TW: Mentions of child abuse, physical abuse (skip to translator’s note at the bottom if you want a summary)
Arken Dominat was obsessed with the princess.
The two had noticed each other at first sight when they were younger. Like recognizes like. In any case, the two maintained a fairly good relationship after that.
Arken Dominat, the only son in the third generation of the Dominat Duchy, was lax and prideful, and was impatient to dominate the princess in bed. The princess found it entertaining. But after a while, she got bored. So she threw him away.
The princess soon found new entertainment, but Arken Dominat could not. Of course, on the outside, he was the same as the princess. He called in a new woman into his bedchamber each night and played around at his leisure.
But Arken felt an unquenchable thirst. He became obsessed with the characteristic way that the princess looked down on a person. He felt the only way he could get relief was to make a mess out of that face.
But there was only one way for him to enter the princess’s bedchamber again – keeping up with the princess’s new hobby.
Arken Dominat was choked in the bedchamber. He was choked, and he turned his hips over. In any case, he was able to roll around with the princess again.
The princess knew Arken Dominat’s psychological weakness. She knew that, as the product of generations of abuse, he would writhe frantically whenever she pinned him down.
But that was only for a short while.
One day, the princess stopped bringing people into her bedchamber. People whispered that the princess had changed. When he heard the news that the third son of House Levanone who had run into the princess’s bedchamber had been imprisoned, Arken Dominat began to fret. He couldn’t sleep.
And then one morning, he had a thought.
Let’s drag the princess down. Beneath him. To his feet.
He decided to put it into action immediately.
The swinger party held every year on the princess’s birthday was under his jurisdiction.
Not even a shadow passed beneath the dim light in the most well-hidden spot in the red-light district. The largest base for illegal sex trafficking was turned upside down.
Soldiers from the duchy’s private army had stormed in while concealing their identities. The traffickers couldn’t believe that Arken Dominat, who had been not just their ally but their sponsor, would come to punish them. And they were massacred.
It was a secret operation unknown even to the building next door. The base was the only one searched from top to bottom. At the end of the disturbance, it was enveloped in icy silence.
Corpses skewered by spears made a trail from the entrance, and people in black clothes lined every hallway leading to the deepest basement.
“M-My Lord?”
Arken Dominat led his attendants into a room. A man with an unpleasant, rotten face was bound and kneeling on the floor. When he noticed Arken, his hands began to visibly tremble.
“P-Please calm down….”
A sword was brought to the man’s throat. Beads of sweat from his forehead dripped onto the grooves of the blade before rolling off. Arken leaned back into the chair his attendant had prepared for him.
“I was going to kill everyone.”
The man began hiccupping. Arken smiled.
“But I only killed half.”
“…”
“But, well, I could change my mind any minute.”
As though he had realized how he could save himself, the man hastily shouted,
“Wh-Wh-Whatever you tell me! I’ll do it! I’ll do it all! Truly! Truly! Please believe me! My Lord! Please, my Lord!”
The man walked over on his knees and submissively grasped Arken’s pant leg. Arken leaned over him.
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Yes! Whatever you want!”
The man nodded furiously.
“Then confess.”
“…Pardon?”
“Report the princess.”
“…”
“I’ll make sure you’re spared execution. I’ll inconspicuously send your family out of the country. With, of course, enough funds to last them a lifetime.”
“Th-The princess…”
“Why, you don’t want to? Then would you rather die here?”
The blade pressed into the man’s neck, drawing a line of blood.
“…”
When he didn’t respond right away, Arken flicked his eyes toward the black-masked man by him.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the masked man stabbed a short sword into the man’s thigh and twisted. Arken covered his ears with his hands. For a while, the repulsive screams filled the room.
“So, your answer?”
“…I-I will do it! Hic, please, yes, of course! I will do it, please…”
Arken shook his leg and laughed contentedly.
“Consider it an honor to help me with your worthless life.”
