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Chapter 2
The Emperor of the Betuzenia Empire had three wives and six children.
While the Empress and the First Imperial Concubine were supported by powerful noble families, the Second Imperial Concubine, a former dancer, had no such backing.
Kebeniark Heteroben, the Fourth Prince, was the son of that Second Imperial Concubine.
Having nothing to pass on, the Second Imperial Concubine left Kebeniark only black hair and striking good looks before passing away early.
“The Fourth Prince’s treatment? Leave it to the Empress.”
The Emperor was indifferent to the child, and the Empress and First Imperial Concubine despised him.
Before he was even a year old, the child was assigned the oldest, sunless palace in the imperial grounds.
His allowance was barely provided, leaving him poorly fed and clothed.
Because the imperial family paid him no mind, he became the perfect outlet for the servants to vent their frustration.
An imperial prince you could hit or torment without any repercussions—was there a better way to relieve stress?
For the growing Kebeniark, neglect and abuse became daily life.
Years passed, and he turned eight. His daily life remained unchanged.
‘What am I?’
Around that time, Kebeniark began wandering around the detached palace, seeking his identity.
The imperial palace was vast and full of people, but no one gave him an answer.
Whenever someone made eye contact with him, they quickly avoided his gaze, and whenever he tried to speak, they flinched and ran away.
To them, he was an entity who existed yet didn’t exist—someone visible, yet best ignored.
‘Ah, I see.’
Looking into a cracked mirror he chanced upon in the trash dump, Kebeniark defined himself.
Unlike the well-dressed people in the palace, he had a filthy appearance.
Beneath his shaggy black hair, sunken blue eyes blinked as if expecting it.
‘I’m a monster.’
An old picture book rolling around the floor of the detached palace had featured a crying monster that looked just like him.
Dirty and hideous—a monster no one would associate with.
The only people who even spoke to him were the two maids assigned to his palace.
Even though they gave him nothing but hard, moldy bread and cold soup.
Even though they only threw him into a tub full of cold water to wash him after his hair became matted and smelled terrible.
Kebeniark was grateful to the two of them.
They were the only ones who took care of a monster like him.
‘I’ll spare you two.’
Monsters grow up to kill people, so one day, he, too, would kill everyone in the imperial palace.
He didn’t know why he thought that way, but Kebeniark believed he was born to do just that.
Then came a certain day.
That day, too, Kebeniark was hiding in a tree to stay out of sight, watching the palace grounds.
“Viscountess Heart, have you considered the proposal I made last time? I truly believe it would benefit both of us… mmph?!”
“I’m sorry, but I’m busy.”
As the woman waved her hand, the man’s noisy voice cut off.
Since there were many mages in the imperial palace, Kebeniark realized the woman had used magic.
“Talking about marriage. Does he really want to hit on an eighteen-year-old? What kind of person is he?”
Blocking the footsteps of her pursuer with magic, the woman walked past the tree where Kebeniark was hiding, grumbling to herself.
Light purple hair swayed gently along with her steps.
‘…Like a flower.’
He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Kebeniark held his breath as much as possible so as not to be caught.
He hoped she wouldn’t see him and run away.
That was how the boy discovered Rayna Heart.
‘I hope I can see her again.’
The young prince stayed true to his wish.
From the next day on, Kebeniark observed Rayna from a distance while hiding.
“Time moves so damn slowly…”
And the day after that.
“Damn it. Did the author dump me in here?”
And the day after that.
“…Ah. The world is truly beautiful.”
And today, the day after that.
Kebeniark broke into a cold sweat inside the bushes.
It was because of a pair of silver eyes staring intently at the bush where he was hidden.
‘I shouldn’t get caught…’
Who would welcome a monster peeking at them?
“Viscountess Heart? Is there something over there?”
“…No.”
Just in time, an attendant standing beside her spoke up.
Rayna turned her head and moved on as if it were nothing.
“I thought a cat was living there.”
Kebeniark let out a small sigh of relief as he heard her footsteps fading away.
‘At this rate, I can’t keep pretending not to notice.’
Rayna shook her head briefly as she walked through the garden.
She had noticed it starting yesterday, but now that she was aware, she wondered how she hadn’t realized it sooner. The intense stare made her cheeks prickle.
‘There’s a limit to ignoring it.’
When someone hides everywhere you go and stares intently at you, it becomes awkward to pretend not to notice.
Does he think he’s some kind of stray cat?
“Viscountess Heart, as you may know, it is best not to go that way,” whispered the attendant sent by the Emperor.
The area he referred to was where Rayna had briefly paused and looked moments ago.
