Chapter 55
“Why? I’m a good catch, aren’t I?”
Eluana asked as if she truly couldn’t understand the reason.
“Because I don’t want to.”
Kazar’s voice was laced with firm resolve.
“Why not!”
Eluana protested in frustration, and Kazar gave his first reason.
“To stay by your side, ten lives wouldn’t be enough. Think back to our last meeting.”
On that point, Eluana had no rebuttal. Still, she had a solution.
“I’ll get stronger quickly and protect you. You saw it last time, didn’t you? I can already protect myself, at least. I won’t be a burden.”
“Forget it.”
“Look at this.”
She opened a box she had prepared in advance. Inside, it was filled with iron spheres that rolled about with a dull clatter.
Kazar chuckled at the sight.
“You’ve made a lot of new friends.”
“That’s right. I really have.”
As Eluana’s eyes curved into a smile, the spheres inside the box rose into the air. Like a single flowing wave, they lifted with a metallic shimmer. A ripple spread across Kazar’s blue eyes. This was far beyond what he’d imagined.
“I can do this too.”
She formed the spheres into the shape of a sword, then shifted them into an arrow, then a spear. The iron balls then floated back neatly into the box.
“How did this happen?”
“I practiced hard.”
“But I saw you in Aden just four days ago.”
“Yeah.”
Kazar let out a small sigh. A lunatic genius indeed.
“You need to keep this a secret. People know your affinity material is iron, but they haven’t reacted much because they think it’ll take you a long time to master it. If they find out you’ve already reached this level, they won’t leave you alone.”
“I know. Father said the same thing. So we decided to keep it secret.”
Eluana declared it proudly, which only made Kazar sigh again.
“You should’ve kept it secret even from me.”
“This is my appeal. Doesn’t it make me look reliable? Politically, I’m not a bad match for you. Or… do you have a particular type you like?”
Kazar could only stare at her, speechless.
Seeing that, Eluana pressed on.
“Judging from how you flinched earlier when I tried being demure, I guess you don’t like the pure, delicate type. Do you prefer cute girls, then? Or sultry? Intellectual?”
None of her guesses drew any reaction. Growing impatient, she urged him:
“You must have an ideal type tucked away in your heart. Tell me.”
“And if I do?”
“I’ll try to become it. I can be anything. My potential is limitless. You yourself said my potential is the greatest. Just say the word!”
Kazar’s brows furrowed sharply.
“That’s not what I meant by potential!”
“Anyway, I’ll do my best.”
Eluana grinned mischievously.
Kazar sighed a third time and straightened in his seat. He had known she had a reason for sending the attendants away, but this had been far beyond anything he’d expected.
“Why do you want to be engaged to me?”
“So I can shove caramel down Prince Regis’s throat. Sticky, suffocating caramel. And the Empress, and Marquis Pegimul, too. Think of it as the start of my revenge.”
“You’d get engaged for something like that?”
Eluana blinked and replied,
“I didn’t say marriage. Just engagement. That’s all. I’ll put the crown on your head.”
An engagement with Eluana Vita Spes.
It was a dangerously tempting proposal. If House Spes truly supported him, then the foolish boy’s last wish might no longer be just empty words.
Brother, become Emperor.
Kazar, who was neither born of the Empress nor backed by powerful in-laws, who lived isolated in the palace with no ambition in his maternal family—he had no path to the throne.
Yet here, unexpectedly, lay a chance. Engagement to Eluana Vita Spes would vault him past every obstacle holding him down.
When he didn’t immediately refuse, Eluana pressed eagerly.
“But once you’ve become Emperor, you’ll break off the engagement. I have no desire to be Empress.”
At last, Kazar understood why she had insisted on engagement only.
The Spes family traditionally avoided binding ties to the imperial line by betrothing their children young to retainers and then dissolving the matches. But this case was different. Not only would it tie them directly to the imperial family, but breaking an engagement with the Emperor would leave a lasting stain on Eluana.
“You gain nothing from this. For mere revenge, the cost is too high.”
“I don’t want to live in a world where Regis is Emperor.”
“On that, I couldn’t agree more.”
“And I need a false engagement. The Empress keeps trying to push marriage talks with Regis, and I have to block them. Besides, I need a royal candidate to oppose him. What could be more efficient than my own engagement?”
Kazar pointed at himself.
“And that candidate is me?”
Eluana nodded.
“I will become Duchess Spes.”
Now Kazar understood what she truly wanted. It wasn’t just revenge, nor was it mere hunger for power.
“Kantio will seep into House Spes. As a direct heir, I won’t be assassinated so easily. This is the best path I can take.”
Kazar couldn’t deny it was a sound decision. Still, one thing nagged at him.
