TMGYLPD 05

𖹭 Chapter 5 𖹭

“You won’t be able to go to university anyway, so wouldn’t it be better to make way for my daughter?”

“Excuse me?”

“What’s the point of having talent? You’re already known as a scammer’s child. Even if you keep going, no one will ever call for you.”

“……!”

“You don’t even have money for university, do you? Or what? Do you have some other way to earn money? I can already guess what girls like you would think of doing.”

Her mocking eyes looked me up and down.

That obvious gaze made my body shake with humiliation and anger.

I barely held back my fury and spoke.

“…Apologize.”

“Why should I? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“Really? Then that means I can say the same to you, right?”

I crossed my arms with a sneer.

Then I slightly raised my chin and looked straight into her eyes.

“That would suit your daughter better, wouldn’t it?”

For a moment, the woman’s face twisted.

“You’re the one who always has to rely on your parents, aren’t you? Ah, right.”

Pretending I had just remembered something, I struck right at her weak spot.

“And even with all that, she still failed to get into university.”

“Y-you little—! Do you think words are just something to throw around?!”

“But you did the same thing, didn’t you?”

Her whole body trembled.

Her face turned red and blue with anger.

“I’ll live my life just fine on my own, so mind your own business and look after your daughter instead.”

“…If only, if only you didn’t exist…!”

‘Ah, seriously.’

I didn’t want to be in this kind of situation anymore.

I shook off the hand gripping my wrist and turned away.

My heart was pounding with anger, but I just kept walking forward, trying to calm myself down.

I don’t know how far I walked.

Then suddenly—

The sound of a car grew strangely loud.

The moment I turned my head—

Vroooom!

A car came rushing from behind like a mad beast, and white light swallowed my body.

Then, as if in slow motion, I saw a pure white sedan.

And inside it—

A pair of eyes shining with madness.

That was my last memory.

That was how I died so meaninglessly—

And was reincarnated.

‘Now even that feels like an old story.’

The name Pieria felt more familiar than Ryu Taeri, and that alone showed how light my steps felt as I headed toward the concours at the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace was more disappointing than I expected.

That was because I had already become used to the splendor and grandeur of the Trache Duke’s estate.

‘So it really wasn’t an exaggeration when they said even the Emperor feared their power…’

Once again, I realized just how mighty the Trache family was as I headed toward the waiting room.

Inside the waiting room was a magical crystal sphere that showed the audience seats in the concert hall in advance.

I carefully checked the crystal sphere—

Then smiled brightly.

‘The Crown Prince isn’t here!’

There was no blond, green-eyed boy in the audience.

At least for this performance, my life would be safe.

At the same time, I felt a little disappointed too.

‘They said he was really handsome. Maybe seeing him just once wouldn’t have been so bad…’

Just as I was feeling relieved that Helision was not here—

Someone knocked on the door.

When I turned my head, I saw a woman leaning against the door.

I recognized her at once.

With dark purple hair, almost black, red eyes, and a beauty so striking it was breathtaking—

It had to be Empress Melpomene.

I was extremely flustered by her sudden appearance.

Before performing, I always needed time alone to calm myself and focus.

That was why I preferred to be alone in the waiting room.

Even Duke Calliope Trache respected my request and never entered.

But Melpomene pushed the door open without permission.

Knocking after that meant nothing.

There was no way I could tell her to leave.

“Oh my, how cute.”

Melpomene walked up to me and grabbed my arm hard.

Her sharp nails dug into my skin.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t react—

Then—

“Aaaah!”

A scream, sharp enough to tear through the air, came from the hallway.

At the same time, I heard the heavy sound of something being dragged across the floor.

“So this is where you were, Mother.”

A man suddenly appeared, his blond hair blazing like he had swallowed the sun.

I had definitely never seen him before—

But the moment our eyes met, I knew who he was.

The male lead of the original story.

The one who would destroy this world.

The Crown Prince of the Hesiodos Empire—

Helision.

“I searched everywhere for a long time so I could return the favor for your gift.”

Helision spoke with a thin smile.

