TPOSAWB 59

The Price of Saving A Wicked Beast

Translator: Rae

“It’s unusually quiet around the residence today.”

The aide spoke in a low voice beside Fabian as he skimmed through documents. Fabian let out a soft, amused chuckle.

“True enough. Ever since Katarina arrived, there hasn’t been a single quiet day.”

The Marquis of Brundel had only one child, Katarina. Children raised as something more precious than gold tended to grow spoiled, and Katarina was no exception to that rule.

Every day, she bombarded him with demands as though they were only natural. Find Marcella. Find her and make sure she’s properly killed. At other times, buy her jewelry. Have new dresses made. Bring a cook from the North because the food did not suit her taste.

Her attitude, which seemed to take everything she enjoyed for granted, reminded him of his arrogant cousin who had stolen his position and behaved as though it had belonged to him from birth.

From the moment they met, his fiancé had stirred Fabian’s sense of inferiority. Yet he had no choice. His personal likes and dislikes mattered far less than uniting the forces of the North and reclaiming the inheritance taken from him. He had endured and waited for over a decade. Now, the moment he had dreamed of was close enough to grasp.

“How’s the Emperor?”

“The herbs haven’t worsened his condition, but his recovery is slow. The damage done earlier appears to have taken its toll.”

The aide frowned as he spoke.

“Wouldn’t it be wiser to warn Lady Brundell at least once? With her vanity, I worry she may make a serious mistake.”

At his aide’s open dissatisfaction with Katarina, Fabian laughed again.

“At worst, she’ll just have a pointless sparring match with the Crown Princess. What kind of mistake could she make at a noblewomen’s tea party? You’re worrying too much.”

“One day, Marquis Brundell will pay dearly for neglecting his daughter’s upbringing. To think a woman who still behaves like a child at her age is to become the next Grand Duchess—truly…”

Shaking his head, the aide trailed off.

“Who knows. She might even dig out useful information from the Crown Princess. Katarina has some sense, so she should know how to hold back when needed.”

“Yes, I certainly hope so. But even today she’ll probably pester you for new jewelry or dresses under one excuse or another. My ears already ache.”

“If she truly brings back useful information, would a few jewels and dresses really matter?”

Katarina had lived like a queen in Northern society in her own way. Though she lacked restraint from being constantly indulged, she had not yet made a fatal mistake. Had she done so, another woman would be standing at his side now.

If not for her status as the Marquis’s daughter, she was not worth noticing at all. To Fabian, her lineage was the only thing about her that held value.

Like hanging the head of a hunted deer on the wall, he kept her beside him simply because she was the most suitable bride in the North. He had neither great expectations nor interest in Katarina. That was why his aide’s greater concern over the marriage struck him as genuinely amusing.

“Contact Milnyme. We’re going to need his help soon.”

“Of course. He’s already in the capital, waiting.”

Fabian shifted the topic, signaling that further discussion about Katarina was pointless. Understanding his intent, the aide returned to business matters.

Just then, the sharp sound of footsteps reached his ears. Fabian frowned and turned toward the noise. His aide also looked the same way.

The door flew open without a knock, and an enraged Katarina stormed inside.

“Fabian, k*ll that woman right now. Immediately!”

Her face was as red as her hair as she spoke. Seeing her lips tremble with fury, Fabian gestured to a servant.

“Katarina. I told you to be careful inside the imperial palace.”

"It's just us anyway.”

Her retort dripped with irritation. Katarina raised her eyes and nearly shouted.

“Call them in at once. Kill her, no matter what it takes.”

“Call them? Hmm—but first, why is my fiancé so furious?”

Fabian tried to soothe her with the tone one might use on a child, but it only backfired. Katarina’s voice turned shrill as she spoke to him while he pretended ignorance and changed the subject.

“Enough. Don’t treat me like a child. I know everything. Them. That secret organization that obeys whatever you order.”

At her words, Fabian and his aide stiffened. Information about Dared was classified beyond top secret. Fabian, who had been watching her in silence, slowly opened his mouth.

“I can’t summon them right now. You know that.”

“Are you going to tremble like a coward over k*lling a mere physician? I’m telling you to k*ll her. Now!”

“Fine, I get it. Now tell me why. What’s the reason you’re acting like this all of a sudden?”

It finally seemed they were communicating. Katarina, who had been raising her voice, steadied her breathing and spoke to him.

“That b*tch took my necklace. She humiliated me in front of everyone. Fabian, you’re not going to just stand by and watch me be disgraced like that, are you?”

At that moment, the hand pressing against Fabian’s brow stopped.

"Necklace?”

As far as he knew, Adelaide was not someone driven by material desire. There was no way she would seize a guest’s possession without reason.

Katarina flinched at Fabian’s chilling reaction, which clearly demanded a proper explanation.

Her uneasy reaction made him suddenly recall the wording on the invitation to the tea party Katarina had attended that day. Fabian looked at her and spoke slowly, his voice tight as if his throat were being constricted.

“Don’t tell me that necklace was made from the jewel of Serrem.”

A few days earlier, Katarina had worn a ring set with a small emerald at a dinner with the Emperor. It had been small enough not to draw attention, so he had let it pass even after recognizing it. But a necklace was another matter.

Pressed by Fabian’s direct question, Katarina hesitated. Fabian’s gaze toward her grew even colder.

“Katarina. I’m asking you.”

“Well, that is, I mean… no…! I just really wanted to wear that necklace at our wedding reception.”

Was that supposed to be an answer? Fabian clenched his fist. Otherwise, he felt he might strangle Katarina right then and there.

“Fabian, you know how much I hate being looked down on. If everyone was told to wear green jewelry, I couldn’t bring something mediocre, could I?”

“So the Crown Princess took the necklace.”

Dark emotions sank into Fabian’s eyes as he muttered to himself.

After a moment, Fabian slowly turned his gaze toward Katarina. Meeting his eyes, she hurriedly spoke as if making excuses.

“I just wanted to be the most beautiful at our wedding! Is that such a crime?”

Even as she raised her voice in indignation, anxiety crept into Katarina’s doe eyes. Even so, she forced herself to appear unfazed, lifting her chin with an arrogant expression.

“Blaming me won’t solve anything. If it turns out that necklace really is from Serrem, you’ll be in trouble as well. Isn’t that right?”

The aide stared at Katarina in disbelief, while instinctively gauging Fabian’s mood.

Though he had complained that Katarina was unfit to be Grand Duchess, conflict between the two at such a critical time was far from desirable.

“What are you going to do? Fabian, say something.”

Katarina pressed Fabian when he did not answer.

“I’m asking what you’re going to do.”

“Yes. It seems we’ll have to k*ll her.”

Fabian finally opened his mouth. Having gotten the answer she wanted, Katarina threw herself into his arms.

"I knew you'd say that. Thank you, Fabian.”
 

Smiling like a flower in full bloom, Katarina clung to his neck. Fabian silently caressed his beautiful fiancé’s face. Yet the gaze fixed on empty air was colder than the northern winter wind.

***

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