Episode 24
A burst of laughter echoed through the hallway.
“Wow! A beauty!”
“Ugh, you monkeys—don’t bother looking. You’re as ugly as can be.”
“I’ll be ugly today, too!”
The knights chattered excitedly as Awhin focused back on polishing the armor.
“Beautiful?” he thought. The word echoed in his mind as he recalled those fresh, new eyes—so unlike anything he’d seen. When he finally found the toolmaker he’d been searching for, she was more beautiful than he’d expected.
Her small, delicate face and precise features stood out. Most striking were her hands—tiny yet strong, with calluses from crafting tools. She had captured his attention from that first touch.
One knight suddenly pointed down the corridor.
“Hey, isn’t that her?”
They looked up to see a priest walking beside a woman in a deep blue dress. The priest stepped forward and announced her softly:
“This is Riheylin, the newly assigned priest.”
Awhin’s violet gaze flicked over the woman. Her sleek black hair was swept up, her cat-like eyes sharp and elegant, and her irises dark as a midnight lake.
“This is Riheylin,” the priest confirmed.
Riheylin smiled, her red lips curving gently.
* * *
Ryan woke up in the bed of Baroness Felix.
Ever since Deonis had broken the bones in his foot, Ryan had been furious. But there was no real way to get revenge—and the only way he could release his stress was through one thing: sleeping with another man’s woman.
“You’re awake, Your Highness? You must’ve had a bad dream. You were groaning all night.”
The woman, her soft brown hair falling over her thin shoulders, leaned toward him in her loose clothing.
“That bastard broke my leg.”
“You said it was your foot.”
“He broke the leg of the Imperial Crown Prince!”
“Yes… but it’s still just your foot…”
Baroness Felix realized she couldn’t reason with him and sat up from the bed.
“My husband will be back this afternoon. You’ll be leaving before then, right?”
“Who knows?”
“If not, I’ll assume you’re giving me a room in the palace.”
“How dare you aim so high? That room is for the most noble woman in the Empire.”
The future empress had to be flawless—someone no one could question.
“There’s more than one room in the palace, isn’t there?”
Her hint that she’d settle for being a concubine made Ryan jump up from the bed with nothing but a robe.
He had no plans to let any woman, aside from the empress, stay in the palace. Secret affairs were more exciting anyway, and he had no desire to keep a woman long-term.
“If you’re trying to kick me out with nonsense, congratulations. I’m leaving now.”
He threw on a robe over his bare body and left the mansion. After several days away, the imperial palace felt strange.
Ryan immediately summoned his aide. The aide didn’t even blink at the prince’s half-dressed state—he was used to it.
“You’ve returned, Your Highness. Should I bring in the priest?”
“There’s a priest here?”
“You ordered one to visit daily for your treatment. Today, a new priest came too.”
“No new priests unless they’re ranked high enough. Only the chief priest may enter the palace.”
“She’s a woman—and very beautiful, they say.”
Beauty meant nothing to Ryan. Every woman had beauty in her own way—and it was always more exciting when they belonged to someone else.
“You don’t even know your master’s tastes? Useless. Forget that. What about the thing I told you to look into? Why did that bastard Deonis come back all of a sudden”
“They said the monster hunt ended early.”
The aide’s voice was tense.
“And hunts have ended early before. Why was this time different?”
“… I apologize. I couldn’t find out.”
Ryan clenched his teeth.
“There must be at least one thing that changed.”
The aide, adjusting his thick glasses and flipping through equally thick papers, finally said,
“Now that you mention it, I heard he brought in a toolmaker to his estate.”
“And why are you only telling me now?”
“…You didn’t ask.”
“You should’ve said it anyway! From now on, tell me whether I ask or not.”
Ryan glared. He was clearly going to bring this mistake up again and again. The aide just nodded, looking exhausted.
“Why did he bring the toolmaker?”
“They said it’s to make tools for monster hunting.”
“Sounds plausible.”
Ryan nodded. He had seen a monster before—huge, dripping black goo, hideous beyond words. Swords were probably not enough to fight those things.
“So that’s why the temple had to send one too, I guess.”
“Is there a way to get the toolmaker sent back to the temple?”
Ryan would’ve loved for Deonis to just drop dead. Making monster hunting easier? Unacceptable.
The aide Read more papers.
“According to the department head’s report, the toolmaker didn’t seem very skilled. Poor performance records. Could barely copy existing tools. The head assumed the Duke would send them back eventually.”
“But they’re still there. Tell me about the toolmaker.”
“Name: Melody Riuud. She’s from the slums. Also—”
“Give it here.”
Ryan snatched the report and read Melody’s profile.
“From the slums, huh? Birds of a feather, I guess.”
Too lowborn to ever interest him. But that didn’t mean he’d let Deonis keep her.
“Are there toolmakers in the palace?”
“They usually receive tools made by the main temple.”
“So, we don’t have our own. How about creating a toolmaking division inside the palace?”
“You’d need His Majesty’s approval.”
Meeting the emperor wasn’t appealing. No matter what Ryan said, the emperor would never be pleased.
‘Useless fool.’
That’s how the Emperor saw Ryan. Compared to Deonis, Ryan had no real talent. He was named crown prince only because he was the emperor’s only legitimate son.
To the Emperor, Ryan had always been a disappointing heir. Their relationship was worse than strangers.
“I’ll just bring her to the prince’s palace. Toss her a room and pay her some money. Better than her working for the Duke.”
The aide hesitated.
“Taking in a commoner woman might cause rumors.”
“She’s a woman?”
“You might’ve seen her that day. Wasn’t there someone unfamiliar?”
One of Ryan’s few real talents was remembering faces. Surviving in the emperor’s court meant learning how to read people and quickly.
“I remember. Green hair.”
Somebody hurt Ryan~