Swoosh. Along with the refreshing stream of water, cold droplets landed on her face from somewhere. Waking from sleep, Olivia realized she was being carried on someone’s broad back. She could tell who it was without checking the face, just from the familiar scent. He had carried her on his back before too. Giggling, Olivia blew a breath on the nape of his neck that was in front of her.

“If you’re awake, refrain from dangerous pranks.”

The hot breath made goosebumps rise on the back of Alois’s neck. She gently stroked them with her finger while swinging her legs.

“Where are we going now?”

“We were heading back to the lodging because you were drunk. It suddenly started raining, so we’re taking shelter for a moment. Judging by the bright sun, it will stop soon.”

“I can walk now. Please put me down.”

Though her actions suggested she wasn’t completely sober yet, her pronunciation had returned to normal clarity. Since she kept fidgeting instead of staying still on his back, Alois finally set Olivia down as she wanted.

They were taking shelter under a narrow awning attached to the side of a building, so Alois’s head was already half wet. He had to lean forward that much to carry her, so it couldn’t be helped. Olivia, who had just noticed this, gently stroked his wet hair with a sad expression and wiped the moisture from his face with her clothes.

The street was empty due to the sudden rain. In a world that seemed devoid of people, only the sound of heavy raindrops hitting the ground bounced lightly. As the droplets forming at the edge of the awning grew thicker, the clothes of the two people taking shelter beneath it gradually became damp.

“How do you feel about meeting an old colleague? You’re not hurt or upset, are you?”

Though she had fragmentary memories of what happened at the shop, Olivia gently intertwined her fingers with his and asked. Judging by his expression, there didn’t seem to be anything to worry about, but she wanted to make sure. Alois looked at the droplet precariously hanging at the edge of the awning and poured out the story he had kept inside, as her fingers slipped between his and held on firmly.

“Alois Schraien is known as the eldest legitimate son of the previous emperor, but that’s not actually true. He was indeed his first child, but not born of the empress. I was the emperor’s child born out of wedlock.”

It wasn’t an affair. Though they shared love knowing he would inevitably marry another woman in the future, it wasn’t entirely honorable toward the empress. Fortunately or unfortunately, Alois’s birth mother passed away shortly after giving birth due to a wave of plague. The previous emperor, who had told no one about his child born out of wedlock, succeeded in secretly bringing the newborn to the imperial palace after his marriage.

“I didn’t grow up particularly unhappily. In fact, I could say I grew up receiving more love.”

An emperor with a child born out of wedlock in an Empire with strict monogamy. Even though it was a reality that would be difficult for any empress to accept, the empress embraced Alois, saying what fault could the child have. She truly raised Alois as if he were her own child. The empress raised him with such care and love that no one ever questioned his birth.

Because of this, Alois truly believed she was his mother when he was young, and after learning the truth later, he lived with constant gratitude for her dedication and love that seemed impossible to him.

“Even after giving birth to my younger brother, her attitude didn’t change. I also considered my younger brother as my real brother, and we got along so well that others envied us. I always found it amazing and was grateful that such a perfect family could exist despite having an impurity like a child born out of wedlock.”

“They were good people, all of them.”

Good people—Alois thought so too. Already grateful enough for that, Alois had no desire for the position of emperor or other power from the beginning. He simply wanted this country, where the empress who raised him with love and the younger brother who followed him well lived, to be safe and strong.

Alois possessed such balanced talent that it was impossible to choose between swordsmanship and magic. Additionally, while he might have been an arrogant prince, he was never an insincere student, so naturally his skills improved quickly. Thus, knights who followed Alois emerged, a knight order was formed, and Alois and his knights achieved many accomplishments in conquest wars. Naturally, their popularity in the Empire rose, and those who praised them increased.

“I never thought such a trend was dangerous. Because I had no intention of becoming emperor from long ago, and even the previous emperor had no plans to pass the throne to me.”

