The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 111

Traiha’s Enoch Was Overwhelmed.

A whirlwind of events had crashed down upon him in the past three weeks.

Holding his aching head, throbbing from countless sleepless nights, he recalled the day his half-brother staged a rebellion—and everything that followed.

After Chaeild’s peacekeeping forces had withdrawn, Enoch gathered the surviving ministers to restore order and declared himself emperor.

It was Itar who had reduced the imperial palace to ruins with his rebellion, yet Enoch wanted to spare his half-brother’s life—at all costs.

“Your Majesty! That traitor must be executed immediately!”

“But Duke Chaeild has requested to take custody of Itar. If we break their trust any further, it will be dangerous.”

“Khh….”

The ministers, who had just been shouting about tearing Itar limb from limb and feeding him to the beasts, immediately backed down at the mention of Chaeild.

It wasn’t just fear of the powerful merchant family—it was the fact that Chaeild’s peacekeeping forces had saved them from a bloody massacre.

The imperial family of Traiha was now deeply indebted to Chaeild and Diane.

Because of that, Enoch could use their involvement as an excuse to delay Itar’s death, but he could not erase his crimes entirely.

He spent the following weeks replenishing the imperial council, interrogating Itar, and attempting to restore order.

There was no room for excuses—kidnapping and treason were inexcusable crimes. Even Itar, weighed down by guilt, accepted his fate in silence.

And finally, today was the day.

Itar was to be handed over to Chaeild.

“I hope he at least avoids a disgraceful death.”

Though he was a traitor, this was still the formal transfer of a prince to a foreign power.

No matter how ruthless Chaeild might be, severe torture or bodily mutilation was unlikely.

Lately, trade with Chaeild had been relatively stable.

Enoch had feared that Chaeild, who practically monopolized Hail’s trade, might suddenly cut off supply lines.

But that fear had proven unnecessary.

Instead, Chaeild—and Hail’s merchants—had been flooding Traiha with an abundance of goods at surprisingly low prices, almost as if they were doing charity work.

Some had even begun expanding their businesses into Traiha without hesitation, despite the country’s political instability.

“They’re being unusually friendly… Does Lady Diane have sympathy for Itar?”

Feeling uneasy, Enoch sat at his desk.

The space before him was as chaotic as his mind, cluttered with endless documents—an emperor’s burden.

“Itar must reach Chaeild safely.”

Though from Itar’s perspective, “safe” might not be the right word.

Swallowing those thoughts, Enoch let his head fall onto his desk with a weary sigh.

Meanwhile, at Chaeild’s Estate

I neatly stacked the documents I had been scribbling on.

After hours of note-taking, the pile had grown quite thick.

With my wedding fast approaching, I had been spending my days attending what could be called bride training.

Today, I sat through a general report on Chaeild’s various business ventures with Kyle.

“Are you alright, Amelia?”

“A little tired, but I’m fine. I’m not so weak that a bit of paperwork would knock me out.”

I smiled and leaned my head against Kyle’s shoulder.

Truthfully, I was exhausted, but I wasn’t about to admit that.

Even with a simplified briefing, Chaeild was a merchant family with generations of wealth.

There was an overwhelming amount for me to learn.

Listening alone was exhausting, but I also had to keep my expressions in check—just like during social events.

Why? Because if I let any reaction slip—

“Did she show interest in the hotel business? I should build an Amelia Hotel and gift it to her.”

“She smiled while I mentioned the department store. The central plaza lot will be perfect for Amelia Department Store.”

“Does she like the rose garden project? Gathering every rose species in the empire will cost… oh, barely anything.”

Kyle spent the entire meeting staring at my face, completely oblivious to how horrified I was by his thoughts.

With him watching me so intently, how could I let any expression slip?

“If you’re tired, would you like to rest in the bedroom for a while?”

Of course, it wouldn’t be wrong to do so.

How could I refuse when Kyle was smiling so sweetly, filled with such obvious affection?

I stood up and stretched, rolling my shoulders.

“No, I’m fine. Once the meeting is over, I’m heading to Claire’s estate. I need to thank her for what she did with Vanessa and Arete.”

“…Did you arrange a visit with Lady Claire in advance?”

For some reason, Kyle averted his gaze, looking slightly troubled.

Yes, Claire’s estate was vast—far larger than any apartment complex.

But we lived in the same household.

Did I really need to schedule an appointment just to visit her?

“Not exactly… Oh, does Claire have a busy schedule today?”

“….”

“Kyle?”

“I… wouldn’t know.”

His response was so evasive that it immediately made me suspicious.

When I reached out to read his mind, he subtly dodged my touch—making me even more suspicious.

“It seems my dear fiancé is up to something.”

“….”

“Well, I’ll just ask Claire myself. Since you don’t seem to know.”

Calling Vanessa, I left for the separate palace.

At the time, I had no idea what Claire was planning.

Around the Same Time, at Claire’s Estate

Claire was getting dressed.

The maids brought out several sets of riding outfits and leather gloves, displaying them for her approval.

“Choose the darkest-colored attire. I don’t need any unnecessary accessories—just a sturdy hair tie.”

She watched as layers of fabric wrapped around her one by one. Each piece was so dark that they could easily be mistaken for mourning attire.

