“You’ll be the last one.”
What did that mean?
Did it mean that I was the only one who would ever do something like this to her?
Or was she saying that she would use me as an example to ensure this never happened again?
One thing was certain—Viol was absolutely furious right now.
“Stop!”
Alios quickly stepped between us.
“Your Majesty, Ceres was disrespectful, but you insulted him first.”
“So that means he can throw spaghetti in the Emperor’s face?”
“Surely, the Emperor isn’t going to take revenge just because a weak man hit him once, right?”
“I will.”
Viol’s burning gaze locked onto me.
And then—
“What are you doing?”
Viol stared incredulously at Alios, who had taken a fighting stance.
“Is this woman out of her mind? I tolerated her because she was at least somewhat useful, but now she thinks she can climb over me.”
“I only wished to offer sincere advice, even if I had to use force, because Your Majesty was acting unjustly. If you step back now, nothing more will happen.”
“That’s a threat I should be making, not you. A Swordmaster fighting without a sword—how foolish.”
“I do have a sword.”
Alios grabbed a dining knife.
Then, from the knife, a powerful aura—the proof of a Swordmaster—emerged.
Viol glanced at the knife, now transformed into a legendary blade thanks to the aura.
“Are you kidding me?”
She punched Alios.
Alios quickly raised her knife to block, and fist met blade with a thunderous impact.
The explosion-like force sent Alios flying backward.
She tumbled through the banquet hall, adjusting her posture midair before landing on the ground.
“You dare to make me bleed?”
Viol frowned as she looked at her hand. Her skin had barely been scraped, but it was enough to draw a little blood.
Clashing barehanded against aura and sustaining only a minor scratch—her endurance was ridiculous.
That was the trait of the imperial bloodline.
All members of the imperial family had naturally strong bodies due to their special lineage.
But Viol was a monster among them, especially powerful.
“First this one, and now that one—none of them even recognize their master anymore. Don’t think I’ll just let this go.”
“Your Majesty, please forgive us!”
Ares quickly knelt before Viol, pleading as she examined her hand.
“Punish me instead! Just spare Ceres!”
“No.”
While chaos erupted around me, I remained calm, observing the situation rationally.
I thought carefully.
Even I wasn’t sure why I had lashed out so suddenly.
I liked Ceres, but that was just because of the novel.
This place was my reality now.
And my opponent? The Emperor of this empire—someone with both absolute power and strength.
She didn’t even insult Ceres knowingly.
She was just provoking me for the sake of it.
So why did I react that way?
Was it because the body I inhabited—though different in gender—was still Ceres’s?
…Maybe I was more attached to Ceres than I thought.
“I have to take responsibility.”
Since it was my mistake, I should be the one to handle it.
“Hey.”
I stepped toward Viol.
Her gaze met mine, filled with surprise.
“I apologize for overreacting. I was the one who provoked you, so take it out on me. Leave Alios and my mother out of this.”
“…Are you mentally ill?”
Viol looked at me in disbelief.
“As I said before, I acknowledge this. I’ll never meet anyone like you again. Because I’ve never met anyone as insane as you!”
“Probably not.”
No one else in your life will ever be more obsessive than me.
“I could snap your neck and kill you right now!”
Viol stretched out a hand toward me as if to demonstrate.
She could do it if she really wanted to.
But—
“You can’t.”
“Do you think I’m bluffing? Why would you think that?”
Because—
“You’re going to love me.”
“…What?”
Viol was stunned.
“Ceres?”
“You… what?”
Alios, who had been preparing to fight again, and Ares, who was about to pull me away, both reacted similarly.
As the entire room froze, I spoke alone.
“You’re already obsessed with me. It won’t be long before you fall completely.”
“Crazy bastard.”
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it.”
I reached for Viol’s outstretched hand. She flinched and stepped back.
“What are you doing?!”
“Go ahead, kill me if you can.”
I grabbed her hand and guided it toward my neck. Viol jerked away in horror.
“Why the hell are you doing this?!”
“Why are you reacting this way? You just said you could snap my neck anytime. If you want to, do it.”
I smirked at her hesitation.
“So, you can’t after all.”
“Shut… shut up! I’m just keeping you alive to make you suffer more! Who would ever actually love someone like you?!”
Viol snapped irritably, then glanced between Alios and Ares.
“Even if I can’t kill you because I love you, do you think I can’t kill the people around you?”
“If you do, I’ll die.”
“…What did you say?”
“If you harm them, I’ll kill myself.”
To show that I wasn’t bluffing, I picked up a sharper knife—one used for peeling fruit.
It was sharp enough to deal a fatal wound to my soft neck.
