A More Secure Cage
The single thought consumed Rezef entirely.
Cayena belonged to him. She was his alone—an untouchable sanctuary meant only for him. Rezef had come to understand, with bone-deep clarity, that others might dare to desire her as well.
It left a foul taste in his mouth. He wanted to tear apart every single creature that lusted after what had a clear owner. After all, wasn’t he destined to become the master of this world? Once he inherited the throne, there would be far too many vermin that needed to be exterminated.
He defied the imperial order, left the prince’s palace, donned a crimson cloak, and personally took the reins of his horse. Merely giving commands no longer satisfied him. He needed to turn the entire capital upside down with his own eyes and see Cayena for himself.
At the same time, the situation felt suspicious. Was this truly a kidnapping? The circumstances seemed clear enough, yet he had another set of circumstances in mind. The possibility that Cayena was trying to escape his grasp.
Is she trying to run away from me?
His gentle, beautiful sanctuary sometimes behaved with such detachment that she seemed as if she might vanish like a bubble. Rezef told himself it was only his imagination, yet the suspicion lingered.
He hadn’t felt this way from the beginning. His certainty came when he received the report that Cayena had been reading travelogues about the provinces.
It was strange how she held authority over the Internal Affairs Department yet remained impartial and fair. The systematic structure she had built also seemed designed so that everything would continue running smoothly even without her.
The only way Cayena could escape me is through marriage.
Her desire for the freedom to marry. That was the greatest piece of evidence.
“Your Highness! We’ve discovered a suspicious group!”
At his subordinate’s report, Rezef immediately wheeled his horse around.
Whether this was a genuine kidnapping or an escape, anyone who aided it would not leave with all their limbs intact. He needed a safer cage to protect Cayena. One far more secure than before…
Rezef’s eyes were drenched in savage madness.
“These are the men.”
Thugs who looked like nothing more than hired ruffians were kneeling on the ground, bound. Rezef didn’t even bother dismounting as he looked down at them.
“We caught them occupying an abandoned house. We also discovered sleeping drugs, ropes, chains, and a carriage painted black.”
“And my sister?”
“Her Highness was not found.”
He dismounted and approached the thugs, who were still on their knees, furtively watching his every move.
“Why were you hiding in an abandoned house and acting suspiciously?”
“…We won’t deny that we’re not exactly upstanding citizens. But kidnapping the imperial princess? We never planned anything so heinous.”
Rezef nodded. Then, instead of pressing them to tell the truth, he drew the pistol from his waist and shot the man in the head.
Bang—!
“Huk!”
It was a clean instant kill. The others nearby recoiled in terror at the unfamiliar gunshot.
Rezef looked down at the mechanical pistol with satisfaction.
“I see why the law strictly prohibits civilians from owning firearms.”
The Eldaim Empire legally forbade anyone outside the military from privately possessing guns. Even these ruffians, who would have no reason to own such an expensive weapon, trembled violently.
Their comrade in the middle had just had his head blown apart. They would be next. They had heard the prince was a madman, but they never imagined he could be this cruel.
Rezef reloaded and pressed the barrel against the next man’s head.
“Now, it’s your turn to speak.”
The man hesitated, swallowing dryly. They were indeed the ones who had tried to kidnap Cayena. However, they weren’t Henverton Gillian’s men—they had been separately hired by Zenon Evans.
Should he tell the truth? Even if he did, would they be spared? They had been hired by Zenon, but they didn’t know their employer’s identity.
While they wavered, Rezef pulled the trigger again without another word.
Bang!
Two corpses now lay on the ground.
“You still have the leisure to think? How bold.”
Rezef reloaded once more and aimed at the man beside him. Realizing the prince would only give them one chance, the man confessed everything.
“We don’t know who the real employer is either!”
Fearing the prince might pull the trigger at any moment, he spoke rapidly.
“But we heard that Young Lord Gillian would be coming out of a temple not far from here with a carriage carrying Her Highness the Princess. The anonymous employer ordered us to ambush that carriage.”
“…Gillian.”
