“Shut up.”

Just then, a large knight appeared carrying the body of the dead captain and threw it into the sea. As the splashing sound reverberated across the deck, all the soldiers opened their mouths and screamed.

“Please, spare us! Admiral, we beg you!”

“Our only sin was to follow the orders we were given. It’s the captain who took the money! We’re telling the truth!”

Screams, pleas and all sorts of excuses poured in. Whenever one of them spat out useful information, Carus’s men would take them and separate them from the rest.

“Next, strike the ship of the commander of the southern fleet directly”, Carus said.

Striking the warships one by one took a really long time. In the meantime, there was a risk that the commander would destroy the evidence and escape.

“Sir Carus, there was nothing in the captain’s room that could qualify as evidence. I searched everywhere, even the safe hidden in the floor… There was nothing except for gold coins and a few promissory notes, but it will be difficult to track as they were issued by the Merchant Union.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think it would be easy either.”

‘Should I just kill them all?’, Carus muttered. As the atmosphere around Carus darkened, the captured soldiers suddenly became more desperate.

“I… I have memorized the routes of the pirates. It is the oldest sea route in the south, so not many people know it!”

“The pirates know my face! You will need me in order to approach them!”

“The commander has a lover in Ortega. I know who she is!”

Carus, who seemed indifferent until now, finally turned his head. Then, he snapped his fingers at the last soldier who shouted.

“Take him.”

From Carus’s memory, the commander of the southern fleet was the husband of a very influential woman in Baikan. If he had a lover in Ortega, it wouldn’t be bad to learn more about it.

“These two as well.”

The soldier who knew the routes used by the pirates and the soldier who often hung out with them were also brought out.

At that time, the subordinates who had been searching the captain’s room appeared with the wooden box that was in the safe, and put it down in front of Carus. It was filled with sparkling gold coins.

“It’s the pirates’ gold coins.”

“They might argue that they were confiscated from the pirates. What are you going to do?”

Well. What should he do?

Holding a gold coin, Carus looked at the shore in the distance. To be precise, it was in the direction of Ortega’s royal palace.

*****

While Carus Lankea was punishing the navy for betraying the Empire, Vasily who had returned from the royal palace was in deep thought.

He hadn’t been able to sleep properly these days, and was very tired. From the day he had promised to meet Yulia at the crossroad of Tatiana mountain until now, he was suffering from severe insomnia.

‘Yulia.’

The excuse of being locked up was only half true. On the orders of the Marquis, the butler sent a soldier to watch him. That’s why he couldn’t run to Yulia.

He wasn’t tied up and the door wasn’t locked, but it was considered confinement because someone was making sure he couldn’t go out. He didn’t even know that the butler had hired hyenas at first.

‘If I had known, I would have gone to rescue her.’

He didn’t know how Yulia was able to come back alive. But, he was truly happy that she was safe.

It wasn’t a good idea to abandon his family and run away. It would probably be better to stay here and convince his parents to accept Yulia.

‘What the hell happened.’

However, upon returning, Yulia rejected Vasily. She looked at him with cold, indifferent eyes as if she had become a different person. It wasn’t enough to push him away, she insulted him and held him in contempt.

It was really as if she had become a completely different person.

“Where is the butler?”

Vasily grabbed a maid who was passing by, and asked. The maid informed him that the butler was in the back garden. The Marchioness had become tired of the back garden’s landscaping, and ordered to have all of the flowers replaced for different ones.

“Ask him to come to my room.”

“Yes, young master.”

While waiting for the butler, Vasily was still thinking about Yulia. He really couldn’t understand her. No matter how angry she was, how could she become the second Prince’s maid of honor?

She even embarrassed Kristin in front of so many people.

Vasily knew how much his parents cared for Kristin. So, he also knew that the Marquis couple would not forgive Yulia for this incident.

“Young master, did you call for me?”

“What did you say when you sent the hyenas to catch Yulia?”

“Pardon?”

“You hired hyenas in order to deal with Yulia. Tell me exactly what was the order”, Vasily said, suppressing his anger.

He was angry that the butler tried to kill his lover, but he was even more mad that his father had ordered him to leave the butler alone.

“I just told them to take away the woman who was disturbing the young master’s heart. I apologize if you felt offended.”

