01
1931, The Daartro Empire
Even after a global war, Vivienne Mergoville lived a life of luxury befitting the daughter of a prestigious noble family.
She had been raised as an exemplary noblewoman, and the narrow world she knew was soon to belong to her fiancé. He was the second son of the Rex family, a household that sat at the pinnacle of the empire’s judicial power. Being the daughter-in-law of such a renowned family was a point of pride for Vivienne everywhere she went.
Where did it all go wrong?
Was it because she could no longer endure his infidelities, his violent and sadistic nature? Or was it because, despite knowing all this, she couldn’t bear pretending to be happy, acting as if her life were perfect? Was it the existential doubt about this fake life and the noble existence she had been born into…?
Perhaps it was the moment one night when she left the mansion and resolved never to live as her parents’ obedient daughter again. Perhaps it was the moment she dared to speak of breaking off her engagement to a man who was little better than a beast.
Yes… that’s why I decided to go find him.
The Daartro Empire was a parliamentary system, and judicial authority rested with the Senate, composed of nobles. Whoever controlled the Senate effectively held judicial power. Her fiancé’s father was the chairman of that very Senate.
To step beyond her fiancé’s sphere of influence that stretched across the empire, there was only one option.
Extraterritorial power.
People jokingly called the underworld of Daartro the “extraterritorial” zone. Rumor had it that this power even had the empire’s judicial authority at its feet. In other words, this was someone even the Rex family could not touch—a man far above her fiancé.
When one thinks of the underworld, they imagine multiple factions, multiple leaders—but in this empire, there was only one.
As foreign observers described him, the singular head of the underworld was the Capo di Tutti Capi. In the empire’s own language, he was the boss of all bosses. There were many bosses under him leading their own factions, but none carried the overwhelming presence that he did.
In the press, in government circles, the only boss anyone feared or spoke of was him. He never revealed his name publicly, and his organization bore the name of the empire itself—the “Daartro Family.”
He was her fiancé’s far-distant superior. Her target. The man she had resolved to persuade.
But when Vivienne realized that the empire’s singular underworld monster was, in fact, a gentleman, and when she understood why no one had guessed that the notorious boss and the man she was facing were the same person…
Vivienne regretted her choice. He was a man she should never have touched. She should have let him live his perfect life. He was a disaster she should never have dragged into her misfortune.
The crushing grip on her wrist and the coldness of his voice dragged her back to reality.
“Try that haughty act you pull on your fiancé… on me.”
His pale face twisted arrogantly as he sneered. This was Edmund Hiard Colt: head of the underworld, son of the empire’s Prime Minister. The problem was that brilliant shell of a political aristocrat.
“…”
Vivienne bit her lower lip and looked up at him.
“Try it.”
Who could ever imagine that the Prime Minister’s son was secretly the underworld boss?
Though he seemed angry, the words that slipped from his lips were calm, almost a threat in their monotony.
Once, this man—son of the Prime Minister—had been her hope. If the empire had a Senate of nobles, then opposite it was the House of Commons, led by the Prime Minister, who constantly sought to check the corruption of the aristocrats.
And my fiancé’s father is the chairman of the Senate.
When the Prime Minister’s eldest son unexpectedly approached her, she had felt a flicker of relief.
He seemed like a messenger sent to ruin the Senate in place of his father.
She had trusted that the proof of her fiancé’s collusion with the underworld would remain safe in his hands.
She had even considered gathering critical evidence to bring down the underworld and hand it over to him. In return, she might have secured her freedom and her family’s safety. The plan had been to meet the underworld boss and earn his trust—but her purpose had gradually changed.
Instead of using her value to strike a deal with the underworld boss to secure the annulment, she now thought it wiser to ally with the Prime Minister and wipe out her fiancé’s entire family.
But… reality was cruel.
The Prime Minister’s son should not be the head of the underworld.
And it was only after she had handed him information about the underworld that she realized this truth.
“Vivienne.”
In his voice, she could sense his patience wearing thin.
“…If I stay as Ludvik’s fiancée, my father will leave me alone. He’s violent, so he won’t take risks. I’ll live under that bastard’s shadow… safely, always.”
Vivienne’s words, resigned to everything, made the corner of Edmund’s mouth tilt.
“But why would I toss away my only shield just to play with you?”
“Shield?”
Edmund stepped closer. Grabbing her jaw, Vivienne winced.
Suppressing the urge to strike him, he looked into her eyes. Beneath the heavy eye makeup, he could almost see the bruises.
“You should never call that bastard your shield in front of me.”
“…Let go.”
“I’m the one who’s angry.”
“I’ll never live as your mistress.”
Whether he had once been an intelligence officer sent to investigate her fiancé, or truly the arrogant son of the Prime Minister, it did not matter. Her feelings ran deep. But if he was the underworld boss… that changed everything.
Her fiancé and his father were, ultimately, under this man’s command. Reporting everything to him and to the Prime Minister would not be salvation—it would be suicide. The critical information she had finally found to topple the underworld would never reach the right hands.
Memories of the grueling days that led her here flashed before her eyes—unbearable deception, impossible emotions.
His cruelty was unmatched; the closer she got, the more her body and heart would be burned.