“Did the Duke of Spes agree to this?”
“Yes. He said whatever I wanted would be fine.”
Hopeless doting father, Kazar thought, recalling the Duke’s terrifying presence when he had burst through a door in rage.
“…Fine.”
When Kazar agreed, Eluana blinked rapidly.
“So easily? I prepared so much to convince you.”
“If I refused, you’d just offer the same deal to the Third Prince. And if he returned backed by House Spes, my chances of survival would plummet.”
“You and the Third Prince aren’t on good terms?”
“Neither good nor bad. We’ve never met. But his mother, the Imperial Consort, is no ordinary woman. She’s much like the Empress.”
“The Empress?”
Even without seeing her, Eluana knew it wasn’t a compliment. She nodded slowly, then added with sudden thought:
“Oh, and if you ever fall in love with someone, tell me. We can adjust the timing of the breakup.”
“Forget it. Feelings like that are a luxury I can’t afford.”
He spoke with such finality that Eluana tilted her head in curiosity.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know when I’ll die. Feelings I can’t take responsibility for are a luxury.”
It was true enough, but Eluana felt a pang of pity. All those assassination attempts had clearly worn him down. It wasn’t something a boy of fifteen should have to say. Why hadn’t the Emperor protected him? He was still his son.
Kazar sipped his tea under her gaze and asked:
“Do you have a plan? The Empress won’t just sit by while we get engaged.”
Eluana’s smile turned sly.
“That’s why we spread scandals first. What else? If we’re madly in love, who can stop us?”
“…You just said we’d break it off.”
“By the time you’re Emperor, a youthful romance won’t be seen as a flaw. Don’t worry.”
Kazar’s brows furrowed. His concern wasn’t about his own reputation.
“And you?”
“Me? I’ll find a reliable husband who can share the ducal workload. I’ll pick someone from our vassal families. Then this so-called undying love will just look like a youthful whim. If I find someone suitable, I can always reveal it was a contract engagement.”
Kazar caught something odd in her words.
“Wait. You mean we’ll pretend to be madly in love?”
“Of course.”
When he grimaced, Eluana just beamed.
“Not good at acting?”
“You mean I’ll have to pretend to be head over heels for you in front of everyone?”
“Exactly! Let’s say it was love at first sight, to keep it believable.”
“You fell for me?”
“No—you fell for me.”
Eluana declared proudly.
***
At the foot of the Rutin Mountains, beside an unnamed peak, stood a heavily guarded iron mine. A single luxurious carriage rolled up to its gates.
From it stepped Shavia, her hair dyed brown, accompanied by her maid.
Her mere appearance made the mining town seem brighter. The soldiers at the gate stared, entranced by her beauty, before quickly remembering themselves. She was far above their station.
Shavia entered the mine, used to such gazes. From behind her, whispers rose: “Incredible! I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful.” “Is she even human?” “She must be an elf!” Judging by their awe, these must be new recruits.
Constant turnover is never good, Shavia thought. Though even if they quit, no one ever left the mine alive.
Moving with a grace like a butterfly, she reached a massive stone gate. She pressed her family crest into a groove, and the magic-locked door opened.
The maid remained outside while Shavia alone went in. She walked lightly until the path split into three, where she chose the right-hand passage. More tunnels and intersections followed until she arrived at a wide chamber bustling with people.
Among them, a man in a mage’s robe adorned with three embroidered stars hurried to her.
“You’ve arrived, my lady.”
“Show me the creature.”
“Yes. It is ready.”
Bowing deeply, he led Shavia toward a cluster of iron-barred cages.
Inside, monsters huddled. When they spotted Shavia, they all shrank back into corners. She smiled faintly at their fear.
“Relax. I didn’t come for you today.”
Hearing her honeyed voice, they pressed themselves even deeper into the shadows.
Shavia ignored them and followed the mage. They stopped before a golden wolf. Its mane of shining gold bristled like spikes, and its glowing eyes were filled with ferocity. At the sight of her, it roared as though it wanted to devour her whole.
“Hello. You truly do resemble him.”
The golden wolf snarled, and Shavia gazed at it as though it were adorable.
“It will be fun to break you.”
Her lips curved in a slow smile as the beast grew even wilder. The golden wolf already understood her words.
Monster breeding had begun as the whim of an eccentric mage who wondered if beasts could be made to understand human speech. His research, however, was deemed a failure.
He had concocted a potion that allowed monsters to comprehend human words—but humans still had no way of understanding the monsters in return.
Yet House Pegimul saw it differently. They didn’t need to understand monsters—only to make them obey.
At the same time, the family had been developing various poisons, including one that inflicted unbearable agony without leaving any physical harm.
Those two elements formed the core of monster breeding.
