Chapter 1. Prologue
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Karzen threw out the Young Lady’s chin and straightened his body. However, he was still gently pressing down Young Lady’s hand with his shoes.
“Raha. What shall we do? Should I give you the territory?”
Instantly, the eyes of the nobles who had been holding their breath turned to Raha. Her gaze, surprisingly, was on the Count. He clung desperately to the emperor.
Raha stared at the Count Buddha with curious eyes. Karzen’s eyes were like a blazing flame, scanning her eyes one by one.
“I do not know.”
She said something she didn’t know how many times today, and approached the Count.
“But more importantly, the parents should take care of their children
Raha bent down as she said in a subtle tone. It was a pause to exhale.
Slap!
The Count’s cheek turned as it was. Raha lifted her gaze as the Count’s cheek was mercilessly slapped as if she was beating a lowly slave.
“I’d cut off the Count’s wrists instead of the Young Lady, even though I cherish them so much. Karzen.”
Instantly, the Count could not believe his ears.
“I’m curious. Would he love his daughter enough to give up his wrists instead of his daughter’s?”
“……!”
“Ha, Princess…..!”
The blood completely drained from Count’s Buddha’s face. The other nobles who were situated in the grand banquet hall were not much different. Raha did not pay the slightest attention to the surroundings. She just asked Karzen.
“Am I the only one curious, Karzen?”
Raha’s voice was not small. It sounded clear enough to freeze the limbs of nearby young ladies.
But only to Karzen’s ears it sounded different. At times like this, Raha del Harsa seemed to be whispering sweetly only to himself.
Most of all, Raha’s eyes when she whispered such a carefree word. Whenever he looked into those eyes, Karzen could feel it every time.
Raha was certainly not normal.
Karzen did not know that the usual elegant, arrogant, and cold appearance of the imperial princess was a mask that was so perfectly sculpted.
It was more likely that he abused her so much to break her like that.
It was his own twin that he felt sorry for.
Did she care so much about parents’ love? Why was it so sad? She was so fragile that it drove Karzen crazy like this. Looking at the twin who wanted to chew and eat them right away, Karzen’s heart was filled with compassion.
Kalzen lifted the foot that had been trampling the Young Lady’s hand. The Young Lady breathed in tears and saliva.
“Ha, ha……”
“My child……”
The Count hurriedly crawled up on his knees and embraced his daughter. Her white hand was already a rag. It happened to be the left hand that was trampled on. It was clear that she would not be able to wear the proposal ring.
But the young emperor paid no attention. He gently held the imperial Princess’s hand. Raha, who had been staring only at the Count and his daughter, shifted her gaze. Karzen walked away, still holding her hand, and he sat Raha down on the top seat.
While all of this was happening, the grand banquet hall was dead quiet. Karzen sat down next to Raha and with a relaxed expression, he pronounced.
“Kneel down and crawl here. Come and pray for your mistakes and you will be forgiven.”
“……!”
Compared to the danger of the immediate end of the family, that level of humiliation was nothing. The Count crawled in a frenzy and apologized as he repeatedly banged his head on the floor.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Your Majesty!”
Karzen beckoned, feeling even more generous. What if Raha was supported as lord, king, and emperor? His beautiful twin was already insane. The one and only princess of the Empire who was so pitiful and pathetic, and sometimes endlessly cruel.
The sweet performance began again. Everyone was again absorbed in the banquet. The mood was sharply reversed, and the drunkenness that had been sucked in with all its might evaporated.
All the nobles desperately found a glass of weak champagne. Since low alcohol was always a popular item at the imperial banquets of the Delo Empire, there was no shortage of it and it was plentifully provided. It was fortunate.
Jamela, who had been quietly gasping for breath, gestured with her chin. The blood spilled by the Young Lady was cleaned up without a trace by the skillful attendants.
* * *
“She was more strict than I thought, perhaps because it’s the imperial family.”
Jamela stared at Rosain in the mirror. Her longtime childhood friend chuckled.
She had wrapped it up well with the word ‘strict’……. In truth, she wanted to say Raha was cruel.
“It can’t be helped.”
Jamela lowered her rich lashes.
“As an aristocrat, you rise to the highest position you can climb, but you have to accept this much.”
“…… of course. You will do well. Duke Winston has asked me to escort you.”
“He was afraid I was crying somewhere, my father.”
