‘It must be my imagination.’

I thought to myself, shaking my head vigorously.

“Yes, he’s my most trusted companion who has shared my joys and sorrows throughout my short life. Today too, this friend will be with me.”

It was when I introduced Felitz, pointing at him.

Crash!

The pink cotton candy-like thing that had been fidgeting behind Niel froze in place.

Simultaneously, a savage-looking piece of metal that anyone would recognize as a weapon fell to the floor.

Niel slightly turned his body to look behind.

There stood Yupheon, stiff as a board.

Putting aside why he was approaching Niel in such a suspicious manner…

Yupheon’s golden eyes, fixed on Felitz, were trembling.

“Living together…?”

I was startled by the innocent tone that escaped his lips and strongly denied it.

“No, sharing! Sharing joys and sorrows!”

“Living together…”

However, he seemed not to hear my words at all, his face drained of all color.

Then he smoothly picked up the weapon that had fallen to the floor.

Niel looked at Yupheon with a contemptuous expression and asked.

“Why are you holding that? You’re not even going to participate in the hunt anyway.”

“Oh, I’m just trying to catch some bugs.”

Yupheon answered with a gentle smile.

At that moment, Felitz shrank his massive body.

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel strangely cold.”

“Are you feeling weak? Should I prepare some tonic for you?”

“…No. I have a lot of body heat, so feeling cold is good.”

While I was exchanging this trivial banter with Felitz,

“By the way, pretty one. Why are you here? Are you also here to participate in the hunting competition?”

Yupheon asked, tilting his head.

“Miss Jella is planning to escort me today.”

Niel explained on my behalf, lightly placing both hands on my shoulders.

For a moment, Yupheon’s body froze, and then a little later.

“Ah, escort.”

He smiled gently.

Yupheon’s gaze was fixed on my shoulders. More precisely, on Niel’s hands resting there.

“The Emperor of Alpenhayer is indeed wise.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as if he was having some wicked thoughts.

‘Wow, that killing intent. Look how ominous it is.’

He was clearly smiling, but the piercing gaze was undoubtedly filled with murderous intent.

‘Is taking the killing intent in place of another also part of an escort’s role?’

Because I happened to be standing between the two, it felt like I was taking that killing intent in Niel’s stead.

“How did he know his life was being threatened?”

Yupheon provoked with a gentle smile.

Niel must have felt that killing intent too.

However, Niel maintained his usual relaxed and languid attitude as he answered.

“Isn’t the capital in turmoil these days with rumors of a villain assassinating heroes?”

“Hmm?”

“They say there’s a vicious villain roaming around who even managed to attack the guest from the Holy Kingdom and Lord Cail Aleret, so I was worried and entrusted Miss Jella with the task.”

“…”

Yupheon, who had been listening quietly, had a strange change in his expression.

“Aha.”

He then exclaimed and glanced at me.

“Villain.”

“…”

I felt my facial muscles twitch involuntarily.

‘That, that scoundrel…!’

Yupheon was one of the few people who knew that I was the villain in the rumors that harmed the heroes.

‘He knows I didn’t do it on purpose!’

I glared at him with sharp eyes, but he just grinned and asked Niel,

“So, what will you do if you catch that villain?”

“What do you mean, what will I do?”

Niel answered in a nonchalant voice.

“Since they’re a criminal threatening the capital’s security, of course, we’ll have to catch them and put them on trial. They’ll be judged according to fair and just procedures.”

“Ah, I see.”

Yupheon subtly elongated the end of his words.

‘Stop it now! Stop asking, you rascal!’

I shouted earnestly in my mind, but he didn’t stop.

“Then, if it’s truly revealed that they threatened people according to those fair and just procedures, will you impose the death penalty?”

“Since no one actually died, it would only be attempted murder. It might not go as far as the death penalty, but according to the new imperial law, it could result in life imprisonment, couldn’t it?”

“Ah, so rotting in prison until death.”

“Of course, even if it’s only an attempt, a crime against the Emperor would be considered treason against the royal family and result in hanging.”

