Chapter 1
Some love begins at the end of life.
My love was like that.
***
The person I believed to be my love was the second prince. He was the most miserable man in this glorious capital.
His mother, who was a lowly dancer, was nothing more than a slave, and he grew up while getting all kinds of insults from the nobles.
“Rita, you’re the only one for me.”
I was deeply heartbroken by his daunting voice.
I devoted all my youth to make him the emperor, and I even married a man I did not love for him.
I loved him that much.
No, I thought I loved him.
I always believed my love for George was unrivaled until I met my little daughter, Yvonne.
The moment Yvonne’s little hand touched my finger.
I realized that my feeling for George was never love.
I did not hesitate to do all the dirty work in order to make George the emperor, but seeing his smiling face did not make me overjoyed with happiness.
It was a marriage and a child that I never wanted, but the child’s smile brought me happiness as if I was on top of the world.
Her toddling tiny steps, her innocent giggles, and her folded eyes. Yvonne had completely changed my life.
Yes, what I felt so far wasn’t love.
It was such an enlightening night.
“Yvonne, don’t come out no matter what.”
In order to flee from George, who became the emperor and wielded great power, I hid Yvonne in the secret passage of the Grand Duke’s residence, under the pretext of playing hide-and-seek.
“Madam! Madam!”
The Grand Duke’s maids were shouting.
“Run away, madam! Hurry!”
Yvonne’s nanny was running towards my bedroom, and the knight who yanked her hair, loudly raised his voice.
“Where’s the child!”
Those were the same people who always bowed their heads because I was the Emperor’s lover.
“What kind of misconduct is this!”
When I frowned at the man who released the nanny, Sir Robert, the Emperor’s personal knight, stepped forward.
He was the man I personally chose as the royal guard captain for George.
I knew that he was a man who was quick to turn his head after meticulously calculating the profit and loss.
What George, the son of a concubine, needed was not a loyal subordinate, but a cold-blooded man who lusts for power.
Sir Robert, who knew about the relationship between George and I, opened his mouth with a cold expression that I had never seen before.
“Oh my! You look surprised, Lady Cardinale. No, should I call you Lady Katan now?”
I felt a strange sense of deja vu from his cold attitude as he treated me like he had never seen me before.
“His Majesty ordered to take Yvonne Katan, so you’d better bring your daughter out.”
“…Why her? Why is George looking for Yvonne!”
Contrary to what people suspected, Yvonne was not George’s daughter.
She was the child I had with my husband, Joseph, who stood by my side for the past 7 years even though we were in a false relationship.
“There’s no reason for George to look for Yvonne!”
But Robert didn’t even pretend to hear me.
Abandoning the honor of a knight, Robert yelled at his colleagues to look for the child’s traces, even checking under the bed like a ruffian.
The blankets were thrown out carelessly and feathers scattered everywhere.
I began to scream frantically so that Yvonne’s breathing sound behind the wall wouldn’t be heard.
“Sir Robert! What kind of impudent behavior is this!”
“We have found the evidence that the Grand Duke has attempted treason! Watch your mouth if you don’t want to be taken as well!”
“…What?”
No way.
In order to put George on the throne, my father chose an abandoned crown prince, who was not interested in his succession, as my marriage partner.
‘He’s a man who ran away from the throne and locked himself up in Katan, so there’s no way he’d try to claim the throne now…’
“…What do you mean?”
The knights put his ears close to the wall as if they were trying to find a hidden space.
‘No….you can’t!’
“I heard breathing sounds here! Everybody, find the hidden door!”
Only then did I realize that I had told George the secret passage of Katan Castle.
“Stop!”
After struggling to escape from the knights’ hands, I ran to Robert and pushed him away, but his solid body did not budge.
“If you don’t stop, I will scribe my alchemy….!”
I threatened him and took out my alchemy chalk from my pocket.
‘I didn’t use it frequently because I hated to be called a Cardinale witch for being an alchemist.’
But in this emergency, I couldn’t help it either.
When I hastily took out my chalk, Robert only glanced at me and smirked.
“Go ahead, scribe.”
“Crepitus!”
