Chapter 14
Yulaina, struck speechless, only managed to open her mouth after a long pause.
“What are you planning to do with me?”
“Don’t worry. It’ll just be a marriage in name only, so don’t get any weird ideas.”
“How can I believe that!”
Clutching her clothes desperately, Yulaina curled up tightly, assuming a defensive posture. Seeing this, Erich’s face twisted in displeasure.
“I’m not some dog in heat. If I wanted to touch you, I would’ve done it already, so stop overreacting.”
“Who knows what might happen at any moment.”
As Yulaina retorted fiercely, Erich snapped back irritably.
“The thought of our skin touching disgusts me just as much, so don’t cross the line.”
Only then did Yulaina close her mouth, though she still fussed with her clothes.
“It’s just a contractual arrangement on paper, and once it’s over, you’ll gain your freedom too.”
Seeing him genuinely shudder at the idea, it seemed he wasn’t entirely lying.
After a very long silence, Yulaina slowly released her tight grip on her clothes.
“Fine. Tell me about it.”
“Good. Come over here and sit. We’ll make this contract on equal terms.”
The two sat facing each other at Erich’s desk. With his arms crossed, Erich leaned back deeply in his chair.
“You remember Markus, the one I said was your father’s master.”
“Yes.”
“Markus is the top businessman and powerbroker in the Norden Empire. I want to seize the businesses he’s built and fold them into the imperial treasury. After that, I plan to eliminate him.”
“And?”
“To take him down, I need you.”
He laced his fingers leisurely and began the story slowly.
“When I was young, there was a disappearance that turned the whole country upside down. The only daughter of the empire’s most powerful man, Markus, suddenly vanished.”
What is he getting at? Yulaina’s eyes wavered with unease.
“She was about your age at the time. Golden hair, green eyes, slender build. Looked just like you. Markus’s only daughter’s name was Erin Heirendel.”
“…Erin? Mom?”
Yulaina’s eyes widened.
Watching her reaction, Erich curved up the corner of his mouth.
“So, you have the wealthiest and most powerful maternal grandfather in the Norden Empire.”
Picking up the whiskey bottle, Erich sneered.
“First off, congratulations on becoming an heiress who’ll go down in history.”
“Then, I… Father…”
“That’s right. You’re Markus’s granddaughter. That’s also why your father has been in hiding all this time.”
It felt like being struck on the back of the head with a massive hammer. Speechless, Yulaina could only stare blankly at Erich.
“If the dog you raised bit your daughter and ran off with her, you’d have no choice but to kill it, no matter how much you cherished it, right? Especially since the opponent is Markus. You don’t know yet, but that old man’s obsessions are terrifying. They couldn’t possibly live within the Norden borders.”
Feeling sweat pooling damply in her palms, Yulaina swallowed dryly.
“So, our father ran away with Mom…”
Yulaina’s face was half-dazed, as if her soul had left her. Erich read her expression but continued without waiting.
“Markus must have known that Walter had taken his daughter. But because of the dirty dealings he’d had with your father, he couldn’t make it public rashly. Or maybe your father was blackmailing Markus.”
To Yulaina, who could barely blink, Erich slid something across.
It was an old, worn piece of cloth. Yulaina soon spotted the signature ‘Walter Dorf’ on it.
“Your father and Markus had a business together. Your father’s share is still valid.”
Erich pointed to another name.
“‘Markus,’ see?”
Yulaina nodded silently. Suddenly, that name pressed heavily on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
“Your father, who was an orphan, was taken in by Markus, the up-and-coming businessman. He sponsored children under the guise of charity.”
“……”
“Walter graduated from a prestigious private school and entered medical university. It was a school for noble children, but with Markus’s solid backing, there were no worries.”
“……”
“That’s how your father snagged the position of imperial physician at such a young age.”
Yulaina stared blankly at his lips. The story felt so unreal that she had no idea how to respond.
“But this damned Markus was incredibly resourceful. As you know, my grandfather, Emperor Ludwig, conquered several countries early on and, for the silver-tongued Markus, planted companies in each occupied territory.”
“……”
“Markus not only monopolized construction, development, and all sorts of privileges but swept up special benefits in every business. They bred a money-sucking monster.”
Yulaina let out a shallow sigh.
“So what.”
“It’s all important, so listen carefully.”
Scratch…
Erich struck a match and lit his cigar. He took a leisurely puff and continued.
“As Markus built his power like that, he finally succeeded in monopolizing the empire’s most crucial commodity. With your father.”
Father’s business? A few clues flashed quickly through Yulaina’s mind.
“Medicine…?”
“Imagine if everyone had to buy medicine from just one company. The poor, the rich, nobles, even the imperial family—they couldn’t protect their health without going through Markus.”
