<CHAPTER 01>
He Really Doesn’t Like Me
‘This person really doesn’t like me.’
Covered only in a glossy chemise, Evelyn had that thought.
Rexfail, Crown Prince of the Empire and her one and only husband.
Even if she wasn’t the only one to him, to Evelyn, he was the only one, forever.
His body swelled and sank as if it were alive.
It must feel like every vein is burning, unrelieved heat running through him, scorching his brain.
Still, Rexfail didn’t reach for her.
‘Any man with functioning parts would inhale that and be unable to resist wanting a woman.’
Her father, Duke Maxwell Dame Membro, had declared it without question.
He said she should draw his seed, become the mother of the next emperor, fulfill her duty.
‘But Father, he doesn’t even reach for me in this state.’
The man’s struggles, his breaths coming in harsh gasps so close to her, were as desperate as a hunted wild horse.
He suffered as if he would die without release, yet still turned away from the woman prepared for him.
His red eyes flashed through the disheveled ash-gray hair, moving up and down as he tried to focus, staring daggers at Evelyn.
“Embrio.”
A deep, cracked voice called her old name, the name of Evelyn’s noble family, famous for their mastery of poisons and remedies.
“I will not touch even a fingertip.”
The smooth voice declared it.
But even without that, it would have been obvious.
Sweat-soaked, tense muscles, the red eyes shining between messy strands of hair, all made his refusal unmistakable.
“Your Highness.”
She called him, teeth clenched, but there was no response.
So Evelyn steadied her trembling hands and placed them on his cracked thigh.
Her touch on his overheated body made Rexfail shiver violently, as if sensing cold.
“Stay away…”
The voice, strained and guttural, sounded like a threatened animal.
As a child, she thought even wild animals could seem tame—a cat hiding its claws, a well-groomed colt.
Now, he smelled like an untamed beast that would tear her apart at the slightest wrong move.
‘We made you like this.’
It was clear whose hand had started the long illness of the emperor barely clinging to life.
It was clear who had wished for the sudden death of the empress who bore the crown prince.
Once, when Evelyn knew nothing, Rexfail had smiled shyly at her with bright, sparkling eyes.
His kindness had melted the guarded Evelyn in an instant, despite having a father who saw her only as a tool for ambition.
She stopped trying to trace when his long rejection and coldness had begun.
It was meaningless to dwell on it, not the time for that.
“I will help you.”
She felt that if she didn’t act, something terrible would happen to the man suffering so much.
“Before morning comes, you won’t be going anywhere anyway.”
Outside, her father’s men waited.
They hadn’t entered, but if she tried to leave while matters weren’t over, they would surely intervene.
‘They might even do something cruel.’
“Rex.”
She called softly, and the muscles in Rexfail’s thigh trembled.
His jaw tightened, and the veins in his neck bulged.
His eyes flashed, full of a desire to kill, yet beautiful even soaked in humiliation.
“Embrio.”
Ignoring the hissed sound, Evelyn moved closer on her knees.
“You need me right now.”
Evelyn was the only daughter of the Embrio family, the woman Rexfail hated and cursed endlessly.
A woman whose family had brought misfortune and unanswered deaths to his ancestors, whose body was deemed suitable for his revenge.
‘It’s lucky I’m from that family!’
She chewed the detoxifying leaves hidden inside her cheek.
The bitter taste mixed with the metallic tang of blood made her gag slightly.
Careful not to swallow too quickly, she placed her hand on Rexfail’s shoulder between his parted thighs.
Their eyes met quietly.
A signal: she would deliver the antidote with her mouth, and he should drink it.
When hesitation flickered in his eyes, Evelyn smiled faintly.
Yes, it was natural he wouldn’t trust an antidote from the daughter of a commoner.
But with no other way, he would drink the concoction of poison, blood, and leaves.
And to do so, he would touch her body, her skin, her lips.
He would allow contact with the lips of a sinner, pulsing as if with a heart on them.
As the antidote trickled, his movements grew desperate.
The flesh that pressed against him welcomed it greedily, and Evelyn silently wished the detox would happen slowly, so that the body she loved would not leave her.
***
“Useless.”
With eyes cold of any warmth, Duke Maxwell Dame Membro, head of the family, slapped his daughter’s cheek.
‘……………I’m sorry.’
Evelyn instinctively flinched, guessing her father’s anger.
‘He’s very angry to hit where it shows.’
Though the taste was unusual, violence was common.
Doctors attending simply ignored it, only new apprentices were startled by the Duke’s flushed hands.
“Why can’t you bear a child? Why can’t you perform your duty!”
The enraged Duke smashed a display case.
Beautiful but useless small ornaments shattered.
“Did you do it right? Did he truly hold you properly?”
Even such blunt words no longer flushed her face.
She nodded without emotion.
Veins bulged on the Duke’s forehead.
Yet, why did a man who had never failed seem on the brink of madness?
Evelyn endured quietly, knowing this was usual.
But today, it was different.
“Bring him in.”
At her words, the door opened.
Inside was the man bound with ropes and gagged.
“A man who carries the blood of the royal family.”
Evelyn’s eyes turned to him.
His struggling, gasping body looked familiar.
Gasping breaths, bloodshot red eyes, swollen pants.
“……………Father.”
Her face went pale.
As she stepped back, Duke Maxwell Membro smiled a bitter, knowing smile.
“It is enough that he carries the royal blood. He does not need to be the Crown Prince’s child.”
At the same time, the ropes binding him loosened.
Even with the gag still in place, he lunged toward Evelyn.
She barely managed to maintain distance and realized her father had left the room, leaving only her and the man.
Her body’s purity was not the concern.
It was fear, yes, but more than that:
‘If he carries the royal blood and I bear his child… Rexfail will die.’
A puppet descendant of her father’s making would take his place.
And so, Evelyn ran toward the open window.
No time to think of the height, or the risk of death.
Only the thought: she had to escape.
She leapt through the window.
Rexfail, losing track of her, followed through the glass.
The long, tormenting ordeal ended in an instant.
“Raven!”
