She ordered Karl to dig one large pit and three smaller ones. She needed graves to bury the corpses that had been spat out by the Calamity. She considered the fact that he had only just received his sentence of slavery today. She had expected him to refuse her orders or feel a deep sense of humiliation, especially since he was once a Crown Prince. Yet, he followed her instructions with surprising compliance. As she watched him laboring with the shovel, she made a mental comma

He fought to deny the reality before him, but then Vanessa reached out and feebly gripped his collar. Though her trembling touch was weak, it held him fast, leaving him momentarily paralyzed as if he were bound by iron chains. Then, words sharper than any blade spilled from her lips, piercing his chest like a dagger. [Vanessa] "I understand, so..." She seemed to agree that he had been the one to bring her to this state. She pleaded with him to stop talking, if only for a mome

The Emperor’s fury erupted exactly as expected. However, the bond of trust built over years with the Count’s family did not shatter in a single instant. The Emperor was not a man to act on impulse; instead, the Imperial family launched a clandestine, internal investigation to verify the truth of Declan’s tip. Declan had already anticipated this reaction. If he had merely forged documents, the deception would have eventually crumbled under the weight of a persistent investigat

[Eaton] "There will be rumors, Your Highness." He finally voiced his concerns. Of course, his own worries were likely inconsequential, and he knew Kalart would never do something without a calculated reason. Still, he could not remain silent. There had been enough noise about the cat’s owner when she first entered the Crown Prince’s Palace, with many claiming she lacked the proper status. Now, Kalart had settled her in the room right next to his—the very suite intended for th

The voice of him, speaking words that made little sense, felt strangely rigid. While she blinked her eyes in bewilderment, the last of her buttons were undone. He pulled off her inner dress as well, leaving nothing behind. A biting chill struck her bare skin. As she curled her body inward to shield herself, a dry garment was draped over her shoulders. [Roserikta] "Ah...?" [Kalart] "Can I open my eyes now?" It was his cloak. He had taken the cloak he had left nearby and wrappe

Alone once more, he was shrouded in complete and total solitude. Once a day, this was his time to let his eyes rest. Beneath the surface of the water, everything was refracted and blurred, and he preferred it that way. If he did not have these moments of peace, he felt he might have lost his mind long ago. The Crown Prince suffered from an illness known to no one else. To his eyes, human faces appeared twisted and distorted. It was not a general failure of his vision, as he h

[Clobell] "It has been hours. I am dying of boredom. Haaaa-aah." They had been waiting in the audience chamber for three hours. Clobellina, who had been dozing off on Roserikta’s lap, finally found even sleep tedious. She hopped down to the floor and stretched her body long. Roserikta rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her legs were beginning to feel pins and needles. [Clobell] "He acted like he would give you his own liver just a while ago, so why is he ignoring us now? Does he

[Clobell] "Meow." Clobellina finally relaxed. Her eyes, which had been wide with tension until they boarded the imperial carriage, narrowed into lazy slits once more. According to her, she had been quietly gathering the Axaca powder in the basement when she sensed something strange. She had crept upstairs and watched the situation unfold from a distance. When she heard the Crown Prince threatening to burn everything down, she had hidden in a panic, certain she’d been caught f

Cold. No, it was as if he lacked temperature entirely. That was the sensation that washed over her the moment he opened his mouth. To call him a "statue" felt like an understatement. She had expected this, but her heart still sank heavily in her chest. As she feared, the Crown Prince had come with the sole intention of taking Clobellina away. That cannot happen. [Roserikta] “Your Imperial Highness.” She spoke after swallowing a sharp breath. In that instant, the Prince's gaze

[Clobell] "Are you really doing this to me?" She stared at Roserikta, her two eyes brimming with a damp, resentful glow. Of course, the look had no effect. Roserikta simply lifted her teacup, pretending not to notice, and spoke sternly. [Roserikta] “You don’t have time to play around. If you keep this up, even staying up all night won't be enough to finish.” [Clobell] “Do you think this is reasonable? Use your eyes and look at this. When am I supposed to pick all of these up,

[Roserikta] “Clobellina.” A clear, calm voice echoed against the backdrop of the evening sun streaming through the window. [Roserikta] “Come out now. It’s time for dinner.” She placed a plate on the small kitchen table. It was piled high with freshly blanched broccoli and cabbage. [Roserikta] “...Is it too much to leave it completely unseasoned?” She searched the cupboard and pulled out salt and pepper. With a few light shakes, the seasoning settled over the wilted vegetables

Once upon a time, a Crown Prince lived under a dark curse that stole his ability to love anyone. One day, a cat approaches him with a secret scheme. As if by magic, the Prince feels a sudden spark of affection for the creature and brings it into the Imperial Palace. But there is one problem: the cat’s owner, Roserikta, follows along like a stubborn shadow. Why is this woman so infuriatingly special? As their heart begin to stir, these two—both experiencing love for the very f

The massive Calamity was already retching, spitting out the lifeless bodies it had devoured. It was a gruesome sign that the void had sated its hunger, having drained every drop of life force from its victims. [Karl] "No... No!" He lunged at the monster. He gripped the tip of its shimmering tongue as it vomited another mangled husk. While it usually took fifty trained soldiers to wound such a beast, Karl was the leader of the Fenrir. His strength was not human. With brute, te

The final child of the Fenrir clan, whom Odette had not yet met, burst into the shack. Theodore was taller than the others, his face twisted with suspicion as he clamped a hand onto Odette’s shoulder. [Theodore] "Who are you? Why is Lara on her knees before you?" Lara’s voice was frantic as she pleaded with him. [Lara] "Theo, stop! It’s Lady Odette! Quickly, bow with us! She is our savior!" At the mention of her name, Theodore’s expression turned predatory. [Theodore] "Why ar

The train station was more than just old; it was eerie. The wood was rotting, and not a single station employee was in sight. As she stepped onto the platform, a bright red warning sign caught her eye. ※Members Of The Fenrir Clan Are Forbidden From Using Main Roads※ The notice went on to explain that the Fenrir people were allowed only to travel through the sewers alongside the roads. That miserable excuse for a human being. She thought, her jaw tightening. How much more coul

As he watched the woman whose every feature seemed carved in perfect harmony, a figure from his past—both close and distant—flickered in his mind. It was his own mother, the late Grand Duchess, who had met such a tragic end. She had been beautiful and noble, yet she had wasted her life loving the wrong man, only to end it by her own hand. Though Declan had claimed his revenge by staging his father’s death as an accident, the guilt he felt for his mother remained like a jagged