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#5. Another Privilege, You Say?
How could this be happening in a world without the internet or smartphones?
Only a few days had passed, yet even Nancy was already up to date with the rumors.
“People are in an uproar! They’re calling it the meeting of the century!”
“Of course it’ll be entertaining. A Casanova meets a femme fatale.”
“Why do you say it like it’s none of your business? They say His Majesty the Emperor has fallen head over heels for you!”
“They’re all just baseless rumors.”
“And the talk about you becoming Empress soon?”
Empress? As if. If anything, I was more like a slave being sold off in an unfair contract.
“Nancy. Has there ever been a commoner who became Empress?”
“No.”
“Has the current Emperor ever taken an Empress?”
“Not once.”
“Then I won’t be Empress either. I don’t want to be, anyway.”
“You’re giving up on His Majesty because of your status? True love can overcome anything!”
“Stop reading so many romance novels.”
Nancy was a diehard fan of Douglas’s works.
The way I loved The Silver Knightess’s heroine Claudia, Nancy idolized Elise, the heroine of The Red Star of the Empire.
Who wouldn’t admire a heroine who was beautiful, confident, and sharp-witted?
Douglas had created Elise, inspired by me.
But I was nothing more than a villainous supporting role.
I had ambitiously tried to seduce the tyrant—but from the very first step, I stumbled.
Not only that, I utterly ruined the precious opportunity I’d been given.
To think I cry when drunk. Nicolai’s shirt was drenched with tears and snot. A true alcoholic mess, right here.
I’d shown every bit of disgrace to a man I had met for the first time, defenseless.
I’d also said far too many things I should never have uttered.
“I don’t want to die again. I hate the guillotine. But what could I possibly do? Sob…”
Nicolai had looked awkward and troubled.
He had patted my shoulder hesitantly, only to quickly withdraw his hand, startled.
Like a man who had never once gone on a date in his life.
I pretended to be fine, but I was terrified. Possessing Elizabeth’s body, waiting for a second death… I had bragged about stopping Claudia, but that was just me pretending to be strong—hoping it would make the fear hurt a little less.
The anxiety I could confide in no one had met Nicolai’s warmth and spilled out as tears.
Once it started, it wouldn’t stop.
With the stiffest expression in the world, Nicolai had said:
“If you wish to cry, cry as much as you like. I won’t go anywhere.”
Even days later, his quiet voice lingered in my ears.
My head was a mess.
My feelings swayed twelve times a day—flaring hot one moment, freezing cold the next.
Ashamed, then guilty, then grateful, then curious.
Why was he trying to make me his consort?
Did he really just see me as some amusing toy?
“Or maybe… his true goal is my body.”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized it.
Nancy, who had been brushing my hair, turned beet red.
“Please, tell me honestly! What really happened that night in the palace?”
Kiss. Embrace. Tears. Contract.
Not one part of it was insignificant.
Nicolai wasn’t swayed by allure.
That meant I couldn’t control him as I wished.
Playing a seduction game with him was like dousing myself in oil and leaping into fire.
And me, who believed in monogamy—how could I ever become the tyrant Emperor’s umpteenth mistress?
The thought alone was horrifying.
My plan to seduce him into becoming a benevolent ruler was already as good as a failure.
For now, the best strategy was to avoid being entangled with that tyrant until Claudia appeared.
The idea of Nicolai sneaking into my bed at night—just imagining it gave me chills.
I need help from the Nettleton siblings. Shameless as it may be, I have no other choice.
I visited the Nettleton Marquisate, away from prying eyes.
The mansion was large and old-fashioned, but I could sense their straitened circumstances.
The paving stones are cracked, the garden’s unkempt… But didn’t his book sell like crazy? Haven’t the royalties arrived?
Douglas’s father had been notorious as a useless gambler.
If he hadn’t died early, the Nettletons wouldn’t just have fallen out of the Five Great Houses—they’d have been ruined paupers.
“Welcome, Elizabeth.”
“We’ve been waiting, Sister!”
Contrary to my fears of being turned away, Douglas and Susan greeted me warmly.
It seemed they had forgotten my sharp words at the party.
