That morning, Shi-en sensed an ominous air.
It might have been some kind of intuition. The Imperial Princess, awakened by the chaotic wind hitting the window frame, stood up from her bed with a somewhat anxious expression.
The once bright gray eyes that held a sharp intelligence had long since dulled. The recent events she had experienced were enough to shatter the mind of a girl who had just become an adult.
First, she had escaped the brink of death.
In the process, the head maid who had cared for Shi-en since childhood had died. The knights protecting her were killed, and only Shi-en and Airen remained alive.
The fact that her carefully selected confidants had died was not something to be calculated merely in terms of gain or loss. Being human, Shi-en had no choice but to be shaken to her core.
However, even in the mud, a flower could bloom.
Despite the grim circumstances, Shi-en discovered a new hope.
That hope was Ian. The only person who treated her with sincerity in a world full of lies and deception.
But despair still lingered. That “new hope” was tied to the very man Shi-en had coldly neglected and tormented.
Had she only tormented that one individual, perhaps it would have been manageable.
Unfortunately, Shi-en had also laid her hands on Ian’s family. And those who had stood by her side in contempt of Ian had made her the scapegoat.
The “Eye of the Dragon” could read the emotions of all humans.
Every time she confronted the torrent of hatred and enmity, Shi-en felt suffocated, and nightmares from her childhood resurfaced. The more that happened, the more she clung to Ian’s existence.
Recently, she had even volunteered to serve the Lady Virgin Saint and the other women.
At first, the Virgin Saint had seemed somewhat reluctant, but she and the people around her subjected Shi-en to all sorts of menial tasks, as if to see how far she could endure.
Of course, Shi-en accomplished everything.
If it meant staying close to Ian, she had no choice.
However, that period was limited.
Ian was soon expected to awaken. And depending on how Ian treated Shi-en once he regained consciousness, her fate would be determined.
After being informed that if the ceremony was conducted yesterday, he would gradually regain his senses today, Shi-en became even more anxious, biting her thumbnail several more times. The trembling pupils revealed her nervousness.
Please, she hoped she could be forgiven.
Just in case, Shi-en decided to dress up for the first time in a long while. It was to look somewhat presentable to Ian once he opened his eyes.
After two hours of preparation, the princess finally left her room.
With somewhat nervous footsteps, she let out a deep sigh to gather her resolve. It didn’t take long for her movements to pause.
It was at the desk in the lobby on the first floor.
A space where servants organized mail every morning. There was a letter envelope that seemed unfamiliar, causing Shi-en to turn her steps.
The sender only caught her eye then.
“Ria Percus,” Ian’s younger sister.
Shi-en’s hand started to tremble. What a coincidence, a letter arriving at this juncture?
However, there was no choice not to read it.
Holding her breath, Shi-en slowly opened the envelope. Inside, there was a neat script written in prose.
The gray eyes quickly skimmed over the contents of the letter.
—-
To the noble fifth daughter of the Imperial Court flowing with the blood of dragons, Her Highness Princess Shi-en.
Your Highness.
This is Ria Percus, the youngest of the Percus family and an unwavering loyal subject of His Majesty. I hope you have been well.
I know you must be too busy to attend to the affairs of a quiet rural territory. Thus, I thought to write this letter.
Recently, Perkus Manor has not been peaceful.
Of course, this is entirely due to my shortcomings.
Numerous letters demanding debt repayment unexpectedly poured into the business I was managing. I was mentally prepared, but the gap between expectation and reality was vast and deep.
As the staff of the company who felt like family lowered their heads, it felt as if my heart was also falling.
It didn’t take long for me to become convinced of bankruptcy. The debts faced by a small rural company were beyond its means, despite my best efforts.
You must be wondering why I’m sharing this news, which is unrelated to Your Highness.
In fact, I recently heard an unconfirmable rumor. It was said that various things had transpired between you and my foolish brother.
My brother is foolish, stubborn, and unable to discern right from wrong. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that he could become embroiled in such a terrible conspiracy.
Like all rumors, it must have been somewhat exaggerated.
Nevertheless, I found myself questioning whether my brother’s loyalty was evident even in that fragmented information. And unrelated to that, I became curious as to why debt collection notices landed at my company.
Might Your Highness consider extending your generosity to look into this matter?
Nobles of the Empire must repay what they have received, be it enmity or favor.
As a noble of the Empire, I too have maintained the golden rule of returning resentment with resentment, and favor with favor, as a principle.
Let alone a member of the royal family, I believe this goes without saying.
If my brother has offered you even a small assistance, I trust that you will also bestow favor of equal measure upon him.
Though he may be a foolish brother, he is also someone I cherish deeply in my heart.
If my brother has indeed wronged Your Highness, I sincerely hope you will forgive him.
This Ria Percus may not die even if the company goes bankrupt, but if you wish it, I would gladly be willing to die in his stead.
