But that day, why had he happened to pass by there? The harem was quiet with all the Emperor’s children dead. When he went to the well feeling thirsty, he met someone.

[“…Who are you?”]

Silver hair sparkled in the sunlight. Though skinny, those amethyst eyes were full of life.

‘Who is this? This beautiful child…’

Could there still be a sibling he hadn’t killed? As he approached, the child fearlessly stared at his face.

Seeing the worn clothes, he thought the child might belong to a maid.

Her hair shimmered more brightly than his other siblings’. It looked like spun silver threads. Though silver hair was supposedly common in this country, he didn’t have it.

‘Damn it. If I had silver hair, I wouldn’t have needed to kill my siblings.’

No. He would have eliminated them anyway. They would certainly have blocked his path in the future. Power fractured with each prince. Better to have none at all. They were both siblings and enemies. But…

‘Perhaps I could keep one child like this by my side?’

Though they looked similar, this child couldn’t be of royal blood. He had never seen royalty wearing such shabby clothes.

‘Come to think of it, did that child I met in the maze garden die?’

Hector shook his head, thinking of the child from his dim memories. There would be no end to searching for the previous Emperor’s hidden children.

They might have been killed by other siblings before he found them. Hector stared blankly at Evelyn’s hair.

[“What a mysterious color.”]

Pretty now, but likely to become even more beautiful with age. She had looks worthy of keeping as a concubine. For a maid, this would be a stroke of fortune.

Footsteps sounded from behind. Having slipped away from his attendants, it seemed they had found him.

‘This works out well. I’ll take this child.’

Take her and keep her close immediately. She would grow more beautiful as an adult, and he couldn’t let anyone else have her.

As Hector looked at her with satisfaction, the child fidgeted uncomfortably.

He wanted to tell her not to fear him. Though he had ordered his siblings killed, he hadn’t done it personally.

Why would he bloody his own hands when he had knights?

[“Nice to meet you, Brother.”]

But the child’s words shocked him.

Brother? Only then did he remember the commoner-born consort rejected by his father and locked in the Cold Palace with her daughter.

Yes. It was time to kill this child too. No one with the previous Emperor’s blood could be allowed to live. Because he didn’t share that bloodline.

Emerging from his reminiscence, Hector looked at the hall where music already played for the party. Today Evelyn wore a snow-white dress. He closed his eyes, suddenly imagining how her skin would look if he tore that dress.

That was all. He wouldn’t act on it.

‘As long as I’m Emperor, Evelyn will forever be my half-sister.’

Hector entered the hall where the party had begun. A line of attendants already trailed behind him.

“His Imperial Majesty has arrived!”

As the attendant announced loudly, people parted before Hector. At the end of that path, Evelyn stood with her head bowed. He walked toward her, head held stiffly high. Since childhood, he had only one goal.

To become Emperor.

* * *

Bright red wine splashed onto Evelyn’s snow-white dress. The person who spilled it was Nora Sutton. The haughty daughter of the Sutton Count family merely watched as maids cleaned Evelyn’s dress. When her eyes met Evelyn’s, she smiled apologetically.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, Your Highness… I didn’t do it on purpose. Should I perhaps compensate you for the dress?”

Evelyn looked at her dress. She had already found the white color uncomfortable, so this seemed like a fortunate accident. But compensation? What did this mere Count’s daughter think of royalty?

“Indeed. How much compensation will you offer?”

Normally, nobles didn’t accept compensation in such cases. Nora had likely spoken lightly, thinking the same. She looked somewhat taken aback.

“Pardon? Ah… Then I’ll bring you an identical dress.”

“That’s not enough. Perhaps if you offered a mansion…”

“…What?”

The nobles listening to their conversation began to whisper.

“What’s going on?”

“Shh. The Count of Sutton’s daughter spilled wine on Her Highness’s dress.”

“What?”

With everyone watching, Nora had nowhere to retreat. The nobles sympathized with Evelyn, who would soon leave the country. Everyone acknowledged that Evelyn was the previous Emperor’s child, though they didn’t show it in front of the current Emperor.

Those who picked fights with Evelyn openly sided with the Emperor. They served Emperor Hector and antagonized Evelyn. However, tormenting a princess already arranged to marry into another country made others frown.

Nora glanced at another noblewoman while hiding her face behind a fan. This woman was the mastermind who had orchestrated everything without revealing herself. She had been sitting on a sofa, but stood up when Nora approached. Then she raised her hand and slapped Nora’s cheek hard.

“Ack!”

As Nora clutched her cheek and staggered, the woman grabbed her wrist and stood before Evelyn.

“…Nora Sutton has been quite rude. But Your Highness, demanding a mansion for such a small mistake shows a lack of generosity.”

“Is that so?”

Evelyn took a wine glass from a passing servant. Then she splashed it onto Louisa Harper’s dress. The wine soaked into Louisa’s white dress.

“I just made a small mistake too. Unlike me, Louisa must be generous enough to forgive it, right?”

The corner of Louisa’s mouth twitched slightly. She smiled with a sour expression.

“O-of course.”

“Then I must forgive as well. Louisa has set a good example.”

“Ha… ha.”

Watching Louisa laugh, Evelyn left the hall. Nora, holding her reddened cheek, watched Louisa cautiously.

“Lady Louisa, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. But…”

Louisa nodded toward the red dress Nora wore. She looked down at Nora arrogantly and said:

“Miss Nora? Earlier at the party, you said my dress was so pretty you wanted to wear it, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“I’ll give you the opportunity. Let’s switch.”

Nora compared Louisa’s dress to her own with an incredulous expression. She had ordered a very expensive dress in case she might dance with the Emperor today.

While the Sutton Count family ranked below Louisa’s family, they had abundant wealth. Her dress was far more expensive than Louisa’s.

“A-alright.”

But Nora nodded because she was too afraid of Louisa. Louisa Harper was one of the leading candidates to become Empress, so there was no need to get on her bad side. Nora reluctantly exchanged dresses with Louisa.

Meanwhile, Evelyn, still wearing the wine-splattered dress, had gone out to the garden again. Though she had plenty of dresses to change into at the palace, using this excuse to leave the hall felt more comfortable. Evelyn lay on a cold bench, looking up at the sky.

Just then, a dark shadow fell over her. A familiar man’s face looked down at her. His face was so close their noses nearly touched.

“…What are you doing here? The main character.”

The man with bright red hair and blue eyes had his hands behind his back, but his eyes devoured her. He flicked out his tongue and licked Evelyn’s nose and tightly closed lips.

“Stop. You’re just like a dog…”

As Evelyn’s lips parted, the man’s tongue entered her mouth. He frantically captured her tongue and explored it. The act continued until Evelyn pushed his face away. Evelyn raised her upper body and glared at the man.

“What are you doing, Andrew? Molesting me here could be dangerous, you know?”