I was five years old when the nanny who had been taking care of me for years tried to drive a dagger through my heart.

That was the very first assassination attempt I had faced.

The nanny had slipped into the room under the pretext of checking up on my sleep and tried to stab me with the dagger hidden within her clothes.

Fortunately, I woke up just as she was about to pierce my heart and evaded the blade before pushing her away.

The commotion inside the quiet room attracted the attention of the Knights standing guard, who then broke the door and entered the room.

The nanny was immediately arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a noble. But before she could be interrogated, the nanny killed herself putting an end to the case.

I remember watching as the guards carried her lifeless body out of the prison cell.

The people who sent the assassin, a vassal family of the Frosts, didn't put much effort into hiding their involvement thinking what a mere child would be able to accomplish, which ultimately led to their downfall.

Since that day, I have been dealing with multiple assassination attempts which always ended with the adversaries demise.

Nevertheless, not once have I ever faltered.

Like the northern silver wolf that thrived through harsh winters, I always stood still despite the number of dangers thrown at me.

However, when Angelica entered my life, things changed.

The aristocrats' plan of utilizing the Serpents to topple the imperial court was thwarted at the price of me taking the Havu curse.

Despite the setback in their plans, the aristocrats' next step was to change the succession of the Frosts duchy by placing one of their own in my seat.

That too was snipped in the bud by the Frosts engaging in matrimonial ties with a traditional noble family with a history as long as the empire itself. The arrival of the young duchess became a hurdle to the people awaiting my death.

Along with the investigations on the sacrificial ceremony held in the forest restricting their movements, the aristocrats were corned in all directions.

Enraged by the continuous failure, Angelica became the target of their bitterness.

On the day Angelica returned after the first attempt at her life, all I could do was listen to her talk about her near-death experience like she was reading a book while I stayed incapacitated by the curse.

The swords that were pointed at me were slowly turning towards Angelica.

Even as I was surrounded by hundreds of men with killing intent, I didn't feel this way.

For the first time in my life, I was helpless.







"Where is it?"

Angelica grabbed my collar demanding an answer she knew she wouldn't be able to hear.

"I know it's somewhere in this room. But where?"

Her steady hands let go of my torso and rummaged through every cabinet in the room.

*thud* *thud*

Angelica was frantically searching for something that seemed so important she forgot that she was attacked just a few minutes ago.

The knife she had brought back belonged to the Third Eye Organization, an underground information center operating throughout the continent.

'Did the Esdels place a hit on Angelica using the Third Eye organization?'

This was the third time within the month, she had been attacked. Now that the Third Eye assassins have been involved the aristocrats would be relentless until they achieve their goal.

With the war between the Esdels and Frosts at a crucial stage, they are running out of time to change the Frost successor.

'So they want to kill Angelica huh?' My body became tense just from thinking about it.

Maybe it was instinct to protect one's family, but I wanted to eliminate every single one of the pests that dared to put her in harm's way.

Judging from Angelica's voice, it doesn't seem like she was hurt. Rather she was pacing around riled up with newfound energy.

'What are you searching for so hysterically?' I wanted to ask her when Angelica dragged a chair across the room and stopped in front of the wall.

"Where did you hide your dirty little secrets? Hmmmmm" She muttered, tapping on the wall's surface as she moved along its path.

'!'

My eyes grew wide when I realized what the object of her search was. But I quickly shot down the assumption since it was ridiculous to even think about.

'That's not possible...' The long days in bed must be finally messing up my mind to even consider that.

However, I was proved wrong the very next second.

"Gotcha!"

*click*

The sound of the fake wall opening was heard throughout the quiet room.

"You really need to upgrade to a newer version safe for hiding stuff. Even my..." Angelica jested, moving on to force open the next layer.

Did she just open the safe?

*click*

My safe? The safe hidden inside my room? I couldn't hide my astonishment.

Not a single person alive is aware of the existence of the safe inside my chamber. And there is no record depicting its exact location. I made sure of that.

*click*

How? I was dumbstruck.

While I was still in shock, Angelica had successfully opened the vault.

"Ka-chink....Look here dear husband I opened your safe"

How does she know about the safe?

"You really need to upgrade to a newer version safe..."

Can't believe I'm hearing security advice from the person who broke into my private vault. But how did she find-... No. I think we are at the point of our relationship where certain things cannot be explained.

"Documentation on the Council of Elders, A..."

All I can do is wait for the truth to reveal itself. Or through Angelica in one of her self talks.

"Ownership to the port town in Napal..... Holy sh*t"

One fact is for certain, Angelica has officially become the most suspicious person in the empire, seizing the position from the Serpents by a landslide.

There are only two possible scenarios that could explain everything. Either Angelica has been orchestrating every event in the capital for the past few years or she can simply see the past, present, and future.

Meanwhile, Angelica had been nonchalantly flipping through the documents inside the vault one after the other like it was her own.

The contents inside the safe were confidential documents and records on prominent members of the empire that could plunge the country into chaos if they were to get out.

After all, knowledge was power. At the hands of the right people, these documents could make them the most powerful figures in all of Elan.

The promissory notes alone were worth millions of gold. Nobody would suspect Angelica, should she take one for herself.