Erich gave a bitter smile.
“Could they afford it if prices went up?”
Yulaina’s gaze wavered, unable to find focus.
“In Norden, doctors don’t dispense medicine. They write prescriptions, and you take them to a shop to buy the drugs. But Markus made even the doctors deal with his company.”
“Is that… possible?”
“That’s,”
Erich exhaled smoke, his expression thick with disillusionment.
“our family’s fault. The imperial house was incompetent.”
“Ah…”
“While our grandfather and father backed him, Markus gleefully raked in more money than he could spend in his old age. Meanwhile, in the back alleys, he sold cheap, highly addictive drugs.”
Yulaina’s mind grew increasingly tangled. Too many words flooded in at once. It was beyond what she could handle anymore.
“Wait, just a moment, this is too…”
Her lips moved as she searched for words, and Yulaina murmured with difficulty.
“That our father was involved in this, and that Mom was that kind of person’s daughter—I just can’t…”
“Ah, yeah. It must be hard to accept.”
Erich picked up a crystal glass and tilted the bottle. The clear amber liquid filled it with a soft glug.
“You want to say he wasn’t that kind of person. But you know,”
After lightly wetting his throat, Erich wore a cruel smile.
“better than anyone what kind of man your father was, don’t you?”
His blue eyes pierced straight into Yulaina. He watched as her gaze dropped downward.
“A man who lights up at power and money, bloated with petty vanity.”
“……That’s,”
“Thinking himself superior, he’d boast about this and that from his past, looking down on others. All about noble status and face, constantly tightening the screws on you.”
The color drained from Yulaina’s face. Erich slid the glass toward her.
“Am I wrong?”
***
While waiting for Yulaina to compose herself, Erich sat leisurely, smoking his cigar to the end. Occasionally, his restrained gaze flicked over her.
Her lips, chewed red and swollen; her downcast eyes and lashes, as if deep in thought; the golden hair flowing along her neckline whenever she tilted her head. Some things were simply unbearable.
“So…”
Finally straightening her posture, Yulaina let out a long sigh.
“What are you going to do with me?”
“First, we’ll go to Norden. In a grand triumphal procession, you’ll stand by my side and draw attention too.”
Norden.
Once in a big city, there might be a chance to escape. Maybe pretend to cooperate, then flee when he’s off guard.
“My father is gravely ill right now. It wouldn’t be surprising if he passed any day. But as the heir, my political position is weak.”
“Why?”
Smoke escaped his lips like a sigh, dispersing hazily.
“Because I’m the son who never won his father’s heart? So, you could call me the failed prince.”
He muttered it indifferently while ashing his cigar, but for some reason, the words lingered deeply in Yulaina’s heart.
“Using you in Norden will get me Markus’s support, making it much easier to ascend the throne. For Markus, a commoner, it’s a golden opportunity to mix blood with the imperial family.”
Mix blood with the imperial family. It was a repulsive phrase, but Yulaina kept her expression stoic.
“So, after becoming family with Markus and catching him off guard, you’ll stab him in the back.”
“Exactly. Once I oust him at the right time and execute Markus, our contract ends too.”
Yulaina sighed.
“What if I refuse?”
“It’ll be terms you absolutely won’t refuse.”
Erich pulled a fountain pen from his breast pocket and drew a sheet of paper toward him.
In contrast to his impeccably neat appearance, he lightly bit the cap off with his even teeth, looking just like a large wolf.
“If you act uncooperatively or try to run, it’ll be trouble for me too. Let’s decide coldly, based on pros and cons.”
“…You’re more rational than you look.”
“Yeah. Since we both find each other repulsive, let’s keep the contract clean. I’ve had enough messy dogfights.”
Suddenly, Erich grinned playfully and winked.
What the…
Dumbfounded and exasperated, Yulaina shot back curtly.
“Just tell me what you can offer.”
With a chuckle, Erich moved the fountain pen boldly across the page.
“First, wealth enough to last a lifetime without spending it all. Second, a guarantee of admission to medical university. Third, a permanent and safe severance from Erich, the Norden imperial family, and Markus. We’ll discuss details on amounts and residence later.”
Flustered, Yulaina slowly straightened up. The terms were more generous than expected.
“I’m thinking Karomar University. Their medical school is famous, right? Since you’ve never properly attended school, you’ll need preparatory courses, but that’s for you to handle. I can provide recommendations.”
Karomar… Yulaina’s eyes widened. The university she’d dreamed of every day?
Her surprise was brief; Yulaina demanded fiercely.
“How did you know I wanted to go to Karomar?”
The reply came nonchalantly.
“You wrote about it diligently in your diary. Stuff like breaking up with a friend, getting scolded by your father. Things like that.”
Yulaina’s face flushed scarlet, as if it might burst.
