After contemplating about the grown up man who was gradually increasing the dark chapters of his life...

The moment I had arrived at the mansion, I opened the door and flew away.

After all, the infuriated duke was about to slap me as soon as we got off.

Why would I stay and get beaten?

Of course I would make a run for it.

The pig-like fat duke got tired quickly as I avoided him like the plague.

He could just as well have dragged me over some random charge, but the way I had implied 'You should not act rashly towards the emperor's fiancée,' must have nagged him all the way here.

'Until I get dumped, those words will protect me to some extent.'

After I get dumped, though, I gotta scram.

"M-My lady? What....?!"

"Oh, Lucy! Wait, take this."

"Gasp, my lady!"

I flung off my dress, without even bothering to close the door all the way.

"Ah, so refreshing."

And then I handed the dress to Lucy.

"Is this wine? But why is it all...?!"

"It just happened! I'll go wash myself then! You can throw away the dress if you want!"

"Yess."

After seeing Lucy answer me with a nonplussed face, I ran into the bathroom.

Then, after taking a quick bath, I rushed to the bed with a lunge.

Ah, it had been a fruitful day!

* * *

The next morning...

I began to cheerfully write a letter.

"To Your Majesty, the highest sun, moon, water, wind, flower, tree, bird, and so on... of Callior."

It would be great if just acting crazy once were enough to break off this engagement, but...

Although I had some expectations, unfortunately, it was unlikely that things would be solved so easily.

'Also, I can't do anything so extreme as to make him want to kill me as well.'

Hence, it was important to carry on this crazy act without crossing the line.

'In order to remain as a harmless but crazy person, to whom you don't want to get close, it's important for me to respect this line.'

Because the tyrant was also a very distrustful character.

So, I was writing this letter while keeping these thoughts in mind.

The purpose of the letter was very simple.

"I have to decide when we should meet."

The emperor and his fiancée were obliged to meet a couple times a month.

Furthermore, they had to keep records of those meetings.

It was no different from publicly dating.

"....death anniversary, it would be better on that day. All right."

That's why I sent him a letter, using all kinds of flattering compliments I could think of, about picking a day for our mandatory dates.

I should keep on sending it like this from now on.

'I also wrote I would accommodate to His Majesty's schedule for the day and place of our first date, since I shouldn't annoy him too much.'

Very good. So smart.

I sent him the letter with a proud smile.

"Then..."

What would be his reply?

If he replied to this letter with a timetable, it meant yesterday's actions had not been so impactful.

In case I received a timetable, well...

I should think of something more impactful.

There was no way he would put his heart and soul into his date with his fiancée, so he would probably just ask me to meet him at the palace, right?

"....Phew. It would be so good if I just received a break-up letter..."

Then I would run away from this place with the little fortune left by Scarlett's mother, and just focus on making money for my comfortable and prosperous life afterwards.

Anyway, after sending him the letter, I quietly summoned Lucy.

"Yes, my lady."

"Could you bring my account book?"

I should check it out before I forgot about it.

The fortune left to Scarlett by the duke's late wife, Scarlett Arman's mother.

"Here it is."

"Thank you."

"...."

Her mother's family was completely ruined, so there was only a small amount of fortune for the late duchess to pass on.

Still, since it wasn't such a tiny amount either, the Scarlett from the original novel used it to secretly torment Cherla as well.

That meant it was an amount enough to hire someone or get some high-class medicines.

'Naturally, after using it all up, she borrows money from the elders of the Arman Family.'

Because of that, another charge got included in the list of crimes committed by the elders ㅡ the crime of having helped Scarlett Arman.

"Hmm."

Lucy, who made a funny face every time I thanked her, put the cup of tea next to me.

"Oh, thank you."

That was quite fun, so after thanking her again, I moved my eyes back to the account book.

As expected, it was an average amount.

'For now, it's not enough money to get away from this house and become independent.'

It was merely enough to buy some information from time to time and secretly purchase a high-class poison once.

'Not to mention how Scarlett must have saved up all this while for her to still have this sum of money.'

As I had suspected, I would have to earn money in a proper way.

Fortunately, I had a way to make a lot of money with a small amount of money.

"Safe zone."

Or more precisely, the barren lands called 'cradles'.

They were lands which had been abandoned because magic didn't work directly in there.

And if magic didn't work, it meant it was hard to build buildings in those lands, and there were no buried resources in there too, so they weren't necessarily useful for something.

