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Chapter 04
On the way home from Layton Bridge.
Prina’s head felt numb, as if she had been struck in the back of it.
“Don’t forget me, Prina.”
He had told her not to forget him…
“Don’t abandon me, Prina.”
He had told her not to abandon him…
And yet that same man had said—
“If you had met a worse noble, that hand would no longer be attached.”
He threatened to cut off my arm! I was only trying to return the ring!
‘Is this even possible?!’
Even though it had happened barely an hour ago, she still couldn’t believe it.
Was this what it meant?
If anyone was going to forget or abandon the other, it would be him first.
The person she had seen today felt like a completely different man.
The way he looked at her, his attitude, his tone—everything.
But why…
Why did this chilling feeling seem strangely familiar?
‘Has something like this happened before?’
Hugo had been a gentle person, but…
There had occasionally been small incidents.
Like suddenly shattering a cup during one of their dates, or accidentally breaking the armrest of a chair. Really, he broke a lot of things.
“Ah, I misjudged my strength.”
Did that even count as an excuse?
But Prina—
“Hugo is handsome and strong too!”
—had sincerely admired him instead. She had even been a little touched.
Are you an idiot?
“It’s okay, Hugo. I break my glasses sometimes too. I understand. Honestly, seeing this clumsy side of you just makes you seem more human and cute.”
“And I think you’re very cute too, Prina.”
How is breaking glasses the same as breaking furniture?
Still, Prina hadn’t thought much of it.
How could she stay so carefree about everything?
Because Hugo was absurdly beautiful.
He was stunning enough that simply being near him often clouded her reason.
Maybe that was why.
She had accepted every strange thing that happened around Hugo so easily.
“Hugo could do something like that!”
She had been completely blinded by love.
Still, it wasn’t as though Prina had never felt any unease.
“Ah! Hugo, I got pickpocketed! What do I do? That was my entire month’s salary! Waaah…”
There had been that day she cried after her wages were stolen by a pickpocket.
But then…
“Prina, the guards said they found your wallet.”
“Really?”
“Let’s go to the guard station together.”
When they arrived at the station, the pickpocket sat there with both arms broken, sobbing the moment he saw Prina.
At the time, she had felt slightly horrified by the guards’ excessive force…
‘But thinking back on it now…’
Maybe the man hadn’t been terrified of the guards at all.
Maybe he had been trembling at the sight of her boyfriend.
As those strange coincidences piled up, suspicion began to grow.
And so, one year ago, Prina decided to break up with Hugo.
‘But somehow things turned out like this…’
Not only had she failed to tell him they should break up, she hadn’t even managed to return the ring.
Because Hugo hadn’t let her say a thing!
Did he really injure his head during the mission?
The thought passed quickly as Prina stared at the ring set with a ruby-red gem and sighed.
This wasn’t some ridiculous soap opera… there was no way.
Still, Hugo had gone too far. No matter what, not even giving her the chance to speak was cruel.
Setting aside the fact that she couldn’t properly tell him they were over, she also failed to return the ring that had tormented her thoughts for the past year.
Hmm…
Maybe the ruby was fake. Given a commoner’s circumstances, that was probably more likely.
Perhaps that was why Hugo left without a second thought about the ring.
Prina desperately tried to comfort herself with hopeful thoughts.
Then—
“So you’re finally back?”
Prina hurriedly hid the ring.
It was a familiar face.
Her landlord…!
He looked thoroughly drunk as he staggered home.
Of all times to run into him now. What terrible luck.
“Isn’t it dangerous for a young woman to wander around so late at night?”
“…Thank you for your concern.”
It clearly wasn’t genuine concern, but it was better not to provoke him unnecessarily.
The landlord was a notorious loan shark in the area, and people who fell out of favor with him tended to disappear from the slums without a trace.
“Come to think of it, rent day is almost here. You’re preparing the money properly, aren’t you, Prina?”
Even though he knew perfectly well how tight her finances already were.
Not long ago, the landlord had suddenly raised the rent by twenty percent.
And Prina was in no position to afford it.
“Well then, I’ll see you on rent day. Heh heh.”
‘…What should I do?’
When the landlord decided to collect a debt, he always found a way to squeeze it out of people.
Before she realized it, thoughts of Hugo had completely vanished from her mind.
The slums of the capital.
Beyond Layton Bridge stretched a district that looked as though shadow and light had collided.
Rows of abandoned houses lined the streets, and the stench of rotting wood filled the air.
And this abandoned building, thick with the smell of blood, was a place no one ever came.
“Dispose of him.”
The black-haired man removed his bloodstained gloves and tossed them aside.
Stepping through a pool of blood without concern, he walked past.
At his feet lay a man covered in signs of torture.
“It seems quite a lot happened while I was away. Spies have even managed to crawl into the empire.”
Leaning deeply into the backrest of his chair, he casually crossed his long legs.
Ordinarily, by now he should have entered the capital triumphantly through a grand victory parade.
But Declan had returned unofficially instead.
The reason was to deal with spies hidden within Kaiser.
“My apologies, Your Grace. This was my failure.”
The aide bowed deeply at once.
“It’s fine. We already found out who was responsible.”
Declan’s crimson eyes turned toward the cold corpse that had failed to survive the torture.
A smile spread across his lips.
Anyone could be enchanted by such a beautiful exterior, yet the aide felt a chill run down his spine.
“…And, Your Grace, searching for the heirloom may require a little more time.”
The ring Declan always wore.
It was a treasured heirloom of Kaiser.
At some point during the occupation of the enemy castle, his memory had briefly gone blank.
He had no idea when the ring he always carried disappeared.
A shadow crossed Declan’s face.
“Isn’t it strange?”
The ring engraved with his mark was not something that could be lost easily.
There was no way he wouldn’t have noticed it slipping from his finger.
Which meant someone had manipulated his consciousness and stolen it.
“But who could it be?”
Declan stood there lost in thought.
For an instant, his crimson eyes seemed unfocused.
“Hugo.”
Suddenly, the drunk woman who had grabbed him earlier crossed his mind.
She looked like a rabbit, with lovely pink hair.
She had been fairly pretty.
For the brief moment she grabbed him, she was the only thing he could see.
That had never happened before.
The instant he recalled her face, a headache struck him.
Declan frowned.
Ever since returning from the war, sharp headaches would occasionally assault him whenever he tried to remember something.
It was incredibly irritating.
“…To be honest, I can’t think of anyone skilled enough to surpass you, Your Grace. I have no idea how someone could steal the ring without your knowledge. My apologies.”
Erasing thoughts of the woman from his mind, Declan gave a short order to his aide.
“Find it.”
