A friendly smile? Such words didn’t suit the Emperor at all. Now, everything started to make sense. All these things were too bold to have come from Patrick’s mind alone.

“…….”

Amelia silently glared at the Emperor, not taking her eyes off him. If she didn’t stay alert, who knew what might happen.

“Have you forgotten everything because it’s been so long?”

“…You’d better let us out immediately.”

“I suppose I’ve been too neglectful of my only sister.”

He said the word ‘sister’ so easily. The age difference between the Emperor and her was such that they couldn’t possibly be siblings. Anyone would think they were father and daughter.

“Don’t say such nonsense.”

“You don’t want to accept it? That you’re my sister.”

No, she had to accept it. Otherwise, it didn’t make sense. This damn silver hair and purple eyes proved that she was related to the person outside the bars.

“It’s disappointing for a reunion between siblings after more than ten years.”

Amelia shivered at the sticky gaze that touched her body. It felt like bugs were crawling all over her. That was not the look one gives to a sister.

“But how did you come back to life?”

“Ah!”

Her body was dragged helplessly as he grabbed her hair and pulled her. He whispered in her ear in a sinister tone, like a snake hissing.

“Are you pretending to have lost your memory?”

“Ugh…”

“You were definitely dead. It’s unbelievable that you were living as the daughter of Viscount Seraphin.”

He seemed to be looking at her but wasn’t really seeing her. It was as if he was trying to figure something out. Saying it was just creepy didn’t suffice. The Emperor, with his mask completely off, was beyond imagination.

This was the man who had killed his father and brother. A person who mercilessly killed his own blood couldn’t be sane.

“Upon investigation, Viscount Seraphin was already dead. The Seraphin family had vanished.”

Viscount Seraphin was dead? Amelia was shocked to hear that the viscount family didn’t exist. It couldn’t be true. Then how could she be Amelia Seraphin?

“But you were formally registered as the daughter of the Seraphin family.”

“…That can’t be…”

“And not as an adopted daughter, but as a biological one.”

Everything the Emperor said was a lie. He was trying to confuse her to extract information. But she truly knew nothing. There was no such story in the books. Amelia Seraphin was just the daughter of a humble viscount family.

“You can’t be the daughter of a dead man. What trick did you use?”

“Ah!”

He yanked her hair, causing her to collide with the iron bars. These were all things she didn’t know. She even doubted if they were lies. However, judging by the Emperor’s furious reaction, it didn’t seem fabricated.

“I confirmed you were dead.”

The Emperor’s low mutterings sent chills down her spine. Now she understood why she felt creeped out by him. The Emperor had no qualms about killing people, even if they were his own blood. The murderous intent in his murky purple eyes was proof of that.

The Emperor wasn’t sane. He was merely a murderer.

“Or is this the doing of Raphael Lloyd Siegfried?”

“Ugh…”

“That bastard could certainly fake an identity.”

Raphael disguised her identity? This time, it was so absurd that she couldn’t even listen. She had met Raphael after she became an adult. He saved her when she was about to be forcibly sold as someone’s second wife.

It didn’t make sense that he had met her much earlier and placed her in the Seraphin family. And Raphael didn’t know she was of the imperial family when they married. If he had known, he would never have married her.

But what if everything she knew was a lie…? They might not have met for the first time after she became an adult.

“If that’s the case, it makes sense.”

The Emperor wasn’t looking for an answer from her. He just needed a plausible explanation for himself.

“Aren’t you happy to see your brother after such a long time?”

“Would you be happy if you were me?”

“Insolent!”

There was no need to be polite to the Emperor anymore. He had been tormenting her by reaching through the bars, never intending to open the door.

“Ugh… You’re showing your true colors right away.”

“You’re a life that shouldn’t have been born. And I saved you.”

Ha, it was so absurd that she couldn’t help but laugh. He was the one who had just asked if she was dead. Patrick also said she had been killed like a dog.

“You saved me…? You had a face like you saw something you shouldn’t have the moment you met me.”

It was the look of a criminal caught in the act.

“And let’s get the facts straight. I’m the Empress’s child, and you were born from a maid. The one who shouldn’t have been born is you, not me.”

Before she could finish speaking, the grip on her hair tightened. The force was so immense it felt like her hair would be ripped out. She never expected the Emperor to have such strength.

“You’ve always been like this. Always looking at me with those wretched eyes, even when you were just a little girl.”

“That’s, ugh!”

She wanted to say it was his inferiority complex, but she couldn’t. He shoved her into the prison, making her hit the bars.

“Yes, you might have the legitimacy as the Empress’s child. But I killed my brother, the Crown Prince, and ascended the throne.”

“Ha…”

“Do you think a mere fetus in the belly of an old Empress could be a threat to me?”

She didn’t want to admit it, but it was all true. If he had wanted to kill her, he could have done so before she was even born.

“The old woman hid her pregnancy. Who would have known? Who would have thought the aged Empress was carrying a child?”

The Emperor leisurely paced around the prison. His actions further cornered her, making her realize she was completely trapped.

“Why do you think I let you live? You’d clearly be a threat to me if I kept you alive.”

“…….”

“A prophecy came down. It said that a saintess would not be born to me, the emperor who did not ascend the throne legitimately.”

A saintess wouldn’t be born…?

“I decided to think differently. Doesn’t that mean a daughter could be born to my father? So I waited, hoping you would be a girl.”

“Stop! Stop talking!”

“And finally, a daughter was born.”

As she listened to the Emperor’s words, her entire body began to tremble with fear. At the same time, a wave of nausea rose within her.

“I had a saintess for myself.”

Her limbs trembled so violently that she could barely stand. The Emperor was not an ordinary human. The fact that her birth had been planned was horrifying. She was so shocked that she nearly vomited.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Doesn’t it feel like coming home?”

Even hearing his voice made her sick. She couldn’t control her body due to the relentless vomiting.

“You’ve lived here since you were born.”

“Ugh…”

“Everyone who knew of your birth was killed. The former Empress included. And you grew up in this prison that holds monsters. This place is known only to the imperial family.”

He spoke as if it was a pity she had lost her memory. Even without memories, she could guess what kind of treatment young Amelia had endured.

“It’s a gift left by the goddess for our descendants. Isn’t it marvelous? Monsters can’t move an inch once they’re inside.”

Calling this horrific place a gift? Amelia used her remaining strength to look towards Leonel. He was still unconscious, barely breathing.

“Is he still fine because he’s a half-blood?”

“Le-Leonel…”

Amelia crawled towards Leonel.

“Even as a monster, he carries half the blood of the Khalid imperial family.”

Seeing Leonel sweating profusely, she couldn’t hear the Emperor’s words anymore. This was all her fault.

“What a pity. I wanted to see the father and son die together.”

“What do you mean…”

“Raphael Lloyd Siegfried was also imprisoned here once.”

The Emperor’s attitude was too confident to dismiss as a lie.