Sien’s sudden question left the empress breathless.
Her eyes dull and unresponsive.
Still, Sien continued to speak without pause.
“When I was young, you always thought that, didn’t you? What if I had been a son?”
“…What do you mean?”
The stunned words were laced with a heavy sense of discomfort, but Sien’s expression remained cold and indifferent.
She continued her speech.
“Not long ago, you were considering the throne while watching me, weren’t you? How to turn me, merely the Fifth Imperial Princess, into an emperor? You even thought of assassination and all sorts of plots.”
The empress fell silent, her countenance as still as a statue.
After a prolonged silence, she managed to utter a few words.
“…No.”
In response to her denial came another denial.
Sien shook her head violently, piercingly bright eyes gazing up at the empress.
Before long, her pupils had slit vertically.
They were the eyes of a reptile.
“Why are you sobbing? Because people around me have disappeared? No, in truth, you are scared of me drifting further away from the throne.”
“Stop.”
With a curt command, the empress spoke. Her complexion had turned as pale as death.
Choking out words came next.
“…S-Stop it.”
“Do you love me? What on earth does that love consist of?”
Yet Sien’s heated words could not be halted any longer. The disappointment and hatred that rose in her eyes ignited like a faint flame.
The empress began to gasp for breath.
Dense magical energy gathered around her, as if to prove that Sien had inherited the blood of dragons.
“My eyes, these eyes? Do you really not intend to claim the legitimacy of the imperial bloodline with this power? My lineage, my eyes, and all of me! You love me as a tool for your purposes…”
“I told you to stop!”
The empress’s grip clutched tightly around Sien’s fragile neck.
Gagging, choking breaths echoed in the void. The empress’s eyes had long since turned red.
She no longer resembled a benevolent mother. Rather, she could be called a demon.
As Sien looked at that face, her own was filled with despair.
Yes, in the end, it has come to this.
“Ah, no… I said no! I… I am not that kind of person… I love you! I’m your child who loves you!”
That voice, screaming like a desperate outcry, was almost a final struggle.
Tears dripped from the Fifth Princess’s bloodshot eyes. Her mind, cornered to the extreme, had pushed her to the brink of madness.
With the grip tightening around her neck, the princess’s consciousness began to fade.
It was then she could truly understand.
Yes, there is no one in this world who cares for me sincerely.
Everyone is interested in my status as a princess.
They think of me as a tool, how could I not have understood this until now?
Why did I not realize this while longing for affection?
The facade called sincerity, the so-called love and concern, all felt pitiful as the princess’s eyelids grew heavy with regret.
Had she not been found by the head maid who arrived after hearing the commotion, she would have died right there.
It was a great incident.
This news reached the emperor’s ears, and soon, the renowned elder known as the greatest wizard of the age hurriedly arrived at the palace.
He was the one called the ‘Supreme Wizard.’
“It’s a curse.”
The old man, his white beard flowing, spoke without hesitation.
Before him lay a small girl with closed eyes, resting. Strange shapes flickered constantly around her.
The man standing behind the old wizard let out a deep sigh.
He still retained a hint of vigor; he was the emperor of the empire and the father of the girl. He mumbled in a pitiful voice.
“…How utterly blunt.”
“It is the truth, Your Majesty. As the heir of the Dragon Blood, you are already aware, aren’t you?”
The old man’s voice was disturbingly calm. His blue eyes stood out vividly even in the dim surroundings.
It was proof that he had reached the status of ‘Master.’
Having lived for hundreds of years, he was approaching death. Yet, he saw this peculiar fate, arriving just a few years before his time was up, as a kind of connection.
No matter how great he was as the emperor, he could not afford to disregard the elder who had reached the edge of truth.
He couldn’t scold the somewhat arrogant supreme wizard but merely shook his head in disbelief.
“…It is my fault.”
“How could good and evil exist in bloodlines? They were merely born that way. The power of dragons is nothing but a curse for ordinary humans. Especially with eyes that can read the emotions of all, ha ha ha…”
The old man let out a chortle, gazing down at the princess with a mixture of pity and compassion.
The girl had even been abandoned by her own mother.
She would never trust humans for the rest of her life. Even if that ‘eye’ were sealed, it would be the same.
Yet despite the supreme wizard’s comfort, the emperor showed no signs of relief. He continued to draw painful breaths.
“No matter what, I am her father, and that child is my daughter. Is there no way to help her?”
“We may temporarily seal her eyes. Even so, it won’t completely suppress them; she will still feel the remnants of the most intense emotions of others.”
The gaze of the emperor looking down at the princess sank deeper.
He listened in silence to the continuing words of the supreme wizard.
“Perhaps the mistrust towards humans will deepen over time. Since the most intense feelings humans possess are usually desires. However, if I were to say that I’ve sealed those ‘eyes’ completely, I believe she can lead a normal life.”
“…Then that child will never trust anyone?”
From just hearing that voice, the emperor could tell what kind of answer he desired, yet the supreme wizard nodded vigorously without hesitation.
“Of course. She will trust no one. Trust will only be in the desires she has seen with her own eyes and the actions that accompany them.”
Sighing, the emperor pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling the weight of his despair. It seemed he wanted to stagger and ease his mental shock but he was, after all, the emperor.
Before he was a father, he was an emperor.
Even when alone, he could not show any sign of collapsing. His eyes were merely growing darker with hopelessness.
Seeing this, the supreme wizard straightened his robes and cleared his throat.
“…However, it is not impossible for a miracle to occur.”
Quietly, his gaze shifted towards the supreme wizard. He could not read any emotion from the depths of the ruler’s eyes.
But the wizard could only assume a faint glimmer of hope lay within those eyes.
