chapter 05
Ash picked something up with his beak.
[Here it is. The strange thing.]
I was still angry at him, but given the situation, I couldn’t help but ask.
“Isn’t it just a tea leaf?”
[Look closely. Its shape is different from the other tea leaves. There’s a slight color difference too.]
I furrowed my brow as I stared at the damp leaf.
‘…He’s right.’
Compared to the other leaves, it was longer and the tip was noticeably sharper. The color was also darker.
[It smells suspicious.]
“What do you mean?”
[It’s hard to explain. How should I put it… It smells out of place, like it doesn’t belong on this land.]
His vague answer left me feeling deflated.
“So in the end, you don’t know what this leaf is either.”
[Nope. Not at all.]
Seeing him confidently admit that made me let out a dry chuckle.
Well, if it weren’t for Ash, I wouldn’t even have noticed the leaf was different.
[By the way, your sister—was her name Karinne? She must be pretty knowledgeable about herbs. I know most plants, but this one’s new to me.]
“Don’t compliment Karinne in front of me.”
When I glared at him coldly, Ash flinched and nodded quickly.
‘Anyway, now that we know there’s something wrong with the leaf, I’ll just have to find out what it is myself.’
I pulled out a sheet of paper and began planning how to identify the leaf.
The heart of the current Varkan Empire could be said to be the Crown Prince’s palace.
The Emperor, suffering from a chronic illness, had collapsed after a sudden and rapid decline in his condition, completely stepping down from all duties.
The sudden absence of the Emperor.
Fortunately, the empire’s internal affairs continued to run smoothly.
Thanks to his son, Crown Prince Edwin.
It had already been several months since Edwin began acting as regent in his father’s stead, who could no longer even get out of bed.
Everyone quickly adapted to the change.
The once uneasy imperial palace soon stabilized, and the daily lives of the palace servants returned to peace.
That is… until this morning.
“P-Please, just a moment!”
The head chamberlain of the palace rushed after a man, flustered and desperate.
But the man didn’t even glance back, confidently striding through the imperial corridors.
Those who were seeing this long-whispered-about figure for the first time fell silent.
Yet, none of them could stop themselves from stealing glances at him.
He was a man of striking beauty—so captivating that you simply couldn’t look away.
His black hair, like a sliver of night itself, shimmered mysteriously.
Between the bangs that fell naturally over his forehead were straight, dark eyebrows—and beneath them, red eyes glowing with a deep light.
A smooth, elegant nose line, crimson lips as alluring as they were sharp, and a razor-like jawline that looked like it could cut at a touch.
His sharply defined features were not just handsome, but transcendent.
He was a head taller than most, yet gave off no sense of heaviness. His sleek and sturdy body resembled that of a graceful predator.
Like a war angel descended to earth—this flawless man was…
“Duke Cravant, Your Grace!”
“…”
The chamberlain called him in a desperate, almost pleading voice.
The man in question, Duke Lennox Cravant, was walking down the hallway leading to the Crown Prince’s office.
But no one dared to stop him or criticize his arrogance.
Not merely because of his noble status as a duke or his fearsome reputation as the Empire’s guardian.
There was a natural, overwhelming aura about him—something that could not be ignored.
It was the presence of a true ruler.
“Your Grace, please…!”
The chamberlain, practically sprinting, finally spread his arms wide to block Lennox’s path—then squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to meet his gaze.
He already knew the absurd thing the Crown Prince had done.
And how angry the Duke must be.
“His Highness is currently busy with an important matter. If you wait, I’ll be sure to—”
“Move.”
“I beg you. Please, you know this isn’t right.”
But the poor chamberlain’s choice was unwise.
Instead of an answer, a crushing force pressed down on him.
“Ugh!”
He fell to his knees on the smooth marble floor.
A terrifying pressure made it hard even to breathe, followed by the chilling sensation of a beast’s fangs sinking slowly into his neck.
Cold sweat poured from every inch of his frozen body.
All the knights and servants nearby who served the Crown Prince were in the same state.
