By Zephyria 
Clatter, clatter.
The carriage moved slowly. The night road was quiet. The atmosphere of the capital, which had been bustling with the lights of various shops open late and the liveliness of tourists flocking from all over, was as silent as a lie. The magic lamps and torches that had illuminated the shops were darkly extinguished, and the only things filling their place were black flags emblazoned with the eagle crest. Was it only about fifteen days left? It would probably be like this until the end of the State Funeral.
“I’ve been inside the mansion all this time, so I didn’t really feel the State Funeral… But the atmosphere is definitely different.”
Nicole said, slightly parting the curtains and scanning the outside atmosphere with her eyes. I nodded in agreement. Adrian had maintained his position as Crown Prince until the ending point in most of the repetitions, so experiencing the State Funeral was the first time since the first life.
I sensed something strange when the carriage, after passing through the marketplace, changed its course to a side road instead of the main road leading to the Imperial Palace. There were several times when Adrian had not yet intended to reveal me, so I had gone to the Imperial Palace through side roads instead of the main road, but now there was no need to avoid the eyes of others. Moreover, the horse’s head did not seem to be heading towards the Imperial Palace at all.
Nicole must have felt the same unease I did, because we looked at each other at the same time without saying a word. Nicole asked with her eyes if it wasn’t strange, and I slowly blinked in agreement. Nicole once again pressed close to the window frame and carefully examined the outside. This time, it wasn’t to look at the scenery. It was to check the personnel guarding the carriage.
“Sir Liam and Sir Jeremy are there. No other unfamiliar faces either. It’s certain. They are people belonging to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
Only after repeatedly confirming did the tension leave her shoulders. Could it be that Adrian had called me to a place other than the Imperial Palace today for some reason? Having experienced all sorts of things, I must have become unnecessarily nervous, geez…
Before long, the carriage slowly came to a stop. It was in a secluded place almost right before passing the capital’s city gates.
“We have arrived. Please dismount, Vice-Prince.”
The Chamberlain still opened the door with a polite attitude.
“This isn’t the Imperial Palace. Where is this? Where is His Royal Highness?”
“This is a Safehouse prepared for emergencies. He is waiting inside, so please enter quickly.”
Ah, come to think of it, is it about that time? In the first life, Adrian would always take the time to call me separately before the engagement ceremony and before the wedding ceremony. He said he wanted to propose no matter what, apart from what had been decided. I had completely forgotten about it because there were no related events for Adrian, who loved Allen in the disguised scenario. In the first life as well, he had suddenly called me to a place other than the Imperial Palace a few days before the wedding. At that time, it was a villa in the east with a beautiful sunset coastline. I was so out of my mind because of Allen that I couldn’t even properly thank him, which had been bothering me all along… This time, I wanted to give him a reaction that he would be pleased with.
I steeled myself and followed the Chamberlain down. The people guarding my steps as I entered the Safehouse were all elites who had followed Adrian for a long time. I felt relieved.
“Ah, have you finally arrived?”
“……! You are…?”
“It’s been a while, Young Master Noah.”
The only flaw was that the person waiting for me beyond that door was not Adrian.
“You have no idea how bored I was waiting for you.”
The man with a gaunt frame and a nervous impression reached out to me as if pleased to see me. It was clear that he intended to shake hands, but I had no intention of doing so right away. Even more so when I recalled that his identity was none other than Jonas Grachio, the heir to the Duke Grachio family.
How on earth…? The Chamberlain of the Crown Prince Palace, the knights… They were not people who could be bought off with mere money. Most of Adrian’s subordinates had as deep a grudge against the Duke Grachio family as he did, so even if the world turned upside down, they would never betray Adrian and turn to the Duke Grachio side.
I was confused, but now was not the time to figure things out. As soon as I confirmed Jonas Grachio’s face, I grabbed Nicole’s wrist behind me and hurriedly tried to run towards the door. Jonas Grachio didn’t bother to stop me and just leisurely watched what I was doing.
Was it just one step left? The door slammed shut right in front of me. In a mercilessly resolute manner.
