IWPU 18

Chapter 18

His face slowly approached mine. I tried to pull my head back from how close he’d gotten, but I couldn’t move, caught in the firm grip of his hand.

“Love me, Bionne.”

His face came even closer. I could feel the cool and sweet scent of spearmint and his light breath on my skin.

The carriage door closed, and shortly after, it began to move. I slowly unclenched my fist. A thin line of red blood seeped from where my fingernails had dug into my palm.

Just before his lips could touch mine, I barely managed to dodge the kiss. As if he had never intended to kiss me in the first place, he gently released my face from his grasp.

I raised my hand to slap his cheek, but it was caught immediately. He brought my captured hand to his lips. Even while doing all that, his golden eyes never once left my face.

“When prey runs, it is a hunter’s instinct to pursue. And I am quite the skilled hunter. So it’s best if you don’t provoke me… my Bii.”

It was a clear warning.

The crown prince I knew was always polite and composed. There was always a gentle smile on his lips and a soft, respectful tone in his voice. He was never the kind of man who exuded danger like he did today. The man I faced today was different from how he treated me back then, or even how he treated the woman he loved. He felt like an entirely different person.

Before I knew it, the carriage stopped in front of the mansion.

I sat there for a while, unable to think of getting out. I was confused and flustered. I had already expected he wouldn’t easily accept my request to break off the engagement. After all, he hadn’t met her yet, and he still needed the conditions I offered.

“If he had agreed too easily, that would’ve been more surprising.”

I thought he would be upset—maybe even angry. But I never imagined he’d act like this. Today, he was like a predator, eyeing his prey.

“Prey, huh…”

I almost laughed. Today, I had been reduced to mere prey in front of him. Like a herbivore frozen before its natural enemy, I was completely overwhelmed.

“So humiliating.”

It was frustrating that I hadn’t landed a punch on that overly handsome face. If my hand had been stopped, I should’ve kicked him instead. I’d never felt so disappointed in my slow reflexes.

Up until now, I hadn’t actively tried to change my future. I’d mostly been a bystander, as if watching a play unfold. I didn’t want to struggle just to change what lay ahead. I hoped everything would flow naturally, without major upheaval. I didn’t want to get tangled in trouble for trying to change the future.

My plan was simple: once he met her and fell in love, I would step aside, give up my place, and go find a life of my own. Whether I found a sweet love that lasted a lifetime, or a companion like a friend to grow old with peacefully, either would be fine. As long as I didn’t love him, it was all possible.

But today, he lit a fire under the competitiveness I had buried inside. I no longer wanted to just sit quietly like before. Hunters weren’t the only ones who could hunt.

“I’ll make sure he learns that even a hunter can become prey.”

I flung the carriage door open and stepped out. The coachman standing near the door jumped in surprise. Without hesitation, I strode into the mansion.

“You’re back, my lady?”

As I entered the main building, Mari hurried up to take my coat. She looked entirely different from the timid girl she used to be.

Four years ago, most of the Eliante estate’s staff had been replaced. At the center of that change was the nanny who had raised me.

The nanny had always looked displeased whenever she saw Lant. She believed the Marchioness had taken her life because of him. Knowing how she felt, I never asked her to treat Lant kindly. I had simply let her continue ignoring him.

After the Marchioness’s death, the nanny stayed close to me at all times. She managed my every move and interfered constantly. I tolerated it, knowing it stemmed from the loneliness of losing the Marchioness. Though she wasn’t particularly gentle in nature, she wasn’t a bad person. She had raised me when my own parents neglected me, and she stayed by my side up until I was dethroned and confined as a fallen empress.

“I had intended to take her with me if possible…”

That day had been strange. I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep. It was still dark outside, with a long time until sunrise. With nothing to do and feeling bored, I decided to go see Lant.

His room had been moved from the annex to the main building on my orders. Though it was still far from my room thanks to the nanny’s interference, it was at least in the same building now. It was late, and I knew he’d be asleep, but I didn’t mind just seeing him like that.

