Chapter 15
An awkward and prolonged silence ensued.
Erich continued to drink his whiskey without a word. Yulaina, who had been staring blankly for quite some time at the clear amber liquid trickling down, finally spoke up.
“Um, I have something to ask. That person, Marcus… what will happen to him?”
“Execution.”
A curt voice delivered the short reply.
‘Execution.’
Yulaina chewed over his answer several times. Perhaps reading her confused expression, Erich, who had been sipping from his glass, tossed out bluntly.
“You didn’t even know you had a maternal grandfather, so why care whether he lives or dies? Once you meet him, you’ll see—he’s not exactly a beneficial person.”
“That’s….”
Yulaina, whose words had faltered, suddenly lifted her head sharply.
“That’s just your claim.”
Her voice gained a bit of strength.
“What if it’s a false accusation? Or rather, what if my father and… Marcus aren’t bad people to begin with?”
“Ha, don’t make me laugh.”
As if his mood had soured, Erich furrowed his brow. Meeting his gaze head-on, Yulaina fired back.
“You talk about monopolies and all that, using the country and the people as excuses, but it seems like a lot of your personal grudge is mixed in there.”
“Yeah. Both are true.”
Erich readily conceded.
“This is a personal vendetta, and at the same time, a national punishment. Because Marcus and your father both tried to kill me.”
“….”
“Even so, the fact that I have to borrow Marcus’s power for this revenge makes my blood boil—I can’t stand it.”
As if the mere thought frustrated him, he muttered while loosening his tie.
“The idea that I can only get what I want by relying on that filthy bloodline I stumbled upon by chance—it’s so pathetic, I can’t bear it.”
It was a grumble that could have been to himself or directed at Yulaina—it was hard to tell.
Before she knew it, Yulaina noticed the whiskey bottle on the table was nearly empty and cautiously gauged his expression.
“You think I want to live like this? I’m just holding on because revenge is close at hand.”
Was he drunk, given how his words were dragging on? But aside from his loosened tie, nothing else seemed different.
“I’ve said too much useless stuff.”
Muttering to himself, he reached to pull the bottle closer, but Yulaina suddenly grabbed his wrist firmly.
“Stop.”
Erich, whose wrist was seized out of nowhere, looked up at her with a dumbfounded expression.
“What are you doing?”
“Are you some kind of drunkard?”
At her fierce retort, Erich crumpled his face in utter disbelief.
“Oh, I hate this kind of meddling.”
“We have a contract, remember? You need to stay healthy to uphold it.”
“What, what?”
Unlike Erich, who burst into a hollow laugh at the absurd remark, Yulaina spoke in a calm voice with a serious face.
“For this contract to succeed, you can’t let yourself fall apart either.”
“Who’s telling whom not to fall apart? I can handle myself just fine….”
“Do it. The contract. But in exchange, don’t show me this pathetic state.”
Her hand intruded aggressively, snatching the crystal glass from Erich’s grasp. Yulaina then poured the remaining whiskey from the bottle into it, gripping the glass tightly as if resolved.
“Promise me. If I prove that my father did nothing wrong, then! You’ll have to take responsibility for dragging me into this.”
Erich, who had been watching her with a frown, slowly adjusted his posture. A strange curiosity began to flicker in his eyes, which had been languid with fatigue.
Yulaina lifted the glass in one go. As she gulped down the whiskey, a single drop escaped the gap of her red lips, tantalizingly sliding down her small chin.
That droplet, which instantly captured Erich’s gaze, slowly glided along her neckline before slipping smoothly out of sight into the collar of the men’s shirt she wore.
Bang!
The emptied glass slammed down on the table. Catching her slightly ragged breath, Yulaina wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Erich, who had been staring at her with an enigmatic expression, murmured softly.
“You’re not normal either.”
Yulaina turned her head to glare at Erich. The clear gaze that seemed to pierce deep into his heart was fundamentally different from Valter’s cunning, that much was certain.
Confirming that distinction, Erich’s eyes subtly deepened just a fraction more.
“So, you’ll take responsibility?”
“How should I take it?”
A faint smile spread across his face.
“If it turns out you framed my father and Mr. Marcus, you’ll pay with your life.”
Hahahaha! Erich suddenly burst into loud laughter. The clear, scattering sound was entirely different in texture from the mocking chuckles he usually let out. Yulaina observed him with a slightly flustered look. After laughing for a while, Erich nodded readily.
“Fine. Paying with my life—what a splendid proposal. I accept.”
“Then, one more thing….”
Yulaina glanced around as if searching for something.
“What now?”
“Um, this.”
Her eyes lit up upon spotting a red ribbon on a book placed on one side of the table.
“What’s that?”
Snip. Yulaina grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the book ribbon in one swift motion, prompting Erich to scowl.
