Chapter 1

Prologue

The man was like a wounded beast.

A sharp blade pressed against the pale skin of her throat, drawing a single bead of blood.

Blood-red eyes stared back at the man—Cassis—calm and unflinching.

“Did you ask me what my purpose is?”

Her voice was steady, even with the sword threatening her neck.

Unlike Rosalyn, who showed no fear, his sea-deep blue eyes darkened with cold caution. To her, he appeared like a beast—wary and coiled—guarding its territory even in its bloodied state.

Pitiable, perhaps.

But Rosalyn was not standing before his sword out of clumsy pity.

“What if I say… it’s because I want to help you?”

His eyes sank further.

“Nonsense.”

Contempt.

And Rosalyn found that response perfectly natural.

Even if this man lingered in her mind, trying to help him was foolish. Especially if she knew his secret.

Yet here she was—unable to turn away, standing before him, knowing his blade might sever her throat at any moment.

“You know exactly what I do, don’t you?”

The droplet of blood rolled down the blade. Her tone was audacious.

But Rosalyn did not so much as flinch.
She was far too famous to tremble at mere danger.

The greatest information guild in imperial history—

Hydra.

Rumors from the streets, secret scandals of nobles, and dangerous state secrets whispered only in shadows—Hydra dealt in it all.

And the genius who had built it from the dirt into an empire-shaking guild—

Rosalyn Hayes.

The outlaw who held the nobles’ weaknesses so tightly that even the proudest among them dared not touch her.

Every one of those titles pointed only to her.

Cassis’s gaze deepened, like a beast weighing whether to tear out the intruder’s throat or let her live.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

“So… what is it you intend to demand in exchange for this?”

Rosalyn’s eyes flicked to the silver chain peeking through his disheveled shirt.

An old pendant.

The reason his sword pressed to her throat. The reason she had come to his chamber tonight.

“Well… I won’t say I’m not tempted.”

Her tongue clicked softly in regret as she stared at the necklace.
To waste such a fatal weakness—when no dirt could ever be dug up on Cassis—went against every instinct of her business mind.

And yet…

Even a woman who held every noble’s weakness in her grasp—Rosalyn Hayes—could not bring herself to use his.

Because…

“The truth you’re searching for…”

The blade cut a little deeper into her pale skin.

But Rosalyn’s expression showed no fear.

The usually playful red eyes sank, heavy and deep, like molten lava flowing silently beneath the earth.

Her voice carried that long-buried fire as it spread into the air:

“I’ll place it in your hands.”

Her slender fingers closed softly around the cold blade.

Though it bit into her skin, she did not even twitch.

Slowly, the sword fell from her throat.

“Take my hand.”

The blade dropped at last, clattering against the floor.

Her bleeding hand reached out toward him.

“Cassis Ainderth. No….”

The silver pendant glimmered under the moonlight.
Old, battered, yet still bearing the noble crest of a great tree whose countless branches reached toward the heavens.

Only one family in the Empire bore that sigil.

“The sole survivor of House Revron, accused of treason.”

The forbidden name left her lips.

“Cassis Revron.”

The tendons in his sword hand bulged as his grip tightened, ready to strike at any moment.

But Rosalyn’s voice remained steady:

“I’m the only one who can help you.”

Even holding a secret that could destroy him, she had no desire to use it. For one reason only—

Rosalyn Hayes. Or rather, Park Sohyun—

She too had once died miserably, fighting alone in her past life, chasing after “truth.”

It was time to admit it.

This infuriating, uptight man who grated on her nerves at every turn—

He resembled her former self far too much.

Cassis Revron.

Or rather, the man the world believed to be Cassis Ainderth.

Their first meeting had been… the worst.

A scorching late-summer day, at a provincial courthouse.

Of all places, why there?

The judge, wearing his ridiculous white wig, solemnly read the verdict:

“…The defendant mocked the sacred laws of the Empire by impersonating a noble of high rank…”

High rank, my ass.

All she’d done was teach a spoiled noble brat—who had been harassing a maid—a lesson.

Rosalyn crossed her legs in the defendant’s chair with a smirk.

‘Well, at least the payment was decent.’

After all, time was money for the head of a great guild. She hadn’t charged the maid, of course. Instead, she had emptied the young master’s pockets herself.

