Chapter 6
“Ahhh—! Ha….”
Standing alone in the empty snowfield where nothing had changed, a deep sense of frustration washed over him.
“This is driving me crazy….”
For a moment, he even wondered if he had been tricked by a princess even more devilish than Ineh.
Maybe she had just sent him out to suffer for nothing.
That thought didn’t last long.
Flap—!
‘Flap?’
A loud sound of wings beating came from behind him.
Dayton quickly drew his sword, turned around, and struck.
“Kwaaaaaaak—!”
A painful scream tore through the air.
A large black bird slammed into the snow, flapping its wings wildly as blood splattered everywhere.
Without even checking it properly, Dayton looked up.
“…Damn.”
A groan escaped his lips at the sight.
Black birds, each as large as an adult man’s thigh, were flying toward him all at once.
There was no time to think.
He moved on instinct.
Dodge. Slash.
Dodge. Slash.
“I’ll cover you.”
Ten, who had been following while staying hidden, stepped in to guard his back.
After that, it was nothing but cutting and cutting and cutting.
Only when piles of black bird corpses surrounded them did it finally stop.
“This crazy princess….”
Breathing heavily, Dayton stabbed his sword into the ground to support himself.
Even during the Preto War three years ago, when he was fighting for his life, he had never struggled like this.
“You should see this.”
Ten, who had been searching through the dead birds, handed him a stone about the size of a fist.
The surface of the dark stone was scattered with tiny blue specks, like stars.
Depending on the angle, they shimmered faintly, like glowing plankton in the night sea.
‘You’ll recognize it the moment you see it.’
It felt like the princess’s voice whispered in his ear.
When he had asked if they should bring a mineral expert, Princess Melissa had just smiled and told him to go.
“…It’s breathtaking.”
She was right.
He knew instantly.
It was a blue diamond—one with a color he had never seen before.
Even by size alone, it was valuable, but for the first time, he found an uncut gemstone beautiful.
He would need further investigation to be certain, but if there were many like this, it would be worth risking everything.
He already knew how valuable blue diamonds were.
But how did the princess know there was a mine here—and that the raw stones had such distinct features?
One thing became clear.
‘All that foolish behavior until now… it was all an act.’
If that was true, then the reason she revealed her true self now was obvious.
She even knew the Second Prince would send assassins.
With the emperor on the verge of death, she could no longer hide.
“Shall we go?”
“…We have to.”
Dayton began walking in the direction the black birds had come from.
But after following their traces for a while, the path became unclear.
It should have been this way…
Everything had happened so suddenly that he couldn’t remember the exact direction.
After thinking for a moment, Dayton stopped and looked at Ten.
“Yes, my lord.”
Ten bowed his head like a loyal subordinate.
Dayton let out a long breath and tightened his grip on his sword, as if preparing for something shocking.
“Ten… shout.”
“I’ve returned, Princess.”
Dayton entered as he always did.
It was late at night, when the day was ending and people were preparing to sleep, but he didn’t seem to care at all.
Well, that’s how he’s always been.
He had probably come straight to the palace without stopping by his residence.
His coat was torn and ragged, his hair and shoulders wet, and there were bloodstains on his pants.
A scratch below his cheek hadn’t even formed a scab yet.
He clearly had a rough time.
It was like him to come this quickly—but still surprising.
“You’re already back?”
Even if he used a warp to get near Ineh, it would still take hours to travel from there.
Finding the mine, collecting the stones, and returning—
It should have taken at least three days.
Since he arrived in two, he must not have slept at all.
Dayton, who had briefly looked surprised at her nightwear, calmly placed a handkerchief-wrapped object on the table.
Thud.
The heavy sound echoed.
“How did you know?”
“Does it matter how I knew?”
She murmured lazily and picked up the object.
The handkerchief slipped away, revealing the blue diamond.
“What matters is that it was really there.”
Ah… this shine.
A black stone like the night itself, filled with blue light.
She let out a soft admiration.
It looked exactly like it did in the webtoon.
To think she was holding it in real life.
After quietly admiring it, Dayton spoke.
“Shall I proceed as you instructed?”
“Yes. Good work.”
“Then I’ll begin acquiring Ineh—”
“We’ll talk about the details tomorrow. It’s late.”
“Shouldn’t we move quickly? Gathering miners—”
“Grand Duke Collin.”
At her firm call, Dayton stopped speaking.
“Tomorrow.”
He glanced once at the dim light in the room and gave a small bow.
“…Then I’ll take my leave. I’ll come early tomorrow—”
“Where are you going?”
“…Pardon?”
Dayton blinked slowly, confused.
“Didn’t you say we’d talk tomorrow?”
“I said we’d talk tomorrow.”
“…Isn’t that the same thing?”
She wasn’t that heartless.
He had worked himself to exhaustion—she wasn’t going to send him away in the middle of the night.
It was already late, almost dawn.
And even if he returned to his residence, he’d only sleep briefly before coming back anyway.
“Stay.”
“…What?”
“Rena!”
“Yes, Princess!”
Dayton’s eyes widened.
The maid waiting outside rushed in.
“Wait, Princess—why would I stay here?”
“The Grand Duke will stay the night. Show him the way.”
“Yes, this way, Your Grace.”
“Princess!”
“Everything is ready. I’ll guide you right away.”
“Stop making Rena wait.”
“……”
Dayton sighed lightly and followed Rena without protest.
Ever since a knife had been held to her throat, Rena had become very efficient.
Much better.
Watching her quickly lead Dayton away, the princess smiled in satisfaction and asked another maid for lavender tea.
Following behind the hurried Rena, Dayton finally checked his pocket watch.
10:30 PM.
A time when most people would already be asleep.
Only then did he realize how late his visit was.
“…I was too hasty.”
The place they found—no, the mine—was filled with black birds, so they couldn’t explore it deeply.
But it was clearly massive.
The gemstone he brought wasn’t even specially selected.
He had simply picked one up from the ground—and it was already astonishing.
After that, his thoughts were filled with questions about the princess.
Ten said there was nothing unusual in her past records.
The detailed report only showed her hardships.
No teacher.
No hidden supporter.
“…Supporter?”
She didn’t even have someone she could casually ask for help.
She was completely alone.
A chill ran down his spine.
Why did he suddenly remember the princess’s hand at his throat?
That was why he rushed back.
He wanted to see her, ask her, confirm everything.
But now that he stood before her—
He didn’t even know what to ask.
“Where are we going?”
“The bath is ready. You can use it right away.”
“…Prepared?”
“The princess ordered it, so it would be ready whenever you arrived.”
How could she know he’d come today?
Before he could ask more, Rena pointed to a door.
“Here it is.”
When she opened it, steam poured out.
“Greetings, Your Grace. If you need anything, please let me know.”
A servant inside bowed.
The bath was fully prepared.
“….”
It felt strange.
He had come without notice, yet everything was ready.
“How did she know I’d come today?”
“She’s been preparing since the day after you left.”
“What?”
His eyebrow twitched.
“She said you’re impatient and would return earlier than planned, so she’s been waiting since yesterday.”
“……”
After Rena left, the servant approached.
“I’ve prepared whiskey. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Ham, cheese, and a glass of whiskey with ice.
His usual choice when he couldn’t sleep.
“This too… the princess ordered it?”
“Yes.”
The servant nodded.
After dismissing him, Dayton looked around.
A bath filled with water scattered with red petals.
Soft candlelight.
A plush rug under his feet.
“….”
He couldn’t understand any of it.
Strangely, he felt more confused now than he had in the snowfield.