I couldn’t put up with Robert’s provocation anymore and activated the alchemy.
‘….How on earth?’
Was it because I hadn’t used it in a long time?
‘Joseph, where is Joseph?’
When my attempt was futile, only then did I look for my husband, whose figure was nowhere to be seen.
If it’s Joseph…he could destroy these ruffians.
I forgot that I usually treated him like he didn’t exist, yet I shamelessly looked around to look for him.
“Ha! Here you are!”
But before I could find him, Robert destroyed the firmly locked wardrobe door and pulled Yvonne out.
The child’s light body was lifted in the air.
“Ahhh, mom! Mom!”
The scream spread from every direction.
I couldn’t tell whether it was my scream or the child’s cry.
“Sophie, bring His Highness Joseph here! Hurry!”
I looked back at Yvonne’s nanny in a hurry, but she, who was caught by Robert’s men, was already lifeless.
“Yvonne, no! Yvonne!”
I rushed and stretched out my arms toward the child who was being dragged by Robert.
“Mom, mom!”
The cry of the frightened child tore my heart to shreds.
“Let her go! Yvonne Katan can’t get away from attempting treason!”
That was absurd.
Yvonne was too young to be involved in the terrible crime of treason.
“Take me instead. Sir, please!”
Even though I was only an illegitimate child, my mother’s noble blue blood that flowed in my blood was my pride.
I was so arrogant that I had never kneeled before anyone, but I fell face down in front of Robert.
“Sir, I beg you. Please, let go of Yvonne…just Yvonne!”
“I said let go!”
“I will talk to George, I mean, His Majesty and…”
If I tearfully begged him, George might overlook it, right?
I was his best friend and lover who stayed by his side through thick and thin after all.
Even when he welcomed Ibelina as the Empress instead of me….
My erupted tears fell on my hands.
Robert only sighed when he saw me tremble in fear of losing Yvonne.
“Madam, you still don’t get it, do you?”
“….”
“His Majesty has abandoned you.”
“You… His Highness the Grand Duke will surely punish you for your sins.”
My husband was the only card I could show to threaten Robert.
However, as if such a threat was ridiculous, he twisted one corner of his mouth.
“Just why do you think you could hear me say that your daughter is a traitor? The Grand Duke is already dead.”
“…What?”
“For his disobedience to the Emperor’s order to bring Yvonne Katan and you.”
***
That day, Yvonne, who was taken to the palace, never returned to me.
So did my husband.
The only thing that returned to my arms was an unnamed box containing the ashes of my husband and child.
The sinner who committed treason could not hold a funeral, so I sprinkled my child’s ashes to a small river.
“…You said you’d protect me.”
“….”
“You didn’t ask me to protect your child and husband, did you?”
I stained my hands with so much blood in order to make George the emperor.
I cunningly disposed of Prince Carlo, framed him for deploying troops, and did not respect Joseph as my husband.
But my daughter did not do anything wrong.
No, she died before she could do anything.
“An oracle has come down for Yvonne, Rita.”
George, who came to me alone, caressed my cheek that was stained with tears with his disgusting hands.
“You’ve become so gaunt.”
He clicked his tongue as though he felt sorry for me.
“…What oracle?”
What kind of damn oracle declared a young child as a traitor?
“The oracle says that the half-king from the north will appear.”
“…Are you saying that was Yvonne?”
“She’s a girl, but she is the daughter of Joseph, who had Angelus’ blood in her vein…. You do know that I haven’t completely seized the throne yet.”
George seemed to be confident that I would understand him.
“I was originally trying to get rid of Joseph along with Carlo. But the Count pushed your marriage with him, so yeah, it was a little late.”
He smiled sweetly as if he was heartbroken at the sight of my crying face. As if he was trying to return to our old days.
“I’m so sorry.”
“….”
“But you can just have another child, right?”
Bullshit.
Even if he brought all the children into this world, they could never replace the child I lost.
“I’ll let you have my baby this time. She must be more lovely than Yvonne.”
George’s hot breath touched my neck.
At his creepy, insect-like touch, I pushed him away with all my might.
“Get lost. You son of a bitch.”
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