But the result?

“…Additionally, the defendant is charged with extortion, blackmail, and fraud—”

One charge piled onto another.

The judge droned on and on, listing her sins.

Rosalyn dug a finger in her ear, bored.

Her attitude was insolent, her clothes gaudy as though she’d just stepped out of a resort.
Completely inappropriate for a courtroom.

But when the defendant was Rosalyn Hayes, no one dared say a word.

Judge, lawyer, guards—
all glanced at her nervously but restrained themselves.

She was, after all, the head of Hydra.
The woman whispered to have every noble in the Empire dancing in her palm.

Even the judge reading her verdict was one of her victims.

“Didn’t you climb onto the bench through your in-laws’ power? And aren’t you cheating on your wife besides?”

“H-how do you know that?!”

“I’m Rosalyn Hayes.”

“…What do you want?”

“A fine. That should be enough.”

And so the case should have ended with a slap on the wrist.

But then—

“…Therefore, the defendant is sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service, under the supervision of Black Iron Knight Commander Cassis Ainderth.”

Rosalyn nearly choked, her chair tilting as she sat up.

“What?”

Had she misheard?

Even the finger idly scratching her ear froze in shock.

At that moment, the courtroom doors opened.

Step. Step.

Heavy footsteps echoed inside.

Rosalyn whipped her head around.

A man in a dark navy uniform approached. Black hair, sharp features, and those icy blue eyes that seemed colder than the frozen sea.

She knew him instantly.

The Black Iron Knights’ uniform.
The black hair and blue eyes—his unmistakable mark.

Cassis Ainderth.

Rosalyn’s mind screamed:

What the hell are YOU doing here?

The Reaper of the Battlefield. The War Demon. The Empire’s youngest knight commander. The heir of House Ainderth.

He carried every fearsome title imaginable—so what was he doing in some backwater courthouse?

Of course, it was the Black Iron Knights who had dragged Rosalyn to court countless times.

The man stopped in front of her.

“Defendant Rosalyn Hayes.”

His voice was as cold as his gaze.

“From this moment, the Black Iron Knights will take you into custody.”

“Me?”

Clink.

Before she could react, cold cuffs snapped onto her wrist.

Rosalyn looked down in disbelief at the silver chains.

“Wait… what is this—”

She raised her other hand to point indignantly.

Clink.

Now both wrists were cuffed.

Her red eyes widened.

Cuffed. Nicely, they say? Like hell!

Who dared treat her like this?

The man who had so casually shackled her gave her a slow once-over.

“You’ll be issued proper attire upon arrival.”

His tone was formal, polite even.

Rosalyn’s face twisted.

Did he just insult my clothes?

He might’ve wrapped it in courtesy, but the meaning was plain.

And then—

“We depart immediately. Stand.”

It was a command, cold and absolute.

Rosalyn shot to her feet—not because of his order, but to glare at the true culprit: the judge.

The bastard who had just sentenced her to this nonsense.

But the judge averted his gaze in guilt.

So this was revenge, huh?

She understood it instantly.

The timid judge hadn’t dared retaliate openly.
So he had dusted off the almost-forgotten punishment of “community service,” assigning her to the most notorious hardliner in the Empire: Cassis Ainderth.

Her crimson eyes narrowed.

You little… I’ll get you for this.

While she plotted vengeance, two knights stepped forward and grabbed her arms.

“Ow! Easy, easy! Do you want to bruise me?!”

Rosalyn howled, her voice echoing across the courtroom.

Cassis silenced the chaos with a flick of his hand.

“Resist further, and you’ll be escorted by force.”

The knights released her. Rosalyn rubbed her arm with a pout.

“Fine, fine. Where are we going, anyway?”

Her tone was suddenly cooperative.

She needed to play along—until she found a way to slip free of this absurd mess.

But then Cassis, standing at the doors, spoke without turning back:

“The Black Iron Knights.”

“…What?”

Her eyes went wide.

The heavy doors creaked open, letting in the blazing summer sunlight.

“From now on, you’ll be residing at the Knights’ headquarters.”

Rosalyn’s jaw dropped.

Community service was one thing—

But living at their headquarters?

The War Demon’s lair itself?