Jamela gestured to the attendants.
Not just any aristocratic daughter, the emperor’s fiancée was accompanied by attendants of high rank, famous even in the imperial palace. They fixed Jamela’s makeup perfectly and retouched her slightly disheveled hair again.
Jamela was taken care of by the attendants with impeccable demeanor.
On the other hand, she stared at her own eyes in the mirror.
‘Raha, what should I do?’
The Princess was so different from herself.
She (Jamela ) would never have been able to say about cutting off the Count’s hands on the spot.
But they were cruel words that resulted in the most perfect outcome.
Jamela wondered. What part of the imperial princess’s words touched the emperor’s heart? Of course, everyone knew that the previous empress had tried to poison her daughter.
Was that a pity?
Was it too late now?
The more she thought about it carefully, the stranger something was. She couldn’t seem to figure it out. What on earth would the Emperor pour into the Princess….
“The Princess is a very cold but intelligent woman.”
“…… yes she is. Rosain.”
Jamela continued talking as she stared into the mirror.
“She only makes good choices.”
Jamela herself froze earlier.
Whether the nobles were astonished, the result was a perfect handling of the situation. At least the nobles with brains thought so. Shame on those who knew nothing who later mouthed off that the soft-headed Princess had called for a punishment that was too brutal.
So what did they want Princess Raha to say right then and there?
Did they wish for her to beg for forgiveness with mercy?
Did they wish for a soft and wise rescue plan?
That wasn’t even funny. If the Princess had offended the Emperor even a little earlier, the chandelier in the grand banquet hall today would have been a very spectacular red color. Because it would not just be the direct lineage of the Count, but even the heads of his collateral lineage would be hung on the chandelier.
“I think the Emperor cares very much about the Princess.”
“Of course. They are twins.”
Naturally he must save her.
Rosain opened his mouth as if to wake up Jamela, who was deep in thought.
“Now we must leave. Lady Winston.”
A hand reached out at the same time. Jamela held the hand gracefully.
The grand banquet hall was already perfectly organized and at the same time completely rigid.
* * *
“Is the Princess really crazy?”
The Deputy Knight Commander’s eyes hardened in bewilderment at Kingsguard Captain Blake’s soliloquy. He opened his mouth in a low tone.
“You are very loud, Captain.”
“It’s noisy here.”
“…… I told you that just in case.”
“I understand.”
Although he answered, Blake could not hide his displeasure. He didn’t like the way the Young lady’s problem was settled earlier.
‘His Majesty thinks the Princess is half out of her mind.’
Frankly speaking, even to Blake’s eyes, the Princess looked as if she was not in her right mind. He painted the perfect picture of the Imperial Princess as best he could out there, but ……. Wasn’t she the imperial princess who dared to sleep by the corpses of slaves piled up in the corridor?
That was really crazy.
Anyway, the appearance was perfect. Karzen thought the imperial Princess was like a delicate sugar doll at hand. He could lick it, break it, and trample on it whenever he felt like it.
She was just so beautiful now because the emperor had her in his hands.
In other words, Karzen was being very careless with the Princess. Blake understood. Because no one was wary of flowers decorating a room.
Karzen had to realize for himself the fact that the Princess was mad, but on the other hand, more sane than he thought. Instead of stretching the leash ambiguously, as he was doing now, he should tighten it tightly. It was okay to be a complete moron in the process.
There was no personal regret for the Princess. However, the Princess, who had the eyes of the heir, was an obstacle to Karzen’s future.
Karzen’s realization would be better when accompanied by a strong shock. Blake was a faithful knight and wanted no hindrance in his master’s future. Therefore, the work that Blake has prepared for today should be a definite wake-up call.
* * *
After sitting still in the upper seat that Karzen had made her sit in for quite a while, Raha finally got up at about the half hour mark.
“Where are you going, Raha?”
Karzen, who had never left his seat while Raha sat in a daze, asked immediately. Raha answered with a smile.
“I must go down. I have to go and talk to the ladies.”
“What’s the point of going down there? If you go, you will only see them shivering.”
“I see.”
In other words, he meant that Raha should sit quietly next to him. So Raha meekly sat down again as if understood.
She did not have to go to where the food was prepared. Even if she just sat in her seat, food and drinks one after another were served. Especially glasses of champagne, Raha’s favorite drink, and also hot tea prepared just for winter.