“Acting so despicably when being served so well. Princess, do you know what your situation is?”

The words from his red lips were full of sharp edges. One of the women tried to stop him, as he was clearly speaking in a confrontational manner.

“Sir Frederick!”

Frederick didn’t even blink at the woman’s attempt to restrain him. He strode forward with large steps and stood before Yerena. Then he stood with one leg forward and crossed his arms.

“I hear you’re not even eating properly? But you won’t be able to die anyway. So stop being a nuisance and do as you’re told. It’s unsightly to see you being so spiteful for no reason.”

Although she couldn’t see, Yerena sensed Frederick’s presence standing close to the bed. At his words, she slightly raised her face from her knees, revealing her anger. However, her eyes lacked focus, which diminished her intimidation.

At this sight, Frederick laughed audibly in mockery. Since she couldn’t see, the other person’s sound reached her more sensitively. Yerena bit her lower lip hard as anger rose, threatening to burn her mind. Her dried lips easily tore, showing blood.

Frederick, who had been laughing, suddenly changed his expression at the droplet of blood flowing along her lip. Recalling something, he twitched his eyebrows and muttered in a much lower voice.

“……How pathetic. Well, no wonder the people of Sedas are so weak when their princess is like this.”

When words insulting her kingdom’s people came from the mouth of the enemy who had trampled her kingdom and killed her parents, anger pushed away despair. Yerena glared at the opponent she couldn’t see and clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her palms.

“Shut up.”

“Why? Did I say something wrong? It’s true. You’re all pathetic creatures who couldn’t even protect their own country.”

Frederick had clearly seen the nobles of Sedas below the platform when they were appointing the new king of Sedas. Most had helplessly bowed their heads, and even those few who clenched their fists and tried to charge forward with spirit had released their strength at their parents’ pleas, standing like corpses. How pathetic and laughable it had been. Frederick had almost pointed and cursed at them right there.

“When your lord dies, you should at least commit suicide, not just stand there shedding tears. Tsk.”

“I told you to shut that filthy mouth!”

Clank.

Yerena moved as if she might leap at where Frederick’s voice was coming from. But before she could move properly, the chain connecting her to the bed restricted her action.

Clank. Clank.

Despite knowing it was impossible to break the chain, Yerena couldn’t control her anger and continued to shake her arm. As if all her pent-up emotions had exploded, she behaved like a beast caught in a snare.

But Yerena’s movements, using all her might, were no different from a young bird’s flapping to Frederick. He thrust his sculpture-like face in front of Yerena, who had stretched her upper body, and sneered.

“Oh? Unlike your appearance, you have quite a backbone. I thought you’d lost your mind, but you’re completely fine, aren’t you?”

“Frederick. That’s enough.”

Just as Yerena was grinding her teeth, sensing Frederick’s close approach, another knight entered the room and firmly grabbed Frederick’s shoulder.

“Hayden?”

Frederick, who had turned around irritably, recognized who had stopped him and obediently moved away from Yerena. Hayden Gilta. With his long, shining silver hair and light blue-gray eyes, he was one of the few people who could restrain Frederick as his friend.

“His Highness’s order was to watch the princess, not to provoke her.”

“Hmph! As if she could be provoked by mere words.”

Although he stepped back at Hayden’s words, Frederick’s mouth remained the same. He looked Yerena up and down as she breathed roughly, then turned his head and spoke to himself loud enough for all to hear.

“She probably doesn’t even think about what hardships her people are going through. This is why those raised like greenhouse flowers……”

“Enough. That’s as far as you go, Frederick.”

Hayden reprimanded Frederick and gestured for the surrounding women to leave. They had been bowing their heads in the corner due to the hostile atmosphere and quickly left.

Frederick watched the women leave, then made a strange expression as he saw his friend approaching the princess and examining her. With narrowed eyes, he said to Hayden.

“Hayden, you’re different from usual. Are you also interested in the princess? His Highness, Knox…… She’s really a woman who will ruin the country.”

“……Stop picking unnecessary fights and use honorifics for the princess. It doesn’t look good.”

“Princess, what princess…… She’s just a bedroom slave well-packaged as a prisoner. And this morning, you were quite rude to the new king of Sedas.”

“Frederick!”

When his behavior at the appointment of the new King of Sedas was pointed out, Hayden raised his voice and unconsciously glanced at Yerena. But Frederick’s voice was loud enough, and she couldn’t have missed it. Yerena, who had been trembling with anger, her body stiff, stammered a question about this newly learned fact.

