Chapter 8:

“Just as Your Highness, I am flawed too.”

No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t remember anything before I entered the Tiodurop mansion. I didn’t know who my parents were or whether I was a noblewoman or a commoner.

“Do you really think I’ll accept you?”

“There’s only a facade of the four families, so there’s nothing wrong with the stigma of me being added to the bottom four families.”

“You’re too proud.”

I was scared.

His gaze was as fierce as of the beast who was ready to devour its prey at any moment.

Nonetheless, I laughed. Perhaps it was because I was facing a death that was approaching me like a sword, or because I instinctively cowered from the deadly air that was seizing me, but my mind was calmer than ever. I had already turned my back on the cliff of death.

“Why do you want to go this far to be Empress?”

“There are not many positions high enough to make the Duke of Tiodurop bow his head.”

“Do you want revenge?”

“More like to protect myself.”

I grinned. As I relaxed, it was easier to smile.

“Protection?”

“His daughter hates me. The only way for me to survive is to become stronger before she’s fully established.”

“Is that all? It doesn’t look like that to me.”

“Of course that’s not all.”

I nodded honestly. No matter how much I tried to kill my emotions, I couldn’t help it. It was Charlotte who looked down at me and smiled satisfactorily as I was dying. At the last minute, her smile was embedded in me like a sharp splinter. So, I thought, if the day comes for me to see Charlotte again, I would stand in my handmade seat and look down at her, not the sinner who took her place.

“Revenge?”

“I suppose you can call it that.”

“Is that even possible?”

“I always believed that my father loved me, but I knew it was a lie when his real daughter returned. The people I talked to also turned their backs on me. And I suffered. I resented them. And it’s much the same now.”

I stopped speaking. I didn’t want to say any more.

“Tell me.”

But the man who was aiming at me was not the least considerate.

Eventually, I frowned and opened my mouth.

“To be honest, I don’t know what I want. As usual, I’m drunk with emotion and feel empty because everything I thought was mine has been taken from me. So I’m just trying to live.”

“And yet you want the Empress’s seat.”

“When you have many things, you have many choices. And most importantly, I’ve learned that if I’m going to buy something, it better be the best.”

I chuckled. Hilariously, it was my father who told me to be the best.

“You’re arrogant.”

“The reason diamonds are so valuable is because people treat them that way. As for me, it’s the same.”

“Is your worth as valuable as diamonds?”

“Your Highness has to see and judge that for yourself.”

“You want me to judge it?”

“It is up to the buyer to decide the price of an item, but remember this. When you buy something, it is better to buy it when the price is low.”

I said confidently, but the Archduke did not give me the answer I wanted.

Still, before I knew it, he was staring at me, but his eyes were friendlier this time.

For me, that was enough for an answer.

“I’ll call the doctor.”

The man added nonchalantly.

***

“Your neck is not deeply scarred, but your hands are. It seems like the scars on the palm of your hands…….”

The doctor looked at the deeply dented wound and slurred his words.

He looked quite worried as if he thought I was a noblewoman.

The scar was a disgrace to the aristocrat Young Ladies.

If it was my past self, I would have surely thrown a tantrum.

But now, I had no interest in it. More importantly, in the situation where I was discarded, I wanted to know what a scar was.

“I don’t mind.”

“But…”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” I said.

With a little effort in my voice, the doctor said nothing and concentrated on the treatment.

I watched him heal the wounds in a daze of silence.

After wiping off the blood and disinfecting the wounds, I watched him stitch up the open wounds in front of me, but it didn’t feel real to me.

“It didn’t hurt, did it?”

After the treatment was over, I touched my neck with my fingertips.

The sensation of the bandage pressing down on my neck felt strange.

All this was something a normal aristocrat wouldn’t have to go through.

But it was me who had chosen this path.

I didn’t want to go back, nor did I intend to.

I had to get used to the scars, not get used to seeing them.

“It’s not that painful.”

I replied nonchalantly and glanced sideways at the man sitting on the opposite side from me.

He kept his eyes on me until the treatment was over.

“Thank you for treating me.”

“I don’t like to buy damaged goods.”

Of course, I didn’t want to get used to a man who spoke meanly.

I turned my head away from him.

His gaze was on my wounds, but it seemed that it was more out of curiosity than feeling sorry.

