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Chapter : 11
“Perzen? Kaiser Perzen?”
I wondered why Bella had shown skills on the level of an assassin.
To think this belonged to Perzen.
“Beit, take a look. Isn’t this the necklace Perzen used to wear when he was young?”
At the emperor’s words, the gaze of the seasoned chamberlain fell on my neck.
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is indeed the necklace Grand Duke Perzen wore in his youth.”
“Did Perzen give it to you?”
The emperor’s eyes were fixed solely on the necklace.
No matter how I look at him, I still can’t believe his age.
In the meantime, I subtly examined the emperor’s face.
Setting aside the fact that he was extremely handsome, he looked far too young.
Not just “young,” but excessively so.
That made it strangely unsettling.
It felt like looking at a vampire that drank human blood.
What should I say?
In any case, the Yekaterina imperial family had long kept the House of Grand Duke Perzen in check.
The current emperor was especially bad.
He was the one who had ultimately assassinated the previous grand duke.
He tried to subdue them by any means necessary, but it didn’t go as planned.
In the end, the hatred turned into obsession.
After all, even being an anti requires interest and affection.
In short, Perzen was the emperor’s trigger point.
If I were to say that this necklace was given to me by Perzen…
[If you are killed by an A-rank, you may withdraw midway.]
The conversation I’d had with Ikarago in the cell flashed through my mind.
There was an unofficial route to escape—right here!
“Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct.”
Right. The emperor was an A-rank.
If I provoked him here, he might kill me…!
“This necklace was given to me by Grand Duke Perzen.”
“Haha, how amusing. You wore it so conspicuously around your neck? To a meeting with me?”
The eyes looking down at me glittered with interest and madness.
“What kind of relationship do you two have? Ah, isn’t this practically a confession that the House of Duke Lekaten and the House of Grand Duke Perzen are colluding?”
“Yes, Your Majesty! That’s right!”
I shouted as I pushed my neck even closer to the sword the emperor was pointing at me.
“Ugh…”
As the cold blade touched my skin, a shiver ran through me instinctively.
But if I could get out of here, I could endure something like this easily.
This ends here.
The emperor was one of the few A-ranks.
And among them, he was the most violent and impulsive character—surely he’d finish it in one strike.
“You know what that necklace signifies, don’t you? It seems you truly wish to die here.”
“Yes. That’s right!”
I said yes! I said yes, so what are you hesitating for? Kill me, hurry!
“This insolence…!”
I could feel strength entering the emperor’s hand—but that was all.
He didn’t raise his sword.
Even for an emperor, murder was still murder. Was it too much for me alone to draw all the aggro?
Wait, who all is here again?
[Lizena Itz, D-rank, Second Chief Maid of the Imperial Palace]
Right. That woman who guided me.
Looking around, I saw three people.
Aside from me: the emperor, the chamberlain, and that maid.
The A-rank emperor and C-rank Beit could only be controlled if certain conditions were met.
But that D-rank maid—I could do it right now.
Alright, here we go!
[Lizena’s “Hatred” rises to maximum.]
[Lizena’s “Impulse” rises to maximum.]
Then—
The woman who had been watching as if observing a spectacle suddenly grew dazed.
“Your Majesty! You must kill that wicked, bewitching creature at once!”
Whoa, that startled me.
Lizena suddenly shouted and rushed forward.
“I saw it myself, Your Majesty! She was conversing with Bella, Perzen’s direct knight! She’s clearly here to assassinate the Crown Prince!”
Yes! Good job! That’s it!
Seeing Lizena glare at me as if she wanted to tear me apart, I gave an internal round of applause.
When a supporting character fans the flames like this, the decisive action must be taken by the protagonist.
Now the enraged emperor would swing his sword and cut off my head—and it’d all be over.
“If Your Majesty cannot kill her, then I will!”
Huh?
But suddenly, Lizena whipped out a bluish dagger from inside her dress.