*
Arken Dominat was dragged and dumped onto the carpet. Wobbling, he had placed his hands on the carpet and was trying to sit up when he received a kick to the stomach. He crashed into the wall. Momentarily unable to breathe, Arken hoarsely gasped for air.
“Arken Dominat.”
Hearing his name, Arken lifted his head and saw his father. He snickered as he leaned up against the wall.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Arken Dominat!”
“Can you stop calling me? I’m not deaf, you kn…”
Arken was slapped and fell to the side. His ear throbbed.
Backed into a corner, Arken was kicked over and over. As this was happening, Arken simply covered his head with his arms and curled into a ball without trying to resist.
Soon, Arken’s father took in a harsh breath and threw off his coat. He used the back of his hand to wipe off the thick drops of sweat running down his jaw. Arken lifted his head and looked at his father. His father was looking down at him contemptuously, as if seeing some lowly thing.
Poor father. My decrepit father, long past the age of maturity, taking out his anger on me while he himself is too afraid to even grab hold of a single position.
Arken snorted. As he did so, his father furrowed his brows, his expression ugly. But he only steadied his breathing.
“Pretend it didn’t happen.”
“Pardon…?”
“I will overlook it this one time, so pretend it didn’t happen! Do you not know what will happen if this reaches His Excellency? Do not act in haste! What can you do!”
Figures. He’d used the duke’s private soldiers, so it was impossible for the duke not to know. Arken snickered to himself, thinking that the duke had noticed faster than he’d expected.
“Do you understand!”
“Yes…”
Once his father had left, Arken laid down on the carpet, his shoulders shaking with laughter. He sat up and spit onto the floor. A handful of blood and a broken tooth dirtied the floor.
“…”
Arken slowly stood up. Then he swept all of the books off of the nearby hardwood desk. Various documents and books, a stand, a fish bowl, a vase and a compass shattered on the floor.
When that didn’t help, Arken upended the desk itself and pretended to kick it a couple of times.
At that moment, someone knocked at the door.
“What!”
“Someone’s requested to see you, my L-.”
“Fuck, don’t you have any sense left, you decrepit, worn-out bitch? Do you want to die? Should I kill you too?”
After a short silence, a voice came from the other side of the door.
“She says that she knows something about the princess that she must tell you in private. She asked me to tell you that she wants the same thing as you. I thought I should tell you…”
Arken wiped his blood-stained mouth with his sleeve and spat on the floor.
“Bring her here. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see her face.”
That was Arken and Yuriel’s first meeting.
“Yuriel.”
“…”
“Yuriel!”
No matter how hard he pounded on the door, there was no response. Eventually, he unlocked the door with a key the inn’s owner brought him. As he stepped into the room, his foot caught on something. The chaotic state of the room, and Yuriel, who had her head buried in the mattress, filled his vision.
“Yuriel.”
Yuriel slowly lifted her head as Ettsen knelt on one knee in front of her. Her face was white as a sheet. Yuriel grabbed Ettsen’s collar and whispered,
“Kill her.”
“…”
“I’m begging you to kill her.”
“Yuriel.”
“Robia came.”
Ettsen’s face briefly hardened at those words, but Yuriel didn’t notice.
“He did it. That bastard did this.”
“What?”
“He broke things and threatened me! Saying I betrayed him…”
Yuriel trembled and let herself be embraced by Ettsen.
“I’m scared! He said that she would come kill me, that I would definitely die! Please, Ettsen…”
The day after Robia came to see him, Ettsen had given the inn’s owner money and made his request. He had asked the owner to keep an eye out for who came looking for Yuriel, and to call security if they seemed dangerous.
According to the owner, Robia, indeed no one, had come looking for Yuriel today. When he first heard that, he’d been relieved.
“Kill her.”
“…”
“Or I’ll die.”
Yuriel didn’t know that she’d been found out even before she began her lie.
“…”
Tomorrow was the awaited day, it was time for Ettsen to act, and she needed an excuse to pressure him.
