Episode 15
The Male Lead, Christopher Basilion
Noah paced nervously around his room.
His fingertips were a mess from biting them. The thunder outside and the gloomy sky made him even more irritated.
Soon, one of his close aides came in with news. After listening quietly, Noah suddenly exploded, shouting in anger.
“A week ago, you said she was dead!”
“The assassin we hired… he’s unpredictable. They say the Dark Guild replaced him with someone else at the last minute…”
“Unbelievable. You hired that kind of person for this job?”
“He’s said to be the best in the region, Your Highness, so…”
Before the servant could finish, Noah slammed his fist on the table.
“And now you tell me we’ve lost contact with him?!”
His eyes turned red with rage.
“As if Christopher hasn’t already been harassing me for what happened seven years ago! If he finds out I was behind this assassination attempt, we’ll be driven out of the kingdom for good.”
Christopher Basilion was a man who valued justice and principles above all else.
If he learned the truth, he wouldn’t forgive Noah, not even as his brother.
Noah gritted his teeth.
“Before that damned young duke catches wind of this, we have to bury it. You understand what I mean?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The servant bowed deeply.
If only the poison had worked seven years ago, none of this would be happening. But Nicholas Mermandi — that cunning young duke — had been careful ever since, hiding away like a bird in its nest whenever danger loomed.
Once they missed their prey, there was no second chance.
***
The royal knights took me south — the opposite direction of the duke’s lands.
After a couple of days, we reached a riverside village, but we didn’t stop there.
If we kept going, we’d soon reach Ardel, the region where the male lead had fought against the barbarians. It was fertile land that even neighboring countries had coveted.
‘Don’t tell me they’re taking me to the battlefield?’
By the third day, the snow began to melt, and bare ground showed through. The knights led me to a small cabin built beside a lake. Two horses were tied out front — it looked like a temporary hideout.
“We’ve arrived.”
The knight in blue helped me down from the horse, tugging on the rope that bound my wrists.
“I’ll go first. Follow slowly, please.”
I nodded. Another knight, with brown hair, sighed and muttered,
“Wouldn’t it be better to give her a stick or something? She’s blind, isn’t she?”
He broke off a branch from a nearby hawthorn tree and handed it to me. I accepted it awkwardly.
I wanted to thank him — but then I remembered the gag in my mouth. After two days of it, my jaw ached terribly.
I groaned quietly as the blue knight guided me up the steps to the cabin.
He knocked. From inside, a man’s angry voice thundered,
“I said I’d stain my own hands for you!”
I flinched in surprise. The knight gave me a helpless look. Then, footsteps approached, and the door opened.
“Your Highness.”
A man with radiant golden hair — bright as the sun — stood there with an intimidating presence. The moment I saw his amber eyes, I knew who he was.
The male lead.
A line from the novel flashed through my mind:
The first prince, with eyes full of sorrow, was gifted in both martial arts and academics. He was the most handsome man in the kingdom and skilled in music and song. The only flaw in him was his twisted nature and his inability to love.
Christopher Basilion — the male lead — was obsessed with bloodlines.
Despite being royal himself, he worshiped the pure-blooded Basilion family and mimicked everything about them: their etiquette, their language, their white clothing, even their tea. But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t erase the foreign blood of his mother. That conflict warped his personality.
He had a sharp beauty, with moles beneath his eyes and on his cheek that gave him a strangely alluring air. The book hadn’t exaggerated his looks.
Christopher spoke coldly,
“You’re late, Friedkin.”
The knight pushed me forward.
“We’ve brought Lady Natania of House Mermandi from Duren.”
His amber eyes scanned me slowly from head to toe.
Should I be relieved it’s not the second prince?
But the hatred and disgust in his gaze made my stomach twist. This wouldn’t be easy.
“This way.”
Before the knight could even finish speaking, Christopher grabbed the rope himself and pulled me inside.
Another man was already in the cabin — dark blond hair, tense expression. He looked a lot like Christopher.
When Christopher pointed at me, the man’s eyes widened.
“Look closely. See the result of what you’ve done.”
The man’s face went pale.
“Lady Mermandi? Why is she here…?”
His dirty-blond hair gave him away —
Noah Basilion, the second prince. Both brothers, together in one place. Great.
Just great!
Noah looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
Christopher simply stared at him, waiting.
Finally, Noah bit his lip and spoke desperately,
“Everything I did was for you, Brother. You have to understand that.”
Christopher’s expression darkened.
Standing between them, I had no idea what was going on — but the tension was suffocating. I couldn’t stand it anymore and coughed loudly.
That seemed to snap Christopher out of it. He finally untied the gag from my mouth.
Finally, I can breathe.
I inhaled deeply and then shouted with all my strength,
“I don’t want to be a princess! Not even a little bit!”
Silence fell over the room.
Both princes turned to stare at me in shock.
