Episode 98

“Why are you crying?”

Yvonne couldn’t immediately recall whether Hildebrandt had a tear-shaped beauty mark beneath his eye. Her vision was blurred with tears, her mind a mess from the hypnosis, and her heart ached too much to think clearly.

“Hilde…”

“Yes?”

The man before her wasn’t here out of affection or concern. He was here to show Hildebrandt something entertaining. After all, no one in the annex would dare disobey an imperial order.

Knowing what had transpired between Yvonne and Hildebrandt, the Emperor planned to bring this cruel game to its ultimate conclusion.

Complete destruction.

“Come here.”

“Uh…”

Yvonne, trying to stop her sobbing, hesitantly approached him. She moved instinctively, leaning into his arms as if it were the most natural thing to do.

“Why were you crying?”

“I thought you left me, Hilde…”

She tried to steady herself, to hold back her tears, but they fell heavily with every word she spoke.

The Emperor relished the scene.

Deep down, he resented many things—the fact that his brother, whom people always praised as better than him, had a son who bore his likeness, for one. And then there was the injustice of his own impotence while Hildebrandt, looking so much like him, was willing to sacrifice himself to protect this woman.

The Emperor found his misfortunes amusing, and that amusement drove him to ruin others. If his life was destined for misery, why should Hildebrandt’s be any different?

Why should his nephew, with the same face, win the unconditional love of a woman?

Especially a Guide—someone whose awakening could grant limitless potential to those they bonded with. Such power was a threat.

The Emperor couldn’t let Hildebrandt live unless he completely submitted.

“Uh… my lady?”

“Hilde, come here.”

Yvonne was growing uneasy with his sudden gentleness. She grabbed his arm and led him back to the bed.

“My lady, you don’t look well. Move aside.”

“No.”

Yvonne, still forgetting to wipe her tears, climbed onto him, her arms wrapping around his neck as if to kiss him.

“Where were you?”

“I heard you were like this, so I came to watch.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The Emperor’s words made Yvonne’s tears fall again, glistening like glass beads as they landed on his cheek. He found her warm tears oddly pleasant.

“Say what you said before.”

“What do you mean?”

“The part where you said it’s okay even if I’m flawed.”

“I really like you, Hilde. I don’t care if we can’t do… those things.”

Yvonne looked at him earnestly, meeting his gaze with tear-filled eyes.

“Even if we can’t do it for the rest of our lives, I still like you, Hilde. I really… uh… I really love you. I love you so much.”

Her desperate sincerity made the Emperor feel a momentary stillness in his chest, almost as if he had been absolved of a sin.

“Say it again.”

“I love you, Hilde.”

“Again.”

“I love you…”

As Yvonne leaned into him, the Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

Although he remained disappointed that Hildebrandt had not reacted as expected, he still entertained the possibility of sparing his nephew—if only Hildebrandt would become a loyal dog, obedient even without hypnosis.

If he was willing to sacrifice even the woman he treasured to save himself, the Emperor might just let him live.

* * *

As time passed, the situation spiraled further into chaos. Yvonne could no longer distinguish between the Emperor and Hildebrandt, desperately clinging to the latter as he tried to push her away.

Her frequent presence in his chambers became a topic of open gossip among the servants. Rumors circulated that the Emperor cherished her deeply.

“Imprinting is out of the question.”

“Hah.”

“Anything but that….”

In this miserable situation, Hildebrandt yearned for an imprint, but Yvonne desperately resisted it. She struggled the most as the hypnosis on her began to fade.

Moments when Hildebrandt felt like the Emperor before her, or when the Emperor seemed like Hildebrandt, tormented her.

She couldn’t bring herself to imprint with Hildebrandt, unsure if she was making the right decision and terrified that she might end up bonded to the Emperor instead.

“Then why do you keep sneaking into my chambers?”

“You know why. Because I love you, Hilde…”

“Shut up. Why do you keep spewing such pathetic lies? Is my heart just a joke to you?”

“Ah…!”

Hilbebrandt’s hand closed around her neck, tightening.

In that moment, the Emperor’s hypnosis broke. The enchantment on Yvonne had been designed to weaken whenever Hildebrandt tried to kill her.

“How could I have trusted someone like you?”

“Hil…”

“Die, Yvonne.”

“Ah, Hilde…”

The pain of being strangled was unbearable. Yvonne’s body trembled, her throat feeling as though it would snap.

