She was dead.

A shock that split the world in two crashed over Vincent.

“…La, ila. Laila….”

His voice trembled and his heart ached with a dull, deep pain.

“Laila, Nel… lasidad….”

What was that name to him? What was she to him, that his breath would tighten and his chest be crushed by pain like this?

Vincent, his face drained pale, lifted his now shadowed, darkened eyes and stared at the ceiling.

“…Ha.”

How could a person’s life end so easily?

It all felt so hollow.

If he had known she would leave this soon, he would have treated her better, at least a little.

“La, Laila, I, I….”

His words kept stumbling.

Vincent’s face twisted. He roughly wiped his blurring, flickering eyes. His reddened, wet pupils were darker than their usual color. As if he were about to cry tears of blood.

“…F*ck.”

There was still so much he had not done for her. He did not even know what she liked. He knew nothing about her.

“…Why are you leaving already. You wretched woman, why so soon…!”

He clutched Laila’s belongings and collapsed face-down on the floor. Sobbing, his large frame curled up pitifully. With a heart that felt like it was burning away, he beat his own chest in self-reproach.

“Hey, stop it. She’s not coming back no matter what you do.”

It was Hedwell, his closest friend.

For days now, Vincent had shut himself inside the room, refusing to come out.

He was worried by the way Vincent was growing thinner each day.

Vincent did not answer, lying face-down.

He could not answer.

A shrill ringing whined in his ears.

D*mn, as his consciousness faintly faded, he closed his eyes.

Fragments of thought scattered. Back to when it all first began.

***

The first time he saw her was at the Emperor’s birthday banquet. Laila Nelasidad, who had just made her debut in society, was fresh and young. Her neatly flowing violet hair and her slender figure, visible even from a distance, drew the eyes of many men. But that was all.

“She’s small.”

Vincent preferred full-figured women over petite ones, and young girls were not his type. It was only natural, in a way, that he erased her from his mind without feeling much appeal.

“Thank you all for celebrating my birthday. Everyone, enjoy yourselves.”

The banquet gradually began to warm up.

“My lord, it has been a while. You remember me, don’t you?”

“I greeted you last summer, from the Liart estate……”

Young ladies shyly approaching him.

Men approached with eyes mixed with rivalry and admiration.

Surrounded by them all, Vincent wore an expression of pure boredom.

Ash gray hair and a sharp nose bridge. Deep-set eyes and the red pupils unique to the imperial family.

Vincent Loardy.

He was the very picture of extravagance, with his flamboyant looks, carefree style of dress, and a life always surrounded by women. He was also the greatest libertine in society, backed by the current Emperor.

It had been a long time since he appeared at an official event rather than a late-night social gathering, so all eyes were on him.

“I thought you weren’t coming today either. Unexpected.”

First Prince Frederick approached him with an easy smile.

The gazes of noble guests followed, led by the Second Prince who was watching.

Vincent greeted his cousin with a simple nod. He reached into his loosened uniform and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“Want one?”

When he asked, Frederick shook his head. Vincent gave a short nod of acknowledgment and turned away with a bored face. Frederick did not follow.

“Since when do I care about imperial dignity.”

Vincent muttered as he stepped outside and lit a cheap cigarette.

A banquet like tonight’s was endlessly dull. He had not the slightest intention of attending, but his dear uncle, His Majesty the Emperor, had personally summoned him, how could he refuse. Thanks to that, even the imperial troublemaker had to show his face publicly.

“Hoo.”

The weather was quite cool, and through the cold breeze, the melody of classical music drifted to his ears. At the thought of going back to the banquet hall and being wedged among people pretending to be refined.

D*mn, he twisted his lips.

Having changed his mind, Vincent lingered outside, smoking away the time.

His murky, sunken red eyes were fixed on the ground where white snow had piled up in layers. He leaned sideways against the marble and stamped his clean shoe tip into the untouched white snow.

‘…There isn’t much time left.’

The Crown Prince investiture ceremony came to mind without thinking.

First Prince Frederick. Second Prince Aiden.

The Zeronia Empire had two heirs to the throne.

The cold-hearted Emperor personally led the rivalry between the First and Second Prince. But that too would soon come to an end. The conclusion of the long, drawn-out succession battle was set to be decided in one week.

“Whoever wins, as long as they make it entertaining.”

Vincent chuckled. The corner of his mouth pulled up at the thought of not missing such an amusing spectacle.

‘If I had to guess, the Emperor would… no, never mind.’

