Damned eighteen. Damn this number!

I wasn’t being vulgar. Really, but… sweet eighteen, my ass.

I was certain that the number eighteen was cursed. Otherwise, this never would’ve happened. I’d been murdered by a psycho in my past life as an eighteen-year-old high schooler—and now this?

In a way, the situation I was in now was even worse.

I cursed the god that did this to me until I grew sick of it and resorted to ignoring him altogether. But now I cursed him again, turning back to the ridiculous situation at hand. “Excuse me, would you put away the sword pointed at my neck?”

“I will if you agree.”

“Come on, put it away so I can think! I can’t do anything like this. And there are children here. What if he drops it?”

Apparently convinced by my reasoning, the damnable old man raised his hand and ordered the knight to lower his sword. Without a sword pointed at my neck, I was able to gather my thoughts. He’d arrived unexpectedly, handing me a child, and pointing a sword at me while blathering nonsense.

“So, this boy is my friend’s son?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes. He is the son of your childhood friend, Sistina Illid, the illegitimate daughter of Marchioness Illid and His Imperial Majesty.”

“His Imperial Majesty? That crazy tyrant?”

“Watch your tongue. He is the sun of this land.”

“That damn sun is why I’m currently in this situation. Would you watch your tongue if you were in my place?”

“As expected of Shea Grande,” he muttered under his breath.

I have to admit that I was quite notorious. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t offended by his attitude, especially in a situation like this.

I can’t believe a friend has put me in such an absurd situation. I must’ve wasted my life. It really is better to be alone. I don’t need any friends.

As hard as I tried, I couldn’t keep my composure. The old man acted as if I should be eternally grateful at being trusted with such an honorable and great task—as he threatened my life, no less.

“Are you insane?” I squawked. “I’m serious.”

“Such vulgar speech. I’m worried for His Imperial Majesty’s son’s upbringing.”

“Who said I was going to raise him? Take him with you! I promise to keep silent about this.”

“That is impossible.”

“Then don’t order me around.”

His attitude wasn’t entirely unwarranted. He was a duke and prime minister of the empire. But that had nothing to do with this.

“Why would you hand off a child to an eighteen-year-old single lady?” I demanded. “And I’m an only child. I’ve never even taken care of children. I hate them!”

Ugh, the number eighteen must really be cursed. Shit.

***

As one of two emperors on the continent, Vencroft ruled the West with overwhelming military power. The vast empire was filled with its own troubles, but since Eid Roux Vencroft’s ascension, and the execution of all rebel forces and corrupt officials, the empire had entered an era of probity, and the throne was as strong as ever.

Calling it an era of purity would be putting it nicely. The Vencroft Empire was a dictatorship ruled by a tyrant no one dared to oppose. The empire had become a good place to live for commoners, although the nobility may have felt differently. The commoners weren’t the ones needing to be wary of a tyrannical emperor. They enjoyed their lives. It was a wonderful time for the commoners. The capital was lively and bustling with people, and the economy was booming.

Venia Street, also known as Scholars’ Street, was crowded yet quieter and more serious by nature. It was slow-paced and peaceful compared to the capital center or the glamorous Lechante Street. But even on Venia Street, there was one place that constantly bustled with activity.

“Lucy! Do you have any today? Do you?”

“No, the owner isn’t here yet.”

“Oof. No luck today, either. Let’s go. It’s almost ten o’clock now.”

“This place says it opens at nine, but they open whenever they want to.”

“The owner says you can stop coming, if it bothers you.”

“Who’s insulting the owner so early in the morning?”

“Oh, there must have been something you were looking forward to, Fel.”

“Before she went back to sleep, the owner said the tarts she made are in the fridge and we can sell them in the morning.”

“Woohoo!”

That place was a café called Sangria.

***

Emperor Eid Roux Vencroft was in a particularly foul mood. It was questionable whether he was ever in a good mood, but today was certainly not one of his good days.

The Maxwell brothers, who must’ve committed some great sin in their past lives to be working for the emperor now, grimaced as they realized this. They blamed their parents, who’d spent their lives working hard and raising a respectable family.

Mother, father, why did you have to give birth to us and make us go through this hardship?

Despite living privileged lives as members of one of the three ducal families, the ungrateful brothers blamed their parents for their current troubles. Their father had pushed them into the emperor’s service, saying that they were bright young men who would be of help. He’d only been in fear of being called up himself.

The two brothers blamed their father for practically selling them into the emperor’s service. They tried to stay as far away as possible from the emperor as possible. I hate you, dad.

Someone else caught sight of the emperor’s expression and turned on his heel in the opposite direction. It happened in the blink of an eye, but the tyrant was feeling particularly tyrannical that day, and there was no way he hadn’t seen what had happened.

“Edward van Griffith.”

I can’t hear anything—nothing at all. Edward continued to walk away.

Sadly, his tactic didn’t work against the emperor, who turned a small stone on the ground nearby into a weapon, hurling it toward Edward.

He dodged it instinctively and turned to the emperor with a grimace. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Edward’s tone was completely inappropriate for speaking to the emperor, but no one seemed to mind.

“I could ask you the same thing. How dare you ignore me?”

You look like you’re in a shitty mood, that’s why. Edward wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

The emperor responded without attempting to hide his displeasure. “Hey, let’s go out.”

Edward sighed. The words were spoken more as a friend than an emperor, but Edward felt he had no choice in the matter. “Can the emperor leave the imperial palace whenever he wants?”

“Why not? I’m the emperor.”

I don’t think that’s how it works. Then again, the imperial palace was under the tyrant’s rule, so he wasn’t completely out of line. Even though it was ridiculous.

As if he’d read Edward’s mind, the emperor furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t want to be here. It’s annoying. So, let’s go.”

There probably weren’t many people who enjoyed being at the palace, besides those who were overly ambitious. As Edward was one of the former, he sighed in consent.

The two brothers exchanged glances and grimaced. They had important plans today for one of the only things that brought them joy while serving under this tyrannical emperor. They couldn’t simply give up their plans.

“I will be your guide,” cried Abe, who was good at sword fighting and nothing else.

Are you insane? Ace, the smarter of the twin brothers, glared at him.

Abe looked back with pleading eyes. I can’t give up today. I’ve failed every time, but there’s a rumor that today is the day. I must get in line as soon as possible.

“Let us go,” the emperor said.

Though he wasn’t sure his brother was pleading or trying to appease him, Ace let himself be talked into it, his mouth watering. “We know a great place.”

“I don’t find you that trustworthy.”

“The place is said to be one of the most famous places in the city. You don’t need to worry.” It was a famous place, though for very unusual reasons. Ace inwardly drooled at the thought. If the well-connected Abe had heard rumors, it was certain. They definitely needed to be there today, even if the emperor were to go on a rampage and explode. Then again, Ace couldn’t imagine the tyrant, as strong as he was, defeating her. Even if the emperor got them kicked out of the place because of his foul mood, they could probably snag a treat on the way out.

Ace couldn’t help skipping as he led the way.

The two other men looked at Ace as if he had gone insane, but neither of the Maxwell brothers cared.

***

Even in the early morning, Sangria was quite full. There were rarely times or days when it wasn’t. It didn’t open very consistently, and even when it was open, it didn’t always have what customers wanted. A lot of people came in to wait. The café was a cozy place for a break. People could pass the time there, wait for what they wanted, and the seats were comfortable—three birds with one stone. It was a good place to meet new people and make connections.

The owner was king at Sangria, which could be frustrating and annoying for customers, but she was pretty reasonable. They did frequently wish she would hurry up and get to work. They were crestfallen when there was still no sign of the woman they so desperately waited for.