'It's just known as a land that's safe for animals and plants.'

Usually, just like the forest of monsters, these safe zones were found in almost unapproachable places ㅡ with the exception of the safe zone around the Imperial Palace.

A safe zone that's right in the center of the capital! Could you believe that?

It was an useless land, but since they couldn't simply get rid of it, it belonged to the Imperial Palace for now.

It was also the only land that could be sold even though it was owned by the Imperial Palace.

Moreover, at a very cheap price.

'No one's still willing to buy it, though.'

However, not long after the original story began, the capital's safe zone would quickly turn into a jackpot.

That's because the fairies who were secretly living there got entangled with the female lead.

"Fairies. Hehe."

Thinking about it, I could even see the fairies in person, huh?

On top of that...

"If I get acknowledged by a fairy, I can secure a very good resource of money."

The most expensive treasure of this world ㅡ the fairy stone.

I planned to sell that.

And then, on that afternoon...

As soon as I had come back from the bank after withdrawing some money, a reply letter had arrived from the Imperial Palace.

".....damn."

It was the tyrant's official schedule for a month.

* * *

It had been a long day.

Charléans looked around the dark room before tossing his sword aside.

And then, with a loud thud, he threw himself on the bed.

His body felt heavy.

But his eyelids felt heavier, and his head all the more heavier.

"Happy Birthday, Your Majesty."

"....."

Her bright smiling face had been strangely dazzling.

It hadn't been extremely beautiful or anything, but it just...

It just had, literally, dazzled his eyes.

"....Ridiculous."

He muttered coldly, after staying with his eyes closed for a good while.

He wasn't in a good mood.

Right.

Maybe it was because it had been the first time in his life.

The first time someone had smiled so brightly at him.

The ominous prophecies and rumours that followed him around.

And the bloody chilling aura that permeated from him, made it impossible for anyone to smile at him like that.

No matter if that person had a good or bad intention towards him.

....He was well aware of that himself. That's why he had never imagined such a thing.

However, this unspoken rule had been shattered today.

No, in fact, what he went through today had been so intense in many ways that such a smile was just a trivial matter.

'When the intelligence chief, who always looks worn out, saw that wink, he opened his eyes wide as if he had been covered in a bucket of cold water.'

It made Charléans... be in a bad mood. No, maybe not bad.

With a cold face, he dwelled on his feelings for some time.

Then, he recalled about the report he had received when he had chosen her as his fiancée and had her investigated just for formality's sake.

He lifted himself up quickly, as if the fact he had just been lying down exhausted had been a lie.

"Scarlett Arman."

And after a while, he was sure.

'What a mess.'

Today had been the first time he had seen her in person.

And as he had seen for himself, this report, which had been investigated and submitted by his intelligence chief, was quite dubious.

'Savage?'

It was rare for a person to be listed as savage in a formal report.

At least he didn't think that young lady would be such a person.

Although you wouldn't know everything by just looking at it once.

He was a person who could notice a lot of things at a glance.

"It's hard for this report to be accurate, since it's only about a few things she has done outside."

The Arman Family was the oldest family in the continent, along with the Imperial Family Callior, and the now-extinct family of Raschahell.

Although the present generation of this family seemed to be coming apart, their hidden power was something that even the emperor couldn't neglect.

'I've had them look into the superficial aspects for now, but I should make them investigate further.'

To be honest, the process of choosing her as his fiancée had not been easy.

Because, be it the people of the shrine or be it the nobles, they all risked their lives to oppose to it, claiming all sorts of reasons.

In spite of that, he had gone through it because he had a purpose.

'Towards the Arman Family.'

And he hadn't thought much about her before this.

Suddenly, he realized he had been delving into a single person alone for quite a long time.

Albeit he had been trying to grasp the situation with cold eyes, at any rate, he continued to... think about her.

The moment he realized that, he flinched.

And then...

"....."

A trace of a smile flashed in his purple eyes.

At long last, he came to a conclusion.

A conclusion about that strange young lady, who had gone crazy, but not in a way he felt like killing her, and not in a completely crazy way either.

"Shall I wait and see?"

After all, it had been a while since someone had caught his attention for such a long time.

These type of people became either his people like his close aides...

'Or die in a particularly horrible way.'

But it was usually one of the two.

Putting on a rather cold smile, he decided to quietly keep an eye on her.

Not on Scarlett 'Arman', but on Scarlett herself.