Although I couldn't trust Simon, it's not like I had any other options at this point. It was either give in to his demands or be forced into a situation I didn't want to be in. Thus, I was forced to agree to his conditions.

I truly feel like I made a deal with the devil.

Simon spoke calmly, "It appears your wound is bleeding rather badly. Let me go get medicine for you. It's my duty as your fiancé to take care of you and make sure you don't die from infection."

I growled at him, "No thanks."

His smile grew, "Don't forget, my father only allows you here because you are my fiancé and are useful to him. If he thinks otherwise, he won't bat an eye to get rid of you. I can assure you that would be far worse than anything I could do to you."

Threat received.

I gulped and looked away, "Fine."

Great. So now not only do I need to figure out a way to break Dante out of jail by leading a rebellion, I also have to figure out how to avoid being caught and killed by Simon's father while also avoiding Simon's sadistic desires. In addition to all of this, I want to kill Simon for everything he has done until now. However, I hate to admit that I need his help right now. I will just have to wait until the perfect moment to kill him.

I've never had to work this hard before. It's a bit exhausting...

Simon glanced at me before walking to a drawer and pulling out a jar. He walked back to me and spoke calmly, "Take off your shirt."

"No!" I instantly put my hand over my chest protectively. Does he really intend to still attack me?!

Simon chuckled, "I'm not going to do anything. It just seems that your back is bleeding rather badly. I, being the loveliest fiancé ever, will gladly apply medication to your wound and redress it."

My face was stiff, "No way. Call a servant to come do it."

He didn't relent, "If I do that, the servants will start gossiping. They will say I don't care about you or your safety. Then my father may be more inclined to get rid of you. Is that what you want?"

I gulped, "N-No..."

He whispered teasingly, "Then. Take. It. Off."

There's no way I'm going to take off my shirt in front of this man!

He spoke calmly, "Or I can just forcibly take it off of you while severely hurting you in the process. Would you prefer that?"

I glared at him, "No."

I'm getting tired of his threats.

"Then?"

I turned around, "Fine. But you're only allowed to look at my back and nothing else."

Simon chuckled, "I didn't know you were so shy."

It's not shyness. It's self-preservation.

I glared at him and gestured with my hand, "Look away."

He just smiled at me.

F*ck this sadistic f*ck. I definitely need to figure out a way to kill him after I save Dante.

I made sure he couldn't see my chest as I took off the shirt. Sure enough, the wound on my back had reopened and bled through the shirt. I unwrapped the gauze that I had used. I winced as I pulled it off slowly like a band-aid. It was stuck to my skin making it even more painful to remove. Once I finished, Simon opened the jar and a medicinal smell wafted through the air.

When he applied it to my wound, extreme pain sprang along my back leaving behind a stinging, tingling sensation. It felt like someone poured hydrogen peroxide on my cut and amplified the pain.

I shouted, "OUCH! WHAT THE F*CK SIMON!"

He laughed, "Oh yeah, I should have warned you. This medicine hurts when it's applied."

I clenched my fists as I bit down on my lip. This feels worse than when Dante struck me with his sword in the first place!

I fought off the urge to faint from the pain as he finished applying it. He spoke, "I heard that Dante was the one who did this, but I didn't think it would be this deep. How did you not die from a wound like this?"

"I did die." I stated as a matter of fact, "I came back by some impossible means."

He muttered to himself, "Aren't you a little cockroach?"

"Who are you calling a cockroach?!"

He's going to die.

He finished and began to rewrap my wound. I flinched as I felt his hand brush against something much too personal. I shouted quickly, "Wait! I can do that!"

"Now why would I let you do that? As your future husband, it's only natural that I help you."

"Enough with this future husband and fiancé bullsh*t! I am never going to marry you."

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek before I could pull away, "We will see. Now sit still or else I will have to apply the medicine again. Next time, I will do it while looking at you from the front."

I froze immediately at his threat. Curse my weak body. Curse Simon.

After he finished, he ordered the maids to change the bedding and bring me back new clothes. I put on the new outfit a bit surprised, "Pants?"

It looked sort of like a sleeveless romper. They also gave me a long flowing robe-like covering to go over it.

Simon lay down on the bed with a casual smile, "Haven't you noticed? Sanki women wear pants here."

"Why?"

Not that I'm complaining.

"The climate is harsher here than in the Imperial Kingdom. If women wore what they did in the Imperial city, they would surely die. These lands are filled with quicksand and other dangers that require lightweight clothes with the best amount of movability."

"Huh. I thought the Sanki Kingdom oppressed women."

"Oh they do."

"Oh..."

_____

The next day, Simon went back to work while I snuck out to do some reconnaissance. How can I lead a revolution and convince the citizens to follow me? One, I'm a woman and they don't respect woman here. Two, I'm a foreigner. They definitely don't respect foreigners here either. It is clear I need to go find a citizen to ask them what they suggest.

I knocked on a door. The goat farmer opened it with a stiff face, "You're back?"

I held out a jewel, "Can I ask you for another favor?"

He took the jewel and motioned me inside, "Depends on the favor."

"I need help. Theoretically speaking, how can someone get the citizens on their side and overthrow a king?"

He blinked at me calmly, then held out his hand. My face twitched as I reached into my pouch and pulled out another jewel. I placed it on his hand.

He nodded, "If I were you, I would start by speaking with the bandits who live in the forest."

"The bandits?"

He nodded, "It's not a secret that we don't like the current King. He's not a full-blooded royal, but he did marry the Holy Empress, so we had no choice but to follow him. The current King blames the Imperial City for the poverty on the streets, but it's not the full truth. The rich have been getting richer while the poor have been starving and dying from a curable plague. It's obvious he doesn't care about our suffering. We want him gone, but there's no one we could replace him with. The Sanki people fervently believe the ruler must have royalty in his blood."

I tapped my chin, "But what about one of his children? He has four sons."

"Technically he had five, but one was killed while on a mission."

I haven't heard about the fifth.

"A mission?"

He nodded, "Although the King didn't tell us, I heard a rumor that he sent his son to the Imperial Kingdom to kidnap and assassinate someone. However, he died from some crazy woman stabbing him multiple times."

...I just realized something...

That man with a gun who resembled Simon...

He was his brother, wasn't he?

The person who stabbed him multiple times was Millie… Wasn't it?!

Sh*t.

Let's just keep that secret to ourselves.

I cleared my throat, "What if I were to say that one of his sons could become the new King?"

"We hate his sons."

"What if that son promises to listen to the poor citizens?"

"Then that would work. IF you could convince the people it is true."

Oh, I can convince them.

"Good. Then I will try to find the bandits. Where can I find them?"

"I will draw you a map. However, the problem is that the bandits are outside of the wall. The guards will naturally be suspicious of you since you're a foreigner, so I would avoid the front gate."

"Are there any secret tunnels that lead out?"

"I heard that the bandits have a route."

I guess my luck isn't so bad after all!!! I thought I was going to have to crawl through the sewers again.

My eyes lit up, "Great! Where is it?"

He shrugged, "No idea. Only the bandits know."

My face fell, "Seriously!?"

"Just go out the way you came in."

F*ck me.