The Tyrant Older Brother is a Bonus Prologue

Prologue

“They say that woman has finally returned to the Empire.”

A small party hall. People, dressed in modest attire, had gathered in small groups and were busily engaged in chatter.

And small wonder—for rumours were rife that the protagonist who had set the Empire, and especially the capital, abuzz had returned to the city.

“Hah, have you heard the rumours too?”

“Naturally. How could one not?”

Charlize Altsbeit.

The granddaughter of the Duke of Altsbeit, one of the highest powers in the Empire.

She was the sole person cherished beyond measure by the Duke, a notorious miser and the so-called master of the underworld.

As for affection, rumours had been rife enough to make one’s mouth ache.

Perhaps that was why.

The little girl, indulged in everything since childhood by her grandfather, had grown into the Empire’s foremost scoundrel.

A brief explanation of the background is needed here.

Charlize’s father, the former Emperor, had fallen into a fiery love with the Lady of Altsbeit, and thus a great union of the Empire’s powers was achieved.

However, since the Lady of Altsbeit was the Duke’s only child, the Imperial family and the Ducal house made a pact.

“We shall have two children—one to be the heir of the Ducal house, and the other to be the heir of the Imperial family!”

Thus, Charlize, though of Imperial blood, grew up as a noble lady bearing the name of Altsbeit.

Bolstered by the names of the Ducal house and the Imperial family, the outrages she committed were truly dazzling.

She did not hesitate to commit crimes, though all her offences amounted to property damage and drunken violence. One could discern her temperament.

At any rate, having committed a great scandal, she had left the Empire for a time—and now she had returned.

The murmuring crowd fell silent with a gasp.

“Ah, there she comes.”

Soon, from one corner, a tittering, coquettish laugh rang out.

Where people’s gazes converged stood a staggeringly beautiful woman, so striking that eyes widened.

Her pink hair, flowing like fine silk, was a colour hailed as the most noble in the Empire.

The reason being that it was a hue unique to the Empire, born from the union of the Imperial family, which produced only silver and black hair, and the Ducal house of Altsbeit, which bore only red and orange locks.

It was a colour symbolising miracles—one that made everyone sigh and watch her, no matter what crime she committed.

Eyes as red as if steeped in blood, and elegantly upturned.

“……Whom will she target today, I wonder.”

“Hush, don’t meet her eyes.”

Alas, her appearance was as fierce as the outrages she committed.

Her cheeks were overly flushed, and her laughter seemed that of one unhinged.

Soon, the first victim appeared.

“Ah, aren’t you that handsome fellow who once rejected my confession?”

“Wh-what are you doing, my Lady?!”

Her face—so beautiful that it would be hard to behold even if one offered all the treasures of the world—was flushed with drink as she laughed.

“Hmm, no? Have you aged? Can one age twenty years in a single year?!”

Charlize, who had been kicking at his legs, suddenly poured the champagne she held over the old man before her.

The elderly nobleman blinked in surprise.

In that moment, Charlize leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

“You’re ugly. Die, you.”

“Eeek!”

Pale as a ghost, the nobleman fled without restraint.

But that was short-lived. The noble lady staggered and was supported by the hands of knights clad in black.

“You—ugly—death sentence!”

The knights of the Ducal house of Altsbeit.

Among them, the elite knights chosen by her grandfather, the Duke, solely to guard her.

“Kyahaha! Tonight, our ‘Terry’ shall feast!”

Terry was the monstrous dog she kept.

A hybrid with a monster, a dreadful breed that tore human flesh in an instant.

Those watching understood.

At last, the notorious scoundrel ‘Charlize Altsbeit’ had returned to the Imperial capital.

“This is a disaster……”

“It’s a disaster.”

People gathered in groups, whispering busily.

They did not forget to lower their gazes, lest they meet Charlize’s eyes.

“Now the capital’s handsome men will be wiped out again……”

“Noble families with sons of marriageable age must all be cautious……. We must inform the salon.”

“Hah, is that necessary? Everyone must already know.”

“…….”

Charlize was already seated arrogantly, a glass of champagne in one hand.

Her surroundings were as if a barrier had been erected—no one dared step near.

They acted as though meeting her gaze would spell doom.

The Ducal house of Altsbeit.

‘One must never meet her eyes!’

A house of which it was said that not only birds, but even the sun could be brought down if aimed at.

Charlize was the precious granddaughter of such a house.

Moreover, her brother was none other than the current Emperor.

Unless something extraordinary occurred, there was no means or person to restrain her.

