Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

“Everyone out!”

At his command, the maids looked away and rushed out the door.

I looked up with my mouth agape in shock.

This couldn’t be right. Was this the same ‘Yan’ from the novel, the guy who was kind and friendly, the Captain of the Crown Prince’s escort division?

But now he rudely grabbed my shoulder and shook me.

“Why are you trying to kill yourself when you can’t even die? Did you think you could cancel this marriage?”

“…!”

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

In the original story, as Alfred’s escort, he was a loyal man who fought for the Crown Prince till the end.

He was also a tragic character who tried to stop Michael, who conspired to rise to the throne.

But!

In Sinclair’s memories, Yan was a man who stabbed his elder sister and pushed her from the Castle’s roof just to pass the time.

To Yan, Sinclair was no more than a yellow test chick to throw from the Castle’s roof as a joke.

I was confused. It was like seeing an SNS celebrity acting differently from their online self. Even if he portrayed himself as a nice and noble young man on SNS, his true identity was that of a bastard who harassed weak women due to the influence of drugs.

I was confused about what the hell to believe.

But now that I was Sinclair, I would have to treat him as I remembered in order to survive, right?

I said, shaking off the hand gripping my shoulder.

“Stop it.”

“Stop? If you were scared, you should’ve said you were scared. Why would you try to break your promise to God like this?”

‘Promise to God? What kind of Important and Great promise must I have made…’

I needed to probe a little more.

“The more I thought about it, the more scared I was.”

“You said you were afraid of not being able to protect the Crown Prince — was that a lie?”

Yan looked down at me as if he was shooting at me with his chin. I had never before thought his being that tall would be so disgusting.

“Crown Prince Alfred?”

“That’s right, you said there was nothing you wouldn’t do to protect Crown Prince Alfred!”

At that moment, my eyes widened. The main character of this book. The man who healed my poor heart, wounded and trampled by my crappy ex-boyfriends, with pure love!

Did Sinclair promise to protect the main character?

“The Crown Prince must be protected!”

I had a determined look on my face. When I spoke so confidently, Yan seemed relieved.

“Then kill him as soon as possible and prove your words! Don’t do anything stupid!”

I was shocked. Kill someone in the name of God for Crown Prince Alfred?

Was this a behind-the-scenes story or something?

I had to dig more. I dangled the bait.

“It won’t be easy.”

“That’s why you decided to become that child’s stepmother.”

‘That kid? Stepmother?’

“Theodor?”

I wanted to confirm.

“Yeah, Theodor.”

Whoa, what was that supposed to mean?

It was terrifying.

Kill Theodor for Alfred?

Michael and the Emperor sent me to kill Theodor?

She entered a political marriage to kill the cursed child, and instead, ten-year-old Theodor brutally murdered her. His stepmother.

I had in my hand the key to escape the death flag, but my head was throbbing again.

Ugh. What the hell kind of crazy possession was this?

A stepmother who tried to kill her stepson at the Emperor’s behest, but ended up being torn to death…

‘Uggnnn. Does this even make sense?’

I can’t. I would never do that!

‘You son of a— you damn author, return all my cookies!!’

tl-n: lmao I suppose everyone knows this already, but just in case you don’t, you can only read the series on Naver after buying cookies.

I want you to return all those likes, comments, and hearts I gave you in every chapter!

“Sinclair, if you do something stupid again, I won’t let you go.”

I was feeling wronged, and Yan looked at me as if he was renewing a vow.

‘Oh my God, this bastard! He’s a sociopath!’

Hey, you damn bastard! No matter how much of a fan I was of Crown Prince Alfred, how could I kill a child?

No, it was out of the question. That couldn’t ever happen.

I mean, killing my own stepson, in terms of ethics, morals, and humanity, was that humanly possible?

Moreover, if I tried, I would be torn to pieces and burned to death.

‘Even if you are an unreasonable and crazy Psycho, you can say those things lightly because you don’t know Theodor yet!’

Theodor was the embodiment of evil.

How many people were killed tragically just with his ability to burn someone to death by looking them in the eyes?

Fantastic. It was unbelievable that he wanted me to kill a kid like that. I needed to chuck this leech.

“Get out!”

Yan glared at me.

“I’m revoking my promise. Get out of here!”

“Aren’t you afraid of God’s punishment?”

‘God? If God punishes me for not keeping that kind of promise, then they’re no God at all.’

Yan grabbed my shoulder and shook me as if he was trying to grind coffee in the grinder. At this rate, I think my brain will be centrifuged.

‘Ah… I’m tired.’

It seems this bastard always badgered me to kill Theodor?

It couldn’t be. I needed to fix his hand habit first.

I kicked Yan in the groin. I felt a lump on my shin.

Huukk!

Yan cradled his precious parts with both hands and crouched down. Pupils dilated, saliva dripping from his gaping mouth, he fell on his head with a moan like an elk lost in the night.

Hunh, I should have done this to my ex-boyfriend when he broke up with me three years ago…

I pulled the rope.

When the head maid and the other maids rushed in, they were startled.

“Tell the guards to remove him.”

“Yes!”

A maid, who seemed to be the youngest, hurried out.

After a while, about six armored knights came in to see what was going on and were surprised to see Yan.

“Captain!”

Some of them ran and tried to lift him.

“Stop!”

They paused at my dry, low tone of voice.

“Who’s in charge here?”

I asked as I looked at the knights one by one. But everyone focused their eyes on the man standing in front.

‘Look at these?’

I had to show them that I was their superior.

But then.

“…Sinclair.”

Yan called my name, trying to get up and squeezing the words through the pain.

