Chapter 2

The audience hall of the palace was deathly quiet. The king stood opposite the throne, with his five daughters behind him.

Behind them, the attendants, maids, and Helio’s knights were positioned, encircling the audience hall.

Helio sat on the throne, legs crossed, as if it were his rightful place. Though he appeared in his mid to late twenties, he exuded an overwhelming presence that dominated the vast audience hall.

Helio tapped the throne’s armrest with his fingernail and shook his head.

“The throne is too small.”

This was a chair designed for the king of a kingdom. It was certainly not made small. However, to the Emperor of the Carlo Empire, it appeared too small, shabby, and unworthy.

Helio’s voice was not malice. It was simply a matter-of-fact statement, like saying the sky was above and the earth below. This made the king feel even more humiliated, but he could do nothing.

Helio looked around, and his eyes settled on Liliana’s pink hair. He then laughed softly.

“I just saw something very amusing.”

The king, humbly bowing his head like a defeated monarch, asked respectfully,

“What did you see?”

“Didn’t I tell you to send the princess? I intended to take that princess to the Empire and make her my Empress Consort.”

“Our Kingdom of Nieta is honored and intended to send the princess. She is exceptionally beautiful and intelligent…”

Helio clapped his hands together. The sharp sound echoed through the quiet audience hall, making everyone flinch.

The man before them had the power to destroy this country at any moment. The only reason he hadn’t done so was simple: there was no need.

Helio leaned forward, bringing his sculpted face closer. The king looked on in fear.

“That lovely, intelligent princess tried to escape and ran right into me.”

“Pardon?”

The king asked, dumbfounded. Helio continued as if he hadn’t heard him.

“So I wondered, did I give the king too many choices, allowing him to send just any princess?”

“That… that’s not true. Princess Liliana is my dearly beloved youngest daughter.”

Behind the king, Liliana made a face as if she had bitten into something foul. Until today, he didn’t even know her name, let alone cherish her.

With her head bowed, Liliana had no idea that Helio was watching her.

Helio watched her delicate brow furrow with a leisurely interest. Just that alone made it clear that the king was lying.

‘What should I do?’

Helio propped his chin on his hand and lazily opened his eyes.

In truth, which princess he took didn’t matter. If he let a kingdom he had pushed to the brink of destruction go without consequences, the entire continent would look down on the Empire, endangering its people.

If he took the magic stones, the Kingdom of Nieta would collapse, which was no different from destroying it now.

Moreover, Helio needed a woman to become his Empress Consort. A woman not influenced by the Empire would be ideal so that any princess would suffice.

While it would be better to take Princess Railey, who was favored by the king and high in the line of succession…

Tap, tap, tap.

Helio tapped the armrest of the throne several times. The elegant sound of his fingers tapping made everyone’s mouths go dry, including Liliana’s.

‘Please, take another princess!’

Liliana clasped her hands together below her navel and prayed earnestly.

Helio noticed this, too. Her white hands, clasped so tightly they turned red, looked almost comical. She resembled a desperate hamster.

Helio smiled slightly before reverting to a haughty expression and looking at the king.

“If the king truly cherishes Princess Liliana, let’s do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Grant the child born between the princess and me a place in the line of succession to the throne of the Kingdom of Nieta.”

The king’s eyes widened. No one in the room had seen the king’s eyes so large. He barely managed to close them, clenching his teeth.

“That… that is impossible…”

The king tried to muster the courage to object, but Helio didn’t even let him finish.

“It doesn’t have to be the first in line. Not the second either. Hmm, the third place would be appropriate.”

The audience hall was filled with shock. It was unheard of to grant succession rights to the child of a princess married off to a foreign country, especially when there were already four princesses in line.

However, as mentioned, the Kingdom of Nieta was on the verge of collapse, so even this had to be seen as a favor from the Emperor. What could stop him from getting it if the Emperor demanded it first?

Thus, the king had no choice but to grit his teeth and bow his head respectfully.

“I will do so, Your Majesty.”

* * *

Liliana was realizing what it meant to rise in status.

Until now, the palace had never taken an interest in Liliana. But now, wherever she set foot, people were talking about her, and the splendid dresses she had only watched other princesses wear were given to her without a price.

The number of maids, just Sophia, suddenly increased to ten, all clamoring to serve her, making it chaotic to exhaustion.

