Chapter : 03
Kai’Sa swallowed a sigh as she watched Milena march away, puffing her cheeks in frustration. Kai’Sa felt just as helpless in this situation.
Trembling, she stared coldly at the vocabulary book in her hands.
Kai’Sa was a knight of the Ruikaron Empire. Not just any knight, but one appointed to a key position— a vanguard leading the army, a sword favored by the Emperor himself.
She could be captured at any moment, or killed without warning.
Because of this, knights who had access to Ruikaron’s secret intelligence faced a strict limitation:
A language restriction. Kai’Sa had a magical seal placed under her tongue by the mages.
Without the Emperor’s permission, she could not learn foreign languages. Without his permission, she could not reveal this fact to anyone.
Still, under the Emperor’s permission, and thanks to early education, she had been able to learn some neighboring languages.
All except the language of Siern.
She had never considered that this would be a problem in Ruikaron. She never thought she would even come this far!
“Huuh.”
Kai’Sa let a sigh escape as her eyes lingered over the drifting words she could barely recognize.
It was a frustrating situation, but there was nothing she could do.
She could imitate a few simple words at most, but that was all—and only because Milena had taught her the pronunciations, altered in the Ruikaron style!
“Damn it.”
She was called the greatest knight of the Ruikaron Empire. Brilliant, second to none.
As the head of the Lorensia family, overseeing massive arms manufacturing, and as the Emperor’s sword, she had never neglected her training.
And yet, here she was, feeling utterly powerless. Truly for the first time.
Kai’Sa stuffed the crumpled vocabulary book into her pocket. She never imagined memorizing just five words could be so difficult. Never had she felt so stupid in her life.
“Ha.”
What was worse, she couldn’t even offer an excuse to Milena. For the first time, she resented her homeland— and the chains stuck beneath her tongue. Kai’Sa moved forward, her face drained of energy.
The Imperial Palace of the Ruikaron Empire.
Curls of amusement lingered around the wrinkled eyes of Crown Prince Stout. He was a man who never revealed his true thoughts. Despite his youth, he was the most feared by the nobles. From childhood, he had a remarkable talent for instilling fear in others.
The chief steward bowed deeply before the Crown Prince, feeling as if his mind had gone completely black.
“You’re saying…”
The steward’s shoulders trembled at the soft tone of the Crown Prince. He squeezed his eyes shut, terrified of the prince’s parted lips. Stout lightly touched the steward’s shoulder with his hand.
Even though the hand did not belong to someone in training, its grip was so strong that a groan escaped involuntarily. The steward swallowed the groan with difficulty, eyes still closed.
“After all that chaos, he’s still alive?”
“…Yes, Your Highness. I apologize.”
The steward quickly bowed. It wasn’t his fault that the man was still alive, but there was nothing else he could say.
“Hahaha. Is it the grace of God watching over him? He always escapes death. He is favored even more than I am. Isn’t that so?”
“Impossible, Your Highness! None are closer to God than the great sun of the Ruikaron Empire.”
The Ruikaron Empire was a theocratic monarchy. Bishops served the Emperor, and the Emperor, in turn, inherited God’s authority. Thus, the Emperor was often equated with God.
The Crown Prince, therefore, was like a child of God.
Stout’s smile was cold.
He was displeased not only that the man had crossed a sea of death alive, but that he had survived that disaster. Yet the magical seal planted under the man’s tongue still sent a signal that he was alive. Where, what, or in what condition he lived remained unknown.
Even so, the fact that he lived irritated Crown Prince Stout.
‘This is insufficient.’
From a young age, the man had been praised as a talent gifted by God. Each time, he had survived death and returned to Ruikaron triumphantly, as if under divine protection. The people of the empire loved and revered him.
Yet Stout wanted to correct this wrongful situation. There could not be two gods in this world. Ruikaron was his.
“When he returns, you will die.”
The steward flinched.
“This time, your brother, who thought he could survive, will die too.”
The steward gritted his teeth.
“I will destroy your family line and erase all descendants. Do you understand what I mean?”
Stout’s voice still carried amusement. The steward bowed deeply.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will carry out your will without fail.”
A cruel smile played on the Crown Prince’s red lips. After the great liner, the Blue Pigeon, sank, the empire was awash with waves of mourning. Yet the Crown Prince’s palace remained icy—full of plots and schemes.
Something felt wrong.
The person who had boldly promised to memorize six words hadn’t returned by late night. Surely, it wasn’t because they failed to memorize them.
Were three wyverns really too much?
No.
Grand Duke Kai’Sa was one of the top knights in Ruikaron. Defeating such monsters alone would be nothing to him.
In the original story, he even won against 17-to-1 odds.
Wait, no? In the original story, the male lead never got stranded with the villain. Anything could happen here.
She paced the kitchen. This wasn’t Ruikaron. Not the male lead’s ground. She nervously bit her lips.
As time passed, her anxiety deepened.
Why isn’t he coming? Why?
Why was it someone who couldn’t even communicate?
Eventually, morning came. She had spent the night sleepless, sure something had happened. He wasn’t the type to stay out without word. Grand Duke Kai’Sa was more diligent than anyone. He had always been aware of their situation and never wanted to worry her. Since the two of them had been left alone on this vast continent, he had always prioritized her and this place as much as she relied on him.
“Something must have happened.”
She jumped up.
She decided to visit the guild. First, she needed to tell the bakery she wouldn’t come in today.
Where should she start looking? Did she need money first? To find him fast, hiring mercenaries would be best. She tried to calm her impatience.
There must have been trouble with the wyverns or a client had deceived him. She quickly washed, changed, and left the house.
She didn’t even think to bring food. Her stomach growled, unnoticed, as she rushed to the bakery just in time for opening.
“Oh my! Milena, you came early! Two hours early! Did you come knowing it’d be busy today?”
“No, ma’am. I think I need to take the day off, so I wanted to let you know in advance.”
“Why? Is something wrong?”
Concern showed on the owner’s face.
“Huuh. Kai’Sa disappeared. I think something happened, so I’m going to look for him.”
“Oh, that housemate of yours?”
“Not a housemate. We just happen to share the roof and the house because we’re broke.”
“People call that a housemate anyway. Anyway, I understand. That person doesn’t speak our language, right?”
“Right.”
“Then you’d better find him quickly. Go. Come in an hour early tomorrow instead.”
“Thank you, ma’am!”
Her spirits lifted slightly with the cheerful permission.