I placed it against my skin.
“Ceres!!”
“You crazy bastard!”
Alios tried to rush toward me, but Viol beat her to it.
She snatched the knife from my hand and crushed it with her bare fingers.
“You, you…!”
She was so furious she couldn’t even form a proper sentence.
She had just been so sure she could kill me.
Yet now, when it seemed like I might really die, she panicked and stopped me.
Yeah. This is exactly how it’s supposed to go.
Until now, I had tried my best to avoid following the original plot.
Even so, Alios and Hames had developed quite a bit of affection for me.
But what if I acted exactly as the original storyline dictated?
I was certain.
Viol would fall in love with me.
She could torment me all she wanted, but she would never be able to kill me.
“Mother.”
“C-Ceres?”
“Go home first. I’ll return later, I promise.”
“How?!”
“Don’t worry. You saw it just now, right? She can’t kill me. And don’t do anything reckless out of worry.”
After warning Ares not to start a rebellion to find me, I turned to Alios.
“You should leave too. I appreciate the help, but if you cause more trouble, things will really get out of hand.”
“But what about you, Ceres?!”
“Don’t worry. Like I said, the Emperor won’t kill me. And she won’t let me die, either.”
I spoke calmly, but Viol exploded.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you think I’ll just let them go after they defied me?”
“You will.”
When Ceres could no longer endure the series of unjust acts and risked their life in protest, just like I did, you couldn’t refuse and ended up granting their request.
“This… this is…”
I watched as Viol instinctively reached for my collar but hesitated.
I couldn’t help but pity her.
A wretched woman.
She started this pointless conflict and now finds herself trapped in it.
It would have been better for her if she had never become obsessed with me in the first place.
Still failing to grasp the situation, she listened as I laid out my terms and foretold the future.
“I’ll stay here instead.”
“…And what does that have to do with me?”
“It does. No matter what you do or where you go, your mind will be filled with thoughts of me.
Everything else will seem insignificant.”
Viol’s expression twisted.
“This is the place.”
“You will be staying here for the time being.”
Led by two female guards, I arrived at a room inside the imperial palace.
“His Majesty will visit soon, so please refrain from any reckless actions.”
“I won’t. I promised to stay put.”
In the end, Viol couldn’t overcome my stubbornness and sent Alios and Ares away.
Instead, she placed the entire responsibility on me and decided to confine me within the palace for a while.
I accepted it without complaint.
It was a situation I would have preferred to avoid, but it was my actions that led to this outcome.
Now, what will happen next?
In the original story, Viol’s decision to imprison Ceres in the palace came much later, after they had spent considerable time together.
Back then, she fabricated a reason to summon Ceres and forcefully detained them.
But this time, I had a perfectly valid reason—
I smeared spaghetti on the emperor’s face— and I even agreed to the confinement myself.
I have no idea how this will unfold now.
One thing is certain:
She won’t seriously injure or kill me.
But I should probably brace myself for a few hits.
“It’s time for your meal.”
Lost in thought, I was startled when food was suddenly brought in—
but what truly shocked me was the person who delivered it.
“Why is the emperor bringing it in personally?”
This wasn’t in the original story.
Viol herself had carried in a tray of food.
When I asked why, her answer was absurd.
“If I sent some fool, you might seduce them and escape, so I brought it myself.”
What nonsense is this?
Staring at her in disbelief, I watched as Viol placed the tray on the table and then sat directly across from me.
“Eat. I need you alive so I can make you suffer more.”
“What’s wrong? You can eat what that woman gives you, but not what I bring?”
That’s not the issue.
I glanced at the steak on the tray, feeling troubled.
“I can’t eat this. My body won’t handle it.”
“What do you mean? You ate what Alios gave you.”
“That was salad and plums—things that aren’t heavy.”
This body is too weak to handle heavy foods like steak.
I’ve gotten slightly better, but I still can’t push myself too hard.
“Then what can you eat?”
“Soup, soft bread, and some vegetables and fruits.”
“Tsk. So I have to throw this away.
Wait here.”
Viol left with the food.
Was she going to ask the chef to prepare something else?
She spoke as if she had made the food herself.
“Here—soup, bread, and fruit. Just what you wanted.”
A short while later, she returned with a meal I could eat.
I had eaten a bit at the party earlier, but not enough to be full.
Now, I ate in satisfaction.
“How does it taste?” Viol asked.
“It’s delicious.”
“…Is that so.”
“Tell the chef I enjoyed it.”
I spoke without much thought, simply because the meal was good.
“No need. There’s no one to tell.”
Viol refused with a slight smirk—whether it was mockery or amusement, I couldn’t tell.