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Chapter 9…
“……”
No way.
A chilling feeling ran down Lucrezia’s spine, and her body stiffened.
Her eyes, hidden behind the contact lenses that covered her irises, felt more uncomfortable than usual today.
Perhaps because of her mother’s blood, strange things sometimes happened around Lucrezia without her meaning to.
The switch meant to whip her would suddenly snap in half.
When she almost fell, her body would lift slightly into the air.
No one had discovered it yet. Not even Marquis Zepher.
If it had been discovered, she would have been terribly punished for revealing the “wicked blood” mixed within her.
Until now, she had tried to think of those incidents as mere coincidences. But deep down, Lucrezia suspected they were caused by her.
While she was lost in those thoughts, the Emperor spoke again.
“Everyone leave. The Empress will remain.”
Lucrezia’s shoulders flinched.
At his command, everyone quickly withdrew. In an instant, only the Emperor and Lucrezia remained.
“……”
The silence felt suffocating.
She had longed for a private audience with the Emperor, yet instead of relief, her heart pounded with anxiety.
She could feel his gaze fixed on her. It felt heavy, as if his eyes themselves had weight.
“Empress.”
His low voice made her heart drop.
Did he see it? The paper flying toward him?
Does he suspect me?
If it became known that she carried fairy blood, the Emperor would never let her live.
Even if, by some miracle, he showed mercy and only imprisoned her, without the leaves of Elnash she would slowly wither away and die.
The thought made her tremble even more. Lucrezia desperately tried to appear calm.
“Raise your head.”
She hesitated. Under such bright light, what if he noticed the lenses covering her eyes?
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, the Emperor grabbed her chin and forced her face upward.
His eyes scanned her startled expression coldly, as if he were appraising an object rather than looking at a person.
“You lack spirit.”
“……”
“I praised you for bowing your head obediently, but that should have limits. It is troublesome if a mere subordinate dares to climb over you because you appear so weak.”
Displeasure lingered in his eyes.
It seemed he was still angered that Count Johannes had dared to deceive even him.
“Though you are a scarecrow, once you have entered the palace under the name of Empress, you should at least maintain basic dignity.”
Her heart twisted painfully.
Not only because of his harsh words, but because of the clear contempt in his voice.
“Well. It cannot be helped.”
He twisted his lips.
A cruel light flickered in his eyes as he looked down at her.
“You entered this palace not as a person, but as the Marquis’s dog.”
At the blatant insult, Lucrezia’s face turned pale.
“I do not ask much of you.”
He spoke clearly, as if carving the words into stone.
“Live as though you are not there. Just do not make yourself so ridiculous that you damage the dignity of the imperial family.”
His long, straight fingers lightly brushed her cheek.
“It is not difficult, is it, Empress?”
His tone was like that of an adult soothing a child. Heat rose to her face.
It was painfully clear that he considered her worth less than a stone by the roadside.
No—perhaps worse, because a stone would not dare to stand in his way.
She was used to being treated as worthless. Her father had done so countless times.
But why did the Emperor’s contempt feel so sharp, as if she were experiencing it for the first time?
Her eyes clouded, and she could not meet his gaze.
Looking down at her, the Emperor sneered.
The Empress was like a flower that would wither the moment it was bent.
She was not vicious or cunning enough to be troublesome. In truth, she was not as bad a choice for Empress as he had implied.
This was acceptable.
After all, she was only a temporary Empress. The High Priest had forced the matter and pushed her into the position for now.
If she lived quietly like a dead woman and was replaced peacefully at the appointed time, that would be best.
That was all he expected of her.
Lucrezia stared blankly out the window.
The Emperor’s voice kept echoing in her mind.
“You entered this palace as the Marquis’s dog.”
That cold, cutting mockery.
Each time she remembered it, unfamiliar emotions made her chest ache.
She thought she knew their names.
Humiliation. Shame.
It was strange. She had believed she had forgotten such feelings long ago.
She no longer cried from shock at her father’s beatings or her half-siblings’ insults.
So why did the Emperor’s voice linger and hurt so much?
“Master sent a message for you.”
Clara said this while lighting incense on the bedside table.
Soon, the distinct scent of Elnash leaves filled the bedroom.
Lucrezia felt her mind grow hazy at once.
At the same time, the humiliation scratching at her faded.
Watching Lucrezia’s slightly unfocused eyes, Clara whispered:
“Since you have no ability, it seems Master used his power instead. Count Johannes, who opposed him, has been replaced. Starting tomorrow, you will officially oversee the Imperial Household as Empress.”
After confirming they were alone, Clara continued.
“The Imperial Household has been busy preparing for the Hunting Festival. Avoid the officials’ suspicion and obtain as much information about it as possible. That is Master’s order.”
Lucrezia tightly shut her eyes.
The Siegfried Empire was founded by the legendary knight Siegfried, who slew a thousand magical beasts.
He sealed away the Twelve Demons that once ravaged the continent.
However, the seal was not perfect. Periodically, the sealing stones had to be broken, the demons summoned, hunted, and sealed again.
The people of the Empire took great pride in the fact that their imperial family sealed the Twelve Demons threatening the continent.
Over time, the resealing ritual came to be called the Hunting Festival. It became a grand event that not only citizens but even foreigners wished to witness.
Where people gathered, money gathered too.
Whenever the festival was held, huge sums of money changed hands. If one could obtain inside information, it was possible to amass great wealth.
But leaking internal information about a national event was, of course, a serious crime.
“You entered this palace as the Marquis’s dog.”
The Emperor’s voice pierced her thoughts again.
Lucrezia bit her lip hard.
Even through the fog in her mind, a deep shame and self-loathing consumed her.
“Why that expression, miss?”
Clara mocked as she peered at her face.
“Are you lacking confidence? Well, that is only natural for someone without spirit.”
When they were alone, Clara’s provocations were nothing new. Lucrezia calmly replied:
“Tell Father this. Even if I participate in Imperial Household affairs, the officials will still be wary of me. It will likely be impossible to access information useful enough for him.”
Clara frowned.
“Are you serious? Of course you must take risks. Isn’t that why you sit in that position? To bring honor to Master. You should use even yourself as a tool. Be grateful he uses someone as foolish as you.”
Her harsh words pierced Lucrezia’s ears.
A tool.
She could not refute that.
If her half-sister Eleanor had become Empress, their father would never have assigned such a dangerous task. Eleanor was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis—a tool to be used for a long time.
But Lucrezia was not.
Publicly, she and the Marquis were merely guardian and ward.
That bond could easily be cut.
To him, she was a disposable tool—a low-grade one.
She had always known this.
But it was a truth she wanted to avoid.
Her longing for her father’s recognition was so great that she no longer knew how to live without it.
Yet a tool is only a tool. No one praises a pencil or a hammer for being useful.
At that simple truth, her lips trembled.
She did not enjoy living as a tool.
She had even considered running away, cutting off her longing for her family’s affection.
But…
Impossible.
The Marquis held her greatest secret.
He was the one who told her that fairy blood ran in her veins.
He was the one who gave her the lenses to hide her violet eyes—the symbol of the fairy race.
If that secret were revealed, she would be executed at once. Or worse, tortured endlessly for tainting the imperial bloodline.
No matter where she fled, witch hunters would hunt the monster she was.
As old fear tightened around her heart—
