Selvia kicked away the unconscious Beatus.

Even the touch of her foot felt unpleasant. She immediately wiped her foot on the soft carpet.

Then she clicked her tongue shortly while looking at his unconscious form.

She quietly looked at her throbbing wrist.

“……Filthy bastard.”

An unknown emotion along with heat rushed through her entire body.

Shame? No, it was an even worse feeling that made her feel dirty.

How long would she have to endure being here with such a person?

Just thinking about it made her feel disgusted.

As she headed to the washbasin to wash her hands, she saw her disheveled reflection.

Dark shadows flickered around her before concealing her appearance.

Selvia glanced at the bed.

Whether in a nightmare or dream, Beatus’s lower body was tense as if it was diligently fulfilling his duty in this fictional space.

Watching his twitching body, Selvia furrowed her brows.

“Strip him.”

At her command, Beatus’s clothes were removed one by one until he was completely n*ked.

Selvia headed to the window, thinking she would need to wash her tainted eyes again.

* * *

Fortunately, Beatus seemed not to have noticed.

Thinking they had truly spent the night together, he sent maids to treat her as queen.

Selvia pretended not to know anything, got dressed, and headed to the dining room.

‘…I need to control my expression well.’

If she had known he was this insane, she would have gone straight to the Empire.

It was the fault of the priests who misinterpreted the oracle.

Having to bear a child?

It was absurd.

The temple must have become corrupt from being neglected for so long to come up with such an incorrect interpretation.

Above all, Leliana and her father knew she didn’t possess the power of light.

Then they must have thought she wasn’t the child of the oracle.

‘That’s why Father decided to send Leliana too.’

He was truly a terrible person. Even though she thought he cared for Leliana, it seems Leliana was just another tool to him.

“Her Highness the Queen, Selvia Flandre, has arrived.”

The door opened with the servant’s announcement.

Selvia raised her lowered head and faced Beatus.

At that moment, Selvia couldn’t believe her eyes.

“……Leliana.”

Selvia’s lips twitched seeing her eating with Beatus.

Leliana seemed fine, as if she had fully recovered.

She waved at Selvia with a bright smile.

“Sister, are you alright?! Do you know how worried I was?”

Leliana was dressed even more splendidly than at the duke’s mansion, and looked so full of vitality that it was hard to believe she had been in an accident.

Light sparkled around her.

Selvia quickly composed her expression and put on an indifferent face. Seeing this, Leliana’s brow slightly wrinkled.

‘Why is this different from the rumors?’

If her prediction was right, they should have already spent their first night together.

Beatus wanted a child of light.

If a child were to be conceived between them…..

Grr, Leliana gritted her teeth.

“Sister, I think I’ll need to receive treatment here for a while. I’ve already told Father.”

In fact, Leliana had sent a letter as soon as she regained consciousness. Their father responded as if he had been waiting.

‘He said he would take care of breaking off the engagement, so not to worry.’

He must have had this planned when he didn’t stop her from following.

Leliana wanted to applaud her father’s foresight.

Not knowing she too had been sold.

Selvia looked at Leliana as she sat down.

She made an expression as if she didn’t understand what her words meant.

It was perfect acting.

‘Seems she changed her mind after seeing Beatus in his normal state. Father seems to have already guessed this.’

Going to the Empire would have been the best choice but that was impossible. So she seemed to covet the normal-looking Beatus.

She didn’t seem to know the truth about the carriage accident.

And she didn’t seem to remember how Beatus had treated her either.

Seeing her so full of expectations alone made Selvia want to laugh.

“But will you be alright? What about your fiancé?”

At the word fiancé, Leliana’s face crumpled.

Realizing Beatus was present, she awkwardly smiled and covered her face with both hands.

“Sob… don’t even mention it. I was dumped overnight.”

“Must not have been much of a relationship then.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I wonder why you rejected His Highness’s order if the relationship was that shallow.”

At Selvia’s words, Leliana wiped her tears while sobbing.

“I was just deceived by that man. He was the one who seduced me. Sob.”

Though it was clearly a lie, her expression didn’t change at all.

It was obvious Father would handle the broken engagement. That must have been why they chose such a humble family in the first place.

If this was going to happen, she should have become queen from the start.

“The timing is too perfect to be coincidence. My heart aches hearing you were hurt.”

Selvia also spoke words she didn’t mean.

“Let’s stop talking about that.”

