“What the—?!”

A black helmet, one she had never seen before, suddenly appeared right in front of her.

“How did you find this place…?”

For once, she was visibly flustered. The man crouched down as if stalking a small animal, watching her carefully. 

It was so dark she couldn’t make out his face inside the helmet. And judging by the looks of it, he wasn’t from their knight order either…

“Never seen you before. Who are you?”

“Who do you think I am?”

He answered her question with another question. There weren’t many people within the count’s estate who dared speak to her that rudely.

“It’s a bit cramped in there. Should I come in, or will you come out?” 

The man held the entrance with a strong hand as he asked. He was clearly a well-built man.

“I’ll come out. If you come in, the whole thing will break.”

This was a special place—she couldn’t let it get ruined.

As she slowly approached the entrance, as if to step outside, she quickly blocked the hole with a wide wooden board that was nearby.

Thanks to that, the man, who had almost gotten his hand caught in the wooden board, quickly stood up to avoid it.

“What the hell are you—!”

He approached again, trying to pull the wooden board away with an incredulous voice.

Clunk, clunk!

“Let go of this thing!”

“Ugh… No, I won’t!”

Kyla clung to the board with all her strength, summoning every ounce of energy she had. She knew full well this was just a stalling tactic. But still—what, was she supposed to stick her neck out and say, ‘Yes, please arrest me now’? No way.

“You’ll hurt your hand. Let go.”

“I said no!”

“They said you were trouble, and I guess it’s true. Defying royal orders now, too.”

The man sighed from the other side of the board—and somehow, his voice sounded familiar.

‘Am I going crazy?’

Or maybe she was just really deprived of male attention lately? Why else would she suddenly be curious about what this man looked like?

“I’m really going to rip this off now. You’d better let go.”

He warned her in a low voice and even counted down helpfully—

“One… Two…”

Kyla crouched down low, bracing herself against the ground, gripping the board tighter. She was determined to buy as much time as possible.

But.

Thud!

With one powerful tug, the man popped the board off like it was the lid of a jar. The handle she’d been clutching inside broke right off in her hands.

Stunned, Kyla slowly looked up. The man standing before her wore a perfectly fitted knight’s uniform. He was incredibly tall. As she stared up at him, she noticed the firm line of muscle along his forearm, where he had rolled up his sleeve.

“Should I come in, or will you…”

“I’ll come out.”

Kyla dropped the broken handle with a thunk, bowed her head, and quietly stepped out of the hollow tree.

***

She had tried to stall longer—but it was a failure. Even as she was being taken away, she made several attempts to escape. But the guy who had come to capture her wasn’t ordinary. It felt like he had memorized a million ways a person might try to escape in transit.

‘Seriously, who is this guy?’

Kyla, despite being a noble’s daughter, had inherited her father’s athleticism and was quite nimble. But this man had it all—athleticism, reflexes, even sharp intuition. The moment she even thought of bolting, he caught on and grabbed her by the scruff.

“Let go! I said let go!”

And just like that, she was hauled off, dangling like a cub caught by the back of the neck by a lioness.

“Kyla!”

Outside the carriage window, her father looked furious, but he didn’t scold her any further.

“Father! Are you really going to abandon me like this?”

The count furrowed his brow deeply and shook his head.

“If you’ve done wrong, being summoned is inevitable. Just remember — appearances and justification matter, Kyla.”

“But still…!”

“I’ll follow shortly.”

Leaving those final words to ease her worry, the count closed the carriage door.

‘He’s really sending me away like this?’

Kyla Bailey, 20 years old.

She’d always been forgiven no matter what she did, but now she was suddenly accused of attempting regicide and faced a future behind bars.

“Haa…”

As the carriage began to move, she leaned back with a hollow expression, her head sinking into the cushion.

“My lady, are you alright?”

Her maid Mary, who had boarded earlier, asked with concern.

“Do I look alright? It’s clearly a setup.”

Kyla let out a long sigh as she looked out the window.

“I overheard someone earlier… They said all you have to do is apologize to the prince. Then His Highness will forgive you…”

“Forgive me?”

A short scoff escaped her lips.

“Forgive me, my *ss. He thinks it’s all my fault. I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t kill me on the spot.”

Gellensid wasn’t the kind of man to forgive anyone. But he could be pressured into it.

‘King of Blanverque.’

A man who wouldn’t have cared if a child’s fight ended with broken ribs suddenly sent the White Lion Knights for this matter alone.

