Margrit glanced at her sister. Evelyn shrank even more under her cold gaze.

But I wasn’t particularly concerned. With me present, Margrit wouldn’t dare cause a scene.

‘How could she possibly try anything with the princess right here.’

Of course, she would likely throw a fit after I left, but well, if Evelyn couldn’t take advantage of the princess openly taking her side and setting the stage for her rebellion, that was her own problem.

‘If a knot can’t be untied, it must be cut. By your own hand. If you can’t even do that, you’re destined to be a victim.’

Just as I was thinking this,

SLAP!

“…!”

The sound of a palm striking flesh echoed through the garden.

“…!”

I froze in shock.

What was this? Did she just strike her sister in front of all these guests?

Even though siblings might pull each other’s hair during fights, this was entirely different.

Even my wretched brothers and sisters never laid hands on me in public.

Of course, they had their dignity as royals to maintain, and I was the empress’s daughter, but regardless, this was absolutely not something a refined, dignified noble daughter would do.

No, what kind of sister would treat her younger sibling like this in front of others?

Proving my point, I felt Hasis step forward behind me. I quickly raised my hand to stop him.

‘Stay put for now.’

Hasis clicked his tongue at my signal.

Beside him, Ilian wore a subtle smile, his thoughts unreadable.

What on earth was Margrit thinking, committing such an outrageous act? Wasn’t she afraid of the watching eyes?

I wondered silently as I looked around. But what surprised me even more was that, contrary to my expectations, people remained perfectly calm.

Some even had expressions suggesting they had expected this.

‘Just how often does she humiliate her in public?’

Only then did I understand what people had been whispering about earlier.

And simultaneously, why Evelyn had refused to come to the garden.

It wasn’t simply fear of the consequences.

Margrit was someone who could treat her sister however she pleased in front of everyone, and for Evelyn, there could be no more realistic and devastating fear than that.

Realizing this, I felt a chill run through my mind.

Was Marquis Adler aware of this issue? Did he know and choose to ignore it?

Or perhaps, given Margrit’s temperament, she might have played the role of a mature older sister in front of her parents.

I turned my head to look at Margrit again.

Having slapped Evelyn hard, Margrit looked at me and smiled brightly again.

“I apologize, Your Highness. My sister is ignorant and has been disrespectful.”

“Disrespectful…?”

“How could she commit such an offense against Your Highness who graciously visited our marquis residence despite your busy schedule? How could she present such a cheap doll as a gift? Truly regrettable.”

Lies.

It’s me you want to slap. No, to be precise, you’d like to slap both me and Evelyn.

I publicly humiliated her father, and her sister upset her. I twisted my lips.

“How amusing. Cheap… it seems the lady couldn’t even prepare something cheap.”

But Margrit smiled smugly at my words, seemingly taking the bait.

“Your Highness, according to proper etiquette, preparing gifts isn’t the host’s obligation…”

“Well, I don’t know about that. Lady Margrit, let me repeat, I don’t follow etiquette.”

“…”

“And I’m not sure if arriving long after a party has started is proper etiquette either.”

“Arriving…”

“Of course, that’s just an example. I’m not referring to you.”

I’m referring to your father.

All traces of a smile had completely vanished from Margrit’s face. I smiled brightly. But there was likely no warmth in my eyes.

If I were to slap her or punish her here, it would certainly be satisfying. But if that happened,

‘She would face even worse consequences.’

I glanced at Evelyn.

With her reddened, swollen cheek, she stared at me with wide, surprised eyes.

‘Besides, I don’t particularly want to stoop to such an unsightly act against someone younger than me.’

I turned my attention back to Margrit. Her face was frozen in helpless anger.

For someone who had always played queen in her social circle, this must be nothing short of humiliation.

Among families with more power than the Adler Marquis, only the Delmen family had children around Margrit’s age, but the Delmen Duke’s children were too dignified to associate with someone like Margrit.

‘Plus, being the eldest daughter, she was likely being groomed as the heir.’

The treatment Evelyn received was probably related to that.

