The lips that had lightly touched the back of her hand gradually revealed their sinister intentions.

He pressed down hard enough for her to feel the heat, then stamped kisses with soft smacking sounds.

Every time Ashar’s red lips moved, the back of her hand tingled.

She felt an instant revulsion at that prickling sensation and yanked her hand away.

He looked at her with furrowed brows like he regretted it, but quickly erased his expression like nothing had happened and scooped up soup again, blowing on it.

Then he held out the spoon and corrected her misunderstanding.

“You’re not a child—why would I try to seduce you with just food?”

Without even waiting now, the spoon pushed in and forced open her lips that had become dry over the past few days.

Though she considered swatting away his hand several times, her body, accustomed to being attended to, obediently accepted the savory soup entering her mouth.

When the plate was nearly empty, Ashar made an unexpected confession.

“I met him.”

Her eyes twisted as she swallowed the soup entering her mouth.

Even through all that, he skillfully fed her the last spoonful, then set down the empty plate and spoke leisurely.

“Something must have happened—he was drunk in broad daylight.”

While speaking, the man wiped the soup on her lips with his hand again, then casually put that hand in his mouth and sucked on it.

Then he naturally placed a pillow behind her back as she sat on the bed and pulled the blanket over her legs.

Laurencia didn’t notice anything strange about the flowing sequence of actions.

Her nerves were simply on edge about what Ashar was saying.

“Drunk?”

“He didn’t look in great shape. Still, he asked about you first. I guess he was worried.”

Laurencia’s expression turned ice-cold.

‘Worried, my as$.’

If he’d been worried, he wouldn’t have lusted after her even in that situation.

Going even further, the entire time Jedrian ravished her, he kept saying that Margaret’s death was ‘your’ fault.

Just like back then.

Not satisfied with that, he persistently tore at her vulnerable heart to render her powerless, then wrapped it all up with the word love at the end.

Recalling the embrace of the man who had become an even more terrible monster than before, her body trembled involuntarily.

“Are you alright?”

Ashar, holding out a glass of water, looked at her with worried eyes.

Only then did she clear away the terrible thoughts and accept the glass, taking a sip.

“If it’s too hard, let’s stop talking about it.”

“No. Tell me everything.”

At her firm command, Ashar chuckled.

“You’re alike in this way too. He also told me to report everything I talk about with you without missing a word.”

Her golden eyes instantly sharpened and shot daggers at the mocking man.

At being told she resembled that cruel man, the soup she’d barely managed to swallow felt like it might come back up.

There was a time when she’d wanted to be like Jedrian. Not knowing what a terrible monster he was.

As that foolish time came back to her, nausea truly welled up.

Laurencia gulped down the remaining water.

“So here’s the thing.”

Ashar naturally took the empty glass and set it on the nightstand, then suddenly looked at her with a serious face.

An ominous feeling crept over her at his uncharacteristic expression.

“Let’s make a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Now that we’re in the same boat, shouldn’t we be honest with each other? As you know, I’ve told you everything. My identity, my purpose.”

Deeper wrinkles formed in her already furrowed brow.

Ashar’s words weren’t wrong. To achieve the same goal, they truly needed to be on the same side.

But the problem was she still didn’t know if he was trustworthy.

When Laurencia didn’t answer, he watched her quietly and frowned.

“As expected, you still don’t trust me.”

“It’s only been a few days.”

“Hmm, then what should I do? Should I report everything we talk about?”

“Then you won’t be safe either.”

“Obviously I’d leave out what I said.”

At the man’s despicable attitude of threatening betrayal without batting an eye, Laurencia’s expression hardened even more coldly.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to trust about a two-faced b*stard like you.”

“Haven’t we both failed to show trust?”

“I never asked you to trust me.”

“But I’m trying to trust you.”

“If you can’t trust me, why did you come to me?”

At the end of the sharp exchange, Ashar let out a short sigh.

He swept back the black hair that had fallen over his straight forehead and stared into space for a moment, then soon answered with a serious expression.

“Because we have the same goal.”

Her eyes narrowed at his impudent tone. But she didn’t bother pointing it out.

She had no desire to be treated with respect by him, and she instinctively sensed he wasn’t the type to listen even if she pointed it out.

He frowned like something was frustrating, then suddenly let out a deep sigh.

