Srrk―.

The ribbon slid smoothly under Carlos’s touch, and the fabric that barely supported her bosom fell away.

The moment her porcelain-like white skin caught his eye, a heaviness stirred within him.

Just as his hand, losing restraint, was about to delve between the parted fabric, it suddenly stopped.

After hesitating for a moment, his hand finally withdrew. His gaze lingered on Ines’s chest. The white skin, subtly revealed through the loosened ribbon, continuously tempted him.

Tsk.

Carlos averted his gaze and covered Ines’s body with the blanket. He let out an irritated sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Haah…”

What had he been thinking, considering doing something to someone who had collapsed? Carlos clicked his tongue at his own vulgarity and stood up.

There was nothing beneficial about staying in this room. Remaining here would only ensure the old woman’s words continued to haunt him.

Before leaving, Carlos glanced down at Ines’s sleeping face once more. The woman, breathing evenly without a clue of what he had almost done, looked innocent.

He let out another low sigh and rose from his seat. Without hesitation, he left the sleeping Ines and exited the room. How much time had passed since Carlos left?

Ines began to have a nightmare.

A nightmare of that terrible night she had buried long ago.

* * *

It had been four years ago.

Unlike today, Ines was a beautiful woman receiving everyone’s congratulations.

She was at the engagement ceremony with the brother of the man she loved. Ines hid her emotions and adorned herself with a plausible smile, becoming Joseph’s fiancée. And that night…

‘From the start, you and that Carlos weren’t meant to be, Ines.’

Joseph, who had entered the room silently, spoke as he stroked Ines’s face. Like the other nobles of Tezever, Joseph despised illegitimate children.

Perhaps because of this, he often said such things even after their marriage was arranged.

‘You weren’t suited for Carlos, the bastard, but for me.’

Ines looked at Joseph’s face. His golden hair sparkled like gold, and his green eyes seemed to hold the lushness of nature. Unlike Carlos, he had a gentle appearance.

People used to gather and say: From the beginning, Ines, the legitimate daughter of the Claudia family, wasn’t suited for the king’s illegitimate son with a lowly slave mother.

They said she was a bride more suited for his brother, Joseph, and blessed their engagement, claiming everything had returned to its rightful place.

‘W-wait a minute, Joseph.’

‘We’re going to be married anyway, so there’s no harm in being together a little early.’

As Joseph tried to force himself on Ines, he suddenly stopped as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

It was the moment a secret unknown to others was revealed. In truth, I…

‘What is this?’

The fact that she wasn’t the legitimate daughter of the Claudia family. Joseph’s hand paused as he was undressing Ines. Then, as if sensing something wrong, he suddenly tore her clothes forcefully.

Her back, hunched over and trembling, was fully exposed.

‘What are these scars…’

Joseph frowned as if he had seen something horrific. Soon, as he closely examined the scars on Ines’s body, he let out a hollow laugh.

‘What? The most precious jewel of the Claudia family?’

His voice twisted.

‘They dared to deceive me?’

Simultaneously, Joseph roughly grabbed Ines by the hair.

‘Vulgar woman.’

Joseph was perceptive. He immediately understood Ines’s situation upon seeing the distinct scars on her back. The realization struck him that Ines was not the cherished princess of the duke’s family as everyone believed.

He also quickly comprehended why she had been treated this way by the duke’s family.

‘So, you were an illegitimate child?’

Ines tightly closed her eyes. She had been exposed as not being the duchess’s daughter. As her husband’s growling voice reached her, her father’s warning echoed in her mind.

‘You must never be found out.’

Ines felt a searing pain as if her scalp was being torn and questioned inwardly.

But father, how could I not be discovered?

My back is covered with scars from the whippings you gave me.

‘So that’s why you were hanging around with Carlos. I wondered how you could associate with someone so beneath you.’

Joseph tightened his grip on Ines’s hair. A pained groan escaped her lips.

‘You were drawn to him because he was like you.’

He coldly scanned Ines’s scarred body.

‘Still, how dare you present this ruined body to me?!’

She never thought she could hide it. Yet, she hoped that since he was Carlos’s brother, he might not resort to violence even if he found out. Carlos had always been so gentle. But…

Smack―!

Everything defied her expectations. She fell helplessly to the floor under the man’s brutal slap.

As Joseph approached the fallen Ines, he began rolling up his sleeves.

‘Let me show you how bastards should be dealt with.’

The man’s large shadow engulfed the fallen Ines. It was a night from hell.

* * *

“Haah, haah…”

Ines jolted awake from her dream. Her dress felt sticky against her sweat-drenched body.

She took deep breaths and slowly looked around. The familiar furniture and surroundings confirmed she was in her room.

‘I was definitely at the banquet hall…’

Confronted with the unexpected situation, she tried to recall her memories. Then she realized she had lost consciousness at the banquet.

‘I must have fainted.’

Ines wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. The moment she realized even Carlos wouldn’t help her, her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

She had experienced similar suffocating feelings when mentally overwhelmed, but losing consciousness was a first.

“Haah…”

How pathetic she must have looked. Now there was one more thing for people to gossip about.

Ines let out another short sigh and recalled the nightmare she had just experienced. To dream about that day she never wanted to remember again… Even though it had been four years, the events of that day remained vivid.

Her body began to shiver once more. Hugging herself with her arms, Ines curled up. Ines’s biological mother had been a maid to the Duchess of Claudia.

Long ago, the young maid, having been assaulted by Duke Claudia, gave birth to Ines.

Duke Claudia presented Ines to the world as his legitimate daughter, yet secretly despised the fact that he had fathered an illegitimate child. He was ashamed simply by the existence of a bastard among his bloodline.

And all that anger and hatred were directed solely at Ines. Back then, he probably never considered making her a queen.

Duke Claudia often talked about dressing Ines up appropriately and selling her off at a high price to an old noble. That was until her ‘abilities’ manifested.

Reflecting on the past for a moment, Ines got up and slowly made her way to the bathroom.

Once there, she began to undress from her sweat-soaked clothes.

One by one.

As each piece of clothing fell to the ground, her white skin shimmered in the moonlight.

Her skin was white and soft, yet marred with whip marks. Without thinking of changing into fresh clothes, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Previously, with the maid assigned by the Claudia family, she had no reservations about showing the scars on her body.

But now, all those maids had been purged or expelled from the palace. So, those around Ines were all Carlos’s people.

‘How long can I keep this hidden?’

Before putting on her wedding dress, she wore thin underwear, so the maids hadn’t yet seen her bare skin. She refused help with bathing for the same reason, ensuring no one had seen her n*ked.

But she wasn’t sure how long she could keep it hidden.

Ines’s eyes sank into darkness.

‘You always seem to shine, Ines. More noble than anything in this world.’

“I’m not noble, Carlos.”

The noble woman you loved, Ines Claudia, never existed. There was only Ines, pretending to be noble.

It didn’t matter if the maids knew. Knowing wouldn’t change her situation, and it would only become gossip. But if that news reached Carlos’s ears?

Ines clenched her fists.

‘I don’t want to be discovered.’

By anyone else, it didn’t matter, but to Carlos, she absolutely didn’t want to be found out.