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Chapter 1
【 The Stone Pagoda 】
Here stood a crude stone pagoda that seemed to pierce the sky without end.
It had endured such an immense span of time that there was not a single place untouched by dust. Between the weathered stones, seasonal winds slipped in again and again, stirring and passing through.
Ezra had lived here. No—this place was everything to her. The top of a stone pagoda that no one ever visited. A small window too high for even her fingertips to reach. Only a single beam of sunlight and moonlight marked the beginning and end of each day, and the thickening dust marked the passage of years.
In that desolate place where not even a human step ever reached, Ezra was shoved forward by a sharp hand and collapsed weakly onto a creaking bed. Through her swollen eyelids, she saw the woman’s silhouette still trembling with rage.
Ezra tried to shield her face, fearing another lash of the whip, but her weakened arms only hung limply.
“Ugh…”
A groan soaked in pain escaped her lips as she wiped away the blood trickling down her mouth. Had she calmed down slightly? The woman’s rough breathing slowly steadied as her shoulders lowered. Only then did Ezra, slightly relieved, spit out bloodied saliva with a cough.
“You wretched thing—die already!”
It seemed it was not over yet. The queen’s scream, twisted with fury, echoed violently through the stone tower. Unable to contain her rage, she ranted and raved several more times before covering her face with both hands, letting out a strained groan.
“Me… every time I look at your eyes, I feel like I’m going insane.”
Ezra quickly shut her eyes.
“I want to gouge out those eyes of yours… and burn that face that resembles that woman with a heated iron.”
Words of curse she had heard so many times they felt embedded in her ears. Ezra, the target of those curses, strangely felt a sense of relief that it was her being condemned. Of course she deserved suffering. All of this was only proper punishment.
So it was fine to suffer for her entire life. She could endure everything—if only it eased even a fraction of her guilt.
“Before I kill you with my own hands, I will not close my eyes.”
The queen spat at her one last time. Leaving Ezra sprawled on the bed behind her, she stomped down the stone tower with heavy steps. The sound of her footsteps reverberated through the tall structure.
With a faint groan, Ezra curled up with the last of her strength, clutching the edge of the blanket tightly while gasping for breath.
Struggling, she forced herself upright. Pressing her cracked fingernails into the bruises on her bare legs, she frowned. Blue and yellow bruises covered her body so densely that she could not even tell where it hurt most.
She retreated into a corner of the bed and buried her face in her knees.
Pain and suffocating loneliness. She would spend her entire life thrashing within resentment and despair with nowhere to go.
I never wanted a life like this. I never wanted to be left alone like this.
If anything… I wish it had been her mother who lived instead of someone like me.
Ridiculously, she found herself longing for a face she had never even seen. Every night, she traced her own features in the dark, imagining the mother who had given birth to her. Sometimes she even imagined a smiling face before closing her eyes.
It was an ordinary night among many ordinary days.
The stone door creaked open with a grating sound, and a red lantern pierced her vision.
Startled, Ezra frowned—and then widened her eyes.
More than a dozen maids had stormed into her room. It was the first time such a thing had ever happened.
Expressionless, they looked her up and down. They waved dust away from the air, covered their noses at the stale smell, and frowned in disgust. At a gesture from the highest-ranked maid, others stepped forward and grabbed Ezra by both arms.
Without a word, they dragged her to the bath.
Cold water was poured over her suddenly. She flinched and stiffened, but unlike usual, their hands were somewhat careful as they washed her.
Ezra looked around in confusion, but the maids remained silent, occasionally frowning or wiping sweat as they focused on washing her. She could only shrink back without speaking.
After enduring who knew how long under those impassive hands, lukewarm water finally poured over her head.
Fortunately, they washed her without tearing her skin. After the bath, they began combing her tangled black hair. It was so knotted that they struggled, and the rough brushing made her scalp ache unbearably.
Clenching her teeth and enduring it, she caught a glimpse of unease in her own eyes. The head maid lifted an eyebrow and spoke casually, as if doing her a favor.
“The crown prince from the Wastern Empire has arrived across the sea.”
What did that have to do with her?
