Harman marveled once again at the Emperor’s face, which he never grew tired of seeing.

With his tall stature, hair as smooth as black velvet, and eyes the color of sweet chocolate, Kai Edelgart, the Emperor of the Credion Empire, looked like a painting meticulously crafted by an artist.

Moreover, his body, honed by countless battlefields, and his sharp gaze that could intimidate with just a look, made him appear more like a beast than a fragile royal sheltered in a greenhouse.

Even as a fellow man, Harman found himself admiring the impressive Emperor, smiling with satisfaction.

“When you smile like that, it always means trouble is coming.”

Kai spoke with a reluctant expression, and Harman eagerly approached, opening his notebook wide.

“It’s not trouble; it’s something you must do. You’re already late.”

As the inevitable parade of names began, Kai was already growing weary.

“So, how many are there?”

Kai interrupted Harman’s endless list of names to ask.

“There are fourteen in total. Finally, Verdura Castle has an owner.”

Verdura was the final piece in Kai’s grand plan. Filling that castle meant that the Credion Empire now had a hundred hostages.

“That’s good.”

Kai’s nature of seeing things through to the end applied even to his obsession with having a hundred hostages.

The number itself wasn’t particularly significant. It was simply more than ninety, and ninety-nine felt incomplete. Though it was a trivial reason, Kai felt relieved, as if he had completed his task.

“Let’s head out.”

With a refreshed expression, Kai left the office, and Harman trudged along with light steps, almost like he was flying.

***

It took over an hour by carriage from Verdura Castle to reach the main castle where the Emperor resided.

Fortunately, before coming here, she had received dresses as gifts, like a travel allowance, so she had plenty to wear.

At least in terms of appearance, she wouldn’t be outdone by the other princesses. Stella felt a mix of emotions as she touched the soft fabric of her dress.

Unaware that it was a shackle, she had been moved by the selfish kindness and signed the lineage document.

Stella sighed deeply as she looked at the box beside her. It contained the lineage document. She quickly brushed off the creeping sense of gloom.

Her eyes were blurry and dry from fatigue, but strangely, her mind was alert. She wished she could doze off, but throughout the journey to the main castle, Stella had to fiercely battle her anxious feelings.

While worrying about how to behave from now on, Milla, who was sitting opposite her, spoke with a firm expression.

“You need to stay sharp from now on. You absolutely can’t make any mistakes. Did you read the notebook I gave you?”

Milla repeatedly asked, worried because it was too late to explain everything in detail.

“You asked when we left, too. I’ve read it all. Don’t worry.”

“Once you go inside, I can’t help you anymore. You’ll have to manage on your own.”

“Yes, I’ll do well.”

Stella tried to gauge how vast the capital was. If it took this long by carriage, it seemed impossible to explore it all on foot in a day.

She felt the carriage gradually slow down after a long ride. Stella instinctively straightened up and took a deep breath.

“You’ll have to walk from here.”

Just as Stella was about to rise from her seat at the voice from outside the carriage,

“Princess, just a moment.”

Milla sat Stella back down and adjusted her disheveled hairpiece. After thoroughly checking Stella’s appearance one last time, Milla nodded.

“Now you’re ready.”

Stella flashed Milla a bright smile, who seemed more nervous than herself.

The carriage, stationed at the entrance of the main castle, stopped moving in front of the endlessly sprawling garden.

Seeing that the other carriages had also stopped, Stella had no choice but to step outside, even though she felt slightly flustered.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one taken aback, as grumbling voices emerged from all around.

“Walk this far?”

“This is ridiculous. How are we supposed to get there?”

The princesses, as if they had never walked a day in their lives, were competing to create a scene. It seemed they were trying to prove that they were more precious than the woman beside them, each raising their voices to declare they couldn’t walk.

Milla expected Stella to respond similarly.

“Shall we go then?”

“No matter what… What?”

Milla, who had assumed Stella would insist she couldn’t walk, was taken aback by Stella’s unexpected reply, her eyes wide with surprise.

“What are you doing? You said we have to walk. You mentioned we shouldn’t be late. Let’s hurry.”

Having already been placed in the most secluded spot and subtly ostracized among the princesses, Stella knew she couldn’t afford to arrive late.

As Stella began to walk briskly, the princesses, who had been standing like stakes in the ground, started to move hesitantly. Having avoided the humiliation of being the first to walk, they now felt it was acceptable to proceed.

Unintentionally leading the way, Stella was followed by thirteen princesses, all walking quickly behind her.

The main castle they reached after a thirty-minute walk was extraordinary in scale. Even from a distance, the castle’s vastness was evident, but seeing it up close was overwhelming.

“Wow.”

Stella, having arrived first, stood before a gate that exuded both splendor and grandeur. A massive dragon was carved in relief on the door, each scale made entirely of gold.

But that wasn’t all. The dragon’s eyes, as large as fists and seemingly ready to glare at her, were made of red rubies, and its sharp claws, appearing to be capable of piercing through anything, were made of enormous diamonds.

Despite the opulent use of grand jewels, the dragon looked so lifelike that it seemed as if it might come to life.

As Stella contemplated how selling just the door could allow her to live a life of leisure, the door opened, splitting the dragon in two.

The dragon had been so vividly carved that Stella momentarily felt sorry for it being split apart.

Just as she was about to enter through the opened door, thinking how the dragon must be split every time the door opened, the group of princesses standing right behind her nudged Stella’s shoulder and rushed inside. Their earlier reluctance to be the first to walk was nowhere to be seen.

Their attempts to enter even slightly earlier, while maintaining an air of elegance, were as fake as swans gliding on water.

In the sudden commotion, Stella almost lost her balance and fell, but fortunately, Milla was there to catch her quickly, sparing her the embarrassment.

“Thank you.”

Milla let out a small sigh as she watched Stella, who had been pushed around by the princesses and ended up last.

She had a foreboding feeling that many challenges lay ahead. And that feeling was spot on, though not in the way Milla had anticipated.

Stella acted as if she wasn’t nervous at all, but in reality, she was so anxious that she hadn’t eaten anything since morning. She felt she might vomit if she did.

Get it together, Stella. Just stay quiet and leave. No one will pay attention to you.

Stella was confident that no one would notice her. If she acted as if she weren’t there and kept her mouth shut like a ghost, people wouldn’t pay attention to her. She repeated to herself that she could do this as she moved forward.

She barely remembered how she managed to enter the preparation hall.

“It’s time for Princess Stella Rune Oberlite to enter.”

Startled by the sudden announcement, Stella realized she was the only one left in the preparation hall. Trying to appear calm, she gracefully smiled and entered through the open door.

Stay calm. No one here knows you’re the daughter of a concubine.

Steeling her nerves, Stella repeated this mantra to herself.

As she walked, the music grew louder, and the lights brighter.

Despite being indoors, it was brighter than outside, thanks to the dozens of gigantic chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, shining brilliantly like an aurora.

The golden pillars lined up on either side of the grand central hall resembled enormous candlesticks. The sight of dozens of candles burning simultaneously at the top of each pillar was as beautiful as something out of a dream.

The sweet music, the dazzling lights, the tables arranged like great works of art, and the princesses smiling like flowers along the tables created a breathtaking scene.

Stella’s eyes were dazzled by the brilliant display of colors before her. Everything within her sight sparkled and shone brightly.