Chapter 002
…The male lead’s buff was excessively strong.
Or should I say, the villainess’s debuff was too powerful?
“Evgenia, acting this way won’t change anything. When you were weeping and making a scene begging for the engagement, and now you say breaking it off is even talkable?”
“No, but, Father! At that time, I didn’t know Raimund was such a crazy B***ard!”
“How dare a Duchess-to-be utter such vulgar words!”
“…I didn’t know he was such a deranged fellow!”
This couldn’t be happening.
Seriously, who uses their own father’s card first like that?
That crazy B***ard Raimund, after fleeing with blood dripping from his head, had already rushed to Father and poured out the entire story, leaving out his own fault and framing it as if I was merely acting out of jealousy over a trivial matter!
“Father, I’ve truly come to my senses. I’ve realized and repented for everything I’ve done until now!”
“You are saying the exact same thing as you did three years ago. Did you rip up Miss Ael’s dress the next day?”
“…This time it’s truly different, Father!”
Despite Evgenia’s voice dripping with injustice, her father remained unmoved.
Sighing briefly, her father spoke in a serious tone.
“Evgenia Rose Martyre.”
“…”
“Raimund Larsen’s ‘Name’ has already manifested on your body, and everyone knows that fact.”
“…”
“Do you honestly think a break-off is possible in that situation?”
She couldn’t think of any argument to rebut or any basis to deny.
That was because the weight of the ‘Name’ in this Empire was that heavy.
With the engagement between the only two Ducal Houses linked to the Name, breaking off the engagement, as her father said, was virtually impossible.
‘But if we don’t break off the engagement, your only daughter will die!’
As she looked at her father with those thoughts in mind, her father’s expression also grew more serious.
“Do you know what the sole weakness of our Empire is, Evgenia?”
“Pardon? Um, I don’t quite know…”
“You must have learned the history of the First Emperor. Then, what about the First Empress?”
“Hmm… That is, the First Emperor’s first love?”
“…Yes. His first love, and his sister-in-law.”
Evgenia’s eyes widened at the unimaginable story.
In the classes she had taken lightly as general knowledge, that part was only glossed over as them merely being close.
“He raised a rebellion to obtain the Empress, and the justification for that rebellion was the Emperor’s ‘Name’ that manifested on the Empress’s body. It seems they didn’t teach this at the Academy.”
“No, not at all… Just that, the two were destined to be, and so on…”
“For the First Emperor’s rebellion to be justified, the ‘Name’ had to possess the highest value. Neither law nor human emotion could be prioritized over it.”
Her father, who watched the speechless Evgenia, concluded.
“To deny the Name is tantamount to denying the Imperial Family, and furthermore, the current Empire. Evgenia, are you prepared to commit such an act merely with the phrase, ‘I don’t love him anymore’?”
“…”
Evgenia’s face inevitably darkened as she tightly sealed her lips.
The Empire’s hidden history was shocking, but she was more frustrated by the fact that she couldn’t remove the obstacles in her path.
‘It’s crazy to pick a fight with the Imperial Family just to break off an engagement. But Raimund is also a truly crazy bastard…’
Her father, who silently watched her, sighed deeply.
“Huu… Fine, Miss Ael, was it? Since he is going to persuade that lady nicely, what you worry about won’t happen. So don’t be stubborn any longer.”
“No, Father, I wasn’t asking for that…!”
“You may leave.”
“Father!”
Her father waved his hand as if he didn’t want to hear any more.
There was no way to explain to her father, who had firmly blocked his ears.
Evgenia bit her lips briefly, nodded her head, and turned to leave.
Her father’s long sigh followed her from behind.
* * *
“Anna.”
“Yes, my Lady. Please tell me.”
“What would be a very quiet and perfect way to break off the engagement?”
“…Ah, my Lady?”
Evgenia shook her fingers, which were glistening with applied oil, and tilted her head.
“How can I possibly marry a man who cheats before the engagement ceremony and doesn’t even try to hide it? Don’t you think so, Anna?”
“…That, well…”
“Both families say it’s not an issue, and the culprit himself is shamelessly talking about mistresses and whatnot… Huu. How utterly blind was my past self?”
The longer Evgenia’s lament grew, the more Anna trembled.
Anna carefully set down the oil bottle and deeply bowed her head.
