chapter 01

The Shrimp’s Ambition

Scrape. Scrape.

The scratching sound of chalk grinding against stone softly filled the room.

Only after carving the final symbol into the floor did I finally straighten my back.

“Giselle.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

My loyal maid answered promptly at my call.

I gave her a small smile before striking a match.

Fwoosh!

The painstakingly completed magic circle burst into flames.

Feeling the waves of heat wash over my face, I slowly closed my eyes.

“I’m going to become a queen.”

My future had been decided from the moment I was born.

The heir to the weakest nation possessing the most coveted land.

“You who desire to claim my soul…”

The next Grand Duchess destined to suffer between powerful empires.

Idir Hubert.

Also known as the Shrimp Princess.

The mockery and pity that had followed me all my life had become unbearable. I would shatter that predetermined fate.

And I would have my revenge.

“Answer my wish.”

As I recited the final incantation, I scattered a crimson liquid into the flames.

Droplets of blood split apart in the air, giving off a metallic scent before burning away in an instant.

The flames slowly died down, and silence completely engulfed the room.

A dreadful silence.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

The sound of a clock’s second hand announced the return of time’s flow.

“…Your Grace.”

“…What?”

“I think it failed.”

“…I know.”

Pouting, I flipped through the book in my hands.

Another failure.

I crossed out the ritual with lines drawn over the section labeled Viper’s Blood.

I had lost count of how many times I had failed.

“Haah.”

Letting out a deep sigh, I shoved my feet into my hunting boots.

Rather than wasting time sighing, it would be more efficient to gather the next ingredient immediately.

“Your Grace, I’ve been wanting to ask something.”

Giselle, who was helping me with my boots, pointed toward my chest.

“What’s that hanging around your neck?”

At her question, I grabbed the angel statue dangling from my necklace.

Honestly, it was rather tacky for jewelry.

“I bought it because they said it carried an angel’s protection.”

Giselle’s brows narrowed slightly.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to ally yourself with a powerful noble house willing to support you?”

“No.”

I shook my head firmly and stepped out of the Grand Duke’s castle.

An alliance with another house would only be a temporary lifeline.

What I wanted was only one thing.

To transform the Grand Duchy I would one day inherit into a kingdom—no, into a great power that no nation on the continent would dare challenge.

“Giselle, I want to become the queen of a great nation through my own strength.”

“Does summoning a demon and wishing for help count as your own strength?”

“Summoning is a skill.”

I shrugged casually.

This is effort too.

As depressing as it was, this country had no future unless it borrowed even a demon’s power.

Even if I inherit the succession rights in times like these, the outcome is obvious.

Tightening my grip on the reins, I recalled one memory from the past.

That night, countless shooting stars had fallen from a milky-white sky, as though blessed by angels themselves.

“Idir. On the day this nation reaches its hundredth year of history, I will pass this seat on to you.”

That promise had meant everything to me.

Because that day was—

“Your Grace! Watch your footing!”

At the same moment Giselle shouted the warning, my horse reared onto its hind legs.

The dagger she threw flashed like lightning and stabbed into the ground.

Coming back to my senses, I saw a black lizard writhing as it let out its final cry.

“That startled me.”

Muttering calmly to myself, I looked around.

It seemed we had already reached our destination.

This time, I’ll definitely succeed.

At this point, I at least wanted to see what these supposedly magnificent demons looked like.

Without hesitation, I picked up the lizard and stuffed it into a sack.

It was immediately after I had mercilessly captured the creature.

“Uwaaaah!”

A scream echoed through the forest.

“Giselle.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Giselle reflexively drew her sword.

At the same time, another scream rang out, as if announcing its presence.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Having sensed something suspicious, I couldn’t simply ignore it.

The least I could do was see which fool had wandered into this place without fear.

The closer we got to the source of the screams, the louder the commotion became.

“…you idiot!”

Someone’s furious shout reached us in fragments.

Infighting?

Guessing at the situation, I sped up.

Then I pushed through the bushes.

“…A bear?”

A huge black bear was crouched before us.

“No. It’s a person.”

Looking again, it was indeed a person.

Judging by the lack of movement, he appeared dead.

I pointed toward the disturbed brush.

