Episode 95
“Your Majesty… why are you in Hildebrandt’s office?”
“Yvonne?”
Hildebrandt froze. Seeing the red flicker in Yvonne’s eyes, he realized she was under the same hypnosis as him. But as soon as he grasped this, the hypnosis placed on him took hold, preventing him from recognizing it further.
“Why are you saying such things?”
Even though the signs were clear, he couldn’t comprehend her condition.
It was the emperor’s curse.
The curse cast on Yvonne made her confuse Hildebrandt with the emperor if he ever confessed his feelings to her. As for Hildebrandt, his curse ensured he would remain unaware of Yvonne’s state as a guide or that she had been hypnotized at all.
The emperor had simply been waiting, like a seasoned hunter, for the moment when the hypnosis on both would take effect.
“Your Majesty! You promised! You swore not to harm Prince Hildebrandt!”
“Yvonne.”
“Ah….”
She pulled away from his embrace, stepping back in alarm. Hildebrandt watched as her face twisted into an expression of contempt and hatred, and it felt as if his heart were being crushed.
“Yvonne.”
Yvonne clutched her head as if in pain, bowing it low. Then, with a sickening splatter, blood dripped from her nose.
“Yvonne!”
She collapsed unconscious.
* * *
When Yvonne woke up at the Marchioness Le Meredin’s estate, she truly believed Hildebrandt was the emperor.
“Your Majesty, I appreciate your concern, but I’d prefer if you didn’t visit again.”
“…”
“Yvonne? What are you saying?”
“Why are you speaking to the prince like this, Yvonne?”
The Marchioness and her husband were briefly confused by their daughter’s odd behavior. But even they were under the emperor’s hypnosis and couldn’t suspect its influence.
The emperor waited silently, savoring the culmination of his plan. He had meticulously orchestrated the perfect tragedy, ensuring the young lovers would break apart in the most devastating way possible—all for the twisted pleasure of watching it happen.
“Look closely, Mother, Father! That man is the emperor! He’s just wearing Hilde’s clothes to mock me again!”
“Yvonne.”
“Your Majesty, as I’ve told you before, I have no desire to become your consort!”
“What? What are you saying…?”
Hildebrandt couldn’t understand why she was saying such things.
“Didn’t I already tell you during the debutante ball?”
“Wait, you’re saying your partner that day was the emperor?”
“Your Majesty… why would you? You were the one who sent me the letter first, weren’t you?”
“…”
Hildebrandt was at a loss. Why would Yvonne lie to him? She had never been one to hide her feelings.
But now, she was lying.
To him.
“Please, just leave. Your presence is too much for me to bear.”
“…”
“Yvonne, get a hold of yourself.”
“Yvonne….”
Hildebrandt couldn’t bring himself to continue the conversation.
* * *
For days, Hildebrandt hadn’t been able to see Yvonne. He assumed she was angry with him, but he couldn’t understand why. His thoughts couldn’t go any further—his mind was trapped, held hostage by the hypnosis cast by the most powerful ability user in the Bricesys Empire.
All he knew was that Yvonne’s sudden distance, after being so devoted to him, must somehow be his fault.
‘Hilde! Look, it’s a four-leaf clover.’
‘Why are you weaving it around my ring finger?’
‘Because we don’t have engagement rings yet. It’s our promise, remember?’*
Hildebrandt realized how indifferent he had been. He hadn’t even given her the engagement ring she had clearly wanted.
Determined to make amends, he set out to buy her a ring. Hildebrandt knew everything about Yvonne—her ring sizes for each finger, the size of her small feet, her height, even the weight he felt when she climbed onto his lap.
Of course, he knew her taste in jewelry. He purchased two rings—one adorned with a sapphire that matched his eyes and the other with an amethyst resembling hers. He even braided a four-leaf clover around them before heading to the Marchioness Le Meredin’s estate.
“I want to see Yvonne.”
At Hildebrandt’s words, the Marquess of Le Meredin avoided his gaze, his expression troubled.
“Where is she?”
“Your Highness, our daughter… she’s been acting strangely lately. Would you perhaps wait until she returns to normal to see her?”
“What?”
“Your Highness…”
“Our wedding is in half a year. Are you saying I can’t see her until then?”
Irritated, Hildebrandt’s tone grew sharper, and the Marquess tensed. Yet, the Marquess held his ground. He couldn’t let Hildebrandt see his daughter in her current state.
“Step aside.”
“Your Highness!”
Hildebrandt shoved past the Marquess, entering the main house. He headed straight for her room on the third floor, the room where she had always invited him.