“Hah… Just seize the opportunity when it comes. You’re going to discard me without mercy once I’ve served my purpose anyway, right? I’m not asking you to fall in love with me in the meantime, so why are you so suspicious?”

Her eyes wavered for an instant at the unexpected words.

Not because of the talk about love or whatever.

Laurencia was truly flustered that Ashar had seen right through her intentions.

“Your face turned red. Why do you react so honestly?”

“Wh-what!”

She quickly placed her hands on both cheeks and turned her head. They were so hot she could tell without looking how red her face must have become.

While she struggled to cool her cheeks somehow, unexpected words flowed from his mouth.

“Discard me all you want when you don’t need me anymore. I just need to achieve my purpose. After that, whether you cast me out or kill me, do whatever you want.”

She slowly turned her head and met his gaze coming straight at her.

Looking at his blue eyes without a hint of wavering, it didn’t seem like a lie.

“But promise me two things.”

“Two things?”

Since he was such an unpredictable man, her brow furrowed automatically.

“First, we won’t pry into each other’s personal matters. Second, while we’re together, we won’t stab each other in the back.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t some absurd condition like asking to be made her lover.

And the first one was what she wanted too.

But the second condition was also impossible without trust.

Yet hearing those words, somehow a little trust in him emerged.

Perhaps because of those unwavering eyes.

Laurencia, who had been watching Ashar quietly, finally nodded.

“Fine.”

There was no time to deliberate and hesitate further.

* * *

Though she still didn’t trust him, the atmosphere between them changed markedly after that promise.

They ate dinner together and started making what Ashar called a ‘plan’ while drinking tea.

“First, let’s identify his weaknesses. And shake him starting from there. To do that, um…”

Ashar, who suddenly hummed, glanced at her cautiously.

Laurencia, roughly guessing why he was acting that way, spoke calmly while drinking her tea.

“It’s fine, just speak comfortably. You’re not trying to toy with me, right?”

Ashar’s eyes widened at her tone, which had become friendlier.

When she acted like an arrogant royal, the woman had seemed contemptible, but with the venom gone, she looked different.

He already knew that the empire’s princess was beautiful—it had spread widely even to other countries.

But he’d thought that human appearance, not being a goddess or anything, would be nothing special.

Yet when he first saw her, contrary to expectations, she was truly beautiful.

Beautiful enough that even he had been briefly mesmerized in that situation.

Beautiful enough to understand why that madman didn’t kill her even after swallowing the empire.

If they hadn’t met in this situation, he might have sent her a marriage proposal too.

Belatedly picking up his teacup, Ashar gave a bitter smile at his absurd thoughts and sipped his tea.

It was truly a futile and unnecessary thought.

He also planned to dispose of her mercilessly once he achieved his purpose.

Just like what happened to his precious family, he intended to do the same to her, the enemy’s child.

A marriage proposal to such a woman.

He found himself ridiculous for having such thoughts just because her tone had become friendlier.

‘Pathetic b*stard.’

His blue eyes, which had softened gently, quickly turned cold like the frigid deep sea.

“So, what should I do?”

When her clear voice flew over, Ashar snapped to attention and quickly arranged his expression.

However, Laurencia, who had already seen the murderous intent dwelling in his eyes, turned her gaze to the teacup in her hand and spoke coldly.

“Think about stabbing me in the back later. If I get kicked out of the imperial palace again, you might not get another chance.”

Ashar’s expression hardened again at the fact that she too had seen right through his intentions.

Then the corners of his mouth gradually loosened.

“See, I told you I have an eye for people.”

When she looked at the man who had become shameless in that short time, Ashar smiled brightly at her and said something surprising.

“From the moment I first saw you, I thought you resembled me in some ways. Especially those eyes.”

Her heart lurched at the man’s words that he’d had the same thought as her.

Nevertheless, Laurencia maintained a stiff expression as she looked at him.

“Good. Since it’s come to this anyway, let’s speak frankly.”

The smile quickly disappeared from Ashar’s expression as he set down his teacup.

Like he’d already formulated a plan, he spoke without hesitation.

“The weakness I see in him is you. And the heart that holds you is his most vulnerable spot.”

Laurencia’s eyes flinched and trembled.

Because she had a sense of what he was going to say.

“Seduce him. The easiest thing to shake is the human heart. Especially the heart of a man in love—it’s easier than coaxing a child.”