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The information Anna brought unfortunately only went as far as what the mercenary could know.
Still, it was quite helpful, so it had to be considered a not-bad result.
"The figure named Nox appeared about seven years ago. He grew by destroying slave traders and illegal auction houses one by one, swallowing up large organizations... they say. For someone who dominates the empire's underworld, isn't that too righteous?"
It was hard to see it as simply to weaken the power of large organizations.
After Nox took over the back alleys, at least within the capital, slave traders and illegal auction houses had completely disappeared, so they said.
Even up to this point, Nox's identity still seemed within grasp yet remained elusive.
Fortunately, Anna's father had met Nox directly, so she had pleaded with him to somehow dredge up his memories, resulting in:
"He said his hands were too clean for a commoner..."
Yevgenia muttered softly and lightly rubbed the back of her own hand.
In this world, the easiest way to discern someone's social class was by looking at their hands.
Even if he had roamed the underworld for seven years, the years he had accumulated before that likely couldn't have been completely covered up.
"I thought he wasn't an ordinary human from the moment he got involved with Stella, but to be a noble..."
In the original work, Nox's identity was never revealed, but usually, in romance fantasy novels, underworld rulers were often of commoner origin, weren't they?
'Well, sometimes they are the crown prince or royalty... but there are only three male members of the imperial family in the empire. Excluding the Emperor and the Crown Prince, there's only that sickly Second Prince, so it's an absurd notion.'
...But, 'usually,' in such settings, isn't it often that the sickly Second Prince is actually flying around behind the scenes?
Coincidentally, it's also been about seven years since the Second Prince of the Artrux Empire stopped attending banquets, citing illness.
'It couldn't be, could it?'
An ominous premonition crept in.
Perhaps throwing herself into this venture to get rid of that bastard Raymond might be like leaping into an even fiercer fire.
Hesitating, Yevgenia soon shook her head vigorously.
"No? Marrying that bastard would be like diving naked into hellfire, of course."
It might even be easier to deal with if Nox were the Second Prince.
Lightly stroking her chin, she forced a smile.
"Let's meet him first and probe a bit. Whether the original work's sub-male lead is a commoner or a prince."
In a room filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance.
This place, furnished with suspiciously luxurious furniture, was Nox's reception room located in the deepest part of the underworld.
Having never been to such a place in both her past and present lives, even breathing felt awkward.
'When is he coming, for heaven's sake? In the original, as soon as you gave the code phrase, Nox appeared right away...!'
Is this the difference between the original female lead and the villainess?
Just as she was about to despair, finally, the reception room door opened, and a man with black hair appeared.
"Ah, my. There really is a guest."
...While dragging something with one hand—whether it was a lump of flesh or a person, it was unclear.
"...!"
"My apologies. I had some business to finish up."
On his face, which shone particularly white even in the dimly lit room, red bloodstains were smeared here and there.
No matter how you looked, it didn't seem to be his own blood.
"Better finish quickly before our precious guest runs away."
It was the first time a voice carrying such sweet gentleness felt so alien.
'Did I... come to the right place...?'
"Now, stamp here, and sign here. Good."
Her hand, trembling over the paper Nox shoved forward, was firmly pressed down.
Though weak and covered in blood, seeing that it could at least move on its own, it seemed Nox hadn't dragged in a corpse.
'Should I be relieved by this, or not?'
It was incomprehensible.
The corpse... no, the person moved their hand here and there as Nox instructed.
Only after blood was smeared without fail on what looked like over ten sheets of paper did Nox release the person's hair.
The motion, as if discarding an object, sent a slight shiver down her spine.
Seeing the employee's back swiftly collecting the person groaning and trying to crawl out, it seemed such incidents happened fairly often.
Thud—
Once the door closed, now it was truly just the two of them.
Splash, splash— The sound of handwashing echoed in the room.
"So... what business does our guest have?"
