chapter 01
Pavellern was one of the greatest empires on the continent.
Among its imperial family was one particularly unusual man.
His name was Kite von Grasias.
The younger brother of the late emperor and the Ironwall Grand Duke of the North, he was famous for three things.
The first was his unparalleled swordsmanship, so extraordinary that people called him the Empire’s Sword.
The second was his angelic beauty.
And the last…
The Empire’s Mad Dog.
A walking calamity.
A personality so foul that while his face resembled an angel’s, everything he did was closer to that of a demon.
He had broken people’s arms and legs over trivial disputes.
He had even provoked diplomatic incidents with foreign envoys, stirring bloody conflicts between nations.
His reputation was more than well-earned.
Naturally, anyone foolish enough to approach him because of his appearance eventually fled in terror.
And yet…
Apparently, there was still someone in the world reckless enough to try.
Kite stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above him.
“What kind of perverted bastard thought this was a good idea?”
Whatever had been done to him, he seemed to have been unconscious for quite some time.
Ordinarily, chronic insomnia kept him from sleeping more than a few moments at a time.
After getting what felt like his first proper sleep in ages, his head felt remarkably clear.
His mood, however, was another matter.
Because he hadn’t fallen asleep of his own will.
He pushed himself upright and looked down at his body.
The first thing that caught his eye was the grotesque pair of handcuffs tightly restraining his wrists.
They were forged from thick, heavy metal, but the inside was lined with soft fur.
Bright pink fur.
A violently vivid shade of pink that would stand out no matter where it was placed.
He couldn’t decide which was harder to believe—that such a color existed…
Or that he was wearing it.
A curse escaped his lips.
It was hardly the sort of language befitting an imperial prince and grand duke.
Kite didn’t care.
Only after venting well over half the profanity he knew did he finally calm down.
First things first.
I need to get out of here.
Without hesitation, he poured strength into his arms.
Nothing.
The cuffs didn’t budge.
Neither did the chain connecting them.
Any swordsman worthy of the name inevitably trained in hand-to-hand combat as well.
On top of that, Kite had possessed monstrous strength since childhood.
Yet despite all his effort, the restraints remained completely unmoved.
So they aren’t made from ordinary metal.
Items like these weren’t easy to come by.
Whoever had abducted him had prepared thoroughly.
Everyone who had ever tried to challenge him before had ended up dead.
Apparently, there was still some fool in the world with enough courage—or stupidity—to try.
“So that’s how it is.”
His crimson lips slowly curved upward.
A dazzling smile bloomed across his face, beautiful enough to brighten the room.
But that smile was poison.
Anyone who truly knew Kite would have fled screaming that the devil himself had descended.
Because whenever Kite smiled…
Hell always followed.
Countless lives had already been ruined after seeing that smile.
Those unfortunate souls all came to the same conclusion.
No matter how breathtakingly handsome he was…
No one should ever have gotten involved with Kite, that lunatic.
＊ ＊ ＊
Soft prayers echoed through an empty corridor.
The one praying was Evelyn, the only granddaughter of the late Baron Frilly.
“Grandfather… Grandmother… Father… Mother…
Lord Arunda, Creator of the World.
Lord Grasen, Founder of the Empire.
And every other god who exists…
Please…
Please bless me.”
She invoked every divine name she could remember.
Her grandparents.
Her parents.
The Creator God.
The Founding God.
Every deity she had ever heard of.
But no matter how desperately she prayed…
Reality refused to change.
Thunk!
Evelyn slammed her forehead against the wall.
Pain shot through her head.
Oddly enough, she welcomed it.
Anything was better than facing reality.
Because beyond the thick stone wall…
He was there.
The Empire’s Mad Dog.
Grand Duke Grasias.
I was too lucky…
How else could an ordinary woman with no money, no power, and no influence possibly succeed in kidnapping him?
…No.
Maybe she had simply been the unluckiest person alive.
If she had truly been fortunate…
The kidnapping would have failed.
