Blain stared up at the ceiling with dull eyes. Above him was painted the royal family’s coat of arms, and a bitter smile came to his lips as he looked at it.

Everything had come from Cerdina. His possessiveness, his twisted sexuality, his sick obsession. Just as Cerdina obsessed over Blain, Blain was obsessed with Leah. The madness of the blood that coursed through his veins was not diluted. It was only refined as time went on.

Rising from bed, Blain pulled on his robe and grabbed the bottle of wine from a nearby table to start drinking. He wanted alcohol because he couldn’t stand reality, but his mind was still mercilessly lucid.

Leah had escaped.

The same day Blain realized that he could never possess more than her body, she had left with the King of the barbarians. At first he thought she would return quickly. It was a fair assumption when there were so many people at the palace who could be used as hostages.

But soon he realized something was wrong. The barbarians who had come to Estia as emissaries had disappeared as if they had evaporated, and they weren’t the only ones. Every Toma in the city had also disappeared. He could only assume that they had been seized by the savages, and had commanded his soldiers to scour the capital for them. But they had disappeared without a trace.

Cerdina’s power was constantly destabilizing. Whenever it became uncontrollable, another wagon would leave the Queen Mother’s palace, laden with sacrificed corpses, but Blain didn’t care much. Even if her power was out of control, it was fine as long as Cerdina could cast one spell.

All he cared about was having Leah.

If she didn’t return the wedding, he was going to behead her ladies-in-waiting one by one. He would have their heads hung up in the capital for display, and after that, every noble that had been close to her would go to the guillotine, one at a time.

When she saw the crows devouring the rotting bodies, then she would have no choice but to return immediately to the palace. And as soon as she set foot inside, he would wait no longer. He would have her made into his doll.

The next day, Blain personally attended the Cabinet Council meeting.

There were many inconveniences caused by Leah’s absence. With her gone, Blain now had to handle all the work she had been doing alone. Of course, once she returned, then she would resume all her old duties.

Blain watched as the nobles entered, his head tilted slightly back. These creatures had no conscience. It annoyed him, wasting his time on these useless meetings. But as he looked at them, one of his eyebrows suddenly lifted.

“……?”

Count Weddleton smiled uncomfortably as he made eye contact with Blain. Though he was the new King’s grandfather, he had never been interested in politics. But suddenly, here he was at the Cabinet Council meeting.

And Count Weddleton was seated next to Count Byun Gyeongbaek. It was surprising; Blain had not thought that they were close to each other.

Blain was eying him suspiciously when the door suddenly opened, and Blain turned with a frown. If the King had taken his seat, that door should not be opened. Even nobles were not allowed to enter if they were late, and could not leave until the meeting was over.

His first thought was to command his knights to drag out the lunatic who had opened the door, but he fell silent as the door opened the rest of the way, stiffening as he stared.

A small silver-haired woman entered and looked quietly around the room, turning toward the seat she had always taken. Blain was seated there now.

Her purple eyes were shining as she looked directly at Blain, and his mouth opened in surprise.

“…Leah.”

The Princess was back.