I’d appeared at the banquet.

Thinking about him made me clench my teeth.

The betrayal of being deceived by the one person I’d trusted above everyone else still ached deep inside my chest.

“I won’t let myself be fooled the same way again.”

“And…”

“I’ll make you pay.”

I’ll make you experience the same pain and humiliation that you forced upon me.

It was then—

“What happened at the banquet to make you use such scary words?”

A youthful voice drifted out from behind one of the corridor’s pillars.

The speaker was a skinny boy who looked around twelve years old.

His shabby clothes seemed completely out of place within the imperial palace.

At his waist hung a battered sword with countless chips along its blade.

Though his youthful features hadn’t fully matured yet, it was obvious he would grow into a strikingly handsome young man.

His brilliant golden eyes shimmered with confidence, and his cheerful smile seemed to glow.

I knew him.

Kal.

My old friend whose body never grew older.

“Kal.”

His eyes widened in horror when he noticed the wine stains covering my pajamas.

“Are you okay?”

I gave him a bitter smile and nodded.

I still had no idea how he managed to sneak into the palace every time, but he always found his way in through some secret passage known only to him.

Ever since we’d first met when I was ten…

He had remained by my side until the day I died.

The only person.

The only friend who had stayed with me in secret all those years.

“Everything went according to plan. Even these stains were part of it.”

Spilling wine on myself had been necessary if I wanted an excuse to leave the banquet naturally with Kallius.

“So many people kept staring at me.”

“I thought if I slipped in quietly while everyone was distracted, nobody would notice.”

“That was… a pretty naïve expectation, wasn’t it?”

“It was wishful thinking.”

“Very wishful.”

“How could anyone ignore the imperial princess showing up in pajamas?”

I shrugged.

“Everyone already thinks I’m crazy.”

“So isn’t it perfectly normal for a crazy person to do crazy things?”

“This outfit suits me perfectly.”

Kal grinned mischievously.

“You’ve got a point.”

Then, in a quieter, more serious voice, he asked,

“But… what if Marquis Rodrian rejects you?”

Kal knew what I was planning.

But knowing my plan didn’t mean he knew why I’d made it.

Even with Kal, I couldn’t tell him I’d regained memories of a previous life and returned from death.

If I did…

Even my only ally might think I had truly gone insane.

From his perspective, I’d suddenly declared Andrea my enemy overnight.

The fact that he supported me without demanding an explanation was already something I was grateful for.

Kal hated Andrea.

That alone was enough for him to stand on my side.

“He won’t reject me.”

My proposal was simply too tempting.

And right now, he desperately needs someone willing to help him.

Kal still looked unconvinced, but he let the matter drop.

“But why him?”

“You barely know Marquis Rodrian.”

“Well…”

“…?”

The other reason I’d chosen Kallius.

“He has a face I like.”

“Blech!”

Kal pulled such an exaggerated expression that I couldn’t help laughing.

“So you’re planning to seduce him for a reason like that?”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t you hear Andrea’s maids gossiping?”

“They say that man bathes in the blood of the people he kills on the battlefield.”

“That’s why the smell of blood never leaves him.”

“Is that some kind of special skincare routine?”

“When I saw him earlier, his skin did look nice.”

“It looked really soft.”

Kal stared at me with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

His reaction was so adorable that I burst into laughter.

“Sorry.”

“I was joking.”

“I don’t care about those ridiculous rumors.”

“You know as well as I do that everyone believes Andrea when he says I’m insane.”

Kal nodded in agreement.

“True…”

“Fine.”

“Then what does matter?”

“It can’t really be just his face…”

I quietly looked into Kal’s eyes.

“He reminds me of you.”