NRIAD 01

Chapter: 01

On the day of her wedding to the fiancé she had loved unrequitedly for more than ten years, Eloise Grinnell decided to die.

Because in this life, there was simply no way for her to kill him.

It was after a night that should have been the culmination of their love. Eloise had fallen asleep as though unconscious in the arms of her lover, who had refused to let her go. When she opened her eyes, however, the bed beside her was empty.

Sunlight spilling across the bed illuminated the place where her lover had been. Eloise languidly blinked her red eyes, which looked as though they held the colors of the sunset, and recalled the long, long night they had spent together.

The hot breath that had swallowed her voice. The voice that had reassured her whenever she grew anxious. The blue eyes that had captured her gaze.

“…Kyle loves me.”

Eloise muttered without thinking.

Anyone who saw those eyes would have had no choice but to say the same.

Her fiancé, Kyle Roxton, loved Eloise Grinnell.

No, he had to love her.

If he did not love Eloise, her mother would never be cleared of the false accusation of treason and would be executed.

“So he’ll keep his promise.”

As Eloise muttered to herself as though reassuring herself, she suddenly noticed her own hand lying limply beside her.

Her body still bore all the traces of the previous night, and things she did not remember being put on her were draped over her.

The nightclothes and robe were one thing, but what were the rings on her ring finger and pinky?

Trying to determine what the rings were, she turned her hand over and looked at the backs of them.

One was a ring set with a blue diamond the same color as Kyle’s eyes.

And the other…

Her eyes flew wide open at the familiar design.

It was the head-of-house ring bearing the Grinnell family crest.

It was her mother’s ring—the ring Kyle had promised would be spared along with her mother.

Eloise abruptly sat up.

And it wasn’t only the ring.

Around her neck was the sinner’s necklace that sealed away the power of her red eyes.

“Why is this…?”

Her mother’s ring and the sinner’s necklace.

The meaning behind the two was obvious, but rather than accept the truth, Eloise leapt out of bed, almost screaming, and rushed outside the room.

“Kyle!”

Fortunately, Kyle was here.

Kyle, who had been getting dressed in his formal attire with the assistance of his attendants, rushed toward her. When Eloise stumbled, he caught her with one hand.

The scent of roses that had intoxicated Eloise throughout the long night enveloped her once more.

“I knew this might happen, so I even put a robe on you.”

His voice was light and excited, almost playful.

“What am I supposed to do when you come out with everything falling open, Ellie?”

Holding Eloise in his arms, Kyle straightened her robe and buried his face against the nape of her neck.

“You must be tired. Why did you get up already?”

He whispered lazily, giving her a playful kiss.

“Want me to stay beside you until you fall asleep again? You can sleep until late today.”

Sleep until late?

Today was the day of their wedding.

Her heart pounded a warning.

Eloise pulled away the long fingers that were caressing her waist and asked,

“Our wedding?”

Kyle had to marry her today.

Marrying Eloise instead of the fiancée his father had chosen for him meant that he was giving up his position as Crown Prince.

“We are getting married today, right, Kyle?”

At Eloise’s words, the servants who had been watching the two of them anxiously froze in place.

The rustling sounds stopped, and silence filled the room.

“Kyle.”

Eloise was the only one who could not endure the silence in this place.

“Answer me before I tear your formal clothes to pieces.”

Only then did Kyle raise his head.

Unlike Eloise, his flawless face showed not a single sign of disarray, though a troubled expression briefly crossed it.

He silently looked down at Eloise before sighing and speaking to his attendant.

“You all, leave.”

“Pardon? But…”

At Kyle’s cold gaze, the attendant immediately fell silent and hurriedly led the servants out.

A short while later, when the room had become quiet, Kyle pulled Eloise over to the sofa and sat her down.

“Do you like the ring?”

Kneeling on one knee before her, he gently stroked Eloise’s fingers and asked with a soft smile.

“You wanted it, didn’t you? It’s yours now.”

“The head-of-house ring?”

Eloise hurriedly asked.

“Did my mother give it to you?”

She had already heard the answer from him several times, but Eloise wanted to hear it one more time.

She would probably keep wondering until the moment she entered the wedding hall, until the very moment she stood before the priest and swore her vows.

Whether Kyle had confessed the truth about the culprit behind the “Tea Party Incident” to the Emperor.

Marquis Benedict, the Emperor’s lover and Kyle’s father.

The man who had once been the Emperor’s enemy—he had poisoned the former Crown Prince and framed Eloise for the crime in order to make Kyle the Crown Prince.

The Emperor herself had been born as the Second Princess, but after losing all her siblings in an unfortunate accident, she had ascended to the throne.

“Kyle. Did you keep the promise you made to me?”

Kyle was the only person who could prove Benedict’s crimes.

He was Benedict’s son, but he was also a victim who had been abused by him.

