Yerena trembled in extreme fear. Yet even amid this, the adornment continued, with earrings’ sharp ends piercing her ears and heavy bracelets being locked on her wrists like handcuffs.

Finally, one of the women placed a necklace around Yerena’s neck and locked the clasp. Click. With that tiny sound, a cold jewel touched her chest, where the skin was clearly exposed.

When the adornment was complete, the silent women lifted Yerena and began dragging her somewhere again. In the cool corridor, unlike the room, Yerena asked, turning pale.

“Can’t you at least tell me where we’re going?”

Yerena tried to hide her fear. But she couldn’t hide the trembling in her voice. Moreover, despite her courageous effort, the women who held both her arms and practically dragged her gave no answer. Yerena bit her lip tightly and stopped walking.

“His Majesty the Emperor has urged us to hurry. We must go quickly.”

When Yerena finally resisted the pulling force, someone spoke from the front rather than from beside her. The voice, presumably from a middle-aged woman, contained not a trace of warmth.

Though her fear was great, Yerena became stubborn and closed her mouth just as the women had done to her. The middle-aged woman then approached her one step closer.

“A few years ago, the queen of Hiren, who was offered to His Majesty the Emperor, stubbornly insisted she could not betray her husband. Do you know what happened to her?”

“……”

“His Majesty extremely hates those who defy his orders. The queen was tied n*ked all day in the garden where all sorts of people pass by, and eventually took her own life, unable to bear the shame. And immediately afterward, the two princes born from the queen died of sudden illness on the same day, and the tribute Hiren had to offer tripled from what it was before.”

It was a terrible threat. Yerena finally lowered her head and moved her trembling legs. Whether the urgency was true or not, the women increased their pace with the now compliant Yerena. And soon, with the sound of heavy doors opening on both sides, an attendant’s voice struck Yerena’s ears.

“Your Majesty. Princess Yerena of Sedas has arrived.”

* * *

“Ugh……!”

Her knees, forcibly made to kneel by pressure, hurt. But because her face was lifted upward, Yerena couldn’t even pay attention to the pain in her knees.

Despite clearly seeing Yerena’s expression of pain, Emperor Kedrick paid no heed and examined her face, turning it this way and that. After sighing for a long time as if appreciating a precious object, he burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. Indeed, it was worth sending my army. Even though she’s a blind cripple, she’s this beautiful.”

Startled by the sudden laughter, Yerena’s shoulders jumped. At this sight, Kedrick’s eyes narrowed even more. He released Yerena’s face, placed his hand on her head, and licked his lower lip.

“Even your trembling is cute.”

Jet-black hair and amethyst-like purple eyes. Though not praised for having a god-like appearance like his half-brother Roshan, the emperor also resembled his beautiful mother enough to be called handsome. Especially his fine features—long hair, and unusually red lips for a man—created a strange sensuality, causing some noble young ladies to blush with admiration for the emperor.

But to the blind Yerena, the emperor was just like a disgusting snake. His touch without the slightest consideration, his gaze that felt slimy though she couldn’t see it. Moreover, the emperor was, in a way, her greatest enemy.

Feeling repulsed, Yerena avoided the emperor’s touch. When Yerena, who looked docile and fragile in appearance, frowned and rejected him, the emperor’s face instantly hardened. He raised his hand without the slightest hesitation.

Slap.

“Ah!”

The sound was fierce. Though slender in build, the emperor was still a man. Yerena, who was delicate even among women, immediately collapsed sideways from his violence.

“How dare you……”

Her cheek burned and her mind was dazed. Experiencing such treatment for the first time in her life, Yerena couldn’t even properly lift her head with a dumbfounded expression. The emperor approached her one step closer and muttered through gritted teeth.

“How dare a mere princess of a defeated country, fit only to be a bedroom slave, dare to reject me!”

The emperor exercised violence without restraint, not only toward his attendants but also to women around him. As a result, not only his maids but also noble ladies-in-waiting and numerous concubines in his harem were often battered. But who would dare reprimand the emperor who was above all people? The emperor freely flaunted his dirty temper using his position.

“Impudent wench. I’ll correct your behavior today.”

After examining Yerena from head to toe, the emperor spoke in a savage voice and lifted his leg. His glossy shoe viciously trampled on Yerena’s exposed ankle. Under the repeatedly applied violence, Yerena trembled and moaned.

“A blind cripple like you should crawl on the floor and bow your head.”

