The river at this time of year was perfect for throwing away one’s life. The water was cold enough to stop a heart, and the current was so fast that a body would be impossible to retrieve. Though it appeared calm on the surface, beneath it surged with a depth and ferocity that could swallow everything.

Leticia threw herself into the water. The icy river immediately cut into her skin and rushed into her nose and mouth.

“Hah, huff, ugh.”

The paradox was cruel: the more she held her breath, the more she lived, but the harder she tried to breathe, the closer she came to death.

Leticia struggled to die. The more she surrendered herself to the river’s flow, the more at peace she felt.

“There she is!”

“We’ve found her!”

Hearing the voices searching for her, Leticia wished she could sink faster, but the rapid current made it difficult. A small boat drew closer to her.

Leticia desperately fought to hold onto her fading consciousness. As the final moment approached, her body instinctively began to move to survive.

“We’ve got her!”

Someone grabbed Leticia by the back of her neck. She was forcibly pulled onto the boat, her body convulsing as if in a seizure. Her face was pale, her lips darkened to an almost black hue.
Though she was on the verge of death, the men who had pulled her out of the water thought differently. She resembled a fairy, the kind from legends, who lured men with beautiful songs only to drag them into the water.

As soon as the boat reached the shore, the men grabbed Leticia by her arms and legs and dragged her out.

“Tsk.”

At dawn, chaos erupted in the crown prince’s palace. Leticia Rearbon—or rather, the woman who should now simply be called Leticia—had disappeared. The crown prince quickly dispatched people to find her, and it didn’t take long to trace her steps.

A man, who had been observing the commotion, extinguished his cigarette. The acrid smell dissipated as the sound of his shoes crunching against the gravel echoed sharply. The man bent down and grabbed Leticia’s chin.

After confirming that she was still breathing, he smirked with a sly grin.

“If you died already, I’d be disappointed, you know?”

Leticia often imagined tearing that face of his to shreds. Perhaps because of this, the more she faced him, the more his face seemed grotesque, as if it were a patchwork of pieces randomly cut with scissors.

“Take her to the palace.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

When the Rearbon duchy fell, Leticia should have died. It would have been better than surviving on the mockery of mercy.

Because she had foolishly thrown herself into the river in the middle of winter, Leticia suffered for several weeks afterward.

“Leticia Rearbon, from this moment on, the name Rearbon is stripped from you. You will serve as a lifelong maid to the crown princess.”

Three months had passed since the once-prestigious Rearbon duchy had collapsed overnight.

—

“My lady! My lady, how could this happen… sniff, sob.”

“You must escape, Lady Leticia! Right now….”

“I’m sorry, Leticia. I’m so sorry….”

Leticia slowly opened her eyes. The dark ceiling loomed so close it felt as though it might collapse onto her face at any moment. She had no idea how much time had passed since she had been locked in this tiny solitary cell.

She drifted between dreams and reality, waking repeatedly with a damp face. The once-renowned Rearbon duchy had vanished without a trace. Its title and wealth had been absorbed into the imperial family, now firmly in the hands of the crown prince.

Leticia had thrown herself into the Senat River to protect what little remained of Rearbon’s honor.

But all she learned was how obsessive Crown Prince Mathias truly was.

“So, when you rejected my marriage proposal, you didn’t think this would happen, did you?”

“Listen carefully, Leticia. You’ll spend the rest of your life living obediently by my side. So beg. Beg for my forgiveness.”

Leticia clenched her eyes shut. The more she did, the more the unnatural face of the crown prince—like a puzzle of broken pieces—came to mind.

Yes. That was it. Leticia had rejected Mathias’s marriage proposal.

There were rumors that Mathias’s mother had been a maid. Perhaps because of this, he wanted
to marry into a prestigious family to compensate for his inferiority complex. Leticia had been one of his candidates. But Leticia had no desire to become his trophy.

What she had underestimated was his obsession.

She hadn’t imagined he would take her rejection as such a grave insult. She thought there was no way he could ruin Rearbon over a personal grudge. Leticia kept returning to the past.