That was why Eloise had believed Kyle when he said he would expose his father’s crimes.

Besides, Kyle loved her.

Even if it meant losing his position as Crown Prince, he would never allow the Duke of Grinnell to be executed unjustly.

At least, that was what Eloise had believed.

“…I’m still the Crown Prince of the Arkan Empire.”

No.

That was what she had believed.

“I’ll be taking the Lady of the Robelia family as my Crown Princess in two hours.”

Eloise could not understand what Kyle was saying.

“The Duke of Grinnell has been executed.”

His voice did not enter her mind. It merely skimmed past her ears.

“There was a council meeting yesterday. The nobles and elders don’t want even a single person to retain the power of the Red Eyes… I won’t lock you in prison, but you’ll have to wear the necklace until the Goddess’s blessing disappears.”

Kyle caught Eloise’s hand as it unconsciously reached toward the necklace and brought it to his face.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise. But, Ellie, I’ve spent my entire life trying to become Emperor. So how could I throw everything away and become the son of a criminal?”

“…Everything?”

Yesterday, he had clearly said it.

That all he needed was her.

That he did not care about status or power, and that they should leave everything behind and go somewhere far away, where the two of them could live happily.

But the lover who had told her she was his everything was now saying something entirely different in the same voice that had once whispered words of love.

“Ellie. I can’t live like you.”

With the angelic face from a masterpiece that had once made Eloise’s heart flutter.

“If I become Emperor, I’ll restore the Duke of Grinnell’s honor and return everything you lost.”

Kyle pulled Eloise into his arms.

“Even if you lose the Goddess’s blessing, even if you are no longer a noble lady, I will never abandon you.”

Eloise remained blankly held in Kyle’s arms when a question suddenly occurred to her.

What had made him like this?

What had she done to make the man who betrayed her speak as though he were granting her mercy?

“So wait for me for just a few years. Okay?”

And then Kyle said,

“You love me, don’t you?”

That gentle voice made her heart drop with a heavy thud.

It was because of Eloise.

The blind, devoted love she had poured into Kyle for ten years had made him like this.

Arrogant.

Shameless.

Able to stroke her hair with the very hand that had taken everything from her.

“I’ll come back at dawn. Get some rest.”

Kyle kissed the top of her head and stood.

When he opened the door, the servants and knights waiting for the Crown Prince bowed their heads.

“Don’t let anyone in. And don’t let her out, either.”

“Yes.”

The knight who had bowed toward Kyle’s retreating back turned around as soon as his footsteps faded.

A sneer spread across his face as he looked at Eloise.

“You were so arrogant before, but it seems you’ve finally found a position that suits you.”

His mocking voice flew toward her.

“Being a kept woman hidden away in the back rooms, but who cares? You can stay by His Highness’s side just as you wished. I’m sure the Duke of Grinnell will be very proud of you from heaven.”

“…”

“Oh, and if His Highness ever grows tired of you, let me know.”

The knight bowed his head and slowly closed the door.

“Out of consideration for our old friendship, I’d be happy to teach you how to please a man.”

Bang.

His sneering face disappeared beyond the door.

Alone, Eloise sat there as warm sunlight fell across her hands.

She remained motionless, as though she had forgotten how to move.

Only after the sunlight passed over her body and disappeared into the darkness far away did Eloise finally realize one thing.

Her mother was dead.

She had died while Eloise was rolling around in bed with Kyle.

“You love me, don’t you… he said.”

The man who had refused to say he loved her even at the moment when he should have been begging her forgiveness would, today, when Eloise had lost everything, obtain everything he had ever wanted.

And so Eloise decided to die.

Because if she wanted to kill the son of her enemy—the man who had imprisoned her and gone to welcome his new Crown Princess—she would have to risk her own life.

After the wedding ceremony, a grand banquet began.

In an annex of the Crown Prince’s Palace, far enough away that the lively atmosphere of the banquet hall could not reach it, the knights guarding the room where Eloise was imprisoned opened the door for a maid carrying a meal.

Remembering Kyle’s order that Eloise be made to eat even if she had to be forced, since she had not eaten a single meal since yesterday, the maid placed the tray on the table.

“Lady Eloise.”

The maid approached the bed to wake the sleeping Eloise, but suddenly stopped.

And a few seconds later—

“Aaaah!”

Hearing the scream, the knights outside immediately rushed into the room.

“What happened…?!”

Eloise was lying on the bed the maid was pointing toward.

The sheets were drenched in blood, so much of it that it had turned almost black from how long it had been there.

It seemed she had tried to forcibly remove the necklace, because her neck was covered in blood.

One of the knights immediately tried to stop the bleeding after discovering the wound, but the thick necklace wrapped around her neck was in the way.

“Bring a doctor and a priest immediately!”

A short while later, a doctor and a priest arrived.