“Carlo left for the Cerclezia Empire? Without saying a word?”

Carlo was the only person Theodore could truly call a friend.

And yet, one morning, he was simply gone—vanished from the empire without a trace, leaving behind no message, no explanation.

Carlo, the powerful heir of a prestigious ducal family, had always held a special place in Theodore’s life. They had grown up together, more like brothers than friends—but what truly bound them was the pain they shared.

Just as Carlo’s mother had died under false accusations, Theodore’s own mother had been forced to take her life after being branded a poisoner. Both had been victims of cruel lies.

That shared wound and thirst for vengeance had made them inseparable. So when Carlo suddenly turned his back on him as though they were strangers, the sense of loss left a bitter scar that time could not erase.

In the treacherous, desire-ridden world of high society, Theodore had lost the only person he could trust—the one friend who had understood him. The emptiness of being left behind, without even knowing why, was crushing.

But more than anything, it had come right after the death of his young sister, Laila. That made the parting unbearable—and the healing, painfully slow.

‘When I go to the Cerclezia Empire this time, I have to see Carlo.’

He needed to know why Carlo had gone there—and why he had cut off all contact.

As that grim resolve settled in his eyes, a silky voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes, Your Highness. You must be very careful on your journey. The road to Cerclezia can be treacherous.”

At Scarlet’s pointed remark, Theodore’s gaze darkened further.

‘That’s the face of someone who wishes I were dead. Of course—you’d love nothing more than to k*ll me and hand the crown prince’s seat to your own son.’

At Scarlet’s shameless smile, Theodore nearly lost control of himself.

‘But it won’t be that easy. I’ll survive—long enough to expose the crime that drove my mother to her unjust death.’

He smiled faintly as he looked at Scarlet—the very woman responsible for his mother’s downfall. It was she who had framed his mother for poisoning and forced her to die without a shred of dignity.

The only reason he could stand before her now without breaking was because of the promise of revenge.

“I’ll be sure to remember Her Majesty the Empress’s words.”

He was no longer the same Theodore who once trembled before her threats.

‘Back then, I was powerless against your schemes. But not anymore. I’ve spent all these years sharpening my blade for the day I destroy you.’

While Scarlet busied herself tightening her grip over the court, Theodore had been quietly building his own network of power—biding his time, waiting for the moment to strike. And when that moment came, he would make certain her sins were laid bare before the world.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Bidding the weary emperor to rest, Theodore stepped out of the chamber and placed a hand over his heart as he looked out the window.

“Phew…”

Whenever Theodore thought of Carlo, there was always one child who came to mind—
the imperial princess who had died alone, locked away in the detached palace six years ago.

Laila Adelina.

Theodore’s mind replayed that horrific day as if it were burned into his memory.

— “Fire! Fire!!”

Flames raged at the farthest corner of the Adelina Imperial Palace. No one in the palace knew where it had started or how the entire annex had become engulfed in fire so suddenly.

— “W-Where’s the Princess?!”

At last, a knight who was supposed to guard the detached palace shouted in panic.

— “D*mn it! Water! Bring water, now!”

The palace servants, who should have been attending to the young princess, were thrown into chaos.

If they had cared for her properly, things would never have come to this.
The little princess wouldn’t have been trapped inside that blazing palace, devoured by merciless flames.

Only then did the servants realize the weight of their cruelty.

— “Why bother feeding a half-blood princess anyway? Just ignore her.”
— “Sick again? Pathetic. With that weak body of hers… guess the maid’s blood really does show.”

A maid’s blood. A half-blood princess. The shame of the empire.
Those were the words branded upon her name.

With no attendant to stoke her fire, the young princess shivered in the cold, clutching her empty stomach while the servants left her behind with only a chilling smile—and a locked door.

That fragile child endured it all alone: the scorn, the mockery, the unbearable loneliness.

Crash!

While the palace staff panicked, the detached palace collapsed, swallowed whole by the raging flames.

Only then, faced with the deafening roar and the sight of the burning ruin, did the onlookers realize what had happened—
that the Adelina Empire’s only princess, unloved simply because her mother had once been a maid, had just died.

At merely eleven years old.

That was how the princess perished.

And the very next day, an unthinkable rumor spread through the palace.

They said the young princess had tried to poison the emperor—
that her death had been punishment for her crime.

But Theodore never believed it.

— “Her Majesty the Empress, Scarlet, abused the princess.”
— “Because the Empress despised her, the palace staff followed suit. She was treated worse than a commoner… and in the end…”

The princess had been a child who couldn’t even protect herself.
She had barely survived the cruel *buse at Empress Scarlet’s hands—so to call it poisoning?
Any sane person would see this for what it was: a plot to murder Laila.

