Chapter 5

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: Please Abduct Me

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That was the dagger I had told Annie to secretly place in Evangeline's room.

'Why the hell is this popping up here all of a sudden?'

Sir Beltein and I held our breaths and hid beneath the tree.

We gazed up at the terrace, ears perked.

Soon, the furious voices of a man and woman arguing drifted down.

"What the hell were you thinking, pulling a stunt like this?!"

"I didn't do it!"

It was, of course, Ludwig and Evangeline.

The two of them had slipped away from prying eyes to bicker on the terrace.

"Then who the hell did? That idiot Hilia?"

I knew it already, but this was the first time I'd overheard them trash-talking me like this at this point in time.

In my previous lives, they hadn't gotten so blatant until right after the wedding.

I leaned in, utterly engrossed.

"You know I need the Delphin family's power to stand against that mad Crown Prince, right? You agreed to it yourself. What am I supposed to do now?!"

"You're the one who said breaking off the marriage before I could get my hands on the Delphin family would hurt me too! Why the hell would I sabotage it?!"

"You were crying just yesterday about how sad it was that I had to marry her instead of you!"

"That was...!"

Ludwig and Evangeline talked about my family like it was their personal property.

And this conversation was exactly what was about to unfold in the near future.

It had happened that way in all three of my past lives.

'Not this time. Never again.'

As I clenched my skirt hem with renewed resolve, Sir Beltein beside me seemed to misinterpret it entirely.

He gave me a look of pity, then gently placed his large, warm hand over the back of mine.

It hit me anew.

'He never even touched me when he helped me escape last time.'

He was a knight through and through—overly so.

This was the first time he'd ever reached out to me like this in private, so I felt a bit startled and awkward.

Perhaps noticing, Sir Beltein mouthed a silent "I'm sorry" with just his lips and withdrew his hand.

But I had no time to dwell on that warmth.

The argument on the terrace was heating up even more.

"If you didn't do it, then what the hell was that jewelry box doing here earlier? Why was it in your room? That was the gift I gave to Hilia! And why does the dagger inside still have clear cuts from ripping the wedding dress?!"

"If I'd really done it, why would I leave evidence like that right where you could see it? Why can't you trust me?!"

"You think I don't know how many times you've stolen Hilia's things before?! How am I supposed to believe you?!"

It was crumbling faster than I'd expected—like a house of cards. Almost funny.

I had to fight the urge to laugh out loud.

'This isn't the time to get hung up on something this small.'

Driving a wedge between those two was exactly what I wanted, of course.

But it wasn't my ultimate goal.

That was when a sharp crack rang out amid their bickering.

Slap!

Stunned, I looked up to see Evangeline holding her hand to her shocked face.

And Ludwig's head turned sharply to the side.

Evangeline recoiled in horror, clinging to him.

"I-I'm sorry! I got too emotional and...!"

"Forget it."

"Ludwig!"

Ludwig replied coldly and stormed out of the room.

"Go back to the palace. And don't show up at tomorrow's wedding. If you try to sabotage it again, I won't let it slide."

"Ludwig!!"

But Ludwig shook her off and left.

I heard Evangeline collapse in a daze.

We were a bit late leaving the Delphin estate—caught up playing secret audience to the melodrama—but we made it out safely.

Sir Beltein looked a little worried.

"What if Grand Duke Ludwig comes back to see you, miss?"

"He won't."

I knew Ludwig well.

He'd gone to Evangeline to avoid consoling my sobbing self, only to pick a fight.

No way he'd come back just to see me crying again.

'And I even told Annie to stand guard outside and say I'm too heartbroken to see anyone if he shows up.'

He'd turn tail on his own then.

That wasn't what mattered now.

I looked up at the sky. The perfectly round full moon was emitting an almost reddish glow.

Crimson Moon.

It was ironically fitting that today of all days was when the red moon rose.

It had happened in all four of my lives, but heading out under this moonlight to meet that man felt strangely fateful.

"I've always been afraid of losing my mind someday. Especially on Crimson Moon nights, like when my mother passed."

