Chapter 1: God’s Will (3)

After a short drought, a typhoon swept through. As the once promising crops were devastated by the storm, the anger of the imperial citizens grew.

Their resentment knew no bounds, escalating to the point where they demanded the burning of the witch believed to have caused the famine.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was being referred to as the ‘witch hiding in the palace.’

Rumors were circulating about my father, the Duke of Sossilion, manipulating me into becoming a saint and orchestrating a farce with the priests at the central temple to satisfy his lust for power.

“Your Majesty, I have something to ask of you.”

I bowed my head meekly toward Sua.

“I humbly request this of you. Please, send me back to the dukedom..”

To dispel the baseless rumors surrounding my father, I needed to leave the palace grounds as soon as possible.

“So, you’re that desperate to leave?”

“If returning to my family is not agreeable, then I’ll go to another country and live in hiding, like someone who died alone. Please, please, just cast me out of the palace…”

“If you’re that eager to leave, why don’t you give it a lick? Let’s see just how desperate you really are.”

As she rose from her seat, she walked across the garden with pristine shoes untouched by even a speck of dirt. In an instant, she thrust her immaculate shoe, now caked in mud, right in front of my face.

“Why, can’t do it? So that’s how it is for you.”

Physically repulsed, I fought back the urge to vomit. But with my eyes closed, I saw my father’s tender smile and the estate of the duchy. Yes, for my father’s sake…

Like a beast, I crawled on all fours, extending my tongue. Tears streamed down my face, overwhelmed by shame.

“You really were going to lick it? You’re quite something! Ahaha!”

She raised the tip of her shoe and mercilessly struck down on my left cheek. In that instant, my flesh turned into a rag soaked with the bitter taste of blood.

“Stop. Please.”

As I touched my dirt-stained cheek, Sua laughed heartily, wagging her finger.

“Stop? What should I stop?”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

What could you possibly gain from pushing me this far? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand her.

“If you’re curious, I’ll tell you. I hate you like crazy. I hate pretending to be a saint for a year in your place, and I hate being compared to you!”

My mind reeled as I looked at her. All this time, she had condemned me over such petty reasons.

“To me, you seem clueless. You’re just a fake saint, and your father is a fool trying to pass you off as the real deal.”

Mocking my innocent father by calling him a fraud—did she have to stoop that low?

“No.”

My father had even begged the temple authorities not to make me a saint. Yet, Reverend Revencio, the head priest, branded him a blasphemer.

“What are you muttering? Speak up.”

“My father is not someone you can speak of so disrespectfully!”

I don’t know what possessed me to raise my voice like that. It was the first time I had ever confronted her so boldly. After the words left my mouth, fear engulfed me more than relief.

“Why shouldn’t I speak freely? I am a real saint, the mother of the empire, unlike you, aren’t I?”

Her condescending and mocking gaze sent shivers down my spine. Was this grotesque figure really the embodiment of a saint, appointed by the gods?

“…You’re the fake one.”

My mind was in turmoil. I regretted my words almost immediately after they left my mouth.

“…Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

I was speechless at Sua’s question. Suddenly, her hand pressed against her throat, squeezing tightly. The pressure was intense, turning her face crimson and saliva pooling at the corners of her mouth.

In the bewildering moment that unfolded before my eyes, I could do nothing but stand there, stunned, unable to intervene.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Sua’s body began convulsing violently. I rushed forward to stop her, but she collapsed to the ground, her eyes rolling back.

Soon after, her attendants and guards rushed in. By the time they arrived, the tea table was in disarray, and she lay on the ground, clutching her throat. The red marks left by her fingers were stark against her pale skin.

“The Duchess attempted to assassinate Her Majesty the Empress!”

In an instant, I had fallen from being the Empress’s trusted companion to a suspect in her attempted murder. Looking down at her motionless form on the garden floor, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Without a chance to offer an explanation, I was swiftly dragged away to the underground dungeon. In the sunless confines of the cell, I waited desperately for Victor.

He would believe in my innocence without a shadow of doubt. He would see the tear stains on my cheeks and envelop me in his unwavering embrace. That’s what I believed with every fiber of my being.

After a long wait, Victor, whom I had been eagerly awaiting, burst into the underground cell as if to break down the door.

At the sight of his face, which I hadn’t seen in so long, a faint smile crept onto my lips involuntarily. But before I could even exchange greetings, his violent grip seized my hair, wrenching it painfully.

“Victor! Ah, it hurts!”

As my scalp tightened painfully, tears welled up in my eyes.

“How dare you!”

His once sharp eyes, now clouded with madness like Reverend Father Revencio’s, glared at me with a venomous gaze.

Though his fiery red hair and stoic voice remained the same, the unsettling glare of madness in his eyes felt utterly unfamiliar. It was as if he had shed his human skin and revealed the savage beneath.

“How dare you try to overthrow me when it’s I who rightfully sits on this throne!”

He roared like a wild beast, baring his fangs. Was this the same man who once swore eternal allegiance to me?

“’You attempted to assassinate the Empress of the Empire, so you shall receive the punishment befitting such an act. The same goes for your audacious father.”

From then on, I endured hellish days. Every day, my flesh was torn, and my nails ripped out. Victor personally branded the mark of a sinner onto my back, causing my flesh to rot and emit a putrid smell.

Eventually, my once fair skin became so mangled that it hardly resembled human flesh. My body, tortured relentlessly, became infested with maggots as sores erupted and burst with pus. I had no strength left even to groan in agony.

 A single ray of sunlight filtered through the tiny window of the cell, reaching out desperately for a glimpse of warmth on the cold floor.

“’…I must be trapped in a never-ending nightmare. When I open my eyes, it will all be a dream. He’ll greet me in the morning with the same affectionate gaze as before.”

[I won’t leave you alone. Wherever you go, I’ll go with you, my lady.]

I clung to Victor’s words, trying desperately to deny reality. In the distant past, with his hair like autumn leaves, his gentle touch on my cheek, and promises of eternity.