When I explained about the seduction contract, Douglas bit his lip.
“No matter if it’s His Majesty, this is outrageous.”
“I heard the noble-born consorts are dominating the harem. What will you do, Sister?” Susan asked, her face clouded with worry.
I nodded.
The Four Great Houses.
I knew all too well the wicked things they did.
The original novel had shown their crimes in chilling detail.
“I did some digging too. Duchess Freya of House Riemann, Marchioness Rose of House Brendan, Marchioness Emma of House Fife, and Countess Cynthia of House Blackfold. All of them are aiming for the throne of Empress, aren’t they?”
“If His Majesty hadn’t been so stubborn, one of them would have become Empress already.”
“Why hasn’t he taken an Empress until now?” I asked.
As if waiting for the question, Susan raised her voice.
“Because he’s the Empire’s number one womanizer! He wants every woman in the land!”
“Watch your words, Susan. He is still the sky above the Empire.”
“But he kidnapped innocent women. And now he dares target you, Sister—I cannot forgive him!”
Susan clenched her small fists, her eyes burning with hostility.
At least Susan will never fall for Nicolai. That’s one less worry.
Just as I thought that, Susan slapped her knee.
“I know how we can stop that shameless tyrant!”
“What is it?”
“We’ll ask Claudia to kill him!”
“Wha—!”
A shiver ran down my whole body.
Of all the terrifying things I’d heard since possessing Elizabeth, this was the worst.
“Susan! How could a sworn knight betray her liege?”
“But Radia has always wanted to strike down the Emperor. She hates womanizers! I’ve known her since childhood.”
I know her better than you! She kills me every night with her own hands!
I nearly blurted that out.
My palms grew damp with cold sweat.
First, I had to calm Susan down.
“Susan, that would be treason. I appreciate your concern, but don’t do anything reckless.”
“Even if we don’t ask her, Radia will decide soon enough.”
“Is Claudia really that resolute?”
“Of course. She’s stubborn, but righteous. Stronger than any knight!”
I felt helpless, like someone stomping on my fingers as I clung to the edge of a cliff.
So this is how Claudia returns? No matter how I struggle, it’s pointless?
It was as if the guillotine’s blade brushed my collar.
Death lurked like a pit at every step before me.
But you think I’ll give up? I used the tyrant’s shirt as a tissue, for heaven’s sake! I’ll be damned if I die helplessly again. Once was enough.
I fixed my gaze on Douglas.
“Lord Douglas. May I speak out of turn for a moment?”
“I’ll listen.”
“You are the head of your house, and Susan’s only protector. If you care for her, you must guide her firmly—especially on matters like this.”
“You’re right. I’ve been negligent.”
Douglas’s cheeks flushed.
I turned my eyes to Susan.
She was already shrinking back.
“Treason is no child’s game. One careless word from you could cost countless lives. Could you bear that?”
“I’m sorry. I only wanted to save you, Sister…”
“And you think I could live comfortably while putting you in danger? I’d rather enter the palace myself a hundred times over.”
“Please don’t! I’ll never say such foolish things again.”
Susan looked truly repentant.
But then her eyes softened as she gazed at me.
“Even in this situation, all you worry about is me.”
What was that supposed to mean?
I blinked.
“I knew it. That day, you went out to the terrace to protect me.”
Susan spoke with conviction.
“You sacrificed yourself so I wouldn’t become prey to the tyrant.”
“That never happened.”
“Deny it if you like. But among the Five Great Houses, we Nettletons are the only ones who haven’t produced a consort.”
“They say the others entered the palace of their own accord.”
“If not for you, I would have been dragged into the harem too. That’s what the Emperor is like.”
She was mistaken.
No one called them the “Five Great Houses” anymore.
That title was only a memory. Now the Empire’s power lay with the Four Great Houses—excluding the Nettletons.
And Nicolai had no interest in Susan at all.
Should I correct her? Maybe not. It won’t hurt anyone. And… I did step in to protect her, after all.
Decision made, I changed my stance immediately.
I lowered my gaze and put on a wistful expression.
“Forgive me for hiding it. I just didn’t want you to blame yourself.”
“Elizabeth, Sister!”
