Chapter 6
I lifted my chin proudly and threw my final blow.
“Then just wait and see. Even if something terrible happens in the Empress’s Palace, I won’t care.”
Only then did the emperor lower his sword. I sighed in relief and complained with a hint of hurt.
“You’re really being too cruel to someone who saved your life.”
The emperor then took a white handkerchief from his pocket and held it out to me.
“Here.”
“Huh?”
I blinked, not understanding, and then the emperor slightly bent forward and gently pressed the handkerchief against my neck.
“W-What are you doing…?!”
“Giving first aid to the person who saved my life.”
He answered seriously, looking into my eyes. Startled, I quickly asked,
“Wait… am I bleeding?”
“Yes.”
The emperor showed me the handkerchief stained with blood.
As soon as I saw the blood, I felt dizzy. When I staggered, the emperor caught my arm.
“Are you okay?”
“I-I have hemophobia.”
Blood was the scariest thing in the world to me. I used to just dislike it, but after an accident two years ago, I developed a real fear.
“You really don’t seem like a witch.”
The emperor murmured quietly while stroking his chin. A witch, known for killing and stirring up violence, having hemophobia—this alone proved I wasn’t a witch.
I didn’t need to explain anything else.
“I told you I’m not…”
And with that, I fainted.
❖ ❖ ❖
Louisville wore armor for the first time when he was eleven.
It was the day after Cutter had a big fight with Sophia. That day, Cutter put armor on his eldest son, who was considered a genius in every field.
“Louisville, come with me to the battlefield.”
Back then, Louisville liked horse riding, hunting, and sword fighting, but he didn’t want to kill anyone.
“The battlefield? I don’t want to go.”
“You’ll learn something there. That if you don’t kill, you’ll be killed.”
He didn’t understand the true meaning of those words at the time. He didn’t yet know about the witch’s curse.
As the war continued, Cutter became a war maniac, while Louisville grew to hate war deeply. Even so, he didn’t know how to stop.
Some days he wished someone would just kill him. Other days, he fought desperately because he didn’t want to die. He lived with that inner conflict and kept fighting—and kept winning.
Thanks to that, the empire tripled in size in just ten years.
That day, the Kingdom of Hastings, which had resisted until the very end, finally fell. The capital was reduced to ruins, and the royal palace burned down.
As Crown Prince at the time, Louisville spotted a fleeing woman among the ashes.
He could have let her go since everyone else had already fled. But her hair caught his eye.
It was rare red hair.
And she was dressed from head to toe in the finest clothes.
Louisville pulled his sword from the last guard he had defeated. Blood was dripping from the blade, and he flicked it off like shaking off a dirty bug as he walked toward her in heavy boots.
“You can’t go any farther.”
When he blocked her path, the woman flinched and raised her head.
At that moment, Louisville was reminded of his mother, Sophia, who rarely left the Empress’s Palace. The woman looked about the same age.
She had red hair and a red dot on her forehead. Her eyes trembled as she looked at Louisville’s armor. She seemed to know who he was.
“I-I’m a prophetess. If you take me with you, I’ll be useful.”
As expected, she wasn’t an ordinary woman. But of all things, a prophetess?
Louisville honestly thought it was a hassle. But if he let her live, she might become a problem later.
“So please spare me!”
Instead of answering, Louisville swung his sword in the air. The blood splattered from the blade. The woman, now with blood on her forehead and cheek, grew more frightened and spoke quickly.
“If you kill me, the god Durk will be angry with you!”
“That’s quite a scary threat.”
Louisville replied in a dull voice and gripped his sword again.
After the era of witches and long wars, the temple had lost its power in the Empire of Louis, and the current emperor didn’t believe in gods. There was no official state religion.
The woman, seeing Louisville’s indifferent reaction, finally fell to her knees and begged.
“I have a sick daughter.”
“She’s probably dead too.”
Louisville had become numb to pity during the war. Everyone lied to survive.