It was empty.
If not her room, then the glass greenhouse connected to her terrace. Yvonne often went there, surrounded by the hydrangeas she claimed reminded her of Hildebrandt, even though she resembled the flowers more.
Hurrying to the greenhouse, he stopped abruptly at what he saw.
“…Let’s go together!”
Yvonne was trailing someone.
“Your Majesty?”
“Ah, Prince.”
The emperor, looking annoyed, pulled his arm away from Yvonne, who was clinging to him, trying to link arms.
“Ah… I greet the strongest sword of the Bricesys Empire.”
“Yvonne.”
Hildebrandt froze in place, watching in disbelief as Yvonne slipped behind the emperor and grasped his hand.
“I heard the future princess consort wasn’t herself, so I decided to investigate,” the emperor said casually.
“Ah…”
Hildebrandt wanted to ask if the emperor had truly tried to make Yvonne his consort. He wanted to know why Yvonne was acting this way—why she held the emperor’s hand so intimately, even lacing their fingers together.
“Your birthday is in six months, isn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of ability you’ll manifest.”
“Thank you.”
“I hope it’s not a useless physical ability like my dear brother’s.”
“I apologize.”
The emperor’s taunts didn’t bother Hildebrandt. What chilled him to his core was Yvonne’s behavior. She acted toward the emperor as she once had toward him.
“I want to be alone with you, Hilde.”
“Yvonne.”
“I’m sorry, but I’d like the prince to leave.”
“But she is my fiancée, Your Majesty.”
“Perhaps your fiancée has something important to discuss with me.”
“…”
Even when Hildebrandt openly defied him, the emperor seemed indifferent. His gaze turned sharp, impatient.
“Leave, Prince.”
“But—”
“I said leave.”
With a subtle flick of power, the emperor used his ability on Hildebrandt, not controlling his mind but forcing his body to move. Powerless to resist, Hildebrandt walked away.
As soon as Hildebrandt left, Yvonne turned to the emperor.
“Hilde, let’s go to my room. I want us to be alone.”
“That won’t do.”
“Why not? That’s how we’ve always spent our time together. Look, I still have your bite marks here.”
“Haha.”
Yvonne showed her neck to the emperor, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.
“I hope we have a child soon.”
“Your nonsense knows no bounds, Lady.”
“If I get pregnant, no one—not even you—will be able to stop us from getting married.”
The last thing Hildebrandt saw as he was forced out of the greenhouse was Yvonne wrapping her arms around the emperor’s neck, whispering something softly into his ear.
* * *
He couldn’t return to the imperial palace. So instead, Hildebrandt waited outside Yvonne’s door.
“Do you really think you can have ten children?”
“Of course! I’m even planning to have twins.”
“Ha! Hahaha!”
The emperor’s cheerful laughter and Yvonne’s excited, dreamy voice floated up from the terrace below.
Hildebrandt gripped the ring box tightly in his hands as he waited.
“Hilde.”
“I don’t recall granting you permission to use a pet name, my lady.”
“I love you, Hilde. I love you more than anything in this world.”
“Lady Le Meredin.”
The emperor’s voice was full of amusement, like a hunter who had finally caught his prey.
“Kiss me, Hilde.”
“This is a bit inappropriate; we’re outside.”
“We’ve done worse outside! Don’t give me such silly excuses!”
Hildebrandt felt the ring box in his hand start to crumple as he clenched his fists, biting his lip so hard it stung.
Something felt off. Yet, whenever he reached for that thought, it slipped away, dissolving like mist. His memory seemed to vanish for a moment, leaving only confusion and despair behind.
“When did you start loving me?”
“From the moment I first saw you. And every time I look into your eyes, I fall deeper in love.”
“How utterly charming.”
It was the first time Hildebrandt noticed Yvonne’s voice trembling.
He realized he had never paid attention to how her voice would shake whenever she confessed her feelings to him. Her sincerity had always been so evident that he took it for granted.
But now, hearing her trembling voice directed at someone else, he thought it was because she was finally speaking from her heart—to the person she truly loved.
It sounded like a confession held back for years, finally bursting forth with desperation and courage, as though even rejection couldn’t silence her.
“Kiss me, please?”
“That might be difficult.”
“Then what do I need to do to get a kiss?”
“Perhaps start by taking off your clothes?”
Hildebrandt couldn’t take it anymore. Yvonne was the one person he had left in his life.
“Aaahhh!”
By the time he realized what he was doing, his fist had already collided with the emperor’s face.
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