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CHAPTER 08
In her previous life, news that Ariella had been imprisoned in the tower did not reach Forenze until three years later. The fact that Freddy only came to find her then proved as much.
Her father was stubborn, yes—but if he learned she was destined to be locked away in a tower, he would surely change his mind.
The problem was the Emperor.
An annulment absolutely had to happen within three years. After that, the interests of the two families would become too deeply entangled, and the marriage could no longer be undone no matter what happened.
“I’ll prove my worth somehow as quickly as possible.”
If Ariella became someone indispensable to the Crown Prince, then the Emperor would separate her from Dmitri himself.
It was deeply ironic.
“At the latest, within three years, I’m confident I can become someone Your Highness absolutely needs. Someone too valuable to keep by your side. Then His Majesty will surely allow the annulment of our marriage.”
An unreadable emotion tightened in his eyes.
Even while her heart pounded in her head, his beauty still struck her with painful clarity.
Ariella blinked slowly.
“So for now… please just say that you like me.”
“Why would you go that far?”
Ariella clenched her teeth hard enough to make them creak.
He really did have a talent for making people feel irritated.
“I don’t want to be locked in the tower.”
“Even if that happens, I’ll quickly—”
“No. I could never endure waiting there. I’d rather die than go back into that tower. It was truly horrifying.”
Dmitri faintly furrowed his brow.
Then he let out a long sigh.
It felt strangely new to her—that traces of emotion could still be read from the young tyrant. Even if those emotions were merely annoyance and displeasure.
“And promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“If everything goes well and we separate safely… then five years from now, you must send me back to my homeland. No matter what, safely.”
Me, and my country too.
“…Why?”
“What?”
“Why would you return after five years instead of immediately?”
Why? Because I need to see with my own eyes whether or not you become a madman in five years.
But there was no way she could say that aloud.
If things were resolved, it would only make sense for her to leave this country immediately.
Ariella parted her lips, but no words came out.
Not a single convincing excuse came to mind.
Dmitri shook his head.
“Whatever the reason, I refuse. The moment the marriage is annulled, you’ll return to your homeland.”
“No!”
So you expect me to just stand by and watch while you destroy my country?
“Then why?”
Dmitri’s gaze became sharper than before.
If she said anything foolish, it felt as though he might bite into her throat at any moment.
“I… actually… I mean…”
Think. Think.
A decent excuse.
As Ariella hesitated, unable to answer, Dmitri leaned closer.
The scent that swept over her made her stomach twist.
He lowered his lips so close to her ear they almost touched.
Her mind went blank.
“Why? Have you fallen for me the way you admire His Majesty the Emperor?”
Ariella squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
Then suddenly she met Gray’s eyes over Dmitri’s shoulder.
The dog had perked up his ears and tilted his head to one side, looking as though he were enjoying the spectacle.
Thanks to that, Ariella barely managed to regain her senses.
“That’s right!”
Ha.
Dmitri laughed as though utterly dumbfounded.
Using just one finger, Ariella lightly pushed against his chest.
But he didn’t budge an inch, merely lowering his gaze toward her.
As though saying, Go on then. Keep talking.
“As you know, the Triphina Empire is admired across the entire continent. And among everything, there are the most rumors about Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
That part wasn’t a lie.
Praise for Dmitri’s beauty had already spread throughout the world.
Even Ariella ten years ago had looked forward to meeting him with excitement.
“To be honest, Your Highness already knows you’re attractive, don’t you? An ugly woman like me can’t help but blindly adore beautiful things.”
“What nonsense.”
Of course, she hadn’t expected him to believe her.
She had only needed an excuse.
Though admittedly, it wasn’t very convincing.
Then suddenly Dmitri pressed closer.
Ariella’s back hit the door with a thud.
“It’s so ridiculous I can’t even laugh.”
At a distance where their lips could nearly touch, he sneered.
And yet the man claiming it was ridiculous wasn’t laughing at all—his eyes burned sharply with anger.
“And what happened to that loyal devotion you claimed to feel toward His Majesty the Emperor?”
“How can loyalty and love possibly be the same thing?”
Ariella lifted her chin stubbornly.
She could feel her ears turning red from her own shamelessness.
