❖ ❖ ❖

“Princess, the truth is… I don’t know when I might die.”

It was the night before he disappeared, and Ray had been talking in a low voice about something Freya could hardly believe.

At first she thought he was joking – or maybe he had a terminal illness. But what came out of his mouth was something she could never have expected.

“The truth is… I didn’t come here because I wanted to. It’s more like I was kicked out of the Empire. No… perhaps exile would have been better.”

With a bitter smile, the once bright sparkle in his intelligent eyes had dimmed like the moon hidden behind clouds.

“You have no idea how maddening it is to live without knowing when someone might come to kill you, Princess.”

“Ray…”

Freya tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, smiling so bitterly.

He was the son of a noble family from the Karl Empire and had been studying in the Kingdom of Havern for some time.

Ray was staying in the Eastern Annex – a place reserved for foreign royalty or high-ranking nobles staying for long periods under the pretext of tourism or study.

Any unfortunate incident could lead to diplomatic problems, so the Annex was always heavily guarded. In other words, its security was tight.

So then… why?

“Princess.”

The soft voice calling her name brought Freya’s thoughts to an abrupt halt.

“Hmm?”

“Here… take this.”

As if he had made up his mind, Ray swiftly removed the necklace from around his neck.

It was the leather cord he always wore—Freya had seen it countless times—but this was the first time she noticed what was actually attached to it.

‘A ring…? It had a ring on it?’

Until now, all she had seen was the leather strap peeking out at the nape of his neck.

Ray slipped the dangling ring off the cord and gently placed it on the fourth finger of Freya’s left hand.
A mysterious blue gemstone set in the ring shimmered faintly, and as if it had been made for her, it fit perfectly.

“Take it.”

“What is this?”

“My treasure.”

“Treasure?”

“It’s my mother’s keepsake.”

Freya’s eyes widened in shock, nearly faint with surprise.

“Then why… why would you give me something so precious?”

“Keep it.”

“Me?”

“I’ve wanted to give it to you for a long time. Since the first moment I saw you.”

“Ray?”

The spring night air was still quite chilly.

Ray, who had just come of age and was standing on the threshold between boyhood and manhood, had a different air about him that night – something quietly stirring and unfamiliar.

Perhaps it was the moonlight, but his eyes were no longer the usual brown – they shone with a faint bluish tinge.

Freya blinked in disbelief and rubbed her eyes as Ray gently cupped both of her cheeks with his hands.

A pleasant warmth spread over her cold face.

“It’s cold. You’ll catch a cold.”

“…”

He let out a soft chuckle, as if amused at how wide-eyed and stunned she looked as she looked up at him, then slowly lowered his hands from her face.

“See you again, Princess.”

His back looked particularly lonely that night as he turned and walked away.

The next day.

Although she had accepted the ring without thinking, Freya couldn’t bring herself to keep Ray’s mother’s keepsake. Early that morning, she went to the east wing to return it.

“You mean Lord Ray? He left late last night. He said he was returning to his homeland…”

Clink.

Before the guard could even finish speaking, the ring slipped from Freya’s weakened hand and rolled across the floor.

It had been a spring day—six years ago.

❖ ❖ ❖

“You must’ve been starving, huh? There’s plenty of meat, so go ahead and eat as much as you want.”

Woof! Woof!

As if in response to Freya’s soft voice, the dog let out a loud bark, followed by the eager sounds of chomp chomp chomp as it devoured the food, quickly filling the room.

The black dog eagerly took each piece of grilled meat Freya offered, swallowing it almost faster than the eye could follow. It looked so delicious that even the onlookers were tempted to try some for themselves.

After watching the scene for a moment, the maids spoke in unison.

“We had no idea he was such a gentle dog!”

It was the same dog the Emperor was often seen with.

Because of his size, everyone had always been afraid to get too close, preferring to keep their distance. But seeing him so calm in Freya’s arms, even they found him rather endearing.

While Sienna worked up the courage to stroke the dog’s sleek fur, Estel sent a maid to the kitchen to fetch more meat just for him.

“You eat so well. Don’t tell me His Majesty hasn’t been feeding you properly?”

Freya asked in a worried voice as the dog devoured the meat on the second plate as quickly as the first.

Woof!

The dog let out a loud bark as if in reply, then immediately returned to gobbling down the meat with noisy enthusiasm.

“Haha, look at him answering like a human!”

“He’s so adorable. How come we never noticed how cute he is?”

Everyone was so engrossed in the dog that no one noticed the Emperor enter the room.

“You mean… I’ve starved the dog?”

At the low voice from behind, the maids nearly fainted, their faces turning pale.

Freya turned at the sound – and the first thing she saw was the Emperor’s cold, piercing gaze fixed on poor Kamangi.

‘What… is he really the owner?’

Her heart sank. His dog was eating so happily, and yet instead of looking pleased, the Emperor seemed downright displeased – as if he were watching something disgusting.

