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Chapter 4
“Eek!”
Leaning against the wall, Vivianne flinched at the rustling sound and shrank back in alarm.
A jet-black rat crawled across the prison floor. Instinctively, she held her breath and quickly pressed herself against the opposite wall. As it dragged itself past, the hem of her thin dress tore with a sharp rip.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!
A damp, solitary cell with not a single ray of sunlight allowed in.
If she stayed in this darkness long enough, she felt as if she would become just another speck swallowed by it. Air that sliced at her skin like a blade, pitch-black fear, and loneliness all pressed down on her body. It felt like walking alone at the edge of hell.
Her head throbbed as though she had been beaten with a blunt club.
‘In my previous life, no one will even look for me. My real body is probably lying cold and lonely on the floor. Will the first to find it be the landlord coming to collect overdue rent, or the irritable woman in the next room?’
What did it even matter?
Because of her pessimistic nature, she accepted her situation far too realistically.
Leiden Valder. Just because she knew a little about his life and traits didn’t mean she had the right to look down on him. Even the fact that she had hoped upon seeing his dazzling smile—like a sliver of light—had been foolish.
‘I tried so hard to please him!’
Vivianne hugged her small body with a dazed expression.
A few minutes earlier—
He had whispered into her ear with a breathtakingly beautiful face.
<Do you have any idea how ignorant and improper it was to dare tell Valder to wait two years? Oh, yes. And I’ll show you what the price of such petty lies is.>
He looked toward the distant sword shining in the distance and smiled again. It was so radiant and fresh it was almost chilling.
<Soon, I will show you a blade that has never tasted blood.>
His words, completely mismatched with his smile, were cruel.
‘Isn’t he basically saying he’s going to hunt me down instead of a deer!’
Thinking of Leiden Valder’s displeased face made her tremble.
In romance fantasy novels, heroines always ended up happy. Lavish food, warm shelter, kind people, clever schemes, ridiculous luck, and a righteous personality.
But she had none of those things.
Her only option was the madman Valder.
“What a piece of trash.”
That was her final evaluation of Leiden.
Just then, the surroundings suddenly brightened. The faint glow of a swaying lantern came into view, and the murmuring of guards reached her ears.
“So they called her the Star of Lethe that never fades… looks like she couldn’t beat Princess Flora after all.”
“Shh! Speaking the princess’s name is forbidden.”
“Come on, it’s just us here. Princess Flora… ah, she was like a spring flower.”
“Tsk. Even that woman is a beauty, but it seems His Majesty wasn’t satisfied.”
Because a familiar name had been mentioned.
‘Flora. They’re talking about Flora Greta.’
Flora was the original story’s heroine.
The Frozen Flower of Ice Castle was a novel inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Its core plot was the love between Crown Prince Logan of the Valder Empire and Princess Flora of the Greta Kingdom, who overcame countless trials to be together.
Leiden was the villainous second male lead who desired Flora. As the second prince, he committed numerous crimes while his father, Emperor Daven III, was critically ill, tormented Logan relentlessly, and developed an obsessive fixation on Flora. But as with most romance fantasy stories, justice prevailed. He lost everything and fell into ruin.
Later, when Logan heard of his death, he shed tears, defending the brother who had once tried to kill him until the very end. In the ending, Logan, burdened with guilt, gave up the throne and disappeared with Flora to a place unknown to all.
“Still trash.”
Vivianne muttered again. It was only natural that Flora, the embodiment of justice and beauty, had rejected him.
Was he now going to take out his frustrations on female prisoners because he couldn’t forget Flora and take their lives? What a monstrous bastard. Worse than garbage. Trash not even fit for recycling.
Why did the author even let him live in the epilogue?
Instead of showing Logan and Flora’s new beginning and happy days, the epilogue revealed that Leiden had survived and taken the throne.
“Haah…”
Her vision spun. Dreams and life plans she had never even dared to fully form surfaced in her mind.
‘Living peacefully—eating good food in a warm place, surrounded by people I like.’
Was that too much to ask?
Her throat felt like it was burning. Her mouth was as dry as desert sand. An overwhelming thirst washed over her.
“W-water… please give me some water.”
A thin voice escaped her lips. Even now, she still wasn’t used to hearing it.
“What did she say?”
“She’s asking for water… she says she’s very thirsty…”
Crouched down, Vivianne answered softly.
“Hmm. Look at her again. That beauty really does bewitch men. Have you ever seen hair like that?”
“I’ve seen plenty of fallen nations, but silver hair like that is rare.”
“Of course! That hair would fetch a high price. What a waste.”