“Then, I-I’ll tell you a prophecy.”
The woman kept speaking in a trembling voice. Louisville smirked as if he found it amusing.
“Tomorrow… the emperor will die! Then, you’ll become the emperor!”
The smile slowly faded from Louisville’s lips. Even if it was a last joke before dying, it was hard to laugh at.
“If my prophecy is right, make me the royal prophetess.”
His father would die? What nonsense. That’s what he thought at the time. He couldn’t have imagined his father would be stabbed in the heart the next day by a young soldier in hiding.
“You’re asking to die faster.”
When Louisville raised his sword, the woman’s eyes changed sharply. Clutching her dress, she glared at him.
“I’ll give you one more prophecy.”
Her shortened tone made his sword hesitate. A crooked smile appeared at the corner of his red lips.
“You get brave when you’re about to die.”
“You’ll die because of the witch’s curse.”
She declared. Louisville snorted.
His family was said to be immune to witch curses.
“Too bad. I have Gardener blood.”
“Yes. That’s why… you won’t die by a witch, but by the hand of the one you love—”
Swish—
Louisville slashed her throat without mercy.
The woman’s head flew through the air and landed on Louisville’s face. What caught his eyes was her wide-open, bloodshot stare.
Louisville opened his eyes in bed. Outside the window, it was still early dawn.
“Huff… huff…”
Ever since his father Cutter’s death three years ago and learning of the witch’s curse, he had nightmares almost every night.
The woman’s first prophecy had come true. But the second—he believed it wouldn’t. Because Louisville had no intention of loving anyone.
Shff—
He got out of bed and put on his uniform.
Since his teens, he had suffered many assassination attempts, so patrolling the palace had become a habit. He often did it both day and night.
While getting ready, he kept thinking.
His sharp mind was skilled at organizing priorities.
After his morning patrol, he would find Anier. He planned to ask for a prophecy. Though he wasn’t sure he could ask politely.
Suddenly, he remembered how Anier fainted from seeing blood and let out a dry chuckle.
She knew the exact details of the witch’s curse. Her red hair had made him suspect her for a moment.
But a witch with hemophobia? Impossible. A real witch would laugh even while soaked in blood.
Anier, who feared blood, could never be a witch.
Louisville had to admit he had been hasty in wanting to find the witch and calm the Empress Dowager. As of today, he completely let go of his doubts about Anier.
❖ ❖ ❖
After fainting from hemophobia, I had been asleep the entire time. I didn’t even know if it was day or night. At some point, loud knocking woke me up.
Knock, knock—
“His Majesty is here.”
Startled by the voice outside, I jumped up from bed and quickly fixed my messy hair.
The emperor was already walking across the large room toward me.
“You need to give me a prophecy.”
Feeling flustered, I scratched my forehead. I really wished I could be the kind of prophet who could give a prophecy just by being asked.
“My dreams don’t come on command.”
“I wonder…”
The emperor stopped mid-sentence and stared at me. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
“Do I look like I’m asking?”
He was smiling, but it wasn’t a real smile. His tone sounded kind, but it wasn’t. I swallowed a sigh and asked,
“What kind of prophecy?”
“Prophesy that I will marry a witch.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought I must still be dreaming.
“M-Marriage?”
I was sure I’d misheard, but the emperor gave a firm nod.
“Yes. Because that’s the only way the witch will agree to meet me.”
So, the emperor wanted me to make a fake prophecy that he would marry a witch—just to draw the witch out. That’s how desperate he was.
I looked at him with nervous eyes.
“Will you kill her the moment you find the last witch?”
“No.”
The emperor firmly shook his head. I thought I understood what he meant.
“Then… are you going to torture her in prison first?”
“I’ll marry her.”
“What?”
My eyes and mouth opened wide. The emperor casually tapped my chin to close my mouth.
Then he repeated the same thing again.
“I’m going to marry the witch—just like the prophecy says.”
