Chapter 15
A week later, I entered the imperial palace, following Cheodorn.
And then I saw it — people in the palace gardens gasping in shock at the sight of us, some even fainting.
“Why are they reacting like that? It’s as if they’ve seen a ghost.”
At my puzzled question, Cheodorn simply took my hand, expression unreadable.
Even though Prince Verdi’s faction was immensely powerful, Cheodorn was the Empire’s legitimate successor — and its most notorious troublemaker.
The first rumor I heard upon arriving in the Alpine Empire was that the crown prince had run away from home.
He had no fiancée. Every noblewoman who was ever mentioned as a potential crown princess candidate would soon meet with some mysterious accident. Some even said that the prince must be cursed — that he was punished by the gods for losing his mind.
In short, Cheodorn was surrounded by chilling, grotesque rumors.
“I’ve always been an outsider here. I was born in this world, yet I never fit in.”
His voice was tinged with bitter self-mockery. I stayed silent.
“They’re all dying to isolate me.”
Before I could come up with any reply, we arrived at the reception room where the Empress awaited us. A maid standing by the door announced our arrival, and we waited quietly.
Once permission was granted, the maid pushed open the elegant white wooden doors.
Inside, the Empress, who had been seated, froze mid-step as she recognized Cheodorn.
It was the same reaction as all the others we had seen on the way here.
Cheodorn turned to me, looking as though he had just remembered something.
“I guess it’s because I’ve killed a lot of people. That’s probably why everyone reacts that way.”
I stared at him, dumbstruck.
“If I hadn’t killed, I would’ve been killed. I just… wanted to live.”
Cheodorn smiled faintly and patted my head.
“Are you scared of me now?”
Rather than fear, I was more shocked.
Apparently, what had happened during the Royal Guard selection wasn’t rare for him.
Trying to stay composed, I said,
“…Honestly, a little.”
He gave a bitter smile, as if expecting that answer. So I found myself saying something unexpected.
“Repent.”
“What?”
“I’m a Yuhyo-girl — so it’s hard for me to just accept killing. But you had your reasons. God will forgive you. You just have to repent.”
I was being completely serious.
When I clasped his hands earnestly, he burst into laughter — real, full-bodied laughter that shook his shoulders. He laughed so hard I began to worry whether he’d lost his mind for real.
“Lady Ena Nox Rubiche.”
Only then did I remember we weren’t alone in the room.
That always happened when I was with Cheodorn — I’d lose my usual composure and forget my surroundings.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. Please forgive my rudeness. I am Ena Nox Rubiche.”
I offered my most graceful bow, drawing upon every lesson in etiquette I’d ever learned.
But the Empress seemed uninterested in my manners. Instead, she asked me,
“That’s not it, my dear. How did you do it?”
“…Pardon?”
“How did you manage to speak so naturally — so kindly — with Claude?”
Her expression was one of genuine bewilderment. I blinked, equally confused.
What was she talking about?
“I’ve never seen Claude smile like that before…”
“Mother.”
Cheodorn’s voice dropped to a dangerously low register.
Expressionless, his face seemed carved from ice.
The Empress fell silent.
Do-hyuk was promptly kicked out of the reception room — Banwool insisted he was a distraction.
“Prince Reynold?”
He wandered outside the door like a lost puppy until his aide, Joseph, found him.
“I figured Your Highness had returned when the entire palace went into chaos. What are you doing here?”
Joseph, his bright red hair neatly slicked back and wearing his civil servant’s uniform, looked puzzled.
“That’s all you have to say upon seeing me? Aren’t you supposed to be my aide?”
Do-hyuk coughed awkwardly and kept glancing at the closed door.
Joseph adjusted the stack of documents in his arms and followed his gaze.
“Who’s inside?”
When Joseph reached for the doorknob, Do-hyuk slapped his hand away sharply.
“Never mind that. Where are you headed?”
“Work, of course — the usual mountain of it. I’m taking the new tax reform draft to the legal department for review today.”
Do-hyuk pulled a few pages from Joseph’s arms and skimmed through them.
“Oh, right. I got new intel from reporter Elinor.”
Joseph fished a crumpled sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it over.
“Prince Verdi seems to be digging for information on the writer ‘Caden.’ Elinor says Count Zenas from his faction commissioned her behind the scenes.”
Do-hyuk read the letter — Count Zenas’s handwriting.
It confirmed that Verdi’s faction had been pressuring Elinor and Herald, the editor-in-chief of the Alpine Times, to spread negative rumors about him.
Neither of those men had realized that Elinor and Herald were double agents — secretly feeding Do-hyuk information.