“I hate you.”

Tears streamed down his face, falling onto her cheek as he spoke.

“Go ahead, kill me… Haha…”

Yvonne began to welcome death. The puzzle pieces of her actions and their consequences were rearranging themselves in her mind, forming a coherent picture.

Yet she was still overwhelmed by confusion, unable to tell which man she had truly been with—whether it was the Emperor or Hildebrandt. The shame of it all consumed her.

“Do it, Hilde. Kill me.”

As more tears fell onto her cheeks, Yvonne smiled bitterly, convinced that her death would bring an end to everything.

“I love you. Please, don’t abandon me.”

Hildebrandt, crumbling under her words, pleaded desperately.

“Don’t treat me as a substitute.”

“Hilde.”

“I love you. Please…”

His pleas, however, began to mean nothing to her.

The moment Hildebrandt confessed his love, the hypnosis—loosening with time—tightened its grip on her again, as if his words were a spell reinforcing it.

* * *

The wretched nights continued endlessly.

Yvonne waited outside Hildebrandt’s chambers every night, and when the time came, he would let her in. She clung to that hope, while he drowned in despair at her persistence.

Even though he told himself she was using him as a stand-in, his feelings for her never waned. After all, she had sought him out in the tower, told him she loved him with those honest eyes, lips, and words—he couldn’t deny the sincerity he felt in her.

Despite believing she saw him as a substitute, he still loved her. She was the only person in the world who ever desired him.

“Please, just leave tonight.”

“Hilde…”

“Go, please.”

“Hilde, I came because I was worried about you.”

“Then get lost!”

Today was Hildebrandt’s birthday. For members of the imperial family, their coming-of-age birthday marked their awakening—a rite with no exceptions. Yet, he didn’t awaken.

He didn’t know why. In truth, Duke Ferrite had announced his birthday three months late, which delayed the awakening.

Today wasn’t his real birthday, but Hildebrandt didn’t know that. He had no idea his father had hidden the truth.

The three-month discrepancy had been a calculated choice. If Hildebrandt had been born with defects, he would have been quietly eliminated, and a child from another concubine would have been presented in his place.

Hildebrandt would never know the truth—Duke Ferrite had ensured it by killing the maid who had borne his child. Unlike the others, Hildebrandt had been born without any flaws.

The potential for imperial defects was a haunting blemish even Duke Ferrite had feared.

“What does it matter if you have no abilities? I still like you, Hilde.”

“Hah.”

Her words were meant to comfort him, but to Hildebrandt, they felt condescending, as if she were truly relieved by his lack of power.

He was convinced she only wanted one thing from him—a child with imperial blood.

If she bore an imperial child, she could secure her connection to the Emperor.

The Emperor wouldn’t hesitate to adopt an heir. Besides, no one outside the imperial family knew of his impotence, and even if they did, they wouldn’t dare speak of it.

“Is that why you keep sneaking into my chambers? Just for that?”

“Hilde…”

“Do you crawl back here knowing exactly what will happen?”

“…”

“Or is it that you’ve lost all sense of shame?”

Every time he spoke cruelly, it felt like glass shards embedded themselves deeper into Yvonne’s heart. With each beat, the shards dug further, spreading a pain that consumed her entirely.

“Hilde, I…”

“Shut up!”

He didn’t want to hear her say she loved him.

Hildebrandt hated her, but he hated himself even more. Every time Yvonne confessed her feelings with that innocent expression, his heart betrayed him by racing.

He wanted to loathe her, but the thought of living without her suffocated him. His life was entangled with hers, and hers with his.

“Hilde…”

Even though he should be the one crying, it was always her tears that fell. It infuriated him, yet it broke his heart. He wished she wouldn’t cry, yet he resented her for treating him as a substitute.

“Take it off.”

“Hilde.”

“Take it off. That’s why you came, isn’t it?”

Yvonne had never refused him before. She clung to the hope that someday, he would return to her.

Hildebrandt held onto the same hope. The only thing he had over the Emperor was this. He still believed she might one day see him as the real thing, not just a replacement.

“Alright.”

Yvonne slowly began to undress.

But this time, something was different.

Hildebrandt realized he couldn’t sense her scent.

A Guide not emitting a scent—it could only mean one thing.

“You…”

“…Yes?”

“You’ve imprinted.”

Hildebrandt’s mind went blank as he felt the Emperor’s magic radiating from her.

 

 

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