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CHAPTER 06:
Only Eat What I Give You
“No one is to enter the prison until I say so. Tell the guards distributing meals to halt food rations immediately.”
This was the first order Dietrich gave to the imperial knights upon returning from the prison. As the Commander of the Imperial Knights, his orders were obeyed without question.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Once the guards are removed, no one is to even approach the prison. If anyone is caught, it’s immediate execution. That includes you.”
The knights swallowed hard. Dietrich had never once joked about taking a life.
They clearly had questions, but when they met Dietrich’s cold, unreadable expression, all curiosity died in their throats.
“…We will carry out your order immediately.”
They bowed and left. As Dietrich stood alone, a shadow quietly approached from behind.
“Your Excellency.”
It was Anderson, his adjutant. Dietrich didn’t even turn his head.
“Speak. What did you hear in the council chamber?”
“The ministers are trying to pin the blame on you for failing to protect the emperor properly, led by Marquess Tailor.”
“…”
Dietrich’s lips curled into a crooked smile. Though his mouth smirked, his eyes were completely devoid of humor.
“Just as expected.”
“What will you do now, Your Excellency? Word is you’ve locked the woman who assassinated the emperor in the underground prison. Are you… going to kill her?”
Dietrich finally looked at Anderson. Despite knowing him for a long time, Anderson still found it hard to read Dietrich.
He rarely showed emotion. He never laughed, never cried—his face always unreadably blank.
Even now, facing him directly, it was no different.
Slowly, Dietrich opened his mouth.
“…I won’t kill her.”
With that, Dietrich turned his back.
“I won’t kill her”—did he mean he would torture her just short of death? As questions filled Anderson’s mind, he suddenly realized something strange about what Dietrich had said.
For the first time in a very long while, Dietrich had used honorific speech with him.
Anderson, who had once taught Dietrich swordsmanship and voluntarily became his aide upon recognizing his potential, had always been the one to use polite language. Never the other way around.
By the time Anderson processed what had happened, Dietrich was already gone from sight.
“The rumors did her too much justice.”
A guard smacked his lips as he stared at the imprisoned Celia.
He was an old-timer, a seasoned guard tasked with patrolling and distributing meals in the underground prison. He had seen countless prisoners over the years—but none as stunning as her.
As soon as he confirmed Dietrich had left the prison, he rushed to see Celia.
He had brought no food for the other prisoners—only a single meal for her. His intentions couldn’t have been more sinister.
He held a plate with hard bread and thin soup, then paused and smirked, eyes gleaming with lust as he looked at Celia behind the bars.
“Hungry, aren’t you?”
Clack.
He set the food on the ground. Celia silently stared at the dish.
He had deliberately placed it just out of reach. Licking his lips, he let his filthy gaze linger on her face, then slide down to her dirtied chemise and exposed ankles.
“Your clothes look dirty. Should I help you change into something clean?”
Celia said nothing. She had encountered men like him too many times before. Trash like him wasn’t worth wasting energy on.
“No other guard is as lucky as me. To be able to see the Angel of Brillion in person…”
He cackled, revealing yellowed teeth.
“Just obey me, and I’ll make sure you never go hungry again.”
He wasn’t even holding any clean clothes. One hand started to undo his belt, while the other reached for the lock to her cell.
Celia thought back to what she’d told Dietrich.
—If you kill me now, you’ll regret it.
It had been a lie. If she had truly wanted to live, she would’ve run after killing the emperor.
She might’ve been caught within a few steps—but if she truly wished to survive, she would’ve at least tried to flee.
But she didn’t. Because she had already fulfilled her lifelong goal.
She had killed the emperor who destroyed her kingdom. Now she could face her dead family and people with pride. She could finally die in peace.
If she was going to die anyway, she thought it wouldn’t be so bad to be killed by a handsome man who despised her. That’s why she had provoked Dietrich.
The man who knew about her ability. The only man immune to it.
“You’re seriously thinking of something else right now? You’re just a criminal—how dare you ignore me?”
The guard’s voice yanked her from her thoughts.
His pants now unbuckled, dressed in nothing but drawers, he stepped into her cell and grabbed her ankle.
Celia’s eyes filled with icy contempt. As she prepared to use her power, she spotted figures approaching beyond the guard’s back—marching in with disciplined posture.
“…You really are lucky.”
She muttered with a smirk. A clear sneer.
Too focused on her, the guard failed to notice the others coming. He desperately tried to lift her skirt.
Celia kicked him with all her strength and screamed.
“AAAHH! HELP ME!”
“Y-You crazy bitch! Shut up!”
He tried to muffle her, but it was too late. Her cry made the others pause—then they rushed toward her cell.
The torchlight on the wall illuminated them—silver-armored men with red shoulder guards. Dietrich’s personal knights.
Their eyes landed on Celia, whose dress had fallen off her shoulder, and the nearly naked guard on top of her.
“T-this isn’t what it looks like—!”
The guard stammered. But excuses didn’t work on Dietrich’s knights.
“We were just ordered to shut down the prison.”
One knight scowled and grabbed the guard by the neck, flinging him out of the cell.
He landed with a thud, sprawling on the cold floor.
“Get out. We’ll be reporting this to His Excellency.”
The knight’s words drained the blood from the guard’s face. If Dietrich found out, he wouldn’t just kill him—he’d kill his entire family.
The guard dropped to his knees and begged.
“Please, I’m begging you—don’t tell His Excellency. I’ll resign. I’ve got five children depending on me…”
“Don’t worry about your family.”
A low voice cut in.
Everyone—Celia, the knights, and the guard—turned to look.
The torch flames flared, revealing the figure bathed in its glow.
“D-Duke Calypso…!”
The guard’s voice broke into a scream.
A shadow fell across Dietrich’s indifferent eyes. Standing beside the torch, his chiseled features looked even more severe.
His crimson eyes, darker than fire, were cold and ascetic.
Dietrich was dressed not in armor, but a black uniform. A few medals—awarded by the now-dead emperor—glinted on his chest.
He had appeared without a sound, and didn’t spare the guard a single glance.
His gaze remained on Celia, whose pale shoulder was still exposed.
Emotionless, he finally opened his mouth.
“Your rabbit-like children… will follow their father soon enough.”
“!”
The guard froze in despair. His lips trembled, but no words came out.
“Take him away.”
The knights seized him without hesitation.
“No one is to enter this place from now on.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
They bowed and dragged the guard away.
Now alone with Celia, Dietrich finally broke his gaze.
He looked down at the plate of hard bread and watery soup the guard had left behind.
He crouched and dipped his left index finger into the soup. Celia silently watched.
“Do you know what’s in this soup?”
A strange question. Celia didn’t answer.
Dietrich, not expecting one, wiped his finger with a handkerchief from his coat and continued.
“A mild aphrodisiac. Also known as a stimulant.”
“…”
“There’s plenty of this stuff in the palace. Just because you’re hungry doesn’t mean you should eat whatever you’re given.”
Still holding the plate, Dietrich slowly stood up. Then, right in front of her, he dumped the contents onto the floor.
The thin soup clung to the cold stone.
Celia watched silently.
“From now on, you’ll only eat what I give you.”
His words were strange—as if he intended to keep her alive.
Finally, Celia spoke.
“Why? You were trying to kill me just a while ago.”
“….”
His expression changed—just slightly—at her next words, which she said to test him:
“Don’t tell me… it’s because of my power?”
