‘My throat feels so dry.’

I reached for the lemon juice on the table.

As I naturally raised my heels to reach the tray in the center, a familiar arm suddenly brushed past me, smoothly picked up the lemon juice, and handed it to me.

“Here.”

“Oh.”

I took the lemon juice from Hasis’s hand and gulped it down.

I could feel Ilian watching me with a subtle smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Our young lady is quite peculiar.”

“That ‘young lady’ thing again.”

“Do you have bad blood with that marquis from earlier?”

I frowned at Ilian’s question. Though no one was around, there might still be ears listening. Yet I didn’t want to spout tiresome nonsense about “Mother” when it was just the three of us.

I lightly blocked the sounds around us and answered with a disinterested expression.

“To be precise, I have bad relations with the entire nobility.”

“Hmm. Because you were emperor?”

“That’s part of it, but the nobles and I have been on bad terms since my coronation. Those people weren’t pleased that I ascended to the throne after slaughtering all my siblings.”

I wondered if I needed to tell them this, but they would inevitably hear it while staying in the imperial palace, and it wouldn’t make sense for the princess’s half-brothers to be completely ignorant of this. Besides, if they heard it from someone else, who knows how the story might be distorted.

Hasis seemed somewhat surprised by my words.

He narrowed his eyes and spoke.

“Slaughtered all your siblings? You?”

“Why, you think I couldn’t have done it?”

“Was there a reason? Were you perhaps not the legitimate heir?”

“Of course not. I’m the empress’s daughter. The only legitimate imperial princess of the royal family.”

“Why would a legitimate princess carry out a purge? Wouldn’t the throne have been yours anyway if you’d just waited?”

“No. It would never have been mine. My father had no intention of passing the throne to me.”

“…Why?”

“Because I was stupid. No magical power, couldn’t speak properly, just plain stupid. I was the perfect target for bullying.”

“…You.”

“I’m not particularly ashamed. After all, I became emperor in the end. But back then, I was weak enough to be bullied. When I finally came to my senses, I was seventeen, with blood flowing from my hands.”

That was the story.

Thinking about it, it was remarkably simple.

Just a tale of a stupid princess who was predictably bullied until one day she took revenge.

But that revenge went too far, and the princess eventually became a tyrant. Perhaps this current situation was part of the punishment for that.

Nevertheless, my throat felt dry for some reason. I emptied my juice and continued.

“Anyway, that’s why I don’t have good relations with the nobles. They saw how stupid I was when I was young and actually looked down on me. Then that same princess killed the princes and princesses they had supported, and purged their maternal families as well. How could they possibly view me favorably?”

“…”

“Since we’ve come to this garden party, I’m telling you this because you’ll likely get entangled with nobles at the imperial court too. Not just Marquis Adler—I simply don’t get along with nobility in general. And probably because of that, they won’t show a particularly friendly face to me, known as his daughter.”

After finishing, I closed my mouth.

I didn’t particularly check Hasis and Ilian’s expressions. But then, Hasis suddenly spoke up.

“So to put it simply, you got hit once and returned it about a hundred times?”

“…Huh?”

“That’s very like you.”

What kind of strange analogy is this?

I jerked my head up.

Hasis was looking at me indifferently with his arms crossed. This hardly seemed like a light story that warranted such an expression.

While I was thinking this to myself, Hasis raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong? You just killed them before they could kill you, right? It’s not exactly commendable, but there’s a difference between hitting back after being hit, hitting to avoid being hit, and just hitting someone.”

Of course, Hasis was right.

While Mother was alive, it was one thing, but after she died, I regularly had to endure assassins and poisons sent by my grown siblings and their families.

Sometimes my life was in danger, sometimes I was just lucky enough to escape. Sometimes the poison was potent enough to dissolve my internal organs, and sometimes I just coughed up blood a few times.

The only reason I survived my unremarkable childhood was sheer luck.

So even when I was confined, someone always…

‘Huh?’

At that moment, I frowned at a memory that flashed through my mind without warning. I feel like I had a similar dream a few days ago, but it must be my imagination.

I shook my head at the thought.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. This is all because you said something strange.”