It was a very wise reaction, not to rashly interfere in the love affairs of her superiors.
Evgenia, who was trembling down to her shoulders, ground her teeth and spat out.
“He’s having a love story for the ages right now. I know that. And I fully respect it.”
“My La-dy…”
“But why is he so desperate to include me in his love story for the ages, is my point!”
CRASH!
Her escalating anger finally surged to the top of her head.
She was willing to step aside so they could love happily, but she didn’t understand why he was being so clingy.
Raimund was even sending her letters, which he had never done in his entire life.
She carelessly shook the letter paper containing three or four short sentences.
The oil on her hand slowly began to spread across the letter paper.
“My Lady, you’ll ruin the letter!”
“I don’t care. Good heavens, do you know what’s written here? He tells me not to be childish and to emulate Stella. Saying she’s a virtuous woman who knows how to accept the position of a mistress with humility!”
“…”
“No matter how much I think about it, this won’t work. I will overturn this engagement. No matter what it takes…”
Evgenia’s eyes, muttering sinisterly, darkened.
The original story was filled with Raimund and Stella’s cursed love story, but there was useful information interspersed throughout.
For example…
“Martyre.”
“Ray, I love you, my Raimund… My only…”
“Severely broken, indeed. A sacred Name would be a luxury for a woman like this.”
No one stopped the mysterious man who naturally walked into the prison cell.
The man, smiling mockingly, placed his hand over the dust-covered Evgenia’s collarbone.
He gripped it with enough force to crush her clavicle, and she screamed, writhing.
“Aaaaargh! Raimuuuuund!”
“Noisy.”
As the man muttered emotionlessly, a faint light emanated from beneath his palm.
At that moment, a gasping sound escaped Evgenia’s mouth.
It was because of the excruciating pain that wracked her entire body, making it impossible to even scream.
On her collarbone, where her precious Name had been etched, no light was visible anymore.
Instead, there was only an ugly scar, just like Evgenia’s current plight.
In the original story, the despair and pain Evgenia experienced were described in great detail.
They were especially meticulous about the moment her ‘Name,’ which she cherished more than her own life, was erased.
After that moment, the now deranged Evgenia starves to death, only mumbling Raimund’s name, but that wasn’t what was important right now.
It was that man.
The secret character who had the power to erase the Name.
If she could find him and have the Name erased?
‘Immediate break-off is possible! Of all things, the Name is gone!’
There would be no dispute with the Imperial Family either.
As long as they revered the Name as sacred, if she went with an innocent face and said, ‘Perhaps the gods knew I didn’t love him anymore and removed it? Hehe,’ it would be quite plausible.
Since Evgenia didn’t exactly have a smart reputation anyway…
Ahem, in any case.
‘The problem is how to meet that man.’
Fortunately, she had a rough idea of the secret man’s identity.
‘Knox. I have to find that man.’
The man who rules the Empire’s darkest corners and Stella’s helper.
He would often deflect, saying that helping Stella was just for fun…
‘Considering he specifically sought out the imprisoned Evgenia and even erased her Name, there’s clearly something going on with that man.’
It was mentioned later that erasing the Name put a heavy burden on the possessor’s body.
‘Three years of lifespan per character… That bastard Raimund, even his name is too long, absolutely useless!’
But wouldn’t it be better for her mental health to live extravagantly as a wealthy Duchess’s daughter with a terminal illness before passing away, rather than starving to death imprisoned in a dungeon?
Since the Name would be erased either way, it might be better to seek him out herself and ask him to erase it in advance.
…The problem is whether that man would kindly accept Evgenia’s offer.
‘He must be highly positioned or exceptionally capable to be able to go down to the Imperial Prison and lay a hand on a criminal. He either reveres the Name, or despises Evgenia…’
Doesn’t that mean she has almost nothing of value to offer in trade?
‘No, no. Have hope, Evgenia Rose Martyre! If you don’t have something, you can create even small things to trade!’
To do that, she needed a little more, minute and detailed information about that man.
Evgenia gently curved her golden eyes and asked.
“Anna, didn’t you say your father works as a mercenary?”
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Notes:
1. Bard (미친 XX / michin XX): A censored placeholder used in the Korean text for a severe insult, translated here as a censored equivalent to maintain the character’s fierce tone.