Freya couldn’t help but feel sorry for Kamangi and wondered if he had always been treated so coldly.

‘Was that why he had wandered into the forest in search of food?’

Something else was suspicious. Even Kamangi only glanced at the emperor – and then went back to eating as if nothing else mattered.

Whichever way you looked at it, the relationship between dog and owner didn’t seem to be one of love and trust.

Well… it wasn’t like Kamangi had ever seemed particularly affectionate towards Ray either, but even then – it wasn’t quite like that.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

Freya said, bowing respectfully.

And yet her expression was strangely cold.

Compared to before, she certainly seemed much more formal, even respectful – but the atmosphere around her was distinctly chilly, and the mood in the room was tense.

The maids, sensing this, instinctively began to move away from the scene.

“…?”

The Emperor’s gaze lingered on her, as if puzzled, and in response Freya spoke in a tone that still held its frost.

“I thought that if I’m going to be Empress soon, I should at least follow the customs of this place.”

Her words were almost an apology, but her manner remained distant.

“You have made a wise decision.”

The Emperor replied curtly.

With this brief exchange, the room fell silent again.

The only sound that remained was the steady chomp chomp of Kamangi devouring his food.

“Poor thing… He must’ve been starving…”

Though the dog was clearly enjoying his meal, Freya’s expression as she watched was anything but lighthearted.

‘I’ve become the villain, haven’t I…’

Rabion suddenly felt uneasy.

That creature must be trying to get back at him for making him work the last few days – he was sure of it.

Rabion was busy.

He was always busy, but today was especially so.

He hadn’t been able to leave his office – let alone the main palace – all day.

The woman he had longed for was now so close, and yet he couldn’t see her freely.

Fighting the urge to run to her had taken everything he had.

Hoping to at least share a meal with her, he’d rushed to finish his work, even skipping lunch and settling for a piece of bread.

He’d been that desperate.

And yet, somehow, he ended up being branded a terrible man who wouldn’t even feed his own dog.

He didn’t need to see her to know that whatever little goodwill she might have had for him must now have been reduced to nothing.

Exactly. Something was clearly wrong.

Just as Rabion’s expression darkened further –

“Your Majesty, I know this dog.”

“….”

It felt as if something was caught in his throat. Rabion couldn’t say a word.

He’d suspected it when he’d seen her feeding the dog… but still – Freya remembered.

Of course she did. She’d always been unusually fond of him.

What on earth did she find so cute about that disgusting creature?

“This dog’s name is Kamangi. He belonged to a friend of mine.”

‘Yes. I know. That name – you gave it to him.’

‘You don’t know how much he lost his mind when he heard it again. It took quite an effort to calm him down. After he came here, he begged me repeatedly to let him forget the name.’

So the glorious life of a ‘Derki’ was finally over.

The thought made Rabion’s lips curl upwards in slight amusement.

‘You brought this on yourself, you stupid dog.’

“Your Majesty?”

“I’m listening.”

Rabion replied, struggling to suppress the smile threatening to rise higher.

“This dog definitely belonged to a friend of mine, but I don’t understand why he’s here. By any chance, do you know who his original owner was?”

‘Original owner?’

‘This dog was always mine.’
But of course, he couldn’t say that.

Rabion hesitated briefly before reluctantly speaking.

“Original… owner?”

“It’s just that… I wanted to know how my friend is. Since Your Majesty is currently taking care of this dog, I thought you might know something about him…”

“I simply took in a stray dog, nothing more. I know nothing about its original owner.”

“A… stray dog, Your Majesty?”

Freya’s eyes widened in shock.

What on earth could have happened to Ray?

If Kamangi had really been wandering around without a master, then something must have happened to Ray – it could only mean that something had gone terribly wrong.

“Where did you find Kamangi? I was just… I’m terribly worried about my friend, that’s all… By any chance, Your Majesty, do you know someone called Ray? He’s a noble from this realm, the realm of Karl…”

Freya’s voice trembled slightly as she continued, her concern for Ray making her words come out in a rush.

The Emperor’s piercing blue eyes, fixed on her, seemed to flicker for a moment – before his lips parted to reveal a cold, sharp voice.

“You really are quite naive.”

“What… what do you mean by that?”

“I’m just wondering if you’re really capable of feeding a dog while worrying about an old friend.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Freya’s face turned a deep red.

She closed her lips tightly without another word, and as Rabion watched her fall silent, he realised what a colossal mistake he had made.

‘Damn it.’

He’d just wanted to buy some time.

He should have known better – Freya was never the type to let anything suspicious slide.

Maybe it was because he knew her so well that he panicked the moment her questions started – and ended up blurting out nonsense.

‘How pathetic.’

Now Freya wouldn’t even look his way.

Watching her ignore him so completely made Rabion feel like he was burning up inside with frustration.

Meanwhile, as the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly tense and cold, the maids instinctively took another step back from them.

They weren’t sure if they should stay, but leaving without permission wasn’t an option either.