Chapter 5
Why?
Only now did she remember reading that line, holding her breath, eyes wide open—
“…Because that makes this love even more thrilling.”
“Ha… haha…”
Standing in front of the annex, Chloe let out a weak, broken laugh like a mad person.
“Roeni… were you like that too?”
“That’s why you came to me… pretending not to know anything… even after doing all that?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Chloe collapsed to the ground as tears fell.
She felt pathetic.
While Roeni and Lucian were probably still enjoying themselves—
She alone was left here, crying in despair.
That thought only made her angrier.
“That’s right.”
As she reached that thought, something changed in Chloe’s pale gray eyes.
“I can’t be the only one like this.”
It was unfair.
She shouldn’t be the only one feeling this pain, this despair, this helplessness.
“Get up, Chloe Enrite.”
Wiping her tears harshly until her eyes stung, Chloe straightened her knees and stood up firmly.
She had to stop these endless thoughts.
It was time to think of something else.
Soon, Chloe walked straight into the annex.
From the moment she opened the door—
She looked coldly at everything she had once shared with Lucian.
Every object.
Every space.
Then—
She forced herself into their shared bedroom, barely holding back the urge to vomit.
I will never forgive them.
Those who betrayed the love I gave them.
How could she drag them down into the deepest abyss of pain?
As her thoughts began to race, heat rose through her body—
Then—
She suddenly stopped.
She had been wearing the coat on her shoulders without even realizing it.
“This coat…”
It was far too large.
It wasn’t hers.
“If you want… you can spend tonight with me.”
That absurd proposal—
Spoken so casually, as if it were nothing—
Belonged to that man.
Karsein Bloodien.
But—
Thinking back carefully—
“Maybe… I shouldn’t have taken it so lightly.”
Her judgment of him might have been too shallow.
He had clearly told her who he was.
But at that time, she had been too shocked to think properly.
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Chloe’s eyes sharpened.
She picked up the coat again.
Stared at it—
And made a firm decision.
Without hesitation, she took a pen and wrote a letter carefully.
Then—
She sat at a table in the bedroom, waiting calmly until dawn.
Soon—
The letter was delivered through a servant—
To a man still staying in the capital.
“Your Grace, please take a look at this.”
Karsein received the letter from his aide.
After reading it—
For the first time in a long while, he laughed out loud.
“I’ve changed my mind. I’d like you to have an affair with me.”
The handwriting was elegant and refined.
But the message Chloe Enrite sent—
Was anything but modest.
He had thought he would never see her again.
Yet she was the one who contacted him first.
After leaving so coldly before.
More importantly—
How did she even know where he was?
Karsein was currently staying at the Bloodien Grand Duke residence on the outskirts of the capital, Calentia.
It used to be close to the imperial palace—
But after falling out of favor with the Emperor, he had moved to the outskirts.
It wasn’t an easily noticeable place.
But that was better.
Constantly traveling between the North and the capital wouldn’t look good.
He didn’t know how the imperial family would interpret it.
Which meant—
For an ordinary noble lady—
It should have been difficult to find him.
Yet—
She had sent him a letter like this.
Karsein raised an eyebrow.
“She’s more persistent than she looks.”
She had even managed to find the location of The Invitation of the Deep Dawn.
That gathering—
Was actually something Karsein had secretly created.
A device to collect information in the capital.
Under the excuse of a masked gathering where men and women could spend a secret and thrilling night—
He lured nobles into a tavern called “Silent Alley.”
And from them—
He gathered all kinds of information.
Dirty rumors.
Useful gossip.
Political, diplomatic, and military secrets.
But then—
Reports came in.
An unnecessary outsider was interfering.
Chloe Enrite.
Though the gathering was managed by Madam Enoxia—
One of Karsein’s informants—
The true master behind it was Karsein himself.
When he heard Chloe had made contact through Enoxia—
He hesitated.
Normally, he would never allow such a nuisance near the place.
But—
Chloe had shown relentless determination.
She would find it, even if it cost her life.
If she accidentally discovered something important—
It could become a serious problem.
So—
As always, Karsein chose to eliminate the risk himself.
He wanted to see the face of the woman bold enough to irritate him this much.
And so—
He deliberately gave her the time and place.
Came to the capital himself.
And let her see exactly what she wanted.
At the same time—
He made sure she didn’t cause trouble.
He didn’t care who was having an affair.
But—
Roeni Enrite and Lucian Edmont—
Were useful sources of information.
Losing them would be a loss.
That was why—
When Chloe tried to act—
He broke the glass to distract her.
But Chloe—
Was calmer than expected.
She even seemed to understand his intentions to some extent.
Still—
Seeing them together—
She had inevitably lost control.
So Karsein stepped in himself.
He could have simply thrown her out.
But—
The tears that fell into his hand—
Stirred something in him.
A memory.
“How could His Majesty abandon me… and choose a mere maid instead?”
The day he, once the First Imperial Prince of Babelheim—
Rebelled in blood.
The day he cut down everyone who stood in his way—
And even raised his sword against his own father, Emperor Theobald Bloodien.
The day he lost his position as Crown Prince—
And was cast out to the North.
He had never known love between a man and a woman.
But—
For a moment—
He wondered—
If the pain Chloe felt—
Was the same as what his mother had felt.
And because of that—
He made a promise that was unlike him.
“If you quietly come with me and leave… I’ll let you use me for your revenge.”