“That’s a relief.”

“What?”

“If you want to buy damaged goods, it means you must be willing to buy them.”

“Half and half.”

The Archduke touched his chin and tilted his head.

His eyes were still the same as ever, calculating my worth.

‘If what you say is true, it’s a tempting proposition, but I’m not sure. Anyone can tell a story, can’t they?”

“You need certainty, don’t you?”

“You’re right.”

“And you’ll need time to do my background checks.”

For a moment, he went silent. Perhaps he didn’t expect I could say such a thing so openly.

“It’s not hard to understand. I would do the same.”

“You’re being thoughtful.”

“We’re going to be on the same boat from now on, and I have no reason to lie.”

“You’re overly proud of yourself.”

The Archduke clicked his tongue.

“Time will tell if I’m telling the truth or not.”

“Yes, it’s a matter of time to see if you’re a fraud or a facilitator.”

“You’re going to watch me?”

“It will be a simple test. You foretell the future, and all I have to do is wait.”

The Archduke held out a pen and an empty piece of paper before me.

“Here, write down everything you know about the future. I will see with my own eyes what a great prophet you are.”

“I can’t do that.”

“No?”

“Just as you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you. I can’t tell you everything.”

I pushed the paper back and stared straight into his eyes.

I was not stupid, and there was no reason to get everything out in the open.

I had to get what I wanted by releasing information in due course.

All I had now was my body, and the future I knew was my lifeline.

“If you want to keep quiet, I’ll help you. A dead man in a coffin doesn’t talk.”

“There is no need to hurry. I’m just saying that I can’t tell you everything right now.”

“That’s. …..”

“I will tell you one thing I do know.”

Information can be powerful but becomes meaningless over time.

I had a piece of extra information that would shake him, but it would be useless after today.

“What is it?”

“At dawn today, the Imperial Family will urgently summon Your Highness. Not only you, but all the Archdukes of the four great families.”

“You dare to say that?”

“…The chiefs of the main noble families will be there as well.”

“…”

“The sunset is here.”

Sensing the meaning of my words, the Archduke was unable to continue for some time.

I watched the expressionless man’s face change from one to the other, and I opened my mouth again.

What mattered was the next degree.

“The next emperor will be the second prince.”

“Second prince?”

“The first prince, he will lose his life in a tragic accident just before he ascends the throne.”

“Are you certain?”

“Your Highness will have to decide that for yourself, whether what I’m saying is true or not.”

I smiled triumphantly.

***

It was not until a day later that the Archduke of Mona Chareuteu visited me again.

I smiled when I saw the man who came into my room.

It was not such a bad time, despite the heavy security that had passed.

It was fun just thinking about the expression he would make.

“Looks like it’s time to get an answer.”

“…”

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to kill me, or are you going to hold my hand?”

Although I asked, the Archduke did not answer.

Instead, he strode up toward me and looked at me with a sharp gaze.

In the shade over my head, I reflexively swallowed dry saliva.

He was like a beast.

I thought so from the first time I saw him, but the ferocious man’s eyes reminded me of an untamed beast.

“How in the world did you know?”

He grabbed my shoulders and held them so strongly that it was difficult to move.

“I told you, I know the future.”

“The future? It’s such an empty thing.”

“But you’ve seen for yourself.”

“…”

His jaws tightened. He stifled his rising emotions.

“Or am I wrong in my prediction?”

I smiled innocently, pretending not to know, even though I knew he wouldn’t react like that if I was wrong.

His hands tightened on my shoulders, and he raised his head up sternly.

“I don’t believe in prophecies.”

His low voice rang in my ears. It sounded like an animal howling.

“Then don’t be swayed.”

“…”

“You’re shaking right now, aren’t you?”

“…”

His eyes were still, never wavered. But as I stared at it, I saw a slight tremor.

“You don’t have to trust me. But you can use me.”

“Use you?”

“After all, if you get what you want, that’s all that matters, right?”

I laid my hand directly on his hand that held my shoulder.

His hand was rough to be that of a nobleman, but I liked it that way.

For any beast, the hungry are more desperate than the full.

“Use me.”

‘Because I will use you, too.’

The man’s jaw tightened as I moved my fingers slowly along his protruding vein.

With a smile on my lips, I absentmindedly swept the Archduke’s scars.

***