Rezef knew that name well. He was a truly filthy and despicable man. Moreover, he was completely obsessed with Cayena’s beauty and had lost all sense of reason. That was why Rezef had planned to put him on trial as the mastermind behind the recent poisoning incident. A greedy fool like that was easy to manipulate.
“I didn’t realize he was insane enough to attempt kidnapping the princess.”
Running a secret social club that had already crossed every line was one thing, but this was on another level.
“Hah.”
Rezef let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair. His head throbbed with rage. Why were there so many people in the world who didn’t know their place? How dare such worthless vermin covet his sister?
“This is exactly why I hate those who don’t know their place. They always cross the line.”
His gaze grew even colder and more ominous.
The survivors watched Rezef’s expression anxiously. Since they had told him everything, maybe they would be spared?
Rezef ordered his attendant to gather the Central Army at the temple and mounted his horse again. He gave no instructions regarding the failed kidnappers. They clung to the faint hope that they might live.
The attendant pointed at the bound men and asked,
“What should we do with these men?”
Rezef looked at him as if the question itself was ridiculous.
“Kill them all.”
With those words, Rezef galloped toward the temple, taking even the Central Army stationed nearby with him.
The temple soon came into view. But it was unusually noisy. Was a kidnapping supposed to be this loud? His eyebrows shot up in confusion.
He saw elite-looking knights positioned near the temple. The crest illuminated by torchlight caught his eye. It belonged to a family he knew very well.
The Kedrey ducal house?
There had been a visitor here before him.
At that moment, Raphael walked out of the temple. He was carrying Cayena in his arms.
“Sister!”
The moment he spotted her, Rezef leaped from his horse. While those around him were still murmuring in shock at the prince’s sudden appearance, he pushed through the knights and strode toward Cayena.
Raphael merely bowed his head while still holding her.
“I greet Your Highness the Prince.”
Rezef had no mind to return the greeting. Cayena’s condition was a mess. Disheveled hair, a badly wrinkled dress, chains clinking around her ankles, and her unconscious sister with a deathly pale face… He had never imagined seeing her like this.
For a moment, his vision swam. The rage was so intense it blurred his sight.
“Where is the culprit?”
Raphael jerked his chin toward the back. When Rezef turned, he saw numerous bound men. Among them was a familiar face.
Rezef’s eyes flashed. He strode straight toward Henverton.
“You worthless insect, how dare you…!”
Henverton looked up at him with a slack, drug-addled face. He gave a twisted smile.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Rezef, who had been about to smash his fist into that face, froze. Henverton was mocking him.
“This wasn’t my doing. It was Your Highness who caused this.”
Henverton let out a giggling laugh, as if he could no longer hold it in.
“Do you really think this will stop just because I disappear?”
“Insolent fool!”
The Central Army knights, horrified by his deranged behavior, shouted at Henverton. But Henverton, knowing he was already doomed, had nothing left to fear.
“She seems quite precious to you, this sister of yours…”
Rezef lowered his hand. He would listen to what the man had to say. Henverton continued,
“You should keep a much tighter leash on her from now on.”
Rezef realized this kidnapping wasn’t Henverton’s work alone. What Henverton was saying now clearly referred to the one who had orchestrated this double kidnapping.
“What do you mean? What else do you know?”
Henverton looked at him with eyes full of madness and sneered.
“I don’t feel like telling you?”
The anger was so overwhelming that instead of snapping his reason, it felt as if a blazing candle had simply been snuffed out. His mind went dark. Would shoving the barrel of his gun into this bastard’s mouth and pulling the trigger make him feel any better?
But he couldn’t do that—he still needed to root out the other culprit. Rezef began cleaning up the scene.
“All those who attempted to assassinate a member of the imperial family will be taken to the imperial dungeon.”
“As you command!”
After issuing the order, Rezef approached Raphael. In that time, the shackles around Cayena’s ankles had been removed. Raphael had placed her inside the carriage and was gently arranging her hair.
Why did the sight disgust him so much? Rezef toyed with the pistol at his waist. He was grateful for Raphael’s help, but he hated seeing him so close to Cayena.
Then a thought struck him like lightning.
Ah… is that it?
Was that the reason Cayena had decided to run away?
The Villainess Is a Marionette