บท 18: THE TRUE PRINCESS

ZOE knew that she was having a dream.

After all, she could see herself lying on the bed while reading the first volume of 'Raised as a Tyrant Empress' on her smartphone. While watching herself engrossed with the web novel, the information that her other self was reading suddenly flooded her mind.

[Ah, right. The first volume explains the miserable life of Princess Runa before Isaak and Eunice rescued her.]

And damn.

She just remembered that she arrived in the novel a few years before Isaak Viotto even found out that Princess Runa was alive. In the novel, the downfall of House Rochester was only used as a plot device to let the ghoul duke know that Empress Veronica had the ability to "create" a child according to her needs– just like what she did to the fake young Princess Vera.

But it would be three years later, after the fall of House Rochester, before Isaak Viotto and Eunice Harper got to rescue Princess Runa in an auction house.

[When was Princess Runa before that…?]

If she remembered it correctly...

"Lady Zoe?"

Zoe gasped and opened her eyes when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Then she got up while catching her breath.

[Oh, damn. He's really handsome.]

She couldn't help but have that kind of thought because as soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by Isaak Viotto's immaculately handsome face. The ghoul duke was sitting on the sofa where she was lying down after she collapsed earlier.

"Am I in heaven?" Zoe asked, then she clasped her hands together. "I'm looking at an angel, am I not?"

Isaak Viotto scoffed. "If you saw me after you died, it would be safe to assume that you were in hell facing a demon," he said, before changing the subject. This time, the look in his eyes had turned vicious. "The royal princess is alive?"

"Are you going to believe me now?"

"I have to," he said. "You lived after taking the pills. If you had lied, then you would have died."

"That's a relief," she said sincerely. "I thought you would not believe me because I fainted."

He scoffed again. "You fainted because you took the pills all at once. Your body might have been shocked after absorbing the power sealed within each pill. But don't worry. Since you didn't lie, that power has turned into something similar to an energy potion. You must be feeling rejuvenated right now."

"Ah, that must be why I suddenly feel refreshed," she said while nodding her head. Then she turned serious and answered the Grand Duke's question earlier. "Princess Runa is still alive. The former empress told me to save her daughter."

It wasn't like she could tell the ghoul duke that she read the Crown Princess's life in a web novel. Thankfully, he only asked her to say three truths. Now she didn't have to tell the Grand Duke that he was just a character in a web novel.

[I'm not that cruel to tell Isaak Viotto that he's just a character in a book.]

That would be sad.

"Where is the royal princess now?" the Grand Duke asked, his eyes filled with anger. But she knew that his anger wasn't directed at her. "If Her Royal Highness is really alive, then tell me where to find her."

"How old are you now, Your Grace?"

"Excuse me?"

"How old are you?"

She needed to know how old Isaak Viotto was to confirm if the current "setting" was really three years before he found Princess Runa in the book.

"I'm twenty-seven years old," he said with a confused look on his face. "What does my age have to do with anything?"

Of course, it was related.

Isaak Viotto was thirty years old in the novel when he found and rescued the ten-year-old Prince Runa at the auction house.

If the Grand Duke was twenty-seven now, then the missing princess would be seven.

That also meant Princess Runa wasn't sent to the auction yet as a slave. If she remembered it correctly, the poor protagonist would be at…

"The former Archmage of the Mage Tower," she said, finally remembering the events that took place in the web novel's first volume. "I don't remember her name, but that crazy bitch is the one who "bought" Princess Runa when she was abducted as a baby."

She let out a frustrated sigh when she remembered that in the novel, Princess Runa used to call the crazy Archmage 'Mother.'

[That bitch is a psychopath who loves to experiment on Princess Runa!]

She felt guilty that she couldn't do much to rescue the poor princess ever since she arrived in this world.

But in her defense, she wasn't slacking off. Saving House Rochester from getting murdered by Isaak Viotto was her top priority when she arrived. After all, how would she be able to save Princess Runa if she got on the Grand Duke's bad side right away?

Plus, she needed to work on gaining Isaak Viotto's trust. He was the connection that she needed to meet Emperor Rino.

Everything worked out the way she wanted to, anyway.

[I survived and saved House Rochester. And now, I was able to gain Isaak Viotto's trust.]

It was time to save Princess Runa now.

"The former Archmage Madison Clarke," Isaak Viotto said in a cold voice. He sounded eerily calm, but the look on his face told her that he wasn't calm at all. "I'll kill that madwoman."

"Just call her 'bitch,'" she urged him. "It's okay to call someone a bitch when they're being a bitch."

The Grand Duke ignored her. "Was it Empress Liane who told you where to find Princess Runa?"

She nodded. "I can eat another pill if you want to make sure that I'm not lying."

