While Liana and the furball were enjoying their peaceful time together…
In the heart of the Erkal Empire, a nation that had conquered most of the vast continent, stood the imperial palace—resplendent and thriving, the most splendid within the powerful empire.
And curiously, right in the very center of this grand palace, beside the Emperor’s quarters, was a body of water too large to be called a pond, yet too small to be considered a lake…
It was something in-between—a peculiar pond.
The area surrounding it was landscaped daily by the continent’s top gardener, immaculate and meticulously maintained. The clear, unblemished water alone was enough to bring a sense of clarity to the mind.
But anyone who ventured closer and looked into the water would immediately notice something strange.
At first glance, it simply looked like part of a beautiful garden. But inside that large pond, not a single living creature existed.
Not a fish. Not even a strand of seaweed, an insect, or a single leaf fragment floated in the water.
‘…That thing gives me the creeps every time I see it.’
Bernian, the young duke known as the right hand of the current Emperor—the very man who had turned the Erkal Empire into the ruler of the continent—pulled his gaze away from the eerily quiet pond.
He circled it briefly, then walked toward the man he had come to find.
Ianheart Lu Belnerum.
The master of this unsettling pond and Bernian’s liege was seated on a chair laid out over the grass, staring into the pond with a face unreadable in thought.
Tap—tap.
The fingers that had been idly tapping the table paused as Bernian approached.
Though his expression was lazy and relaxed, the cold crimson eyes that turned toward Bernian were anything but.
They were eyes said to have been dyed red by the countless blood spilled by the Emperor’s hand—chilling and sharp.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“What is it?”
“…Your Majesty, I’m pretty sure I said I had something to discuss when you returned from the border.”
But Bernian, long used to his master, simply scolded him without hesitation.
He knew well that his liege was tolerant of those within his line.
“Did you now…”
“Yes, you did.”
“I must have forgotten. Go ahead, I’m listening now.”
Ianheart blinked slowly and gestured disinterestedly.
Seeing such lack of motivation, Bernian sighed.
It seemed that his master was once again in one of those moods.
“…Regardless, since things have come to this, we’ll need to come up with a solution quickly.”
Taking Ianheart’s mood into account, Bernian gave a short, concise explanation—just the essentials.
Lack of enthusiasm aside, Ianheart’s ability to handle matters was nearly equal to Bernian, who had graduated top of his class at the Imperial Academy at the youngest age on record. The problem was resolved quickly.
Once the discussion ended, Ianheart leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Boredom and ennui clung to his soul like tar, asserting their presence more strongly than ever.
The absence of the usually noisy companion who was often by his side only deepened the uncomfortable silence.
“…Still not back yet?”
At Bernian’s question, Ianheart furrowed his refined brows, recalling the divine beast that had disappeared a few days ago.
“When he returns, I’ll have to scold him thoroughly. I don’t know who he takes after to be so unruly…”
He had pampered the beast far too much—it had become completely self-willed.
‘Obviously, he takes after his master…’
Bernian wisely kept that thought to himself.
Leon—the divine beast in the form of a sleek black panther with golden eyes, as if molten gold had been poured into them.
Treated nearly like royalty in the empire, Leon was a troublemaker who had inherited only his master’s worst traits and would disappear without notice from time to time.
So when the Emperor returned alone from his inspection of the Death Forest’s border, it hadn’t been particularly surprising.
As Bernian sighed about his liege’s wandering tendencies, Ianheart absentmindedly tapped the armrest of his chair, struck by a vague sense of déjà vu.
“Now that I think about it, Leon was acting odd back then, too…”
The border they had just visited was near a city they had traveled to months ago—one adjacent to the Death Forest.
A few months ago.
With a disinterested face, Ianheart stood before a stall, pointing at a jewelry box Leon had begged him for.
“This one will do.”
“Ah, what excellent taste you have! Now, this jewelry box—let me tell you—it came all the way from the far Eastern Continent…”
The merchant eagerly launched into his sales pitch, practically spitting with enthusiasm. Ianheart frowned slightly—he disliked noisy people.
“The price?”
“…I’ll give you a deal! Just 1 gold and 10 silver!”
