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Chapter 4
“If there’s anything you need, please call for us.”
After escorting Ariella and Reina to the bedroom, the maid bowed politely and left the room. Though it was obvious she had been assigned there in a hurry and still seemed flustered, her attitude remained respectful.
And that alone was such a relief.
Ariella briefly remembered the maids in the tower who had practically thrown food bowls at her before shaking her head.
The palace she had been assigned to was the farthest from the main residence. Considering the sheer scale of the imperial palace, it was secluded enough that if she stayed quiet, people might not even realize she existed there at all.
Patting Reina lightly on the shoulder in comfort, Ariella slowly walked around the room.
It was not furnished with the finest luxuries, but it had everything necessary.
Most importantly—
There was a balcony.
That was the very first place she stepped toward.
The simple fact that the door could be opened just by pushing it overwhelmed her.
She could step outside whenever she wanted and look up at the sky.
And if she ever needed to escape, she could jump from there.
It was only the second floor, though she might break her legs.
“Stop crying, Reina. Come here and look outside.”
“……”
“Did you ever imagine there’d be such a beautiful garden inside the Triphina imperial palace?”
Back when she had been imprisoned in the tower, she had believed that tiny world was all there was.
But now…
She would be able to feel spring and summer again.
She would be able to stand in the rain and snow.
And on fortunate days, the wind might carry the scent of flowers to her.
She inhaled deeply.
“How leisurely.”
The voice that suddenly rang out sent chills crawling across her skin.
“How leisurely.”
Those had been the very first words Dmitri had spoken when he personally visited the top of the tower five years after her imprisonment.
At the time, he had been drenched head to toe in blood, his black eyes filled with hell itself.
Slowly releasing the breath trapped in her lungs, she turned around.
And there stood Dmitri.
Arrogant, as though he alone owned this space.
Though he had only just shed the last traces of youth, his eyes already carried the detached weariness of someone who had lived through an entire lifetime.
“You did pretty well.”
Ariella smiled like a doll that knew nothing.
At the enemy who would destroy her homeland and kill her family.
“I greet the little sun of this exalted empire.”
He snorted softly in amusement.
Ariella deliberately ignored the reaction.
“What brings you all the way here…?”
“We’re already officially betrothed. Is there somewhere I’m not allowed to visit?”
“Not at all. Please, sit down. Reina, could you ask them to prepare some tea?”
Reina, who had been trembling in one corner, hurriedly bowed and fled the room.
The moment only the two of them remained in the bedroom, an unbearable silence filled the air.
Seeing Dmitri up close made the changes even more obvious.
Even now he was tall, but five years later he would grow another head taller. His shoulders would broaden by another span as well.
And five years after that, he would become enormous—as though he were a beast risen straight from hell itself.
“Do you like the room?”
The sharpness of his voice sliced through her thoughts.
“Yes. It’s wonderful.”
“Even though it’s rather lacking for a princess from Forenze?”
“Not at all.”
The crown prince tilted his head strangely.
“Do you not know shame? Or are you pretending not to?”
Despite the sudden insult, Ariella merely smiled.
Things like pride and shame could never come before the people she loved.
Dmitri’s eyes gleamed as though he had discovered something truly amusing.
“Do you really admire His Majesty that much?”
“More than words can express.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Again, he let out a disbelieving laugh.
“There are probably about a thousand steps to the top of that tower. The western tower you were supposed to be locked in.”
Even though it wasn’t new information, goosebumps rose along her skin.
To be exact, there were 941.
That was why the maids delivering her meals once a day had always complained.
And also why there had been so many days she went hungry.
“Truthfully, your portrait never mattered at all. His Majesty had only just seen the painting for the first time. Which means he could still decide to imprison you again whenever he wants.”
His casual words felt as though someone had suddenly grabbed her by the throat.
His tone sounded almost teasing, like a threat.
But Ariella knew better.
This was not merely a threat.
“You don’t even seem surprised.”
“Even after seeing me in person, His Majesty may still be displeased.”
“You saw the empress, didn’t you?”
The abrupt change in topic made Ariella’s brow twitch slightly.
“She’s only four years older than me. Pitiful, really.
Or perhaps, from your perspective, it’s a great honor?”
Honestly, it disgusted her.
A husband nearly thirty years older than his wife.
