Episode 10 – “The Dangerous Game”
Scene: Imperial Palace, Azrael’s Plans
The Empress hoped that the Duke of Nocturne and Prince Azrael would help Patrick secure the throne by any means necessary.
Azrael, ever loyal to the Empress, asked his father to persuade nearby nobles to support Patrick. Meanwhile, Azrael tried to do his part from within the palace.
He invited anti-emperor nobles and tried to win them over. When persuasion failed, he secretly added mild poisons or laxatives to their drinks to stop them from attending important meetings.
He didn’t want to go any darker. Even if it was for love, the thought of being the daughter of a noble knight family doing such things weighed heavily on his conscience.
Then he remembered the public execution day. How people shouted at him, calling him a villain.
He hadn’t lived a perfect life, true. But to be hated like that after everything he sacrificed it still hurts.
Ever since his past life, where he began tampering with food to survive, Azrael had become extra careful with what he ate or drank. He knew anyone could do what he once did.
He smiled bitterly and pushed the dessert aside.
Azrael (smiling faintly):
“I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, Your Highness.”
(Thanks to you, he thought.)
He sipped his tea politely while Patrick continued chatting excitedly. Azrael barely responded, just nodding now and then. He just wanted to leave and go back home.
Eventually, he stood up.
Azrael:
“It’s been enough for today. I’ll be leaving.”
Patrick offered to escort him to the entrance, and Azrael couldn’t say no.
As they waited for the carriage, Prince Leonard came out of the imperial residence. Azrael’s eyes met Leonard’s. Patrick turned and saw Leonard, too, smiling smugly.
Leonard simply nodded at the two and got into his carriage.
Azrael (thinking):
Too bad. If Patrick weren’t here, I could’ve at least talked to him for a bit.
Azrael stared longingly at the carriage as it disappeared.
Azrael (to herself):
I’ll see him at the count’s ball soon. Maybe sooner. But will he even listen to my proposal?
Leonard was so hard to read. Even when she had asked him to dance at the debutante ball, he had looked so annoyed.
Azrael:
Still, I won’t give up without trying. Patrick cannot become Emperor.
As she stood lost in thought, her carriage finally arrived.
Scene Change: Brooklyn Ducal Mansion
Rumors were spreading fast across the empire: Azrael and Crown Prince Patrick were in love and would soon be married.
Their “dates” had been seen in public, and even the newspapers were printing daily updates of their outings.
Azrael played her role perfectly, so well that even her family and others began to believe it. Even Angela, Patrick’s former lover, was fooled.
Patrick hadn’t contacted Angela even once during these two weeks. When she tried reaching him, he’d reply coldly: “I’m busy.”
And so, every day, Angela’s angry screams echoed through the Brooklyn Mansion the moment the newspaper arrived.
Today was no different.
Angela (screaming from upstairs):
“Ughhh!!”
On the first floor, the maids winced.
Angela’s daily ritual of throwing and breaking things had become routine.
The head butler sighed.
Butler:
“Head maid, please calm her down.”
Head Maid (grumbling):
“Do you think this is the first time? Ever since that woman started dating the Crown Prince, she’s been like this every day. What could I possibly do?”
Angela had once been sweet and polite, but her obsession with Patrick changed her. The relationship that began just to pay off the family debt had poisoned her heart.
From upstairs came more yelling and crashing.
The maids exchanged worried glances.
Maid 1 (sighing):
“I wonder what she’s angry about today.”
Maid 2 (rubbing her red cheek):
“Yesterday, she slapped me because she didn’t like the dress I brought…”
No one wanted to serve Angela anymore, so they started a lottery system.
Whoever lost the draw had to go to Angela’s room, and it was like being dragged to execution. A few days ago, a beautiful maid with scratch marks on her face quit in tears.
Now, all the maids stared at a small, freckled newcomer standing quietly in a corner.
The head maid frowned.
She didn’t want to send the new girl. She’d only just arrived yesterday and didn’t yet know how cruel Angela could be.
Head Maid (thinking):
If I send her up there now, she’ll probably quit. But what choice do we have?
She looked up at the second floor with a sad expression.
Head Maid (to a large maid):
“Mina, you go.”
Mina (hesitant):
“Alright.”
Mina reluctantly nodded and climbed the stairs. The other maids all sighed with relief.
Scene: Angela’s Room
Angela clutched the crumpled imperial newspaper in her hand. On the floor, a torn article fluttered down: “Marriage between Crown Prince Patrick and Lady Azrael may be near!”
It hadn’t even been two weeks since the debutante ball, but the entire empire was buzzing about the new royal couple.
Angela? She hadn’t even received a letter.
Angela (furious):
“I met him first! He was mine first!”
She remembered what she had to do to seduce him. The shame. The effort. The humiliation.
Then she remembered what the debt collector had once told her.
Debt Collector (in memory):
“If you have no money, maybe sell the lady? She’s young and beautiful. She’d fetch a high price now. Or better yet, marry her off to a rich noble. I can even help arrange it, Miss.”
Angela trembled with rage.