The voice asking in return, with his back turned to Yevgenia, was surprisingly gentle.
To an extent that seemed unlikely to come from someone who had just threatened a dying person to stamp various documents.
As the hesitant Yevgenia raised her head, Nox's face, which had somehow drawn near, filled her vision.
"...Uh."
Hair as black as if a starless night sky had been cut and placed upon it.
A sharp jawline, smoothly curved lips, and lips of a deep pink hue that carried a certain sensuality.
Between thinly arched eyes, green pupils showed no discernible emotion.
For a moment, she was flustered by the exterior that seemed sculpted from the phrase 'dangerously handsome man,' but the bloodstains still lingering near his cheek allowed her to regain her composure.
"I, I came... because I wanted to make a request..."
"What kind of request? I'm a very expensive person."
'O-okay, he seems capable of more normal conversation than I thought.'
Perhaps because his first appearance was too intense.
Even if he demanded her life as the request fee, she felt she might think, 'Well, that makes sense.'
Regaining her confidence, Yevgenia nodded.
"I can pay any price. If you truly possess the ability I desire."
"Hmm. I am quite a capable man, but I wonder if that can satisfy a precious princess."
"Well, that is a difficult task. But I... wait, what did you say?"
"Huh? That I'm quite a capable man."
"Not that..."
Flustered, Yevgenia hurriedly felt her face.
Then, the meticulously wrapped cotton cloth was touched just as it was.
'My face isn't visible, and I'm wearing clothes borrowed from Anna... How on earth did he know?'
Nox shrugged his shoulders, answering her curiosity for her.
"You didn't possibly expect that flimsy scrap of cotton cloth to hide your identity while coming to a place like this, did you?"
"......"
"Ah, you really did? Oh my. Should I have pretended not to know?"
"...Forget it. It's more convenient this way."
Shaking her head vigorously at the blatantly teasing tone, Yevgenia discarded the stifling cotton cloth and quietly gazed into his eyes.
Clearly, his mouth was smiling, but his eyes alone maintained a cold temperature.
'I was letting my guard down too much just because he appeared as a good character in the original. This man is clearly... a very dangerous being.'
But Nox's level of danger had nothing to do with Yevgenia.
What Yevgenia needed now was Nox's ability, not friendship with him.
Once they cleanly finished their respective tasks, they could return to being complete strangers.
Letting out another long sigh, she leaned her upper body forward, looking directly into Nox's eyes, now even closer.
"Nox, you. You have the ability to erase 'names,' don't you?"
"......"
"Cleanly erase the name engraved on my body. That is my request."
Nox, who had been chattering away just moments before, fell silent as if his mouth had been sealed with glue.
Even his lips, which had been curved upward, stiffened rigidly.
She felt a moment of fear, but she couldn't back down now.
'It's better to act crazy, pretend to be the insane villainess. If I get even slightly entangled, I could really get X-ed...!'
The still-damp bloodstains kept flickering before her eyes.
If she fully acted the part of the arrogant princess, at least she wouldn't die here.
Swallowing dry saliva, Yevgenia slammed the table with a Bang!
"If you need money, I'll give you money. If you need land, I'll give you land. Ten billion gold? A hundred billion gold? Or how about a village under the duchy's jurisdiction? I also own a mine."
"......"
"If you want something else, just say it. There's nothing in this empire's lands that I cannot give."
It was an outrageous statement, but it wasn't particularly wrong either.
As the heir to everything of the Martyr Dukedom, there was much and more that Yevgenia could provide.
'If he doesn't yield easily here, I'll have no choice but to threaten him by revealing his identity.'
Until just before meeting Nox, no, even when he dragged in that person who was no different from a corpse, she wasn't 100% certain.
But the moment she saw his pupils, more precisely, the color of his eyes, she could perfectly pinpoint his identity.
'Green resembling a New Leaf. They say the late Empress's eye color was exactly like that.'