“What strange thing did I say?”

Hasis indifferently took the empty glass from my hand. As I inadvertently looked up, Ilian came into view.

Unlike his usual self, he wasn’t smiling. His strangely subdued expression made me furrow my brow.

Ah, is he bothered by what I said earlier? Does he think commoners were involved in my purge?

But noble house purges are mostly limited to blood relations. I’d have to be crazy to go after commoners too—

As I was thinking this, Ilian opened his mouth.

“Then your father and…”

But before he could finish his sentence.

Suddenly, murmurs arose from the garden, and people’s attention focused in one direction.

Ilian naturally closed his mouth.

The source of the commotion seemed to be under the large tree. Had Margrit caused some trouble?

I was already watching her closely—as I was thinking this, I suddenly overheard a noble standing not far from us muttering.

“Isn’t that the youngest daughter of the Adler Marquis family?”

“Margrit’s sister? Why is she here?”

“Oh my. There’s going to be trouble again.”

I blinked at the nobles’ murmurs.

‘Evelyn came?’

I let out a long “hmm” sigh.

‘So she came after all.’

Should I take a look before leaving? See how things unfold?

With that thought, I glanced at Hasis and Ilian and started walking.

The two looked at my expression and then exchanged glances with each other. But they soon followed me without saying anything.

Thanks to people naturally making way for us, there were no obstacles.

When we arrived at the source of the commotion, I inwardly sighed deeply at the scene before me.

As I expected, there was Evelyn, clutching the ribbon I had thrown on the floor earlier, her face filled with fear, and Margrit, whose expression was visibly cold despite her smile.

“So, what ribbon are you talking about?”

At Margrit’s question, Evelyn shrank back. Her pathetic appearance was so pitiful that I deliberately kept my mouth shut.

I could feel Hasis poking me from behind, having recognized the ribbon, but I ignored him.

Instead, I deliberately remained silent and still.

“T-that… H-Her Highness, the ribbon…”

“My goodness. Her Highness left a ribbon for you?”

“She dropped it on the floor…”

“And?”

“So, I came to return it.”

“Ha.”

Margrit let out a light laugh at Evelyn’s words.

Evelyn bit her lip hard at the clear mockery hidden in that laugh. Margrit spoke kindly toward her sister.

“Evelyn, no matter how much you want to attend the garden party, you shouldn’t tell such lies. Why do you keep upsetting your sister?”

“It’s not a lie. I just—”

“I told you. Lying is bad. You’ve been scolded by our parents for always lying, yet you still lie? Even invoking Her Highness’s name?”

As she spoke, Margrit slightly lowered herself and grabbed her sister’s shoulders.

Evelyn tightly shut her mouth, her face filled with fear.

Watching this, I spoke indifferently.

“That ribbon is indeed mine.”

“Your Highness.”

“I can be a bit careless. I was wondering where the ribbon from my wrist had gone, and there it is?”

Saying this, I approached Evelyn’s side.

Evelyn looked at me with wide eyes, seemingly surprised that I would help her.

But I was the one who had called her here in the first place.

Deliberately untying the ribbon and throwing it on the floor was meant as a sign for her to decide whether to come or not.

In truth, I was confident someone with Evelyn’s personality would come. If asked why, I wouldn’t know the answer. It just felt like the right thing to do in that moment.

‘She came on her own anyway. It was her choice.’

With that thought, I met Margrit’s gaze.

She hadn’t expected me to intervene, and her brow twitched slightly.

But soon she continued with a strangely cold gaze, only the corners of her mouth turned up.

“I see. Your Highness, if you had lost your ribbon, you should have told me.”

As she said this, Margrit reached toward Evelyn.

Tap.

With a light but definitely forceful touch, she snatched the ribbon and handed it to me.

“I hope my sister didn’t commit any discourtesy earlier?”

“Not at all. Actually, that doll was also given to me by Evelyn. She said it was a gift.”

I deliberately called her by name and smiled broadly. At the same time, I took the ribbon with a grip just as rough as Margrit’s.

Noticing this, Margrit’s eyes gleamed even more coldly. Yet ironically, the smile on her face grew even brighter.