Yuriel thought he was easy. But she had ignored the possibility that, just because Ettsen didn’t ask anything, didn’t mean he didn’t know anything.
After laying Yuriel – who had cried herself to sleep – down on the clean bed, Ettsen quietly looked down at her.
“Do you still not know that woman?”
“Maybe it’s that you don’t want to know. Or you would want to throw her away immediately.”
He straightened out the blankets whenever Yuriel’s slight tossing and turning sent them slipping down. It was only when dawn broke outside the window that he pulled himself away and headed toward the palace.
The day was visibly bright.
*
Sieger was patrolling the outer palace when he heard a disturbance from the palace entrance and went to investigate.
Four large carriages were in a line, and the merchants, who appeared to be the owners, were joking with the soldiers about nothing important.
“Oy, what are you-.”
Sieger had taken a few steps toward the group when he was stopped by the soldier who had been patrolling with him.
“Nothing good will come of getting involved.”
“What?”
“…They are the princess’s people. They come every year.”
“Every year?”
“Every year around this time, without fail.”
“And that makes it okay to let them in without an inspection?”
The soldier clicked his tongue.
“Don’t you know after what you’ve been through? They transport things like sex slaves, boys that have been trafficked illegally, and drugs. You shouldn’t get involved… If you don’t want to worsen your situation.”
After saying that, the soldier left, leaving Sieger behind. Sieger glared at his back for a while before turning his gaze toward the slowly advancing carriages.
Every year. And this year as well.
He had thought she’d changed. Had that really been a fabrication?
Really?
A strange feeling of foreboding settled into a corner of his heart.
*
Like always, Robia wasn’t invited to the party. However, from what he heard, Nadricka had also been left in the palace. Robia felt okay.
Then, he discovered the note from today.
[Surveillance impossible.]
Robia turned the note over.
[Target has entered the nest.]
‘Nest’ was the code word for the palace. Yuriel had entered the palace? Robia clicked his tongue. It was obvious that the maid girl had helped Yuriel out.
Robia turned the gears in his head.
A maid who was connected to Yuriel…
He headed to the princess’s palace. The palace was empty, like a lie. That in itself was plausible enough since the reception of the foreign delegates and the party were going on all day, plus the princess herself was gone.
But this was too extreme.
It was quiet near the bedchamber. Robia walked swiftly to the door and grabbed the handle. The door wasn’t even locked.
Robia pushed on the door and stepped inside without hesitation. There was no sign of anyone else in the room. Robia was about to be seized by frustration when he became aware that something was out-of-place.
Looking around, the room was imperceptibly more disordered than normal.
It was undeniable. Someone had searched the room.
“Did you not hear me say that we need to increase security in the palace?”
Robia slammed his hand down on the desk with a dumbfounded expression.
“I said we know what we’re doing.”
“We need to inspect each and every passerby. I’m saying this because you haven’t been doing that, have you? That woman-“
“That, what’s-her-name, Yuriel? The pretty-looking girl who was chased out a little while ago?”
The head of security sniggered and looked at Robia.
“The one who was in that kind of relationship with you…”
“Is that important right now?”
“Then, what is important? In any case, Her Highness is in the safest and most strictly guarded place in the palace right now. Do you know what awaits us if we go in and make a ruckus over that girl? So, the two of you can work it out-.”
“Look here! What nonsense!”
“Oh, my eardrums…”
The head of security glared at Robia with displeasure.
“It’s not the first time I’ve seen concubines fight over love. If you do this every time, how are we supposed to work? Hm?”
Now, the head of security was holding back his frustration in order to calm Robia down. Who’s the one who should be frustrated?
“What, are you trying to get attention by bringing along soldiers? We don’t act on things like that. It’s like you see the palace security as fools.”
The men had no desire to lend Robia an ear.