‘It must be because of the succession rights the Emperor of Carlo mentioned.’

That statement was no different from threatening to consume the kingdom if things didn’t go his way.

In any case, Liliana had suddenly become someone who might become the king’s mother, so a change in treatment was only natural.

This exceptional treatment continued until the day she left the Kingdom of Nieta.

The King of Nieta offered Liliana the most splendid carriage he owned, but Helio dismissed it immediately.

“It’s a wreck. Bring another one.”

As a result, the kingdom’s best carriage was cast aside, and a much larger and more splendid carriage was placed in front of Liliana’s palace.

Liliana felt uncomfortable stepping into the carriage and had to step in carefully. When she sat down, she felt the soft cushions would swallow her, causing her much confusion.

Sophia, who had climbed into the carriage to serve Liliana, said,

“Better to be the tail of a dragon than the head of a snake.”

Indeed, being the Empress Consort of the Empire was naturally better than being a princess of a defeated nation. The King of Nieta, who loved his other daughter more, had shed tears at the thought of sending her his other daughters, but seeing it this way, being a hostage seemed much better.

‘If only I weren’t destined to bear a child and die…’

Liliana leaned against the carriage window, mocking her situation. What should she do now?

In the front of the procession, she saw a noticeably tall man. Seeing his beautifully golden hair like silk, Liliana sighed deeply.

A madman fit to be a child-rearing father.

That was Liliana’s impression of Helio.

* * *

No matter how luxurious the carriage, the journey was still arduous. The sound of infantry footsteps and cavalry hoofbeats pounded in her head, and sitting in one position for too long made her bottom ache.

Liliana wanted to return to her quiet palace, where she had been abandoned.

“I want to go home…”

“That would be difficult.”

The voice came from the carriage window, which had been slightly opened due to her motion sickness. Liliana was startled enough to leap from her seat. Helio gave a faint smile as he looked at her.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Liliana clumsily feigned indifference. She hurriedly tried to close the window, but a large hand entered the window frame, making her stop.

Only then did Liliana properly look outside the window. Helio was riding a brown horse, looking towards the carriage with his blue eyes, impressive from the start but filled with suspicion.

“Are you planning to run away?”

“Pardon?”

Liliana pulled back her head, wearing a look that seemed to ask what he meant.

“There’s no need to deny it so strongly. You have a history, after all.”

“That was because I wasn’t prepared!”

Liliana said, looking genuinely aggrieved. Helio sighed profoundly and looked puzzled.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Even if I escaped, I wouldn’t survive alone. Although Your Majesty may have seen me riding in a shabby carriage and living in a shabby palace, I have lived as a princess my whole life. I don’t know how to light a fire, build a house, or sew.”

Liliana counted the things she couldn’t do on her fingers, which were essential for living alone. Then, as if something had occurred to her, she widened her eyes and said,

“I can cook a little. Though I’m not sure how useful that is in a world without gas stoves…”

The first part was clear and confident, but the latter grew smaller until it was inaudible. Helio, unconsciously leaning in to listen, asked,

“What did you just say, Princess?”

Liliana waved her hands, feeling embarrassed.

“In conclusion, I have no reason to escape. If I had jewels, I could hire people and live alone, but Your Majesty confiscated them all.”

Talking like that to the person who confiscated them, it was hard to tell if she was timid or fearless.

In truth, Liliana had been even more timid. Living as the shadow of the palace, it was only natural. But when she regained her memories of her past life, the world unfolded like a text, making her naturally bolder.

Sophia was anxious because Liliana acted out of character, but Helio only found her to be a peculiar princess.

‘I heard she was an abandoned princess.’

It wouldn’t have been surprising if she were much gloomier. Yet, she responded clearly and precisely without stepping out of line, making him curious about where her character came from. Seeing that Helio wouldn’t leave the carriage’s vicinity, Liliana thought this was her chance.

“Your Majesty.”

Liliana placed her hand on the carriage window and leaned closer. Helio responded with a short grunt.

“I am truly useless. You saw it in the palace, right? My father, the King of Nieta, doesn’t even remember my name; that’s how little he cares about me. I’m sure Your Majesty has already noticed.”

“So?”

“I’m saying I have no value as a hostage. You could send me back without any trouble. That’s the kind of princess I am.”