Mourning clothes.

The term suited the occasion perfectly, Claire thought, as she continued her preparations.

Her long, sleek black hair—usually left cascading down her back—was tightly gathered and secured high on her head.

Lastly, she slipped on black leather gloves, then gestured for her maids to leave. Moments later, Bruno and a few of Chaeild’s intelligence agents entered the room.

“Are you ready?”

“Lady Claire, all preparations are complete.”

“Did you bring what I requested?”

Bruno handed Claire a small box. Inside was the same perfume that Amelia had used during her engagement ceremony with Hail and Kelton.

Claire spritzed it onto herself, letting the rich yet clean scent fill the room.

Once everything was set, she glanced at the precisely ticking wall clock.

“We’ll be moving soon. Be prepared.”

Her sharp gaze lingered on the second hand, like a predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Then, in an instant, she activated Arete’s Shift.

Claire and the intelligence agents around her disappeared, transported to another location.

For a moment, darkness swallowed her vision. She closed her eyes briefly, adjusting to the sudden change.

The ground beneath her feet jolted violently—the floor of a rapidly moving carriage.

The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, likely from the rugged mountainside they were passing through.

“For a carriage transporting the criminal who threatened the Chaeild Duchess’s life, it’s in surprisingly good condition.”

Claire slowly opened her eyes.

Aside from the intelligence agents disguised as coachmen and those who had traveled with her via Arete’s Shift, the carriage held only one other person.

A man knelt on the floor, blindfolded and bound at the wrists.

His name was Itar—a former prince of Traiha, now nothing more than a condemned traitor awaiting execution.

“That bastard who kidnapped Amelia still has the audacity to breathe? I don’t like that.”

Claire lifted her perfume-scented wrist and brought it near his face.

Though he had only suffered minor wounds, his body remained intact.

And yet, as soon as the familiar fragrance reached him, he reacted.

Despite being blindfolded, Itar lifted his head, as if he knew Amelia was in front of him.

As if he believed she had come to rescue him.

Observing his response, Claire wordlessly grabbed his chin.

Her fingertips were ice-cold, but he remained still, accepting her touch.

The way he leaned into it—as if welcoming Amelia’s caress—was disgusting.

She had no intention of letting this kidnapper continue breathing.

With a single motion, Claire fisted his hair and yanked his head back.

“Itar.”

“…!”

“Judging by your reaction, you remember my voice.”

“Lady Claire… Ugh!”

Whip—!

Claire’s whip struck his head first.

Then, it snapped against his torso, again and again.

Blood splattered across the carriage.

Even as she lashed out, Claire felt no satisfaction.

Enoch had used the excuse of royal blood to ensure his brother a painless death.

It was both a foolish and cunning move.

As he had anticipated, Hail’s nobles and royalty hesitated to tear apart a former prince’s body.

Even Chaeild, in this regard, was no exception.

But—

“If you knew how to mourn your sister’s death, you should have known how precious your own life was.”

For Amelia’s sake, Claire was willing to momentarily abandon the Chaeild name and revert to the Claire of the Separate Palace.

She felt no hesitation in tearing a former prince to pieces.

What did surprise her, however, was how natural it felt.

Long ago, she had waited patiently for her ailing father’s final moments before wiping out the men of Chaeild to claim the family name for herself.

That had been a selfish act, fueled by personal ambition.

But now, she was orchestrating a secret execution for someone else—for a noblewoman who wasn’t even related to her by blood.

Strangely enough, that thought gave her a sense of satisfaction.

Finally, Claire lowered her whip.

Itar had long since stopped breathing.

“Did you really think you could harm my Amelia and quietly accept execution?”

Speaking lightly, Claire kicked Itar’s lifeless body out of the moving carriage.

Since they were traveling along a narrow mountain path, his corpse tumbled far into the depths below.

“What an unfortunate carriage accident. Let’s go back.”

Her voice was calm as she activated Arete’s Shift again.

She planned to soak in a warm bath and get an early night’s rest.

As dizziness from the teleportation threatened to take hold, she closed her eyes for a brief moment—removing her blood-soaked leather gloves as she did so.

And when she opened them again—

The last person she wanted to see was standing right in front of her.

“…Amelia?”

“….”

Of all times—why did Amelia have to see this?

For the first time, Claire hesitated.

Why is she at the Separate Palace?

Caught off guard, she faltered—but then, another thought occurred to her.

So she came without an appointment, just dropping by on a whim? How endearing.

Her expression quickly softened.

“I was just returning from a hunt. Did you come to visit?”

Feigning composure, Claire smiled as she answered.

Amelia, still oblivious, nodded brightly.

Vanessa, however, looked like she had just swallowed a lemon whole.

Claire ignored her completely.

Maintaining her warm and kind sister-in-law image, she tossed her gloves into a corner, hiding them from view.

If only Bruno hadn’t arrived with an untimely report, it would have been perfect.

“Lady Claire. As per your orders, we’re framing Itar’s death as an unfortunate accident due to a carriage malfunction. We’ve already procured a similar body for identification, so there’s no need to worry—”

“…Claire?”

“…”

Bruno, sensing something was wrong, finally lifted his gaze.

Claire—who had been so close to preserving her innocent image—was glaring at him with the full intent to kill.

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