On nights like this, he would never be in the palace.

He'd dive into the deepest underground in the capital instead.

Hiding in his secret lair in the corner of a massive underground tomb where not even starlight reaches.

I arrived at the entrance to the capital's outskirts catacombs with only Sir Beltein, carrying an unlit lantern.

The gravekeeper—who looked like a corpse that had just risen—tilted his head.

"Never thought I'd see someone visiting graves on a night like this. And... with an unlit lantern, no less."

I smiled silently and held out a silver coin.

Not legal tender, but one made as a burial good to place in the mouth of the dead.

His bony brow furrowed at the sight, but he finally stepped aside from the gate.

He blocked Sir Beltein, who tried to follow.

"What is this?!"

"Only the client themselves can enter. That's the rule here."

At "client," Sir Beltein looked baffled.

But I had no time for explanations.

I ordered him once more.

"Wait here. I'll come back safe."

"...Yes, miss."

In the end, I successfully entered the graveyard alone, empty lantern in hand.

This place was the Mercenary King Gerald's secret hideout—one even his subordinates didn't know well.

After navigating the labyrinthine paths, I finally met Gerald, Arpad's secret identity as the Crown Prince.

And at last, I could say it.

"Please abduct me."

The Mercenary King Gerald—no, Crown Prince Arpad—seemed utterly flustered by my outrageously bold request.

More than that, he stared at me like I was the most ridiculous thing on earth.

"If Your Highness accepts my request, I can ensure you ascend to the throne safely—without losing your mind—in exchange."

I was certain.

'There's no way the Crown Prince can refuse this offer!'

In all three of my past lives, he'd gone mad each time.

Once as a mad tyrant, beheaded after a week on the throne; the other two, dead before ever claiming it.

And every time, it was his father who killed him.

The Emperor didn't trust his son, always wary he'd go insane and ruin the empire.

And since Arpad had gone mad and died in all three of my previous lives, the suspicion was justified.

That's why he backed his nephew, Grand Duke Ludwig, instead of his own son.

'That's why the Crown Prince even created the fake identity of Mercenary King Gerald.'

Gerald's mercenary guild was essentially Arpad's private army. To oppose his father.

So he had every reason to keep the truth about "Gerald" from the Emperor.

I gazed at Arpad with a triumphant smile.

His ruby-like red eyes gleamed in the darkness. His platinum hair shimmered like it had been spun from moonlight.

His face was exceptionally beautiful.

Not just pretty—inhumanly captivating, the kind that ensnared anyone who looked.

The elegant curve of his lips twisted upward into a menacing smile.

"Hah..."

He let out a languid sigh.

And his red eyes, once sharp with focus, now swirled with pure madness.

'Huh?'

Before I could even react.

In the next instant, Arpad drew his sword and pressed it to my throat.

The cold, sharp gleam of metal clung to my nape.

"Urk..."

A refined, icy madness burned in Arpad's gaze.

"I hate people who try to manipulate me."

I could guess who he was thinking of.

The Emperor.

The father who couldn't trust his son and ultimately killed him.

"I don't know how you figured out the connection between the Mercenary King and me, or what gave you the guts to poke at my reverse scale."

"...Kgh!"

The blade pressed closer. The sensation of it touching bare skin sent chills down my spine.

He handled it as casually as lifting a glass, but it was unmistakably a threat.

A promise that he could sever my head at any moment.

But.

I gritted my teeth.

'I've died three times already!'

Beheaded, even.

If I just sat here, I'd die again after some pathetic, gruesome ordeal.

Better to end it clean and quick right here.

'Do it if you're gonna!'

I glared at him defiantly, eyes fierce.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood and took a bold step forward.

The sharp blade sliced into my skin. The metallic scent of blood stung my nose.

But I didn't hesitate.

"!!"

To my surprise, it was Arpad who pulled back.

He yanked his hand away as I advanced fearlessly, preventing a deep cut.

It left only a shallow wound.

There was only one meaning to that.

'I did it! I win!'