"It's not a candy, Lady Zoe," he said bluntly. "Even criminals are only given three pills in a week when interrogated. Do you know why?"

"Taking in too many pills can kill you?"

"Correct."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And yet, knowing that, you still gave me three pills?"

He just smiled at her.

That damned lazy and sexy half-smirk of his almost made her forgive him instantly.

"I'm pissed," she said while fighting her h*rny side.

Isaak Viotto was her style, but that didn't mean she would allow him to treat her like shit. But on the other hand, she knew that it was only natural for the Grand Duke to doubt her.

Still…

"Your Grace, my life is precious. You can't just try to kill me just because you find me suspicious. Let's talk it out next time, okay? Talk it out. I'm a peace lover."

Much to her disappointment, he just ignored her rant. "I need to go."

"Yes," she said. But she grabbed his sleeve when he was about to stand up. "But before you go, shouldn't you ask me first what Princess Runa looks like?"

"Do I have to?" he asked, confused. "The princess is the daughter of His Majesty and the late Empress Liane. Her Royal Highness ought to have blonde hair like Her Majesty and deep violet eyes like the emperor."

Ah, right.

The Grand Duke didn't know.

"This is something that the late Empress Liane told me when she asked me to save her daughter," she said carefully. "All the traits that would prove Princess Runa's identity have been stolen from her."

"Stolen?"

She slowly nodded her head. "According to the late empress, Princess Runa has black hair and black eyes now."

Of course, Liane didn't tell her that.

The late empress didn't have to because she remembered those details from the web novel. It was a very pivotal part of the plot, so even a slow person like her remembered Princess Runa's current appearance.

"How is that possible?" the Grand Duke asked in a cold yet anxious voice. "It's illegal to dye one's hair and eye color in the empire, so spells that could alter one's appearance are forbidden. How come someone has the ability to "steal" the physical traits of a person that will prove their identity?" His eyes became sharp. "And who did that?"

"I can answer your questions, but it will take a while," she said seriously. "I believe that our top priority should be saving Princess Runa first. We can have a long conversation later."

That seemed to calm him down.

"Plus, I sincerely hope that you save Princess Runa as soon as possible," she said, then she clenched her hands before she dropped the bomb. There was another reason why Isaak Viotto and Eunice Harper weren't able to bring Prince Runa back to her rightful place earlier. "Your Grace, you'll be able to recognize Princess Runa right away because she's the same as you."

"What do you mean by…"

The Grand Duke trailed off as if he just realized what she meant when she said the royal princess was the same as him.

Then, anger just didn't cross his eyes– it also manifested as a black aura that covered his entire body. The aura was cold, and it felt cruel. Just being next to the Grand Duke was enough for her to feel like she was being strangled.

[I can't breathe…]

She also couldn't talk to complain, so she just gathered her remaining strength in her right hand. Then she punched Isaak Viotto in the arm. And she realized right away that it was a terrible move.

Her fingers were broken as soon as they connected to the ghoul duke's sturdy body.

[Dayum!]

Still, she understood why Isaak Viotto was acting this way.

[I would also lose my mind if I find out that my young niece has been turned into a ghoul.]

Yes, Princess Runa was cursed the same way Isaak Viotto was.

The Grand Duke realized that even if she didn't explain the situation yet. Thus, he lost it and released a deadly aura.

Thankfully, her "sacrifice" wasn't put in vain as Isaak Viotto came back to his senses.

"If you want to hurt me, do it when I'm not surrounded by an aura," the Grand Duke said, the aura around him slowly fading. Then he offered his hand to her. "Let me check."

"You should be careful when I'm with you," she complained when she could finally breathe and talk properly again. Despite her complaints, she still gave him her injured hand. "I'm a feeble lady, Your Grace. If you released your aura like that again, I might die for real."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, then he pulled a vial with a yellow liquid inside. He poured the potion into her injured hand. Surprisingly, the warm liquid didn't spill somewhere else. Her skin absorbed all of it. "Does it still hurt?"

She shook her head while watching her injured hand glow. When the yellow light completely faded, the pain in her hand disappeared. She also felt her broken fingers get "repaired." "It doesn't hurt anymore," she said, then she raised her head to meet his curious gaze. "I should tell my father to invest in healing potions."

"This is one of the highest-grade healing potions in the empire," he said while putting the vial back in the inside pocket of his suit. "Well, if it's you, I'm sure Marquis Rochester can afford premium potions."

"Of course," she said, proud to be the daughter of a rich noble. "Thank you for healing me, Your Grace."

"You don't have to thank me since it was my fault that you're hurt."

"I'm glad you know that."

"I'll compensate you properly later," he said, then he let go of her hand before he stood up. "For now, I need to save our empire's true princess."

