Chapter 22
Rihanna slowly recalled the memories from a few months ago.
First, she had seen the Emperor trying to kill a child at the Crow’s Nest. When she stopped him, he pointed a sword at her without hesitation. Because of that, she couldn’t even browse the goods she had wanted and was kicked out of the Crow’s Nest.
The next day, she got involved in someone else’s business at the market without knowing who they really were. That man hid his identity and even ate with her. When she recognized him by his sword, he had the nerve to ask what the problem was—as if it was her fault.
‘…What part of that was a misunderstanding?’
She was shocked for a moment when he unexpectedly apologized, but the bad feeling came rushing back when she remembered how the Emperor had hidden his identity before.
It made her feel even worse when she thought about how the Crow’s Nest hadn’t opened since then.
‘Tenfo Forge only sells their items through the Crow’s Nest.’
Rihanna’s expression hardened gradually. Naturally, the man sitting across from her, Ianhardt, saw it all.
‘…Seems like I’ve really made her hate me.’
Ianhardt noticed Rihanna’s mood was sinking fast. He stopped tapping the table with his fingers and spoke up.
“The one I tried to kill back then wasn’t a child. That’s the first misunderstanding you have.”
“…That didn’t look like a misunderstanding to anyone.”
The one who had cried and begged for their life had clearly looked like a child, not even a teenager.
If it had been a magical disguise, Rihanna would’ve noticed. And under that kind of pressure, magic usually breaks on its own.
Ignoring her skeptical tone, Ianhardt continued.
“Have you ever heard of the name ‘Black Vine Sect’?”
“…Black Vine Sect.”
As she repeated the words Ianhardt had just said, old memories of two children suddenly surfaced in her mind.
“I-I’ll definitely get revenge…!”
“Revenge is fine, but you need to survive first.”
“But… but…”
“Lady Rihanna, Roy and I have someone we need to take revenge on. We’re going to kill those bastards.”
“Haa… and who exactly are those bastards? Even if you want revenge, you know you’re too weak to do anything right now.”
“…The Black Vine Sect.”
“Black Vine Sect?”
“They said the ones who killed Roy’s and my families were the Black Vine Sect.”
Black Vine Sect. That was definitely the name of the group that had killed Chelsea and Roy’s families.
After hearing that name from them in the past, Rihanna had hired an information guild she knew, but they couldn’t find anything useful.
She’d still been looking into them from different angles, but hadn’t gotten any results.
And now, that name appeared here.
“Judging by your reaction, looks like the princess knows about them too.”
“…Well, I don’t know much, but I do know they’re bastards.”
“Haha, ‘bastards,’ huh? Can’t argue with that.”
Ianhardt chuckled at Rihanna’s vague answer, then continued, a smirk forming on his lips.
“Should I give you some more information for the princess’s sake?”
“You’re… giving me information?”
“Yeah. You only know their name, right?”
For some reason, the way he said it rubbed her the wrong way—but it was true.
Rihanna nodded calmly. How she felt about the Emperor and what she did with useful information were separate matters.
“The Black Vine Sect is a dark guild. They’ve only been around for less than ten years, but they’ll do anything for money. Stealing information, assassinations, wiping out entire families… anything.”
“…If they can wipe out families, that means they’re quite skilled.”
“Exactly. They only accept carefully chosen requests, but once they do, they always complete the job—perfectly.”
‘Perfectly’ here meant leaving behind no traces and succeeding without a flaw.
“…If they’re that good, why hasn’t more been known about them? Even if they’re a dark guild, it’s strange that no information is available.”
To that, the Emperor smiled slyly.
“That’s their weapon. They completely hide their identities and only show up to those who need them. Erasing all evidence is their rule.”
“Then…”
“That’s all the information I’ll give. Shall we return to the original topic now?”
The Emperor ended the conversation just before the part she was most curious about. Rihanna wanted to hear more for Chelsea and Roy’s sake, but she understood the order of things.
“…Right. We were talking about how I misunderstood you?”
The Emperor lazily nodded. Then he corrected her misunderstanding.
“The person who looked like a child was an assassin sent by the Black Vine Sect. It wasn’t magic. So, I understand why you misunderstood.”
“An assassin…?”
“Yeah, an assassin. Now do you believe I wasn’t trying to kill an innocent child? Just because someone looks like a kid doesn’t mean I can hand over my life.”
His playful words forced Rihanna to accept it.
As much as she hated to admit it, the Emperor’s explanation made sense.
“Then was it also a misunderstanding when you suddenly accused me of being an accomplice and threw a dagger at me? You even left a mark on my neck.”
“I’ll apologize for that. A skilled fighter like you suddenly showing up—it made sense to think you were working with them.”
Even after her sharp words, the Emperor still smiled and apologized sincerely.
If she kept being hostile after that, it would just look petty.
“…Well, I didn’t understand the situation either. I’ll accept your apology.”
Kihoohng—
As Rihanna sighed and accepted the apology, Kkamangi, who had been lazily wagging his tail, let out a strange sound.
Hyoo-hyung—kkung.
It sounded like he was holding back laughter—or maybe showing satisfaction.
Rihanna glanced down at Kkamangi with a slightly bitter expression, then looked back at the Emperor.
“If I’ve cleared my first misunderstanding, then I guess there’s a second one?”
“There is.”
“What’s the second misunderstanding?”
…I really hope this is the last one.
Rihanna muttered under her breath, and the Emperor let out a bright laugh.
The usual tension in his expression was gone. With that refreshing smile, he almost looked like a young boy.
“You really are interesting.”
Of course, Rihanna couldn’t agree with even a single word he said.
She looked at him with disbelief. No, he definitely wasn’t normal—just a crazy man.
Fortunately, he stopped laughing before her patience ran out.
“Meeting you at that restaurant was truly a coincidence. I did recognize you and asked to share a table, but I didn’t follow you there with a purpose.”
Rihanna’s eyes narrowed. What were the chances of them going to the same restaurant in such a big place like Benpool?
Besides, they had seen each other once before that—at the market with the scammer merchant. Rihanna didn’t recognize him back then, but who knew if he did?
The Emperor, facing Rihanna’s suspicious gaze, simply shrugged.
“Princess, sometimes life gives you ridiculous coincidences.”
In the end, Rihanna had no choice but to nod. She had already accepted his apology. Arguing further was just tiring.
Her nod seemed to signal the tension between them easing ever so slightly.
The sharp edge she had kept up finally dulled a little.
“So, why did you suddenly feel like apologizing? You didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that yesterday.”
Rihanna asked as she absentmindedly petted Kkamangi, her voice relaxed.
Objectively, no matter what happened between them in the past, there was no real reason for the Emperor to apologize.
He ruled more than half the continent, and from what she’d heard, he didn’t have a kind personality either.
To that innocent and curious question, Ianhardt tilted his head slightly and spoke with sincerity.
“Because I quite like you, Princess. I’d like for us to get along.”
Rihanna’s hand froze.
Did she just hear something she wasn’t supposed to?
“Get… along?”
You and me? Be friends?
Her tone made that disbelief perfectly clear.
The Emperor just laughed again.