“If someone… if someone were to show genuine sincerity, this poor child might change, right? After all, a curse is merely a reversal of a blessing. If she were to face an unwavering true heart, her eyes would become a blessing rather than a curse.”
“…Is that possible?”
In the emperor’s voice, filled with skepticism, the supreme wizard let out a bitter smile.
“That is precisely why it’s called a ‘miracle.’”
That night, a ritual led by the supreme wizard was held in the palace.
Afterward, the Fifth Imperial Princess, Sien, returned to her daily life and could even receive affection once again through her outgoing behavior.
However, outside of the emperor and the supreme wizard, no one knew her true heart.
The despair she felt upon realizing that she could never gain genuine goodwill.
Just like she had seen herself as a mere tool to others, she had begun to see people as tools as well.
Every morning, she vowed within herself.
She would never trust anyone again.
Never.
After listening to Neoris’s lengthy story, my reaction was bland.
“…It seems the flower in the greenhouse has dug its own grave.”
I had no exact knowledge of what had happened on the day the ‘Supreme Wizard’ visited.
Yet, hearing that she had changed afterward, it seemed the events that had occurred left scars on the princess’s mind.
How deep must her mistrust be, having nearly been killed by her own mother?
Thus, it seemed she preferred to remain a figure of fear rather than be underestimated.
For a girl who had to endure hostility and contempt until then, it was a natural response.
After I had bluntly let that slip, Neoris lowered her head in silence. Commenting on royalty was almost a taboo.
It was just that, being the owner of the Dragon Blood script, Neoris felt she had nothing to say to me.
It was a matter of course for the emperor’s agent to evaluate the royal family.
Only then did politeness return to my demeanor towards Neoris.
“Thank you for your hard work, Neoris. You should go back now and rest… By the way, work on ensuring that non-combat personnel can withdraw as quickly as possible during the return ceremony.”
However, despite my call to her, Neoris remained hesitant.
When my questioning gaze fell upon her, Neoris, watching me warily for a moment, cautiously asked,
“Um, did I pass the exam…?”
I glared at Neoris momentarily without saying a word.
Come to think of it, the Dragon Blood script was something only the emperor’s close aides could possess.
In other words, it was normal for me to already know about the royal family’s secrets that Neoris referred to.
It seemed Neoris thought I was testing her based on information I already possessed.
There was no need to correct her misunderstanding. I bluntly replied,
“…Keep watching.”
No matter how I thought about it, the Academy branch of the Empire’s Intelligence Department was strange.
Even if they were interns, they hadn’t followed even the basic rules. Especially since this was among the elite selected from the Academy, known as a nurturing ground for talents.
Further investigation seemed necessary for this too.
Though my evaluation was strongly negative, Neoris appeared to be satisfied with it and let out a breath of relief.
Not long after, as Neoris seemed about to leave, she hesitated for a moment as if still having something to say.
It didn’t take long for her to voice her question.
“…Um, I-an?”
My golden eyes darted towards her, urging her to speak.
As always, Neoris asked me cautiously,
“So, what do you plan to do?”
It was a question about how I intended to deal with the Fifth Imperial Princess, who had dared to challenge the emperor’s agent.
It was an obvious answer, so I swallowed a chuckle and replied,
“I will save her.”
Save the princess, the students participating in the return ceremony, and the world.
It was a conviction without the slightest deviation.
Just as it had always been.
That night, the princess awakened, gasping for breath.
Coughing sounds filled the quiet room. She gasped, desperately drinking water.
It had been a nightmare.
A dream where her mother squeezed her throat; the vision of her mother’s eyes, glowing red like a demon, was still vividly imprinted in her memory.
Everyone felt that way.
The emotions directed at the princess shared a consistent commonality.
Desires, whether lust for power or wealth, were desires that failed to please her.
Even her closest aides, Irene and the head maid, carried traces of vanity and ambition regarding their relationship with the princess.
The only exception, however, was one.
Just recalling those golden eyes that had evoked only pity and compassion made the princess grit her teeth.
She couldn’t afford to be underestimated.
Only the strong could receive kindness. The weak became objects of mockery, and any deviation from the norm would lead to exclusion.
These were painful days.
Everyone in the world opposed her. Just recalling that day’s memory filled Sien’s head with white, and she had lost her emotions since then.
She could not trust beings like humans.
In that moment, Sien’s gaze fell upon a small eye stone on the desk beside her bed.
The gray stone had been left behind by her mother, the Fourth Empress, when she departed.
After being choked by her mother, the princess never met her again. She had only heard of her mother’s disgraceful fall from grace for daring to lay hands on the emperor’s daughter.
There had been no letters detailing the circumstances either.
Her mother had left behind only that one eye stone. To this day, Sien could not comprehend that sentiment.
Was it meant to imply she could return and connect with her power again?
Even thinking so, she could not bring herself to throw away the stone, proving she was still a child at heart. Sien thought this, unintentionally clutching the eye stone in her hand.
And as she tossed it into the air and caught it, she wondered.
How could that man be so strong?
She understood well what it felt like for the whole world to be against her. She believed that was the most terrifying retaliation, which had driven her to such agonizing lengths.
Yet that man had turned the tables without a care, compassionately looking at her as if it were natural.
How brazen.
Sien’s eyes grew cold and settled. The animosity felt so desperate it was almost palpable.
She could not afford to be underestimated any longer.
Soon enough, hell would descend upon that man.
Her sister’s company would falter, and Perkus Manor would be left in shambles. And one by one, even those dear to him would leave his side.
The stage had long since been set. Now that the academy’s vacation was about to begin, the real movements would begin to unfold.
The day that would signal it all was drawing near.
Sien’s gaze silently swept over the calendar. Remembering the day marked in red.
The day of the ‘Return Ceremony’ was fast approaching.