All the misfortune began when the previous emperor suddenly passed away from illness. For a prince to inherit the throne, he must have completed his coming-of-age ceremony. However, when the emperor died, Alois’s younger brother Julian still needed a few more years to become an adult. The dying emperor must have worried about this, as he secretly summoned his eldest son before passing away.

For a secret meeting, their conversation wasn’t particularly special. He asked Alois to protect his brother from potential dangers until he came of age, and then to leave for his territory afterward, as staying in the imperial capital might become a seed of unnecessary discord. Since Alois had already planned to do so even without the emperor’s request, he failed to read the atmosphere of the imperial palace that necessitated such a request from the emperor.

After the emperor’s death and until Julian came of age, the empress naturally became the emperor’s representative. Alois remained in the imperial palace even after receiving the title of duke, as per the will, to do what he could to protect his young brother and the unstable imperial family.

“When the day the emperor would come of age was approaching, I was already making plans to return to my territory. My only regret was thinking that I probably wouldn’t see the empress and Julian as often as now if I went back.”

So he indulged a little. He postponed the day he was supposed to leave for his territory. This was because the empress’s birthday and Julian’s coming-of-age ceremony weren’t far apart. If attending Julian’s coming-of-age ceremony wasn’t permitted due to various issues, he at least wanted to celebrate the empress’s birthday together before that. Alois truly considered them family, so he thought it natural that he should stay for the empress’s birthday.

He never anticipated that this choice would trigger something in the empress and Julian.

Olivia, who had been listening to the story, recalled the details of the incident that spread throughout the Empire.

“The story goes that you, Alois, who appeared at the empress’s birthday celebration, envied your younger brother who had become crown prince due to superior abilities, and gave the empress a cursed necklace as a gift, incurring divine wrath and becoming cursed, right?”

“Yes.”

The only true parts of that story were the beginning and end—that Alois attended the empress’s birthday celebration and received a curse. The empress asked Alois, who had come to congratulate her, to help with her necklace that had come undone, and Alois, without any suspicion, fastened the necklace around the empress’s neck as she stood in front of a mirror.

The curse activated as soon as he fastened that necklace, striking Alois reflected in the mirror. His breath gradually tightened and his vision turned bright red. His reflection in the mirror was slowly transforming into a strange monster.

Kill them all. Kill them. Devour every last one of them.

That day was the first time he heard the voice that still comes during his heat cycles. The empress screamed, and soldiers rushed in to protect her. Among the soldiers, the empress shouted at Alois, who was transforming into a monster.

‘It’s Alois! That terrible monster!’

“That’s the last thing I remember. When I regained consciousness, the party venue was already in chaos.”

He couldn’t remember how many people he killed or injured. But clearly, innocent people died and were injured by his hands that day. Regardless of who cast the curse or why, the heat of the blood on his hands still felt vivid. Despite having killed enemy soldiers in numerous battles, he had never felt blood as hot and heavy as on that day.

Julian helped the empress handle the situation. They captured the rampaging monster and imprisoned it. Despite opinions that it should be killed immediately, showing the emperor’s virtue of mercy, he sent the one who was once his brother into exile in his territory.

“I realized too late that while I considered them family, they didn’t feel the same way about me. Even without cursing me, I would have left on my own…… I never imagined such cruel truth behind the affectionate words and declarations of love they always spoke.”

That’s why he couldn’t trust anyone. Betrayed by those he believed were closest—those who knew him best—he was left a fool, unsure of whom to trust or how much.

If you trust no one, you can’t be betrayed by anyone.

His defensive mindset of never wanting to be hurt again completely eliminated the premise of trusting people.

“I might look ridiculous, being so affected by just one wound.”

“That’s not true. Not wanting to feel pain again when it hurts too much is everyone’s instinct.”

Even after hearing the whole story, Olivia didn’t let go of his hand. She neither mocked Alois for being weak nor pitied him. She simply understood that it was naturally one of the choices he could make.