And worse…
Any scandal with him would be dismissed as her playing with the empire’s golden boy while still bound to her fiancé. Such disgrace would exile her from noble society.
A piece lost on the board cannot move. That is why Vivienne endured her fiancé’s violence, while this man could not endure her.
Or perhaps he simply did not want a noblewoman, trampled and humiliated, warming his bed.
Well, that figures. He probably assumed she looked at him the same way—but the worst was not contempt or indifference.
“I’ll marry you.”
Halfhearted sincerity.
Pathetic pity.
“You can be the Duchess of Senowick if you want, or Mrs. Colt.”
His maternal uncle was the Duke of Senowick; his father, the Prime Minister. The meaning was clear. He would live as the Prime Minister’s son, keeping his true identity hidden, then inherit his uncle’s title—an arrogance as if no other relatives existed.
When his grip weakened, Vivienne wrenched her jaw free.
“Go tell your father I know nothing more, and I never will.”
Her faintly reddish eyes stared straight into Colt’s blue gaze.
The Prime Minister had promised his perfect son a place at his side in exchange for revealing the Senate’s corruption and underworld secrets.
“That must be good for you,” she murmured.
His silence was agreement. He was the man above the corrupt Senate, controlling the underworld. If things went according to his father’s plan, he would lose his disguise as a political heir.
“Clearly, I won’t fall for handsome men, and I know my place. I have the brains to judge wisely, so don’t kill me.”
“…”
“You know it’s cheaper not to.”
Vivienne bowed her head and muttered,
“I’m saying it’s in your interest to trust my silence rather than eliminate me and destroy my family.”
“…”
“I belong to no one. I speak for no one.”
They both saw through each other’s façades. Vivienne’s shoulders shook. Bold as a Mergoville, yet speaking of her family’s annihilation soberly would be no small feat.
Edmund, thinking this, felt a dizzying thrill.
The woman, only an arm’s length away, pressed against his chest.
“Eat before you go.”
Her frail body resisted, staring at him fearfully, unsure what he meant to feed her. He smirked cynically to himself.
“Not me. Food. You haven’t wanted to eat anything lately.”
He whispered into her ear, intending to tease her, but even that made his lower body tense. Today, he had to be careful and act kindly.
Before Vivienne could push him away, he turned and headed toward the Royal Suite dining room.
As she nibbled, their gazes met often—mostly him staring, her avoiding the look. Eventually, she broke the silent tension.
“Do it.”
Across the table, Vivienne said it firmly. She was conscious that their animosity went back a year, that she was aware of his gaze whenever her fiancé mistreated her. From the moment she walked in, she had already lost.
Refusing his attention was meaningless if he did not respect it. Regardless, to others, she appeared the same.
She was the woman who had walked into the Royal Suite herself. The protection afforded to a noblewoman went only so far.
And she knew who would win this game. What he wanted.
“Stop the pretense. Let’s get to the point.”
Vivienne glared at the table. The wine was priceless, the meal extraordinary—a generosity she could not enjoy in her own home. Even the bite-sized portions now seemed like deceit.
“You take what you want. I leave here before dawn.”
“You’ll go?”
As he spoke, her lips dried. She nodded; his long black hair swayed slightly.
The sound of his chair sliding made her flinch. As she lowered her head, she heard footsteps—and before she could react…
“…!”
Vivienne shivered under the force holding her hair. But it was only symbolic resistance.
He was just a hand’s breadth away. Noble, perfect.
If he pressed harder, her forehead could touch his belt buckle. The rough fingers that caressed her hair sent shivers down her spine. Without flexing his strength, he got what he wanted.
“If that’s all I wanted, I wouldn’t have chosen this place.”
“…”
“Don’t act like a whore, Vivienne.”
His voice was so soft, so sweet, it created an unsettling dissonance. Vivienne hesitated over the word.
The hand that slowly stroked her hair melted the frozen thoughts in her mind. He grasped her hair and let it fall, then adjusted her shoulders.
“I coveted your time.”
“Crazy bastard.”
Startled, Vivienne lost the mask in her hand and blurted everything. Edmund, fortunately, enjoyed it.
“If you’re clever, you’ll prove your time is more valuable than anything else.”
“…”
“It’s better than making yourself a prostitute, isn’t it?”
Vivienne bit her lower lip and raised her glass, clumsily. Her expression radiated anger.
“Drink.”
Edmund commanded.
“Until you feel like telling me what music you like.”
When she remained silent, a crooked smile appeared on his lips. Sitting down, he said elegantly,
“You’ve already lost that so-called shield, haven’t you?”
To me, he added casually.
Vivienne could not lift her head, clutching her fork and knife.
“This time, you’ll have to run from me too. So help me by spreading your legs? If you want something, you better follow orders, Vivienne.”
Vivienne picked up her food but felt too nauseous to swallow. She thought back to the day this disaster fell into her life—when had it started?
A year ago, when she had fled her home, unable to endure Ludvik Rex, the second son of the Senate chairman and her fiancé, and wandered the cold night streets.
It was then that he approached her.
And made her believe he was an intelligence officer. He gave her a reason to live, a way to survive—and betrayed her in the same moment. Yet, when their eyes met, it felt as though she herself had betrayed him.
The cold face she saw was the face of the man she had secretly loved.
She had first met him a year ago.
