Chapter 1 (Part 1)

Once, she had lived a life envied by others.  

It was a time when she was far more innocent and foolish than she was now. Celestia had been born as the precious youngest daughter of the Earl of Danverton and had lived a life without want.  

The Danverton family had not been a noble household from the start. Celestia’s father, Joseph Danverton, had originally been an ordinary merchant in the Kingdom of Panien. He owned a trading company named after himself, but its scale was small. At that time, he was a commoner without any title.  

The revival of her father’s trading company had begun around the time Celestia was five or six years old. After her mother passed away shortly after giving birth to her, Joseph Danverton devoted himself to his business, and the trading company achieved unprecedented success.  

In truth, that success was not due to Joseph Danverton’s abilities but rather an unexpected stroke of luck.  

The Danverton Trading Company, which had been struggling to grow amidst competition with other companies, one day caught the eye of a powerful figure in the political world.  

That figure was Julian, the second prince of the kingdom and the only child of the current queen.  

Julian Panien was a man engaged in various political maneuvers to secure his position as heir to the throne. At the time, he needed a trading company he could control as he pleased, and the Danverton Trading Company was the perfect prey.  

With Julian’s full support, Joseph Danverton’s trading company flourished day by day. The so-called “overnight millionaire” formed connections with various nobles and became the second prince’s reliable financial backer.  

Over the following years, Joseph frequented high society, earning the prince’s trust and eventually obtaining a respectable title.  

Thus, Celestia became the daughter of the Earl of Danverton at the age of twelve.  

Unaware of anything, the naive young girl entered the Danverton estate and began living a luxurious life, enjoying all the wealth and splendor the world had to offer.  

Joseph raised his only daughter, the youngest and most precious, like a treasure. With two reliable older brothers above her, the power and wealth of the Danverton family only grew.  

Those were blissful days. Her world consisted of a luxurious mansion, a vast and beautiful garden, fragrant flowers, and expensive silks.  

As time passed and Celestia began to blossom into a beautiful young woman, she truly feared nothing in the world.  

Around that time, Julian, the second prince, emerged as the most likely candidate for the throne, surpassing the first prince, Jacob. The power of the Danverton family reached even greater heights, and her father’s influence became hers and her brothers’ as well.  

Before her debut, she was already a renowned figure in high society.  

‘The Daffodil of Panien.’

‘The Princess of Danverton.’ 

She was given countless nicknames.  

However, Celestia herself was unaware of this. Her father had no intention of allowing her to step into the world until she came of age.  

Celestia was raised as a flower. Literally, she was a flower.  

Though she received an education, she was not allowed to gain excessive knowledge. By the age of sixteen, her learning was limited to ladylike accomplishments such as embroidery, flower arranging, and painting.  

No one taught her about history, philosophy, or politics. Her father and brothers were always busy, leaving Celestia alone in the mansion to spend her time with the maids.  

It was inevitable that she grew up as a naive and sheltered young lady. Even if she was a bit arrogant or spoiled, no one reprimanded her.  

It was only natural. She was merely expected to bloom beautifully, gracefully, nobly, and elegantly.  

***

It was in her sixteenth year that Kayev Ruden entered Celestia’s world.  

The moment she first saw him, she felt as though her world had been turned upside down.  

It was, in some ways, an ordinary encounter. Nothing extraordinary or particularly special.  

However, Celestia always believed their meeting was destined.  

One day, Kayev appeared before her as if he had risen from the earth. He seemed like a prince from a fairy tale.  

At sixteen, Celestia, with her girlish imagination, thought of him as a knight who had come to rescue her from the beautiful but stifling cage she lived in. And indeed, Kayev Ruden was a knight.  

However, his arrival at the Danverton estate was not due to destiny but because of her father.  

“How dare you raise your head so arrogantly? Bow. This is the young lady you will serve from now on.”

While her older brother scolded him, Celestia was too preoccupied admiring his picturesque face. Had she been a bit more aware, she might have noticed that Kayev’s situation was far from favorable.  

Her eldest brother, who had brought him before Celestia, was unusually sharp that day, and the newly arrived knight bore a dark expression.  

However, Celestia, utterly captivated by Kayev’s very presence, failed to notice anything else. It was, quite literally, love at first sight.  

“…I greet you. I am Knight Kayev. It is… an honor to serve as a knight of the House of Danverton.”  

With one knee on the ground and his head bowed, his pride was crushed, and his pain remained hidden. Thus, Celestia never noticed the depth of his suffering.  

“Kayev? Just Kayev? Don’t you have a family name?”  

She would later learn that, at the time, Kayev had been stripped of his family name, Ruden, and demoted in status. This was due to none other than the second prince and her father, who backed him.  

“…Just call me Kayev.”  

She had no way of knowing why he gritted his teeth so hard as he answered.  

Her brother burst out laughing at his clueless younger sister’s innocent insult. How humiliated Kayev must have felt at that moment.  

Perhaps it was then that he began to hate Celestia with all his heart.  

It was only much later, after a long time had passed, that Celestia learned the truth.  

Kayev had not come to the House of Danverton on account of any good fortune. Far from it—he had come because of the worst thing that could happen to the youngest son of a noble family.  

