ITEV 03

Chapter 03

Information really is this important.

Even more so when it’s about the future.

Fortunately, I had reread the webtoon multiple times—I could practically recite what would happen next.

“That matters to me. If I abandon the Second Prince and side with the Princess, I’ll become an enemy to the princes.”

I cut Dayton off, annoyed.

“If I die now, House Colin’s secret will be exposed to the world immediately.”

“……”

“You think I’d be unprepared?”

Of course, it was a lie.

I had just woken up in this body—I hadn’t prepared anything.

But Dayton had no way of knowing that.

“Princess, are you threatening—”

“I’m struggling to survive.”

“……”

“Ah, threatening? That’s scary. How could I do something like that? I’m Melissa, after all.”

I waved my hand lightly, joking.

“What you’re worried about—I can solve it. Better than your ‘brothers’ ever could.”

“……”

Later on, the Second Prince would discover Dayton’s weakness and use it under the guise of helping him.

Compared to that, I was the better option.

“…Ha.”

I could practically see the gears in Dayton’s head spinning.

“So you do like weighing options, huh?”

Too much calculation kills charm, though.

“You’d better decide quickly.”

“Trying to persuade me is pointless—”

“They’re already here.”

He tilted his head, confused.

Instead of answering, I grabbed the vase from the table and hurled it at the curtained window.

Crash!

Glass shattered everywhere—and an assassin dressed in black burst out.

“……!”

The assassin froze upon seeing Dayton in the room.

In that brief moment, I grabbed the largest shard of glass.

Before I could even brace myself, the assassin lunged at me.

A short dagger gleamed in his hand.

“—!”

Even after I slashed his shoulder deeply with the shard, he didn’t hesitate.

We grappled several times—

and through it all, Dayton didn’t move.

“…Ugh!”

“Do you know how long I trained in self-defense?”

All that blood, sweat, and tears finally paying off—in the medieval era, of all places.

The inside of my elbow had been stabbed deeply; blood poured out in pulses.

After confirming I’d injured him badly, I dropped the shard.

My own hand was shredded from gripping it too tightly.

The assassin swung his dagger again—

but he couldn’t put much strength into it anymore.

Even after pinning me down, he couldn’t finish me off.

His hand trembled—I could probably push it away.

Realizing he was losing, he grabbed my throat with his other hand.

“Ghk—!”

I twisted his fingers.

He staggered back.

In that moment, I looked at Dayton.

“You’re still standing there?”

He was frozen in place, just as before.

Was he always this indecisive in the original story?

“Dayton Colin!”

At my shout, his shoulders jerked.

“If I die, I’m going to haunt you and the Second Prince forever!”

Blocking the assassin’s dagger with both hands, I glared at him.

“Ever had sleep paralysis from a ghost chewing your hair at night? You’ll regret not saving me!”

“……”

“And by the time you regret it, it’ll be too late! I’ll make sure you never sleep peacefully again!”

Would this even work?

The assassin was already too weak—it might not convince him.

Still, I shouted with everything I had.

“If a vengeful ghost holds a grudge, even in summer—”

Suddenly, the assassin was yanked upward.

“—!”

When I got up, I saw Dayton dragging him by the neck.

The assassin struggled, his dagger already taken.

“….”

With a groan, the assassin collapsed behind the curtain.

Then Dayton walked toward me.

The metallic scent of blood hit me, and only then did the tension truly set in.

Looking at the spreading blood on the floor—

what I felt wasn’t disgust, but relief.

He died instead of me.

Nothing was fully resolved yet—

but I had survived.

“When I was yelling at Dayton, it felt like a dream…”

Now, it felt real.

I reached out toward him—

but he stepped back.

My hand hung awkwardly in the air.

He spoke.

“I helped you just now, but only because I fell into your trap.”

His voice was calm. Cold.

My thoughts, which had stalled, started moving again.

Instead of reaching out again, I stood up on my own.

“I’ll overlook this once out of generosity. But if you lay a hand on me again—”

Ah, he’s barking.

That pretty face was nice, but the nagging was getting annoying.

“A dog should just wag its tail, shouldn’t it?”

“And if I do—what?”

My palm pressed against his firm chest.

Sliding my hand down his smooth shirt—

he grabbed my wrist roughly.

“So you’re not strange. You’re insane.”

His eyes looked like they might spark—

but when I met his gaze, he was the one who faltered.

“Princess.”

“Hmm?”

“Use the proper title.”

“You seem to be mistaken—”

I stepped closer.

He inhaled sharply.

Blood smeared across his shirt like a stamp.

My injured hand still dripped.

I raised my uninjured hand like bait.

He grabbed it instinctively—

and I used my injured hand to grab his chin.

Red smeared across his skin.

“If you’ve chosen your master, act like it.”

“…Dog.”

Back at the Grand Duke’s residence—

Dayton still felt dazed.

Was that really the Princess?

The same woman who was timid, weak, foolish—who couldn’t even meet his eyes?

She had the same face, the same voice—

but felt like a completely different person.

And that expression…

He had never seen it before.

“‘If you’ve chosen your master, act like it.’”

Her fierce smile lingered in his mind.

He had even lost his words for a moment.

Touching his chin absentmindedly, he looked down at his bloodstained shirt.

Servants passing by flinched and bowed their heads.

Judging by that, his neck and chin must look the same.

The sensation of her touch lingered vividly.

“…Dog.”

A dizzy feeling hit him belatedly.

He pressed his brow.

The black wolf—the symbol of House Colin—was also his nickname.

A title given by comrades in respect.

Eventually, the entire empire called him that.

“…Calling me like a pet being fed.”

And when she grabbed his chin—

it felt like a leash had been fastened around his neck.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Ridiculous.

He unbuttoned his shirt irritably and threw it away.

“That foolish princess…”

Saying it out loud only made it stranger.

Her sharp gaze. Her composure.

Even while fighting an assassin, she had been watching him.

“…And no one noticed?”

Everyone around her must be blind.

Then again—

he had seen her the most.

“…What should I do?”

It wasn’t just her threat about exposing his house’s weakness.

It was her eyes.

The way they pulled him in.

Eyes that held a power completely unlike the lifeless princess he knew.

That was why his resolve had wavered.

Even as he denied it, his body had already moved.

Because even in a life-threatening moment—

she had been testing him.

Observing him.

Speaking as if it were nothing.

“The Second Prince… or that ‘foolish’ princess…”

Dayton let out a dry laugh.

Anyone would call him insane.

Out of a hundred people, all hundred would choose the Second Prince without hesitation.

As he put on his robe, his gaze met the mirror.

His neck and chin were stained red.

He placed a hand over the marks.

Even now, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being controlled by her.

He tapped the desk lightly—

then clenched his fist.

“Ten.”

At his low call, a tall shadow appeared by the window.

Wearing a black rabbit mask, the figure bowed.

“Find out more about the Princess.”

“…More, you say?”

“We missed something.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After Ten disappeared, Dayton remained still.

His mind was in chaos.

He had already investigated Melissa when the engagement was arranged.

“There was nothing.”

Almost too clean.

Which made it suspicious.

Unless—

she had been hiding something all along.

The Princess was definitely hiding something.