His appearance was pure and beautiful, but his tone was arrogant, and his voice was sharp with coldness.

“If I had found you a little earlier, he might still have been alive. But I spent too long searching, so he died.”

Something dropped from his hand.

Then another scream rose from the hallway.

I had been too distracted by Helision’s face to notice—

He had dragged in a person who was bleeding heavily.

“W-What kind of horrible thing is this?!”

Melpomene trembled and pointed at him.

Helision only shrugged.

“I thought you would be disappointed if you didn’t hear what happened to the gift you sent.”

“Are you accusing me of trying to assassinate you? I raised you almost like my own son!”

“Yes. Thanks to the way you raised me so harshly, I don’t feel much when I receive toys like this.”

Helision wiped the blood running along his sharp jawline with the back of his hand.

It was the perfect scene to understand why he was called—

“The Blood-stained Daffodil.”

A man as beautiful as a daffodil, always carrying a sword and cutting people down—

Anyone would give him that name.

“So next time, send me something a little more entertaining. Not something this worthless.”

Helision nudged the blood-covered body with his foot and slid his gaze away.

That was when our eyes met.

Maybe because I had been hidden by the wall, he hadn’t realized I was there.

The moment he saw me, his eyes widened like a startled rabbit’s.

“……!”

For a moment, he looked completely flustered, as if he had frozen.

Then he suddenly turned and disappeared as if fleeing.

“How dare he…!”

Melpomene bit her lip in anger.

Then she stormed to the door.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

The room became quiet again, as if nothing had happened.

‘W-What was that just now?’

I panicked.

There was no trace left in the waiting room—

But that didn’t erase what I had seen.

I heard voices murmuring outside.

Then they faded.

I even heard things like, “Bring the body here.”

Soon, an announcement came through the crystal sphere.

“Due to an unavoidable incident, today’s concours has been postponed until tomorrow.”

I couldn’t calm myself down in this place anymore.

After I became sure, from the sounds outside, that the situation had been cleaned up, I opened the door.

There were bloodstains here and there on the hallway walls and carpet.

‘Ugh…’

Holding back tears, I carefully avoided the blood as much as I could.

Determined never to get caught by the Crown Prince, I moved as quickly as possible.

By the time I reached the end of the hallway—

The door marked Storage suddenly flew open.

And Helision stepped out.

“Gasp!”

A shocked sound escaped me before I could stop it.

‘Why is the male lead coming out of there?’

The Crown Prince hiding in a storage room.

Even if it was to avoid Melpomene, it suited him so badly.

Still—

I had shown too much surprise.

He was already in a bad mood, and I had just stepped right on the tiger’s tail.

I quietly tried to pass him.

“Wait.”

But Helision placed a hand against the wall, blocking my path.

I froze and nervously watched him.

‘Why did he stop me? Did he think I saw something I shouldn’t have seen…?’

Then Helision bent down and met my eyes.

‘He really is incredibly handsome.’

For a brief moment, all my worries disappeared.

His face was so beautiful it almost stole my breath.

It was hard to believe someone with that face could do such terrifying things without hesitation.

His green eyes shimmered—

Like sunlight falling through thick forest trees.

And even though I knew he was fourteen, he was tall for his age.

Realizing I was staring at his face far too openly, I lowered my eyes.

My mind raced.

‘Should I say I didn’t see anything? That I’m not an assassin or a spy?’

He slowly opened his mouth.

“You—”

“A-ah, no—!”

“……”

“I haven’t even asked anything yet, so what exactly are you saying no to?”

A chill ran all over my body.

This was bad.

“……”

I couldn’t say anything, as if my mouth had been sewn shut.

Normally, I would have snapped back with, I was just walking here, and you’re the one who suddenly appeared.

But this person was the tyrant who had just killed someone.

There was no way I could answer him boldly.

Since he had seen me with Melpomene, it would make sense if he misunderstood and thought I had come after him to kill him.

No matter how hard I squeezed my brain, I couldn’t think of a solution.

My mind had gone numb.

Without realizing it, I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Surely… I’m not going to die like this, right?’

But what came from Helision’s mouth—

Was something completely unexpected.