“Then please have a conversation.”
“Chamberlain!”
The Chamberlain’s voice coming from beyond the door was still polite. No way, I can’t believe it.
“Hahaha. There’s no need to be so shocked, Young Master. It’s only natural for those with matching goals to temporarily share the same boat. Even if they are enemies who are after each other’s lives, what difference does it make?”
“What… What are you even saying…!”
“It’s a simple story. They want the Crown Prince, who has fallen in love and given up on revenge, to regain his original intentions… And I, if I’m going to fall anyway, I’d rather spit in the face of the arrogant Crown Prince.”
Now, what will it be like? I’m already looking forward to seeing what kind of expression that arrogant bastard will make in front of his fiancé’s cold body. The voice of the guy who was cackling slowly approached me, step by step. Nicole instinctively blocked me, but even if she was skinny, she was still an Alpha. He easily pushed Nicole away. With a crash, Nicole’s small body flew and crashed. The hand that pushed Nicole soon grabbed my collar.
“Like husband, like wife. Even if it’s not just the Crown Prince, your behavior has been arrogant enough. You’ve always been stuck next to Beatrice, looking at me as if I’m pathetic. I’ve wanted to fix that bad habit someday, and this is perfect.”
Ha, he only talked big. Whenever I went to see Beatrice, his dark voice, which licked me all over with lecherous eyes and subtly asked if I would like to marry him while his wife of several years was stuck in his territory, was still vivid in my ears.
“Do, Young Master!”
Nicole, groaning, somehow managed to get up and desperately tried to stand between Jonas Grachio and me again. Jonas Grachio, annoyed, exclaimed, “This is really!” and kicked Nicole in the abdomen. I gritted my teeth as I clearly saw Nicole’s body rolling across the floor once again.
“If I’m your target, don’t touch anyone else. Do you think the Crown Prince, who cherishes me so much, wouldn’t have given me a Magical Artifact for self-defense? It might not be enough to escape, but it’s enough to make things difficult for you.”
It was true, but I didn’t bring it with me today. Because I only thought I was going to see Adrian. It was a pathetic bluff, but Jonas Grachio seemed somewhat convinced. My insides turned cold. It wasn’t the time to lose my mind with anger.
“You want to kill me and vent your anger on Adrian, right? Go ahead and try if you can. I don’t know if you have the ability to do so.”
It was a sneer mixed with obvious provocation. As expected, the narrow-minded man’s face quickly turned red and he even trembled. Nicole, who had hit her head hard on the corner of the table while falling, was lying limp on the floor, as if she had fainted. I was anxious. I had to quickly, quickly incite this foolish man’s anger.
“Ah, I misspoke. I apologize. Of course you wouldn’t have the ability to do so, since you couldn’t even beat your much younger sister once.”
“You, you arrogant bastard!”
Slap! With a loud sound of friction, my head snapped to the side. As if once wasn’t enough, my cheeks were soon slapped repeatedly. My mouth was bleeding, but I just smiled mockingly. I was used to this kind of pain. I could endure it if I had to. It wasn’t that I had optimistic expectations that Adrian or Andrew, who had noticed the change, would come to save me.
‘I want to kill you. That impudent hand that dared to touch what is mine, and those presumptuous lips. I want to tear apart everything that has penetrated you and trample it mercilessly without a trace.’
‘You don’t want to kill me?’
‘How could I want to kill you? My Young-won.’
Even a possessive affection that was like a burden rather than a help was useful at times like this. The secondary pain was a problem that I could endure… And that terribly obsessive guy wouldn’t let me die. Because there were no more opportunities left. Because my soul, which had been worn out and cracked after excessive repetition, could not withstand another repetition.
“I had decided to kill you in one go as painlessly as possible, and I thought that was a bit of consideration for my lovely younger brother…! I will make you regret misusing that mouth to the bone. Noah Hamilton.”
Ah, if you could, please? I barely managed to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out like a madman. Soon. I felt a hand full of strength roughly grabbing my chin.