I hit him in the face with the spike of my high heels. He fell with a ‘Huk!’ and the knights panicked.

Unbelievable, I was using the fighting skills I had honed for years to kick the trash out of some bully who thinks he’s strong just because his victim is weak.

“Who’s in charge?”

I added in a low, threatening voice.

“You still don’t remember my name?”

One of the knights shuddered as if to show his disagreement.

‘So you know the answer, but you won’t obey me?’

It seems things won’t be easy.

The reason the lower levels abuse their power was always because they had strong backing.

Just as the Chairman’s son dared to wield a torch and explosives in front of me, his teacher.

The reason they acted like this was because Yan, Sinclair’s so-called younger brother, disdained and treated her like trash.

‘When in charge of children’s behavior, you must start by setting an example.’

In the 21st century, human rights were respected, so strong punishment was difficult.

But this was a society with status conferred through hierarchy!

I placed my hands on my back and focused my strength in my diaphragm. My version of a teacher from hell.

“Attention!”

At my command, the knight frowned and looked at me in bewilderment.

“Attention!”

I repeated my words without changing my tone.

The knights started to chuckle.

‘Are they laughing?’

As I saw the knights laughing like fools and turning from me, I stabbed the nearest one in the eyes using my index and middle fingers, since that was the only part of their body that was exposed under the thick armor.

‘It must hurt. The maids attached long nails before.’

The guard covered his eyes with both hands and bowed his head. He sounded like a pig being whipped.

“You are all fired. Even if he’s my younger brother, he entered the dressing room of the prospective Archduchess. And on the day of my sacred wedding!”

The knights froze like ice.

“Take these kids out of here.”

I pointed at Yan and the escort’s blinded captain, and only then the knights rushed to take them out.

I turned around and spoke dryly to the maids.

“You’re fired, too. And if my grooming is a mess today, know that you’ll be severely punished if I ever tell the Archduke.”

Their faces paled.

“Whoa!”

After I changed clothes and entered the bridal waiting room, Theodor, who was waiting while holding a flower basket, smiled brightly. There was not a single flower inside it.

Michael’s face turned red when he heard about the dressing room antics.

‘Did you grow horns because I expelled the maids and escorts you assigned? Ha! What information did you think you would get, what absurd commands were you planning to issue to me? Nothing will go your way now, Sir Michiael Owen!’

Either way, I ignored him and smiled sweetly at Theodor.

‘What did Sinclair do for five years to kill such an innocent child?’

I felt a little sorry for Theodor, who was portrayed as a devil in the novel.

I reached out to him and Theodor quickly approached me, taking my hand and starting to move toward the bridal room exit, but

“Enter the Crown Prince, Alfred Vonzeyer!”

I heard the servant’s voice.

‘You mean Alfred, my life’s savior?’

At the entrance to the bride’s waiting room, the Crown Prince was escorted by knights and servants.

‘That’s right! Didn’t that brat mention earlier that he was coming?’

Crown Prince Alfred must be my flower boy today, too!

tl-n: Flower girl/boy is the kid at a wedding who throws flower petals as the bride walks in. It symbolizes the blessing of fertility for the new couple.

I looked at the young Alfred with anticipation.

As tall as my waist, a boy with curly blond hair and sparkling green eyes approached me. His cheeks were ripe and pink, contrasting his clear skin. A seven-year-old boy in a white uniform that fitted his smile perfectly.

“Aunt Sinclair, congratulations on your wedding!”

Oh my God, Sinclair was Crown Prince Alfred’s maternal aunt.

“Theodor Vonzeyer greets the Little Sun of the Viatria Empire, the Crown Prince.”

Theodor placed his right hand on his chest’s left side, bowed his head, and bent his knees.

Alfred nodded his head and walked nearer me.

“Crown Prince Alfred?”

“Yes, Sinclair Vonzeyer, prospective Archduchess. I heard you collapsed earlier before the wedding? I was worried.”

The corners of Alfred’s eyes drooped down, and his lips pursed with concern.

‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I can’t believe I just saw his worried expression, which he only showed to the heroine in the novel!’

But Michael ruined this emotional moment.

“She must be nervous because it is her first marriage.”

‘Again, again! You’re always meddling!’

I glanced up at Michael Owen. Then, I remembered who he was.

When the Empire was in danger and the Crown Prince left the Palace to wage war with the devil, Michael Owen tried to assassinate the Emperor and install himself on the throne, however, he ended up dying a miserable death.

Ho! So, he sent his elder daughter to become Imperial Queen, and now set up his remaining daughter to marry the Archduke, first in line to the throne, to secure his status as a strong ally of the VIatria Empire.

Additionally, that despicable jerk ordered his daughter to kill her stepson, the Grand Prince, second in line to the throne.

Despite being an illegitimate child with a witch mother, Sinclair was still his child, so how could he just use and discard her like this?

He wasn’t even a human being.

“Aunt Sinclair?”

I quickly looked at Alfred, turning away from staring at Michael Owen.

The corners of my mouth naturally turned up.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Alfred held out his little hand.

‘Oh my god, you are a comfort in this cursed world!’

I quickly released Theodor’s hand, grabbed Alfred’s hand, and held it to my cheek. Feeling that undamaged and kind warmth, I greeted him politely.

“It’s an honor to greet the Little Sun of the Viatria Empire in person.”

“Welcome to the Imperial Family.”

As I looked into Alfred’s green eyes, I choked back my emotions. My lips trembled lightly.

But I overlooked something important. I had carelessly dropped Theodor’s hand to hold Alfred’s.

A sulking Theodor was glaring at Alfred, an evil gaze so cold it froze more than ice itself.