Just as Frederick was about to gesture to his subordinate to order her quick removal, Yerena, who had been quiet, opened her mouth.

“……Let her in. She says she wants to meet me.”

“She’s obviously not here for anything good, so just ignore her. Meeting someone in that state will only give you a headache.”

“I have something to say to her. I should also say goodbye to my aunt.”

Though she used the intimate term “aunt,” there was not a shred of affection in it. This was natural. Bianca deeply hated her half-sister Queen Adora and her children, especially Yerena. Yerena and her brothers also hated Bianca. Their mother’s sister who pretended to be their mother while sneaking into their father’s bedroom, and the illegitimate child she bore with their father. Bianca and Brick were a stain and flaw in the Sedas royal family.

Frederick hesitated briefly but soon obediently brought Bianca. Bianca recognized who Frederick was and composed her expression slightly. However, as soon as she faced Yerena, her face transformed into that of a demon once again.

“How dare you…!”

Bianca grimaced like she’s about to pounce on Yerena, then saw her niece’s eyes and stretched her lips into a sneer. She mocked with full contempt.

“Serves you right. I hear you can’t see?”

“Did you shout so loudly outside just to see me like this? How undignified.”

Yerena immediately shot back at Bianca’s words. At the mention of dignity, Bianca clenched her fist. Having borne an illegitimate child through dirty means, she had long been pointed at by people, making her pathologically hate words like “unnoble” or “undignified.”

“What? You insolent—!”

Bianca leaned her upper body forward and raised her voice in anger. At that moment, the knight standing beside Yerena flashed his emerald eyes coldly. Bianca flinched, bit her lip hard once, and then sneered in a somewhat calmer voice.

“……Fine. I came to see your state and scold you at the same time.”

“What are you trying to scold me for?”

“A mere princess going as a prisoner to the Empire dares to act impudently toward my son who has become king? Do you know how much Brick cried after meeting you? I heard you even used violence against him?”

“That was me……”

As Bianca mentioned what had happened with Brick, Frederick opened his mouth and stepped forward. Yerena stopped him with a slight shake of her head.

“Sir. Leave it be. Please continue.”

Yerena found Bianca amusing. Now as before, she was only strong against the weak and weak against the strong. It had been the same when her parents were alive. Yerena clearly remembered Bianca being cautious in front of her father or brothers who held actual power.

‘It’s unfair! This is all because of my sister and Yerena!’

The way she only threw tantrums in front of Queen Adora or Yerena was ugly. Of course, even then she couldn’t behave as she did now. At most, she would cry loudly, shout that it was unfair to Queen Adora, and glare at Yerena. How absurd it was when she stole the white pony from the princess’s palace, shouting that while Yerena, a daughter, was treated well, Brick, the king’s son, wasn’t even treated as well as a girl.

But now Yerena was a princess who had lost her family and was being taken away as a prisoner, while Bianca was the mother of the new king. Only after recalling their reversed positions did Yerena realize why Bianca had come to see her today.

Bianca couldn’t bear that Yerena was leaving tomorrow. She was anxious because she needed to show off to the daughter of the sister she hated. To mock how she had ultimately won and how miserable Yerena’s situation had become, but time was running out.

‘Childish…… and disgusting.’

As Yerena guessed Bianca’s intentions and smirked, Bianca’s eyebrows furrowed. She pointed at Yerena, her lips trembling.

“Ha! Yerena. You seem to be quite mistaken. With an imperial knight as your escort…… or should I say guard? Anyway, with him beside you, do you still think you’re some noble lady or something?”

“……”

“No. You’re no longer the most noble unmarried woman of a country, but merely a concubine, no, a bedroom slave. Yet you hold your head so high! Your dead mother must be anxious in the underworld, fearing your head might fall.”

Bianca not only crossed the line but insulted Yerena with vulgar words. Yerena, who had been listening quietly with an eerily cool smile, now burst into laughter. Bianca, and Frederick, who had narrowed his brows with clenched fists at her words, looked at Yerena with wide eyes.

“Why are you laughing? Have you finally gone mad?”

“Because it’s funny.”

“What?”

“Lady Bianca.”

Yerena, who had been laughing heartily, suddenly stopped and froze, her face cold. She shot a glare at Bianca, addressing her as “lady.” Though she couldn’t see, clear contempt rose in her hardened eyes.

“What, do you hate this title? But there’s no choice. I can’t call you ‘madam’ when you bore an illegitimate child without a husband. Isn’t that right?”