He had been accused of treason, leading to the ruin of his family. And behind it all were Prince Julian and the House of Danverton.  

The House of Duke Ruden had been one of the foremost supporters of Prince Jacob. To set an example of what happened to nobles who refused to side with him, Prince Julian had used the Rudens as a target.  

As a result, Kayev’s father, the Duke of Ruden, had his title and wealth confiscated. The shock had worsened his chronic illness, ultimately leading to his death.  

Kayev, who should have inherited the dukedom without issue, was expelled from the Imperial Knight Order, where he had just begun his training, and reduced to the rank of a common knight. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the promising future of a great noble.  

In every way, his circumstances were the polar opposite of Celestia’s.  

Born a noble and reduced to a commoner, he had to serve as a knight to the House of Danverton, a family of commoner origins. Only after Kayev had left did Celestia begin to understand just how much his pride must have suffered.  

But at the time, she was young and foolish. Looking back now, she thought she had been laughably naive.  

Perhaps it would have been better if she had simply been stupid. But she had been spoiled, raised to believe the world revolved around her. Her blossoming beauty only fed her confidence.  

Celestia, who had dismissed most noble young men as unworthy, had shown no interest in men even after entering adolescence.  

But Kayev Ruden had captivated her in a single meeting.  

What about him had so captured her heart? It was hard to pinpoint a single reason.  

His jet-black hair, as deep as the night, and his mysterious gray eyes, like a cloudy sky, framed a face that seemed to have stepped out of a masterpiece painting.  

Yet, his handsome appearance was not all there was.  

Celestia’s heart fluttered at his stoic expression, which seemed as though it would never let anyone in. At times, the sorrow and despair visible beneath that facade took her breath away.  

Although his height and build made him look nearly grown, he was still a boy, and the emotions he couldn’t fully hide held her attention.  

Beneath his cold, icy gaze was a molten anger, an unyielding pride, a rage against the world, and a deep wound—all mixed together to exude an intoxicating allure.  

To Celestia, who knew nothing of his circumstances, Kayev’s aura was simply mysterious.  

He was not like the immature noble youths of her age. And at only sixteen, he was already an accomplished knight, which added to his charm.  

Objectively speaking, Kayev was admirable, but to the young Celestia, he was nearly perfect. He was everything a sixteen-year-old girl could dream of in a boy.  

Thus, the tragic knight who had appeared with the spring breeze stole Celestia’s heart entirely. With the onset of her adolescence, her first love had arrived.  

“Well, Kayev. It’s nice to meet you. Let’s get along well from now on.”  

And so began the prologue of her unrequited love.  

***

“Kayev still hasn’t returned?”  

“No, my lady. It seems his training is running late. I’ll inform you as soon as he arrives, so please return to the manor.”  

This was her third visit today.  

The guard at the knights’ quarters, who had unintentionally turned away the young lady of the house three times, looked thoroughly troubled.  

Celestia turned back with a sullen expression.  

‘I really wanted to give it to him today.’  

The bundle in her hands contained a doll she had sewn herself and a bouquet of wildflowers she had picked. The gift, still waiting for its owner, looked so pitiful that Celestia tightened her grip on the bundle.  

She felt as though she might cry from the disappointment of not being able to see the person she wanted to see. Although Kayev was her personal knight, she had to visit him day after day just to catch a glimpse of him.  

Of course, her resentment melted away the moment she saw his handsome face.  

Caught up in excessive self-pity, she failed to realize several things: that someone like Kayev, a grown boy, would hardly care for a doll; that her attention itself was a heavy burden for him.  

In her youthful innocence—or perhaps her aristocratic arrogance—she was oblivious to others’ feelings. Surrounded by people who catered to her every whim, she had grown into someone who lacked empathy.  

Thus, she judged Kayev’s preferences based on her own standards, convinced that whatever she liked, he would surely like as well.  

‘He’s been away training all week, so I’ll have to ask him to accompany me on next week’s outing.’  

With this new resolve, Celestia brightened up, eager to see him as soon as possible.  

Of course, whenever she made such requests, Kayev’s expression would harden, but Celestia, blinded by infatuation, paid no mind.  

In truth, whenever he faced her, he was mostly expressionless or frowning. But even that, to Celestia, was utterly charming.  

‘Still, I’d like to see him smile sometimes.’  

Even his mask-like, stoic face was so handsome—how much more dazzling would he be with a pleasant smile? Imagining Kayev smiling warmly at her, Celestia let out a dreamy sigh.  

What could I do to make him smile?  

After several attempts, she had realized that he detested gifts like money, jewels, or clothes. Since then, she had only given him small things like embroidered handkerchiefs or dried flower letters, which frustrated her to no end.  

Perhaps he liked delicious food?  

Celestia herself felt better after eating sweets like cookies or candies. Surely, no one disliked sweet things.  

It was a spontaneous idea, but it seemed like a good one.  

The bundle in her hands already contained some snacks, though they were ordinary treats made by the chef.  

‘If I make something myself, Kayev will surely like it more, right?’  

Briefly disheartened by her failure to see him, Celestia quickly regained her spirits, her eyes sparkling with a new goal.  

Watching all of this unfold, her maid could only sigh at her mistress, who was hopelessly caught up in a one-sided love.