I Don’t Want the Obsession of a Twisted Archduke

That day.

The saddest day in Sejan’s life.

“On December 24, 783 in the imperial calendar, on Christmas Eve, the Black Masked Troops attacked the Garth, slaughtering all clan members using their children as hostages.”

I added that Sejan was able to survive because his father, who sensed danger, hid him in an old box.

“No matter what you hear, never come out, Sejan.” Sejan mimicked what his father told him long ago, never losing the grave expression that came to his face. I didn’t say anything for a while, any gesture would have been seen as pitying by Sejan.

Curled up in a very small box, Sejan had to hear the dying cries from members of his clan. He could hear the eerie sound of clashing and constant screams.

Nevertheless, Sejan closed his eyes and covered his ears.

Even when he felt the pitch-black darkness creeping up on him, he kept the same position.

Because…

He promised.

“ – I’m the proudest father in the world. I’ll be here no matter what.” Recalling his father’s words, Sejan gritted his teeth and endured the retailing of his story.

He had wondered how long it had been, hiding in that box? At one point, the disturbance that took control of the surrounding area faded into nothingness.

When Sejan finally heard nothing but silence, all the tension from his body was relieved at once, making his body shake uncontrollably. Struggling to get out of the box, his trembling body could barely move as if it had broken down.

Boom. Boom.

He tripped and fell over the box, he was terrified.

It was at that moment when he opened the creepy-sounding wooden door and went out of the house, that his heart fell into his stomach, leaving him overwhelmed.

“ -…”

Sejan’s hair became white. He neither understood nor wanted to comprehend.

The horrific scene unfolding in front of him… Outside, the corpses of the shattered clan were rolling over. The clear blood from the bodies was soaking the bare ground red.

Death.

Yes. Death was just around the corner for little Sejan.

“ – Oh, uh, uh…”

Sejan murmured like an animal in shock and desperately searched for his family.

Respected father.

Beloved mother.

My one and only sister.

The reality he encountered was despair.

Beyond the multiple bodies, his mother’s and sister’s corpses were already cold.

He saw his father gasping for breath beside him.

“ – Father, father…!”

Sejan ran away in a heartbeat towards his father.

“ – A doctor…”

His father shook his head hard at Sejan, who was covered in tears. He concluded there was no possible way to save himself, feeling the life running out of him.

Sejan’s father had a family heirloom coming down from generation to generation. In his last moment, Sejan’s father gave him with his last words. He died before being able to finish.

“I entrust this sword to you with my life and honor.”

After the annihilation of his clan overnight. Sejan held on to the bodies of his family and cried several times before exhaustion caught up to him.

Once he woke up, the rotten body beside him was poking at his nose. He buried their bodies with his tiny hands.

‘Sejan’s life became even worse after that.’

With his thin, scrawny body, he lived as a wanderer with a sword twice as big as me. Until he was captured by a villainous merchant in the slums and became a war slave.

Although he was a combatant, Sejan grew up with little to nothing, leaving him weak. He learned nothing but murder for a long time, crushing out any emotion.

‘It was Kyle who saved Sejan.’

Kyle recovered Sejan’s sword, as well as his life that had been stolen at the same time. Since then, Sejan could not let go of the original image of Kyle.

Even though the story was over, Sejan didn’t react at all.

“…”

“…”

A deep silence came. I soon realized my mistake.

‘Oh, my God.’

There was a cloud in front of me. I was embarrassed by the water that filled my eyes.

“What, your Highness, are you sympathizing?” Sejan broke the silence.

It was not a criticism nor a reproach, but a genuine question.

I opened my mouth while trying to shake my head.

“… Yes, that’s right.”

My voice came out a bit hoarse. I thought it would not be polite to lie about my current feelings.

“And these tears are also a way to pay homage to your life.”

This was also sincere.

Sejan was once again silent. I didn’t know what kind of expression he was making at the moment; my view was still blurry.

“… Raven Granis.”

I told him while letting the tears flow out as it was.

“Raven Granis?” Sejan asked back.

“It’s the name of the person you’re looking for.”

I could now see Sejan’s usual smile disappeared from his face. The silhouette of his raised eyebrows proved it.

“Your Highness, I haven’t told you that I would sign a contract?”

“I thought it would be polite to tell you this much because you’ve been in pain.”

“Hmm. Raven Granis.” Sejan calmly responded.

After a moment of silence, he tilted his head and muttered.

He didn’t seem to have any doubts, didn’t seem to be particularly suspicious of my words. Thanks to him, the explanation continued without any interruption.

“He changes his appearance and his identity periodically, so it’s hard to locate him, but I can find him.”

“By using her Highness’s power?”

“Yes.”

Raven was a character related to the original story.

‘So, there’s a time when he will appear.’

I could not always meet Sejan even being close in proximity while ‘looking’ for Raven. It was a sure development that would cause tension between us.

I straightened my back and waited for the answer, staring calmly at him.

Sympathy is sympathy, and transactions are transactions. The dice were thrown, and my hand was shown.

‘So, you’d better take this time to make a deal with me.’

I took out the handkerchief in my arms, wiping away tears that disturbed my vision and looked up at Sejan again.

Sejan’s face, which had been cloudy, was now clearly visible. The expression on his face was now different, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

I felt the result, and Sejan opened his mouth just in time.

“What do you want your Highness?”

Done. It’s working. His voice sounded agreeable to me.

Maintaining composure so as not to get drunk on victory, I raised a finger.

“There’s only one thing I want. Act as my escort and look the other way when you need to.”

“Looking the other way?”

“Yes, literally. Pretend you don’t know, look the other way. Whatever I do, cover your mouth and close your ears, you just need to escort me, so I don’t risk my life and get killed.”

“Hearing what you’re saying now, I guess you’re going to commit a crime.”

I grinned at his light tackle.

“Of course, even if I commit a crime, you have to look the other way and pretend you do not know. I want an escort who knows to keep his mouth shut. Of course, if you do, I’ll give you all the information I know about Raven and when he shows up.”

Sejan tilted his head. It was a gesture filled with curiosity about what I was planning to do.

“I understand what you’re saying but is it possible her Highness could provide me with false information?”

“It’s not difficult for you to twist my neck. Besides, are there any idiots in the Arnold Empire willing to risk their lives lying to you?”

I mentioned it in a straightforward manner, but as for me, I was risking my life.

Soon, Sejan had a smile covering his face. His following words according to my answer were clear.

“It’s a life-threatening deal. That’s good.”

Sejan’s eyes were turned into lions.

***

“Sigh…”

After the deal with Sejan was made, I was left alone and dropped in my office chair sighting in relief.

‘Wow, I’m so tired, I’m going to pass out.’

Throughout my time with him, I couldn’t relax for a moment. He would be like that too.

It was because Sejan used ambiguous expressions and engaged in nervous warfare and provocations whenever he had a chance. Thanks to him, I felt like I was fighting a different kind of beast than the usual dragon.

Fortunately, he liked the life-threatening part of the contract.

‘It’s worth it, he is the second male lead in the original story, he can help me.’

Anyway, I took a breather and slowly recalled the contents of the transaction.

“ – The transaction period will be 5 months, but it could be considered flexible. It could be faster than that.”

That period was set to meet Kyle’s time limit. It was meaningless to extend the period beyond that.

“ – Oh, also,I will be writing a redemption contract.”

The contract I proposed to him was one of the magic contracts.

After writing the contract, a cute redemption spirit appears every 15th, 30th, 60th, and 90th days, and the reminder of how long it has passed.

This was a fairly normal range of magic contract.

Of course, Sejan didn’t like it.