The butler was polite, and shameless. He looked like someone who apologized even though they didn’t think they had done anything wrong.

Vasily didn’t like that either.

“If I say I will call the hyenas and check by myself, will you tell the truth?”

“Young master, didn’t they fail in the end? Why are you acting like that all of a sudden…”

The butler had no intention of telling Vasily the truth. Because the order actually came from the Marquis himself.

Although Vasily was the precious young master of the family he served, the Marquis’s orders came first.

“Butler, should I really try to meet the hyenas? If what you say is true… I will report you to the authorities.”

“Young master!”

“I will also report the hyenas. If you put them side by side on the execution ground, one of them will open their mouth.”

“Don’t be like that. I did all of this for your sake, young master! Don’t you know? Didn’t you see what that wicked bitch did in the end? She dared to show ungratefulness to the young master and the young lady…”

“If you just tell me what you said, I will stop pestering you about this.”

“I don’t remember.”

“It seems you want to go to prison for abetting murder.”

Only then did the butler begin to show signs of nervousness. Even though the Marquis’s words had priority over Vasily’s, he couldn’t ensure that he wouldn’t be charged with a crime.

From the butler’s point of view, Vasily was truly in love with Yulia.

“Tell me the truth. I’m just trying to check the facts.”

“…I told them to mess up her face, and cut her head off.”

When the butler confessed the truth, Vasily’s expression collapsed. He staggered and sat down in his chair.

Then, he wrapped his head in both hands and murmured.

“How could you…”

“Forget her. Yulia Arte… That woman will only become a stain in the young master’s life. Do you want to tarnish the family’s name because of a woman? I acknowledge that I’ve done some cruel things. However, if I didn’t do that, the young master…”

“Shut up!”

Vasily jumped up and threw his fist at the butler. Since he was a young master who had never fought before, the fist he wielded was not very powerful.

But the butler didn’t dodge and let Vasily hit him. Blood dripped from the fallen butler’s lips.

“Don’t do anything you will definitely regret. I hope you will succeed the Marquis and become the next head of the Marjoram family. So, bury this matter here. Playing house should end with childhood.”

As the butler stood up, he told Vasily that Yulia would soon be forgotten, and that he should rather go out to the entertainment district and buy a woman.

In the distance, the Marquis’s carriage was seen entering the mansion. Vasily’s gaze moved along the carriage.

He suddenly remembered what Yulia had said.

‘You’re not in love with me, you’re just mistaking it for love.’ She said that he gave a few coins to her who was in need and was drunk with a sense of superiority, thinking of himself as a god.

A dejected laugh leaked out.

Vasily thought that couldn’t be the case. If Yulia’s words were true, he wouldn’t have been overcome with such strong feelings of jealousy seeing Prince Lewicia hold her hand.

“Butler.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Go and tell my parents right now. That I will not marry the princess”, Vasily said as if making a declaration.

*****

After Prince Lewicia performed impressively in the first event of the palace contest, two young nobles requested to visit his palace.

They were the heirs of powerful families who didn’t belong to a faction. They also had excellent abilities, so they didn’t need to look good to anyone.

“She is a lucky charm.”

Lewicia, who was having a late breakfast, said as he pointed at Yulia with his finger and looked at Coco.

Coco snorted, then cut the steak in her plate and ate it.

Yulia drank tea while looking at the two from a little distance. 

“Tell me. Is Vasily Marjoram an incorrigible idiot? How could he let a girl like you go? Well… You don’t have irresistible charm like me, but your face isn’t bad. And besides, you’re like a lucky charm.”

An ambiguous smile appeared on Yulia’s face. Since she didn’t know how to respond, Lewicia spoke in her stead without any hesitation.

“You don’t have to answer. I just wanted to curse at Vasily.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’m curious about something, though. Did you think about what to write in the New Year’s address in advance? Did you spend the night writing and memorizing it?”

“No.”

“Then did you improvise on the spot? That’s impossible… From what I’ve seen, you seem to write better than the King’s writer.”

Yulia smiled ambiguously again. Then, this time, Coco spoke on behalf of Lewicia.

“You don’t have to answer. If you agree with this, it means that you’re pretending to be better than His Majesty’s writer, and if you act humble and say no, it means you are questioning His Highness’s discernment.”