"Princess Runa's curse is incomplete," she said. She wasn't able to finish her explanation before because Isaak Viotto had lost it. But she wouldn't let him leave without lessening his worry a bit. "She can eat human food in the morning. But when night comes, her appetite becomes similar to yours."

Ah, she remembered that she cried when she read that part of the novel.

[Princess Runa is seriously pitiful. That's why I didn't mind that she ended up as a tyrant empress. But Liane doesn't wish for her daughter to turn out that way.]

"Thank you, Lady Zoe."

The sincerity in Isaak Viotto's voice somehow made her feel embarrassed.

So she just nodded and raised her clenched fists. "Hwaiting."

'Hwaiting' or 'fighting' was a word of encouragement in the Korean language.

Isaak Viotto turned to her with an amused look on his face. "That must be the language used in the world you came from," he said. "We'll have a long conversation after I returned, Lady Zoe."

"I wish you safe travels, Your Grace." Zoe smiled sweetly at him. "Come back safely with Princess Runa."

***

HOUSE CLARKE was a family of mages.

It had produced some of the best mages of the empire.

Madison Clarke was one of the few who reached the Archmage level. She was celebrated as a genius. But when Emperor Rino was officially declared as the heir apparent to the throne, the then Crown Prince exposed the cruel human experiments that Archmage Clarke had been performing in the tower.

Most of her test subjects were children from the slums.

Madison Clarke's atrocities should have been enough for her to receive the death penalty. But in the end, her "achievements" in the empire were considered. The previous emperor (his father) bestowed three punishments for that cruel woman:

First, her title as an Archmage was removed.

Second, the core of her ability to create magic was sealed. That meant she could no longer use any type of magic.

Third, the former Archmage was exiled.

But since Madison Clarke was still a noble, she was exiled to a pretty decent mansion in a village near the northeast border of the empire.

In short, the former Archmage only received a slap on the wrist.

He and the then Crown Prince Rino hated their father's decision during that time. So when his brother finally decided to oust the previous emperor, Rino brought up their father's light punishment to Madison Clarke to gain the citizens' support.

"You should have lived quietly," Isaak Viotto said in a cold, harsh voice while looking down at Madison Clarke. "How dare a filthy mage like you steal the empire's treasure?"

Madison Clarke couldn't talk.

Heck, she couldn't even raise her head to meet his gaze.

The former Archmage was on the floor of the shabby mansion's hallway with her hands wrapped around her neck. She was drooling while probably trying to catch her breath. Which would be hard to do since his bloodlust was so thick that it was literally crushing the old woman.

Yes, old woman.

Madison Clarke was in her fifties already. But thanks to the potion that she invented in the past, she looked like she was only in her late twenties at most. But despite her fake youth, the former Archmage looked hideous at the moment.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you yet," he said with a smirk. "You don't deserve a quick and painless death."

He opened his hands and gathered wind on top of his hand.

"Mother…?"

He got the chills when he heard a female child's voice.

[Could it be…?]

He immediately closed his hands and turned to the owner of the voice.

A young girl with black, messy hair and black eyes dressed in shabby clothes greeted him. Her face was dirty, and she wasn't even wearing shoes despite the cold weather. Despite her poor appearance, he could tell who the child was right away.

[She looks like Empress Liane's child version…]

But the young girl's stench was similar to his.

He clenched his hands tight.

[It's the stench of a ghoul…]

"M-Mother…" the little girl who was standing behind a tall vase said in a trembling voice while looking at Madison Clarke.

Mother?

He wanted to kill the former Archmage right then and there even though she didn't deserve a quick death. But he didn't want to show the little girl such a violent sight.

"This woman is not your mother, young lady," he said politely. The little girl wasn't just his niece– she was also the true princess of the empire. Thus, he must be courteous to her at all times. "She's not worthy of being called as such by you."

The young princess lifted her head to meet his gaze. As expected, there was fear in her eyes. "A-Are you going to kill… her?"

He didn't know how to answer that because he wanted to protect the child's innocence.

But the next thing that he heard from the little girl gave him the chills.

"Please kill that old woman," Princess Runa said in a firm voice, as if she wasn't shaking just a minute ago. Moreover, her dark eyes were cold and empty. It was scary how a child as young as the royal princess could have such a grim expression on her face. "Kill her as slowly and as painfully as possible."

He was surprised at first.

But then, by just looking at the royal princess's appearance, he could already tell that she had been maltreated for so long. It was also possible that it was Madison Clarke who turned Princess Runa into a "half-ghoul."

If he was in her shoes, he would ask the same thing, too.

"As you wish, Princess Runa," Isaak said, obviously shocking the child. He smiled gently at her, then he bowed respectfully. "I will kill Madison Clarke– slowly and painfully."

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3