Chapter 10
You Can Buy the Horse That Wins the Race.
Lorentia smiled gracefully.
But behind that calm smile, she was struggling to suppress a surge of rage.
The anger boiling inside her wasn’t because of Julie’s violence or her insult calling her a bastard.
It came from what the amethyst necklace had shown her—the future.
The maids were unusually kind to her today. It felt strange and unfamiliar, but she didn’t reject their kindness outright.
“The roses blooming in the garden today are so fresh. I’ll put some petals in your bathwater, my lady.”
“It’ll make your skin much smoother, Lady Lorentia.”
“Cats don’t like water, so you should leave Leo in the room.”
“But Leo likes water…”
“He’s still a kitten. If he stays too long in water, it could harm his health, so it’s best to leave him behind.”
Leo, unlike most cats, actually liked water, so Lorentia had planned to bring him along.
But the maids insisted otherwise.
Leo glared at the maids once, then, as if to tell her to go ahead, slipped out of her arms and jumped nimbly onto the bed.
The bathroom she was led to had a bathtub shaped like a small boat. On the surface of the warm water floated vivid red rose petals.
When the maids offered to wash her, Lorentia refused. She felt embarrassed to show her body to others.
After they all left, she undressed by herself and carefully stepped into the bath.
Lorentia gazed at her reflection rippling on the water’s surface.
Her face was pale, her cheeks sunken—she looked even thinner than usual.
Her bones were delicate, making her frail body seem even more fragile.
Her long red hair, falling to her waist, made her white skin appear ghastly—like the color of blood. She looked like a monster drenched in gore.
There was no trace of the graceful curves that made up a woman’s beauty.
Short, flat-chested—no matter how she looked, she still seemed like a young girl.
Who would ever believe she was nineteen?
What made her feel worse was that her appearance ten years later wouldn’t be much different.
It must have been a side effect of the medicine Ruans had given her.
She bit her lip so hard she could taste blood, then sighed deeply and rested her head against the edge of the tub.
Just then, the violet amethyst necklace around her neck began to glow on its own.
Startled, she clutched it tightly and stared at it.
The amethyst showed her a scene from the future—Julie and the maids forcing Leo to eat fish porridge.
After swallowing it, Leo began to cough up blood and wheeze.
And when Lorentia returned from her bath, she found Leo dying and collapsed in tears.
As the light faded, Lorentia jumped out of the tub.
When she stepped outside, the maids looked startled and uneasy.
She felt sick—disgusted—realizing that their kindness had been a setup to kill Leo.
She regretted even slightly appreciating their care.
“Allow us to give you a massage, my lady.”
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on me.”
Then she heard Leo hissing from her room.
While she had been soaking in the bath, lamenting her fate, Leo had been fighting for his life.
She gave a faint, bitter laugh.
The maids following her turned pale—some white as a sheet, others bluish with fear.
She didn’t bother to stop them when they backed away in terror.
Lorentia looked straight into Julie’s eyes.
What she had done to Julie was far less painful than what Leo had suffered—but Julie was still trembling in horror.
“Head maid Julie. Why aren’t you answering? Do you think the adopted daughter of Count Paul Heredian isn’t worth replying to, just because she’s a bastard by birth?”
“N-no, my lady. I will answer.”
Lorentia smiled in satisfaction.
“Good. Go on.”
Julie bowed her head. “Yes, Lady Lorentia. I…”
When Julie explained that Illina hadn’t managed to kill the cat or retrieve the bowl of fish porridge, Illina grew furious, pacing the room.
“How could you just leave the fish porridge in that monster’s room!”
“I’m sorry, Lady Illina.”
Illina fell silent. Julie’s anxious eyes were unusual. Normally, Julie would have taken some initiative—but now, she seemed completely broken, endlessly apologizing.
“Don’t just apologize! Say something, Julie!”
“…I’m sorry, Lady Illina.”
Julie bit the inside of her cheek hard.
The Lorentia she had seen today was terrifying.
What Anne and Illina had always joked about—a “monster-like thing”—was no longer a metaphor.
She was a real monster.
A monster that one must never provoke.
“Would it be quicker to retrain the head maid?”
The hair on Julie’s body stood on end. That voice—it was gentle, soft, almost kind, yet deadly.
“Or would it be quicker to replace her?”
The words kept echoing in her ears.
“I’ll spare you this time.”
