‘The bloodline of the Imperial Court flows with the blood of dragons.’
Regardless of its truth, it was a rumor that anyone living on the continent knew. It was none other than what the Imperial Court itself acknowledged.
‘Dragons’ were wise beings that once roamed the ground long ago. As the first children created by the Heavenly Deity Arus, they were guardians of order and balance.
In the era of myth, overflowing with all kinds of races and monsters, humanity was weak and alone. It was the reason why the dragons, as the agents of the Heavenly Deity and lovers of the weak, stepped forth to protect humanity.
Thus, the dragons gave humanity three gifts.
The first gift was flames. With the ability to wield fire, humanity underwent numerous transformations. They began to cook, surviving the winter without thick furs. Naturally, the cycle of relocating to maintain the fire grew longer.
Flames also birthed metallurgy. Agriculture, which had previously existed only at a primitive level, finally blossomed due to fire.
The second gift was writing. For humanity, which conveyed knowledge through oral tradition or pictures, writing was an innovative invention. All sorts of knowledge were recorded and passed down to future generations, and the frail beings called humans chose to wield wisdom as their weapon.
With the advent of writing, humanity finally stood shoulder to shoulder with various races.
The third gift was magic. The origin of all magical spells that exist in this world was dragons. Naturally curious, they had been exploring the truths of the world for a long time, pursuing magic as a means.
Humans who received magic from dragons developed it in their own ways. This led to the creation of aura techniques and the spread of various disciplines, including alchemy.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the roots of the flourishing age humanity enjoys now lie in magic. What was once a weak race, humanity had risen to become the dominant species of the continent.
While the first humanity received the favor of the Heavenly Deity and dragons, they did not recklessly abuse that power. Until that time, the concept of ‘sin’ did not exist.
Humanity had no qualms about sharing the gifts received from dragons with other races, and the continent developed and prospered day by day. Until Delphrium appeared.
He, who betrayed humanity and followed the evil deity, committed seven sins. Based on this, receiving power from the evil deity, he sacrificed countless offerings to the evil deity.
The kings and queens of each race. The wealthiest people and bards of the continent. And even dragons, by offering them to the evil deity, sowed the seeds of sin in humanity, which had previously known no such concept, and death spread throughout the world.
During the centuries-long Divine Beast War, it was said that all dragons went extinct. However, occasionally there were rumors that the blood of dragons was still flowing due to forbidden love between dragons and humans, one piece of evidence being the ‘Eyes of the Dragon.’
Dragons, who loved justice and order, were born with inherently unique abilities. The ‘Eyes of the Dragon’ was one of them, a power to read the emotions and psychology of others.
Based on this ability, dragons would solve complicated problems intricately woven with interests. Those who could see into a person’s heart were revered as even more sacred beings.
They were strong and magnificent. But they were not human.
Thus, it was unfortunate that a young and delicate maiden was born with the ‘Eyes of the Dragon.’
The girl, born with dark blue hair, possessed a lovely appearance. Though her slate-gray eyes often seemed to look elsewhere, not many paid it any mind.
She was a child born of the noble blood of the Imperial Court. Moreover, being beautiful, it was easy to predict a bright future for her.
Until that time, she only knew she would grow up blessed by everyone. But it wouldn’t be long before that illusion was shattered.
The beginning was one of the maids. That day, the maid was cleaning the Imperial Princess’s chamber. The princess, notably quick in learning, was known for her caprice.
Having recently been scolded by the head maid, the maid was particularly cautious in her actions.
Being still a young princess, her ‘chamber’ was more akin to a playroom. While organizing all sorts of toys, the maid suddenly felt a suspicious gaze upon her.
It was the princess. The unfocused gaze of her slate-gray eyes was piercing through the maid. As soon as she noticed it, the maid felt a chilling sensation.
Whether it was her imagination or not, the pupil seemed slightly slit vertically.
The maid hesitated for a moment and asked, “Um, Your Highness? Did I do something wrong…?”
“Did the head maid bully you?”
At those words, the maid’s body immediately stiffened. Her wide eyes were fixed on the princess. However, Shi-en was only smiling gently, her eyes filled with kindness.
While it was an adorable sight, it only made the maid feel even more as if the princess was a being entirely separate from her.
