Despite having a restless night, Stella woke up early. She had planned to take a walk in the Ruby Garden with Beatrice that morning.

King Philip had created the Ruby Garden as a birthday gift for Beatrice when she turned ten.

The garden, designed to match Beatrice’s love for roses, was filled with so many rose bushes that it was no exaggeration to say it gathered all the roses in the world.

“Are you that happy?” Rudina asked with a pleased expression, watching Stella sit in front of the vanity and admire her reflection after getting ready. The red dress, reminiscent of roses, suited Stella perfectly.

“Yes, very,” Stella replied.

Her expression in the mirror was brighter than ever. Perhaps it was the red of the dress, but she looked more vibrant than usual. Just as she was about to leave the room at the appointed time,

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded again, just like yesterday, but neither Rudina nor Stella was surprised this time.

“It’s probably Beatrice’s maid,” Stella said with a broad smile of excitement.

Since Beatrice had promised to send a maid when she was ready for the walk, Stella naturally assumed it was Beatrice’s maid who had arrived.

However, before they could open the door, it swung open from outside, revealing not Beatrice’s maid, but someone else.

“Sir Lepard?” Stella exclaimed.

For a moment, she thought Sir Lepard might have come on an errand for Beatrice, but that couldn’t be the case. Her uneasy gaze fell on the armed knights lined up behind Lepard and quickly looked away.

“His Majesty summons you,” Lepard announced, his voice as cold and arrogant as ever.

Stella hadn’t expected her treatment to change overnight just because she received a certificate of lineage, but she couldn’t help feeling annoyed. Thinking about how fickle the human heart was, Stella stood up. The soft rustle of her dress fabric was the only sound.

On any other day, hearing the king wanted to see her would have filled her with dread, but not today.

Yet, waiting for Stella was neither the kind king from yesterday, nor the queen who had promised to be a mother to her, nor Beatrice who had called her sister with a sweet smile.

The king’s gaze from the high platform remained indifferent, the queen’s eyes were filled with contempt, and Beatrice’s shoulders shook as she suppressed a mocking laugh.

“What… did you just say?” Stella struggled to comprehend what she had just heard and asked.

Instead of a response from the king, a long scroll was tossed at Stella’s feet. It was Sir Lepard, standing behind her, who had thrown it.

“The ship departs this evening. Your belongings are already packed, so you need only bring yourself,” he stated.

With a dazed expression, Stella picked up the scroll from the floor and unrolled it. It was a document stating that Princess Stella Rune Oberlite of the Kingdom of Amalrune was to be sent as a hostage to the Credion Empire.

“The Credion Empire?” she echoed in disbelief.

“Pfft, haha! She really thought we were family,” Beatrice burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking. At the same time, Stella felt something snap inside her.

Credion was a nation that, with its powerful military, had been swallowing neighboring countries one by one, becoming the greatest power in the Western Continent.

During the war, they mercilessly massacred adults and children alike, and after victory, the emperor of Credion brutally executed the royal families of defeated nations, feeding them to monsters.

The emperor’s merciless actions left the kings of all the nations in the Western Continent trembling with fear.

Then, one day, the Credion Empire suddenly declared a halt to the wars. The condition was that countries send their legitimate princesses as hostages to the Credion Empire.

To avoid war with Credion, many countries competed to send their princesses as hostages.

“So that’s why you gave me the certificate of lineage as a gift,” Stella realized.

It was the recognition she had longed for all her life. But she hadn’t expected such a result to await her.

Foolish Stella.

Stella berated herself for yearning for their affection, but it was already too late.

“Please understand, we couldn’t possibly send young Beatrice so far away. It’s fortunate you can go in her place,” Queen Eliza said, attempting to soothe her.

Stella laughed bitterly.

No wonder they were so kind.

Stella was only four months older than Beatrice. Yet, with the absurd reason that she was too young to go, Stella was sent as a hostage to the Credion Empire in Beatrice’s stead.

It was a moment when she hated herself for being so happy over a mere piece of lineage certificate that she lost sleep over it.

***

“Princess! Sob, sob!”

Rudina couldn’t stop crying over the sudden farewell. Her eyes were swollen from tears as she repeatedly begged to accompany Stella, but her pleas were in vain.

