In truth, Jeffrey had gone to see Aila today to tell her about his marriage. But lacking the courage to show his face, he had hidden behind a mask, and lacking the courage to speak, he had left without saying anything.

“Will I be able to tell Mother my true feelings tonight?”

When he arrived home, dinner was already served, as if they had been waiting for him.

Jeffrey’s parents and his younger brother gathered at the large dining table and began eating. Jeffrey’s mother was the first to speak.

“Jeffrey, your wedding day is really not far off now.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“It’s fortunate that Emperor Targaniel has gone missing. If Arniel had invaded, we might not have been able to hold your wedding.”

“……”

“By the way, that girl, what was her name? Ah, yes. Aila. Are you still helping her?”

Jeffrey’s spoon, which had been moving slowly, stopped.

“No matter that you attended the same school, your interest is excessive. You should stop now. Your future wife would be concerned.”

“Mother.”

“?”

“About the marriage. Do I really have to do it now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Since I’ll be marrying someone you’ve chosen anyway, I was wondering if it has to be right now.”

His mother’s eyes grew slightly cold.

“It seems you have someone you like.”

“……”

“Don’t tell me, Aila?”

Jeffrey didn’t answer the probing question.

“That child has no parents and has two dependents. They’ve been poor since her parents’ time. If you get deeply involved with children like that, you’ll become just as unhappy.”

“……”

“I hear that because of Serna’s illness, their debt is growing and becoming unmanageable. One of them might have to get married soon.”

“!”

“The merchant guild leader has always wanted a young wife. Since Serna is sick and Melia is too young, there’s only one who can marry.”

Jeffrey put down his utensils and stood up.

“I’ll go to my room first.”

As Jeffrey was leaving, his mother called after him:

“Don’t entertain foolish thoughts. The moment you do, there will be no more work for that child.”

–

In Emperor Targaniel’s room in Arniel, there hung a single portrait. The cold eyes staring straight ahead made even those looking at the painting feel chilled.

This was the only painting depicting Targaniel’s face. Previously, several paintings of him with other royal family members had hung there, but all had been burned to ashes.

This was because the princes who had tried to kill Targaniel had set fire to his room multiple times. Thus, all the group portraits disappeared, leaving only the solitary one.

Targaniel was the youngest of three princes. The previous emperor had two empresses, and he was the only child of the Second Empress.

Targaniel had no desire for the throne, so he always kept a low profile and was mindful of his brothers, but he couldn’t hide his abilities.

No matter how many times he deliberately failed tests or fell off horses, the number of people following him continued to grow.

This was because whenever Arniel was in danger, Targaniel stepped forward. Everyone thought he would die when he rode to war at such a young age, and the princes hoped for his death.

But Targaniel always returned victorious. Only the Emperor was pleased, but that wasn’t a good thing.

From that day on, the Emperor stayed comfortably in the palace and sent Targaniel to every war. Targaniel had to move without rest.

For the Emperor’s comfort, not even a single day of peaceful sleep was allowed for him.

Thus, he became the most threatening existence to the princes. When the First Empress and the princes began threatening the Second Empress, the frightened Second Empress abandoned Targaniel and left.

Being the daughter of a minor family, she had no power. Just as she didn’t love the Emperor, she didn’t love Targaniel either.

After that, Targaniel’s life became even more chaotic. He declared that he would no longer go to war, but the Emperor, frightened by this declaration, hastily gave Targaniel the position of Crown Prince.

From then on, Targaniel couldn’t even eat a single meal in peace. Every night, someone infiltrated his room to kill him, and his food was poisoned.

Then, on the day he heard that his mother who had abandoned him had been murdered, he changed his mind.

He decided to eliminate his enemies and take the throne.

When Targaniel killed the First Prince as if he had gone mad, the frightened former Emperor tried to kill Targaniel.

But even he was no match for Targaniel, and eventually, Targaniel seized the throne. He didn’t stop there and waged wars of conquest.

He expanded his territory at an insane pace, and everywhere he went turned bright red. As this continued, Targaniel’s madness deepened.

Constantly splattering red blood, he thought that nothing could calm his madness.

–

Tael leaped over the wall with a potato in his mouth, moving with light gestures.

