“Where are you going at this hour of the night?”
His low voice cut through the air without warning.
It was a languid tone, the pallor of illness faded, yet laced with unmistakable menace.
Feigning nonchalance, I tugged the corner of my mouth into a smile and turned my head.
Just as I’d feared, there stood Prince Claude on the landing where I’d been, facing me.
Shoulders squared at sharp right angles, a tall frame, hair dark as pitch-black night.
But what drew the eye most of all was those ruby-red eyes, beautiful as gems.
Pupils that held both a serene calm and the feral cruelty of a beast.
His gaze roamed over my face, probing.
A bead of sweat trickled down my spine from the relentless intensity of his stare, tracing my cheek.
I’d doubled the dose of medicine tonight—how on earth had he woken up?
Stay calm, no matter what. For my sake, for my goal, I had to send him back to bed, and quickly.
I drew a short breath and opened my mouth.
“You’re awake early tonight. The medicine needs at least another hour to take full effect. You should head back to your bedroom and get some more rest…”
“Aselin.”
“…”
“You haven’t answered my question yet. Where are you off to?”
Prince Claude’s finely sculpted lips twisted upward.
That expression on his face was a glaring red flag.
I forced a smile and answered in a hurry.
“I thought I’d take a nighttime stroll and check on the new herbs planted in the greenhouse.”
At that, Prince Claude arched one eyebrow ever so slightly and let out a soft, scoffing laugh.
“With that?”
Following his gaze downward, I saw the luggage bags clutched in both my hands.
Two of them, heavy enough at a glance.
In my tension, I’d completely forgotten they were even there.
The embarrassment was fleeting; I shook the weighty bags as if they were light as air.
“Oh, these? Just some simple herb tools. I figured I’d move them to the greenhouse storage while I’m at it. Luann asked me to prepare some medicine for his asthma.”
I spoke casually and bolted down the stairs, fleeing as if my life depended on it.
But the moment I reached the last step, I had no choice but to freeze in place.
Glancing down, there it was—Prince Claude’s large hand wrapped firmly around my waist.
Caught off guard, I let out an awkward laugh and tried to pry his hand away.
The more I struggled, the tighter he pulled me against him.
“…If you push yourself like this, your symptoms might flare up again. Please, just go back and rest.”
Even as I pleaded, Prince Claude didn’t budge an inch.
Then came that perfect baritone, melting into my eardrum like warm wax.
“You know I can’t fall asleep without you by my side.”
“…Your condition’s improved, so the insomnia should ease up soon too. If you’re having trouble sleeping, shall I give you a sedative?”
But Prince Claude offered no reply.
In the suffocating silence, I let out a silent sigh to myself.
[I’m not even a little better—where do you think you’re going? Remember this. If you leave me, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the continent.]
Whenever I’d brought up the contract terms and threatened to go, his eyes would flicker with madness.
To such a man, I’d presented a certificate of full recovery, signed by his personal physician.
But he’d refused to believe it was genuine and burned it on the spot.
And then he’d spent every day complaining of aches and pains here and there.
One night, he’d gripped my hand all through the dark hours, claiming a splitting headache; yesterday, he’d caught a chill and demanded I stay glued to his side the whole time.
Watching him, a man who refused to listen to reason, I’d made up my mind.
I’d slip away the moment Prince Claude fell asleep, far from here.
“You’re trembling. Like someone hiding something.”
“…I’m not. I told you—I’m just on my way to move those herb tools.”
At my words, Prince Claude let out a deflating chuckle.
He snatched the luggage bags from my grasp and dumped their contents onto the floor.
“…!”
Enough daily necessities and spare clothes to last several months spilled out across the carpet in a heap.
My heart plummeted at the sight.
As I scrambled to think of a way out of this mess, Prince Claude’s low, ominous voice drifted over.
“Fleeing in secret without a shred of fear, are we? Have you decided you want to treat someone else now, instead of me?”
The clear intent to kill shadowed his eyes as he looked down at me at an angle.
It was a gaze so chilling it felt like it could rip my heart from my chest, yet the way it lingered on my body was languid, almost drowsy.
