The day Estria first met Sever, she was trapped in a closet in an abandoned palace.

That day was the birthday party of her third brother, Edin.

True to her status as the imperial palace’s loner, Estria naturally wasn’t invited to the party.

However, shortly after the party began, her siblings suddenly came to her palace in a group.

“Estria, are you bored staying alone in the palace?”

“Won’t you play with us? We’re going to play hide-and-seek.”

It was unexpected kindness, but Estria didn’t doubt it.

She was too young to be suspicious, too innocent, and simultaneously too envious of the time her siblings always spent together.

Eventually, Estria headed with them to the abandoned palace at the western end of the imperial palace.

“Are we allowed to enter here? This is Madam Deveila’s palace.”

Madam Deveila had once been the emperor’s most favored concubine, but she lost her life in a carriage accident six months ago.

Everyone said her death was orchestrated by the empress, but there was no evidence, and ultimately her death was treated as an unfortunate accident.

Afterward, by the emperor’s order, Madam Deveila’s palace became off-limits to everyone, with severe punishment for those who disobeyed.

Seeing Estria’s fearful face, the third prince Edin smiled kindly.

“It’s okay. Look, Ameli is with us too. Father favors Ameli the most, so it’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Now, shall we decide who’s ‘it’?”

Despite her lingering anxiety, Estria nodded.

Soon, the fourth princess Ameli was designated as “it.”

Having once been chosen as “it” for hide-and-seek, only to have everyone silently return to their palaces, leaving her lost and wandering alone, Estria was overjoyed not to be “it” this time.

While wondering where to hide, Edin took her hand.

“I know a good hiding place. Let’s go.”

The place Edin took her was none other than Madam Deveila’s bedroom.

Entering the room filled with dust from long disuse, she started coughing.

Edin pointed to a wardrobe in the corner of the room and said:

“You can hide there. You’re small enough to fit inside.”

“In the wardrobe…?”

“Yes. If you hide there, no one will find you. Think about it, who would think someone would be inside such a dusty place?”

“Then what about you, brother?”

“I’m too tall to fit in there. Don’t worry. I’ll hide on the terrace. And you can open that wardrobe from the inside. You can come out whenever you want.”

“……”

“What, don’t you like it?”

Estria stared at the wardrobe with an anxious face.

The wardrobe, covered in dust and even stained, looked unsettling even from the outside.

If Ameli couldn’t find her, would she have to stay hidden there indefinitely?

Why was her brother trying to lock her in such a place?

Nevertheless, Estria eventually nodded.

Edin’s face when asking if she disliked it was too cold, and she felt he would abandon her and leave if she shook her head.

Being left alone was what she hated most.

Estria didn’t want to waste this rare opportunity to play with her siblings.

Soon, Estria entered the wardrobe.

Thud.

With the sound of the door closing, she heard the terrace window opening.

Did her brother really hide on the terrace? She was right not to doubt him after all.

Estria recited this to herself while coughing.

So Estria waited for Ameli inside the dusty wardrobe.

Cough, cough.

Though dust kept entering her nose making her cough, she didn’t leave.

She feared being discovered by Ameli due to her mistake. She didn’t want to ruin this hide-and-seek game.

She thought a considerable amount of time had passed, but no one came looking for her.

Nevertheless, she believed someone would open the wardrobe for her.

If only she hadn’t heard the faint midnight bells through the wardrobe’s cracks.

Dong dong-!

By now, the birthday party must have ended too.

Estria finally admitted she had been deceived.

Although sad, it happened so often that she only thought “again this time” without particularly feeling like crying.

She sighed and tried to open the wardrobe door.

Or rather, she tried to.

Huh? Why won’t it open?

Estria bit her lip in confusion.

She pushed the door with all her might, but it didn’t budge.

Bang bang!

She tried hitting the door, but it was beyond her strength.

Could it be… they meant to lock her in here?

Only then did Estria realize why her siblings had suddenly come looking for her.

Her brother who was unusually kind, her sister who normally wouldn’t touch her hands because they were dirty but today held her hand, and their strange smiles.

They never intended to play with her.

Everything was just a plan to torment her.

Realizing this, she cried and banged on the door.