“Giselle. Track down whoever ran away and capture them.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After giving the brief order, I jumped down from my horse.

“He’s not dead?”

Taking a closer look, I found that the man was still breathing.

Though he looks close to it.

His condition was terrible.

When I lifted his robe, sticky blood poured out.

He looked as though he could die at any moment.

“Hm.”

Suppressing a groan, I carefully examined him.

There were clear signs that someone had desperately handled him earlier.

One thing stood out in particular—the ornament on his shoulder had been awkwardly torn off.

Looks like someone really wanted to hide his identity.

The crude disguise almost made me laugh.

His clothes and face had been deliberately dirtied, and anything that could reveal who he was had been removed.

Whoever did it must have acted the moment they sensed our approach.

It had been a wise decision made in a split second.

But—

You can’t fool my eyes.

Unfortunately, I knew exactly who this man was.

I had first met him at a banquet in the Adorif Empire.

Dressed impeccably in military uniform, he had politely escorted me—

and then split a man in half in the middle of the ballroom.

“I have carried out the order you gave.”

Covered in blood, the knight had knelt before his master without so much as a change in breathing.

I would never forget that calm voice.

Dejan Vojislav Nemanjić.

That was the moment the man known as the Immortal of Adorif became engraved in my memory.

“Should I kill him or save him?”

I began calculating rapidly.

The consequences if he died in my country.

The future if I saved him and sent him back.

As I weighed which outcome was worse, Giselle returned.

“Your Grace. I’ve captured a suspicious individual.”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Seeing the struggling figure restrained in Giselle’s grip, I made my decision.

“Giselle. Let’s take this man too.”

“This one?”

“Mm.”

There’s a lot I can gain from him.

Dejan Vojislav Nemanjić was so loyal that he might as well have lacked a sense of self.

At the same time, he was the powerful wall guarding the Empire’s frontier and a demon who loved the battlefield.

“This is getting boring. May I go outside for a moment?”

“Regulations forbid it.”

Yet the man I had actually met had been surprisingly courteous and refined.

“That’s why I’m asking.”

“…”

“You can just come with me and keep an eye on me, can’t you?”

“…Only for a moment.”

And, surprisingly, he was capable of reason.

If I make him owe me a debt now, it’ll be useful later.

Most importantly, his mere existence deterred wars from breaking out.

“Can we even get him onto a horse? He’s ridiculously heavy.”

I grunted as I pulled on Dejan’s sleeve.

“I’ll do it.”

Giselle quickly stepped forward and skillfully lifted him upright.

Then, at that moment, his hand twitched.

“Giselle!”

I instinctively reached toward her.

But Dejan was faster.

He grabbed her by the collar.

“Ugh!”

Thrown into a tree trunk, Giselle let out a pained groan.

“Sir Nemanjić! What do you think you’re doing?!”

I shouted angrily.

His head slowly turned toward me.

Our eyes met.

No.

There was no focus in Dejan’s gaze.

No—more accurately, there was no reason left in it.

Whatever the case, he was clearly not in his right mind.

“Hey.”

“…”

The knight of a foreign nation growled low in his throat.

Like a starving beast.

Slowly, he began walking toward me.

“Sir Dejan Vojislav Nemanjić.”

Backing away step by step, I felt along my side.

My fingers found the dagger hidden beneath my clothes.

There was no way something like this could defeat the man hailed as the strongest warrior on the continent—the so-called Immortal.

But I can’t just stand here and let him hit me.

A glance at his abdomen showed blood still dripping from the wound.

I’ll have to abandon my original plan.

Even if it complicated matters later, killing him was preferable to being attacked by him.

No matter how immortal he is, if I stab an existing wound again, he’ll die, right?

Holding my breath, I waited for the perfect opportunity.

I let him come closer.

And closer.

Finally, when he was near enough for my arm to reach him—

His massive hand suddenly filled my vision.

Then it moved in the opposite direction.

SMASH!

“Huh?”

To my astonishment, Dejan struck not me—

but himself.

THUD!

As if punching his own face wasn’t enough, he immediately slammed his forehead into the nearby tree trunk.

And then—

he collapsed unconscious.

“…Oh my?”