Chapter 3.
“Hmm… I was told the glass greenhouse would be this way.”
I walked exactly as the attendant had instructed, but no matter how far I went, I couldn’t find it. I hadn’t expected to be stupid enough to get lost.
“I should’ve just said I’d wait in the drawing room…”
As soon as I got out of the carriage, the attendant informed me that the prince was in a meeting and asked if I wanted to go to the conference room. Of course, I said I’d wait. That would be the reasonable answer—if I were the usual Lilith.
My response had turned the attendant pale with worry. He seemed to think I was in a foul mood.
While I was trying to come up with a way to smooth things over, the perfect excuse popped into my head—“sightseeing the imperial palace.”
The Setrin Palace I was guided to was cozier than expected, but neat and beautiful. Once I managed to dismiss the knights who were trailing behind me and getting on my nerves, it became perfectly quiet and peaceful.
“So where is it, exactly?”
I had high hopes after hearing how beautiful Setrin’s glass greenhouse was, but I was starting to get annoyed now that I couldn’t find it.
Maybe it was the shoes. Maybe the dress was too heavy. Either way, I was reaching my limit. My stamina was running low, and I was really tempted to just give up.
But for some reason, that only made me more stubborn. Giving up now would make all the walking up to this point feel like a waste. Gritting my teeth, I forced my tired legs to move.
“Oh, is that it?”
After walking about five more minutes, I finally spotted a glass building in the distance. The greenhouse was so tall and massive that it instantly made up for the trouble of finding it.
When I opened the thick glass doors, a wave of hot air—not quite spring-like—washed over me. I carefully stepped inside, following a small path, and was immediately greeted by an explosion of flowers and trees.
‘This really is a fantasy world, huh.’
Small glowing orbs that caught the sunlight spiraled down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire greenhouse. Beneath them, tall flowering trees and dense shrubbery looked like something out of a painting.
There were also white marble angel statues, fountains gushing water, and vibrant flowers blooming along a black iron fence. Then, as my gaze dropped lower—
—there was a person lying on the ground.
…A person?
…A person?!
A man was lying motionless on the grass, like he was dead.
“Call 911—no! Wait, that’s not right!”
Out of reflex, I reached for nonexistent pants pockets and a nonexistent phone, only to be jolted back to reality. I had no idea how to handle this, but I forced myself to snap out of it and rushed over to the man.
“Hey! Wake up! Are you okay?!”
I shook his shoulder, but he didn’t respond. It didn’t even seem like he was breathing. When I grabbed his wrist to check for a pulse, his skin was so cold it barely felt human.
‘What do I do? Should I go get someone?’
I couldn’t just leave someone who might be dying all alone. I leaned in, ready to try CPR or something—anything—when suddenly…
His eyes snapped open, and we locked gazes.
‘…Huh.’
His eyes were an even deeper red than mine—almost blood-black—and full of surprise.
But it only lasted a second. His expression quickly turned into one of displeasure as he looked me over.
Then, something wrapped tightly around my ankle. In an instant, I was hoisted into the air. The man shrank away below me as the tops of the tall trees rushed closer.
I was hanging upside down. The world had flipped. Blood rushed to my head, and my eyeballs felt like they’d burst.
I flailed my arms, but nothing was within reach. When I looked down, the distant ground made my stomach churn.
‘If I fall, I’ll die.’
That thought alone made me dizzy. My vision spun, nausea surged, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I couldn’t even scream for help. I was suffocating. It felt like I’d just die like this.
Thankfully, the worst didn’t happen.
Perhaps realizing he had overreacted, the man gently lowered me onto the bushes. The moment my feet touched solid ground, I grabbed onto whatever was nearby in a panic.
I was terrified of being lifted again. My heart pounded so hard it might burst. As I let out the breath I’d been holding, tears pricked my eyes.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
My voice still trembled with fear. But as my heart calmed down, anger began to rise.
This was how you treat someone who was trying to help you?! I glared at the man, ready to demand an explanation.
He glared back with blazing red eyes, as if he wanted to kill me. His attitude pissed me off, so I stared right back, not backing down.
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue in irritation.
‘Did I just hear that right?’
Maybe I was so angry I imagined an apology?
I stared at him in disbelief, but he just gave me a “so what?” expression. I didn’t curse out loud, but I was cursing plenty on the inside.
Given his hostility, he clearly knew who I was. And since he wasn’t the least bit afraid of me, he definitely wasn’t a normal person.
I took a good look at him. Black hair. Crimson eyes like blood. Handsome, of course—most characters in these stories were—but his features were sharp, almost intimidating.
His white shirt had a yellow brooch on the collar that didn’t quite suit him.
The moment I noticed that detail, I realized I’d been an idiot for not recognizing him sooner.
“Calix?”
I called the name, half-hoping I was wrong. But his teeth grinding together confirmed it.
‘The crazy one wasn’t him—it was me.’
For the first time, I regretted not barging into the conference room when I arrived at the palace.
Calix Robrant. He was Lushael’s half-brother and the Empire’s first prince.
Most of the power had been in Lushael’s hands until now, but Calix was gradually building influence and making his presence known.
He was also a secondary male lead in the original novel.
Which meant… I’d just walked straight into the tiger’s den.
‘The important part is that he and Lilith didn’t get along.’
They had never gotten along, even as kids.
Lilith, in Calix’s past, had been a little devil—literally. Constantly picking fights, attacking his pride, even framing him to get him into trouble. No wonder they were still on bad terms now.
And now? He woke up to find his mortal enemy clinging to him? Anyone would want to kill themselves in that situation.
I should’ve run. Even if I wasn’t in the right mindset, I should’ve forced myself to escape.
‘So what now?’
There was something black and snake-like writhing in Calix’s shadow. A power given only to a chosen few—what they called an Estella.
His Estella wasn’t particularly powerful. It had lifted me into the air, but that was about it. Because of that, Calix had to give up the central seat of power to Lushael, who had awakened a far stronger Estella.
‘But if I fall from that height, I’ll die…’
That was a given. I was an ordinary person. And from that height, I wouldn’t even die quickly—it would be slow and agonizing, with broken bones and bleeding.
Just imagining it gave me chills. I had to find a way to walk out of here alive.
“You were lying there like that—of course I was going to be surprised!”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Calix sneered.
“You? The same you who pretended to be poisoned just to get me kicked out? Or the one who helped plan my assassination?”
His words dripped with suppressed rage.
“What exactly were you surprised about?”
At the same time, his Estella flared violently. He looked ready to attack me at any moment. I couldn’t say anything. There was no excuse for this situation.
‘Even if I got on my knees and apologized, he wouldn’t believe me…’
But I couldn’t yell back at him either.
‘What do I do?’
This had gotten way out of hand. I cursed Lilith for stacking up this much bad blood.
‘What do I even—’
Shamefully, in that desperate moment, only one person came to mind.
It wasn’t the best option. It was like throwing oil on fire. It could make things worse.
‘But I can’t die here.’
I had died many times before. I knew exactly how horrifying that pain was.
So I was desperate. I didn’t want to die again. I didn’t want to feel that again.
“I came today to see Lushael.”
At the mention of that name, Calix’s face immediately hardened.
“I’ve been here for a while, so he’s probably looking for me.”
Calix harbored something close to hatred and deep inferiority toward Lushael. I was poking a raw wound, but it was the only card I had.
“If he sees you attacking me like this…”
I let the sentence trail off, trying to sound regretful. I watched for his reaction. He was visibly shaken.
“Will you let me go?”
I asked, forcing a faint smile.