With that kind of money, she would be able to lead a luxurious life for years away from me.

'Away from me?' I scoffed.

'I won't let that happen. Not now, not ever'

Angelica, on the other hand, wasn't interested in any of those. Shuffling through the mountain of papers, she was reaching for the far beyond.

"Eddie.....you're the man"

Instead of all the documents that could carve her name in history, the item that Angelica enthusiastically pulled out was a... bottle of alcohol.

It was the wine from the lost city of Gourth, I had procured during one of the expeditions for ancient relics. The abandoned city was located in the southern forest region and was overtaken by nature leaving only a few structures intact.

I'm going to get Angelica the benefit of the doubt here. But seriously?

Not power? Not wealth? Not land?

But the wine?

Needless to say, the wine was worth a fortune since only a handful of bottles were recovered amongst the ruins.

Even the imperial family was given only one bottle as a tribute while the rest were stored in the Frost mansion in the north.

Hence the bottles would fetch a great deal of money if sold to the highest bidder in the black market.

There were three bottles in the safe, which I had brought in-person to use in case an occasion rises.

This was not public knowledge. The information regarding the expedition was kept under wraps until the mages were able to authentify the relics.

Let's leave the matter about the expedition to another time. Is Angelica going to sell them for money?

"Bottoms up"

Nope. She's already drinking it. It was foolish of me to even consider that.

Angelica tossed the bottle cork on top of me to make it known, before draining its contents as if her life depended on it.

As the sweet fragrance of well-fermented wine drifted in the air, I unconsciously let out a sigh.

'Haah..'

It was because I had intended to share the wine with Angelica for our first drink together after the curse was broken. Seems like that won't be possible anymore.

At that moment, a drop of wine dripped from the corner of Angelica's lips onto mine.

'Sweet' The taste was more intoxicating than any drink I had ever experienced.

Although it was unforeseen, I think this is close enough to what I had planned.

"Eighteen years. Eighteen years have passed since I last had..." The excitement in Angelica's voice hasn't gone down a pitch.

Now that my mind was a bit clear, I was able to properly listen to Angelica.

"Should've done this on the first day"

It was the usual exchange between us, only this time Angelica was clearly talking under the influence of alcohol.

Gourth wine has a high level of alcohol content. So I'm actually surprised that she was still able to speak despite finishing the entire bottle.

Right then, there was a knock on the door. The maids had left a change of clothes for Angelica which she desperately needed.

Angelica pulled in the tray and secured the door close.

"It's white today"

I could hear the sound of clothes rustling when they suddenly stopped and Angelica stated,

"I'm going to change my clothes into this excuse of a nightgown. So no peeking ok, dear husband"

'I don't think that's what you should be worrying about right now' I grumbled underneath the quilt, which she had used to cover me from seeing her change.

A few minutes later, Angelica returned with the remaining two bottles in hand. By the time she removed the quilt, the second bottle was already empty.

"You know...... If it weren't for the Saintess who disappeared you could have been cured a long time ago..."

There she goes casually spilling classified information.

She is right though. Had the Saintess been found, I would have recovered ages ago. Then we could've had real conversations rather than one-sided squirms.

"I know who the next saintess is"

Out of nowhere, Angelica whispered in my ear, sending goosebumps down my skin. It was even worse now since she was drunk beyond recognition.

"Do you want to know who it is?"

That caught me off guard. Since when did she get so close?

"She's the sign of purity... Beautiful as a delicate lily..." Angelica opened the third bottle in the midst of her oration.

Hasn't she had enough? I couldn't help but worry about my wife's drinking habits.

In the future, I'll have to take measures to keep her away from the wine.

"The one you..... 'my dear husband' will fall in love with at first sight and the one you will court after my death... Helen Layton"

The next Saintess Helen Layton? It's the same name I'm hearing for the hundredth time.

If my memory serves right, the Layton barony has been in the decline over the past few years due to bad investments. This 'Helen', Angelica keeps mentioning should be their daughter.

Supposing that she truly does have extraordinary abilities as Angelica claims, it is weird that the church hasn't made any efforts to bring her into the Vatican.

Be that as it may, I have someone far more important I want to see than a self-proclaimed Saintess.

"I know what it feels like to die once. I'm not gonna go through it again. What do you think?"

Feels like to die once? Perhaps she is referring to the assassination attempts. Or is this something entirely different?

I was in the middle of serious thinking when Angelica slapped my cheek.

*slap*

"Why aren't you answering me?"

Veins started to pop out on my forehead. But Angelica was in no condition to notice that.

Unlike her muddled state, the strength in her hand was stronger than ever.

"Oh my god...... are you dead?" She panicked and put her ear on my chest.

'I'm not dead. Just really really looking forward to the day the curse gets broken' My lips curved into a cold smile.

I wonder how Angelica would react when she learns that I could hear her all along.

Panic and deny everything? Definitely not.

Act as nothing happened? Feign innocence? Knowing her, most probably.

"Archduke Edward Frost. Strong, capable, influential, rich, and handsome on top of it. Even mosquitoes refuse to bite him out of respect..."

Even intoxicated, the sarcasm part of her mind was functioning perfectly fine.

It's going to be a long spell before either of us sleeps.