ISTTIOMB 58

#58. Are We Fated Never to Be Together?

The path to the main palace felt endlessly long.

The stench of the Underworld Flower numbed his sense of smell.

At that moment, he was consumed by a maddening longing for one woman.

“Elisabeth…”

He wanted to hold her in his arms and breathe in her intoxicating scent.
To bury his face in her shimmering crimson hair that rippled like the sunset sea, and hold her tight until she gasped his name.

But right now, Elisabeth was branded a villainess because of Nikolai.

“Everything happened because of Elisabeth. She must be expelled immediately.”
“A commoner woman as the Crown Prince’s tutor? It was absurd from the start.”
“I heard His Highness’s swordsmanship training has practically ceased. Could it be that Elisabeth schemed to drive out Sir Simon?”
“That kidnapping incident was suspicious from the beginning. It might’ve been staged.”

It was Nikolai who killed Simon.

He had thrown the dagger himself.
Simon had died instantly.

If anyone was to be held accountable, it should have been him.
But no one mentioned Nikolai.

They merely parroted the same line—
that it was all Elisabeth’s fault.

“Coward… I’m the coward. Because I can’t tell the truth.”

Nikolai clenched his fists.
His pale nails dug into his palms.

His anger toward himself never dulled.

Should I just reveal the truth—that I carry the Underworld Flower disease?

Before the thought could settle, the wolf’s mocking laughter rang in his head.

“Do you really want to see the entire Empire turned upside down?”

“Stay out of this, wolf.”

“You’d risk everything just to protect one woman? If your father knew, he’d rise from his grave.”

“Don’t you dare mention my father with that filthy mouth.”

“Your father loved the Empire more than himself. He never shied from sacrifice. Unlike you, he wasn’t ruled by emotion.”

“……”

“A son should at least resemble half of his father. Are you planning to throw all your efforts away?”

He wanted to crush the wolf’s snout with his bare hands.

But there was no way.

As long as Nikolai drew breath,
the wolf would keep prattling—
demanding duty, demanding responsibility.

“Get your head straight, Niki. This is dangerous. I checked again—Simon didn’t have any Underworld Flower seeds.”

“The Underworld Flower illness starts from a seed.”

“I know. But this case doesn’t fit the pattern at all.”

Until now, the disease’s progression had always been the same:
An unknown seed took root within the body.
It sprouted.
Red petal-shaped rashes appeared, and a mild fever began.
At that point, the infection became contagious.
The host spread the seeds to others.
Then the symptoms rapidly worsened—coughing, fever, bloody sputum, convulsions—
until the contagion peaked.
Finally, when the red rash covered the entire body, death followed.

“If he carried a seed, I would have found it.”

“Then you mean… the illness progressed without a seed sprouting?”

“Even stranger, he showed no contagious traits. The woman who dueled him at close range—she’s perfectly fine.”

Claudia was being held somewhere within the imperial palace.
She was forbidden to leave—essentially imprisoned.

“Simon changed completely and attacked her. That kind of strength was impossible for him under normal conditions.”

“Could be a symptom of the Underworld Flower, Niki.”

“Explain.”

“The disease amplifies all nerves and senses to extremes. If he fell ill suddenly while otherwise healthy, his physical ability could’ve surged unnaturally.”

“You’re saying… someone intentionally triggered the infection?”

Nikolai’s voice trembled.

It was a hypothesis he neither wanted to believe nor accept.

“How could anyone do such a thing?”

“Sorry, I don’t know. But nothing else explains it.”

“Did the Goddess of Morashincia tell you anything?”

“Do I look like a priest? I was born from a god, yes—but I’ve never received an oracle. I only obeyed divine command to move from your father to you.”

“So you’re nothing but another kind of plague.”

Nikolai spat the words like venom.

The wolf chuckled, amused.

“Perhaps. As long as I exist, neither you nor your bloodline will ever be free.”

“……”

“Niki, I hate the spread of the Underworld Flower too. But like you, I’ve grown used to its scent.”

“What are you implying?”

“Whoever planted the seed in Simon… if we hadn’t been drunk on Elisabeth’s scent, we might have noticed sooner.”

“Don’t you dare blame Elisabeth. She’s done nothing wrong.”

“Has she really not? Have you forgotten why your father distanced himself from Laila?”

The wolf’s voice turned soft, as if soothing a frightened child.

Nikolai’s handsome face darkened even further.

“She’s dangerous. And you are dangerous to her. The closer you get, the deeper you’ll both sink—into despair and ruin.”

“Shut up, wolf.”

“A pity… I can’t even bless my friend’s first love.”

First love.

The words pierced Nikolai’s heart like a red-hot iron spike.

