IV. `With all my Heart`

“Hey, mister. You interested in some mood-enhancing medicine?”

“You worthless bastards! You didn’t even collect the payments right?”

Stepping into the damp, chaotic back alleys where curses and rough voices flew freely, Esina kept her nerves taut. The capital’s underbelly was far more volatile than it had been portrayed in the original story.

‘In the original, it only showed the scene where they met the informant. I had no idea.’

She had assumed it would be a quiet, gloomy place at worst. But the deeper she went, the more it resembled a night market.

On top of that, while the capital’s main streets were refined and polished—almost modern in feel—the back alleys exuded a faintly barbaric aura, as if stepping back into a more savage era. Just the sight of nameless stalls haphazardly strewn about was enough to prove it.

People lurking in the dimly lit corners watched passersby with a mix of leering menace and eerie stillness.

‘…If I’d come in wearing expensive clothes, I’d have been robbed right at the entrance.’

She was glad she had changed. Suppressing her instinctive curiosity toward the rare goods on display, Esina cautiously scanned her surroundings.

‘My business isn’t on this side, anyway.’

After pushing deeper for a while, a suspicious-looking shop that appeared to sell medicinal herbs came into view at the edge of her vision. Bundles of herbs and mushrooms were piled messily on the counter.

‘First, I’ll sell the Flemel flower medicine here to get some money.’

Then, with that money, she could head further in to meet the informant.

Having decided her destination, Esina moved forward without hesitation.

“You asking for a fight?”

“Move!”

And then—she was shoved violently.

‘Damn.’

A brawling passerby, caught in a scuffle, stumbled and slammed into her shoulder with rough force.

“…Ah!”

A small cry escaped her as she collided with other pedestrians like a domino. The thuggish men she bumped into smirked down at her with sleazy grins.

“What’s this?”

“Hold up. That voice just now—sounded like a girl.”

“Hey, sweetheart. You came all the way here alone? Huh?”

Burly men leered at her, their grins widening. A typical back-alley gang.

“Hey, hey. Where you goin’?”

Snap.

Just as she tried to slip away, a hand clamped onto her shoulder. Instinctively, she tried to knock it away—but her hood was yanked back violently, stopping her cold. The men whistled as they took in her frozen, startled face.

“Well, well. She’s pretty.”

“This one’ll fetch a good price if we sell her.”

The air turned dangerous in an instant. As Esina’s eyes darted around, the man at the back licked his lips and sealed her fate with a grin.

“Why sell her right away? Let’s have some fun first. Yeah?”

It wasn’t so much fear or terror as it was sheer absurdity.

At that moment, a scene flashed through Esina’s mind—one from The Flower Blooming in Hatred and Love, where the female lead, cast into the back alleys by Esina’s schemes, had been harassed by thugs just like this. Word for word, even the exact same lines they’d just spat at her.

‘And now here I am, living it.’

While Esina was still processing the irony, the men closed in and grabbed her shoulders.

“Tch.”

“Damn, you’re even prettier up close. Huh?”

Esina lowered her head as if frightened. Of course, it was all calculated. She hadn’t snuck out without guards without preparing for exactly this kind of situation.

‘I came ready.’

Keeping her head bowed, she discreetly slipped a dose of Flemel flower powder into her mouth. A bitter taste flooded her senses.

She’d never been so grateful for the powder’s crimson color—or its quick-dissolving properties.

…And, well, even if she swallowed it, it wouldn’t matter. She was infertile anyway.

“Cough! Cough!”

Instead of swallowing, she let it dissolve just enough before hacking violently, spitting out a thick, red liquid. In seconds, she was a ghastly sight—like a woman coughing up blood from some wasting disease.

“W-what the hell?!”

“Cough! Cough!”

The gang flinched as she doubled over, fake-coughing with dramatic flair. She let the red liquid dribble down her chin, contorting her face in disgust.

‘Ugh. Disgusting.’

The flowers were sweet and fragrant, but the powder was horribly bitter. So much so that she wouldn’t have swallowed a drop even if it had been effective.

Esina spat out every last bit, shuddering as she played up the act.

“I-I’m a sick woman!”

“What the—?!”