When Julie had looked into Lorentia’s violet eyes—eyes filled with unhinged madness—and felt that strange power torment her body, instinct screamed one thing: Run, if you want to live.
The memory of Lorentia licking her lips as she looked at the bowl of fish porridge sent shivers down Julie’s spine.
All she could think was: I want to live.
“Julie? What’s wrong with you? You can’t even answer properly. This isn’t like you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“That…”
“Spit it out! Unless you want to see me lose my mind! What happened in that monster’s room?”
“What I’m thinking right now is…”
“It would be quicker to replace the head maid, wouldn’t it?”
Julie forced a trembling smile.
“I’m thinking… of resigning as the head maid of House Heredian.”
“You’re right,” Lorentia’s earlier words echoed in her mind. It would be quicker to replace her.
It was her way of saying, Please, spare me.
Fortunately, the monster seemed to understand. The madness in Lorentia’s eyes slowly faded.
“Good. You can buy the horse that wins the race, after all.”
“I’m sorry, Lady Illina.”
Julie felt like she’d been pushed to the edge of a cliff—then pulled back at the last moment.
She was alive.
And because she was alive, she had to run.
The girl who’d been called a monster—Lorentia—had truly become one.
There was no other explanation for the power she wielded.
* * *
Ruans’s most hated man was none other than Crown Prince Adrian.
He had long wondered how to kill him—but now, thankfully, Lorentia had awakened her power to see the future.
Adrian’s death was imminent.
Once Adrian was gone, Ruans would be the only imperial prince left in the Ishtair Empire—and therefore, the next crown prince by default.
The thought made him smile.
Then Adrian unexpectedly invited him to his palace, saying he had something to discuss.
Ruans didn’t want to go, but couldn’t refuse.
“You’re getting married? Was there a lady named Charlotte in our empire?”
“She’s not from our empire.”
Adrian was twenty-six this year. The Emperor had been worried about his late age for marriage, but Adrian never cared. He was always out on expeditions, hunting monsters with his sword.
“Congratulations, brother. I thought you weren’t interested in marriage.”
“Ah, I didn’t mention her full name. My fiancée is Princess Charlotte Wucha Liusaid of the Poloid Empire.”
“Did you say Princess Charlotte of Poloid?”
“Yes. Our engagement is settled. You know her, don’t you, Ruans?”
Ruans’s forced smile began to crumble.
Though he tried to maintain his composure, his eyes were lifeless.
“I recently sent a marriage proposal to Princess Charlotte myself.”
“I see, Ruans.”
“And despite that, you plan to go ahead with the engagement?”
Had Lorentia not awakened her power, Ruans would have married Charlotte, taken control of the Poloid Empire, and then waged war to conquer Ishtair.
But that plan was no longer necessary. Lorentia’s awakening changed everything.
“Of course. There’s no reason to refuse.”
Still, the fact that Adrian had won over Charlotte stung his pride deeply.
“Why him, and not me?”
Adrian’s calm voice—almost teasing—sounded like a deliberate test of his patience.
“Because she chose me.”
“She… chose you? Forgive my dullness, brother, but I fail to understand.”
“Do you remember when I went to the border to fight the monsters recently?”
“Yes, I do.”
“During the campaign, I crossed into the Poloid side and met the Marquis Spencer. We fought together, then traveled to the capital. That’s where I met Princess Charlotte.”
“Marquis Spencer…?”
Ruans froze. That was the same man Lorentia had seen in her dream—the one who shot Adrian with an arrow.
“Yes. The Devil of the Border. The hero of the Poloid Empire, Marquis Teyshar Spencer, who was appointed a strategist at the age of twenty and wiped out countless monsters near the frontier.”
Adrian gave his brother a crooked grin. His normally cheerful younger brother was visibly irritated.
“I know you sent her a proposal, Ruans.”
“And knowing that, you still intend to marry her?”
“I told you. She chose me.”
Ruans bit the inside of his cheek.
“But Princess Charlotte is the sole heir to the Poloid throne.”
“It’s only a day’s ride between our empires. Does the border really matter that much? Honestly, if Princess Charlotte ruled the Ishtair Empire in my stead, I’d be fine with that. I’d just support her from behind, raise our children, maybe spar with Marquis Spencer from time to time, slay a few monsters… sounds like a good life, doesn’t it?”
Ruans could hardly breathe from the irritation.
That easygoing tone, that careless talk—everything about Adrian made his blood boil.
