CHAPTER 03
“So… forgive me for asking, but could you tell me why you want to build an orphanage?”
“What?”
“According to the family’s financial regulations, any expenditure above a certain amount must be recorded. Just as we did with your large investment in Montella.”
Since he was citing the financial rules personally established by my father, I couldn’t simply brush him off with, How dare you question me?
With the inheritance dispute still unresolved, there was no need to leave behind records that could become a weakness.
Besides, Heros was a trustworthy butler. The original Katrin had never hesitated to reveal her darkest thoughts to him.
“That’s because…”
My lips parted.
There was only one reason I wanted to build an orphanage.
“You seriously have to ask?”
“…Pardon?”
Looking at the puzzled Heros, I covered my face with both hands while putting on a sinister smile.
“I’ll pretend to support the poor at first. Later, I’ll turn it into a warehouse for tax evasion. Every coin will become my private slush fund.”
Yes.
The real reason I wanted to build an orphanage was…
To create a warm free soup kitchen for my dear Ethie and his friends.
The revolution was still several months away, and after pouring most of their resources into military preparations, they were so impoverished they could barely afford regular meals.
I’d hurriedly donated fifty thousand den to help them, but they had far too many mouths to feed. Once they found a decent place to live and bought warm clothes, that money would disappear quickly.
Koreans live on rice, after all!
Coming from a culture where “Let’s grab a meal sometime” was practically a greeting, there was no way I could stand by and watch my favorite character go hungry.
When I read Star of the Revolution, seeing Ethius train on an empty stomach had made me curse the author countless times.
If you’re going to make him suffer, at least feed the poor guy first!
Still, I couldn’t tell Heros the truth.
“So make sure the records look appropriate. Write that it’s an investment to improve House Elemore’s public image.”
“I thought as much.”
Taking my words at face value—as they perfectly fit the personality of Katrin Elemore—Heros nodded without the slightest suspicion.
His smile relaxed, as though my strange desire to build an orphanage finally made sense.
“Understood. I’ll deliver the letter to the High Priest immediately.”
After Heros left the room and closed the door behind him, I let out a small sigh.
Secretly supporting someone really involved more trouble than you’d expect.
***
The revolutionary army’s strategist beamed as he opened the door to their newly acquired headquarters and ushered his lord inside.
Caron Fernard.
The son of Baron Fernard, who had once served the late emperor, Caron had lost everything after the current emperor ascended the throne and eventually joined Ethius’s revolutionary army.
“This place is almost completely free of drafts. It’s also located in the city, so it’ll be much easier for Your Highness to travel to and from the government offices.”
Without the benefactor’s astonishing donation of fifty thousand den, such a comfortable headquarters would have remained nothing more than a dream.
“Quite a few soldiers suffered frostbite at our previous base. Now we can actually take care of them, so we’ve greatly reduced our losses. Though, admittedly, we’ve spent nearly all the money.”
The warm air that greeted him the moment he stepped inside caused Ethius to stop in his tracks.
The anonymous benefactor who had suddenly appeared, thrown down a sack of money, and vanished.
Not only had they provided exactly what he needed…
They had even left a note reminding him of the most urgent priority.
This time…
It had been a new headquarters.
“…Well done.”
Ethius was not a man who left debts unpaid.
He always repaid them in full.
When this revolution succeeds…
I will find you.
After a brief silence, he spoke in a cold, emotionless voice.
“Is the traitor in the basement?”
“Yes, Your Highness. We’ve secured him.”
A short while later, Ethius and Caron descended into the prison they had constructed beneath the building.
Inside sat a prisoner wearing expensive clothing.
The moment he saw Ethius, he shuddered violently.
Outside the iron bars stood his lord—
A man with black hair, deep blue eyes, and a brilliance that eclipsed everyone around him.
The prisoner gasped before collapsing to his knees.
“You know the punishment for betrayal.”
The pleasures he’d bought by selling out his comrades—
Luxury.
Fine clothes.
A quality sword.
He would never enjoy them again.
Regret arrived too late.
Spilled water could never be gathered back into the cup.
“Y-Your Highness… sob…”
The man threw himself face-down before Ethius.
Looking down at him with icy eyes, Ethius asked,
“Who did you sell it to?”
The prisoner’s shoulders jerked.
“The list of the revolutionary army.”
He was going to die anyway.
There was no point hiding the truth anymore.
Tears streaming down his face, he confessed.
“I sold it… to Duke Elemore… the late Duke Elemore…”
His clenched fists trembled uncontrollably.
House Elemore—
The head of the imperial faction that regarded the rightful heir, Ethius, as nothing more than an obstacle.
“I-I imagine… Lady Katrin Elemore… has it now…”
The Poison Rose of House Elemore.
A woman said to have inherited her mother’s unmatched beauty and her father’s cruel disposition.
She had inherited everything the Duke owned.
Including…
The confidential documents he had kept hidden.
“…”
Ethius’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name.
“…Katrin… Elemore…”
His lips moved slightly as his cold voice echoed through the prison.
A moment later, his face cast in shadow, Ethius slowly turned away.
“Kill him.”
As soon as Ethius left, Caron and the other soldiers approached the prisoner.
Listening to the traitor’s dying screams behind him, Ethius walked forward.
His blue eyes blazed fiercely.
***
“N-No…!”
I jolted awake, gasping for breath.
Morning sunlight streamed through the silk curtains of my vast, luxurious bedroom.
It…
Had been a dream.
Yet I couldn’t feel relieved.
Because that dream had been the real past.
The atrocities Katrin had committed, preserved within her memories…
Simply recalling them was painful.
“Date me. Or would you rather spend the rest of your life as that pathetic puppet prince?”
I buried my face in my hands.
I couldn’t believe that confession line had actually come out of my mouth—in the dream, anyway.
The reason Ethius outright despised Katrin Elemore in Star of the Revolution was because of the history they shared.
For him…
It had been nothing but a terrible memory.
The Oswell Imperial Academy.
A prestigious school attended only by royalty and nobility.
They first met there during the four years they studied together.
Even among impeccably groomed aristocrats, Ethius had been so breathtakingly handsome that he seemed to belong to another world.
Katrin had fallen hopelessly in love with him.
And thus began that embarrassing chapter of her life.
At least our taste in men is exactly the same.
Naturally, someone as arrogant and overbearing as Katrin had no chance of winning Ethius over with her twisted confession.
The novel even described the way he looked at her—
As though she were an insect.
If only she’d accepted the rejection and moved on…
It could have ended there.
But of course, our villainess Katrin wasn’t the type to give up just because she’d been rejected.
Instead…
She did something even more outrageous.
And the consequences were still affecting the present.
What did she do?
Determined to make Ethius regret rejecting her, she accepted a proposal from Philios Regalo, the young marquis introduced by her uncle, and became engaged to him.
Needless to say…
Ethius never regretted losing Katrin.
If anything, he was probably relieved that the clingy woman had finally left him alone.
…I’m sorry, Ethie.
On behalf of the original Katrin, let me apologize.
The fact that she thought someone like that could ever replace you…
Quietly, I folded my hands together.
Phew…
Anyway…
I wonder if my precious little jewel box has moved into its new headquarters by now.
I checked the watch to see whether the information had been updated.
Revolutionary Army Status
Military Strength: Insufficient [More]
Equipment & Supplies: Critically Low [More]
Living Conditions: 49%
Funds: 5,010 den
Revolution Progress: 55%