The maid hurriedly stumbled over her words, trying to explain, “N-no, it’s a misunderstanding! Your Highness, I don’t know where you heard that rumor, but nothing happened between the head maid and me…”
“I didn’t hear it.”
The girl tilted her head and spoke as if genuinely puzzled.
“I saw it. Just now, you were cursing the head maid in your heart, weren’t you?”
The maid’s face turned pale.
The sound of the broom she was holding dropping echoed throughout the chamber. Nevertheless, the princess continued.
“And not long ago, you cursed our Mother, thinking that you had to appease me when handing me candy. And now… huh?”
The princess’s head cocked to the side. With each of her movements, the trembling within the maid deepened.
“Sticky and dark… huh, it feels bad. What is this emotion…?”
“…Your Highness.”
Stumbling over her words, the maid barely managed to utter that one phrase.
“I-I think I should take my leave now.”
With that, the maid hurriedly left and soon departed.
Afterwards, strange rumors began to circulate among the other maids. It was a fabrication that the young princess could read people’s hearts.
It seemed as though the princess had never once thought it necessary to hide her ability, and as incidents that were initially perceived as coincidences repeated, suspicion soon turned into wariness.
No one wished to reveal their innermost thoughts. It was only natural for them to have secrets they wished to conceal, and no one could be perfect enough to keep every detail of their internal psychology hidden. They merely filtered their outward emotions for the sake of social interaction.
However, such actions were meaningless before the princess Shi-en.
She saw through everything.
The truths they wanted to hide, the ugly desires, and even trivial personal affairs and relationships.
It didn’t take long for the gaze, once filled with affection and respect, to turn cold.
And that animosity and fear pierced deeper into the young princess’s heart.
Her eyes could read emotions.
Visualized feelings gradually carved into the young princess’s chest. Especially because she had been loved until now, it only amplified her suffering.
Being so young, the princess could not fathom that peering into others’ emotions would incite such animosity.
From the moment she was born, she had always peered into someone’s heart.
It was a completely natural thing for Shi-en, thus she could never have imagined it might be wrong.
At first, she tried hard to regain that love on her own.
She approached others to resolve their issues.
But with each time she peered into someone’s heart, the person eventually could not contain themselves and cried out in distress.
“…Please stop!”
The maid looking down at the princess wore eyes stained with fear.
One by one, the servants began to quit, and soon the palace where Shi-en resided fell into silence.
By then, Shi-en had no choice but to realize how terrifying it could be to look into someone’s heart.
But by then, it was too late.
The rumor that Shi-en could see into people’s hearts had long spread throughout the palace, and as Shi-en walked by, people cast her disdainful glares.
It felt as though she was suffocating beneath a torrent of that sticky emotional tide.
Everyone hates me.
Even a sturdy adult would struggle to endure it. Let alone a child who had yet to properly grow up.
As the days passed, Shi-en became more haggard and gradually spoke less.
The hatred pierced and hollowed out her once vibrant emotions, leaving her spirit completely numb.
She merely wore an always gloomy expression.
The one who was suffering alongside her was her mother, the Fourth Empress.
Ever since Shi-en had become this way, there had not been a single day when the empress did not shed tears. One day, holding her daughter tightly, she wept and said, “Oh, my poor daughter… The world is not honest, so they hate you.”
The girl, cradled in her mother’s arms, still wore a dark and sorrowful countenance. With a feeble voice, she muttered, as if having let go of everything, “It can’t be helped; in truth, people are all greedy. There aren’t any who truly like and care for me.”
“What do you mean, my daughter…”
Tearfully, the empress tried to comfort her daughter with all her heart.
“I swear that I, at least, love you sincerely. I can promise you that… I am, after all, your only ally.”
Even in her tear-soaked, earnest voice, there were no signs of the princess’s face softening.
It was only after a long while that Shi-en asked once more, “…Is that true?”
“Of course, I am your mother.”
Then came prolonged stillness; the empress, who had been sobbing while stroking her daughter’s back, sensed something odd at that moment.
Her eyes, filled with wonder, looked down at her daughter.
The slate-gray pupils held no focus.
As if looking far away, Shi-en spoke, “…But why did you think that?”
Suddenly, the empress’s hand that had been stroking Shi-en’s back halted.
The empress’s expression grew vacant.
