Chapter 1

Prologue

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Waaaaah!”

The cheers grew louder as they drew closer.

They were welcoming the new emperor, who was returning after completely crushing Rodeiam.

And they were the very cheers Annelia had longed to hear for so long.

It’s finally over.

Annelia gazed at the Argente flags visible through the window and quietly took a deep breath.

She had to carry out her final plan before those flags reached their destination.

But why was her heart so restless? Was it because she was finally about to achieve something she had wished for over such a long time? Or was it…?

“Enough. Let’s hurry.”

Annelia shook her head, brushing away her thoughts, and turned around.

Royna, who had been quietly waiting behind her, smiled faintly and asked,

“You’re planning to greet His Majesty at the castle gates, aren’t you? It’s still cold outside. Shall I bring you a coat?”

“No, I won’t be going to greet him. I have something else to take care of.”

“Oh? Then where are we going…?”

“To the Imperial Princess’s Palace for now.”

Royna tilted her head, looking puzzled, but as an experienced maid, she wisely refrained from asking further and followed Annelia.

For some reason, the relatively short journey felt like an eternity to Annelia.

The servants and maids they encountered along the way greeted her respectfully, but none of them could quite hide their uneasiness.

“What will happen to Lady Annelia once His Majesty returns?”

“Who knows? She’s the last princess of Rodeiam, after all…”

The maids, who had been whispering among themselves, were startled when Annelia suddenly appeared before them.

They hurriedly bowed, sweating profusely, but Annelia didn’t even spare them a glance. She simply continued walking.

It was a reaction she had expected all along.

Argente had brought down the Imperial House of Rodeiam, and the princess of Rodeiam had actively helped them do it.

Naturally, there would be plenty of speculation about what would happen to her now.

Ruan promised he wouldn’t hurt me, though.

As a former imperial princess, Annelia knew better than anyone that things in the Imperial Palace rarely went according to plan.

So, if she was going to leave as their contract stipulated anyway, it would be better to go without meeting him.

She was afraid her resolve might waver if she saw Ruan’s drooping eyes, like those of a puppy caught in the rain.

“Um, Lady Annelia…”

Just as they reached the Imperial Princess’s Palace, Royna, who had been following quietly behind her, spoke in a firm voice.

“I don’t think His Majesty will abandon you. Everyone may be talking, but you know what he’s like, don’t you?”

“I do. I agree with you. But, Royna…”

Upon entering her bedchamber, Annelia picked up a small envelope from her desk.

It was a short letter she had written the previous night after much deliberation.

“New wine belongs in new wineskins. If Argente continues sheltering Rodeiam, the imperial authority will never be properly established.”

“But…”

“Take this to His Majesty.”

Royna accepted the envelope Annelia handed her, looking back and forth between it and her mistress in confusion.

“I told you I couldn’t go out to greet him because I had something important to do. Go in my place and give him this. He’ll understand.”

“Ah… Yes, understood.”

Royna sensed that something was strange, but this was an order from none other than Annelia herself. She carefully tucked the letter into her clothes and nodded.

“But, Lady Annelia, when will you…?”

“I’ll leave once I’ve finished what I need to do.”

“Yes, then.”

Of course, she wasn’t going out to meet the emperor.

Annelia silently watched Royna’s retreating figure as the maid left the bedchamber.

The place she was heading to lay deeper within the Imperial Princess’s Palace.

It was a secret passage she had prepared in advance, one that would allow her to travel far beyond the Imperial Castle’s walls in a single journey.

This really is the end.

After making sure the surroundings were quiet, Annelia slowly opened the entrance to the passage.

A dark corridor stretched endlessly before her, without a single ray of light.

She took one step after another into the darkness.

Creeeeeeak!

The loud sound of the door closing seemed to echo the turmoil in her heart.

When she glanced back, all she could see was the tightly shut door and the surrounding darkness.

With a whoosh, Annelia lit the candle she had brought along and murmured softly.

Goodbye, wretched Rodeiam.

And…

Ruan Argente.

My former husband, who is now the new emperor.

May you remain a wise and benevolent ruler for all eternity.

And so, Annelia’s long journey of revenge finally came to an end.

Even though she still couldn’t quite believe it, even though it didn’t feel real, Annelia emerged from the passage and gazed at the brilliant sunlight before exclaiming,

“That’s right! Now I can finally live the second chapter of my life however I want!”

Where should she go first?

The Eastern Continent, where everyone supposedly had black hair?

Or the Southern Continent, famous for its beautiful seas and abundance of handsome men?

Excitedly, Annelia began making plans for her future.

Everything seemed destined to go perfectly.

“Good heavens! You know the last princess of Rodeiam? Her bounty is a whopping one billion lit!”

“What? It was only five hundred million lit yesterday! They doubled it?”

“His Majesty must be absolutely furious.”

Annelia Aile Rodeiam.

500 million lit. 1 billion lit.

That was until a nationwide wanted notice was issued for her arrest.

“You rotten bastard…! You acted like you’d give me everything, made all those promises, and now you’re breaking our contract?!”

Annelia tore the wanted poster off the wall outside her inn room and gritted her teeth.

That ungrateful bastard! Just wait until he tries to catch me!

Come to think of it, perhaps everything had gone wrong from the very beginning.

From the very day she had chosen Ruan Argente, about a year ago.

Chapter 1

Annelia had always possessed an unusually keen intuition, even from a young age.

It wasn’t merely a gut feeling. Rather, it was closer to a kind of result derived from meticulous observation and sound judgment.

She was exceptionally observant and sensitive to even the slightest changes. As a result, her conclusions were almost always correct.

