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Chapter 02
…the original male lead buff was just too strong.
No—maybe it would be more accurate to say that the villainess debuff was too powerful.
“Yevgenia, this won’t change anything. You were the one who cried and begged to be engaged in the first place, and now you’re talking about breaking it off?”
“But, Father! That was before I knew Raymond was such a crazy bastard!”
“Watch your mouth! You’re a noble lady—how dare you speak so crudely!”
“…Before I knew he was that insane.”
This couldn’t be happening.
Seriously, what kind of guy uses someone else’s dad card before I even get the chance?!
That lunatic Raymond had run off bleeding from the head, and before I could even catch my breath, he’d already gone crying to my father—spilling everything in excruciating detail.
Of course, he conveniently left out his own mistakes and made it sound like I’d gotten jealous over something trivial!
“Father, I’ve really come to my senses this time. I’ve reflected on everything I’ve done wrong!”
“You said those exact words three years ago. And the next day, you tore up Lady Aer’s dress, didn’t you?”
“…This time it’s really different, Father!”
Even though Yevgenia’s voice was thick with indignation, her father didn’t so much as flinch.
After a brief sigh, he spoke in a grave tone.
“Yevgenia Rose Martur.”
“…”
“Larson’s ‘Name’ has already manifested on your body, and everyone knows it.”
“…”
“In that situation, do you really think an annulment is possible?”
No argument, no excuse came to mind.
Because in this empire, the weight of a ‘Name’ was immense.
Once the heir of one ducal house and the heir of another were engaged—and a Name had appeared—breaking off the engagement was practically impossible.
‘But if we don’t break it off, your one and only daughter is going to die!’
As Yevgenia stared at her father with that desperate thought, he too grew more solemn.
“Do you know what our empire’s greatest weakness is, Yevgenia?”
“Um, no, I don’t really know…”
“You’ve learned the history of the First Emperor, haven’t you? Then what of the First Empress?”
“Uh… she was his first love?”
“…Yes. His first love—and his sister-in-law.”
Yevgenia’s eyes widened in shock.
In all the history lessons she’d half-listened to, that detail had always been glossed over as them being simply ‘close.’
“To obtain the empress, the First Emperor led a rebellion. And the justification for that rebellion was the ‘Name’ that had appeared upon her body. They don’t teach you that in the academy, it seems.”
“No, not at all… They just said they were destined lovers…”
“In order to justify the First Emperor’s treason, the ‘Name’ had to hold supreme value—higher than law, higher than human emotion.”
Her father looked at her quietly, then said,
“To deny the Name is to deny the imperial family—and by extension, the empire itself. Yevgenia, are you prepared to commit such a crime just because you ‘no longer love’ him?”
“…”
Yevgenia pressed her lips together, her expression souring.
The hidden history of the empire was shocking enough—but what really upset her was that it meant her own path forward was blocked.
‘Sure, picking a fight with the royal family over a broken engagement would be insane. But Raymond really is insane…’
Her father sighed heavily as he watched her fume in silence.
“Haah… Very well. Lady Aer, was it? They say she’ll be persuaded gently, so what you fear won’t happen. Don’t be so stubborn.”
“No, Father, that’s not what I meant—!”
“Leave.”
“Father!”
He waved her off, clearly unwilling to hear another word.
There was no way to get through to him when he’d shut his ears like that.
Yevgenia bit her lip hard, gave a short nod, and turned away.
Behind her came the sound of her father’s long, weary sigh.
“Anna.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“What’s the quietest, most perfect way to end an engagement?”
“…Pardon, my lady?”
Yevgenia tilted her head as she lazily twirled her glistening, oil-slicked fingers.
“How can I possibly marry a man who cheats before the engagement ceremony—and doesn’t even bother to hide it? Don’t you think so, Anna?”
“W-well, that is…”
“Both families act like it’s no big deal, and he’s shamelessly talking about taking a concubine. Haaah. Just how blind was I before?”
The longer Yevgenia ranted, the more Anna trembled.
Setting down the bottle of scented oil carefully, Anna bowed her head low—wisely keeping silent about her mistress’s romantic woes.
Yevgenia’s shoulders shook as she ground her teeth.
“He’s living out some grand ‘love of the century.’ I know that. I respect that.”
“My lady…”
“But why is he so desperate to drag me into his grand love story, huh?!”
Bang!
Her anger surged until it reached the top of her head.
She was willing to step aside and let them love each other in peace—so why wouldn’t they just leave her alone?
And to top it off, Raymond had even started sending her letters—something he’d never done in his entire life!
She waved the short letter in frustration, its few lines blurring as the scented oil from her hands smeared the paper.
“My lady, you’ll ruin it!”
“I don’t care! Do you know what it says? He tells me to stop being childish and to learn from Stella! Says she’s a virtuous woman who accepts her role as a mistress with grace!”
“…”
“The more I think about it, the more I can’t stand it. This engagement—I will end it. No matter what it takes.”
Yevgenia’s voice turned cold and dark, her eyes glinting with grim resolve.
The original story had been filled with Raymond and Stella’s damned love story, but buried within were a few useful details.
For example—
“Martur.”
“Ray… I love you, my Raymond… mine alone…”
“She’s completely broken. A woman like this doesn’t deserve the sacred Name.”
A man appeared, walking freely into the prison cell as if no one could stop him.
With a crooked smile, he reached out and placed his hand on Yevgenia’s collarbone, dust clinging to her torn dress.
He squeezed—hard enough to crush bone. Yevgenia screamed and twisted in agony.
“Aaagh! Raym…ond!”
“Silence.”
From beneath his palm, a faint light flared.
Yevgenia’s voice choked off into ragged gasps, her body convulsing in unbearable pain.
The light that once marked her treasured Name faded away—leaving behind only an ugly scar.
In the original story, Yevgenia’s despair and agony had been described in excruciating detail—especially the moment her beloved Name was erased.
After that, she lost her mind, muttering Raymond’s name until she starved to death.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
The man who had erased her Name—that was what mattered.
A secretive figure with the power to erase Names.
If she could find him and have him erase hers…
‘Then the engagement would be instantly void! The Name’s gone—case closed!’
The royal family wouldn’t be able to object either.
Since they revered the Name as divine, she could just smile sweetly and say,
“Perhaps even the gods saw my lack of love and erased it for me! Hehe.”
It would work. Especially since Yevgenia wasn’t exactly known for her brilliance.
Ahem. Anyway—
‘The real problem is how to find that man.’
Luckily, she had a vague idea who he was.
‘Nox. I need to find that man.’
The one who ruled the empire’s darkest underworld—Stella’s secret ally.
He always claimed to help her just for fun… but—
‘If he went all the way to the imperial prison to erase my Name, there’s definitely something more to him.’
It was said that erasing a Name put a heavy burden on the body of the one who did it.
‘Three years of lifespan per letter… Damn it, even Raymond’s name is long! Totally useless bastard!’
Still, better to live lavishly as a doomed noblewoman than starve to death in a cell, right?
Either way, her Name was going to be erased—so she might as well find him and ask first.
…The only question was, would he accept her deal so easily?
‘He must be someone with high status or extraordinary power—someone who either reveres the Names or despises Yevgenia…’
Which meant she had almost nothing of value to offer.
‘No, no! Keep it together, Yevgenia Rose Martur! If there’s nothing to trade, make something up!’
For that, she needed more—just a little more—information about the man.
Yevgenia’s golden eyes curved sweetly as she turned to her maid.
“Anna, didn’t you say your father works as a mercenary?”