And that color, it was said, was inherited solely by the Second Prince.
Still, it was quite helpful, so it had to be considered a not-bad result.
"The figure named Nox appeared about seven years ago. He grew by destroying slave traders and illegal auction houses one by one, swallowing up large organizations... they say. For someone who dominates the empire's underworld, isn't that too righteous?"
It was hard to see it as simply to weaken the power of large organizations.
After Nox took over the back alleys, at least within the capital, slave traders and illegal auction houses had completely disappeared, so they said.
Even up to this point, Nox's identity still seemed within grasp yet remained elusive.
Fortunately, Anna's father had met Nox directly, so she had pleaded with him to somehow dredge up his memories, resulting in:
"He said his hands were too clean for a commoner..."
Yevgenia muttered softly and lightly rubbed the back of her own hand.
In this world, the easiest way to discern someone's social class was by looking at their hands.
Even if he had roamed the underworld for seven years, the years he had accumulated before that likely couldn't have been completely covered up.
"I thought he wasn't an ordinary human from the moment he got involved with Stella, but to be a noble..."
In the original work, Nox's identity was never revealed, but usually, in romance fantasy novels, underworld rulers were often of commoner origin, weren't they?
'Well, sometimes they are the crown prince or royalty... but there are only three male members of the imperial family in the empire. Excluding the Emperor and the Crown Prince, there's only that sickly Second Prince, so it's an absurd notion.'
...But, 'usually,' in such settings, isn't it often that the sickly Second Prince is actually flying around behind the scenes?
Coincidentally, it's also been about seven years since the Second Prince of the Artrux Empire stopped attending banquets, citing illness.
'It couldn't be, could it?'
An ominous premonition crept in.
Perhaps throwing herself into this venture to get rid of that bastard Raymond might be like leaping into an even fiercer fire.
Hesitating, Yevgenia soon shook her head vigorously.
"No? Marrying that bastard would be like diving naked into hellfire, of course."
It might even be easier to deal with if Nox were the Second Prince.
Lightly stroking her chin, she forced a smile.
"Let's meet him first and probe a bit. Whether the original work's sub-male lead is a commoner or a prince."
In a room filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance.
This place, furnished with suspiciously luxurious furniture, was Nox's reception room located in the deepest part of the underworld.
Having never been to such a place in both her past and present lives, even breathing felt awkward.
'When is he coming, for heaven's sake? In the original, as soon as you gave the code phrase, Nox appeared right away...!'
Is this the difference between the original female lead and the villainess?
Just as she was about to despair, finally, the reception room door opened, and a man with black hair appeared.
"Ah, my. There really is a guest."
...While dragging something with one hand—whether it was a lump of flesh or a person, it was unclear.
"...!"
"My apologies. I had some business to finish up."
On his face, which shone particularly white even in the dimly lit room, red bloodstains were smeared here and there.
No matter how you looked, it didn't seem to be his own blood.
"Better finish quickly before our precious guest runs away."
It was the first time a voice carrying such sweet gentleness felt so alien.
'Did I... come to the right place...?'
"Now, stamp here, and sign here. Good."
Her hand, trembling over the paper Nox shoved forward, was firmly pressed down.
Though weak and covered in blood, seeing that it could at least move on its own, it seemed Nox hadn't dragged in a corpse.
'Should I be relieved by this, or not?'
It was incomprehensible.
The corpse... no, the person moved their hand here and there as Nox instructed.
Only after blood was smeared without fail on what looked like over ten sheets of paper did Nox release the person's hair.
The motion, as if discarding an object, sent a slight shiver down her spine.
Seeing the employee's back swiftly collecting the person groaning and trying to crawl out, it seemed such incidents happened fairly often.
Thud—
Once the door closed, now it was truly just the two of them.
Splash, splash— The sound of handwashing echoed in the room.
"So... what business does our guest have?"
The voice asking in return, with his back turned to Yevgenia, was surprisingly gentle.
