TROWFT 05

Chapter 05

‘Their imaginations are truly something else.’

After arriving at the palace carrying the Princess, instead of rumors about the Princess being crazy, a different rumor swept through the Imperial Palace.

“Look at that. Her Highness the Princess has become noticeably more docile.”

“Hoho. Isn’t that the power of love?”

The rumor that the Princess had fallen for me had spread.

And the one who fueled that rumor was none other than the Princess before my eyes.

“[Unnie. That vacant expression. It’s not very yandere-like.]”

Unlike our first grimy meeting, she elegantly lifted her teacup.

“[I told you. Unnie is the gentle type, so you need to cultivate your yandere image more, right?]”

Feeling awkward, I took a sip of coffee.

Just as I was about to add sugar to the bitter taste stinging my tongue…

“[A yandere doesn’t put sugar in their coffee.]”

Then maybe a sweet cookie…

“[A yandere doesn’t eat cookies either.]”

That’s too harsh.

“[Is there anything this ‘yandere’ person actually can do?]”

I tried my best to maintain a stern expression, but I couldn’t hide a hollow sigh.

‘I roughly understand what a yandere is, but…’

Is this living? Not being able to eat cookies and only drinking bitter coffee?

“[That’s why I’ve prepared something.]”

Ignoring my grumbling, the Princess waved her handkerchief lightly.

Then Lady Roxon behind her approached us holding a thin book.

“Thank you, my Lady.”

With a flawless gesture, the Princess received the book. At her smile, Lady Roxon’s cheeks flushed red.

What on earth did she do in the past week?

“What is this, Your Highness?”

“It’s a foreign book you requested, Your Grace.”

A foreign book?

I never requested anything like that.

It wasn’t until I turned the cover that I understood. Every page was densely filled with round Korean characters.

“[I worked hard to make that. See here? Dark circles.]”

The Princess cupped her cheeks as if embarrassed.

Her tone was demure, but her manner of speaking was rather flippant.

“[What is this? It looks like you made it yourself.]”

“[It’s a recap of the original work I wrote down.]”

As she said, it was a short but concise summary of the original story.

As I began reading the book’s contents, my lips slowly stiffened.

“[Isn’t this a crime novel? No matter how I think about it, a yandere seems like a criminal.]”

Getting angry at the drop of a hat, threatening, forced kissing, pushing against walls, confinement, and so on.

“[You want me to do this?]”

I looked at the Princess, dumbfounded.

“[No. I don’t expect that from unnie.]”

The Princess quietly set down her cup.

I also sighed in relief and closed the book cover.

“[With unnie’s temperament, I don’t think you could go that far…]”

“[Don’t trail off. It makes me anxious.]”

“[I’ll do it mild.]”

Mild, huh.

“[You said you liked tteokbokki. What flavor do you order?]”

“[The spiciest.]”

Ah, so you like spicy things.

The Princess smiled, her eyes narrowing.

“[Don’t worry too much. Fortunately, the novel progresses a lot from Shaviyan’s perspective, so I know roughly what Shaviyan’s tastes are.]”

“[What are they?]”

“[Shaviyan…]”

She leaned over the table.

“[He worships force. He has an admiration for the strong.]”

The Princess, holding a teaspoon, sprinkled sugar into her cup.

“[All you have to do is add obsession to that. What Shaviyan wants is blind love.]”

The Princess drank her heavily sweetened black tea and smiled blissfully.

“[In that respect, unnie is the best partner. You’re the strongest in Hailen, and we’re even seducing Shaviyan with the fate of the world at stake, right? In terms of obsession, we’re not lacking either now.]”

“[I guess I’ll have to do whatever it takes, even if it means begging while crying.]”

“[Yes. That’s exactly the posture of a yandere.]”

The Princess covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.

“[Lessons once a week. You need some acting practice, unnie.]”

“[…Do I have to go that far?]”

“[Of course you have to go that far. Instead, please teach me some swordsmanship during that time.]”

I lifted my head at the Princess’s unexpected remark.

“[Swordsmanship?]”

“[Yes. If the time comes when my head really gets chopped off, I at least want to put up a fight. Or run away.]”

Hmm. I understand.

Teaching swordsmanship isn’t difficult for me either.

“[But where will you practice swordsmanship? You said you were going to dominate the social circle. If you’re caught using a sword, you’ll practically be ostracized from high society.]”

The flower of the social circle and a sword.

I’m fine with it, but the nobles here won’t accept that combination.

“[Of course I have to learn in secret. I know a good place. Besides, His Majesty the Emperor even showed me a secret passageway.]”

The Princess confidently opened her mouth.

“[I’m a possessor, remember? Don’t forget that, unnie.]”

She winked one eye.

—

That night.

*Creak*, the long-neglected door opened.

“[It’s surprising enough that there’s a secret passage in the Imperial Palace, but I never knew a place like this existed.]”

I surveyed the desolate room.

Dust piled on the white cloths covering the furniture, broken and dangling picture frames. Creaking floors.

“[This is the Cold Palace where Shaviyan will stay later.]”

This place?

“[He’ll stay here five years from now.]”

“[I feel a bit uneasy about this. Kind of like trespassing…]”

“[So what? We’ll just clean up and leave.]”