An unmaintained, overgrown garden of trees, and beyond it, a dilapidated detached palace whose peeling paint made it look hideous.
“Why? Is it not just one of the many detached palaces in the imperial grounds?”
“Th-that is…”
When Rayna asked while playing dumb, the attendant realized his mistake.
Seeing her gaze intent on the Fourth Prince’s palace, he had cautioned her just in case, but she seemed completely unaware.
Regretting bringing up an unnecessary topic, he faltered before speaking.
“Well… It is something Her Majesty the Empress dislikes…”
“Something she dislikes?”
“Y-yes. Since it fell out of Her Majesty’s favor, no one dares approach it. Getting involved might bring severe punishment…”
The attendant lowered his voice as he saw Rayna’s face harden.
Although she had softened a bit recently, the young genius mage was originally someone he wouldn’t even dare initiate a conversation with.
She was famous for her merciless nature, radiating a cold aura whenever anyone approached.
Some even rumored that dragon blood flowed in her veins, making her incapable of feeling emotion—though everyone treated it as a joke.
“Viscountess…?”
To think that Rayna Heart’s complexion was darkening while looking at him.
The attendant’s voice trembled with fear.
However, contrary to his worries, Rayna wasn’t paying the slightest attention to the attendant.
What she was looking at was the semi-transparent window that popped up the moment he started speaking.
Night was the time of hyenas. Hyenas, defeated by lions during the day, sought out the abandoned lion cub. They spat, kicked, and threw him mercilessly. A weak young beast that didn’t even know how to scream.
The little child did not know how to resist. To him, that was simply life.
However, familiarity could not erase the pain. Long were the nights he could not sleep through the agony.
Content that clearly described Kebeniark’s past in the novel.
Rayna glared at the semi-transparent window visible only to her, her brow furrowing.
‘What’s the point of showing me this?’
The major events of The Garden of Betuzenia were driven by Kebeniark, the tyrant of the Betuzenia Empire and the main villain.
To the two protagonists, those events were trials to fulfill their love and reclaim the Tuntera Empire.
For that to happen, Kebeniark first had to kill all his kin and ascend to the Emperor’s throne.
‘Even if I know the kid is growing up pitifully, there’s nothing I can do about it.’
The harsh tragic background he was enduring was an essential stepping stone for his eventual awakening as a tyrant.
So, ignoring this was the right thing to do.
Just as Rayna tried to avert her gaze:
The child’s life was a darkness without a single ray of light.
As if rushing her, a new semi-transparent window floated up.
A burst of frustration escaped Rayna’s lips.
“What on earth do you want me to do?”
“AH, NO! I SPOKE OUT OF LINE!”
Frightened out of his wits by her outburst, the attendant frantically waved his hands.
And two days later.
“…”
Rayna stood in front of an overgrown hedge that had grown wildly out of control.
Her deep silver eyes reflected the familiar, eyesore of a detached palace.
A deep sigh welled up from her chest.
She felt like she had become a pawn for something unknown, but she had no choice.
“Viscountess, your meal is ready.”
For Rayna, who was staying at the imperial palace, luxurious food was served every meal.
As a war hero and an esteemed guest favored by the Emperor, it was expected treatment.
That day, too, just as she was about to pick up a juicy piece of steak:
It was moldy bread.
“…?”
Rayna’s brows furrowed naturally at the semi-transparent window hovering in the air.
Losing her appetite for the steak, she put down her fork and picked up a spoon.
Trying her best to ignore the window floating in her field of vision, she attempted to continue eating.
The child had never eaten warm soup.
Pause.
Rayna stared down at the food she was about to eat.
It was a piping hot, rich stew brimming with ingredients.
“Viscountess? Are you finished eating already?”
“Yes.”
“But you haven’t eaten a thing…”
It started from then on.
Every time Rayna tried to eat something, descriptions of Kebeniark popped up, blocking her view.
She tried ignoring it a few times to force food into her mouth, but her throat felt dry, as if she were swallowing sand.
“Ah, seriously!”
Ultimately, Rayna surrendered after two days.
“Whether you’re building a tragic backstory or not, you should at least feed the kid properly! If he doesn’t grow tall because he didn’t eat during his growth spurt, are you going to take responsibility?”
Whether it was trying to guilt-trip her or not, targeting her meals left her with no way to win.
Pushing back her chair from the dining table, she stormed into the kitchen.
And now, she had arrived near the Fourth Prince’s detached palace.
Rayna looked down at the garden bushes where Kebeniark was hiding, then laid down a blanket right in front of them and sat down.
From inside the bushes, the faint rustle of a few leaves brushing together could be heard.
