Chapter 4
This year, she turned three. Nuen was the youngest child in Kisoff Village.
Having followed her grandmother to the square, Nuen grew bored while the adults drank and sang, and she curled up in her cramped cradle, drifting into a long, lazy nap.
How long had she slept? When she awoke, everything around her was utterly silent. Where was her grandmother? Her aunts? Her uncles?
Bewildered, Nuen glanced around for a moment. The surroundings were still and quiet, and stars were already twinkling in the darkening sky.
“I’m scared…”
As she sniffled, Nuen spotted a bright light shining not far away. Looking closer, she saw that all the adults were gathered there.
Clenching her tiny fists, she crawled out of the cradle and toddled toward the light. Still groggy, she yawned widely, her small mouth stretching open.
It wasn’t long before Nuen was utterly entranced.
“Amazing.”
Large lamps illuminating spots here and there even in the dark night, sleek black horses gleaming polished, massive dark carriages, soldiers in splendid uniforms…
The soldiers guarding the archduke’s rear spotted Nuen approaching without hesitation and hesitated in confusion.
As they exchanged awkward glances, the innocent child waved her tiny hand with sparkling eyes.
Then, she darted right through the soldiers and burst out in front of the chair where the archduke sat.
“Mister! Who are you?”
The archduke’s head turned slowly. Finally facing the child’s face, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Mister…?”
Feeling sheepish, the child pouted and asked again.
“Then, are you a general?”
The child’s large, clear eyes peered intently into the archduke’s eyes, hidden beneath his hat.
“…”
For a while, the archduke said nothing, scanning the child coolly with his chilly gaze.
As if wary that this small child, barely taller than his knee, might suddenly lunge at him.
In the midst of a silence so thick it clogged throats, preventing anyone from speaking, Nuen’s grandmother let out a piercing scream that cut through the air.
“Come here! Nuen!”
The old woman rushed out from the crowd, dropping to her arthritic knees and prostrating herself flat on the cold ground.
“P-please, spare her!”
“Grandma?”
Nuen looked down at the old woman in surprise. As the hesitant child started to step forward, the archduke finally called out to stop Nuen.
“Little one.”
The child glanced uneasily at the shadow cast beneath the brim of his hat. Though the shadowed eyes were hard to see, his lips curved slightly in a kind smile.
“Want to come over here?”
His tone was gentle, yet there was an underlying authority. As if deliberating the fate of this sudden intruder, the archduke’s fingertips tapped restlessly on the armrest.
“Please, have mercy…”
The old woman whimpered faintly. But as if uninterested in the elder’s plea, the archduke beckoned to Nuen again.
“Come here.”
In the end, Nuen shuffled forward hesitantly. In the terrifying stillness, only the scraping of her small shoes against the dirt echoed faintly.
“Up we go.”
Without giving anyone time to intervene, the archduke scooped up the child’s tiny body and set her on his lap.
“How old are you?”
The child, nestled in the archduke’s arms, looked on the verge of tears. Her gaze kept drifting back to her grandmother, who lay prostrate and sobbing.
“Worried about your grandma? I won’t hurt her. I promise.”
With a flick of his finger, the archduke signaled, and the soldiers grabbed the old woman’s arms, pulling her to her feet.
“How old?”
Like maple leaves, her tiny hands wriggled as she unfolded her fingers. One, two, three.
“Oh? Three years old, then.”
He was almost excessively affectionate, but those watching felt their chests tighten with mounting tension.
“Curious? Go ahead, touch it.”
The archduke willingly guided the child’s hand to feel the decorations on his uniform, stroked her soft hair, and even smiled a little.
Had she warmed to him so quickly? The child grew bolder by the moment. As her tension eased, her small hand moved freely until, finally, it grabbed hold of the archduke’s military cap.
“This.”
“Nuen! Don’t be rude!”
The old woman, watching anxiously, shrieked at the top of her lungs, but the archduke smiled calmly.
Yulaina bit her lip in agitation as she watched the soldiers with guns shift their gazes busily from the old woman, to Nuen, to the archduke.
“Want to try it on?”
With a faint chuckle, the archduke readily removed his hat and placed it on the child’s chestnut curls.
“…!”
The child grinned with satisfaction, but everyone’s eyes were fixed on the archduke’s now-revealed face.
His face, fully exposed without the hat. Indeed, it was a strikingly handsome one that captured attention at first glance.
What left the deepest impression was how that finely sculpted face was so beautiful—almost melancholic—that it made the nickname “devil” seem utterly misplaced.