That could only mean one thing — he wanted to take this opportunity to crush their family’s pride.

‘Let’s see if things go the way he wants.’

Kyla slowly held her breath, her gaze sharpened like a blade. From here on, it was her turn to bring Gellensid to his knees.

***

As soon as they arrived at the royal palace, the White Lion Knights opened the carriage door and escorted her inside.

Only when she saw the banner did she realize — that arrogant man from earlier was part of the royal guard, the White Lions.

‘No wonder he had some skill.’

Kyla shot a hostile glare at the man walking right beside her — whether to watch her or protect her, she couldn’t tell.

“This way. The prince is waiting in the side room.”

His steps were noticeably lighter than when they were in the estate earlier.

The side room they were led to had been specially prepared by royal decree — an indoor garden with walls of glass, filled with greenery.

Thanks to that, Gellensid was clearly visible even from outside. He sat at a table with a scowl, his long golden hair and fierce expression unmistakable.

“I said it was too hot!”

Even now, he was throwing a tantrum, shouting at someone, and flinging a teacup with force.

Crash!

“Your Highness!”

Attendants rushed in to tend to the bleeding servant, blocking him from view.

The man beside her said,

“When you speak with him, don’t get too close — he’s dangerous. Don’t answer anything he doesn’t directly ask. Just say what’s necessary.”

“Easier said than done.”

Clearly, Gellensid was fired up just thinking about meeting her.

‘What a fool.’

Kyla clicked her tongue inwardly and shook her head. Then suddenly, something felt off.

“Hey, why do you keep bossing me around like that?”

She turned to speak — but he was already several steps ahead.

“Wow, that guy’s seriously something else.”

Even someone called a villainess like her would usually get some manners just from her looks alone.

‘Is his vision blocked by that helmet? Or is he just blind?’

Kyla pouted and slowly walked forward.

Inside the glass greenhouse, the air was thick with calming herbal scents.

Before she knew it, she had reached the opposite side of the table and looked down at the prince with a pitying expression.

“Let’s keep this short.”

From the start, his lips twitched in frustration before he gave a low command:

“Sit.”

She would’ve rather died than sit across from him, but having come this far, she had to at least go through the motions.

The White Lion Knights stood guard at a distance, giving them space to speak. But with the king’s eyes and ears all around them, this wasn’t a place she wanted to linger.

This was enemy territory. With the name “Bailey” alone, it wouldn’t be strange to be speared from any direction.

Determined not to back down, Kyla opened her mouth with confidence.

“Well then, I’m sitting—so go ahead.”

“Go ahead with what?”

“Apologize.”

“You’re the one who should be apologizing.”

Gellensid’s gaze turned vicious.

“For daring to deceive the royal family and crippling the prince’s leg. You think a mere apology can fix that?”

His eyes gleamed an eerie gray. He was trembling, fists clenched, boiling over with rage, unable to contain himself.

‘There’s a limit to how stupid someone can be.’

Seeing this, Kyla let out a dry chuckle.

“You really don’t think before you speak, do you? You tried to poison the daughter of the noble faction’s leader and throw the country into chaos again. Was that your plan?”

“So, you’re admitting your father is a would-be traitor?”

Oh, so he really wanted to go there.

“Get your facts straight. Treason is trying to take the throne. All our family’s ever done is defend our own territory.”

Which meant the current king—who took the throne in the aftermath of the last civil war—was the real traitor.

Hearing this, Gellensid gave a hollow laugh. He looked like he was bowing his head in mock defeat—only to suddenly leap to his feet and snatch up a broken shard of the teacup.

“You d*mn—!”

Like she was just going to sit there and let him attack?

Kyla sprang up as well.

“Your Highness!”

A maid came rushing over from the side. If Gellensid lost it and swung his arm, someone could get hurt.

‘I can’t let another innocent person get injured.’

Kyla moved. She was going to snatch the shard from that mad prince’s hand. She was, after all, the daughter of a family of master tacticians—she had learned enough for this.

“Gellensid!”

Someone blocked the raging prince, limping as he lunged forward.

“You bastard! Who do you think you are, standing in my way?!”

The prince slapped the man’s face in a fit of rage, and with a dull thud, the man’s helmet flew into the air.

As the helmet spun away, it revealed sleek, jet-black hair glistening beneath it.

Pale skin. A sharp jawline. A glimpse of his profile that looked… strangely familiar.

A chill ran up from her toes.

Kyla gasped, unable to make a sound—her hands flew to cover her mouth.