As Ezra tilted her head in confusion, the maid turned away and frowned at the dusty cracks in the stone wall.
“He says he will choose one of the princesses for marriage. A banquet has been prepared to welcome him. You are ordered to attend without exception.”
Royal decree, crown prince, Wastern Empire—everything was incomprehensible. A princess in name only. Someone like her, trapped inside this stone tower, attending a banquet with such people?
“That must be a mistake. I… I can’t go to a place like that.”
“We are also surprised, but the order clearly included even the fourth princess.”
Fourth princess.
The maid looked down at Ezra sitting on the bed. Her pale face was like a fading flower, her dull green eyes blinking slowly. Her thin, tangled black hair only made her look even more fragile.
No matter how one looked at her, Ezra seemed like an underdeveloped girl.
And Ezra herself was vaguely aware of that. But it wasn’t just appearance. Among the royal bloodline, she alone possessed none of the expected gifts.
The first princess had all the world’s knowledge. The second possessed foresight of the future. The third—who was likely now selecting her most extravagant dress in her room—had beauty capable of stealing anyone’s heart.
The half princess had nothing.
Perhaps the only notable thing about her was that she was the least remarkable in appearance among the four.
A cursed existence born upon the death of someone precious. Her life had always been destined for misfortune. She had to live as though already dead, carrying contempt and disdain on her back, reminding herself every day who she had killed… and how precious that person had been.
“Aah!”
As she was lost in thought, a sharp pain shot through her head and she gasped. She quickly covered her mouth, as if even that sound was a sin.
The maid clicked her tongue openly.
“The queen has ordered that you must not show disgraceful behavior in front of the crown prince and his attendants.”
“T-then…”
“You are to say nothing. Do nothing. Simply exist as you have until now.”
Ezra slowly nodded. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous about attending such a formal occasion—but shrinking herself like a curled-up insect was something she was already accustomed to.
“If you disobey, the queen herself will punish you.”
In an instant, Ezra froze like stone. Unable to answer, she trembled and clenched her fists as if holding something back. An old habit. Where her nails had pressed before, scars remained that could never be erased.
“Answer.”
“Yes…”
Her thin shoulders sank under fear. The maid frowned openly and reprimanded her coldly.
“I’m telling you to behave yourself properly.”
The moment she had prayed would never come finally arrived.
For the first time in her life, Ezra walked outside wearing something other than rags—a smooth chiton.
The unfamiliar clothes clung uncomfortably to her body. She wanted nothing more than to rip off the ornate fibula and run back to her bed, but the maids surrounded her from all sides, watching and glaring.
The tower that had never known light. They descended hundreds of spiraling steps by lantern light alone. Once they opened the rusted iron door and stepped outside, everyone finally exhaled. Some even coughed violently at how stale the air had been.
Ezra, stepping into the dry wind after leaving the damp darkness, widened her eyes.
Wind brushed through her hair… lingered at her fingertips.
An endless night sky stretched above. A field of stars so close it felt as if they might spill down at any moment.
Ezra clenched her fists again in disbelief.
Is this really not a dream? Not an illusion?
Unable to adapt to the open space, she looked down at her feet. The faint scent of grass filled her nose. In the distance, trees rustled with eerie sounds.
The maids, snapping back to attention, pushed her forward impatiently. Practically dragged along, Ezra was led into the palace.
Inside, she could only gasp.
Blinding light filled her vision. Everything appeared pure white, and she rubbed her eyes repeatedly. The ceiling was absurdly high, and the polished stone beneath her feet reflected light like a mirror.
Is it really allowed to step on something like this?
Everything felt too grand, too noble. As she climbed the golden spiral stairs, she kept looking back, afraid she might bring something filthy into this place.
Her hesitant steps quickened. Eventually, they stopped before a massive door.
Ezra glanced at the golden door, then quickly looked away under the maid’s sharp gaze.
Her wandering eyes drifted into empty space until guards standing before the door raised long spears with disciplined precision.
“Who goes there? No one without permission may enter.”
“The fourth princess,” the maid replied.
“…The fourth princess?”
