Chapter 1
“I’ll sponsor you.”
That night was an odd one, to say the least. It was the kind of feeling someone felt when important or unpleasant guests came, when the beasts became unruly, or when we came across assassins.
“I can sponsor your excellency, the Grand Duke of Bertrund.”
The offer was even more bizarre than that night.
‘What exactly did the princess of common birth say?’
Kael had a noticeable frown on his face. His gaze naturally drifted to the child, who was sitting on a single sofa in the room.
Something he hadn’t noticed the day before drew his attention now. Despite the fact that he and the child were only two years apart in age, her appearance did not reflect this; she was far thinner and shorter than someone her age.
The child’s thin cheeks and limbs became even more distinct under the dingy lamp. The dress she was wearing looked expensive, but it was far too thin to endure the harsh winter. Most of all, it looked like she stole and wore clothes meant for adults.
With those small peculiar details, Kael could see the truth. It was something he could’ve missed if he only focused on her beauty. Although her pink hair that looked fresh like spring and golden eyes that resembled the stars caught his eye, he couldn’t help but notice those little details about her.
When one noticed the details, they could see that it was the commoner-born princess who desperately needed sponsorship, not him.
“…What did you just say?”
“Sponsorship.”
The child’s voice became even louder, perhaps because she thought he couldn’t hear her well. Adding to that, Kael was leaning over slightly, so it was natural that the child had such thoughts.
“I’m willing to support you.”
So he wasn’t mistaken, from the start until now. Kael shut his lips and swept his hair up.
‘I’ve never imagined this situation.’
After wiping out the monsters outside the castle and coming to this study, Kael imagined how the princess would react. She would either look down on him arrogantly, be angry and shout, or be afraid of him.
‘I thought she was going to cry for help…’
Kael took a deep breath and wet his lips. He had always been thirsty ever since he wiped out the monsters outside. The time for the curse to intensify was approaching.
After dealing with so many monsters and even an assassin today, he was still thirsty.
His vision started to blur gradually, as well.
“How would you sponsor me?”
He took off the robe that he had been wearing for a long time. He had worn it from the gate all the way until he arrived at this study.
Kael’s robe, which had been stained with blood, fell to the floor of the study with a heavy thud.
The stench of blood got a little stronger.
“I do not understand how you will sponsor me.”
Kael slowly but surely approached the princess.
His field of vision narrowed a bit more.
‘Ah, I want to drink something.’
Be it water, wine, or blood, Kael was fine with whatever.
He needed to gulp down something.
Gradually, the limit of what he could endure was approaching.
‘I can’t leave my seat.’
He had the medicine in his hands. However, he couldn’t show it to the princess. Maybe he should scare off the princess first.
He walked towards her and stopped right in front of her.
The thick stench of blood permeated in the air, it became even more distinct as he got closer to her.
Kael, who deliberately got closer to her, smiled.
“Could you give me some blood, Your Majesty?”
The princess’s expression hardened after hearing those words. Her round eyes became even more rounder due to the surprise.
Yes, no matter how ignorant she was, she would have heard of Kael.
There were vicious rumors that circulated about him. They say that he went mad because of a curse, killed his mother, and drank human blood every night.
“Ah….”
The princess lowered her head.
‘Is she going to cry?’ Kael tried to scare her on purpose, but he somehow felt uncomfortable when he actually saw her reaction.
“…”
‘Is the stench of blood too thick?’
He has been accustomed to the stench of blood, as he often killed monsters since he was young, but the princess was different.
Or, was she scared of him?
She was still young after all, so she must’ve been afraid.
Kael bit his lips and turned his head.
“If you can’t, then get out of this room…”
“Do you really want that, Your Excellency?”
Huh? She came back with a completely different answer from what he had thought.
When his eyes widened and he turned his head, he saw the princess who looked up at him and smiled.
“You wouldn’t do it.”
The princess smiled as she stroked her precious pink hair.
“Drinking blood doesn’t quench your thirst. You must have realized that a long time ago.”
This time, Kael’s face hardened.
Everyone knew that he was under a curse.
He didn’t really know if it was a curse that was passed down from generation to generation in his family.
However, the fact that drinking blood did not quench his thirst was true. And it was a secret only known to a few.
‘How does the abandoned princess know that?’
Kael took a breath and asked,
“…How do you know that?”
Instead of answering, the princess stretched out her short arm. Kael stared at the small hand with only two fingers outstretched.
“There are two things I can give you.”
The princess touched her head with her finger.
“Information.”
She could tell him in detail about how to break his curse, how to develop some underdeveloped territory, and a way to call the spring that never came.
“I can make you an emperor.”
Behind those charming words were means of treason.
Kael’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t believe that the princess herself suggested that.
“And the last one.”
The princess got up from her seat.
Perhaps because of a wrong step, her body, which was smaller than he expected, staggered.
Kael unknowingly grabbed her hand to support her.
There was still dry blood in the palm of his hand.
“What is it?”
The princess smiled and approached him, who smelled like blood because of the monsters and assassins casually.
It was as if she didn’t care about those vicious rumors.
She smiled and took Kael’s hand.
A small hand rested on his blood-stained one.
“…!”
At the same time, Kael’s eyes widened.
The thirst and pain that had never left him since the curse started disappeared in an instant.
It was a refreshing feeling that filled the void inside him.
It felt like the leash that had been holding his neck for a long time had been released.
‘It’s been a while since I felt like this.’
When was the last time he looked at people without being thirsty?
This feeling was something that he never imagined.
After being cursed, he lost every hope of turning back to normal.
Even his mother had no choice but to give up on him.
‘But how did this happen?’
“I have the power to suppress the curse.”
He couldn’t cry in front of anyone he saw for the first time, especially in front of this little princess.
But his emotion won over his reason.
The princess, who was still holding his hand, entered his tear-filled vision.
“Do you like it?”
Her messy pink hair, golden eyes that shined brightly even under the dim lamp, and a confident smile that could reassure people.
All of that filled Kael’s vision.
At the same time, his tears fell.
“What do you want?”
A relationship must be two-way for it to work. Even though the princess was young, he was sure that she also wanted something in return.
Kael quickly wiped his tears and took a step back.
However, his hands were still held by the princess. She didn’t want to let go.
“I hope you do not get sick and become an adult.”
‘Become an adult?’ Kael stopped the hand that was sweeping his tears and opened his fingers slightly to look at the princess through the gap.
“I want you to revive the Bertrund Duchy’s glory and become an excellent heir. Also…”
She wanted him to develop himself with the wealth and power obtained by her information. She wanted him to trample on the people who betrayed her in the past.
“Kill all the royals and be victorious.”
After saying that, the young princess smiled brightly.