I tiptoed down the hallway, careful not to alert the nanny—she hated when I saw Lant.

She always tried to stop me, making excuses whenever I approached his room. Because of her, I hadn’t seen him for a while. I was excited, looking forward to seeing my puppy again.

But my excitement turned to horror in an instant. My sweet, gentle Lant was surrounded by a few maids and servants, being tormented. They hurled verbal abuse and kept disturbing him so he couldn’t sleep. There was no physical violence, but the psychological abuse was far worse.

I flipped the house upside down. I screamed and woke everyone up. Even the butler and the marquis came running. The maids and servants who had tormented Lant knelt on the floor, trembling. They said they had only followed orders—and named my nanny as the one who had given them.

She was shameless. She turned her fury on me.

“My lady, how could you do this to me?”

“Don’t you know why the madam died?!”

She screamed, glaring at Lant like she wanted to devour him. Lant couldn’t even cry—he just trembled silently. I took his hand.

“Why would you protect such a worthless bastard child who deserves to be torn apart?!”

Her bloodshot eyes glared at me with resentment.

Even then, she insisted to me that Lant had killed the Marchioness, that I’d become a discarded kite once he became the heir, that the woman who bore him might even return as a second wife. The poison she whispered into my ears made me deaf and blind.

Back then, I hated and resented Lant without knowing anything about him. I foolishly thought the more I tormented him, the safer my position would be.

I had hoped the nanny would stop on her own. I thought if I didn’t act directly, she wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him. After all, Lant was of noble blood, regardless of who his mother was—he wasn’t someone mere servants could touch. But I had been naïve. She crossed the line.

The Marquis, who had always ignored household affairs, stepped in. All the problems that had been quietly festering since the Marchioness’s death were suddenly exposed. Embezzling funds for personal use was just the start. The marquis’s judgment was swift and harsh. Many servants were fired or thrown in jail.

“One day, you’ll regret what you did today, my lady.”

That was what the nanny said before she left. I couldn’t bear to send her to prison. Though the marquis disapproved, he honored my request. That’s how she left the estate.

“My lady?”

Mari called to me as I stood silently. Most of the maids had been dismissed that day, and the remaining few had been retrained. Mari was one of them.

“Where’s Lant?”

“He’s in the training yard. Should I call for him?”

“No. I’ll go.”

I stopped Mari and headed to the training yard.

There, Lant was being taught swordsmanship. His instructor, once one of the top ten knights in the Empire, had retired but returned when Lant turned ten at the marquis’s request.

Back then, I didn’t even know who Lant’s teacher was—I had been too focused on making his life difficult to care.

Lant swung his sword as his teacher directed. His frowning face showed it wasn’t going well. I stood back quietly, not wanting to interrupt.

He swung his sword, sweat pouring down. The knight watched silently but corrected him immediately when needed. I didn’t know much about swordsmanship, but for his age, he seemed quite skilled. I watched them with pride.

Eventually, Lant lowered his sword and bowed neatly to his teacher. The teacher gave a nod, and Lant immediately turned to me.

“Sis!”

He ran toward me with a bright smile, like a puppy wagging its tail at its owner. I raised one hand to stop him.

Lant froze mid-run, tilting his head in confusion.

“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Tilt.”

“Haha, it’s my duty. Then I’ll take my leave, my lady.”

Sir Tilt chuckled as he looked at his frozen student, clearly used to this scene. He left the training yard.

I approached the now-watchful Lant. At twelve, he was already taller than most his age—he could easily be mistaken for seventeen or eighteen. Compared to my petite frame, he was a head taller.

I beckoned him with my finger.

Lant obediently lowered his head.

I cupped his cheeks in both hands and stretched them wide. Just like the first day I met him, his cheeks were soft and cool, like mochi.

“I told you not to call me sis, didn’t I?”