Things were turning out unusually. He had thought Yuriel would incite someone else to do her dirty work. He had no idea that Yuriel would fearlessly enter the palace herself. On top of that, he didn’t know her current location.
It was clear her target was the princess, but he was having trouble guessing the method. How was she planning on entering the party hall that Robia himself couldn’t enter?
Then, he realized.
[Going in and out of the homes of high-class nobles. Seems to be looking for work as a maid.]
That hadn’t been to work as a maid.
[Found work at the Dominat Duchy. Working under the playboy grandson.]
The playboy grandson of Dominat… Dominat’s…
He remembered. That crazy bastard who looked emotionally unstable. Finally, it was making sense. That man had more than enough reason to bear a grudge against the princess.
But why now.
She… the princess now was innocent.
He knew the pain she was going through due to that sinful appearance. He also knew he was part of the problem.
He had tried to ignore it, but it was the truth. And that’s why he wanted to redeem himself.
Robia chewed on his lip.
Not only was there not enough time to solve the sentries’ misunderstanding, but it didn’t seem possible. Robia decided to compromise as much as he could afford.
“After I find that woman, I’ll stand back without another word, so please give me two soldiers.”
“Two?”
The guard snorted.
“Do you know how many foreign dignitaries are staying in the palace right now? Don’t be causing a diplomatic issue at this crucial time, and go back.”
Robia clenched his fists. He was in a rush, but not a single thing was going his way.
He glared at the man in front of him.
“Is it important whether or not I know?”
“What?”
“I know better than the likes of you. Do you think you were placed in that position to think of yourself and worry about diplomatic issues? Ha! You must be crazy talking about something you picked up somewhere when a royal’s life could be in danger…!”
Robia was grabbed by the collar.
“You wouldn’t know how sensitive they are about things like this! Try offending one of their servants, who they normally see as pebbles by the side of the road. They’d lose it, clear as day, foaming at the mouth and going on about how you’ve insulted their country! You think something like that has only happened once or twice! In the end, it’s us who sweat like sons of bitches for absolutely nothing!”
Robia used his hand to wipe off the spittle that had gotten on his face. Then, he gave the guard a menacing look.
“I may be a concubine who has been cast away, but I’m still a member of the royal family. How are you hoping to face the consequences of speaking to me so insultingly?”
“What, what… you started i-.”
“You mean, you started it.”
Robia responded, while freeing himself from the guard’s loosened grip.
“Now, how many can I have? Hurry up and give them to me.”
The head of security huffed and puffed, his face reddening, but he was unable to show the rebellion from a moment ago.
“And tell him, right now.”
“Are you telling me to make a report to my superior?”
Robia was silent for a moment.
“No. To Sir Eclot Pacis.”
“Report to whom now?”
“The war hero who has come to hold office by recent military decree. You’re not saying you don’t know him.”
“How could I, to him, over something like this…”
“No harm will come to you from making the report. He’s not someone who weighs the importance of a matter while managing his underlings.”
Robia’s mouth tasted bitter. He didn’t have any power. To the point that he had to borrow someone else’s name.
At the very least, if it was a problem concerning the princess, Eclot would take action without another word. He was certain of that. Now, he was relieved.
Now, the only thing left was the dirty mess that was his responsibility.
Robia wasn’t expecting anything, but for now, he had to try.
“You cannot enter.”
Of course, it was as he expected. He was caught at the entrance to the party hall. The reason was that he hadn’t received an invitation.
Beyond the bulky armor of the guards, he could see dots of red flame from the party hall.
Fine, this iron wall was standing guard. What could go wrong? He calmed himself down.
“There was intelligence that said an exiled maid with a grudge has snuck into the palace.”
“….Who are you?”
“I am Her Highness’s third concubine. Robia-.”
“Where did you get that information? It is not trustworthy.”
He’d expected as much. Robia looked in the direction of the party hall, and turned away without regrets.
“Um, what should we be doing?”