Thanks to this ability, she had managed to survive despite being surrounded by countless enemies.

And today was no exception.

“Your Highness, please hurry and eat before it gets cold.”

It was an unusually clear afternoon.

After barely managing to escape the other princes and princesses who took every opportunity to torment her, Annelia had finally enjoyed a meal alone. Now, she had summoned a maid to serve her tea.

The maid assigned to her today was Lena Hessler.

She was one of the few who would at least bother to speak to Annelia.

Under normal circumstances, Annelia would have gladly accepted the tea Lena had prepared for her.

If only her instincts weren’t screaming at her right now.

“Your Highness?”

Lena continued urging her with an innocent expression.

Annelia silently stared at the cup of Earl Grey in front of her.

Its brilliant reddish hue was beautiful, and even its aroma was perfect. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to reach for it.

This… I mustn’t drink it. Absolutely not.

There was undoubtedly something suspicious about it.

Everything appeared just as it always had, but Annelia could sense subtle differences.

Lena’s manner of speaking. The tone of her voice. The frequency with which she blinked.

Moreover, Lena usually kept both hands clasped together, but today she was gripping the hem of her skirt.

So tightly that the fabric was wrinkling.

Most importantly, she had swallowed nervously twice while pouring the tea.

Considering that Lena had never once done so before, it was an unmistakable warning sign.

Annelia merely traced the handle of her teacup with her fingers before quietly speaking.

“Lena.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

Annelia had thought rather well of this maid, which made the bitter taste in her mouth all the more unpleasant.

Still, she couldn’t exactly drink the tea and die.

In a cold voice, she asked,

“Tell me who ordered you to do it.”

“Pardon? I don’t understand what you mean, Your Highness.”

The corner of Lena’s lips trembled slightly as she answered.

Once again, Annelia had arrived at the correct conclusion. And for some reason, that made her feel particularly miserable today.

“You don’t seem willing to tell me. In that case, you drink this tea.”

“H-How could I possibly drink tea meant for Your Highness?”

Lena was visibly flustered and protested in distress.

Without another word, Annelia immediately gestured to the guards.

“Seize this girl. She attempted to poison the princess by lacing her tea with poison.”

“Your Highness!”

Lena looked genuinely shocked.

As she frantically shook her head, the guards approached her.

However, instead of apprehending Lena, they merely hesitated.

“Um… Princess Annelia. Are you certain that Maid Lena attempted to poison you? From what I can see, she merely served you some tea.”

They were even defending her.

This involved the attempted poisoning of a member of the Imperial Family, and yet they were reacting like this?

Annelia stared at the guards in disbelief.

Encouraged by their words, Lena began denying the accusation even more vehemently.

“Your Highness, I’m innocent! Please stir the tea with a silver rod. I swear I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“There are countless poisons that don’t react to silver. Wouldn’t the surest way to prove your innocence be to drink the tea yourself?”

Faced with Annelia’s firm stance, the color drained from Lena’s face.

She bit her lower lip and shouted,

“It’s really not true, Your Highness! I may be your maid, but I’m also the daughter of a noble family. Please don’t falsely accuse me!”

“Falsely accuse you, you say?”

Annelia slowly rose to her feet, picking up the teacup filled with Earl Grey.

With every step Annelia took toward her, Lena’s body trembled more violently.

“If your innocence is proven, I’ll apologize to you publicly.”

“But…!”

As the commotion grew louder, nearby maids and guards began gathering around them.

Lena’s expression grew increasingly grim, and she looked completely at a loss.

After briefly glancing at the growing crowd, Annelia raised her voice slightly.

“If an apology isn’t enough, I’ll even give you the entire year’s allowance of the Imperial Princess’s Palace. So go ahead and prove your innocence, Lena.”

In truth, even an entire year’s allowance wasn’t particularly substantial, considering that Annelia wasn’t even treated like a proper imperial princess.

However, for Lena, the daughter of a minor noble family, it was certainly an enticing sum.

Everyone gathered there understood that much, and murmurs of confusion began spreading through the crowd.

If Lena was truly innocent, wouldn’t it be better to drink the tea, prove it, and claim the money?

“I-I…”

“Come on, Lena.”

Annelia extended the teacup with a casual gesture.

But Lena couldn’t bring herself to take it. She could only tremble uncontrollably.

“I’ve served Your Highness for so many years, and you still suspect me like this? I’m truly hurt…!”

Annelia felt she couldn’t listen to any more of it.

Tears streamed down Lena’s cheeks, but instead of softening, Annelia’s heart grew colder by the moment.

With a sigh, she ordered the guards,

“Seize Lena Hessler. I’ll make her drink it myself.”

At last, two guards grabbed Lena by both arms, and the commotion among the onlookers grew even louder.

“Let go of me! I’m innocent!”

Annelia seized Lena by the chin and forcibly tilted her head upward.

Lena’s dark blue eyes shook like leaves in a storm.

Under Annelia’s golden gaze, she looked as though she were about to be devoured alive.

Annelia stared into those terrified eyes and whispered quietly,

“I’m really going to make you drink it, Lena. If you want to live, you’d better confess. Don’t you think?”

Lena’s eyelids trembled violently, as though she were making one final desperate attempt to resist.

She absolutely couldn’t drink the tea. She had heard that the poison used was extremely rare, and that its antidote was exceedingly difficult to obtain.

But escaping this situation unscathed seemed just as impossible.

In the end, Lena opened her mouth in a tearful voice.

“Please spare me, Your Highness…!”

Tears spilled rapidly from Lena’s eyes.

Her entire body trembled violently as she began to confess, looking genuinely terrified.

“I only did as I was told. I swear, that’s all I did.”