Especially since such marriages were rare in Forenze.
Even so, Ariella merely smiled instead of answering.
“Aren’t you curious why you became Triphina’s crown princess?”
For the first time, a crack appeared in her composure.
She was curious.
Desperately so.
“The temple opposed His Majesty’s marriage to the current empress. It’s his fifth marriage, after all. And the empress is a foreigner.”
“And…?”
“So the temple demanded that I become engaged to a daughter of Forenze as a condition.”
Forenze was the land most beloved by God.
For generations, it had also been known as a nation possessing a pure and unwavering faith, devoted faithfully to the divine.
While neighboring countries gradually accepted foreign gods and changed, Forenze remained steadfast and untouched.
Triphina, meanwhile, was the absolute superpower of the continent.
If a foreign woman who worshipped a completely different god became empress, it would undoubtedly appear threatening to the temple, which was already on edge.
“But four days ago, a letter arrived from the Grand Temple. Apparently your father once again begged them to intervene. He argued that it made no sense for the emperor of Triphina to take a foreigner as his wife.
So His Majesty became furious.”
Throughout the explanation, Dmitri maintained an almost lighthearted tone.
Ariella sat silently for a moment.
Her father absolutely would have done such a thing.
He had always valued principles and taken pride in living by them.
Ah… my beloved father.
She could almost see his turquoise eyes, shining with sincere conviction.
He could never have imagined what his decision would bring upon both his beloved daughter and his homeland.
The Triphina Empire known to the outside world had never seemed this monstrous.
And besides, her father truly believed that God specially favored Forenze.
“But did you know this?”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother was also a foreigner.”
Dmitri’s mother had been Frederick’s first empress.
And even now, her family still held tremendous influence within the empire.
A foreigner?
Frederick, after ascending the throne, had expanded his territory through conquest and political marriages alike.
Because of that, Triphina had become the greatest empire on the continent—powerful enough to threaten even the temple, whose authority transcended nations.
“You really had no idea, did you?”
“……”
“I was eight years old. That was when the king of Forenze pressured the temple to depose my mother.”
Ariella’s eyes widened in shock.
“What… are you talking about?”
“Exactly what I said. Your father pressured the temple to remove my mother as empress. Because she was considered impure.”
When she first learned of her homeland’s destruction, the misery had been indescribable.
All she had been able to do was hate herself.
She had believed Dmitri bore unconditional hatred toward her for no reason at all.
“Of course, it wasn’t entirely your father’s fault. Triphina wasn’t as strong back then as it is now, but if His Majesty had truly wished to protect her, he could have. Your father merely said she should be deposed, not killed.”
“……”
“Still…
My mother was burned so badly they couldn’t even recognize her body anymore.
And yet the temple—and my father—thought they could force you on me as my bride?”
Dmitri let out a hollow laugh.
This was what she had wanted to know until the very moment she died.
Even while dying, not understanding it had felt as though her heart were melting away.
I spent my entire life hating you…
“Ariella.”
At his soft call, she snapped her head upward.
Only after meeting those pitch-black eyes did she realize hot tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“You are innocent. Even I know that much.”
Ariella quickly wiped away her tears.
She told herself to stop crying.
But the tears would not stop.
“But you know this too.
For royalty, the sins of one’s parents can sometimes weigh heavier than one’s own.”
It felt unbearably unfair.
All this time, she had blamed herself without ever knowing the truth.
She had hated herself, believing Forenze had suffered humiliation because of her ugly face.
Until the moment of her death, she had clung to the foolish delusion that if only she had been a little prettier, perhaps everyone could have been saved.
She hated herself.
Resented herself.
Collapsed repeatedly into unconsciousness within endless darkness.
And each time morning came again, she felt ashamed to still be alive.
There had been countless days like that.
“It’ll take some time, but this marriage will eventually be annulled.”
The cursed heir of House Hakliter, destined to become the greatest tyrant in history.
After murdering his father and ascending the throne, Dmitri would immediately march eastward toward Forenze.
Only now did she finally understand.
Why he had planted his bloodstained banner first in the peaceful kingdom that had never even known war.
Conquering Forenze as easily as turning over his own palm, Dmitri had then come directly to find Ariella—
Covered head to toe in the blood of everyone she loved.
