# 23
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Only three hearts.
I couldn't stop my heart from trembling when the five hearts suddenly reduced to three.
This means that Ethie's health has deteriorated sharply.
'I did everything I could... So why...?'
She provided him with bags of gold to prepare a warm residence, and supported the “Sistine Shelter” to feed him when he was hungry.
I even included medications and nutritional supplements among the aids.
'Why did it drop so suddenly?'
When I remembered the image of Ethie suffering in his bed, I felt a sharp pain at the core of my heart.
'What happened to Ethi at this time in the original story?'
Even when I tried to remember the events of the novel, I did not find anything clear.
Ethi was always suffering and suffering until the success of the revolution.
“Hirose.”
Was I too reckless in my thinking?
Hirose saw my trembling hands, and his eyebrows moved slightly.
“Shall we exchange secrets?”
I raised my head and met his eyes.
It's very difficult to get everything done on my own now.
I need reliable help.
“Wh...what?”
“Don't you trust me?”
"No! Of course I trust you, ma'am."
I took a deep breath and started.
“I'll go first, then you can share a secret with me in exchange.”
“But ma'am...”
I ignored his confusion and continued.
“I am assisting Prince Etheus von Clyde.”
His eyes suddenly widened.
Etheus von Clyde.
The only son of the previous Emperor, the man who would have been Emperor if Uncle had not stolen his throne.
“The golden bags I took before were his, and the Sistine Sanctuary and all my other plans are connected to him.”
A man with countless enemies, persecuted by all.
"my lady !"
The Elmore Family was at the forefront of this persecution as one of the most prominent families of the Emperor Pavilion.
No wonder Hirose was shocked.
“Why would you risk this?”
If I wanted to make excuses, I wouldn't have revealed the truth like this.
‘If all hearts disappear, Ethie will die, the revolution will fail, and I will die too.’
She looked into Hirose's brown eyes and continued.
“My fate is tied to the fate of Prince Ethios.”
A look of confusion appeared on his face.
He can't be blamed, the word "fate" is too vague.
"What do you mean by that? Is it some kind of magical spiritual connection?"
Since magic existed in this world, even if it wasn't common, he could understand if he assumed it was something like that.
“Similar thing, the important thing is that I will die if Etheus gets hurt.”
When I said the word “I will die,” Hirose trembled again.
He took a step closer to me and asked anxiously.
“Is this real? Who dared to do this to you?!”
“There's no point in knowing who did it.”
His eyebrows were frowning.
I exhaled lightly and said.
“Okay, now it's your turn.”
The truth I revealed was very heavy.
If Hirose uttered a single word, my life would be in danger.
However, I revealed everything to him.
Since we are master and servant, this may seem like a threat to him.
If he doesn't tell me the truth about the interview, he won't be able to leave alive.
After staring at me for a long time, he bit his lips slightly.
Then he slowly opened his mouth with a frowning face.
“...You know I have a connection to the prospectors, right? You saw the badge.”
'. ...Did he know?'
He knew I secretly checked his room, but he ignored it.
What an interesting person.
I looked at him curiously.
“Since you are such an intelligent person, you were suspicious of me and checked my room, I was hoping that you would catch me and interrogate me forcefully... but I am disappointed that you did not.”
Hirose, who sometimes blushed and stuttered when I talked to him, had disappeared.
Instead, there was Hirose with an evil look staring at me.
I used to feel like it was a bit weird, but today it seemed even more deviant.
“As you guessed, I have a connection with them, but I am not in contact with them currently.”
He paused, then got down on one knee and gently took my hands.
“I'm not here to steal anything from Elmore's house or to hurt you, not even for them.”
“Then why do you take the risk and work here without any debt to Elmore?”
There is no unrequited kindness.
With his fighting skills, he could earn more as a mercenary.
“At first I had small reasons, but now it is entirely my will.”
“Your will?”
“I never had a chance to know myf before.”
His calm voice reached my ears.
“Here, I get to know myf, who I am, and what I like.”
My eyebrow twitched.
“So, you're here for yourf?”
However, he had no bad intentions as a servant.
“Exactly, I really enjoy my job.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“If you don't trust me, you can kill me here, ma'am.”
He put a small dagger in my hand.
Then he slowly raised his head, until the edge of my sword was just a hair's breadth from his neck.
“Ah... I would die happily if it was your hand that killed me.”
'Did I know he could have such dangerous looks?'
The corner of my lips lifted into a smile.
“You know me well, Hirose, that's why you dare to do this.”
At least he knew I wouldn't slit his throat.
It's an extreme compliment to offer his neck to me.
“And I'm starting to know you a little too.”
But I won't accept that compliment.
I pulled out the dagger and handed it back to him.
He looked at me with trembling eyes, then his face turned red and he bowed.
“Just let me be your dog, and let me do whatever you need from me.”
* * *
“He did not come to work. I went to his residence, but it was closed, and I could not see what was inside.”
After Hirose knew my secret, she ordered him to find Etty.
But he came back to tell me that he couldn't find it.
“I will try to find out the whereabouts of Prince Ethios through other means.”
'Was this decision correct?'
She sighed with a gloomy face.
I was always the confident, unflinching villain —
But as hearts suddenly dropped, I lost my f-confidence.
‘Everything I did was to help Ethi. …’
I thought I was doing it right, but what if I was pushing him over the edge?
What if his health is worse now than it was before my intervention?
“The Empress Dowager’s hut will be demolished...”
Even if I was trying to help him, I might have been unintentionally hurting him.
I put my hand on my aching chest.
I can't explain this feeling to Hirose, so I used the 'shared fate' argument.
But Ethi is my favorite character.
In and out of the story, just looking at him makes my heart race and puts a smile on my face.
'. …I miss him.”
When I remembered how coldly I passed him in the palace, my eyes filled with tears.
Then I heard a knock on the door and Hirose's voice.
“Ma’am, I found him.”
* * *
“Rejecting the drink offered by His Highness? Isn’t this evidence of treason?”
After his talk with Catherine in the palace, Etheus attended the emperor's official dinner with a cold face.
The Emperor invited him before diplomatic envoys to improve his image.
But the evil courtiers continued to harass him rudely.
Etheus was in no mood to bear this, so he drank the strong wine in one go and roared at them with an angry face.
'Are you finished now?'
Their evil gaze couldn't bear his murderous gaze, so they turned away.
The emperor himf was dissatisfied with Etheus's action.
‘Catherine. …’
When he remembered her face as she announced the demolition of his mother's hut, he felt nausea and pain deep in his heart.
Even though he thought she deserved it, he felt a strange pain, like he had been betrayed.
Did he feel sympathy for her because their fate was similar without realizing it?
Even he didn't understand the reason for this hateful feeling.
In the midst of all this, he heard the words of the courtier.
“Catherine Elmore, instead of taking the northern lands, gave them back to the Emperor. She is a vixen.”
“We cannot allow Elmore's influence to be lost, but let's see how long she holds out against us.”
When Etheus tried to leave the palace, he suddenly felt attacked.
He quickly turned around and drew his sword, but was cut in the shoulder.
If he hadn't moved quickly, I would have cut his throat.
Although the killer was confused by his failure, he attacked Etheus, who fought him fiercely despite the influence of alcohol.
“Damn, this headache...”
The strong alcohol made his head throb with pain, but he gathered his concentration and hit the killer's chest.
The killer, dripping with blood, quickly ran away.
If Etheus had not been drunk, he would have chased him.
Now three days have passed since that incident.
Caron looked at Etheus lying on the bed with complicated eyes.
“His Highness the Prince...”
The eyebrows of Etheus, who was unconscious, twitched with pain.