A cruelty beyond ordinary humans gleamed in his purple eyes. The base desire to feel superior by exercising violence tickled the emperor’s body. He pressed down firmly on Yerena’s ankle once, then thought of something and raised his leg high.

“Your Majesty!”

Just as the emperor was about to bring down his shoe, the heavy doors opened with a bang, and an old high priest in long priestly robes rushed in breathlessly. He looked almost comical, as if he had abandoned all dignity, as though a wild beast were chasing him from behind.

“High Priest?”

The emperor recognized him and tilted his head. There was something ominous about seeing the high priest, who was always composed before him, in such a hurry.

“Y-Your Majesty. You must not.”

The high priest looked at Kedrick’s face once and then at Yerena lying below him. Then, with a face turned pale, he raised his voice loud enough to echo through the hall.

“Step away from the princess. Immediately!”

“What?”

“It’s a curse. And a terrible one at that!”

At the mention of a curse, the emperor showed visible signs of confusion. He stepped back from Yerena and asked the high priest again.

“A curse? Explain properly, High Priest.”

“The Goddess of Light above has warned us. The princess of Sedas is cursed, so be careful until we purify her with light. Especially since Your Majesty, who is devout, and the cursed princess are incompatible, you must be even more cautious.”

The high priest approached the emperor with a serious face and continued his explanation. The goddess had said that the vengeful spirits of the king, queen, and princes of Sedas, whom Roshan had killed, had attached themselves to the princess who was brought to the Empire, becoming a sticky curse. Therefore, before praying to the Goddess of Light, the patron deity of the Empire, to remove the curse, one should not get close to the princess.

It might have been a story some would laugh off. However, as soon as the emperor heard the high priest’s words, he distanced himself from Yerena as if fleeing. And covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, he began to have a fit, screaming to drive her away.

“Drive that filthy thing away! Keep her far away from me! Now!”

At the emperor’s shout, attendants hurriedly rushed in, dragged Yerena out, and threw her into a small room in the imperial palace. With the sound of the door locking, thick darkness settled in the room.

In the damp room, Yerena remained dazed for a long time. Her cheek still stung, and the harsh words…… They were the cold reality.

‘How dare a mere princess of a defeated country, fit only to be a bedroom slave, dare to reject me!’

The resolve she had made countless times to endure scattered in an instant. The harsh reality struck her head once more. Yerena ruminated on her despair for a long time in the moldy room, unable even to cry.

‘……It’s warm.’

Yerena came to her senses when sunlight entered through a very small window in the room. Trembling all night while clutching the thin dress, she lifted her head at the tiny warmth touching her face and groped the cold floor, searching for a spot where even a handspan more sunlight entered.

Curled up in the small puddle of sunlight, Yerena murmured the name of her homeland countless times. Though the king and queen who were her parents, and the princes who were her brothers had disappeared, she was still the princess of Sedas. And the royal family had a duty to do their utmost for the country until death.

‘……I should have somehow pleased the emperor. What if he harms Sedas because of this incident?’

As reason returned, she regretted all her actions before the emperor. Though he was an enemy she wanted to stab to death right away, wasn’t he the one holding Sedas’s fate? When she should have acted like a dog, exposing her chest…… Yerena anxiously chewed her lips, contemplating what to do next.

But in her current situation, there was nothing she could do except wait. Yerena sighed, blaming herself for her incompetence. Then she suddenly recalled what she had heard just before being dragged away and tilted her head.

‘Come to think of it, a curse…… What could that mean?’

She could clearly hear the old man called the high priest shouting about a curse. But she couldn’t hear properly what came after. Partly because her ears were ringing from the hard slap on her cheek, but also because the old man’s voice was inherently quiet.

Another anxiety grew stealthily. But again, her only option was to wait.

Feeling stifled, Yerena unconsciously placed her hand on her chest to apply pressure, then knelt down. And opening her blind eyes, she looked toward the window where sunlight entered, folded her hands, and prayed.

“God. I ask for nothing else. Just let there be no more trials for Sedas. And give me hope to live on.”

* * *

“Your Excellency. This is a token of gratitude from His Highness.”

In the hands of the man with glasses was a rather heavy box. High Priest Sinax snatched it from him nervously and shouted.

“Since His Highness personally requested it, I couldn’t refuse this time, but next time is out of the question! Remember that clearly.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

The black eyes behind the glasses curved. The high priest glared at the man who was smiling broadly once more, then turned his body abruptly and strode away.

“What nonsense about ‘out of the question’…… Then don’t commit sins in the first place. Look at him now. A cleric taking everything he can while still getting angry.”