While Lexion was busy with his work, I stayed at the Sparrowâs family villa and was treated with utmost respect.
The servants were really kind to me.
âIs the food to your liking, Miss Tiarozetti?â
âIâve prepared a warm bath for you. Youâll be able to sleep well after relaxing.â
âIf there is a place you would like to see, please feel free to tell me. Iâll accompany you.â
It was a completely different reaction from my previous life.
In the past, everyone treated me like someone who would stay only for a whileâŠ
Even in this peaceful daily life, my role was to wait for him to come home.
Just as Tiarozetti did in the novel.
In fact, I could go outside with my ring on, but somehow I didnât feel like it.
I was feeling really frustrated.
I couldnât go back to my original world; the longer I stayed here, the more despondent I felt.
Time passed without meaning, and I was anxious since the book still didnât appear.
I fell asleep every night after hearing the sound of Lexion coming home.
Even if it was meaningless, I knowingly waited impatiently.
It was a habit I had developed after entering the book to fall asleep only after hearing him coming back.
Itâs because I was trained by Tiarozettiâs habits from the original novel.
But there was another difference.
The sound of his footsteps passed my room.
As if announcing his arrival.
It wasnât like I was trying to run away, but he came to me every night and I pretend not to know.
But thanks to that, I was able to sleep and have a pleasant dream.
An intermittent pat, like something as warm and cozy as a fluffy bed.
A soft touch that felt like a comfortable breeze.
It felt like a dream I would forget after waking up.
Iâve spent a long time being her, which made me the perfect Tiarozetti.
It was easy to act like her even without the book.
By the time I was able to get used to the exhausting routine, I released all the tension that had been building up before.
It was purely my mistake to fall into that ridiculous trap.
It happened during Daisyâs brief absence.
The maid, who was usually behind Daisy, handed me a letter.
âMiss Tiarozetti, the Duke dental letter.â
âThe Duke?â
âYes. The messenger asked that you read it and send an immediate response.â
When I opened the letter the maid gave me, the content wrote about not staying alone in the mansion and going out for a walk together.
âHasnât the Duke been busy the last few days?â
âHe must have made some time. Should we get ready?â
At her question, I nodded and prepared to go out.
I was excited thinking he was done with all his busy work.
I didnât know it was a trap.
The maid led me somewhere.
And when I got to the place, I froze.
It wasnât Lexion who was waiting for me.
âDid she come?â
A blue-haired man stared at me and grinned.
âKronos, whyâŠâ
He has never been nice to me, not in my previous life nor this one. I was in trouble.
When I looked back, the maid had already disappeared.
It was then that I realized that I had fallen into a trap, and I had to deal with Kronos alone.
As soon as I saw him, all I could think was âIâm screwed.â
No matter how quiet my daily life was, I shouldnât have forgotten.
Lexion has too many enemies.
And to Kronos-who holds a high stake among his enemies-I forgot what a delicious prey I was.
I was mad at myself for being so stupid.
âI assimilated the role of Tiarozetti so much that I fell into such an obvious trap?â
If you can learn, shouldnât you absolutely avoid these traps?
However, blaming myself right wouldnât change the situation.
I clasped the letter in my hand until it was crumpled.
I ran into him without Lexion so I canât tell how harsh he would treat me.
But all I could do was straighten my back so I wouldnât feel uncomfortable.
âI see a little lion of the Empire.â
Kronos stretched out his hand gracefully and raised my head.
He looked down at me with an arrogant face.
Kronos Aden Werbel.
The Emperorâs biological son and Seirinâs older brother.
The member of the royal family was warier of Lexion than the Emperor himself.
He was one of those who wanted to bring down Lexion more than anyone else.
âYou must be disappointed.â
Kronos muttered as if it was amusing.
I squeezed the letter in my hands.
Perhaps it wasnât from Lexion but him.
All of a sudden I felt like a criminal, kneeling at his feet.
He asked arrogantly, crossing his legs.
âGregory said you were a distant relative of Lexion. Where did you live before?â
I was aware of that information but it still dug into my chest bitterly.
I was-after all-a a distant relative of Lexion in this life.
Because I didnât do anything other than that just to stay by his side.
A dark-haired, blue-eyed woman.
A peasant young girl who has never entered the capitalâs socialite.