I swallowed dryly and raced through countermeasures in my mind.
Well, since things had come to this, might as well lay it all out plain and simple.
I lifted my head and met Prince Claude’s gaze head-on.
“The contract’s over, so I’m just going my own way. Holding on won’t change a thing. I’m leaving this castle right now.”
I’d steeled my resolve and taken a single step forward when his sly voice stabbed into the back of my neck.
“…To Luann, that bastard? Is that it? You want to look after him now, instead of me?”
Luann? Why was that name coming up here, of all places?
Bewildered, I turned around to find venom pooling in Prince Claude’s eyes as he stared at me.
“Aselin, I know you want to live treating the sick and suffering. But not him. That guy’s already got impure intentions toward you… No, just the thought of you doing for him what you’ve done for me…”
His brow furrowed as if he’d endured some unspeakable horror.
“…It can’t be, right? You wouldn’t think of sleeping beside him like you did with me, touching him, licking him and doing all those things we did— with him, would you?”
Anyone overhearing would get the wrong idea in an instant.
I glanced around in panic.
Sleeping beside him? That was just me staying by his side because he couldn’t sleep, nothing more.
Touching? Unavoidable, all in the course of treatment.
And licking? I’d only licked the honey off my finger because it seemed a waste—did that really sound so suggestive?
Before I could stammer out a response in my fluster, Prince Claude suddenly scooped me up in his arms.
“…What are you—!”
Striding down the hall, he carried me straight back to the bedroom I’d barely escaped from moments ago.
With a thud, the soft mattress met my back.
I jolted, eyes flying wide, only for Prince Claude to flash a dizzying smile as he caged me in with both arms.
After his round-the-clock sword training post-recovery, veins bulged starkly along his muscled forearms, enough to make my head spin.
“You’re not stepping one foot out of this estate, not without my permission.”
Prince Claude’s large hand brushed over my eyelids.
“I told you—these pretty eyes should hold only me. And yet you tried to run from me, so you’ll have to take your punishment sweetly.”
Prince Claude lowered his long lashes just a fraction, locking eyes with me.
My heart began to race wildly under that deep, sticky gaze, like a tongue gliding over skin.
In that instant, as I sensed a glint stirring in his crimson pupils.
Prince Claude pressed his thumb lightly against my lips, kneading them.
He bent at the waist, bringing his mouth so close to my ear that his lips nearly brushed it.
“You drove me this mad and then tried to run— this time, I’m not letting it slide.”
Breathless, I stared at Prince Claude, his lips hovering just a whisper from mine.
With a lethal smile, he cupped my chin gently, tilting it up.
His other hand clamped down on mine, pinning it so I couldn’t flee.
.
.
.
1.
It was the year 322 of the Berta Empire, and the drizzle that had been falling steadily was growing fiercer. As rainwater began to seep through the ceiling of the tower, I huddled in the corner of the cell, pressing my back against the cold stone wall. The biting chill of winter was more torturous than any cruel punishment. No matter how much I blew warm breath onto my frozen hands or tried to close my eyes and summon sleep, it was no use. When the icy wind slipped through the tears in my tattered clothes, it felt as though my flesh was being stripped from my bones. Clenching my chattering teeth, I forced my eyes open and endured. Just a little longer, and he—my husband—would come to save me.
After a sleepless night, I was dozing fitfully when the sound of the tower door creaking open reached my ears. My eyes snapped wide, and I strained to hear the steady tread of approaching footsteps. When my husband, Alex, finally reached the bars of my cell, I forgot the cold entirely and broke into a radiant smile.
“Alex, you said you’d come yesterday—why are you so late? It’s been a month, just like you promised. You’re here to get me out now, right?”
I gripped the iron bars tightly with both hands as I spoke.
“Aselin.”
His voice fell heavy in the silence.
Alex knelt on one knee, bringing his eyes level with mine. His hand soon covered my own. The warmth of his touch felt like it was telling me that all my suffering had been worth it. Tears welled up as I clasped his hand in return, but then his emotionless voice cut through.
“You need to die in Rachel’s place.”
