SEM 08

#008

“What did you just say?”

Eliana’s hands, resting on her knees, clenched tightly onto her skirt. A tremor ran through her body, and despite her effort to keep her lips shut, a whimper kept escaping.

Grady’s dark eyes, thrown into confusion, swirled violently.

“Stop spouting nonsense and speak properly. I’m not in the mood to joke with you.”

“I mean it. I want to disappear from the Empire completely.”

Her voice trembled as it left her lips. She had tried desperately to hide it, but her body betrayed her.

“You ‘only’ want to disappear from the Empire? You mean you want to leave Viscount Hoffman and start a second life?”

As Grady caught on quickly, Eliana gave a small nod.

“…”

Grady let out a deep sigh as he pressed his throbbing temple. As if having peculiar tastes wasn’t enough, she apparently had family issues too. Staring into her blue eyes—so icy they seemed colored by rage—Grady let out a hollow laugh.

“Unbelievable. Just like the rumors said. Now you want to play the victim and pretend to start fresh?”

At his sneer, Eliana dropped her gaze.

She didn’t care how he saw her. From the beginning, she had even considered death. As long as she could escape from her father, Viscount Hoffman, she could endure any ridicule.

“That’s all I ask for.”

“And how do you know what you’re even asking for? Do you understand what this means?”

Grady shook his head in disbelief, and his dark hair swayed lightly.

Just dealing with Rozella, who was only ever concerned about her own desires, was already exhausting. He wanted to give up everything. But now, the little woman in front of him was nonchalantly making demands that went beyond even Rozella’s.

“I’ll accept any other conditions you set, Your Grace.”

Eliana added urgently.

“And how do you know what kind of terms I might set? What if I tell you to lick between my legs—would you do it?”

“…I know you wouldn’t make such absurd demands.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because… you love her.”

Grady turned away, unable to meet her eyes.

“Damn it.”

He swallowed the curse rising in his throat and shut his eyes.

It had been Grady who never corrected people’s misunderstanding—that he loved Empress Rozella. That misunderstanding was the very shackle Rozella had fastened onto him.

If he had known that this woman—who looked like a ghost that night in the rain—would come to him with such a ridiculous request, he never would have saved her.

Grady rubbed his jaw and studied Eliana’s face.

* * *

That day too, in line with his reputation as a scoundrel, he was drinking at a gambling den.

“Hey, nobleman. Someone’s here to see you.”

“Who?”

“Dunno. Some high-class lady’s looking for you in the middle of the night. How would I know why?”

The owner made an obscene gesture as he clutched his pants, and the men around them burst into laughter. Grady flicked a silver coin at the clownish master and got up.

As he walked toward the back door, he thought disdainfully about which crazy woman would block his way this time.

“It’s been a while, Grady.”

Standing at the back door, shrouded in a robe, was none other than Empress Rozella.

Grady threw the cigar from his mouth to the ground and looked up at the dark sky. He had almost forgotten the nightmare that wasn’t just a dream—it had returned in reality.

“Isn’t this place a bit dangerous for someone of your stature?”

The back alleys of the slums were deserted. It was raining too, making everything eerily quiet.

“I know. But it was urgent.”

“What is it this time?”

A chill ran down his spine. Whenever she came to him, something dreadful always followed.

“Marry her, Grady.”

Grady’s hand, which had been brushing his hair back, froze in mid-air.

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

“The Council of Elders told the Emperor to take a concubine. Since I can’t bear children, he plans to have an heir with another woman.”

Rozella muttered while biting her lip. Grady turned his head away, avoiding her venomous gaze. His chest tightened, as though it might burst.

“And that’s the reason I have to marry?”

“The Emperor is already quite fond of her. That’s why you must marry her first.”

Rozella grabbed Grady’s chin and brought her lips close to his.

“Ah!”

Grady turned his head just in time, avoiding her kiss. He let out a bitter laugh and wiped his face. The liquor in his stomach churned like poison, and he almost vomited it out on her face.

“Incredible. Now you’re arranging my marriage too?”

“You’ve always just nodded to my orders, Grady. This time won’t be any different.”

Rozella looked up at him.

Grady’s face hardened with overwhelming defeat. Seeing his expression, Rozella kissed the tip of his chin, as if doting on a pet.

“Before that lustful Emperor sleeps with her, you take her first.”

“Rozella.”

Grady uttered her name.

Even if he didn’t want to, he couldn’t disobey her. From the moment he agreed to her demands, Rozella had shackled him.

What started with her tearful pleas had become a noose strangling him—mercilessly tightening. And this time was no different.

“This is her second widowhood. And she’s said to be beautiful. It’s not a bad deal for you.”

“…”

“The Empire’s scoundrel and a seductive widow—gossip lovers will have a field day.”

As Rozella let out a shrill laugh, Grady turned his face away. When she left, he drank himself into a stupor.

And then, fatefully, he met Eliana.

Just as he dismissed his carriage and walked alone, stomach reeling from cheap liquor, he bent over to vomit.

The empty, lifeless look in Eliana’s eyes mirrored the one he had seen in himself reflected in the lake that night.

She staggered toward the dark, swirling river as if she had been preparing for this moment for a long time.

That’s why.

That’s why he reached his hand toward her.

“Was it the husband’s taste, not the wife’s?”

A thug cackled as he lifted parts of her torn dress.

“Must’ve been.”

Grady approached them, his stomach churning from whatever cheap poison he’d drunk.

“Her husband probably drank too much. Lost control, and things went bad. How about you hand her over to us tonight?”

He shrugged casually. It was a complete misunderstanding—but he didn’t care.

His goal was to ruin her plan, nothing more.

Grady sighed and forced his blurred vision to focus.

The sudden surge of rain had swollen the river and filled the night with its violent rush.

‘I swear I’ll never drink that gutter liquor from Odette Street again.’

A promise he knew he wouldn’t keep, he thought as he looked at Eliana. She still swayed, held by the thugs.

Her wet blonde hair looked like a flower blooming in the rain—it caught his eyes again and again.

“…Shall I take her, then?”

“What? Hahaha!”

The thugs laughed uproariously at Grady’s words. He smiled with them—but his gaze never left Eliana.

He didn’t know why, but he wanted to hear her voice. He hoped she’d cry out for help.

Her eyes, lifeless like a corpse’s, were colder than the falling rain. Her small shoulders, trudging toward the edge of the bridge without hesitation, disturbed him deeply.

“Goddammit!”

Grady’s sudden move left the thugs no time to react. His fist flew into the air.

“Argh!”

“Boss!”

Just as he expected, the man blocking his path hit the ground, and the others rushed at him.

A fight on a narrow bridge was dangerous. One wrong step into the river could mean death.

Instead of facing them, Grady grabbed Eliana’s hand and ran, as if none of the chaos around them mattered.

“What are you doing? Run!”

Her hand was so cold, he almost let go. But he clung to it tightly and dashed into the dark alleys.

“Get that bastard!”

The thug he had punched shouted after regaining consciousness. But Grady had already vanished into the alley with Eliana in tow.

The maze of alleys was hard to escape even when sober. But Grady’s body, not his mind, led the way.

“Hah!”

With every breath, clouds of steam spilled into the air. His lungs ached from the long run, as though they were tearing. Even a man familiar with these slums was no match for the liquor still coursing through him. The streets writhed like something alive beneath his feet.

But Grady didn’t stop running.

“Huff! Huff!”

As the ragged breath behind him drew closer, Grady finally came to a halt in the rain-soaked darkness.