“It’s called ‘Reit.’”

At that moment, the girl felt as if the sky was collapsing. Setting aside the arrogance of offering a similar-sounding name, the idea that her father would make such a kind request of a mere nanny was absurd.

It had to be a command. A command to poison her master with this herb. And Ellie had obeyed—the person who had raised her since infancy, always by her side.

The girl bit her lip, fighting back tears. It was better for blood to spill than tears.

She straightened her back and squared her shoulders to ensure she wouldn’t be underestimated. And to expel the person closest to her all this time.

“Is that so? It sounds quite similar to a poisonous herb I know of.”

Ellie flinched and began trembling. In a calm but detached voice, the girl continued.

“A tea this good shouldn’t be enjoyed alone. Why don’t you try some?”

“I-I couldn’t possibly…”

“Why not? Can’t you drink it?”

The girl’s voice was devoid of emotion, pressing Ellie further. Ellie looked into the girl’s eyes, searching for an appeal or an excuse. In that instant, Ellie realized she had made a grave mistake.

The girl’s golden eyes gleamed with an unapproachable aura of authority. Despite being only ten years old, her presence was overwhelming. Ellie couldn’t muster words, paralyzed like a mouse before a lion. Even knowing the lion wouldn’t eat her, she couldn’t move. Faced with the girl’s relentless pursuit of the truth, Ellie was utterly powerless.

Pale and trembling, Ellie inadvertently opened her mouth. The oppressive weight bearing down on her made it impossible to remain silent.

“Your Highness, I… I only…”

But she couldn’t bring herself to continue. She had fed, clothed, and carried this child for ten years. To this child, she was closer than a mother. She should have been someone the girl could trust. Yet here she was, betraying that trust.

Ellie fell to her knees on the ground. She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she had been poisoning the girl all along. Tears streamed down her face as the weight of her actions sank in. But her realization had come too late.

“Were you going to say you had no choice because my father ordered you to?”

“…”

“Well, that must have been hard for you.”

The girl picked up the teacup from the table and poured it over Ellie. There was a brief gasp, then silence. Ellie knelt on the garden grass, gripping it tightly as she trembled.

“How dare you serve me such tea?”

Having emptied the cup entirely over Ellie, the girl dropped it. The delicate, finely crafted cup shattered into pieces.

“How dare you…”

“I was wrong, Your Highness. I’m so sorry.”

Ellie knelt and pleaded, her hands pressed together in supplication. The girl stared down at her, her expression unchanged.

Ten years. For ten years, Ellie had been more of a family to her than her mother. They had done everything together. Ellie had taught her many things, and in this palace devoid of allies, Ellie had been her sole support. She had never doubted her, never even considered the possibility. Ellie was one of the few people she held dear.

But perhaps even that had been foolish. Had she lived in denial, shutting her eyes to the truth all along?

The girl suddenly felt a sense of revulsion toward her continued existence. If only the poison had killed her outright, she wouldn’t have had to endure this moment.

Her golden eyes grew colder, drained of emotion. Even she found her gaze chilling.

“No, it wasn’t a mistake. You did it on purpose.”

Indeed, whether it was a command, coercion, or something else, Ellie had driven a knife into the girl’s back. Ellie’s betrayal was a declaration. She was never indeed on the girl’s side.

‘In this palace, everyone belongs to Father. From the beginning, there was no one on my side.’ The girl came to this realization. It was a harsh truth for a ten-year-old to grasp.

“Your Highness, please, have mercy…”

The girl let out a sharp, derisive snort. She could feel the weight of every gaze; they all turned toward her, suffocating the room. Every single one of them was Father’s people.

The girl straightened her shoulders, pulled her chin in, and faced forward. Then, a chillingly cold laugh escaped her lips.

She could not afford to show weakness. Weakness meant death. She could not falter here.

“Do you dare ask me for mercy?”

“…”

“You dare desire something you should not?”

Crunch. The girl’s shoe crushed a shard of broken glass underfoot. The sound of the glass grinding into dust echoed ominously in her ears, but it also reassured her. It meant she was doing well.

“All of this is my fault. Please, spare my life…”

Ellie clung to the hem of the girl’s dress, begging. The girl looked down at Ellie, her expression devoid of warmth, her eyes icy.

The nanny, her face streaked with tears. The nanny who cared for her diligently cherished her like her child. The nanny who, on Father’s orders, had tried to kill her.