Thankfully, the sun was already setting.
“So what, you’re saying you fell in love with me at first sight?”
“You’re saying exactly what I was about to.”
Ariella twisted this way and that, trying to escape him.
Just as she finally managed to slip free, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back in front of him.
As though one step backward would send her over a cliff, Ariella clung tightly to his arm.
“You claim you’re actively helping me end this relationship, yet you also like me?”
“W-Well… when you like someone, you naturally want to give them what they want. I only want to stand on Your Highness’s side.”
“My side?”
He rolled the words around in his mouth as though hearing them for the first time in his life.
“But why specifically five years?”
Seriously, why was he so persistent about this?
“B-Because…”
“I’m not a fool like my father who gets deceived by compliments and flattery. Don’t even think about feeding me obvious lies.”
“Because five years from now, I’ll be over twenty.”
“So?”
“By then, I should live a new life too. I can’t keep pining after someone forever.”
“So you expect me to believe all that absurd nonsense?”
His pitch-black eyes wandered across her face.
No—not wandered. Searched.
As Dmitri’s gaze drifted over her forehead, brows, cheekbones, and lips without order, Ariella stared only into his eyes.
Darkness without end.
As though she might be drawn into them if she looked too long.
Unable to define the strange emotion welling inside her, she fled from it by squeezing her eyes shut.
“Fine, I understand, so if you’d just let go—”
“You’re… on my side?”
Every movement Ariella made came to a halt.
Even the trembling in the hand clutching his arm.
Sometimes, unexpectedly, a person encountered emotions they had never imagined.
Time flowed strangely slowly as she stood so close to Dmitri.
As though this space had been severed from the outside world.
He wasn’t doing anything at all.
So why was her heart wavering like this?
The man whose great secret had been exposed had removed his mask.
And behind that mask was a boy who had never truly grown up.
What exactly was Dmitri searching for in her right now?
The realization startled Ariella deeply.
She was wondering about his feelings.
That thought horrified her so much that she abruptly shoved Dmitri away.
This time, he stepped back obediently.
Then he glanced down at the arm she had pushed away.
“Whether Your Highness believes me or not doesn’t matter. For now, I’m on your side. Because our goals are the same.”
“How exactly are our goals the same?”
“Of course they are. I want our marriage annulled within three years, and five years from now I want to return to my family. Your Highness also wants to separate from me and send me away.”
“……”
“The feelings I hold for Your Highness aren’t shallow. I don’t expect something as trivial as love from you.”
“Then what?”
“I’ll make you into the greatest sage ruler in history.”
Dmitri let out a hollow laugh, as though the words were too absurd to even process.
Not missing the opportunity, Ariella slipped completely out of his grasp.
She hurried away from him and stopped before the window where he had been sitting earlier.
Stretching out her arms toward the sky where the sunset blazed in its final glory, she spoke:
“O little sun that illuminates this empire brightly… please allow me to stand beside you in that glorious place.”
At some point, the long-reaching crimson sunset seemed ready to touch his feet.
Ariella silently watched the light.
The suffocating tension flowing between them trembled as though it might overflow at any moment.
She had only five years to crush the budding seeds of a tyrant and turn him into a wise ruler.
And if those seeds survived instead…
Then it would be better for him to be deposed from the position of Crown Prince altogether.
The world she had returned to was far too different from the one she believed she knew.
Yet one thing had not changed:
The fate of Forenze still rested in her hands.
Even if everything she had built inside herself had crumbled apart during this conversation.
“Ariella.”
At the sudden sound of her name, her body stiffened.
Had she ever imagined, in her long-yet-short life, that Dmitri would call her by name?
The feeling was strangely uncomfortable.
No—in the first place, she had never even considered that he might know her name.
“What exactly are you thinking?”
Dmitri pressed a hand to his forehead as though he had a terrible headache.
A suffocating silence filled the office.
“I think I finally understand why His Majesty was swayed by your silver tongue.”
“……”
“But I no longer feel any need to continue this conversation.”
The door opened once again.
This time, Ariella obediently followed his wishes.
She bent her knees politely in farewell and was just about to step outside—
Bang.
Dmitri suddenly slammed the door shut again.
A cold presence swept past the back of her neck.