“Die! You filthy daughter of Yekaterina!”
She screamed and charged at me.
No! That’s not it!
If I got stabbed by a D-rank, that’d be all loss for me! I wouldn’t even die—it’d just hurt like hell!
“Ah!”
I jumped up and dodged, but the blade grazed my cheek by a hair’s breadth.
“For the sake of the House of Count Astira, I’ll wipe out the vile seed of Yekaterina!”
What is she even saying? This isn’t how it’s supposed to go!
This woman—don’t tell me she’s some kind of spy?
It seemed I’d chosen the wrong target.
But—
Whoosh, whoosh!
Damn it! To use the control window, I need to recognize her face!
Forget manipulating anything.
I was too busy dodging the dagger flying at me like mad.
“I knew it would come to this, Lizena.”
“Ugh!”
At that moment, with a sharp clang, the woman’s dagger was knocked away.
The emperor’s sword had blocked it in front of me.
“Bind the traitor at once!”
At the chamberlain’s shout, soldiers poured in from all sides.
“We’ve suspected for a long time that you were a spy planted by Count Astira… but we couldn’t catch you, so we let you live.”
“Y-you vile Roman Yekaterika! I even brought a poisoned blade today, determined to kill you!”
Restrained by the soldiers, Lizena glared at the emperor, seething with rage.
What is this now? I told you to kill me—why are they fighting among themselves?
“I’m furious I couldn’t kill you and your son! I should have at least killed that insignificant girl!”
“Lizena, how foolish. There is no absolution as comfortable as death.”
The emperor looked down at her and clicked his tongue softly. His eyes were cold, interest completely gone.
Wait—then was all that earlier just an act?
“Make her experience that living is hell. Watch her so she can never commit suicide.”
“Yekaterina! One day, you will surely pay for your sins!”
With the emperor’s final order, Lizena was dragged away by the soldiers.
I couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened.
I just blinked blankly.
“Now it’s your turn.”
The emperor stopped in front of me and finally raised his sword high.
“Y-yes… yes, that’s right.”
Whatever it is, thank you for killing me!
Sensing that the moment had finally come, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Why is it so quiet?
But it was eerily silent.
Was the blade… at my neck?
Did I die so instantly I couldn’t even tell?
If I open my eyes, will I be back in the possessed world?
Filled with anticipation, I cracked my eyes open—
“Gasp…!”
Oh, that scared me!
“Certainly beautiful.”
I almost screamed. The emperor was right in front of my face.
“Since you resemble both me and your mother, beauty is only natural.”
His sharp eyes bored straight into me.
“And if you’re this clever as well, it would be a waste to kill you.”
With a showy motion, the emperor tossed the sword he was holding to the chamberlain.
Damn it—what is he even doing?
“It seems the gods favor you. Come closer. Your name was Diel, wasn’t it?”
“Pardon…? Y-yes.”
Reluctantly, with no other choice, I nodded slowly.
“Duke Lekaten sent a telegram.”
Sitting in the seat of honor atop the dais, the emperor continued.
“He asked that once everything was over, you be returned to the ducal estate.”
“T-the duke… did?”
For the first time, I was truly shaken.
Even when Lizena had charged me with a knife, I hadn’t felt this flustered.
“I wondered why Lekaten doted on someone who isn’t even his biological daughter. So I summoned you before me.”
What a bunch of leeches.
Why do they keep telling me to go back?
The only place I was meant to return to was my original world.
Not the Lekaten estate, not the imperial palace, not headquarters—only where Baek Jua originally lived.
“Now I understand a little. Lizena had been a headache for a long time, but thanks to you, it was resolved in an instant.”
The emperor suddenly changed his expression and smiled strangely.
“I find myself liking you as well.”
“……”
Damn it. I bit the inside of my cheek and made a vow.
Of all things, Lizena had to be a spy.
From now on, if I mess with the control window recklessly again, I’m a dog—no, worse than a dog.