It would be revealed in a week anyway. There was no point thinking about it now. With the intention of getting some sleep, Vincent lay down on the cold floor and closed his eyes.

“My lord.”

“…….”

“His Majesty the Emperor is requesting your presence.”

Someone woke Vincent, who had been resting his eyes for a short while. He got up, brushing off his uniform without much thought.

“Please hurry.”

An anxious-faced attendant urged him. Vincent let the words go in one ear and out the other as he slowly followed the Emperor’s attendant.

“Come in.”

When he entered the audience chamber, the Emperor was there.

“I present myself before His Majesty the Emperor.”

Vincent gave a light bow and looked at the Emperor of Zeronia, once called the Lord of Blood.

Now aged and approaching his sixties, he still reigned at the very peak of the empire. His face, which bore the life he had lived, was firm, his lips set hard, and his eyes sharp. Despite his years, he still radiated the air of a sovereign.

“What did you call me here for?”

Vincent asked with an indifferent expression. He used formal speech, but with a strangely insolent tone. The attendant watched the two with nervous eyes, and the Emperor simply laughed pleasantly.

“Sit down first.”

Anticipating a long conversation, Vincent plopped down onto the couch.

At that moment, a bright lightbulb stabbed at his eyes. For someone more active at night, it was nearly painful. As if he noticed, the Emperor dimmed the lights. A soft smile rested on his lips.

“Isn’t it remarkable? The way the times gradually advance, it is both astonishing and a little frightening.”

The room, which had used candles the last time he visited, had been replaced with lightbulbs.

“Judging by your expression, you would dislike it if the conversation went on any longer, haha.”

The Emperor laughed and got straight to the point.

“You must have heard the news about the Crown Prince announcement?”

Vincent furrowed his brow. It was an issue shaking up all of society, how could he not know? However politically unaware he may be, he was still a member of the imperial family. Vincent asked with an uncomfortable expression.

“…Who is it.”

“I intend to appoint Frederick as Crown Prince.”

The Emperor said without expression.

“Aiden takes after me, too greedy. A cunning one.”

In his laughing manner, affection for his child seeped through unconsciously.

“I have ruled through bloody politics. The next reign should have a wise ruler on the throne.”

Vincent was silent. The battle for the throne between Frederick, born of the former Empress, and the Second Prince backed by the powerful noble faction had continued even into adulthood. Frederick, who faced the succession struggle entirely alone, was outstanding in strategy, but the Second Prince and the current Empress were serpentine in nature.

He had no particular ill feelings toward Frederick. The imperial family pretends to be more refined than anyone, but that is simply the nature of the place.

“Yes, well. I trust you’ll handle it as you see fit.”

Vincent said indifferently and leaned back in his chair. He had not taken a political stance on either side between the First and Second Prince. He utterly detested anything complicated. However, he did think Frederick was the better of the two.

The Second Prince often looked at him as a pathetically worthless human being, which put him off entirely. In that regard, the Emperor’s choice was quite agreeable.

“……And I intend to find you a spouse.”

At the words that followed, Vincent calmly stuck a finger in his ear. He wondered if he was still half asleep, but the Emperor’s calm expression made him realize it was no hallucination.

“What do you mean by that……”

“She is the second daughter of Count Nelasidad. She will make a suitable wife for you, with your flawed character.”

Now fully grasping the situation, Vincent’s lips twisted. The Emperor himself had made up his mind to personally push forward a wedding, as Vincent had been repeatedly rejecting marriage proposals.

The other party was none other than Count Nelasidad, the so-called simpleton family. A family that supported the First Prince.

“Ha, I will handle my own marriage myself.”

Revolted by the politically arranged marriage, Vincent sprang up from his chair. Such behavior toward the Emperor of the empire was unforgivable, but Vincent had never cared for manners.

And perhaps he was the only man the Emperor tolerated in this way.

“This kind of coercion is something I……”

He spun around.

“Ah… hello.”

When he turned, someone was already there.

Vincent was startled by the appearance of the woman he had seen just moments ago. He had not been the only one summoned to the audience chamber. Seen up close, even smaller and more slight-looking…… the woman from the banquet earlier was gazing at him with wide, round violet eyes.

“……D*mn it.”

A curse slipped from Vincent’s mouth. This word, loaded with meaning, represented the sudden bolt from the blue, the Emperor’s scheming… and a heart pounding wildly at the unexpected guest’s appearance.

It was the meeting of two people who stood at rock bottom under different names in high society.