Chapter 4

“Wow… It’s pretty.”

A ring embellished with a big piece of Elphire, a blue gem symbolizing the imperial family.

As I ran away across the Cunnel forest that surrounds Drax prison, I looked down at the ring that was on my finger constantly.

This ring that was being kept in the vault underneath the prison was my real objective all along.

Or why else would a genius swindler like me get caught by the stupid guards so easily?

“So pretty.”

The enchanted jewelry adjusted its size to fit my finger perfectly as soon as I put it on my right ring finger.

The destination that I was heading to with this ring was the Eisenbach Kingdom.

It was a country on the Eisen continent that was a weeklong boat ride away after crossing the empire’s border. That country was having some nice profits through the distribution of ‘magic stones’ which are the origin of magic, which they dug up from deep underground.

I was planning to do another heist there as it was just as wealthy as this empire.

Since I got hold of the imperial family’s treasure, the next disguise according to my plan was… the unknown illegitimate child of the Hexen imperial family!

I was planning to secretly approach the royal family of Eisenbach, reveal my identity as soon as I arrived, and coax them.

‘It should be a mess right about now, right?’

They lost me right under their nose, and the ring disappeared without a trace.

I laughed as I tried to think of what the face of Rexid Van Hexen, who got blindsided twice, would look like.

His eyes must be bloodshot red trying to catch me, but of course, that was impossible.

A genius with such vast experience in fraud and tricks from both this life and the past life, that’s who I am.

Now that I’d made my name known throughout the empire and acquired the imperial family’s treasure, which is what I need to seek asylum in the Eisenbach kingdom, all that’s left is to get on the boat.

Yes, all that’s left is to get on the boat but…

“Ugh!”

Right when I was diligently walking out of the forest, I was overcome with a sharp pain that felt like it was squeezing my heart, it spread all over my body in an instant.

‘Poison?’ I thought instinctively.

A kind of paralytic poison. It was deadly, extracted from poisonous herbs that normally created Siphen or Perilton.

It was the kind that could paralyze and instantly kill any regular person, but I had been dosing myself with small amounts of almost all poisons in existence, so I was barely able to survive.

But the fact that my escape was becoming delayed worried me.

‘When did I take it?’

The only thing that I ate without suspicion was the disgusting food given to everyone at Drax prison, so it must have been mixed in that.

“Ahh… ah…”

As my body instinctively fell and began to struggle, I clenched at my aching heart.

Colorless and odorless. Since I didn’t notice it at all, it couldn’t Siphen which has an especially strange scent.

So it was probably Perilton…

But who could have done that?

Perilton was supposed to be a very rare poisonous herb that was impossible to get in the empire…

“D-damn it…”

My body was burning up but reacted differently than expected.

Even though I should only be able to move my eyes due to being paralyzed, for some reason, my limbs started twitching.

My body started to crawl back towards the way I came from as if my body wasn’t my own.

‘What… is this?’

It was a chaotic blur and unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury to think things through with a cool head. My body was in so much pain that it wouldn’t allow such a thing.

“Hmph! Ugh…”

The pain was relentless but my sight was surprisingly clear, my body didn’t take orders from my brain anymore and continued to wiggle as if it had a destination of its own.

“Urgh…”

Thud-

Eventually, a foot came into my low line of sight as I was crawling.

Shiny black military boots.

It was as if I forgot the sensation due to anxiety, or my immunity to poison finished purifying my body just at that moment. I didn’t know the reason, but the pain immediately stopped.

I slowly lifted my head, still laying down on my belly.

…Rexid Van Hexen.

The man who seemed even more merciless under the sunshine was standing right before my eyes.

“Going somewhere?”

“Oh…”

He slowly bent his knees, got real close, and smirked.

“I should have known when you got caught so easily, but I can’t think that far. I can’t believe your goal was the imperial family’s treasure,” Rexid said looking at the shiny ring on my right hand as if it was amusing.

I laughed awkwardly, quickly took off the ring and gave it to him.

“It was pretty.”

“You didn’t steal it because it was pretty. I wonder what you were going to do with this.”

“Haha…”

Rexid, who finally got his ring back smiled and grabbed my right hand, which was slowly drifting away from him. Then, he put the ring back on my finger with his kind hands, an action which did not suit him.