“Oh.”

Yupheon, as if having heard a satisfactory answer, narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly asked the air.

“Did you hear that, Mr. Villain?”

“Eek!”

This sound wasn’t from me.

As I tried to pretend not to notice, Felitz behind me made another strange noise.

‘Felitz, that tactless fool…!’

“Hmm?”

I felt Niel, standing behind me, about to turn towards Felitz with a puzzled expression.

‘No! If Niel discovers Felitz here, he’ll realize I’m that villain! Moreover, unlike Felitz, Niel is very quick-witted!’

I hurriedly turned my body and grabbed Niel’s face with both hands as he was about to turn towards Felitz.

“Your Majesty!”

But perhaps because I was in a hurry, I grabbed too hard, making a slapping sound.

“Urgh!”

The faint-hearted Felitz, seeing this, nearly fainted.

“Sis… sister… His, His Majesty the Emperor…”

Felitz’s soul seemed to leave his body.

“Your, Your Majesty, are you alright?”

“Pre, pretty one, are you okay?”

The Emperor’s knights and Yupheon fussed in turn.

However, Niel, whose face I had grabbed, showed no reaction.

He stared at me with wide eyes. At that moment, he seemed frozen, as if he had even forgotten to breathe.

Suddenly, I noticed his reddened nape.

‘Oops.’

Only then did I realize how close we were, and I hastily removed my hands.

Then I smoothly distanced myself from him.

“Your Majesty! There are handprints on your face!”

“Oh my, Your Majesty. That insolent woman…”

While the Emperor’s knights were examining him, Yupheon scurried over to me.

“Pretty one, your hands! Are your hands okay?”

He asked, grabbing my hands with a tearful expression.

Remembering that he was the root cause of all this, I grabbed his collar.

“I almost became an Emperor-assaulter because of you!”

As I was shaking Yupheon by the collar, it suddenly occurred to me that he was the Pope of the Holy Kingdom.

‘Surely this won’t be considered blasphemy and lead to hanging or something, right?’

I rolled my eyes and glanced around cautiously.

Then, I made eye contact with a priest from the Holy Kingdom standing at a distance, wearing an expression that said, ‘Ah, that’s satisfying!’

It was the priest named Damian whom I had seen crying pitifully on the street not long ago.

The moment our eyes met, the priest suddenly put on a solemn expression and smoothly averted his gaze.

‘Oh, is this tacit approval to do more?’

Just as I was about to lunge at Yupheon with glaring eyes,

Slap!

“Huh?”

This was certainly not the sound of me hitting him.

I had only intended to get a small revenge on him for teasing me about my identity, not to actually use violence.

That sound just now was Yupheon spreading my palms and bringing them to his face with a slap.

Suddenly, Yupheon ended up looking as if he was cupping his face with both of my hands.

“What are you doing?”

I asked, blinking in confusion at this bizarre action, to which he replied with a grin.

“Purification.”

“…?”

Unable to understand what he meant at all, I just tilted my head.

Yupheon rubbed his cheeks against my palms and burst into a pleasant laugh.

***

After all the commotion, the hunting festival began.

‘Niel Alpenhayer, you bad guy. Did you do that on purpose?’

I hadn’t grabbed him that hard, but because he suddenly froze up, everyone looked at me as if I were a traitor.

‘Come to think of it, he’s the real traitor! I was originally the Emperor! He’s the one who rose up threatening to behead the Emperor! Even if history is written by the victors!’

I felt wronged, but there were too many witnesses who saw me hit him.

Niel, who came to his senses belatedly, tried to explain on my behalf, but no one believed him.

Even Felitz, whom I had trusted!

“Sis… sister… His, His Majesty the Emperor… as, assassination…”

“Felitz? Felitz, snap out of it!”

Despite his fierce appearance, the delicate and timid Felitz fainted at the thought that I had almost assassinated the Emperor, so we left him in a tent at the entrance of the hunting grounds.

‘How does grabbing someone’s face once escalate to attempted imperial assassination?’

It felt like the world was pushing me to become a villain.