Her shame, and her greatest pain. Bianca, who had spent her life suffering from feelings of inferiority by comparing herself to her half-sister, trembled, unable to retort. Her face turned ashen, looking both frightening and fragile.

“What good is wearing that crown as the king’s mother? You, who couldn’t sit in the queen’s seat, will never be able to use the title of queen dowager or the white mother appellation.”

The monogamous Sedas royal family allowed an illegitimate child to succeed the throne when the king had no legitimate children. However, the birth was despised, and even if an illegitimate child ascended the throne, the child’s mother faced many restrictions. Among the most representative was the prohibition from using the white mother title given to widowed queen dowagers.

“And why should I be afraid? In a world where even a woman who couldn’t become a mere concubine can become the king’s mother, who knows? As you said, I, who have fallen to be a bedroom slave, might follow your example and become the mother of the next emperor. Don’t you think?”

Yerena’s words were extremely dangerous, so Frederick looked around in alarm. And in his gaze, Roshan, who had been standing beyond the doorway for who knows how long, entered.

Frederick opened his mouth to announce Roshan’s arrival, but at the same time, Roshan raised a finger to his lips. Immediately understanding the command, Frederick remained silent.

“You, you vulgar! The late king raised you wrong. The only daughter he had is a disgrace to his honor! If I were you, I would have already bashed my head in and died!”

“Why should I?”

“Isn’t it obvious! You should die! When His Highness died! When your mother died, you should have died with them!”

“Why should I die! When you and your son, who killed my family and sold out the country, are still alive, why should I die.”

By now, Bianca and Yerena’s conversation had turned into a quarrel. Yerena fired back at Bianca without conceding a single word.

“Lady Bianca. No, Aunt. With my eyes like this, shall I make a prophecy? I’ve heard that the first prophecy made by a blind person comes true.”

“……”

“When I settle in the Empire, I’ll first ask the emperor this: to tear the king of Sedas to pieces and throw him before his mother. And after forcing the king’s mother to eat it, to tear her to pieces too and throw her to the beasts. And the emperor will nod his head, agreeing to my words.”

It was chilling. Speaking of a terrifying future with the distinctive dead eyes of a blind person made it even more so. Bianca felt goosebumps rise on her back. The scene Yerena described was strangely vivid. At the same time, for an instant, she saw something strange. People staring at her while bleeding…… Among them were the dead king and queen of Sedas, and the princes.

Bianca turned pale and shook her head. Fortunately, the strange and chilling visions that had flickered before her eyes disappeared. She screamed like a madwoman to shake off the remaining fear.

“You, do you think someone like you can even speak to the emperor!”

“You always said that all I have is this appearance resembling my mother. That’s why I’m always excessively loved and that I easily get things beyond my station.”

“……”

“As you said, this is all I have left now. So shouldn’t I make good use of it? And be careful. Because I can’t see with my eyes, I see other things…… People are lined up behind you, Aunt. They’re all bleeding and…… Ah!”

“……”

“……Those hands seem about to strangle your neck. Blood is already dripping from your neck, Aunt.”

In reality, all Yerena could see was an endlessly black world, with no vengeful spirits. However, after seeing something, Bianca unconsciously felt her neck and looked around, chilled.

Frederick looked surprised at Yerena confronting Bianca. It was shocking to see a new side of the princess, whom he had thought was only weak, childish, and would only shed tears and tremble.

And perhaps he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as the man beyond the doorway also stared intently at the princess, his red eyes gleaming. His gaze was so intense that Yerena unconsciously turned her head toward the door. But before she could realize she had turned her head, a scream erupted right in front of her.

“You, you damned woman…… Ahhh!”

Unable to contain her fear and anger, Bianca tried to slap Yerena’s cheek but was subdued by Frederick. Frederick coldly snapped at Bianca, who was struggling to break free from him.

“Like son, like mother, both have terrible manners.”

“You! A mere knight like you! Let go of this! Let go!”

“How similar your words are to his.”

“Ahhh! What are you all standing there doing!”

Unable to shake off Frederick’s hand, Bianca vented her frustration at her maids who stood at a distance, barely able to raise their heads. But like Brick’s attendants, the maids couldn’t properly approach Frederick, who, while pondering what to do with Bianca, pulled her toward the door at his lord’s gesture from beyond the doorway. And before others’ gazes could reach the door, Roshan quickly moved to the side, hiding his presence against the wall.