“Hey! She’s probably already been touched by His Majesty. Don’t get any ideas.”
“Who doesn’t know that? Still, she’s royalty. Look at that pale skin. It almost glows.”
“She’s a woman of Lethe. Like you said, she does shine. Soft like cream… her shoulders, her neck…”
Feeling the men’s lewd gazes, Vivianne pulled her torn dress tighter.
‘Leiden, you bastard—tearing my clothes like this!’
As the blatant stares continued to rake over her body, humiliation burned within her. It felt as though a fire was rising deep in her chest.
“The knights of Valder are all rotten water. No wonder the master, no wonder the servants.”
“What did you just say?”
“Everything you say reeks of filth.”
The two guards’ mouths fell open. For a moment they stared blankly, thinking they had misheard. Then, as she scoffed again, their eyes sharpened.
“You filthy Lethean bitch!”
“I’ll tell Leiden Valder before I die.”
“W-what did you just say about His Majesty’s name?! You insane woman! Die quietly!”
“Whether I die soon or go mad, what does it matter? Tell Leiden Valder that this empire is rotting from within.”
Vivianne growled, veins bulging in her neck.
“I should twist that woman’s neck—”
“Hurk!”
Vivianne turned coldly away from the guards when a sudden scream rang out, and she rolled her eyes.
“Should I cut out that filthy tongue? Or blind those obscene eyes?”
A smooth but effortless voice.
“Who gave you permission to cause such a disturbance?”
The moment she saw the owner of the voice, it felt as though the darkness split open and light poured in.
“C-Commander! We have committed a death-worthy sin! I swear we never laid a hand on the prisoner—”
“Wrong.”
“We are innocent!”
“That is not the issue.”
At his cold rebuke, the guards shut their mouths instantly.
“Is this the Empire of Valder, where prisoners are treated as less than human?”
“Please kill us!”
As he tilted his head instead of drawing his sword, relief flickered across the men’s faces. After another nod, they bowed hastily and backed away.
“Please forgive our rudeness.”
Vivianne quickly composed her expression.
So he’s the commander. There was only one commander in the original story.
‘Aaron… Commander of the Holy Knight Order Aaron!’
Although he hadn’t appeared much in the main story due to battles against monsters, he was one of the few who stood on equal footing with Leiden Valder in the early epilogue. He was both the Emperor’s right hand and someone to be wary of.
Her heart pounded.
If Leiden was the seed of evil, Aaron was his opposing force.
He was called the “Saint of the Blue Jewel” for his clear sapphire eyes. His dark navy formal uniform, decorated with medals and golden aiguillettes of honor, swayed elegantly. His long black hair, loosely tied back, flowed like a dark wave.
Vivianne stared at the man who looked as though he had stepped out of a painting.
And in contrast, the man himself felt as if his thoughts had completely stopped.
Aaron Clark had just encountered something in his life that utterly overwhelmed his senses.
He had come here as part of his usual duties. One floor below were cells holding criminals sentenced to life imprisonment or death, as well as experimental monsters. Patrol was a routine task.
He had already been informed about the “Star of Lethe that never fades.” He had only been surprised that Leiden had not killed her. If fortunate, she might have become a servant of the Valder royal family. That was all.
But—
The guards’ misconduct had been displeasing, yet he had reprimanded them far more harshly than intended. Even issuing threats in the manner of “Leiden himself.”
It felt like a forbidden fruit had suddenly fallen into his hands.
“Thank you, Commander Aaron.”
“Do you know my name?”
When she softly called his name, Aaron unconsciously moistened his dry lips.
“You are someone of great renown.”
“Princess Vivianne of Lethe.”
With those soft pink eyes looking at him, how could he not recognize her?
“Let’s say she is the last survivor of Lethe.”
Her faint, helpless smile left him dazed.
“And soon, I suppose I’ll be called its final survivor.”
“I apologize.”
Aaron lowered his head briefly and bit his lip. Then he suddenly looked at her with concern.
“Your hand… are you injured? Perhaps—”
He wanted to ask if it was Leiden’s doing, but restrained himself.
“Oh, I just fell when I was locked up. It’s nothing…”
She couldn’t finish speaking. He had already taken her hand.
‘Is he telling me to take it?’
When she hesitantly offered her hand, he quickly took out a handkerchief and wrapped her wound. It wasn’t only Vivianne who flushed red—his ears were slightly tinged as well.
‘Her hand is small.’
It was not an emotion, merely a fact.
Yet the moment her silver hair brushed across that hand like flowing water, his breath caught.
In an instant, it felt as though a celestial world had unfolded before his eyes.
