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Chapter 13
“Really? She’s cuter than I expected.”
At the woman’s words as she sharply turned her head, her hair fluttered. Vivian took a step back.
“…Yes. Are you here to buy a painting?”
“Hm. Do you think I came here to buy a painting?”
“If you’re not here to purchase a painting, then I don’t know why you would visit an atelier.”
It was extremely rare for an imperial citizen to come to an art studio. When high-ranking nobles wanted a painting, they usually summoned Vivian to their own residence or sent an agent instead.
But an imperial soldier?
And not even a regular guard—someone from the governor’s personal escort.
“So, what brings you here?”
Glancing sideways at the woman’s insignia, Vivian swallowed hard and steadied herself.
“If you’re here to buy materials, I’ll show you this way.”
Letting out a small sigh as if she already understood, Vivian deliberately led them past the finished paintings toward the shelves deeper inside the atelier.
The man who had come with her did not move an inch from the doorway, but the woman followed Vivian inside.
“Miss Rozia.”
The woman, who had been lightly scanning the paints on display with a quiet chuckle, suddenly reached out and lightly tapped Vivian’s back as she walked ahead.
A chill rose from the spot where her hand touched, quickly spreading through Vivian’s entire body.
“Do you really think I came to buy materials?”
When Vivian stopped, the woman—who had been following at an easy pace while looking over the shelves—stopped as well.
“Then why did you come?”
“Why do you think I’m here?”
Though her voice carried a hint of laughter from behind, it sent a cold draft down Vivian’s spine.
Looking at Vivian’s life over the past few days—
A new governor had arrived, and since then, she hadn’t had a single peaceful night’s sleep. The ankle injury she’d gotten while trying to escape the governor’s office had only recently healed. And today, she’d gotten out of bed after staying up all night.
So this situation—answering a question with another question—felt pointless and utterly exhausting.
“Did you come on His Excellency the Governor’s orders?”
At Vivian’s blunt words, the woman snickered, then burst into loud laughter. Vivian turned to face her as she laughed, even clapping her hands.
The woman wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes and muttered,
“This is fun. Really fun. I think I understand why the lieutenant colonel is looking for you, Miss Rozia.”
“….”
It didn’t seem like she was expecting an answer, so Vivian simply stood there silently.
“That’s right. I was told to bring Miss Rozia before the lieutenant colonel.”
“May I ask why?”
“Well…”
She drew out the sound and shrugged.
“He didn’t tell me the reason. You’ll find out when you get there. And you don’t really need to know that, do you?”
“….”
“No matter the reason, if His Excellency summons you, Miss Rozia, you come.”
Even in the face of words that trampled all over the Kingdom of Rozethea, Vivian didn’t particularly waver. It was humiliating—but it was reality.
The man whose true intentions were unknowable, Governor Phaeron Edwin, wearing the mask of a savior, had chosen to spare Vivian, making himself appear as a ray of hope in the eyes of the kingdom’s people.
Because of that, after careful thought, Vivian became certain.
He will never kill me.
No—he cannot. No one would go to the trouble of creating a piece on the board only to discard it before getting any real use out of it.
“Has His Excellency perhaps changed his mind?”
Vivian calculated her own value.
For a man so terrifyingly shrewd, killing her on a whim made no sense. Using her again and again, squeezing her dry to the marrow, and then disposing of her without a trace—that would be plausible. But giving up everything he’d gained by sparing her, at this early stage, not even a week later?
The man she knew weighed gains and losses carefully.
If calming the Rothe Society’s show of force was still his goal, then by Vivian’s calculations, her life was within a reasonably safe margin.
“Changed his mind about what?”
And then came an answer that added weight to her calculation.
“You’re not worried he might kill you, are you?”
The woman’s eyes widened into perfect circles as they rolled about. She seemed to think for a moment, then quickly returned to her playful expression.
“Mm. Well, maybe he might…”
“….”
“But if that’s the case, then that’s just your fate, Miss Rozia. You’ll have to accept it.”
The meaning behind those words was chilling enough to make one’s hair stand on end, yet Vivian instead felt relieved.
If that man had truly changed his mind and sent an order to kill her, they wouldn’t have even entertained questions like this. And the woman in front of her seemed not to have heard anything of the sort.
The woman lowered her eyes slightly, looking at Vivian, who stood frozen as if nailed in place.
“I don’t really want to handle a cute little sister roughly. You’ll come along quietly, right?”
As she spoke, the woman conspicuously tapped the revolver hanging at her waist with her fingertips.
Vivian knew it would probably end at a threat—but even so, she felt her blood run cold.
This is just a threat…
By the time they reached the main gate of the governor’s residence, Vivian was completely worn out.
“Have you ever seen the lieutenant colonel’s face?”