It was a long journey that required a full month of sailing.

“How will you manage alone in a place where you know no one? They say the emperor of Credion devours those he dislikes! Princess, please don’t go! Even now, tear up that certificate of lineage and refuse to be a princess. Please?”

Rudina felt it was incredibly unjust and infuriating that the kind Princess Stella was being sent away to a distant place without any resistance. She had never felt so powerless before, but today was different.

“It won’t tear.”

“What?”

“This thing, it won’t tear.”

Stella spoke with resignation, showing the document that was the troublesome certificate of lineage.

Rudina wanted to rip it apart immediately, but it bore the king’s seal. As a daughter of a fallen noble family, she was less valuable than the paper the scroll was written on.

But it wouldn’t tear? What did that mean?

Rudina picked up the scroll Stella had tossed onto the table and examined it closely.

“I was so angry that as soon as I came to my room, I tried to tear up the certificate. But instead of the certificate tearing, it was my hand that got cut.”

“What?”

Only then did Rudina notice the wound on Stella’s hand and began to cry, holding her hand tightly.

The wound hadn’t healed yet and was still bleeding. Rudina brought a bandage and wrapped Stella’s hand securely.

What had felt like a blessing just yesterday now seemed like a curse. The scroll, which would harm her if she tried to tear it and burn her if she tried to burn it, was nothing more than a shackle that bound Stella.

“Since it’s a magical wound, it probably won’t heal well. Sniff, sniff, how could His Majesty be so cruel? What if it leaves a scar?”

The image of Stella, who had been so childishly happy to be invited to the formal dinner and finally recognized as family, flashed before Rudina’s eyes.

Rudina’s eyes were now even more swollen than before. Her appearance was a mess, almost hiding her blue eyes.

“Rudina.”

“Yes, sniff! Princess.”

Rudina responded with a sob.

“Keep this with you.”

Stella suddenly approached and handed Rudina a small leather pouch, whispering softly.

The pouch was small but quite heavy. It made a jingling sound, and Rudina instinctively knew it contained jewels.

“Princess, why are you giving this to me? You should keep it. Who knows what might happen there? Use it as emergency money!”

Rudina tried to return the leather pouch, but Stella shook her head firmly and hugged Rudina tightly. Since hearing the news, Rudina had been crying so much that she was as soaked as a wet cotton ball.

“Come see me off at the harbor and then run away from there. They probably won’t have the capacity to worry about you. There might not be another opportunity.”

Rudina knew well that the queen and Princess Beatrice saw her as a thorn in their side. Tears streamed down Rudina’s face again as she thought of Princess Stella, who cared more for her safety than her own.

The queen wouldn’t leave Rudina, who had been with her since living outside the castle, alone. She would probably be sold off as a slave far away or, if she was lucky, given away as a second wife to an old nobleman.

Rudina wasn’t unaware of her situation.

“I will definitely come find you, Princess.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

“I’ll become really strong and earn a lot of money, and I’ll come to serve you, Princess.”

“Yes. Keep your promise.”

“Sniff, sniff!”

Rudina cried like a child, hugging Stella tightly.

Take care, my precious friend.

Stella patted Rudina’s back gently and then turned her head toward the window.

There was a small creature with sparkling black eyes staring intently at her. Others were mimicking Rudina and Stella, hugging and patting each other’s backs.

But most of them were staring at her persistently, their eyes wide open and unblinking.

Occasionally, when their eyes met, they would stretch their mouths into wide, slit-like grins. Stella was grateful that Rudina couldn’t see them.

***

A month later.

“Princess! Come over here and help peel some potatoes!”

Stella, who had been dozing in a large hammock, stretched at the sound of Kukus’s metallic voice.

After slowly rotating her stiff neck, she opened her eyes to the blinding sunlight.

The rocking floor, the salty scent of seawater. The rough voices shouting angrily from all directions. The white seagulls flying through the cloudless blue sky as if swimming.

What had once been a place full of unfamiliar things now felt comfortable and natural, like home.

Stella, with her long blonde hair tied up and wearing borrowed, worn work clothes, looked every bit a sailor, save for her doll-like face.