At minimum, someone from the family or an outsider should have taken her side, but nobody did.

Just like nobody could stop my sisters and brothers, and ultimately, nobody tried.

With that thought, I lowered my gaze slightly. What punishment would be “appropriate” in this situation?

After thinking briefly, I smiled coldly.

“Apologize.”

“Pardon?”

“If you apologize to your sister, today’s misconduct won’t reach the ears of my mother and father.”

At that moment, shock spread across Margrit’s face.

Judging by her reaction to being told to apologize, I could imagine how “interestingly” she had lived her life.

“Your Highness, I regret that—”

“Not to me, to your sister. Your sister was the one who got slapped, so why are you apologizing to me?”

“…”

Margrit bit her lip at my words.

I thought she might be trying to stall for time, but when it came to punishing someone, I had endless patience.

I quietly stared at her.

After some time had passed.

“Ugh, this is getting tedious. Humans have a real talent for dragging out something that could end with a simple apology.”

Suddenly Hasis’s voice rang out.

I looked somewhat surprised, not expecting him to interject here. Turning around, I saw Hasis giving me a disinterested glance.

I turned back to Margrit with a smirk, leisurely.

“My brother seems bored with waiting. What do you think, Lady?”

“…”

“Just so you know, my brother has quite a temper that even I can’t control.”

“Who has a bad temper… Fine, I do have a bad temper. So just hurry up and apologize.”

Hasis, who had bristled at my words, changed his tone when I turned around with a cold look and clicked his tongue.

I continued with a smile.

“If the lady refuses to apologize, well, it doesn’t matter. I can’t help it. I’ll tell my mother and father everything that happened in the garden today, detail by detail.”

“…”

“Including how that young lord spoke of my mother.”

At that moment, the faces of the boys and girls behind Margrit turned pale.

They glanced at each other furtively before whispering to Margrit.

“Um, Lady Margrit, perhaps we should do as Her Highness says…”

“Yes, it seems…”

Margrit’s face contorted even more at their words.

I couldn’t know exactly how she had been tormenting Evelyn all this time.

But she needed to understand. Above power is greater power, and above people are other people.

If you use strength to push someone down, you should be prepared to be pushed down yourself someday.

My siblings paid with their lives for not understanding this.

So learn to behave before you lose your life too. After some time, she spoke with a trembling voice.

“I’m sorry, Evelyn. Will you forgive your sister?”

Evelyn’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised that Margrit would actually apologize.

A look of confusion crossed her face. Soon, Evelyn looked at me.

What are you looking at? Handle it yourself. I responded with an indifferent gaze, and Evelyn, after some hesitation, nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

See that.

The person who was actually slapped is happy with just one apology. Such a simple thing to do.

I kept my mouth shut, watching Evelyn’s strangely delighted face, and couldn’t help feeling conflicted.

“Your Highness.”

As soon as Evelyn finished speaking, Margrit looked at me again with an expression that seemed to ask if we were done now. The intense shame in her eyes pleased me.

Making such a fuss over a simple apology.

Like father, like daughter—both equally arrogant.

I smiled innocently.

“Just so you know, I’ll be checking with Evelyn in the future. To make sure you don’t pull something like this again.”

“…”

“If you try to take revenge on your sister for today…”

I let my words trail off. I approached Margrit and met her gaze. I whispered softly to her, infusing my words with magical power.

[There will be serious consequences.]

“…!”

Margrit flinched at the magically charged whisper that only she could hear. Fear crept into her eyes.

I smiled brightly and drove in the final nail.

[I am the child of an emperor and a Dragon Lord. Where do you think that blood goes, hmm?]

It wasn’t true, but it was enough to be threatening.

As if these people would know what a hybrid of dragon and human would actually be like.

She could go tell Marquis Adler for all I cared. In fact, it might be better if she did.

At the very least, they would never dare touch me again, known as the child of a human and a Dragon Lord.

“Remember that, understood?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Margrit’s face turned deathly pale. Seeing this, I called her name deliberately.

“Margrit Adler.”