After finishing his brief reunion with the Empress, Johannes’s eyes turned toward Brianne, who was standing a short distance away from the Emperor and Empress.

　　A light contempt and intense curiosity flashed in his eyes as he looked at her. A fierce, cold demeanor entirely different from the respect and intimacy directed at Tenebre just moments ago.

　　“Ah, so it’s you. The emerald in the rumors that set the capital ablaze.”

　　There was nary any hesitation in Johannes’s footsteps as he strode toward her.

　　“Pleased to meet you, Miss Brianne Paradia.”

　　Just as he had done with the Empress, he knelt on one knee before Brianne and kissed the tender back of her right hand.

　　This man is lying. This isn’t our first meeting.

　　Brianne stared down at the hand he had taken, turning pale with shock.

　　“Miraculous that someone is still breathing.”

　　That unforgettable voice and the stench of blood.

　　He was undoubtedly the assailant she had encountered in the burning Paradia Manor.

　　Brianne’s eyes moved from Johannes’s face to the sword he had laid down moments ago. It was without a doubt the terrifying sword that had dripped with the blood of her parents and siblings.

　　Johannes raised his eyes ever so slightly, staring silently at Brianne.

　　His cold eyes felt as if they were sweeping down her body, like they were engraving his presence somewhere on her flesh.

　　“Ugh…!”

　　A churning nausea scraped at her throat.

　　Unable to overcome the bubbling sickness, Brianne gagged, clapping her hands over her mouth as she hurriedly fled the banquet hall.

　　Johannes quietly watched her receding back, while Kavil glared viciously at his cousin Heisack.

* * *

　　“How is he alive?!”

　　With a resounding crash, all sorts of furnishings were smashed to pieces.

　　“Your Majesty. Please calm yourself.”

　　The man beside him tried to stop Kavil, his expression troubled.

　　“Did you not claim you were the best in your field? You boasted so confidently that the money spent wouldn’t go to waste, yet you make me watch him return completely unscathed to mock me?”

　　“There are many listening ears, Your Majesty. Please lower your…”

　　“If you took that enormous sum… Shit, you should have at least gouged out one of those damned blue eyes!”

　　Clatter!

　　Expensive crafts in the Emperor’s office were broken and shattered. They were rare treasures offered to the Emperor by allies and colonies, but now they were nothing more than rubbish.

　　“Your Majesty. Please give me another chance. This time, I will not make any mistakes.”

　　The man fell to his knees and begged Kavil.

　　Only after every single valuable item in the room had lost its original worth did Kavil cease his tantrum, grabbing the man tightly by the collar.

　　“This is your final opportunity.”

　　Kavil growled.

　　“If you fail again, I will flay the skin off your wife and children and display them before the castle gates. Alive.”

　　“Y-yes, Your Majesty…!”

　　“Though I’d like nothing more than to snap your neck right now.”

　　Kavil gripped the man’s thick neck with both hands.

　　“Gah…”

　　The man’s purpling face contorted in pain.

　　“A day will come when you will be thankful that I am such a lenient monarch.”

　　Gasp! Gasp! Huff…!

　　Kavil soon released his grip and threw the man aside, sending the heavy body tumbling onto the luxurious carpet-covered floor.

　　“P-Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I will not disappoint you a second time. I swear on my life, my wife, and my children.”

　　Quickly regaining his senses, the man bowed his head down onto Kavil’s foot once more.

* * *

　　Whenever people in the Imperial Palace gathered in groups of two or more, they chattered about the returned Grand Duke Heisack.

　　The handsome young war hero, Johannes Heisack, was undoubtedly the hottest topic.

　　“To think those ignorant fools would show so much interest in my cousin.”

　　Emperor Kavil elegantly recited his displeasure. But he could not hide how he felt toward Johannes. The Emperor, who normally exercised extreme restraint and detested showing his feelings, could not hide his rage.

　　“Brianne, are you the same? Are you curious about how rough my cousin, Grand Duke Heisack, can be?”

　　On the bed after a heated bout of lovemaking, Kavil asked Brianne softly.

　　“I… I…”

　　He is the enemy of the Paradia family, Your Majesty.

　　I want to kill him. I want to take revenge on him. I want to make him suffer a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times more pain than my mother and siblings felt.

　　Brianne’s lower jaw trembled violently.

　　Kavil silently stared at the pitiful Brianne.

　　Perhaps because she had been panting and sweating with shallow breaths just moments ago, the glow of Brianne’s skin was unusually bright, the flush blooming on her pale face making her look all the lovelier.

　　Her green pupils trembled anxiously, shining cool like greenery made brighter by a sudden shower.

　　“Brianne.”

　　Uttering her name softly without any particular meaning was a silly habit of Kavil’s.

　　Though she knew this habit well, she always answered faithfully. The lustful look she gave when she responded, staring up wide-eyed with slightly parted lip, drove the refined Kavil mad with desire like degenerate filth.

　　Brianne’s natural beauty could very well become Kavil Helius’s sole weakness. And so Kavil guarded against himself, trying endlessly not to fall for her.

