Chapter 8
In her past life, the news that Ariella had been locked in the tower didn’t reach Forenze until three years later.
The fact that Freddy came looking for her only then was proof enough.
Her father might have been a rigid man, but if he were told she was destined to be imprisoned in a tower, he would surely change his mind.
The real problem was the Emperor.
The annulment of her marriage had to be completed within three years.
Once that time had passed, the web of interests binding their families together would become so tangled that no one could undo it, no matter what happened.
“I’ll prove my worth as quickly as possible.”
If Ariella became indispensable to the Crown Prince, the Emperor himself would tear her away from Dmitri.
The irony of it all was almost laughable.
“Within three years, I’ll establish myself as someone His Highness cannot do without.
Someone so valuable it would be a waste to send me away.
Then His Majesty will have no choice but to approve the annulment of our marriage.”
His eyes tightened, filled with emotions she could not name.
Even in the strange moment where her heart seemed to beat in her head, his beauty struck her with startling clarity. Ariella blinked slowly.
“So, for now… just say you like me.”
“And why would I need to go that far?”
Her jaw clenched so tightly she could almost hear her teeth grind.
Truly, this boy had a talent for making every word sound unbearable.
“Because I don’t want to be locked in a tower.”
“Even if that happened, I could soon.”
“No.
I can’t wait there.
I won’t.
Even if it kills me, I’ll never enter that tower. Never.
It’s horrifying.”
Dmitri’s brow furrowed, then he let out a long sigh.
It struck her as strange that one could still read traces of emotion on this young tyrant’s face.
Even if it was only annoyance and displeasure.
“And promise me one more thing.”
“What?”
“If all goes well and we part ways safely, then five years from now, you must send me back to my homeland.
No matter what happens, you must return me safely.”
Me… and my country.
“…Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why wait five years before returning?”
Why?
Because five years from now, I need to see with my own eyes whether you’ve become the madman I once knew.
But how could she ever say that?
For the story to make sense, she needed to claim she’d leave as soon as their business was done.
Her lips parted, but no excuse came to mind.
Nothing.
Dmitri shook his head.
“Whatever the reason, I can’t allow it.
The moment our marriage is annulled, you’ll return to your homeland.”
“No!”
So I’m supposed to just stand by and watch you turn my country into a wasteland?
“Then why not?”
His eyes bore into her, unrelenting, like a predator ready to tear her throat out if she dared to speak nonsense.
“The truth is… it’s because I…”
Think, think.
Some excuse, anything.
As Ariella hesitated, Dmitri leaned in.
His scent rushed over her, dizzying her senses.
His lips hovered dangerously close to her ear, enough to make her mind go blank.
“Why?
Do you admire me the way His Majesty does?”
Ariella squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again only to meet Grey’s gaze over Dmitri’s shoulder.
The boy tilted his head, ears perked, as though enjoying the spectacle.
The sight jolted Ariella back to herself.
“Yes!
Exactly!”
He laughed, incredulous, as though she’d told the most ridiculous joke.
Ariella pressed one finger against his chest, trying to push him away, but he didn’t budge.
His eyes only narrowed, silently daring her to keep talking.
“As you know, the Trifina Empire is the envy of the entire continent.
And of all its wonders, the Crown Prince is the subject of the greatest rumours.”
That much wasn’t a lie.
Dmitri’s beauty was already legendary, praised far and wide.
Even ten years ago, Ariella herself had eagerly anticipated meeting him.
“In truth, Your Highness knows better than anyone how attractive you are.
Someone as plain as me is bound to be blindly drawn to such beauty.”
“Utter nonsense.”
Of course, she hadn’t meant for him to believe it.
She just needed a halfway plausible excuse.
Though, admittedly, it was hardly convincing.
Suddenly, Dmitri closed the distance, pressing her against the door with a sharp thud.
“It’s so pathetic I can’t even laugh.”
His lips hovered a breath away as he mocked her.
Yet his blazing eyes were not amused they were furious.