She was the first woman he had ever truly loved.
Being with her felt like possessing the entire world.
Her smile was a dream he never wanted to wake from.
He wanted to orbit her forever, lost in that sweet illusion.
But the yearning became obsession.
He wanted to know everything about her.
To own her, from head to toe.

And because of that, Elisabeth suffered.

It was the first time both Nikolai and the wolf had failed to foresee the spread of the Underworld Flower.

“Are we truly fated never to be together? Was my wish to stay by her side nothing more than a vain dream?”

Nikolai leaned an elbow against the stone wall.
His body slid down like a tree with its roots cut.

Even as his knees sank into the wet earth, he didn’t move.

If he stood up now, he’d go to her.
He’d throw away the Empire, the people—
and run away with her.

And then, crushed by guilt toward the woman he loved,
he’d show her his most wretched, broken self.

“His Majesty hasn’t said anything yet?”

Franz asked carefully after finishing his daily lessons.

As he straightened the scattered papers, a sly grin curled his lips.

“He must be busy. I haven’t seen him in days.”

“That’s terrible! And he won’t even see Elisabeth?”

Franz pouted.

I brushed a hand through his tousled blond hair.

“Just wait a little longer. I’ll find a way to bring Lord Owen back.”

“Do you think that’s what I’m worried about?”

“Then what is it?”

“Oh, honestly! You don’t understand your only student at all. Don’t you know how thoughtful I am? How much I worry about you? I can’t even sleep because of you, Elisabeth!”

“Not sleeping because of me? More like bad habits. You stayed up late snacking again yesterday, didn’t you? What will you do when your teeth rot?”

“Stop nagging!”

Franz covered his ears with both hands.

“Can’t you stop nagging for once?”

When I reached to pinch his cheek, he snapped back:

“I was thinking! Trying to figure out a way to save Elisabeth! I just fed my brain some sugar, that’s all!”

“Sure you did.”

“The other professors—except Marquis Nettleton—are demanding your dismissal! How can I sit still?”

“……”

“They say you’re ruining me. That I need a proper tutor from a high noble family—for my future.”

“Don’t get involved.”

My voice dropped low.

A shadow crossed Franz’s lovely face.

“So I’m just a useless kid who can’t help?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Elisabeth, you’re the only teacher I’ve ever respected. If I don’t worry about you, who will? Even His Majesty is ignoring this!”

“Franz.”

“I want to protect you too. I don’t want to be separated from you.”

His green eyes glistened with tears.
The little fists he clenched looked small and lonely.

Nikolai is too busy. Franz is too young. He must be terrified of losing the first person he’s ever trusted—and powerless to do anything about it.

I had thought of him as a sharp-tongued brat.
But when had he grown enough to worry about me?

“Thank you, Franz. But I don’t want you caught in the crossfire.”

“What? Are you going to resign as my tutor?”

And quick-witted, too—for a ten-year-old.

“Letters are being sent to the Crown Prince’s palace. The noble council is planning a protest. If I stay, it’ll only burden you—and His Majesty.”

“So you’re just going to run away? I thought Elisabeth bites back when cornered!”

“This isn’t something that can be solved that way. I have to think carefully.”

I gave him a strained smile.

Franz’s gaze sharpened.

“Are you scared?”

“Yes. I’m scared.”

I admitted it without hesitation.

Franz blinked in surprise.

“Did you eat something weird at lunch?”

“I’m afraid His Majesty will be condemned because of me. I’m afraid you’ll lose the nobles’ support because of me.”

“I never had their support anyway.”

“You told me once—a nation can’t be ruled alone. Even if you dislike the nobles, you have to win them over.”

“……”

“It’s hard for me too, staying here in the palace. I can’t just dismiss everyone like servants.”

“But… but…”

Franz lowered his head, unable to find an answer.
His drooping shoulders looked pitiful.

He was a smart boy.
He knew that sometimes you had to retreat to fight another day.
That’s why he couldn’t even throw a childish tantrum.

I want to protect Franz, but staying here won’t solve anything. Nikolai is keeping his distance… I’ll have to leave the palace and find another way.

I decided to resign as Franz’s tutor.

The decision was made, but my chest felt tight—
as though I had swallowed a cloud of fog.

After that, Nikolai never came to see me.
He didn’t meet me once.

Even when I asked through Kares, the only reply was that he was in seclusion.

Why did he kill Simon?
Why did he have to do it that way?

If I only knew the reason, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt so much.

Even if he said it was for my sake—
there was no need for anyone to die.

Above all, I wasn’t someone worth killing for.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t even think it necessary to explain.

“His Majesty won’t allow this.”

Franz made one last attempt to change my mind.

A sharp pain, like an electric shock, passed through my chest.