It was because of the female soldier who never stopped talking for even a moment. Walking together, Vivian had unintentionally learned her personal details.
Angela Kranz—blood type O, twenty-five years old. Her birthday was January 29. So, soon.
“I’m not asking for anything big as a birthday present.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I said, I’m not asking for anything big.”
“Are you… asking me for one?”
The outrageous idea of extorting a birthday present from a citizen of the kingdom left Vivian speechless. Asking for a simple congratulation might have been tolerable—but a gift?
“I heard the paintings you draw are pretty famous, Miss Rozia?”
“I just paint quietly on my own. Compared to artists who’ve studied formally, I’m nowhere near their level.”
“Exactly. So your painting wouldn’t be a big present, right?”
No matter how much Vivian protested—saying it wouldn’t sit right with her conscience, or that her humble paintings might not even be pleasing to the eye—Angela kept pushing with a single word: “Still.”
What weighed on Vivian’s heart was the reality that, because of that single word, she would have to spend days painting something to offer up to Angela.
She hadn’t even finished the commissioned work she already had and was in the middle of rearranging her schedule, yet she was about to take on a new commission—one she couldn’t refuse.
Both Angela and the taciturn man following behind were people who had mercilessly shot kingdom citizens to death, and yet here she was, trembling, carefully censoring every word she spoke and constantly turning her mind in their presence.
Barely keeping her frustration in check, Vivian crossed the garden and headed toward the main building. With Angela beside her, no one tried to stop them.
The governor’s residence, remodeled from the royal palace of Rozethea, was a place anyone could enter as long as they had proper status and justification—imperial nobles at the very least. Sadly, only the citizens of Rozethea were denied the chance to face their homeland’s former glory.
“I was honestly surprised.”
Scenes that she hadn’t noticed on the day of the speech—when she’d rushed straight to the governor’s office—now forced themselves into her view. Memories she thought she’d forgotten slowly resurfaced.
Though she’d been young back then, everywhere she looked she could see her mother’s gentle voice, the clear sunlight, and their peaceful daily life. Memories she hadn’t even known she remembered.
“When I heard someone had snuck into the governor’s office, I came thinking, ‘What kind of lunatic is this?’ I never expected you to look this cute.”
Angela said this while Vivian’s gaze was still caught by the garden.
They had already arrived in front of the main building. Answering in a hollow tone, Vivian finally came back to herself.
“That’s her…”
“Isn’t that the woman?”
To the kingdom’s people, Vivian was the first person to be dragged to an execution ground and come back alive; to the empire’s people, she was the gutsy woman who had stormed into the governor’s office. She was already well-known.
“The woman who went into His Excellency’s office.”
As two staff members managing the building’s entrance exchanged words, people inside began gathering in an instant.
“Sorry, but could you all clear out?”
After roughly filling out the entry register, Angela waved her hand irritably, opening a path.
“Lady Angela?”
“I’m carrying out His Excellency’s orders, so move.”
“But this woman previously—”
“My orders were to bring Miss Rozia. That’s all.”
“……”
“I’m starting to get annoyed.”
Angela flicked her reddish hair back. The taciturn male soldier beside her gave Vivian a look. Vivian hurriedly stuck close behind Angela.
Contemptuous stares and mocking remarks followed Vivian relentlessly.
“No need for any more guidance, right?”
After finally shaking off the crowd and reaching a quiet area, Angela spoke again.
“You just need to go to the governor’s office, Miss Rozia. You’ve been there once when the owner wasn’t around, so you know the way.”
“What… why would you say that?”
“Why? It’s true, isn’t it?”
Unable to find a response, Vivian lowered her head.
Because they’d shown up so suddenly early in the morning, she’d rushed into the governor’s residence—enemy territory—without even having time to prepare any weapons.
She wasn’t a frontline combatant in the Rothe Society—more of a distant sniper. She’d never been directly exposed to danger like this before. If something happened, she might be forced into close combat or a desperate escape she was never meant for.
“Yawn. I was tired from early morning, so I’m going to rest a bit. It’s right ahead anyway, so go quietly.”
Angela covered her mouth and let out a small yawn.
“Don’t wander off, or you’ll get in trouble.”
With that, Angela really did leave with the male soldier who’d come with her.
Even if it’s right ahead, is it really okay to leave me like this?
Vivian did know the way to the governor’s office. It wasn’t far from here. Still, she couldn’t understand why they would just leave her completely unguarded.
But rather than dwelling on that question, it was more important to meet him quickly and leave the governor’s residence—where she never knew when, where, or by whom she might be harmed—as soon as possible.
“Oh. You’re here.”
A massive door that looked anything but ordinary. Officials standing in front of it noticed Vivian and approached her.
