I’d Rather Abandon Than Be Abandoned

Regis and his servant were still unaware of my presence. They continued laughing and mocking me.

I deliberately made my footsteps loud, and only then did their laughter begin to subside.

When they finally noticed me, their faces turned pale as if they had been caught gossiping.

“Claudia?” Regis stammered.

“I left my fan behind.”

I grabbed my fan dramatically, signaling that I had heard everything they said. Their faces turned from white to red.

‘Feeling a bit embarrassed now, aren’t you?’

Even if I walked away, they would probably be haunted by this moment for a week. But I had no intention of ending it here.

“So, what were you talking about with your servant? You seemed to be having a good laugh.”

Regis couldn’t answer and avoided my gaze.

I stepped closer and emphasized again, “I’d like to laugh along too.”

“It was nothing. Just some guy jokes. You wouldn’t find them funny. Just go.”

He was sweating profusely, on the verge of collapse.

I decided to step back a bit. “Is that so? Well, that’s a shame. If you change your mind later, do share those jokes with me.”

“Sure…”

A small sigh escaped from him. “Phew…”

I gritted my teeth inwardly. ‘If you do this again, you’ll feel my wrath.’

I thought I had warned him enough and was about to leave when the servant said something shocking.

“Actually, we were talking about a certain foolish woman.”

“…?”

I stopped and turned towards the servant. He looked at me with an arrogant gaze, as if he believed he had the prince’s power. His arrogance made it seem like he was the heir of a duke and I was the maid.

“Foolish?” I asked, stepping closer, but he didn’t back down. He seemed convinced that Regis would protect him or that I wouldn’t dare to get angry in front of Regis.

I shattered his expectation by raising my hand and slapping him.

“…!!”

“Claudia!! What are you doing?!” Regis exclaimed.

The slap echoed, and the servant’s face turned sideways. He was frozen, and Regis looked at me in shock. I was the only one who remained calm.

“I think it’s time for the servant to get re-educated. He talks too much in front of a noble. And calling a lady foolish, even if he doesn’t know who she is? Has he not learned to respect women?”

Even if he was the prince’s servant, a servant was still a servant. Slapping him wasn’t an issue. Regis wouldn’t punish a duchess for hitting a servant. If he tried, it would become a family matter.

“Claudia… Where did you learn such vulgar behavior? Is there a problem with the duke’s family education?”

Regis’s gaze was filled with disgust, but I didn’t care.

“I’ll take my leave now. Have a pleasant time.”

“Stop! I didn’t tell you to leave! Apologize for the slap!”

I gave him a colder look than he had given me.

“Do you really think I’m wrong? Then let’s go see His Majesty and talk about it.”

“The Emperor?”

“Yes, His Majesty.”

I stepped closer, and he stepped back. I stepped closer again until he had no room to retreat.

“We’ll tell His Majesty everything. How I waited for three hours and the foolish woman story the servant told.”

Regis couldn’t say anything. He knew he was more at fault and didn’t want to take it to the Emperor.

“Nothing more to say? Then I’ll really be going now.”

I gripped my fan and walked away. They might talk behind my back again, but they wouldn’t take me lightly anymore.

That was enough. Or so I thought.

But just before getting into the carriage, my thoughts changed.

“Haa… What should I do? I’m still angry.”

Despite slapping and scolding, my resentment remained. I wanted a more fiery revenge against those arrogant people.

After ten minutes of biting my nails and thinking, I had an idea.

‘Yes, there’s that person.’

I hurried back to the palace, but not towards Regis’s quarters.

I was going to meet the unfortunate First Prince, Nathan.

‘I’ll change my entire plan.’

The original plan was to gain Regis’s favor to survive, but meeting him changed my mind.

‘If Regis is so annoying, I’ll side with Nathan.’

I entered Nathan’s palace, and soon the announcement of a visitor echoed throughout.

“Are you here to see His Highness?”

“Yes.”

The servant looked puzzled. ‘It’s unusual for me to come alone. Understandable.’

If I were to marry Regis, Nathan would become my brother-in-law. It was unusual for me to visit without prior notice.

Regardless, I needed to meet Nathan.

“Tell His Highness I have a proposal he’ll regret missing.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration. I had information that could change his life.

“…Understood.”

The servant left to deliver the message, and I was led to the audience room. While waiting, I recalled Nathan’s information.

[Nathan, the First Prince. The current Emperor’s eldest son. Cursed by the royal family’s curse. Always covers his face, showing only his eyes. Rumored to plot against his brother, the crown prince, but no one knows his secret.]

Nathan always covered his face, so I had never seen it. But I had researched the royal curse.

The curse meant he felt intense pain when touched by a woman.

This curse was why he couldn’t inherit the throne.

‘Why did the royal family get such a strange curse? It’s in the founding legend of the empire, I think?’

Long ago, the first Emperor unified the chaotic continent and founded the Velkinus Empire. But the process wasn’t smooth due to resistance forces.

The Emperor heard a rumor about a sacred artifact guarded by a light spirit.

‘If I take the artifact and prove my bravery, the resistance will kneel.’

He embarked on a journey and found the artifact. But as he reached for it, the spirit appeared and spoke.

[Arrogant human, I curse your bloodline.]

The curse was:

[Your descendants with eyes like the night sky will die lonely.]

The Emperor laughed it off and took the artifact back to the palace. But he soon realized the curse was real when his third son, born with dark blue eyes, felt pain when touching women.

The curse continued down the bloodline to Nathan.

‘Nathan always covers himself to avoid touching women. Poor guy.’

He couldn’t produce an heir, thus losing the crown prince position.

But my sympathy was brief, replaced by a smile.

‘It’s okay. I know how to break the curse.’

I knew how to break the curse, which was my strongest weapon—a powerful tool that could split the empire.

‘If the curse is broken, Nathan becomes the strongest candidate for the throne. Regis can be defeated.’

As I imagined a brighter future, a deep, resonant voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Lady Claudia Rubellasis, the future empress. A noble guest in such a place.”

The First Prince had entered the audience room, already seated opposite me.

His presence was silent, startling me.

‘What a surprise…’

His deep voice was attractive, but the silent approach was unnerving, as was his sarcastic tone.

But those things didn’t matter now.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes. Is this our first time meeting in person?”

“Yes. It’s our first ‘direct’ meeting.”

In the game, I had occasionally encountered him.

Each time, the message would pop up:

[You meet the mysterious First Prince. He is silent. Should you speak first?]

I always chose ‘NO’ and avoided conversation because…

‘He’s scary. Always covered and sometimes with bloodstains.’

Despite the unsettling feeling, I had to face him now.