1 gold and 10 silver.
That was far too much for a box that, upon closer inspection, was cheaply finished despite its appealing appearance.
The monthly living expenses for a family of four commoners in the empire came to just under 1 gold.
In other words, this box was being sold for the equivalent of a full month’s survival for four people.
It was clearly a rip-off, but the merchant seemed to have judged Ianheart as a naive young noble who didn’t know the value of money.
And not without reason—this city at the top of the Ron region bordered both the Empire and the Northern Kingdom, hosting travelers from all three cultures. Naturally, there were many wealthy young nobles passing through.
The Death Forest was nearby—though still half a day’s ride away—but curiously, this area hadn’t suffered any monster attacks in centuries.
‘What to do…’
Ianheart thought for a moment, then decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.
He was about to pay and get it over with when—
“Excuse me.”
A clear voice called out from beside him.
Ianheart turned his head slowly toward the sound.
There stood a beautiful woman with deep brown wavy hair messily tied up.
“…Me?”
“No, not you. I meant you, sir.”
It wasn’t Ianheart she was addressing, but the merchant.
“Mister, just because someone doesn’t know the going rates doesn’t mean you can scam them like that.”
Scam. The word made Ianheart tilt his head slightly and glance between the woman and the merchant.
“What are you saying?! When did I ever try to scam anyone? This is outrageous!”
The middle-aged merchant flinched, then immediately put on a pitiful expression and protested loudly.
He acted so well, anyone watching might think the woman was bullying an innocent man.
“Haha, that’s funny. Fine, I’ll buy that jewelry box instead.”
“…You? Why?”
The merchant, still protesting his innocence, asked suspiciously.
She had just called him a scammer, and now she wanted to buy from him?
“I’ll buy it and then resell it at another shop here in the market. Since I bought it for 1 gold and 10 silver, I should get at least half back—say, 55 silver. Right?”
The merchant’s face soured.
Naturally.
That jewelry box wasn’t worth more than 10 silver, no matter how generously you priced it.
Even Ianheart would never have glanced at the thing if Leon hadn’t whined about wanting it.
“Hmm… but I think I saw the exact same one being sold for 5 silver at a nearby stall. Also from the Eastern Continent. Funny how they can sell it that cheap and still make a profit.”
“Th-this is absurd! If you’re not buying, then leave! Bah! Kids these days have no respect for their elders!”
The merchant snapped and shouted.
“Why don’t you try selling with some integrity? Keep this up and your neighboring vendors will start hating you too.”
The woman just shrugged and replied in a bored tone.
Then, with a glance at Ianheart, she turned and walked off.
“Dear customer… please ignore her. Everything she said was a lie! We only carry top-quality goods! You’ll regret missing this chance!”
Ianheart silently turned away from the merchant’s pleading eyes and groveling tone.
He would’ve bought it without a second thought had nothing happened—but now that it was clearly exposed as a scam, he had no reason to waste money on it.
<What a bad person! I really wanted that Eastern Continent item…>
Even Leon, watching from afar, seemed to have lost interest in the item.
Ianheart sighed and found himself staring in the direction the woman had disappeared—without even realizing it.
As Bernian left, Ianheart’s lips slowly curled up into a faint smile as he recalled the past.
“…That was kind of fun.”
Though he’d hidden his identity, Ianheart’s innate aura of authority was impossible to fully conceal. That day had been refreshingly new to him.
What followed the market incident had been even more interesting.
He hadn’t expected to run into that woman again at a restaurant with Kion.
It had been an unpredictable day, and the memory of it—recently rekindled thanks to Leon—still made him chuckle.
…Now that he thought about it, Leon had seemed to really like that woman too.
After returning from that trip, Leon had been unusually excited—pressuring him about when they’d visit the border again.
Just a few days ago, the moment they arrived at the border, Leon had wandered off on his own.
Well, he’d figure everything out once that troublemaker returned.
The boredom that had been clinging to Ianheart like a fog began to lift, replaced by a faint curiosity.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the true identity of the furball she had picked up, Liana was now discovering where the limits of her short temper truly lay.