“And what of that unwavering devotion you swore to His Majesty?
Where has it gone?”
“Is loyalty the same thing as love?”
Ariella lifted her chin defiantly, though her ears burned red with embarrassment.
Thank the fading daylight that masked her blush.
“So what then?
Did you fall for me at first sight?”
“You’re saying all the things I was supposed to say.”
She wriggled in his hold, trying to free herself.
Just as she managed to slip away, his hand caught her shoulder, pulling her back.
She clung to his arm instinctively, as though a step away meant plunging into a cliff’s abyss.
“You claim you like me, yet also insist on helping me send you away?”
“If you like someone, you want to give them what they want.
I just want to be on your side, Your Highness.”
My side?
He rolled the words on his tongue as if he’d never heard them before.
“Then why five years?”
Gods, why was he so damn persistent?
“Because… well…”
“I’m not a fool like my father, easily swayed by flattery.
Don’t you dare give me some obvious lie.”
“Because in five years, I’ll be over twenty. An adult.”
“And?”
“By then, I’ll need to start a new life.
I can’t keep chasing after a hopeless crush forever.”
“And you expect me to believe that nonsense?”
His pitch-black eyes scanned her face, restless, wandering over her forehead, brows, cheekbones, and lips.
But she looked only at his eyes—bottomless, dark, and threatening to pull her in whole.
Overwhelmed, she shut her eyes tight, fleeing from emotions she couldn’t begin to name.
“Please, just let me go…”
“You.
Are you really on my side?”
Her every movement froze, even the trembling grip of her fingers clutching his arm.
Sometimes there are moments unanticipated, unforeseen where you collide with feelings you never meant to face.
Time slowed between them, as though the outside world had slipped away.
He wasn’t doing anything, and yet… why did her heart sway like this?
It felt like she’d glimpsed the boy behind the tyrant’s mask someone still unfinished, still raw.
What was it he was searching for in her just now?
The realisation struck her like ice water: she was wondering about his heart.
Horrified, she shoved him away with all her strength.
This time, he let her go.
He looked down at the arm she’d pushed aside.
“Believe me or not, it doesn’t matter.
I am on your side, Your Highness.
Because our goals are the same.”
“How could our goals possibly be the same?”
“Of course they are.
I want our marriage annulled within three years.
And I want to return to my family in five.
And you—you want to be rid of me, to send me away.”
“…”
“My feelings for you aren’t some trivial affection.
I don’t expect petty love in return.”
“Then what is it you want?”
“I’ll make you the greatest sovereign this Empire has ever known.”
Dmitri let out a short, incredulous laugh, as if the claim was too absurd to even mock properly.
Seizing the chance, Ariella broke free entirely, darting to the window where he had been sitting moments ago.
She stretched out her arms toward the sky, where the sunset blazed its final glory.
“Oh, radiant sun that lights this Empire, grant me the honour of standing beside Your Highness in your glory.”
The fiery light reached almost to his feet.
Ariella fixed her gaze on it, while between them the tension swelled like a tide about to spill over.
She had only five years.
Five years to crush the budding tyrant within him and shape him into a just ruler.
If that seed of tyranny refused to die, then better he lose the throne altogether.
The world she had returned to was not what she had once believed.
But one truth remained unchanged Forenze’s fate now rested in her hands.
Even if this conversation had shattered everything she thought she’d built until now.
“Ariella.”
Her body stiffened at the sudden sound of her name.
Never in her life had she imagined hearing it on Dmitri’s lips.
It felt… uncomfortably strange.
She had never even considered that he might know her name.
“What exactly are you scheming?”
Dmitri pressed his hand to his brow, as though her very existence gave him a headache.
The suffocating silence filled the office.
“No wonder His Majesty let himself be deceived by your s
ilver tongue.”
“…”
“But as for me I no longer see the need to speak with you.”
The door swung open again.
This time, Ariella obeyed quietly, bowing before stepping out.
But just as she crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut with a heavy thud.
A chill swept across the back of her neck like a blade.