Glossy black hair, thick brows, deep and intelligent blue eyes. A straight nose and generous mouth that combined the air of a bold hero with a warm, gentle demeanor.
Closer to a radiant angel than a devil, perhaps. Knowing the devilish nature hidden beneath made gazing at him all the more chilling.
“Little one,”
With a meaningful smile, the archduke gently stroked Nuen’s back with his large hand.
“Have you ever heard of Erich, the Archduke of Norden?”
The murmurs faded completely, swallowed by the darkness. All eyes focused on Nuen and the archduke.
“Finger song.”
The child, who had been lifting the slipping cap with her small hands, beamed brightly.
“Finger song?”
The archduke raised an eyebrow in surprise, then his eyes crinkled with laughter.
“Can you sing it for me?”
“Nuen, no…”
Sighs escaped from the people’s lips. Yulaina, watching, bit her lip anxiously.
“Archduke Erich, cuts off fingers…”
From Nuen’s mouth came the small but clear lyrics.
“Smash Norden… Cut off the devil’s nose and ears…”
“Nuen! Stop!”
“Someone stop her, quick!”
The archduke wore a bitter smile, but as the ominous atmosphere thickened, Nuen’s voice gradually faded.
“Hng… Sob.”
As tears rolled down her pale cheeks, the archduke clicked his tongue.
“Teaching such songs to a child.”
His long, straight fingers wiped the tear tracks from the child’s cheeks, then slowly moved to his waist.
In the next instant,
“Stop!”
“Yulaina, what’s wrong?”
Startled people grabbed hold of Yulaina tightly. Biting her lip in distress, Yulaina whimpered.
“…He’s reaching for his gun.”
It was an involuntary scream as the archduke’s hand neared the holster at his waist.
“Who are you?”
Yulaina took a deep breath and lifted her chin. Now that it had come to this, she had no intention of backing down. Perhaps she could buy time for her father, who might be in a dire situation.
The gaze slowly scanning the crowd stopped on Yulaina. As she met those deep blue eyes, Yulaina trembled involuntarily.
He was looking at her with eyes fundamentally different from those he showed the child. Filled with pitch-black loathing, as if regarding something less than an insect.
“Bring her here.”
***
Erich slowly examined the woman dragged before him.
Slender, but not appearing frail. Reminiscent of a deer freely bounding through a vast forest.
“So, what did you mean by ‘stop’?”
The woman lifted her head slowly. Disheveled blonde hair slipped over her shoulders.
Unexpectedly, Erich’s eyebrow twitched upward. Quite the beauty. The idle nobles killing time in high society might lose their hearts over her.
She was trembling, yet she challenged him boldly enough.
“You were going to kill the child.”
“Me?”
Erich echoed in disbelief.
“I saw you reaching for your gun.”
Her emerald-green eyes stared at Erich unwaveringly, with perfect clarity.
Even though she barely reached his shoulder.
“So, in your mind, I was going to shoot that tiny child dead.”
The archduke’s lips curved into a crooked smile as his slow gaze dissected her.
“Because, in your opinion, I’m…”
His hand shot out without hesitation, gripping Yulaina’s chin tightly.
“The kind of trash who kills people without a second thought.”
“…”
The woman’s breathing grew ragged. Her shoulders trembled violently, and tears slowly welled in her reddened eyes.
Yet those damned green eyes remained calm, still piercing Erich.
“People like you spout nonsense without knowing a thing.”
Still clutching her small chin firmly, Erich pressed his thumb roughly against Yulaina’s lips, as if venting his frustration.
“Now, listen carefully from here on.”
The finger pressing hard on her lips slid down slowly. Yulaina closed her eyes. Her body began to shake uncontrollably.
“If I really want to kill someone, I don’t need a gun.”
Crack! As his large hand seized her pale, slender neck in one go, Yulaina’s eyes bulged wide.
“Eup…”
She struggled desperately, but it was futile. She tried to pry at the choking hand, but the iron-like grip didn’t budge no matter how she pinched or scratched.
The stars in the night sky whirled in a dizzying dance around the man’s face. As her vision narrowed and a final gurgling sound escaped, Erich flung his hand away, shoving Yulaina back.
“Heeuk… Cough! Cough!”
Yulaina collapsed, clutching her chest and gasping.
“I’m not killing her.”
Erich looked down at her with a cold face and spat out.
“I’m not killing the child.”
As if the very thought were insulting, the archduke’s face flushed as he muttered again.
