Episode 16
The Princes of Basilion
The princes might have been wearing simple clothes, but their bright golden hair and noble posture still made them look unmistakably royal.
The Second Prince, Noah, looked like he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
Christopher had the same reaction.
When he looked at me, as if trying to figure out whether I was telling the truth, my face began to burn.
Yes — this really was the male lead. His face was so beautiful that it could blind you if you stared too long.
“Do you know who we are, Lady?”
His gaze met my eyes.
“I heard your vision isn’t well…”
“I had a feeling,” I said quietly. “If I disappeared, the person who’d benefit the most would be Your Highness.”
Noah frowned deeply. His eyes were filled with pure hostility toward me.
I thought to myself, ‘Noah Basilion… the one who tried to assassinate Nicholas and destroyed my eyesight.’
Since the accident, I’d been living quietly in a side residence, delaying my debut in society. It had been years since I’d seen the princes — and the only thing I knew about them came from the novel’s story.
That made me extra careful around them.
I lifted my tied hands and pulled back my hood. My reddish-brown hair fell down, revealing the blind eyes I’d kept hidden.
The room fell silent. Noah turned his head away immediately.
Christopher raised a brow.
“Then we’ll skip introductions. You must already know that it was the Second Prince who ordered your assassination.”
“Brother!” Noah barked, but Christopher ignored him.
I swallowed hard. If I admitted it, they might kill me right here.
But hesitation would only make things worse — I had to take a risk.
“Yes, I know,” I said calmly. “But if it was for the peace of the kingdom, I’ll keep silent. I’ve lived in darkness for years now. Silence… is something I’m used to.”
The floor creaked as Christopher’s boots moved back and forth. He looked troubled, clearly thinking of what to do next.
From what I could tell, Noah had acted alone again, and Christopher was trying to clean up after him.
That meant the one who paid Devon to bring me here was probably Christopher himself.
Outside, I could hear the knights talking as they tended to the horses. Noah’s voice suddenly rose, full of anger.
“You don’t actually believe her, do you? You can’t be serious!”
He looked exhausted — dark circles under his eyes, pale skin. Then he shouted,
“Our teacher said all opposition must be eliminated! She’s a Mermandi! The daughter of the family that ruined our mother’s life!”
His tone was so sharp I thought he might actually attack me.
I silently prayed Christopher wouldn’t leave me alone with him.
Just like the novel described — Noah was impulsive and hot-headed.
Christopher, the future tyrant, was calm and hard to read.
“Enough,” Christopher said coldly, glaring at his brother until he fell silent.
Then his sharp amber eyes turned back to me.
“Lady Natania. You said earlier that you don’t wish to become a royal bride — is that true?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I have no such desire.”
“And if the Duke of Mermandi forces the marriage anyway?”
“I’ll ask him to find another match. And if he refuses… I’ll run away. I’m willing to serve my family, but I know that being a prince’s wife is far above my station.”
Noah stepped closer, his voice full of accusation.
“Don’t try to act innocent, Natania de Bussy Mermandi. Did you think I wouldn’t notice what Nicholas was planning? From the moment he begged the king to open the royal gardens for your debut, I knew something was wrong.”
No matter what I said, Noah wouldn’t believe me.
And to be fair, I could understand why he hated my family.
Their mother had once been the king’s lawful queen — but she was stripped of her title after being accused of adultery and greed.
According to the novel, that scandal was orchestrated by my father and Queen Olivia.
Worse still, Christopher’s mentor — a knight from House Saxen — had died in a jousting tournament, and the rumor was that the Duke had arranged it.
And Nicholas… he went even further. When he and Christopher attended the royal academy together, he bullied him constantly.
“There’s a squire I know in a port town — should I introduce you? I hear your mother’s waiting for you there, praying for her poor abandoned son.”
Nicholas and the Fourth Prince had formed a group of pureblood nobles who mocked Christopher every chance they got.
Christopher, a prince of a weak monarchy, could do nothing but endure it.
When Noah saw this, he secretly hired the Dark Guild to poison Nicholas — that was the “accident” that blinded me.
‘Honestly, it wouldn’t even be strange if they killed me here and now.’
At least with Devon, I’d had a small chance to survive.
Noah’s furious eyes flickered with sudden unease as Christopher grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
My hands trembled despite trying to stay calm.
“Then tell me,” Christopher said, “how did you survive the tower?”
My eyes widened.
“What? Didn’t you rescue me, Your Highness?”
“I intercepted the order, yes. But it was still the Dark Guild of Duren. Even Umbra knows about this job. To be honest, I expected my knights to return with your head.”
“Umbra” — that was the title of the Guild master.
A monster of a man, known for his cruelty and merciless treatment of traitors. Even neighboring duchies expanding their territories didn’t dare touch Duren because of him.
The nobles still hired them for their convenience — but to think even Umbra knew about my kidnapping…
That meant he’d approved of Devon’s actions.
My head spun.
Noah scoffed bitterly.
“She probably bought her life with the Mermandi fortune. As if I’ll ever deal with those Duren rats again! ‘Top guild of the kingdom’? Ha! Even some back-alley mercenary could do better than them.”
Then why did Devon suddenly change the client?
Why now? He’d ruin his guild’s reputation doing that…
Or maybe the Guild master himself had forced the change?
Christopher sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“Whatever the reason, it’s fortunate you returned safely. If you’d died, it would’ve caused chaos in the entire kingdom.”
Of course, what he really meant was that her death would’ve jeopardized his path to becoming crown prince.
But still — he had saved me.
And for that, I was genuinely grateful.