“I just came from Herald. He told me who the writer ‘Caden’ really is.”
Joseph lowered his voice conspiratorially.
Do-hyuk chuckled and shook his head.
“I already know.”
He had known that Banwool was the author of Frederica’s Man long before she admitted it herself.
Her writing style was distinctive — lyrical yet modern.
He’d liked her prose since the day she debuted in the New Year’s Literary Contest.
Even when she was writing TV scripts, where style was supposedly irrelevant, her voice still shone through.
“So you knew. She’s supposed to do a post-finale interview under her real name, isn’t she? She’s not even hiding it. Are you sure that’s safe? The Verdi faction might retaliate.”
Do-hyuk shrugged.
“I have a plan.”
He recalled their recent conversation — the one where she had shown him her outline.
‘My goal is to knock Lady Serine down a peg and expand my influence. But I think this aligns with your goal too, PD-nim. They say Lady Serine is engaged to Prince Verdi — and that rumor’s true. We can drag him into it too. Let’s use the false rumors they spread about us against them. I’ll set the stage — you just edit it to be as provocative as possible.’
And so, the stage she set became Frederica’s Man.
Banwool had only been in this world for five years, but she had already grasped its essence — and adapted with startling ease.
She also understood Do-hyuk better than anyone else.
After all, they had spent four long years together in Korea — working nonstop, fighting and laughing side by side.
Now, they could understand each other with just a glance.
“I heard you brought someone with you,” Joseph said, studying Do-hyuk’s face.
The prince looked at him blankly before realizing what he meant.
“Was it Lady Rubiche?”
Do-hyuk’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Joseph chuckled.
“Everyone in the capital knows you’ve been staying at the Rubiche estate for a month straight.”
When Do-hyuk didn’t deny it, Joseph’s curiosity deepened.
“Is she… the one? The woman you’ve been waiting for?”
“What?”
“You used to say you’d never be with someone who couldn’t understand your bizarre way of thinking.”
Joseph glanced between him and the closed door, then grinned knowingly.
“When I heard you’ve been glued to her side like a leech, I figured you must’ve found her at last. Sure, I’m drowning in your leftover work, but what can I do? Prince Reynold has found his woman.”
“…A leech?”
Do-hyuk blinked in disbelief.
“She’s the one inside, right? And to think — Lady Rubiche is also the mysterious writer ‘Caden’! I was stunned when I found out.”
Do-hyuk said nothing, his gaze fixed on the door.
Rumors were rampant — that the crown prince was madly in love with the foreign-looking Lady Rubiche.
Do-hyuk had always been obsessed with something, but this was the first time the rumors involved romance.
He had lived for twenty-six years wishing he’d been born without the memories of his past life.
And yet now, for the first time in twenty-six years, he felt grateful — even exhilarated — that he remembered.
What bound him and Banwool wasn’t some shallow affinity. It was something deeper — an existential connection, a shared identity.
Like finding a lost half of himself.
“Do you know why I’ve been mad all these years, Joseph?”
Joseph blinked. “…Pardon?”
“It was so I could meet Ena.”
Joseph’s expression was the kind one wears after seeing something truly incomprehensible.
Do-hyuk laughed loudly.
“Anyway, go finish your work.”
“And you, Your Highness?”
“I’ll wait for Ena.”
Joseph cast one last glance at the closed door.
From inside came a burst of laughter — bright, musical laughter.
Even Do-hyuk turned in surprise.
“Was that… Her Majesty?”
“Inside that room?”
Do-hyuk nodded silently.
Joseph shook his head in disbelief.
“I’ve never heard Her Majesty laugh like that before…”
Just then, the door opened, and a woman with jet-black hair stepped out.
Banwool spotted Do-hyuk and Joseph and looked surprised.
“You’re still here?”
Joseph was startled — her tone toward the prince was so casual.
“What were you talking about in there that made her laugh like that?” Do-hyuk asked, genuinely curious.
Banwool smiled mischievously.
“Why, gossiping about you, of course.”
Then she patted his shoulder. Joseph watched, astonished — few people dared touch the prince so casually.
“Nothing brings people together like a common enemy. Thanks for the sacrifice.”
Do-hyuk’s face twisted in a mixture of disbelief and reluctant amusement.
For someone like him, that expression alone was a miracle.
Joseph stared at the woman, impressed.
She blinked her warm brown eyes and turned to him.
“And who’s this handsome man?”
Joseph decided she had excellent taste. He straightened his documents and bowed politely.
“Joseph Louis Didier, aide to Prince Reynold.”
