Chapter 07
For a mere human—someone who wasn’t even a god—to dare decide the usefulness of another human… it was impossible not to laugh.
“Hey. Who do you think you are? You’re deciding what’s useful? That’s so ridiculous I can’t even hold it in.”
At that, a crack appeared in Cetrin’s smile, her eyes narrowing.
“My. Have you really lost your mind?”
“Not a chance. It’d be a waste to lose it when things are this entertaining.”
“…Entertaining?”
“Honestly, humans are all the same. Strange and foolish. The way they think they’re something special—no matter how many times I see it, it never stops being funny.”
The moment she finished speaking, all trace of amusement vanished from Raphaella’s face.
In an instant, the atmosphere flipped.
Cetrin flinched at the murderous intent and relaxed confidence she had never once seen in Raphaella before.
This wasn’t the Raphaella who used to tremble, avoid eye contact, and shuffle around like a bug. That unfamiliar, uncomfortable sensation made Cetrin’s voice tremble on its own.
“Y-you… what are you?”
“What do you mean, what am I? I’m your younger sister, of course. The little sister you pitied for being sick and claimed to care about. Go on—keep worrying about me like you did earlier. I kind of enjoyed it.”
One corner of Raphaella’s lips curled upward again. A faint madness glimmered in her golden eyes. Her smile was both innocent and wicked, like a mischievous child wondering whether to tear off a bug’s legs first or its wings.
“Watching you, I think… if I want to live peacefully from now on, I’ll need to do a bit of cleanup.”
There was no smile left on Cetrin’s face.
An unknown anxiety and fear pressed down on her shoulders, as though gravity itself had tripled, making her knees weaken again and again.
Just meeting Raphaella’s gaze made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It felt like encountering a wild beast in a dark forest—a suffocating pressure that threatened her very survival.
But Cetrin’s pride was not so easily crushed.
Though she had been born the child of a concubine, once her mother seized the position of empress, Cetrin became the highest-ranking grandchild of the imperial family. Now, she was even the crown princess—first in line to the throne.
Biting her lip to shake off her fear, Cetrin clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms. Her voice shook, but she managed to shout:
“You insolent bug, daring to—”
“What are you even saying? By my standards, you’re the bug.”
Raphaella found Cetrin’s 모습—shouting arrogantly while trembling in fear—both ridiculous and adorable. With a small snort of laughter, Raphaella stepped closer.
Startled, Cetrin hurriedly stumbled back, only to hit the wall behind her.
Her mind was in complete chaos.
‘What is this? What’s going on? Why is this wretched girl acting like this…?’
She couldn’t understand it at all. The killing intent conveyed through their locked gazes froze her body so completely she couldn’t even think of escaping.
“So? Am I scary now?”
From Cetrin’s trembling eyes, Raphaella—standing crookedly in front of her, blocking her path—looked utterly at ease. The same playful smile, the same faintly mad eyes, and an excessively gentle tone that didn’t match them at all.
“I’ll make sure we have lots of fun from now on.”
It was the exact same tone Cetrin herself had used toward Raphaella earlier. Every hair on Cetrin’s body stood on end, cold sweat soaking her back.
Smiling, Raphaella traced a finger lightly across Cetrin’s pale throat, as if slicing it.
“Look forward to it.”
Overwhelmed by her presence, Cetrin finally had no choice but to lower her trembling gaze to the floor.
It was a humiliation she had never experienced in her life. Her teeth ground together, her clenched hands stung from nails biting into flesh, and she desperately denied the tears welling up in her eyes, praying only that this absurd moment would end.
“That’s right. Keep your eyes down like that from now on.”
Raphaella smiled in satisfaction, lightly tapping Cetrin’s cheek before beaming brightly.
Raphaella, the Goddess of Corruption and Amusement, thus selected the first toy of her punishment-filled life.
“Damn it, you filthy bug!”
Returning to her palace after the banquet, Cetrin stormed into her bedroom and violently hurled a vase.
Crash!
“This is strange. Too strange.”
She paced the room, gnawing viciously on her nails.
“There has to be something going on. There has to be. Otherwise, how could that worthless bitch dare act like that?”
A maid, startled by the noise, rushed in and gasped at the shattered vase.
“Y-Your Highness! Are you all right?”
Cetrin continued pacing restlessly and snapped an order at her.
“Bring Sir Gerard. Immediately.”
“Y-Yes, but let me clean this up first—if Your Highness were to be hurt, it would be—”
Before she could finish, Cetrin strode forward and slapped her.
Smack!
The maid collapsed to the floor, her head snapping to the side. Cetrin coldly ordered her:
“Didn’t you hear me? Go. Now.”
“Y-Yes… I-I’ll go right away!”
The maid, hands shaking, scrambled out of the room. Cetrin was sometimes sensitive, but she had never seen her this violent before.
Left alone, Cetrin continued biting her nails, muttering curses and fragmented thoughts, pacing endlessly until Gerard arrived.
Knock, knock—
At last, there was a knock. Gerard entered and knelt on one knee, greeting her solemnly.
“I greet the Empire’s Sacred Star, Her Highness the Crown Princess.”
“Sir Gerard!”
Only then did Cetrin lower her hand from her mouth and rush toward him.
Gerard immediately sensed that something was off. Cetrin was usually careful and composed, always mindful of appearances. This was the first time she had ever shown such naked agitation.
“What brings you here at this hour, Your Highness? Has something happened?”
“Raphaella—!”
“You mean the youngest princess?”
“Yes. That thing dared to… threaten me.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
Gerard asked reflexively, unable to understand. Cetrin, however, was too consumed by rage to explain properly, muttering nonstop.
“That lowly bitch definitely has something up her sleeve. Otherwise, how could she dare treat me like that? Hah… a filthy bug.”
“Please calm yourself and explain slowly.”
To Gerard, Raphaella had always been a timid, pitiful princess who hid away, a withdrawn child whose voice he could barely recall hearing. Her presence was so faint that many nobles forgot she even existed.
Yet seeing the normally composed Cetrin this shaken made it clear that something serious had happened.
“Her eyes… yes. Her gaze was strange. Completely different from usual. Like she was a totally different person. She’d snapped.”
As the memory of Raphaella’s murderous eyes surfaced, Cetrin shuddered again—but she forced herself to continue.
While Cetrin recounted everything that had happened, Gerard listened in silence. The more he heard, the more his eyes narrowed in thought.
By the time she finished, Cetrin looked somewhat calmer than before.
“…That’s why I called you. I think Raphaella’s found something to rely on. We need to investigate.”
“Hm. Hearing this, it does sound suspicious.”
“Assign some people to her. Those you used last time—we can hire them again, right?”
“You mean the Black Division? It’s possible, but…”
Gerard inwardly rejoiced, though outwardly he hesitated, feigning concern.
“They’re reliable, but you know how expensive they are. If it’s just the weak Seventh Princess, ordinary mercenaries should be enough.”
“No.”
Now that she had regained some of her reason, Cetrin answered firmly.
“If we’re going to act, we should use people we can trust completely. I have a bad feeling about this. A very bad one.”
“Understood. I’ll contact them. But you should be prepared—this time, the Black Division may demand a mine as payment.”
“What? That expensive? Last time they accepted a trade bill, so I thought—”
“As you know, they’re dangerous people. To hire them while concealing our identity, that’s the price. Are you sure? As I said, ordinary mercenaries are also an option.”
Unaware that Gerard was deliberately downplaying her finances to push her toward choosing the Black Division, Cetrin bit her nails again, sinking into troubled thought.