“You can have it.”

“…Pardon?”

“Have it. It’s yours.”

“But it won’t be good for you if you lose the imperial family’s treasure, Your Highness.”

Although, that wasn’t something for me, who had already stolen it, to concern myself with.

Rexid shrugged his shoulders and laughed again.

“It doesn’t matter since I won’t lose it.”

“…”

“The ring is yours…” Rexid pointed at me with his long fingers then stuck his thumb up and pointed at his own face, adding, “…and you are mine, now.”

‘Aha, that’s what he meant.’

Rexid looked down at me, smiling awkwardly and slightly tilting his closed lips.

His face, which I was seeing again in a much brighter place, was attractive enough to put his tyrant nickname to shame. His harmonious facial features and his beautiful golden eyes, symbolic of the imperial Hexen family, as well as his sharp nose line and chiseled chin under his red lips made him look elegant yet masculine.

If it wasn’t for the rumors or his tyrannical way of speaking, it would be a face that exudes the beautiful and noble dignity of the imperial family.

“Even after I told you that you can get more wealth than you could hold in your hands, and that I would guarantee a title that would allow you to work honorably instead of being a criminal…”

“…”

“Did you have to make me resort to something like this? I’m not as heartless as the rumors say. It pains me to see your petite body writhing in pain.”

With those words, I was sure. The poison that even I, who was well informed about poison, had no idea of; this paralyzing poison that can hold someone down by paralyzing them without killing them, was the arrangement of Rexid Van Hexen, who predicted that I would break out.

‘He’s more meticulous than I thought.’

Concealing my surprise, I asked him, “Is it true that you aren’t as heartless as the rumors say? It feels like you’re going to kill me if I don’t help you, Your Highness. This is a poison that most ordinary people can’t endure…”

“Don’t worry. The poison isn’t enough to kill you. It would be a national loss if an asset like you died so quickly.”

Rexid cracked a smile and brushed the bottom of my chin with his long fingers.

“The genius swindler, Viper.” Rexid’s calm, relaxed expression suddenly turned very serious. “I’ll say this again, I have to become Emperor. No matter what.”

All of a sudden, there was bitterness in his eyes that did not suit him. Seeing that expression, I finally became curious, curious about the reason behind his attempt to create disorder in the imperial family despite the clear existence of an heir, and despite the fact that he himself clearly knew he wasn’t emperor material.

Living as a fighter that protects the border suited the simple and aggressive Rexid better than living the life of a noble, and from what I knew, he seemed content with that lifestyle.

Yet here he was, suddenly trying to smuggle a death-row convict and even begging to that person, all in order to invoke a rebellion.

There must be a reason. Even though I don’t have a clue as to what it may be.

“Help me. If you do, I will promise to give you everything that you wish.”

“Mmm, I…”

“Of course.”

Rexid put on a big smile as he cut me off.

“It’s not an offer. I’m not telling you to decide whether you’ll do it or not. If you want to live, just do as you’re told.”

If I was captured in a normal situation, I would have scoffed.

I was the master of transformation and escape. Since I was confident enough to escape with my life even when I was captured in the middle of the enemy grounds, escaping from Rexid’s grasp again would have been easy as pie.

But, I consumed a poison of both unknown type and effect.

Thinking back on how my body moved against my will just now, my confidence in escaping without a hitch disappeared.

It would be disastrous if he kept forcing me to take this poison.

As if he was dissatisfied with my face as I was thinking things through, Rexid quietly said.

“I’m sorry. Not only you, but all of the death-row criminals do not have something called a choice. If you don’t like it, you should have never committed a crime in the first place.”

“I guess I can’t argue with that.”

“It’s better for you to use that smart brain of yours working for me instead of getting executed without being able to use it at all.”

Rexid slowly picked himself up after he spoke.

After taking his time to look around the greenish surroundings, he told me.

“Today is hot. I was planning to smuggle you out under special summer parole if possible…”

“Ah!”

Rexid picked up my body, or my waist to be exact, with one arm.

“Our incredible genius swindler will come up with a plan to escape if I let you go, right?”

Rexid, who was looking down at me as he carried me on his waist like luggage, said with a smile.

“So… I’ll just kidnap you.”