If you desire, feel free to take the neck of this Ria Percus.
For my brother, I will bark if told to bark and crawl if told to crawl. Even if I were to be sold to a brothel, I would not voice any complaints.
I believe it would be simpler than causing one entire company to go bankrupt.
I will kneel and beg. Please, do not lay a finger on my brother.
One irrevocable decision is sufficient. I will convey this to my brother as well.
I hope you accept my heartfelt advice. I will end my letter here.
From the loyal subject of the Imperial Court, Ria Percus.
—-
The princess fell silent after reading the letter.
Through the reading, the strength of the girl who wrote the letter was apparent. The ability to consistently mock a member of the imperial family suggested that her temperament was far from ordinary.
Of course, she could certainly be deemed unqualified as a merchant.
No matter what, to provoke a royal of the Empire was closer to recklessness than courage, considering that the company had just gone bankrupt, she could hardly be in her right mind.
Nevertheless, the princess found herself unable to speak for some time.
The resentment felt in each line, and the animosity emanating from that refined prose pierced her mind painfully.
Every single letter became a bow, and it felt as if her optic nerves were turned into strings.
With each paragraph she traversed, Shi-en’s eyelids trembled. By the time she reached the part where she humbly pleaded in a manner so abject it felt unworthy, she began to show symptoms of hyperventilation.
The word “brothel” stood out sickeningly in her mind.
There was a girl who had giggled and spoken such things not long ago.
“If your face is merely half decent, you have no worries about making a living. In fact, if you’re of noble birth, you’d be welcome even in a brothel…”
Absurd.
If she could, Shi-en wanted nothing more than to leap forward and tear that mouth apart. To speak such rude words so nonchalantly.
And the phrase regarding returning resentment with resentment kept ringing in her mind. The color drained from Shi-en’s face.
Feeling dizzy, Shi-en staggered backward.
The letter fell to the ground with a soft thud, but she did not care. Like in a trance, she left Verlata Palace and walked aimlessly.
She should have headed towards the temple originally.
But now, she didn’t have the courage to do so. As she moved blankly, several sentences floated in her mind.
“One irrevocable decision is sufficient. I will convey this to my brother as well.”
Irrevocable, and she had conveyed it too.
Would Ian, once he opened his eyes, truly understand Shi-en, who had touched his younger sister?
Right, it was an irrevocable decision from the start.
There was no possibility of forgiveness.
Everything was the result of choices made by Shi-en.
Thus, even as the princess pushed through the crowd, walking in a daze, she only wished to escape.
But then, as if coming to her senses suddenly, she looked around.
The world surrounding her was filled with enmity and malice, leaving Shi-en no choice but to gasp for breath.
There was no place to escape to.
The long-accumulated fatigue and wounds in Shi-en’s mind erupted.
She could bear it no longer.
Suddenly overwhelmed by nausea, Shi-en retched. Despite beating her chest for a long time, nothing came out.
Someone approached, trying to support Shi-en. But she screamed out in desperation.
“…Don’t touch me!”
After all, they were all similar people.
All of them showed hostility while pretending otherwise, it was tiresome—something she had seen countless times.
Since her childhood nightmares.
She had struggled to break free, but ultimately, this was her destination. Shi-en had not taken a single step away from those times.
It angered her so much that she shed tears.
She thought she had changed, but she had not. She thought she could change, but that was a vain illusion.
How long did she cry in the midst of the crowd?
Shi-en saw a hallucination in her eyes.
A man was pushing his way through the crowd towards her.
With black hair and golden eyes.
It was undoubtedly Ian Percus.
Shi-en buried herself in his embrace while trembling and weeping. Ian silently listened to her lamentations.
It was a lengthy tale.
She couldn’t even remember what she said properly. After all, she thought it was a dream, so it was natural.
Thus, that day, Shi-en’s memory began with that question.
“…If I could only be forgiven, I could do anything?”
Shi-en nodded her head frantically.
She thought she had uttered something about the honor of royalty or the morality of nobility, but she didn’t care. As tears streamed down her face, she pleaded with Ian.
The man sighed and slowly helped Shi-en to her feet.
And then, in the next moment.
There was a crunch, the sound of cartilage shattering.
With sudden pain, Shi-en finally came to her senses.
What was happening?
Blood surged forth. Overwhelmed by the shock, she began to fall backward as her wide gray eyes fixed on a sharp silver trajectory.
The situation was clear.
A blade was embedded in Shi-en’s shoulder.
It was an axe.
It had crushed her shoulder joint as it came in.
Naturally, this accompanied tremendous pain.
On the ground, Shi-en had to scream in agony from the unexpected crushing pain.
“Ugh, ah… Kyaaah!”
Ian merely uttered a nonchalant remark upon witnessing the scene.
“Then, let’s take a few hits.”
It was an incident that occurred on the main street of the Academy.