Two soldiers who were no more than boys were scampering after Robia. Robia glanced behind him at the question, then turned his head back to the front.
“I assume you know all of the patrol routes?”
“Yes! Of course.”
“Then think of a route leading here that avoids all of those.”
“Pardon? That’s imposs…”
Robia’s gaze held the clear message to find a way even if it was impossible. The sentries began racking their brains.
Then, noticing someone’s approach from afar, Robia pulled the two into the shade of an alleyway.
“Why are we hid…”
Covering the soldier’s mouth, Robia cursed with his eyes. The soldier shut his mouth of his own accord.
The group that appeared soon after was in merchants’ attire. However, there was something off about them. They didn’t seem like a normal group of merchants. The man who appeared to be the group’s representative was encircled by men who, by the looks of it, were in disguise. Behind them were several carriages whose interior was hidden.
For an instant, the moonlight revealed the face of the man heading the group. Robia didn’t miss that split second.
He had seen the man before. In the princess’s palace. It was the head of the slave traders who was close with the princess.
Why was he here? There was no way that she had called for him. In the first place, she couldn’t have guessed they existed.
Then, Dominat must have called them in. If so, it was them. The ones Dominat and Yuriel had prepared to tighten the noose around the princess’s neck.
“Are those bastards the bad guys?”
Digusted by the soldier whispering in his ear, Robia whirled around.
“You two…”
Robia looked them up and down. And then he let out a sigh. It had only taken him a fraction of a second to judge that having them by his side would be no help.
The movements of those bastards encircling the head of the slave traders seemed like trouble. By the looks of it, they were elite soldiers who had received separate training.
He couldn’t find Yuriel, but at the very least, he had to stop their smooth entrance into the party hall. It was clear what kind of damage this inconceivable action of theirs would cause her.
He didn’t want to believe it, but the men looked as if they were risking their lives, so stopping them would also require him to put up his own life as collateral.
“You two, go back immediately and bring reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements?”
But there was no need for more sacrifices.
“Exactly. Go bring more soldiers. By whatever means possible.”
“Will it be dangerous? We will protect you.”
“I’m saying you won’t be enough. Go bring whoever you can. Now.”
They hesitated at first, but began running back quietly. Robia took a deep breath.
He searched his pockets, but all he had for self-defense was a shiny feather quill. The ground was clear too. There wasn’t even a rock he could charge with.
In any case… he could buy time.
Robia stepped out into the moonlight.
“We will wait here. And if-.”
“Did Her Highness call for you?”
The men stopped in their tracks before turning around to face Robia. They gave Robia a once-over and laughed but didn’t let down their guard.
“Who’re you?”
Today was oddly full of people who wanted to know who he was. Robia put on a reasonably good-natured smile and approached the men.
“You do not need to put up your guard. I am on your side.”
“…”
He made eye contact with the head of the slave traders who the bastards were discreetly trying to shield from view.
“It’s been a year. Neither of us is a welcome face to the other, right? Are you here this time too because the princess called for you?”
The merchant glanced at the men encircling him and swallowed.
“Y-Yes, it is so…”
“Then why are you over there? Let us go. I know the place so I will lead you there.”
“Ah, no, we are-.”
“Why.”
“…”
“Do you have other business?”
Silence descended upon those gathered like they had been hit with a bucket of cold water. Robia prepared himself for what would happen next and gritted his teeth.
“You’re putting your faith in Dominat of all people?’
“W-What-.”
“Do you truly not know what kind of bastard he is? I’m sure someone who sees people’s lives as less than a beast’s would let you live.”
The merchant’s eyes widened while his jaw went slack. The other bastards clicked their tongues and gripped the merchant tightly so he wouldn’t be able to try anything funny. Then, they forcefully pushed Robia back.
“Step aside.”
“Did he say he would guarantee the safety of your family? When did you last see your family? Did you come all this way after checking that they were alive?”
With bloodshot eyes, the merchant shouted at the men who bound him.