Someone with the blood of Duke Sparrow but no direct line.
Though, Lexionâs cute younger sister.
That was Tiarozetti Isol, no, Tiarozetti Sparrow.
âI was living in the South.â
I barely opened my mouth to answer.
Each word was as difficult and tiring as stepping on thin ice.
Memories of the past were overlapping on Kronos.
Before returning-after learning that I was of the Isol tribe-Lexion was hated by the imperial family.
All the blame fell on Lexion.
Lexion was often sent into difficult monster subjugations as if he had been degraded. Each time he did one, the wounds on his body increased.
Despite imperial pressure to hand over Isolâs descendant, he stubbornly refused to send her to the Imperial Family, claiming that he wouldnât do it if Tiarozetti didnât want to go.
But he never said anything, and after belatedly hearing the whole story, Tiarozetti went on her own to the Imperial Family and claimed that she no longer wanted to be a bother to Lexion.
She went to them knowing they would take advantage of her, but the reality was disastrous.
Tiarozetti went through all sorts of hardships she had never experienced before.
Still, she didnât want to show weakness, so she laughed brightly whenever she ran into Lexion. He didnât know until later what she was going through.
I experienced the same things as Tiarozetti did.
Then, when Lexion said that he would form an evil dragon subjugation group, I joined, waiting for my ending.
Only to die on his behalf.
Tiarozettiâs life was a thorny path.
And as a traveler, I just kept walking on it.
But the thought of having to do it again made my blood run cold.
I didnât want to go back to the Royal Family.
I didnât want to repeat the hardships I went through there.
âWhy is Tiarozetti having such a hard time? She deserves to be happyâŠâ
My body trembled as I remembered the past.
Then Kronos asked bluntly.
âWhat did I do to make you tremble like that?â
He seemed to think I was frightened.
Actually, I was angry.
As I didnât answer, he continued speaking.
âYou know, I think itâs a very unusual situation, donât you think so?â
âIâŠâ
He grabbed my jaw roughly before I could answer anything.
He falsely accused me.
âYou should use your right to remain silent.â
Kronos spoke in a sarcastic tone.
Startled, I tried to protest but I closed my mouth.
I was afraid of making a mistake by recklessly saying something, not knowing what to say next.
However, Kronos was a worse man than I thought.
A moment later, his hand slapped my cheek.
In the silence, a fricative sound rumbled.
My cheek was burning.
The escort knights standing next to him were vigilant about their surroundings.
They didnât seem to have any intention of stopping Kronosâ actions.
I put my hand on the slapped cheek. The heat was rising.
But without giving me a moment to feel pain, he again held me by my jaw and spoke as if growling.
âDo you want to be around Duke Sparrow with that mixed blood? How arrogant!â
âThisâŠwhat theâŠâ
Slap!
âAre you talking back to me? This treacherous thing!â
âUukk.â
Both cheeks were sore.
This time I bit my tongue and could feel the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.
Kronos let go of my jaw roughly and nodded at the knights next to him.
Two knights held me from both sides.
I guess he didnât mean to send me back, no matter what my reaction was.
I glared at him but he had already turned around.
âShe dares to despise the Imperial Family, take her to the imperial prison now!â
With those words, Kronos flapped his cloak and left.
âYes! We will heed your orders!â
The knights replied stiffly and dragged me somewhere.
Â
I mumbled low, patting my throbbing cheek.
In a dark prison-unable to tell whether it was day or night- I cursed Kronos without hesitation.
Even after being imprisoned, I didnât have any uninjured spots on my body due to the continuous beatings.
After being left unattended for a long time and being beaten, I had almost completely lost my mind.
They treated me like an animal.
A damp musty smell filled the dark prison.
Every time I opened my mouth, the hardened crusts around my lips ripped and ached.
The shackles on my legs tightened on my ankles, making them tingle.
The chains were so heavy that it was difficult to move, even iron beads were attached to them.
I grinded my teeth.
My situation was too clear.
Kronos had the power to wield me at will, and I wasnât.
The difference was bitterly unfair.
I held up the shackles once. As soon as I let go, a noise rang.
Clank.
In the darkness without a single light, only a gloomy sound filled everything.
Lying on the cold ground, I quietly stroked my cheek.
A cold, heavy silence.
A place with no people around was the kind of place Tiarozetti couldnât bear.