“……A new king of Sedas?”

“Since you’ve lost your mind and covered your ears, how would you know? Princess, your half-brother was crowned as the new king of Sedas this morning. You should congratulate him, he’s your blood after all.”

“Brick?”

Yerena didn’t react to Frederick as she had before. Instead, she trembled like an aspen tree and lost all strength in her body. Her anger subsided in an instant, like an ebbing tide. Instead, shock and despair rushed in to take its place.

“No. The king…… The king of Sedas is, is Father……”

As tears began to fall, Frederick uncrossed his arms. Yerena raised her hands to feel and cover her face. She wished she could lose her mind. She wanted to escape this reality that was so hard to accept.

“Ah…… hic. Augh.”

Yerena let out a cry, as if pain were wringing it from her. Frederick looked slightly bewildered—it was hard to believe they had been arguing just moments earlier. He muttered a brief sentence to her face, then turned away.

“……How boring. Tedious.”

He left the room with quick steps, almost like he were fleeing. Hayden glared briefly at his friend’s back as he left the mess behind, then approached Yerena.

“I…… I apologize. I apologize on behalf of Frederick for his rude words.”

Hayden, not knowing what to do, reached out his hand. But he soon remembered that Yerena couldn’t see and simply bowed his head respectfully.

“I am Hayden of House Gilta. If you need anything, please say……”

After standing like that for a while, Hayden spoke with difficulty when Yerena’s crying somewhat subsided. But what use was his polite tone? After all, to Yerena, he was just the voice of one of her enemies. Yerena found the situation where she received sympathy and comfort from an imperial knight nauseating enough to make her vomit. The blood of my family is on their hands, yet I am alive…….

“……Get out.”

Another emotional fluctuation came. Yerena showed more violent thrashing than before.

“I said get out!”

Clank. Clank.

Surprised by the princess’s sudden change, Hayden took a step back but soon hardened his face at the sight of her wrists. In the short time, she had shaken them so much that her wrists were a mess from the friction.

“You’ll hurt yourself if you do this.”

Seeing her wrists being ground to the point of bleeding profusely, Hayden took a deep breath and grabbed Yerena. But when she felt the man’s warmth, Yerena began to struggle even more.

“Let go! You bastards! I said let go!”

They are the ones who killed my father, mother, and brothers. Those are their hands. Their hands are stained with my family’s blood.

“……Excuse me.”

When Yerena showed no sign of calming down, Hayden used force to subdue her. He gathered her arms forward and pressed down on her upper body, laying her down. Naturally, his arms and upper body followed, overlapping on top of Yerena. Under the pressure of the man pressing down on her, Yerena had to stop struggling and focus on breathing.

“Is someone there……”

As Yerena’s fierce resistance disappeared, Hayden slightly turned his head back to call the maids who would be outside. And at that moment, he noticed a man standing motionless like a statue. Hayden called out to him in a slightly surprised tone.

“……Your Highness?”

* * *

The room where Yerena was confined was small but had enough space as it was designed for guests. However, as soon as Roshan crossed the threshold, the room seemed full and stuffy.

It wasn’t just because of his large build. A strange, indescribable atmosphere heightened the tension and made the air in the room feel heavy.

Hayden, who had been pressing down on Yerena, unconsciously swallowed hard and froze when he met those red eyes. Then, belatedly realizing that his current posture might cause misunderstanding, he quickly removed himself from Yerena. However, his flustered appearance made him look even more suspicious.

“Th-that……”

Hayden, guilty for no clear reason, was about to offer an excuse when Roshan quietly raised a hand to stop him. Only then did Hayden notice his lord’s gaze had passed right over him. He turned to follow it—and saw Yerena, now sitting and panting.

“You……”

She couldn’t see his face or hear his voice. But Yerena clearly sensed Roshan’s presence. There was only one person in this palace who would be called “Your Highness” by imperial knights. The leader of the invaders. The one who trampled her homeland, slew her brothers, and killed her parents. The black monster from that day.

‘Roshan Vistius!’

Hatred surged at the thought that he was standing before her—but fear quickly overwhelmed it. Her body trembled uncontrollably. The memory of the man who had led the countless soldiers outside the palace, who had shattered the barrier she thought unbreakable—that fear seized her. Yerena eventually turned pale, shook, lowered her head, and struggled to breathe.

Hell enveloped her, waiting for this moment. The stench of blood came from every direction, and the sweat from her tension and the tears on her cheeks felt like thick, sticky blood. It was like she had fallen into a pool of it.

“Ugh.”