But the emperor remained indifferent, and the nobles, eager to stay in the Empress’s favor, joined in vilifying the dead girl—exactly as they had when his mother was framed and driven to her death.

‘Phew.’

He closed his eyes against the rush of anger and pain and let out a heavy, ragged breath.

Because his mother had come from a powerless noble house, she had been forced to endure Empress Scarlet’s cruelty.
And because his sister had been born a “half-blood,” Laila had suffered the same fate.

“I will never forgive her.”

Theodore never forgot that all of it—every tragedy—had been Scarlet’s doing, born from her fear that her own sins might one day be exposed.

Even if it cost him his soul, he would see her crimes brought to light.

“If that child were alive… what would she look like now?”

Bitterness and guilt twisted deep within him—the anguish of not having protected her.

‘How much pain did she endure, all alone, with no one to help her? In those flames… how much did she suffer?’

Though they had different mothers—his from a noble family, hers a palace maid—Theodore had cherished Laila as his own blood.
He had watched her lose her mother at birth, only to be shunned by their father, and often wondered what sin she could have committed to deserve such cruelty from the world.

‘That’s why I wanted to protect her… to treasure her until the end.’

He could still see her in his mind—Laila toddling toward him, smiling as she took his hand.

It was here, in this very corridor, that she had first called him brother.
Overwhelmed by joy, he had held her in his arms and wept.

Now, in the same corridor that held those beautiful, happy memories, Theodore stood alone.

‘If I hadn’t left the palace back then… could I have protected Lea?’

If only he had refused Empress Scarlet’s offer. Because Theodore was bright and quick to learn, Scarlet had persuaded the emperor to send him to the academy. It was tradition for members of the imperial household to attend the academy, so Theodore had no practical way to refuse her suggestion.

Scarlet had argued—cunningly—that if he graduated early he could begin his crown-prince instruction sooner. The emperor agreed, and Theodore was sent to the academy two years ahead of schedule.

During the five years he was trapped in the academy, little Laila—only six years old—was left to endure *buse. If he’d been wiser, could he have shielded his sister from that cruelty? He hated himself for assuming she would be fine. How could he not have known the agony she suffered for so long? Even if she was the daughter of a maid, he’d imagined she would live happily as a princess. He never expected that the moment he left the palace, the empress’s cruelty and the nobles’ scorn would fall upon her.

“Your injustice, your pain… I have not forgotten. I will repay it.”

His vow was both revenge and atonement for a sister who had died in misery.

***

It was early morning, and the streets were still quiet.
A knight with bright orange hair tied neatly back walked through the capital’s main boulevard.
Tall and broad-shouldered, with a long sword at his side, his steps carried an air of calm confidence.

His skin was lightly tanned, and his brows were dark and sharp—but his eyes, full of mischief, gleamed with clarity and depth.

‘His Highness, Crown Prince Theodore, is set to arrive in the Cerclezia Empire next week… I suppose I’ll just observe the situation for now.’

Even as he quickly organized his thoughts, the man offered a charming smile to every woman who passed by.

With his tall, athletic build, it was no wonder women turned to look. He was Nathan Riot—Theodore’s trusted friend and personal knight.

His easy grin, deep enough to reveal a dimple, softened the chiseled lines of his face and melted hearts wherever he went. Unfortunately, that smile carried little meaning behind it.

Having arrived in the Cerclezia Empire ahead of Theodore, Nathan strode past the glancing women and made his way toward the busiest part of the city.

‘Where people gather, so does information.’

Though he looked every bit the carefree wanderer, Nathan was faithfully carrying out the secret orders Theodore had entrusted to him.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

He approached a man standing in line outside a shop.

“Is this bakery really that famous? It’s still early, yet the line’s already so long.”

“You must not be from around here. This is the most popular bakery in all of Cerclezia. If you don’t get in line now, you won’t get a single thing! So hurry and queue up.”

“Ah, I see.”

He didn’t think it was worth the trouble, but decided to follow the man’s advice and joined the line.
Well—starting the morning with a good pastry didn’t sound so bad.

‘Hm?’

As Nathan idly stood in line, his gaze drifted about—then suddenly stopped.

‘That woman…’

A young woman was sitting by the fountain nearby. Her long, golden hair swayed gently in the breeze, and her clear eyes shone against her fair skin. She was so striking that it was impossible to look away.

But it wasn’t her beauty that made Nathan’s heart tremble.

‘She looks… just like Her Highness.’

The resemblance was uncanny—so much so that the image of his first love, the late Princess Laila, rushed back to him all at once. No matter how hard he had tried to forget her, he never could.

‘No… it can’t be. Princess Laila is dead. There’s no way…’

Even so, Nathan couldn’t tear his eyes away from the woman sitting by the fountain.