Just moments ago, he had thrown a stone to divert Aila’s attention, then approached quietly, eliminating any trace of his presence. Then he quickly stole a potato and left without making a sound.

Jumping over the wall like a bird with his strong, long legs, he smiled.

He was using his superior physical abilities and intelligence merely to steal potatoes and jump over walls.

But his satisfaction level was 100%. He felt more proud and happy than after any victory.

If only there wasn’t a terrifying woman chasing him.

“Horse dung, you potato thief!”

Tael was startled by Aila’s sudden voice. Despite having an excellent physique that could allow him to flee quickly, he was too surprised to move.

‘I’ve been caught!’

“Hey! Horse dung! Come back over!”

Aila threatened in a low, thick voice.

“Can’t you hear me? Come back over.”

Tael remained frozen, then answered:

“I don’t want to come over.”

“While I’m still asking nicely, come over! Now!”

Tael said in a small voice with an arrogant tone:

“I’m not returning because you ordered it. I was already planning to.”

As he swiftly jumped back over the wall and landed perfectly, Aila glared at him as if she wanted to kill him.

“You’re very nimble. I guess you’ve been escaping this way every time?”

He had been completely caught. He looked at Aila in shock.

“Stay away.”

He stepped back cautiously, trying to create distance between them. Though she was clearly smaller than him, she strangely resembled a wild beast with fierce fangs. It was bizarre and made him tense.

“I’ll give it back, so calm down.”

When Aila approached with heavy steps despite Tael’s attempt to placate her, he bit his lower lip hard and held out the potato with bite marks that he had been preciously holding.

Obediently following instructions was the best option in the face of Aila’s fury.

But his mouth had a life of its own.

“You’re making such a fuss over one tasteless potato. Is it because you look like a potato yourself?”

“So you stole it and ran away? Because it tastes so bad?”

“Steal? I borrowed it.”

He stated proudly.

“I’m good at catching animals, so I’ll catch more for you. Isn’t that enough?”

Tael glanced at Aila. As soon as he met the eyes of Aila, who still wore a frightening expression, he subtly shifted his gaze.

“I’m not avoiding your eyes because your face is scary.”

His Adam’s apple moved nervously.

“I’m not afraid of potatoes.”

Seeing his brazen attitude, Aila went “ugh” and shook her head as if disgusted, then sighed deeply and calmed down.

“Fine. Just get ready. Let’s go to Jeffrey’s house.”

“Jeffrey? You mean that guy from before?”

“Yes. He asked us to come fix the wall.”

Tael let out a small “hmph” and turned his head sharply.

“No.”

“…?”

“I know your scheme.”

“?”

“You want to exhaust me with work during the day so I can’t resist at night.”

“What?!”

As Aila’s face turned bright red, Tael glanced at her with a small look that said, ‘So you do have a conscience.’ Then he declared proudly:

“I won’t work today.”

Hearing his blatant declaration of laziness, Aila felt her anger cooling rapidly. She quietly growled, preparing to charge at him.

“Then what will you do?”

He pointed to the storage room.

“I will lie down.”

His attitude was extremely confident. Aila quietly rolled up her sleeves. This lazy man’s excuses had gone too far.

“Fine. I’ve been too nice to you, haven’t I? I let you off too easily for stealing potatoes?”

She needed to do something—pull his hair, punch him, anything.

“Your sister wants me to marry you.”

“!”

“Don’t even dream of it.”

“What are you talking about now…”

“I hate this cramped house and the rotten potato soup. A woman who only desires my body is obviously the worst. Moreover, aren’t your relationships with men complicated?”

“……”

“I will absolutely not live eating dirt!”

Aila quietly reached out and grabbed Tael’s ear.

“!”

“You’re noisy. Just follow me quietly.”

“Let go. I hate dirt. No matter how much you intimidate me, I won’t marry you, so wake up from your dream!”

Aila ignored him, and although Tael maintained a firm expression of refusal, he was dragged along.

In this state, they arrived at Jeffrey’s house, and Aila pointed to the wall.

“You take that side, I’ll take this side. If you can’t fix it, just say so.”

Tael answered quickly, without any consideration or even a second of hesitation:

“I can’t fix it.”