‘I really hate you.’

‘Let’s remain as strangers forever.’

Yuphe knew Jella would be worried after she spoke so harshly to him.

Because that’s the kind of person Jella was.

Unlike her cold and chilly impression, she was kind and warm.

Perhaps the moment she turned away, she would have felt upset thinking, ‘I didn’t mean to get that angry…’

She was someone who hurt more herself when she hurt others.

The woman he loved was that kind of person.

Maybe she had cried a little.

When she was sad or upset, she would clench her fists so tightly that the veins on the back of her hands would rise.

It was her own way of trying not to cry.

Yupheon Arne was a traitor.

Even a single tear was too precious to waste on a traitor like him.

That’s why he came to find her.

To show her that he was fine. To let her know that he was someone she could freely hate.

Because he was someone she could wound countless times with sharp words, he wanted her to know there was no need to feel upset about someone like him.

“It seemed like a difficult situation, so I came to help.”

So he deliberately smiled more prettily in front of her, with his eyes curved.

And the moment she saw Yuphe, who had come without invitation and was smiling gently, Jella realized his intentions.

‘He came on purpose.’

They knew each other too well.

Even when they were young, whenever her mood dropped even slightly, Yuphe would glance at her cautiously and smile more prettily.

At those times, Jella’s heart would soften, but…

‘I won’t soften this time. Not until you tell me why you did it.’

She wasn’t going to let things slide vaguely before getting a proper explanation.

With that resolve, Jella looked at Yuphe with an indifferent face, then turned back to Niel.

“I heard there was an unfortunate incident at the imperial palace recently, so you should go back now. What if another assassin appears?”

“….”

“Ah, if you’re worried about going back alone, I can provide you with an escort.”

Jella said, gesturing slightly toward Cail.

“As a regular customer, it’s a special service.”

At her words, added with a bright smile, Niel smiled awkwardly.

“You really leave me no choice, Miss Jella.”

“Goodbye.”

Jella waved her hand flutteringly toward him.

However, instead of leaving, Niel smiled faintly and elegantly crossed his arms.

Then he stood firm in that spot.

“…?”

Jella, who had been silently watching, raised one eyebrow crookedly.

“Weren’t you going to leave?”

“If I wait a little, won’t the knights return?”

“You must be busy, so please go back to the imperial palace and come back later.”

“So you can smuggle out what’s inside while I’m gone?”

“….”

As Jella closed her mouth, hitting right on target, the smile on his face deepened.

“Since you’re trying so hard not to let me in, I must see what Miss Jella is hiding.”

From Niel speaking like that, she could feel his firm determination not to leave.

Jella’s face gradually hardened.

She called his full name in a cold voice.

“Niel Alpenhayer.”

Niel paused and stared at her.

She was looking at him with a crooked sneer, tilting her chin up.

“How much longer must I tolerate your impudence?”

At that moment, she was lofty and beautiful, with an air of looking down on everyone.

Suddenly, Niel’s heart fluttered, and goosebumps rose on his fingertips.

He knew this sensation.

‘The first son of Duke Alpenhayer?’

The day they first met.

She had spoken to him with exactly this face and this voice.

So indifferently, as if she had no interest in someone like him, as if how dare someone like him address her.

His small and violent princess.

His emperor who was cruel to the end.

Along with the ecstasy that enveloped his entire body, cracks began to form in the gentle mask covering his face.

With a fine crack, Niel’s lips twisted.

“…Jella, Shunaibel.”

The voice that flowed out slowly was low and chilling, resembling something scraping the bottom of a deep, deep abyss.

It was a voice so low it was suffocating.

A voice so cold it could freeze the air.

It was completely different from how he had been acting for a while, gently calling her ‘Miss Jella.’

But Jella was more familiar with this side.

Because that gentle-faced young noble who addressed everyone with a kind voice had not done so only to her.

It was the day when monsters appeared in the capital square.

She remembered it was an episode where Yuria sacrificed herself to save people in place of the irresponsible emperor.

She had intended to let the story flow on its own, but couldn’t ignore Yuria’s eyes full of fear.

Yuria, terrified, hesitated, and it was about to reach a point where people would get hurt.

Thinking it would be better if no one got hurt, she secretly helped Yuria without people knowing.

Thanks to that, unlike in the original story, Yuria wasn’t badly injured and managed to defeat the monsters and save people.

People praised Yuria even more, and rumors spread that the summoning of monsters might have been the emperor’s doing out of jealousy toward Yuria.

It happened around the time when it was widely known that Duke Alpenhayer had fallen for Yuria and requested to break off his engagement with the emperor, and Yuria had received official recognition from the Grand Temple, so the credibility of the rumor increased.

‘So what are you going to do about it?’

Of course, rather than correcting the rumor, Jella sneered and let people believe it.

When Niel heard the news, he came to find her and burst out with resentment.

‘Why did Your Majesty…’

That was the last time he called her Your Majesty.

He swallowed the rest of his words along with his resentment so Jella would never know what he was going to say.

At the time, she had interpreted it in her own way, thinking he was asking why she was tormenting Yuria.

‘Jella Shunaibel. I will surely kill you with my own hands.’

He, who had drawn his sword against the emperor on the spot, later organized a rebellion and declared he would overthrow the Shunaibel imperial family.

Thus, the relationship between the two deteriorated irreversibly.

“Go back, Niel Alpenhayer.”

“….”

“Are you going to stand your ground even knowing who I am?”

At that voice, clearly displeased, Niel burst into laughter.

“Since you’re willing to reveal yourself to protect her, I’m all the more curious.”

He took a step toward Jella with a sneer on his lips.

Step.

Cail, who had been standing behind her, immediately assumed a defensive posture, but when Jella waved her hand, he promptly backed away.

“Why are you trying so hard to protect that woman?”

Niel, who had now stopped in front of Jella, asked with a furrowed brow as if he couldn’t understand.

“She can’t be worth that much to you.”

“And what about you?”

Jella looked up at the man standing before her and curled her lips askew.

“You said you never liked Yuria. Then what you wanted to gain by asking me for a breakup and raising a rebellion…”

“….”

At that moment, Niel’s mouth closed.

“Ah, could it be.”

Jella asked languidly, narrowing her eyes.

“Did the noble Duke Alpenhayer covet the imperial throne?”

“….”

Niel couldn’t answer.

“….”

“….”

Sharp gazes crossed between the two.

At the end of that confrontation, Jella spoke first.

“You’ve got what you wanted, so leave Yuria alone.”

Jella turned around and went into the building.

Slam.

The door closed.

Niel stared blankly at the closed door.

“…I still dislike you, Your Majesty.”

He muttered in a low, sunken voice.

“I hate this side of you so much, Jella.”

Even though she was no longer the emperor, why did she still not abandon that heart that showed mercy to her subordinates?

Niel detested that about her terribly.

***

‘Well. With his upright character, it’s unlikely he did such things because he coveted the throne.’

I thought as I entered the building, leaving Niel behind.

‘He probably couldn’t stand an emperor who practiced tyranny.’

Niel Alpenhayer was a man who abhorred things that deviated from the righteous path, but due to his noble character, he couldn’t even show it.

But who was I?

The infamous tyrant, Jella Shunaibel.

A villain like no other in the world who even summoned monsters to the capital square out of jealousy toward her ex-fiancé’s pretty and kind new lover!

That man who had always walked the straight path finally couldn’t tolerate my tyranny and rose up in rebellion.

I had sarcastically asked if he coveted the throne, so his noble pride might have been quite hurt.