Chapter 3
✦
There were eight imperial princesses left in the Magna Road Imperial Family. Out of a total of sixty-one daughters, only that many had survived.
Most had been executed for offending the Mad Emperor’s temper, some had fallen victim to political intrigue, and others had died protecting their brothers.
The surviving princesses had all changed into vividly colored dresses, as striking as their own разно-colored hair. The Mad Emperor was an obsessive man who allowed only beautiful things.
I, too, wore a dress layered with lace upon lace, my waist tightly cinched by a vest embroidered densely with jewels.
My platinum-blonde hair, once neatly pinned up, had been partially let down into an elaborate half-up style.
It was a hairstyle my maid Hamel had carefully prepared since morning, anticipating that I might be summoned during the funeral.
In the audience chamber, eight chairs were arranged in two rows of four, facing each other across a carpet.
My sisters and I sat according to our order of succession, waiting for the Mad Emperor.
“That was exhausting—changing clothes in just thirty minutes.”
“Sasha, you’re really something. You even changed your hairstyle in that short time?”
“You must have a very skilled maid. What’s her name? When Sasha dies, I’ll take her in.”
“But Shushu is the youngest. Shouldn’t she inherit her instead?”
Such deranged conversation was ordinary in the imperial palace. Without the slightest disturbance, I replied to my half-sisters:
“That is something His Majesty the Emperor will decide.”
Nanaen, seated beside me, clapped her hands.
“Oh my! Then everything will come to me, the Empire’s golden deer. I’ll make good use of all of Sister Sasha’s belongings without leaving a single thing behind.”
“That’s unfair. As the elder sister, you won’t even yield anything to the youngest, Shushu.”
“Stop calling yourself the youngest. If you die, I become the youngest.”
“Eek!”
Nanaen and Shumelre bickered.
Shumelre, the youngest at eighteen this year.
Though she was about to come of age, she maintained her twin braids to emphasize her cute appearance and her position as the youngest.
“E-everyone, p-please be quiet…”
“Silence.”
Cutting off the eldest sister’s timid attempt, Orlete spoke coldly. Order was immediately restored.
“Why are you all being so frivolous today?”
No one here was unaware of the reason.
It was anxiety.
How would the imperial atmosphere change now that all the princes were dead? How would their father, the Mad Emperor, treat his daughters from now on?
It was certain that change would come—but everyone expected it to be for the worse. Their father was unpredictably insane in countless ways; imagining the worst had no limit.
To put it extremely, there was even a possibility that all the princesses present could be massacred today.
At this point, one might wonder:
How could someone so insane maintain the throne without resistance?
It wasn’t that no one resisted. They simply couldn’t.
The reason lay in the imperial guard knights surrounding the audience chamber.
There were people in this world born with the ability to wield mana. Those who used incantations to manipulate mana were called mages, while those who channeled mana through armed weapons were called knights.
In the present age, mages had vanished, and the era of knights had arrived. Even the lowest First-Rank knight possessed enough power to fight a thousand ordinary soldiers. They were beings of an entirely different scale from normal humans.
And above these predator-like knights stood apex predators—the bloodline of the Magna Road Imperial Family.
Imperials, myself included, were born with the authority to dominate those who wielded mana.
The strength of this authority varied by individual; the greater it was, the more powerful knights one could subjugate—or the greater number of knights one could command.
And unfortunately, in this regard, the Mad Emperor possessed authority rivaling that of a god.
He commanded over two hundred knights who had sworn absolute loyalty. Even the lowest among them could subdue a thousand ordinary people.
With such a force, how could anyone dream of rebellion or revolution?
‘Even the attempt to poison him failed.’
With regret, I took a moment to mourn my dead brother once more.
“Endless glory to the reign of the Great Emperor! His Majesty, the Emperor of the Magna Road Empire, enters!”
“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”
We all rose at once and paid our respects.
With every step he took, tension and fear thickened in the air of the audience chamber.
The Mad Emperor ascended the steps and sat upon the throne, his knights lined behind him like a folding screen.
With his platinum hair slicked back and clad in extravagant attire, he looked like a handsome man in his mid-thirties at most—likely due to the countless potions and herbs he consumed.
Seeing that deceitful exterior, it felt as though even natural death would never come for him.
‘A monster wearing human skin, pretending to be human, has arrived.’
I lowered my gaze, hiding my disgust and contempt.
“My beloved daughters, raise your glasses.”
“……”
Attendants presented each princess with an ornate goblet.
To call for a toast on the day his last son died—how very like the Mad Emperor.
Even without a mirror, I knew my eyes must look as lifeless as a dead fish.
My sisters were no different. Those less adept at controlling their emotions had their fingers trembling as they lifted their cups.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the Mad Emperor seemed entirely unconcerned with his son’s death. The reason for the toast was something else entirely.
“The banner of victory has been raised.”
So he had conquered another nation already.
Which country this time? His territorial expansion was so relentless it was impossible to guess.
“My loyal knights have swept away the Eastern Alliance and planted the Empire’s flag.”
The Eastern Alliance?
Wait—that includes…
“Of course, it also includes the Kingdom of Lohengrin, which had resisted stubbornly until now.”
“……”
The wine in my glass trembled slightly.
“It has been fifteen years. What could be more joyous than finally crushing Lohengrin, which prolonged the war for so long? To eliminate future trouble, the royal families of the Alliance have all been purged.”
“……”
“As for the insolent Lohengrin royals, we made a proper example of them. We beheaded the king and princes in the square for all the citizens to see, then impaled their heads and bodies on spears and hung them high upon the castle gates like jesters’ dolls.”
“……”
“It seems the rumors were true—that the third prince of Lohengrin was beloved by the people. Dozens of citizens were executed trying to climb the walls at night to retrieve his body. It’s a pity—we might have seen something more entertaining if we had kept him alive.”
“……”
I had to struggle to keep my eyes open. If darkness fell over my vision, I felt like the boy’s face would appear.
“One cannot speak of victory on an empty mouth. My beloved daughters, I shall grant you spoils of war.”
The doors of the audience chamber swung open, and countless chests filled with gold and treasures were carried in.
The reflected light was so blinding it hurt my eyes.
“We are deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s grace.”
“Not yet. The real reward begins now.”
The curve of the Mad Emperor’s lips, feigning benevolence, filled me with dread.
And such premonitions were never wrong.
“Bring them in.”
Clank.
A heavy metallic sound echoed across the floor.
‘Chains?’
The expressions of my sisters and me subtly stiffened.
What entered in rows were dozens of men.
Their legs, which must once have moved with disciplined precision, were now dragged down by shackles and chains. Their bodies—once clad in knightly armor—were stripped bare, revealing the full extent of brutal torture.
“Choose one each.”
The “real spoils” the Mad Emperor spoke of were prisoners of war.
“It is time for you, as daughters of the imperial family, to use your authority. Here are fifty knights captured from the Eastern Alliance. Among them are those who can fight an entire legion alone, or destroy a small city by themselves. Let us see which of my daughters has the keenest eye.”
“……”
“If you succeed in taming one with your authority, he will be yours. You may make him a knight to take the blade in your stead, or use him as a plaything to warm your bed. Of course, both would be even better.”
Some of my sisters brightened, but most suppressed their emotions behind expressionless faces.
Was not a knight’s oath supposed to be sacred?
As a princess, I had expected to take in knights someday—but not in such a coercive and inhumane way.
I didn’t want this.
“Your Majesty, th-this reward is too generous for us…”
