‘Yerena. This is not a dream. This is your reality.’

Her father, lying pale-faced, suddenly sat up and spoke. Blood and flesh dripped from his already decaying body. Yerena covered her eyes tightly, clutched her head, and crouched down.

‘The radiant princess. No, the brilliant queen was left alone. She lost everyone and became alone. Oh, how lonely she must be. The poor queen who lost her lover, husband, four daughters, and all her family. But, my queen. My radiant princess. It was all your doing.’

In the pitch-black darkness, a voice she had heard before but was unfamiliar sang like a melody. The sweet tune was beautiful, but to Yerena, who couldn’t understand it, it sounded like a terrible noise. She opened her eyes to glare at the singer. But something was strange. She couldn’t see anything even with her eyes open.

Before she could despair at the equally dark scene whether her eyes were closed or open, a sudden chill crept up her body.

‘C-cold.’

Her fingertips and toes felt like they would fall off. Her clothes felt like ice. Yerena curled up and trembled violently in the bone-penetrating cold.

More than the thought that she might freeze to death, she felt achingly lonely. The fear of being left alone, the solitude of being the only one in the world, gnawed at her bit by bit.

“No. Being left alone…… sob.”

Just as she was shedding tears, wishing for someone to be with her, her body seemed to fall downward from where she sat, and with a splash, the smell of blood enveloped her.

“……mmph!”

Before she could fully realize she had fallen back into the pool of blood, the bloody water rushed into her mouth and nose. In the midst of blindness, her other senses tortured her. Yerena flailed and reached her hand upward.

Something soft touched her fingers that stretched highest. Yerena somehow moved her legs and reached her hand higher. Then she felt something like soft fur touch her palm.

The moment she grasped it tightly, miraculously, the pool of blood receded and eventually disappeared completely. Yerena exhaled roughly and focused on what she was holding in her hand.

It was long, like sheep’s wool, but stiffer yet soft in a way. Unable to see, Yerena extended her other hand to confirm exactly what she was holding.

Hiss.

And in that moment, a creepy snake-like sound brushed her ear. What she had thought was soft now felt like reptilian scales. Smooth but with a peculiar sensation that made her skin crawl.

“Aaaah!”

Yerena screamed in terror and let go. At the same time, someone called her.

“Lady Yerena.”

The air surrounding her changed completely. Yerena blinked her unseeing eyes repeatedly, trying to sense where she was.

The now-familiar feeling of bedding and the scent lingering around. Yerena quickly realized she was in her chamber in the tower. She began feeling around with her hands. However, something warm was caught in a space that should have been empty.

“Are you feeling better?”

As soon as she sensed it was a person’s warmth, a man’s voice came from nearby. And Yerena finally realized she had been touching the man.

She pulled her hand away in shock. Though unintentional, the fact that she had been touching someone was embarrassing.

“You still have a fever.”

So she remained still as the man placed his hand on her forehead. Only after the cool touch withdrew did she slowly raise her upper body.

“Here’s some water.”

The man offered her moderately cooled water. Yerena moved her lips to say something but quietly drank the water due to her sore throat.

Each time the water went down her throat, she felt a scraping pain. Thinking it was as if she had been shouting all day, Yerena lowered the cup.

“Is your throat still hurting? Would you like more water?”

As she emptied the cup in an instant, the man asked while taking it away. Yerena shook her head and arranged the hair stuck to her face. Then, realizing she was wearing a nightgown, she pulled up the blanket that had been at her waist in surprise.

“Priestess Alicia and Miss Jane had to step out briefly, so I’m just watching over you for a moment. In case your condition worsens.”

The man explained why he was beside her. Though Yerena couldn’t fully understand the situation, she nodded vaguely instead of saying anything. Then, struck by a question, she opened her mouth.

“How long have I been like this?”

“……Do you remember collapsing?”

Yerena nodded with a dark expression. Though she couldn’t see, she clearly remembered the blood boiling up from her throat and the difficulty breathing.

‘Who and why……’

Since coming to the Empire, Yerena hadn’t considered being poisoned. Unless she were to stay by the emperor’s side, she was just a prisoner confined to a tower.

Perhaps there was some political matter related to the Sedas Kingdom that she was unaware of? Or if not, could it be Bianca, who had become the mother of the new king, plotting something?

‘……Maybe it would have been better to die.’