The Princess shrugged at my words.

The fencing sword at her waist jingled.

“[Since unnie comes from outside the palace, I prepared it in advance.]”

The Princess placed two swords on the floor.

“[Unnie will teach me swordsmanship and also seduce me at the same time.]”

She told me to seduce her out of the blue.

While I was dumbfounded, the Princess’s hand gently stroked my cheek.

“[Now, let’s give it a try. What should you do in this situation?]”

W-what? Is it starting already?

‘Should I stroke her cheek back?’

Just as I reached my hand toward the Princess’s cheek…

“[No. Not the cheek, grab her waist.]”

At her decisive gaze, I lowered my hand and grabbed her waist.

“[Either grab her firmly or pull her into a tight embrace. With the feeling of, ‘I love you so much I can’t stand it!’]”

The Princess tugged at my clothes and pressed me.

‘L-like this?’

Awkwardly, I pulled her and held her tightly in my arms.

‘This is scary…’

She still shook her head in dissatisfaction and looked up at me.

Look at that glare. She’s practically a tiger teacher.

“[No. Again.]”

It was the first lesson with my small, strict teacher.

—

Lewin and Rosalyn probably didn’t know this, but.

‘Please, just separate!’

There was one more person in the room.

It was a Shadow, the Crown Prince Lesius’s agent, who had infiltrated the Cold Palace.

Having been monitoring the palace’s movements, he had come upon detecting suspicious activity in the vacant Cold Palace.

“[Now it’s my turn.]”

After Lewin and Rosalyn had been clinging to each other for a long while, they separated.

“[Grab it. The sword.]”

Lewin eerily picked up the sword on the floor.

Following suit, Rosalyn, swallowing nervously, also picked up a sword.

*Clang.*

After that, the sound of clashing swords echoed through the Cold Palace for a long time.

Mostly,

“[Stop, stop!]”

“[There’s no such thing in swordsmanship. Try to block it.]”

“[Are you going to do this to a fellow Korean?]”

“[Since we’re from the same place, I should teach you better. Besides, I’m going really easy on you right now.]”

The two of them bickering.

The Shadow watching the scene admired Lewin’s movements.

‘He’s going really easy on her.’

As expected of a Swordmaster.

Even though he seemed to be moving loosely, holding back his strength so the Princess wouldn’t get hurt, his movements were disciplined.

Rather, Lewin’s brow was slightly furrowed, as he was concentrating on controlling his strength.

‘And Her Highness the Princess is full of enthusiasm, too.’

Of course, it was just enthusiasm.

Rosalyn’s arm, blocking with all her might, trembled pitifully.

*Clang.*

Eventually, Rosalyn’s sword flew through the air and clattered to the floor.

“[Let’s do it again!]”

Rosalyn picked up the sword, looking frustrated.

Seeing his enthusiastic disciple, a deep smile naturally crept onto Lewin’s lips.

‘Her tenacity is certainly something.’

Soon, the sound of swords once again filled the Cold Palace.

And so the night passed.

And at the end of that night.

The hand of Lesius, who had been signing documents, stopped.

“…What did you say?”

At Lesius’s query, the Shadow standing before the desk spoke.

“At around one in the morning, Her Highness the Princess used the secret passage to move to the Cold Palace, and His Grace the Duke also…”

The Shadow, cowed by the increasingly cold atmosphere, began to report.

The Duke and Princess meeting secretly in the Cold Palace via the secret passage, and even their intimate physical contact.

‘Who would have known.’

That the supposedly gentle Crown Prince possessed the most cold-hearted and ruthless disposition compared to any previous emperor.

“Should we keep a separate watch on the two of them? If you give the order…”

At the Shadow’s words from behind,

“Enough.”

Lesius turned his head slightly.

His face, shadowed in the moonlight, was as cold as a statue.

“What if Lewin notices? Will you take responsibility?”

Lewin is a Swordmaster. If he paid attention, he would notice the Shadow’s presence.

Lesius smiled bitterly. This was the nature of his affection.

Something the world must not know, something that would disgust the other person if they knew.

“The Lesius that Lewin knows…”

“……”

“Doesn’t do such filthy things. Doesn’t pry into his friend’s affairs.”

His affection must be thoroughly hidden. Even in the face of suffocating jealousy and rage.

Lesius turned his body fully around.

“Because he’s so innocent. Foolishly so.”

Lesius’s green eyes, with the moonlight at his back, shimmered with rage.

“…I might end up becoming family with Lewin.”

Lesius gritted his teeth, gripping the smooth-surfaced fountain pen in his hand.

My friend becoming my sister’s husband…

Lowering his gaze, he steadied his breathing.

After a long, slow breath, Lesius draped his usual green-like, gentle smile over his face.

“I don’t want to disappoint Lewin.”

Even to get the last scraps of your remaining affection, I will endure this.

However.

Unlike his gentle tone, Lesius’s hand was red from gripping so tightly.

The fountain pen, already snapped in two inside his blood-red palm, was crushed further.

“…But it’s getting harder and harder to endure.”

Lesius narrowed his eyes slightly, over his composed smile.

Black ink dripped from his hand.

Like blood.

Thick and vivid.