“Brother, open the door! I’m sorry, brother! Is anyone there? Please open it!”

Though she bit her lip trying not to cry, tears poured down, and the pronunciation she had corrected to not appear childish became slurred.

Above all, what terrified her was not knowing when she could get out.

Since Estria couldn’t attend the party, her servants had grumbled about having such an unlucky master who couldn’t even attend parties, and went home.

The head lady-in-waiting guarding her palace didn’t pay enough attention to notice the princess’s absence in the evening.

Of course, they would search when they discovered her missing tomorrow morning, but this would certainly reach the emperor’s ears.

Then she, having entered Madam Deveila’s palace, would face severe punishment.

Moreover…

It’s dark.

Even the faint light coming through the wardrobe cracks completely disappeared, plunging her into total darkness. Meanwhile, perhaps it was raining, as thunder sounds came from outside.

Rumble- crash!

Estria finally covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

Just endure one night, just one night. Then someone will come find me.

But what if no one comes?

Will they look for me?

My siblings won’t reveal my whereabouts.

Then what should I do?

All sorts of thoughts popped up inside, and Estria cried silently.

Rumble- crash crash!

When thunder struck again, Estria bit her lip tightly. Her lip must have torn, as the tangy smell of blood filled her mouth.

That’s when it happened.

Thump thump-

In a moment of silence, an unfamiliar presence was heard.

Estria raised her head. Could it be her brother coming back?

Maybe he had just forgotten about her?

Perhaps he came looking for her despite the rain?

In retrospect, it was an incredibly stupid thought, but at that moment, Estria desperately hoped so.

Thump thump.

The footsteps continued to grow louder. And finally, when they stopped.

Creak- the door opened.

“Brother?”

Estria whispered softly.

He came to save me.

Her face showed expectation and joy.

However, when the door opened wide, she was dumbfounded by the silhouette of an unfamiliar boy standing before her.

“Princess.”

“W-who are you?”

“Sever Kelliard.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve come to escort you.”

That refined face flowing with nobility despite his youth, the neat formal attire, the cool voice, and the hand extended to her covered in wounds.

On that rainy summer night.

Estria met Sever, the young lord of the rumored Kelliard family.

* * *

“Gasp.”

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

The now-familiar ceiling came into view.

Another dream.

I wasn’t usually one to dream often, but strangely, I felt like I’d been dreaming more frequently lately.

No, to be precise, after the disturbance at Death Gorge and taking the black magic attack head-on, I definitely fell asleep more easily than usual, and when I did, I dreamed.

“What was this dream about?”

The only fortunate thing was that, except for that strange dream I had that day, most were meaningless dreams.

To prove this point, I tried to recall the faint dream and slightly frowned.

Somehow I seemed to have been trapped in a wardrobe.

I don’t particularly remember.

In the end, I just thought it was a fragment from my childhood memories and brushed it off.

I had countless experiences of being locked up somewhere and abandoned as a child, so it wasn’t even a nightmare anymore.

Thinking this, I was heading to the bathroom when a knock sounded followed by Sela’s voice.

“Did you, cough, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Come in.”

Soon the door opened and Sela entered. As usual, she brought today’s clothes and a simple breakfast, and attended to me.

What was quite uncomfortable at first was now becoming something I could gradually adapt to.

Moreover, Sela maintained boundaries better than expected; contrary to my concerns about her initial enthusiasm, she would nod and agree when I said I wanted to do something alone.

Though it bothered me that she gave me an admiring look when watching me dress alone and skillfully use a fork and knife.

After finishing my bath and getting fully dressed, I bit into the bread served for breakfast.

‘Huh?’

Unlike usual, the bread was salty rather than sweet with cream, making my eyes widen.

I didn’t know we had this kind of bread. Wondering if the chef had developed something new, I took another bite when Sela, who was making my bed, spoke up.

“Come to think of it, Lord Lerrhagen hasn’t been seen lately?”

“Hmm? Ah.”

“He hasn’t been seen for several days since Lord Ilian arrived at the palace. I wonder if he’s busy?”

I made a sour face at Sela’s words.

“Well, I don’t know either.”

“You don’t know either, Your Highness?”

“…No. I don’t know.”