As she continued her various speculations, Yerena frowned at her complicated thoughts, clenched her fist, and then immediately released it. She wondered what use it all was. The images of her family from the nightmare made her mood plummet again.

The man keenly read Yerena’s emotions. Looking at her hopeless expression like she’s ready to give up on life, he asked.

“You’ve been unconscious for four days. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Four days?”

Yerena responded with a question instead of an answer. She thought she had lost consciousness for half a day at most, but four days? She opened her eyes wide in surprise, then lowered her head, imagining how much of a mess she must look.

Though she couldn’t see, her nightgown was heavy with sweat, and her hair must be a mess too. Her cheeks burned. However, since the man wasn’t someone she could tell she wanted to wash, Yerena only showed her embarrassment.

A very faint smile appeared on the man’s face. Not knowing how he was looking at her reddened cheeks, Yerena tried to maintain a composed expression. The man took in even that sight thoroughly before standing up with a regretful face.

“I’ll be outside. Call if you need anything.”

As she naturally turned her head toward the rustling sound of his clothes, Yerena unconsciously reached out, grabbing the man who was about to move.

“Th-this……”

Yerena couldn’t understand herself—why she had done that. Only that the word “alone” had flashed in her mind, and her body had moved on its own.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…… Please go ahead and leave.”

Yerena removed her hand and spoke with her head turned completely away. The man didn’t hide his regretful expression as her hand and unseeing gaze moved away from him.

“Then……”

Following Yerena’s wish, he slowly withdrew. But the blind princess didn’t know. The man was moving away, walking backward. His gaze fixed clearly on her without turning his back.

* * *

Tap tap.

A nerve-grating sound echoed in the room. Liliana walked back and forth, biting her well-manicured nails, then suddenly stopped. She picked up a small crystal vase that had been decorating the room and threw it with all her might.

With a crash, fragments of the vase and pale pink flowers scattered. The beautiful ornament became mere trash, with fragments and petals splashing everywhere along with water, making the floor a mess. However, Liliana calmed her emotions at the sight of the sharp edges of the broken vase. She kicked the fragments carelessly and went to sit on the couch by the window.

“Shall I bring some tea?”

“Yes, do that.”

When Luna, one of her maids watching her mood, approached and asked, Liliana nodded. Luna instructed another maid to bring tea.

“Everyone leave.”

After the maid brought the tea, Luna dismissed everyone in the room and poured the tea. Liliana drank the moderately cooled tea, closed her eyes, and opened them after a long while.

“Luna. How could this happen? There was definitely nothing wrong with what you brought.”

Liliana had ordered Luna to obtain poison, then personally fed it to birds and small animals. Ostensibly to test its effectiveness, but Luna already knew—she had seen it many times. Her mistress felt ecstasy when life extinguished in her hands.

‘Luna. Look at this. Isn’t it ridiculous? The bird can’t stretch its wings, and the rabbit can’t extend its hind legs. What an unsightly sight.’

Animals died instantly in Liliana’s hands. But strangely, there was no news of the prisoner in the tower dying.

“……Perhaps she noticed and threw away the food?”

“That’s unlikely. I heard the high priestess who’s in charge of the princess’s education stayed in the tower for a long time.”

“Hmm…… You mean that disgustingly blind priestess?”

“Yes.”

“It’s an immediate-acting poison that even holy power shouldn’t be able to prevent death…… She must have been there right when the poison was consumed. That filthy woman is lucky.”

Liliana knew how terrible the poison she used was. It was a deadly poison that took life within seconds, not minutes. But the plan had failed, and Liliana had to accept the result. She sipped her tea and asked reluctantly.

“Well. There will be other opportunities. You erased all traces well, right?”

“Of course. I also disposed of the person who was ordered to do it, just in case. Her Majesty the Empress won’t be implicated.”

“Well done.”

As though this wasn’t the first time, there wasn’t a trace of guilt on Liliana’s face. She pushed her hair back while drinking tea at Luna’s assurance that there would be no repercussions, then put down her cup and suddenly clapped her hands. It was because she thought of an upcoming banquet, or more precisely, of Roshan who would attend.

“Soon I’ll be able to see His Highness. I wonder what face he’ll make when he sees me.”

Her murmuring voice was as lovely as her pink hair, and her rosy cheeks were as pretty as the smile of the woman in the painting on the wall. But the madness in Liliana’s olive-colored eyes had a chilling aspect that was difficult to look at.

* * *