There was no falsehood in any of it. The girl understood this. Ellie was just like so many others—someone with a faint, indistinct light, moderately diligent, moderately cowardly. Thinking of her this way made it easier to accept the betrayal. That’s simply the kind of person she was. There was no need to tremble with rage over it. It was not worth her attention; no more than the feeling of being trapped alone in a deep abyss was worth her energy.

Everyone, or rather her Father’s eyes, was watching her. What she needed to do was clear.

“How dare you touch me.”

“Pardon?”

The girl snapped, striking away the hand clutching her dress. Ellie’s hand, flung aside so mercilessly, trembled as though unable to believe the reality of it. Seeing this, the girl felt reassured once again. I’m doing well.

“So, you do fear for your life.”

The girl smirked, the corner of her lips curling in derision. At that moment, she found the situation genuinely laughable. The nanny who betrayed her to save her own life and herself, who so readily discarded the nanny for the same reason.

Why must living be such a humiliating endeavor? Why must the will to survive be so utterly ridiculous?

At that moment, the girl noticed Ellie’s feeble hand clutching a few strands of grass. She looked down at Ellie, who wasn’t meeting her gaze but seemed to wish only for this ordeal to end. And the girl, too, desperately wanted this to end. In this, their feelings aligned perfectly. A self-deprecating smile played on her lips. Perhaps it was because they had shared countless moments of mutual understanding; even at the end, they found themselves aligned.

Dispelling her thoughts, the girl moved quickly to execute the bond between herself and the nanny.

“What are you doing?”

She turned her head sharply toward the nearest attendant, her voice icy. Though the attendant was some distance away, her voice was terrifyingly clear. The attendant, silently watching the scene unfold, stammered in response.

“Pardon? I-I beg your pardon?”

“Why have you not thrown her out yet?”

“Your Highness…”

Ellie called out to her softly, almost inaudibly. It would likely be the last conversation they ever shared. The girl glanced briefly at Ellie. Her resigned eyes held neither resentment for the situation nor gratitude for being spared. The girl found it strangely fitting that this was Ellie’s final expression toward her. How absurdly appropriate.

“Never let me see you again.”

Ellie said nothing. The attendants, supporting her weakly sobbing form from either side, led her away. The girl did not look back. She stared straight ahead until the restless murmuring quieted, and silence descended. With everyone’s pitying gazes focused on Ellie as she was dragged away, no one paid the girl any attention. Even so, she didn’t blink once.

It was then that the boy came into view. His radiant brilliance was unlike anything she had ever seen. For a moment, it was blinding.

A bright smile unwittingly spread across her face. She felt as though she might cry like someone trapped in a collapsed cave who suddenly discovered a small opening to the outside.

Yes. I have someone. Someone I found myself. My knight was unwavering even against Father’s commands. My hope shone endlessly through these wretched days.

The girl raised her hand high and waved to her savior, who would help her endure this hell.

“Lord Effenberg!”

Her steps toward the boy were both buoyant and desperate. With each step, she erased the horrors of what had just occurred from her mind. It was the only way she could bear it. The only way she could speak was as though nothing had happened.

“You’re late today.”

Her voice carried a subtle tone of reproach, born of disappointment. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself.

If only we could spend the whole day together. Even if we don’t walk through this hell side by side, as long as you’re by my side. That alone is enough.

“I saw you just yesterday.”

The boy’s cold reply struck her like a blade to the heart. Don’t be like this to me. Not you. She pleaded silently, forcing the brightest smile she could muster.

“Yes, but still…”

She knew her feelings for him were selfish. But she couldn’t stop herself. He was her one and only. Her treasure. The only person she had ever found for herself. The only one who was indeed hers. At her young age, she didn’t yet understand what it meant to pour all her emotions into someone. Nor did she have the capacity to bear the weight of it.

“What is it?”

The boy’s stiff, formal tone was like a wall between them. It was a question she couldn’t answer. What could she say? 

That her father had ordered her nanny to poison her? The boy didn’t need to know such a terrible truth. If she told him that her father was trying to kill her, she feared she wouldn’t be able to bear his reaction, no matter what it was. Even if he offered to walk through this hell with her, she felt she couldn’t endure it. All the more so if he did.

The reason was simple: the boy was precious to her. He was the only precious thing left to her, and because of that, just as she had done with everyone else, she couldn’t say anything to him. The boy should not have to walk through hell with her. He was the one person she had to protect.

That left only one option. The girl composed herself to lie to the most important person in her life. Her voice was light, just like any other child of her age.

“She brought me a tea I don’t like.”