If only she had accepted his proposal, at least Rearbon would have been safe. This was all because of her selfishness.

Because of one trivial marriage, she had destroyed Rearbon. If only she had endured, Rearbon wouldn’t have fallen. But no matter how bitterly she chewed over the past, the conclusion was always the same. Even if she could go back, Leticia would not marry him.

And that was what tormented her. The guilt strangled her.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, Leticia.”

The voice of the Duke of Rearbon echoed in Leticia’s mind. It wasn’t that she had actually heard his voice. She had buried the last line of his will deep in her heart.

He must have known that Rearbon’s fate was tied to hers. That was why he kept apologizing. Leticia wanted to overturn everything or disappear into nothingness. But when she realized even that wasn’t within her power, Leticia made up her mind.

‘I’ll take back Rearbon.’

And she would make him regret saving her. But right now, there were very few people who could help her. Even the families that had once been Rearbon’s allies were staying silent.

Ironically, Mathias Metherdea, the crown prince who had never been acknowledged by the nobility, gained recognition as someone not to be underestimated after bringing down Rearbon.

The other noble families likely realized that if Rearbon could fall, they could too. If any of them had stepped forward, Leticia wouldn’t still be rotting in this solitary cell.

‘Don’t think too far ahead. For now, I need to focus on getting out of here alive.’

Fueled by burning anger and guilt, Leticia thought and thought again.

Creak, creak—

Leticia squeezed her eyes shut. The light seeping in was unbearable.

“Leticia, you look as disgraceful as ever today.”

It was Mathias’s mocking voice, as always. She blinked a few times until her vision focused.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness.”

Mathias fell silent for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by Leticia’s cracked voice.

“Hahaha! Hah! That’s the spirit, Leticia. Now we’re finally getting somewhere. Bring her water and food!”

‘Mathias Metherdea. This might be the brightest moment of your life after destroying Rearbon. But all the misfortunes to come will be because of me.’

‘I’ll make you regret saving me.’

Mathias was genuinely delighted by Leticia’s compliance. He seemed euphoric at the thought that he had finally broken Leticia Rearbon.

For the first time in weeks, Leticia drank clean water and ate proper food. Though her stomach clenched painfully from the sudden nourishment, she forced herself to eat, unsure when she might get another chance.

“Eat slowly. It would be terrible if you choked.”

At his gesture, a servant poured fragrant wine into Leticia’s glass. When she didn’t drink, Mathias even pushed the glass toward her with exaggerated politeness.

“Drink when it’s given to you.”

Under his commanding tone, Leticia reluctantly took a sip of the wine. The bitterness was followed by a fleeting sweetness. She had intended to take just one sip, but before she realized it, she had emptied the glass.

“Well, now that you’ve eaten, shall we talk?”

Though it wasn’t a grand feast, eating something made her feel sharper than when she was starving. The servants cleared away her meal. Leticia clasped her hands together inside her sleeve and quietly rested them on her lap beneath the table.

“Your time in solitary confinement seems to have been productive. You’ve finally come to terms with reality.”

Every time Mathias moved, his earrings jingled. They sparkled chaotically, like sand on a beach.

“If only you had agreed to marry me earlier, none of this would have happened. But what’s done is done. All you can do now is make the best choice.”

Mathias spoke as if he were her only remaining option. And in truth, he was right. Leticia now had to make the best choice at every moment.

“Do you want me to become your concubine, Your Highness?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Leticia.”

Mathias’s voice dripped with possessive greed.

“Then I…”

“Yes. What do you want to do?”

He suppressed the corners of his mouth from curling into a grin. Leticia remained silent for a moment, like a judge about to deliver a verdict. It was obvious what he wanted. He could easily make her his concubine without her consent. Yet he wanted to hear her say it because it would humiliate her.

“I do not wish to become your concubine.”

For a moment, Mathias’s eyes, which had been brimming with anticipation, trembled violently.