“This is different from what you said!”
“If you don’t shut your mouth this instant, we won’t be able to guarantee anything.”
“Wh-What…!”
Seeing his chance, Robia began to persuade the merchant with eloquent words.
“And say he lets you live. Do you think that you will be safe after daring to slander Her Highness? She will not let you go. But if you report the truth, I will speak well of you to Her Highness. Despite how she seems, she is a woman of her word.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Who are you more afraid of? Think only of that.”
At that instant, Robia was punched in the gut and landed on his bottom. For a moment, he couldn’t speak. As soon as he could breathe again, Robia shouted, bluffing.
“Dominat will end up dying like a dog, too, but do you want to die by his side? If you stand witness against his revolt, then you’ll be an honored subject of the empire.”
Even as he was seized by the scruff of his neck and forced to the ground, the merchant sobbed out,
“I just did what the young lord threatened me to do…!”
The merchant was violently kicked in the gut and went flying without being able to say another word. Then, he fainted.
“Did you hear that?”
Robia let out a laugh as he sat up his throbbing body.
“I heard it.”
One by one, the men pulled out blades hidden at their breast or their hips. Robia swallowed noisily. Then he put his hand in his clothes. He needed them to think he had something, though the only thing he felt was the soft feather.
His opponents grinned toothily like they knew everything.
“Take him to the shade for now.”
Robia was punched in the gut again and dragged into the shade as he wheezed. Even as he was feeling faint, Robia wagged his tongue about how these bastards were even more reckless than he’d imagined. That they were soldiers who took after their master.
Would reinforcements really come? He didn’t have much faith, but he didn’t have any choice but to trust those two.
“Look here, do you have to go this far? No matter how off his rocker Dominat is. The princess won’t be ruined with this. Though she might receive a little damage. But if you kill a concubine, you won’t be able to escape her wrat-.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
The man said, grabbing Robia’s throat.
“The bastard who killed you will be caught and executed tomorrow.”
So they’re planning to cover up my death while the princess is preoccupied. Robia blinked as he felt the oxygen being cut off from his brain. Then, he kicked between the man’s legs with all his might.
He was able to escape the man’s hold but was caught before he could take two steps.
To be exact, he was skewered. Robia saw his hands tremble.
“Ah, I stuck him with my blade. This is going to be troublesome.”
“It’s still within the bounds of what we can handle.”
Robia slowly fell to his knees. Then, he fell face forward. His nose hurt when his head crashed into the ground, but he couldn’t move his body. Radiating out from his stab wound, a burning sensation flared through his entire body, causing his train of thought to be cut off.
At that moment, the bastards moved back up against the wall to hide their presence. Two soldiers and a knight on patrol had stopped in their tracks at the sight of the abandoned carriages in the yard.
“What should we do.”
“For now, kill this bastard.”
“Pardon?”
“He’s not an idiot so it’s bothering me that he leapt at us by himself.”
The man prodded at Robia’s overcoat, and Robia desperately clutched at his arm. Gaining certainty from Robia’s actions, the man turned Robia over and searched his body.
The man soon found what he was looking for. It was a magic apparatus used for recording conversations.
“How did a concubine get his hands on this valuable thing?”
“Stop wasting time and destroy it, quickly!”
The end of a blade ran through the magic apparatus.
“But this bastard’s still breath-.”
“If we’re any later, the young lord will have our heads. We have to go now!”
One of the bastards extracted the sword that had pierced through Robia. He swung it around in the air to flick off the blood before sticking it back into his scabbard.
Robia was motionless, collapsed in a pool of his own blood.
Robia slowly reached out his hand. Using his fingertips to grip the ground, he pushed with his toes to gradually crawl forward.
When his fingertips finally emerged from the shade, someone’s shadow loomed over him.
“You, are…”
Lifted up by a strong force, Robia repeatedly coughed blood onto the man’s clothes.
“Where do you need to go?”
It was Ettsen.