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Chapter 1
The Pabelrn Empire was one of the greatest powers on the continent.
Among its imperial family was one particularly unusual prince.
His name was Kite von Gracias.
The younger brother of the late emperor and the Grand Duke who guarded the northern Iron Wall, he was famous for three things.
The first was his unmatched swordsmanship, so great that he was called the Empire’s Sword.
The second was his angel-like beauty.
And the third…
He was known as the Empire’s Mad Dog, a walking disaster.
It was because of his terrible personality.
His face looked like an angel, but everything he did was closer to a demon.
He would break someone’s arms or legs over a small argument.
He would even cause trouble with foreign envoys and start bloody conflicts between nations.
His nickname suited him perfectly.
Because of that, everyone who approached him because of his appearance eventually ran away.
And yet…
It seemed there was still someone in the world brave—or foolish—enough to challenge him.
Looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling above him, Kite spoke.
“Which crazy pervert pulled this stunt?”
He didn’t know what had been done to him, but it seemed he had been asleep for quite some time.
He normally suffered from insomnia and could barely sleep.
After getting a proper night’s sleep for the first time in a long while, his head felt surprisingly clear.
But that did nothing to improve his mood.
Because he had not fallen asleep by his own will.
Kite sat up and looked down at himself.
The first thing he noticed was the ugly pair of handcuffs tightly locked around his wrists.
They were made of thick, heavy metal.
The inside was lined with soft fur.
Bright pink fur.
It was such a strange shade of pink that it would stand out anywhere.
He couldn’t believe such a color even existed.
He especially couldn’t believe he was wearing it.
A curse escaped his mouth.
It wasn’t the kind of language an imperial prince and Grand Duke should use.
Kite didn’t care.
Only after he had shouted more than half of every curse he knew did he finally calm down.
First, I need to get out of here.
Thinking that, he immediately put strength into his arms.
But no matter how hard he pulled, neither the handcuffs nor the chain attached to them moved even a little.
Anyone who mastered swordsmanship naturally trained their body as well.
On top of that, Kite had always been confident in his strength since childhood.
Yet no matter how much force he used, the restraints didn’t budge.
It seemed they weren’t made from ordinary metal.
Something like this isn’t easy to obtain.
Whoever had kidnapped him had clearly planned everything in advance.
He had always wiped out anyone foolish enough to come after him.
Apparently, there was still someone reckless left in the world.
“So that’s how it is.”
A smile slowly spread across Kite’s reddish lips.
It was so beautiful that it seemed to brighten the room.
But that smile was nothing but poison.
If someone who knew him had seen it, they would have fled while screaming that the devil himself had appeared.
Because wherever Kite’s smile appeared…
Hell always followed.
Many people’s lives had already been ruined because of it.
That was why they all said the same thing.
No matter how beautiful he was, they should never have gotten involved with Kite, that crazy bastard.
A quiet prayer echoed through the empty hallway.
The one praying was Evelyn, the only granddaughter of the late Baron Frilly.
“Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, who are watching from heaven. Lord Arunda, who created this world. Lord Grasen, founder of the Empire. And every other god that exists in this world… please bless me.”
Her grandfather.
Her grandmother.
Her father.
Her mother.
The Creator God.
The Founding God.
She called upon every god whose name she knew.
But no matter how desperately she prayed…
Reality did not change.
Evelyn rested her forehead against the wall.
Thud.
Pain spread through her head.
But she almost preferred it.
She didn’t want to face reality.
Because behind that thick wall…
He was there.
The Empire’s Mad Dog.
Grand Duke Gracias.
I was lucky.
A woman with no power, no money, and no influence had successfully kidnapped him.
…Or perhaps she was unlucky.
If she had truly been lucky, the kidnapping would have failed!
Why on earth did he actually get caught?
Evelyn wanted nothing more than to cry.
“Grandfather… was this really the right thing to do?”
She wanted to ask the grandfather who was now peacefully resting beneath the earth.
Evelyn’s life had once been peaceful.
There had been a time when she suffered after losing her parents.
But not long afterward, her grandfather came for her.
He raised her himself.
Baron Frilly wasn’t wealthy, so she never lived the luxurious life expected of a noble.
But that didn’t matter.
Her parents hadn’t been rich either.
Evelyn was completely satisfied.
Besides, her grandfather knew many things.
He taught her all kinds of skills.
How to hunt animals in the wilderness for meat.
How to tell edible plants apart.
How to dispose of dead bodies.
How to make traps.
Everything a person truly needed to survive.
He also taught her how to read and write, along with many other things.
My kind and gentle grandfather.
Evelyn loved him dearly.
But happy times didn’t last as long as she wished.
Her grandfather was simply too old.
She found every medicine and remedy said to be good for the body.
But nothing could stop the passage of time.
“I don’t have much time left.”
Whenever he said those words, it felt as though her heart was breaking apart.
She gently held his hand, now as thin as a dry branch, while hiding her tears.
“No. You’ll live for a very, very long time, Grandfather.”
Whenever she said that, he only smiled with a complicated expression.
“Come to think of it… did I ever tell you that story?”
“What story?”
She had heard it more than a hundred times.
Even so, she pretended not to know.
Her grandfather continued.
“The story of Grand Duke Gracias.”
“No.”
“Then I should tell it to you. Back when I was on the battlefield, I received a great kindness from Grand Duke Gracias. A kindness I could never repay.”
As he searched through his memories, her grandfather slowly closed his eyes.
“Yes… it was winter. Snow was falling while we fought the barbarians at the Iron Wall.”
The story went on for quite a while.
She had heard it so many times that she could almost recite it herself.
Still, she enjoyed listening.
Some parts didn’t quite match up anymore.
But that didn’t matter.
Her grandfather looked so happy while telling it.
“But wasn’t the Grand Duke still very young back then?”
“He was. But the imperial family carries the blood of the gods. The Grand Duke had inherited that blood more strongly than anyone.”
Whenever Evelyn asked questions, her grandfather happily answered them.
Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he told her something he had never said before.
“If I die, you must leave this place. I’ve hidden our belongings in the cabin we often visited. I don’t have much wealth, but others will still covet what I own. I want you to live freely. And… if you can help Grand Duke Gracias, that would make me even happier.”
“You’re not going to die, Grandfather!”
Evelyn protested.
Her grandfather only smiled.
In the end…
Those peaceful days came to an end as well.
On the day her grandfather was buried, their relatives came to visit.
Their eyes were red with greed as they stared at Evelyn.
They searched every corner of the mansion, hoping to find hidden valuables.
Their greed was horrifying.
At that moment, Evelyn understood.
I have to do exactly what Grandfather told me.
She went to the cabin.
Inside the hidden bag were money, various tools…
And a letter.
“We are special people.”
That was how the letter began.
Long before the Empire was founded, there had been a tribe.
They worshipped the God of Foresight.
The people of that tribe possessed the ability to see the future.
As time passed, the tribe disappeared and their blood mixed with others.
Their power grew weaker.
Even so, it never completely vanished.
Once in every generation…
One child would be born with the gift of seeing the future.
“In my generation, that person was your grandmother. After her, it was my son.”
Only then did Evelyn finally understand…
The meaning behind the strange dreams she had sometimes seen.
The things she saw in those dreams would later happen in reality.
Sometimes they didn’t.
But that was only when the place she dreamed of was somewhere far away from where Evelyn lived.
When she was still a child…
There was simply no way for her to know whether those events had truly happened.