“That’s something I cherish!”
Ignoring him completely, Yulaina thrust the severed ribbon right under Erich’s chin.
“Come on, hold out your wrist.”
“…Wrist?”
“We’re going to swear an oath. Hurry.”
Utterly bewildered, Erich stared at the ribbon for a long moment before his gaze slowly shifted to Yulaina’s eyes.
He thought those clear, shining green pupils exerted a strong force.
“Hmm….”
In the end, Erich relented, extending his wrist as if he couldn’t win. Truth be told, his curiosity was piqued more than ever, but he deliberately propped his chin on one hand and feigned utter boredom.
“What are you trying to do?”
She fidgeted with his wrist, her face awkward. Where had all that bluster gone when she was barking orders? Her hand kept fumbling uselessly in the air.
“Overlap the wrists and place the red thread on top for Freya’s… oath.”
Yulaina’s face was flushing red.
“Freya?”
The tip of Erich’s eyebrow twitched. Just as he was about to say something, Yulaina abruptly pulled his wrist toward her, pressing the insides precisely together.
“There.”
Erich cleared his throat involuntarily. The moment their skin touched, an unfamiliar heat surged uncontrollably. Was he the only one feeling this strange sensation? Erich slowly lifted his eyes to look at her.
Sure enough, their gazes collided, each carrying a subtle nuance. In an instant, their eyes darted away from each other as if they’d committed a crime.
“Hurry up.”
Erich sighed, and Yulaina quickly wrapped the red book ribbon around their joined wrists.
“Done.”
“We’re not kids. This has no legal binding, so what the hell is this?”
Even as he retorted curtly, Erich’s gaze remained fixed on their bound wrists the entire time.
“Now, swear the oath.”
Yulaina urged him.
“What do I say?”
Erich put on a deliberately gruff voice.
“If there’s even the slightest injustice in the deaths of Yulaina’s father Benya… no, Valter and Marcus—that is, if they’re not villains—then Archduke Erich will gladly die by Yulaina’s hand.”
A snicker escaped Erich as he glanced at Yulaina.
“You don’t even seem to know what you’re saying.”
“Still, do it. I need at least this.”
Yulaina muttered resolutely.
“Alright. If there’s even the slightest injustice in the deaths of Yulaina’s father, Valter, and Marcus….”
***
The aroma of meal preparations wafted all the way to the barracks. Shevik entered humming a tune and casually surveyed the interior.
“Your Highness, where’s Yulaina?”
“She stepped out for a bit.”
Shevik’s eyes widened.
“You’re just letting her roam free now?”
Erich, who had been reviewing documents, muttered without lifting his head.
“The negotiations went well.”
“She’s cooperating willingly?”
Erich nodded and signed the document.
“Three conditions: Guarantee of property and residence, help with university admission, and a complete farewell from the Norden Empire’s imperial family and Archduke Erich.”
“Yeah. Not bad terms.”
“Shevik.”
Erich slapped the document shut and looked up. Frowning as if he had something to say and interlacing his fingers, he prompted Shevik to straighten his back a bit tensely.
“Why… what’s up?”
Did he not like switching to goat meat? Or did he figure out I was the one who let the meat spoil?
But the words that came from Erich’s mouth were somewhat out of left field.
“What’s Freya’s oath?”
“Huh?”
Shevik stared blankly at Erich before scratching the back of his head.
“I’ve heard it somewhere a lot….”
Rolling his eyes as he sank into thought, Shevik suddenly burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha! That’s it—the thing where, as a kid, this girl at the ballroom would chase me around saying let’s do Freya’s oath whenever she saw me.”
“….”
Erich’s gaze subtly swept over the red ribbon lying conspicuously on the desk.
“You know, Freya’s the goddess of love. Kids who didn’t know any better would wrap threads around each other’s wrists and promise marriage.”
“Ah.”
Erich replied shortly and flipped open the document again. His face was expressionless, but his gaze seemed somewhat confused, darting back and forth between the red ribbon and the papers several times.
Meanwhile, freed from his meat-related worries, Shevik chattered on endlessly.
“And that led to a lot of fights among the kids. Actually, oaths of revenge and death are supposed to be to the god Helreya, but since the names are similar to Freya, plenty of boys got beaten up by girls for mixing them up….”
“I see.”
A slight smile crept onto Erich’s lips as he looked at the document. Just enough that Shevik couldn’t see it—very discreetly.
“I kind of miss those days when we’d run around in packs….”
Shevik was rambling on when he finished his business and was about to leave the barracks.
“Oh, the book ribbon’s cut. Should I throw it away?”
The tip of the busy fountain pen suddenly halted.
“Leave it.”
As if it were nothing, Erich’s gaze returned to the document.