People busily muttered, careful not to meet her eyes.

“Was ‘that matter’ resolved well? I mean, the affair with Commander Kahas, the most handsome of the holy knights……”

“Oh, you speak of that? I was thinking of the romantic entanglement with Duke Lemut of the West……. Weren’t they engaged?”

“Good heavens, and what of the story about kidnapping the disciple of the spirit mage Lopenheim and forcibly taking her to the mansion?”

Charlize Altsbeit’s record was splendid.

So splendid that no one could recall it all. The most notable incidents involved her having meddled with every major figure in the Empire.

It was widely rumoured that her recent journey outside the Empire was, in fact, an order of confinement under the guise of travel, issued by the Imperial family, weary of her scandals.

The hired musicians, perhaps hoping to change the atmosphere, began playing a rather lively tune.

Meanwhile, a young man approached Charlize with measured steps.

Those pretending not to watch all held their breath.

“Lady Altsbeit.”

“…….”

When Charlize openly ignored him, the young man frowned and spoke again.

“Your Highness the Princess.”

No sooner had the title she was rumoured to despise most left his lips than Charlize turned her head with a venomous expression.

The young man flinched at her icy gaze. But he soon gritted his teeth.

“I have awaited only this day—the day of your return……”

“Who are you? What do you want?”

At her sharp, cold voice, the young man trembled but strove to speak calmly.

“Do you not remember me?”

“Hmm? Let’s see—you’re ugly, aren’t you?”

“…….”

“I don’t remember ugly ones.”

“……I see. That is only natural. Yes……”

“What is it? Get lost……”

“The one you ought to remember is not me, but my younger brother.”

In that instant, the young man drew a sharp dagger from his sleeve.

In truth, he was a skilled knight.

When such a man deliberately drew his blade, it flew toward Charlize with astonishing speed.

Clang!

But that attempt was blocked by the guard knight’s sword, and his arm was seized, ending futilely.

“Argh, damn it, damn it! You noble lady! You wretched scoundrel! Rick Tershtein! You’ll remember my brother! The name you toyed with!”

“…….”

“My brother ruined his life out of despair because of you, because of you! I curse you, I curse you!”

Even as the guards dragged him away, the young man strove to finish his words.

“Even the fiancé you cling to so desperately will loathe you and abandon you! Die!”

Silence fell upon the spot where the young man had vanished.

Charlize glanced briefly at where he had disappeared, then turned her head as if nothing had happened.

“What was that? Who was he talking about?”

Her voice was utterly indifferent.

“How boring.”

Hiccup. Charlize slowly rose from her seat.

The remaining guard knight reached out to support her, but she coldly brushed his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

The guard, as if accustomed, quickly stepped back.

Charlize staggered back toward the entrance.

“I want to go home.”

Her drunken voice brought relief to all present, of course.

Thus, no one knew that Charlize was not actually drunk, and that her drunken antics were merely an act.

Nor that the hand she clenched was damp with cold sweat.

Charlize returned to her room, alone, and sank down, burying her face in her knees.

‘Ugh, that was terrifying enough to kill me!’

Her once-proud shoulders trembled like an aspen leaf.

The tremor she had held back surged forth.

A sword? An assassination?

How many times had she nearly been stabbed to death outright at a party?

Five times, no less—five!

And considering that only a week had passed since her official return to the capital, it was truly astonishing.

‘Rick Tershtein—I know that bastard. But what right has he to be aggrieved?’

Rick Tershtein was a man who had stalked Charlize Altsbeit viciously.

He had followed her to every party, seeking an opportunity, and had once tried to assault her when she was drunk.

Of course, the past Charlize had not tolerated it and had punished him, but she had never imagined his family would come after her for that.

No, in fact, aside from this case, she did not even know the reasons for the other four assassination attempts.

‘Because I’ve slapped too many men!’

For the truth was, the core of her being was not ‘Charlize Altsbeit.’

She—no, ‘Yoon Jihoo’—was merely a person temporarily inhabiting the body of Charlize Altsbeit.

It was misfortune, if misfortune it could be called, to have awakened as the villainess of a wretched 19+ novel.

No, it was the worst of misfortunes.

Whenever she was distressed, she would cry out to herself.

Endure. Just one year.

‘I only need to seduce one man.’

That one man was her sole fiancé.

And of all people, he was the man who most despised the villainess in this world.

Alone in her room, she could not help but cry out.

“Ah, if only it weren’t for that damned coin!!”