To an extent that seemed unlikely to come from someone who had just threatened a dying person to stamp various documents.
As the hesitant Yevgenia raised her head, Nox's face, which had somehow drawn near, filled her vision.
"...Uh."
Hair as black as if a starless night sky had been cut and placed upon it.
A sharp jawline, smoothly curved lips, and lips of a deep pink hue that carried a certain sensuality.
Between thinly arched eyes, green pupils showed no discernible emotion.
For a moment, she was flustered by the exterior that seemed sculpted from the phrase 'dangerously handsome man,' but the bloodstains still lingering near his cheek allowed her to regain her composure.
"I, I came... because I wanted to make a request..."
"What kind of request? I'm a very expensive person."
'O-okay, he seems capable of more normal conversation than I thought.'
Perhaps because his first appearance was too intense.
Even if he demanded her life as the request fee, she felt she might think, 'Well, that makes sense.'
Regaining her confidence, Yevgenia nodded.
"I can pay any price. If you truly possess the ability I desire."
"Hmm. I am quite a capable man, but I wonder if that can satisfy a precious princess."
"Well, that is a difficult task. But I... wait, what did you say?"
"Huh? That I'm quite a capable man."
"Not that..."
Flustered, Yevgenia hurriedly felt her face.
Then, the meticulously wrapped cotton cloth was touched just as it was.
'My face isn't visible, and I'm wearing clothes borrowed from Anna... How on earth did he know?'
Nox shrugged his shoulders, answering her curiosity for her.
"You didn't possibly expect that flimsy scrap of cotton cloth to hide your identity while coming to a place like this, did you?"
"......"
"Ah, you really did? Oh my. Should I have pretended not to know?"
"...Forget it. It's more convenient this way."
Shaking her head vigorously at the blatantly teasing tone, Yevgenia discarded the stifling cotton cloth and quietly gazed into his eyes.
Clearly, his mouth was smiling, but his eyes alone maintained a cold temperature.
'I was letting my guard down too much just because he appeared as a good character in the original. This man is clearly... a very dangerous being.'
But Nox's level of danger had nothing to do with Yevgenia.
What Yevgenia needed now was Nox's ability, not friendship with him.
Once they cleanly finished their respective tasks, they could return to being complete strangers.
Letting out another long sigh, she leaned her upper body forward, looking directly into Nox's eyes, now even closer.
"Nox, you. You have the ability to erase 'names,' don't you?"
"......"
"Cleanly erase the name engraved on my body. That is my request."
Nox, who had been chattering away just moments before, fell silent as if his mouth had been sealed with glue.
Even his lips, which had been curved upward, stiffened rigidly.
She felt a moment of fear, but she couldn't back down now.
'It's better to act crazy, pretend to be the insane villainess. If I get even slightly entangled, I could really get X-ed...!'
The still-damp bloodstains kept flickering before her eyes.
If she fully acted the part of the arrogant princess, at least she wouldn't die here.
Swallowing dry saliva, Yevgenia slammed the table with a Bang!
"If you need money, I'll give you money. If you need land, I'll give you land. Ten billion gold? A hundred billion gold? Or how about a village under the duchy's jurisdiction? I also own a mine."
"......"
"If you want something else, just say it. There's nothing in this empire's lands that I cannot give."
It was an outrageous statement, but it wasn't particularly wrong either.
As the heir to everything of the Martyr Dukedom, there was much and more that Yevgenia could provide.
'If he doesn't yield easily here, I'll have no choice but to threaten him by revealing his identity.'
Until just before meeting Nox, no, even when he dragged in that person who was no different from a corpse, she wasn't 100% certain.
But the moment she saw his pupils, more precisely, the color of his eyes, she could perfectly pinpoint his identity.
'Green resembling a New Leaf. They say the late Empress's eye color was exactly like that.'
And that color, it was said, was inherited solely by the Second Prince.
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