“Why was someone like him even captured?”
She wanted to cry.
“Grandfather…
Was this really the right thing to do?”
She wished she could ask the man who now rested beneath the earth.
＊ ＊ ＊
Evelyn’s life had once been peaceful.
After losing her parents, she endured a lonely and painful childhood.
Not long afterward, however, her grandfather found her.
And he raised her himself.
Baron Frilly wasn’t wealthy.
He couldn’t provide the luxurious lifestyle expected of nobles.
But that never mattered to Evelyn.
Her parents had never been rich either.
She was content.
More importantly…
Her grandfather knew an incredible number of things.
He taught her all of them.
How to hunt animals in the wilderness.
How to distinguish edible plants from poisonous ones.
How to dispose of corpses.
How to build traps.
Everything one needed to survive.
He even taught her how to read and write.
He was gentle.
Kind.
Evelyn adored her grandfather.
Unfortunately…
Happiness didn’t last nearly long enough.
He had simply grown too old.
She gathered every medicinal herb and tonic she could find.
But nothing could stop the passage of time.
“I don’t have much longer.”
Every time he said those words…
Her heart felt as though it were breaking apart.
As she gently held his frail hand—thin as a dry branch—she hid the tears threatening to spill.
“No.
You’ll live for a very, very long time, Grandfather.”
Whenever she insisted…
He merely smiled with a wistful expression.
“Come to think of it…
Have I ever told you that story?”
“What story?”
She had already heard it over a hundred times.
Even so, she pretended not to know.
That made him happy.
“The story of Grand Duke Grasias.”
“No.”
“Then I should tell it again.
Back when I was a soldier on the battlefield…
I received a great kindness from His Grace.
A kindness I’ll never forget.”
Closing his eyes, the old man searched through his memories.
“Yes…
It was during winter.
Snow was falling.
We were defending the Ironwall against the northern barbarians…”
The story went on for quite a while.
She had heard it countless times already.
Sometimes the details even contradicted one another.
But she didn’t mind.
She simply loved seeing how animated her grandfather became while telling it.
“Wouldn’t the Grand Duke have been very young back then?”
“He was.
But the imperial family carries the blood of the gods.
His Grace possessed that blood more strongly than anyone.”
Whenever Evelyn asked questions, her grandfather answered enthusiastically.
Then, as though suddenly remembering something important, he spoke words she had never heard before.
“If I die…
Leave this place.
I’ve hidden supplies in the cabin we often visited.
I don’t own much…
But others will still covet what little I have.
I want you to live freely.
And if fate allows…
I’d be happiest if you could help Grand Duke Grasias someday.”
“You’re not going to die!”
Evelyn protested desperately.
Her grandfather simply smiled.
Nothing more.
Eventually…
Those peaceful days came to an end.
The day her grandfather was buried…
Their relatives arrived.
Their eyes burned with naked greed as they stared at Evelyn.
Convinced that the old baron had hidden valuables somewhere, they tore through the estate from top to bottom.
The sight was disgusting.
Their greed made them look like scavengers.
Then Evelyn remembered.
Grandfather told me exactly what to do.
She hurried to the cabin.
Inside the hidden bag were money…
Several tools…
And a letter.
We are special people.
Those were the letter’s opening words.
Long before the Empire existed…
There had been a tribe that worshipped the God of Prophecy.
The people of that tribe possessed the ability to glimpse the future.
As time passed, the tribe was scattered.
Their blood mixed with that of countless others.
Their gift weakened.
But it never completely disappeared.
Each generation…
One child was born with the power to see the future.
In my generation, that child was your grandmother.
The next was my son—your father.
Only then did Evelyn finally understand.
The strange dreams she had experienced since childhood…
They had always meant something.
The events she witnessed in her dreams eventually became reality.
There were exceptions.
Sometimes the places she dreamed of were lands far beyond anywhere she had ever been.
When she was little…
There had been no way for her to know whether those visions had truly come to pass.