“Relax. Your master will be safe.”
A dry voice pierced through the heavy air, falling on the tops of their bowed heads.
“For now.”
Lennox, who spoke in an even, detached tone, opened the door to the Crown Prince’s office without hesitation.
Crown Prince Edwin, fully aware of the commotion outside, greeted him casually.
“You’re here?”
That sculpted face still looked the same—impossibly perfect, no matter how many times he saw it.
“Lighten up, will you? You’ll kill someone with just your glare.”
His joke, friendly in tone, got no response from Lennox.
Instead, Lennox firmly pressed something down onto Edwin’s desk.
“What’s this?”
Edwin, pretending not to know, picked up the crumpled paper.
“Wow, you really crushed it.”
He unfolded the page, which was so crumpled it was nearly unreadable—it was a newspaper page.
‘Oh, now that’s a killer headline.’
Edwin marveled silently.
After all, nothing grabs attention like a sensational title. It was thanks to this article that the Duke, who never budged from the southern province, had come all the way to the palace.
With a satisfied smile, Edwin reread the headline:
[The Secretive Guardian, Duke Cravant, in Search of a Special Bride?!]
Even as Lennox’s aura grew more murderous, Edwin remained calm and unbothered.
“When did this come out? I don’t know who wrote it, but it’s hilarious.”
Finally, Lennox’s patience hit its limit.
“Duke, just to be clear, I swear I had nothing to do with—ahh!”
“You really want to get hit, don’t you.”
Lennox answered not with words, but with action—a sharp blade had suddenly appeared in his hand.
“W-Wait!”
Startled, Edwin jumped up and held out his hands, stumbling backward.
“You can’t just draw your sword without letting me finish! Calm down—”
But Lennox had no intention of entertaining Edwin’s antics.
He responded by channeling a cold, deadly energy into the blade.
Alarmed, Edwin shouted,
“Just in case you forgot, I’m the Crown Prince of the Varkan Empire!”
Unfortunately, his title did nothing to move Lennox.
Bzzz.
The sword hummed menacingly with energy, while a chilling aura surrounded Lennox.
Edwin quickly added,
“You know swinging that thing at me counts as treason, right?”
Lennox’s face showed a faint flicker of annoyance, as if to say, “So what?”
Duke of House Cravant.
The Empire’s sword, and its most powerful protector.
The young man who ruled the vast southern lands hated nothing more than being bothered.
And he especially hated being bothered by the same person for over a decade.
Edwin sighed and shook his head.
“Alright, alright. Put that scary thing away first. Why are you always so quick to draw it?”
“Explain.”
“Why do you always act like this? Do you still think I’m that snot-nosed kid from back then—”
“You still haven’t come to your senses.”
“Fine! I get it!”
Only after Edwin raised both hands in surrender did Lennox finally put away his sword.
The sharp, glowing blade vanished as if absorbed into his palm.
Lennox then crossed the Crown Prince’s office like it was his own, settling into a sofa and sinking back into it.
Grumbling, Edwin sat across from him.
“I went through all the trouble to summon you despite how busy I am, and all I get is a death threat. What a life I lead.”
“What’s the real reason behind this stunt?”
Lennox cut through Edwin’s whining with sharp precision.
“I don’t have time. Just tell me why you pulled something this ridiculous.”
Edwin shrugged with a resigned expression, but then his face turned serious.
“There was an oracle last night.”
A ripple of surprise briefly flashed in Lennox’s calm eyes, but it faded just as quickly.
Seeing how fast the reaction disappeared, Edwin raised an eyebrow.
“You look like you already knew. Did something happen that made you suspect it?”
Avoiding Edwin’s curious gaze, Lennox silently opened his palm.
“Huh? You knew the oracle was coming? How?”
“Hand it over.”
“Cold-blooded, aren’t you?”
Though in truth, he wasn’t really human to begin with.
“I even received the oracle for you, and this is how you treat me.”
Still grumbling, Edwin took something from his coat and handed it to Lennox.