“As you consider me your sister though I’m only a commoner, so I think of you as my own little sister. If it means protecting you, nothing else matters.”
Even I had to admit it was a natural bit of improvisation.
But the truth was, I really did care for Susan like a younger sister.
And it was true that I had faced the tyrant to shield her.
As though he had just understood everything, Douglas murmured:
“So that’s why you broke off our engagement and coldly cast us aside… You even spoke words you didn’t mean…”
Well, I had said things I didn’t mean—but that wasn’t why!
Was misunderstanding a family trait of theirs?
As I puzzled, Susan suddenly threw her arms around me.
“You saved our family from debt, and you saved me. I won’t let anyone take you away!”
Susan was the kind of girl who magnified even small kindnesses into deep gratitude.
Her goodness made my chest ache.
“Don’t give up yet, Susan. There’s still one last way to save Elizabeth.”
Douglas’s voice cut in.
His expression was graver than I’d ever seen before.
He led me to a small chapel within the mansion.
Susan, with her weak lungs, couldn’t come—the dust of years unused was too thick.
Covering my mouth with a handkerchief, I entered.
Old marble statues caught my eye.
There were so many gods in this world.
Douglas kindly explained:
“The one holding a sword is Tatos, god of war. The one with the wolf is Morasinthia, goddess of healing. Over there—gods of literature, agriculture, and the sea.”
“Why does the goddess of healing keep a wolf? And why are her eyes covered?”
“Her wolf is said to find the root of all illness.”
“That’s fascinating.”
“As for the blindfold, I was taught it means she heals without regard for rich or poor, noble or commoner.”
“Such a god can’t exist.”
A bitter laugh escaped me at the memories of my past life.
“The poor are always the first to die. Death being equal for all—that’s nonsense.”
Douglas flinched at my firm tone.
In my past life, I had died of disease while volunteering abroad.
Few countries responded properly to the pandemic that ravaged the world.
Korea was among the safest—but I had been in a nation without even basic medical facilities.
Already infected, I couldn’t board the repatriation flight.
The epidemic turned that once-peaceful land into a hell where humanity was stripped away.
A sack of flour, a tank of oxygen—people killed for them.
Unburied corpses lined the streets.
I had given an oxygen mask to a child. That was why.
I wanted to give up. On the misery, on the lonely struggle to live. I used that child as an excuse to seize the chance to die. Do I deserve this second life?
Though I had vowed not to give up again, the dark memories sometimes crushed me.
Douglas tapped my shoulder.
He was covered in dust and cobwebs, as though he had crawled through some hidden place.
“This is a sacred relic, passed down in our family.”
He held out a small box wrapped in red leather.
Copper studs decorated the lid, and the figure of the goddess Morasinthia was engraved on its surface.
Inside, resting on a velvet cushion, lay an old monocle.
“A shabby copper monocle?”
“It may look humble, but it’s a relic. With it, one can defy the Emperor’s order—though only once.”
“You mean… you’ll use that right for me?”
“For Elizabeth, nothing is too precious.”
“But we’re broken off, aren’t we?”
“Embarrassing as it is, my novel had a line like this.”
“What line?”
“‘Those in love often do foolish things. They know it’s empty and absurd, but they can’t stop. And instead of regretting, they rejoice—because it proves their love is true.’”
Douglas recited as he gazed at me.
Something tickled deep inside me—heart, stomach, I wasn’t sure.
He was a straightforward man. Those words were his feelings, written for me.
His sincerity etched itself into me, letter by letter.
For a moment, I felt I could forget Claudia and Nicolai.
Even if I could never accept Douglas’s love.
Love is too much for someone in my position. The only thing I can give Douglas is not to string him along. So why is my heart racing like this? Foolish, truly.
A subtle silence pricked at the small chapel.
Douglas’s gaze grew deeper.
Unable to bear the atmosphere, I grabbed the monocle.
“Thank you. I’ll use the relic well.”
“You mustn’t touch it carelessly!”
The warning came too late.
Brilliant white light poured from the monocle.
Something about the light was nostalgic, familiar.
“A righteous deceased has discovered Morasinthia’s Eye. A privilege will be granted. Do you accept?”
