Chapter 48: Catherine

(Third-person POV)

Ethan's cold gaze and still bandaged body looked as if they were straight out of a horror movie. As his hands gripped Roxanne's throat, his face resembled that of a ruthless serial killer.

"W-what did I do? " Roxanne said, her fear evident in her eyes.

"You know what? Humans are creatures that constantly think, and I started thinking too... Before all these events, before going to the rebellion zone, I started wondering why a girl kept telling me to be careful. And I'm a paranoid person... I have trust issues. Besides, there was something this girl wanted to say before I left, but couldn't.

If I remember correctly, the last thing she said was, 'Please be careful. Especially E—' Now, what do you think she was referring to with that 'E'? Who do you think she meant? E? Emilia?! Could it be Emilia?

Moreover, this girl lived in the palace where the jester who made Emilia see that situation stayed, didn't she? Don't you think she's suspicious?" he said.

Roxanne looked at Ethan with eyes widened in shock. She realized she was in the worst possible scenario right now. She remembered from her previous life that Ethan was a smart man and particularly sensitive about betrayal. She scanned the room with her eyes but, unable to find Pipkin, she looked at Ethan with teary eyes.

"Please, let me go... This is a misunderstanding."

Ethan looked at Roxanne for a few seconds before releasing his hands from her throat.

"I have nothing to do with this. Your reason for suspecting me isn't enough. After all, I only told you to be careful before you left the palace. What's wrong with that?" she said, sobbing.

"Everything. Why have you been so interested in me since you came to this palace? Why is the fiancée of the second son of the woman who wants to kill me so interested in me?"

"I'm not his fiancée!" she said unusually loudly.

"That still doesn't explain why you're so interested in me."

"Because... Because..." Roxanne looked embarrassed, moving her hand back and forth while holding her wrist, her eyes darting between Ethan and the floor. Her still wet cheeks added another layer of appeal to her.

"Because what?" Ethan asked.

"Because I love you!... I-I told you to be careful because I was worried! I was worried about you getting hurt!" Roxanne said, her eyes closing in embarrassment as they started to blush.

What she said was true, but she had ignored some facts when saying it. Clearly, Pipkin's threat had worked.

Ethan was shocked by this answer. He didn't know what to say. This response eliminated many questions in his mind, and he internally questioned why he hadn't considered this possibility before. A sense of guilt formed within him. But despite everything, having just lost Emilia, it was difficult for Ethan to trust someone so quickly.

"You might be telling the truth, but you could also be lying, so I can't trust you. I want you to leave here, leave the palace" Ethan said mercilessly.

Roxanne's eyes widened, and tears started flowing from them like a flood again.

"Please...! Give me a chance! I'll do whatever you want... I'll do anything to prove that I love you–HICK! You can use me however you want, but please don't push me away!" Roxanne said, falling to the ground and clutching Ethan's feet, her hair now a mess, sobbing.

Ethan looked at Roxanne, trying to control his emotions. After all, every man had an instinct to protect a weak woman, and the biggest mistakes of most intelligent men stemmed from their inability to control this protective instinct. But as usual, Ethan considered his own interests and finally leaned down, grabbing Roxanne by her shoulders.

He moved his hands down from her shoulders to her waist and lifted her in a princess carry. Roxanne's eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at Ethan with her wet eyes. She was too shocked and excited to think about checking Ethan's affection percentage. As Ethan held her by her legs and back, he walked towards the bed.

When Roxanne's heartbeat became audible and she fell into a trance, Ethan sat her down on the bed. When he released her and Roxanne finally managed to calm her heart, she looked at the transparent affection percentage hovering over Ethan's head... and was disappointed. A moment of excitement and hope gave way to heartbreak.

But at least it was no longer a negative 15; instead, Ethan's affection percentage was zero. Yes, a complete zero. No interest, no hatred.

"I won't kick you out of here, but from now on, you'll have to do what I tell you to, and if I see any suspicious behavior... you won't see me again. Got it?" Ethan said, leaning in close to Roxanne's face.

Roxanne's plump lips pouted, and she flinched at Ethan's last words, but she managed to nod her small head. "I... I'll do whatever you want!" she said.

If Ethan's relationship with Roxanne hadn't soured, he would have found her behavior very sweet and might have even started to like her, but unfortunately, a broken relationship is not easily repaired.

"Then I'm leaving now. I will contact you soon... And oh, I apologize for my previous words. I'm far from my most polite self right now" he said.

"It's okay. I understand..." Roxanne said sweetly, nodding her small head.

Ethan looked at Roxanne for a few seconds, then turned his back and walked toward the door. Ethan's plan with Roxanne was simple. First, he would have her gather information about Fiona, but for that, Fiona had to trust her. While Roxanne acted as some sort of secret agent, Ethan would try to find out if she was lying.

In short, Roxanne would be a useful tool for Ethan.

As Ethan left the room, Roxanne took a deep breath and began to involuntarily replay the recent events in her mind. Her facial expressions kept changing—sad, hurt, resentful, then excited, happy, passionate—but the last expression was determined. Of course, when she lay on her bed and hugged her pillow... or, to put it more bluntly, raped her pillow, she had a perverted look on her face.

I guess we all know what she's fantasizing about right now...

----

Months before all these events, in the north, in the Tiamat Empire, a warm fire was lit on a wintry day. The logs feeding the fire were enormous, and atop these logs was a coffin. The coffin was quite ostentatious, so much so that any stranger who saw it burning would feel a pang of sorrow for the expensive coffin.

Right next to the large burning fire, the earth had undergone a transformation, indicating that another large fire had been held there recently. Around this fire was a large crowd, and from this crowd emerged a very beautiful blonde girl.

The blonde girl was dressed in white. In fact, everyone was dressed in white. In the Tiamat Empire, wearing white at a funeral meant that the deceased was viewed with feelings of love. And if everyone at a funeral was dressed in white, it meant a member of the imperial family had died.

But today... on this wintry day, two members of the imperial family were being sent off. The emperor of the Tiamat Empire and the empress who died hand in hand beside him. It was said that they were returning from a diplomatic meeting when an earthquake occurred. The energy released by the earthquake caused avalanches in the snowy mountains along their route.

Ultimately, the emperor's retinue perished under the avalanche.

Not only the emperor and empress but also valuable state leaders of the Tiamat Empire had lost their lives because of the natural disasters of that day. The Tiamat Empire had lost much in one day.

And now, the empire's sole heir, Princess Catherine, was staring at her father's burning coffin like a robot. She didn't shed a single tear—more precisely, she couldn't. An heir... especially one who had fallen into a weakened position. Crying could be seen as a sign of weakness. Yes...

this was really happening. The throne never accepts the weak! Sёarch* The nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Underneath Catherine's made-up eyes were actually bruised bags. Of course, these bruises were covered with makeup so that no one would notice, but no one can cover the pain of a heart with makeup... Undoubtedly, Catherine's small heart was irreparably deformed by all that had happened.

In reality, nature had mercilessly carried out what needed to be done. Not only in the evolutionary process but also in normal life, there was natural selection. While the weak perished, the strong continued to live in the absurd existence called life.

And if you don't want to be eliminated by natural selection, you must become stronger. And undoubtedly, for a person to become strong, they must first suffer... those who are strong without suffering only exist in silly stories told to children, but unfortunately, none of us are in a children's story.

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Author's Note: I'm curious if frequently changing the POV is disturbing. You can also check out Catherine's illustration in the comments!