Beatus looked between Leliana and Selvia with an unpleasant expression.

Though he had allowed it, being ignored seemed to upset him.

“I really didn’t know! I never expected the family would fall so easily!”

Leliana trembled slightly like a tragic heroine while shedding tears.

“Yes, I’m sure you didn’t. It would be unforgivable if you had known.”

Selvia’s hands clenched involuntarily.

If that were the case, she wouldn’t have had to suffer yesterday’s humiliation.

If only her foolish sister hadn’t listened to false rumors from the start, she wouldn’t have had to participate in this treason.

What was even more chilling was that Beatus seemed to know to some extent. It was frightening not knowing when he would use this weakness.

Selvia bit her lip while staring intently at Leliana.

‘Foolish Leliana. You’ll end up strangling yourself.’

She didn’t know how insane Beatus truly was.

Beatus quietly put some meat in his mouth and then spoke to Selvia.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. A bit uncomfortable but……”

Selvia lied in response to Beatus’s question. Nothing had happened so there was no reason for her body to hurt.

Leliana glanced at Selvia.

Having caught the meaning behind their conversation, her sister made a strange expression.

She propped her chin and looked at Selvia with a slight smile.

“That’s good. You’ll need medicine for the baby’s sake. Make sure to take it well from now on.”

“Yes, I will.”

She felt nauseous.

How dare he act caring while only thinking of her as a tool for bearing children.

“I said Leliana could stay here since she’s not well. Having your sister nearby should put your mind at ease.”

“Please do so. Having my sister in sight would put me at ease as well.”

Selvia readily agreed.

The longer she stayed here, the higher the chances of her escaping would be.

Separately, she felt nauseated again seeing their filthy and vile thoughts so clearly exposed.

It was obvious Beatus planned to take Leliana if she couldn’t bear a child.

So this opportunity would work even better for her.

With Leliana in the palace, the time she had to spend with Beatus would decrease.

She could make plans to escape during that time.

“Thank you, I only have you sister. This is what family is for right? To comfort and be there in times like these?”

Leliana smiled dazzlingly.

Though Leliana’s intentions were completely transparent, Selvia simply nodded nonchalantly.

‘If Beatus is what you want, you can have him.’

That was exactly what Selvia wanted.

He only thought of both her and Leliana as tools for bearing children.

Selvia just needed to watch for an opportunity to leave.

She could even use her terminal condition if needed.

Leliana and Beatus continued exchanging secret glances without Selvia’s knowledge.

* * *

After the first night, Beatus did not come to Selvia’s room.

Though physicians came and went regularly after their one encounter, she did not conceive Beatus’s child.

It was only natural.

They had never actually been intimate.

“I have much work today so it’s better to sleep alone.”

“Yes, please do so.”

Though he even had medicine made to change her body to be able to bear children, Selvia did not take it.

She had no intention of giving him what he wanted from the start.

Dark power flowed through Selvia’s body.

That power was like black magic that devoured everything around it and took life, making it overwhelming just to control.

When darkness completely fell, if she couldn’t extract the power from her body, she would be completely consumed by the darkness.

That was the secret Selvia was hiding.

‘If mother hadn’t told me, I probably would have never known.’

Selvia terribly hated her power.

Because it was a power that even took lives.

Apart from these worries, life in the palace wasn’t bad.

Except when Beatus’s beast-like eyes filled with desire fell upon her.

It was happier than the days she spent at home where she wasn’t even treated as family.

Here there were maids who listened to her stories, and she had her own space.

She could wear whatever clothes she wanted, and food was plentiful.

Selvia’s appearance, having gained quite a bit of weight since first arriving at the palace, shone even more.

Color rose in her usually pale face that contrasted with her black hair and sun-golden eyes.

‘If only Leliana would seduce Beatus, a way to escape might appear….’

Selvia looked out the window before going outside.

She draped a thin shawl over herself to walk in the garden and looked at the surrounding flowers and trees.

“Beautiful.”

As expected of the palace garden, beautiful flowers were abundant.

Her eyes delighted in the sight and her mood naturally improved. A subtle fragrance wafted from the flowers swaying in the wind.

A smile spread across her face as she felt light emanating from her surroundings.

As she was walking deeper inside, feeling the touch of leaves and flowers with outstretched hands, Selvia’s steps suddenly halted.

“Hnn, ha… ah.”

A delicate voice was leaking out from somewhere.