　　“I asked if you were curious about that man as well.”

　　The Emperor, who had been roaring in satisfaction in bed just a moment ago, was now bringing up another man like a jealous husband, and Brianne’s mind, already tangled in frustration, soon fell into deeper confusion.

　　“If I say yes… Will you be angry?”

　　I want to know.

　　What Johannes Heisack likes, what he hates, the dream his mother had when she bore him, his prides, weaknesses… What makes him feel empty, his smallest habits, even whatever jinxes he follows like scripture… everything.

　　I want to know every single thing about him. Because I hate him. Because I wish to kill him.

　　However, Kavil could not possibly know Brianne’s inner thoughts.

　　“What?”

　　When an unexpected reply came from Brianne’s mouth, Kavil could only scoff. He had assumed she would act all cute and say of course not, that she had only His Majesty.

　　“I know him best of all. He is the son of my dear aunt, and one I’ve been with since I was young. What is it that are you curious about, Brianne?”

　　Sitting up straight in bed, Kavil pulled up the corners of his lips toward Brianne. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were cold and hardened, hardly what you would call a smile.

　　“Go on, speak. I shall tell you everything, down to his most trivial habit. I’ve seen him naked countless times, after all!”

　　Interpreting her curiosity in a somewhat twisted way, Kavil’s tone became agitated with a rage that was unmistakably jealousy.

　　“Your Majesty… Are you… Upset?”

　　Brianne’s eyes widened as she looked at him with a somewhat frightened expression.

　　“Upset? You’re asking if I’m upset?”

　　However, Brianne’s delicate terror only made Kavil roar louder.

　　“Are you implying that I, Kavil Helius, sole ruler of the Great Nesburg Empire, would be jealous of the lowly Johannes Heisack?”

　　“No, Your Majesty. I…”

　　Brianne’s voice trailed off, her face looking as though she were about to burst into tears.

　　How pathetic a man denying his jealousy can be.

　　“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

　　Instead of mocking Kavil, Brianne gave him a whimpering pout.

　　Her moist green eyes sparkled pitifully, and whenever those green eyes sparkled, the golden hair cascading over her pale skin shone all the more brilliantly.

　　That look she gave made Kavil’s heart, which pitied nothing else, unusually weak.

　　“Sigh…”

　　Belatedly noticing her pale shoulders trembling sorrowfully, Kavil felt a tinge of guilt and covered his eyes with his palm.

　　His orange hair, usually neatly combed, was in disarray. As if representing his tangled, messy state of mind.

　　“Forgive me, Your Majesty. Please punish this lowly paramour…”

　　Brianne sobbed.

　　“Yes. You must be punished, my Brianne.”

　　Whenever Kavil was displeased, Brianne received punishment. And regardless of whether Brianne committed a fault or not, the punishment inflicted on her was the same. That was a tacit agreement between them, as well as a source of amusement solely for the Emperor.

　　“But it seems you are not prepared to receive punishment. Come.”

　　“Yes, Your Majesty… Ah…!”

　　Brianne was the only one who understood his selfish perversions and willingly complied.

　　Violently pulling Brianne’s body, the look in Kavil’s eyes quickly changed.

　　Tightly binding Brianne’s delicate wrists, he raised both her hands high above her head.

　　“Open.”

　　“Nngh… Yes…”

　　Though Brianne had been trembling violently and sobbing, at a single word from the Emperor, she instantly stopped crying and meekly parted her lips.

　　“Mmph…”

　　Kavil’s index and middle fingers slid deep inside her mouth, pressing down hard on Brianne’s soft tongue.

　　“Hngh…”

　　Brianne weakly shook her head, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.

　　“Green is a dangerous color. It has killed many and induces madness.”

　　Kavil stared intently into her green eyes, rendered even clearer with her tears.

　　“It is a color fatal enough to claim one’s life.”

　　“Ngh!”

　　“Yet people loved that green, even paying with a portion of their lives.”

　　“Mmh…”

　　“Green is cruel. For it killed everyone who loved it.”

　　Kavil’s fingers caressed Brianne’s molars.

　　“Brianne. Will you kill me too? Me, who loves you?”

　　Brianne’s head shook from side to side. Her mouth, filled with two of his fingers, mumbled something. It seemed as if she were replying, That could never be, Your Majesty.

　　“Oh, Brianne. When you cry like that, how can I hold back?”

　　Kavil collapsed over her breasts.

　　“You are mine, Brianne. Everything you have, all of it.”

　　He adored seeing how he could make her tremble, giggle, or turn pale with anxiety with just a single word. Brianne Paradia danced entirely in the palm of his hand, as his and his alone to rule.

　　“Answer me. Tell me you are mine. That you accept it to be true.”

　　At Kavil’s growls, Brianne silently nodded her head up and down as she began to cry.

　　“Oh, Brianne!”

　　Kavil felt a suffocating pleasure in her obedience as she willingly endured the domination he inflicted.

　　However, Kavil did not yet know that believing he could control everything about her was little more than his own naive hubris.