Chapter 56
Gasp.
Everyone froze in shock the moment they saw her.
Dark blue hair matted with blood, a school uniform in complete disarray—and yet, Wilhelmina entered the classroom with her back perfectly straight. It was like something out of a horror novel.
She walked silently into the stunned classroom and stopped in front of her seat.
Blood trickled from her crown, down her jawline, and dripped steadily to the floor. Still, she calmly spoke:
“I got bitten by a dog.”
“Pfft—ahahaha!”
The Emperor doubled over with laughter. Though the explanation was simple, the image it conjured was so vivid he couldn’t contain himself.
Of course she would say it like that—loud enough for everyone to hear. Knowing full well the culprit was in that classroom, she would’ve called them a “dog” with that trademark indifference.
“What happened next?” the Emperor asked, still snickering.
“She walked up to the podium where the professor was standing like a deer in headlights. Then she picked up a chair beside him.”
“There aren’t any chairs in the back. Mind if I borrow this one?”
And without waiting for an answer, she dragged it to the back of the room.
Blood trailed behind her with every step, staining the floor.
Everyone watched in horrified silence as she positioned the chair at the very back of the lecture hall—at the topmost row where she could see every student.
The classroom was structured like a seminar room, with tiered rows of desks descending toward the front. She had taken the highest seat—where she could overlook all.
“Sorry for interrupting class. Please continue.”
She urged the professor to resume.
The professor, already a timid man, lowered his head and hesitantly restarted the lecture.
No student dared to turn around during that entire two-hour class.
Anyone who did found Wilhelmina staring straight at them, unblinking.
It was only then the students realized—she wasn’t there to take notes.
“She was hunting the dog.”
The saying goes that quiet people are the scariest when angry.
And the culprits realized it too.
She wasn’t the one bitten by the dog. They were.
Like a hunting dog tracking its prey, she scanned the room, seeking her target.
They knew, instinctively, that she would stop at nothing to get revenge.
The class dragged on for two excruciating hours… and the students began praying for the bell to ring.
Later, this day would be remembered as the origin of her nickname:
“Wilhelmina, Drenched in Blood.”
“That’s how I first learned her name,” the man concluded.
When the tale ended, the Emperor was laughing so hard that tears welled in his eyes.
“Phew!”
Was it really that funny? The man had thought he’d told it with a hint of romance, but the Emperor’s reaction made him frown slightly.
“Just one more thing,” the Emperor wheezed. “Did you turn around?”
“What?”
“Did you look back at her?”
“Of course.”
“And?”
“She was beautiful.”
Pffffft!
The Emperor nearly exploded with laughter again.
Bloodied, hair a mess, uniform ruined—and she wasn’t even smiling. And yet this man found her beautiful?
“I stared at her for about five seconds. But I had to take notes, so I couldn’t keep looking.”
“You’re incredible.”
In all their years, the Emperor had never once heard this man comment on a woman’s appearance.
And yet, here he was, smitten by a bloodied girl who had just tumbled down a staircase.
“So what happened to the culprits?”
“That’s the end of the trade. If you want to know more, offer something in return.”
“Shame. I was curious.”
But the fate of a few fools wasn’t as valuable as information about Wilhelmina. The Emperor dropped it without complaint.
In return for the amusing story, he began recounting the promised tale of the year-end ball.
“I met her after the congratulatory speech…”
The moment he mentioned flirting with her, the man’s expression darkened—but the name of the noble who had tried to woo her quickly shifted the focus.
That, too, had been part of the Emperor’s ploy. The man knew it, but let it go with a warning. He was used to the Emperor’s antics.
“You remember my nickname, right, Theorne?”
“I do, I do. You don’t need to threaten me.”
“Just remember, the contract between us ended the moment I became Emperor.”
“…Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Though he found the Emperor untrustworthy, the man stopped arguing. Their roles—sovereign and subject—had been reestablished.
“Ha, that was fun. I didn’t think the story would be that intense. I should have the Intelligence Department investigate what other incidents happened at the Academy.”
“Do what you want.”
“When are you going to reveal your identity, anyway? You’re not going to keep pretending to be some merchant’s bodyguard, right?”
The man pursed his lips, refusing to answer. His expression clearly said, I don’t want to talk about it.
The Emperor sighed in exasperation.
“Don’t tell me you believe in that ‘natural encounter’ nonsense from romance novels? Just going to wait until she figures it out on her own?”
From their brief meeting, the Emperor had already discerned that Wilhelmina wasn’t the type to remember people she had no interest in.
Unless the man performed a love serenade right in front of her, she wouldn’t even guess his identity.
So nothing would change. The man hadn’t approached her back at the Academy—why would he now?
“Stay out of it.”
The man cut him off coldly and turned to leave. His black-dyed hair melted into the shadows of the break room.
Still such an entertaining guy…
The Emperor smirked as he watched his political rival—and ally—disappear.
Just before the man exited, the Emperor called out again, this time with idle curiosity.
“So what are you going to do about that noble I mentioned? Kill him?”
“…People might get the wrong idea, Your Majesty.”
Their tones returned to their usual detached rhythm.
Hand on the doorknob, the man answered in a low, frozen voice:
“It’s merely a brief audit, to clear up suspicions of tax evasion that violated the Empire’s fiscal policies.”
After all, what noble doesn’t have skeletons in their closet?
The message was clear: He’ll take care of it.
The Emperor casually waved him off and turned back to the railing, gazing up at the sky.
“Hard to believe that guy’s the infamous King-Slayer, Rohanos…”
The ruler of the East.
The man who had assassinated Duke Belphegor Phil Venice, a secret traitor who had been plotting to build a new kingdom.
The fearsome “King-Slayer,” now holding all Eastern power in his grasp.
Rohanos Phil Venice.
And yet, his greatest concern lately wasn’t politics or business.
It was how to meet a certain woman—naturally.
Because, absurdly enough, his first love had just up and married someone else.
Now the question was: could he overcome the chasm between East and West to win her heart?
Or would this become yet another tale of unrequited love?
Or perhaps… the romantic saga of a great emperor’s wedding.
After hearing this story, the Emperor’s curiosity was fully piqued.
His desire to support his friend’s romance was easily crushed by a gleeful sense of mischief.
Beneath the brightly glowing crescent moon, a mischievous smile tugged at the Emperor’s lips.
