Chapter 45
“Thank you very much for the invitation, Your Majesty.”
The conversation concluded without any major issues. Calista’s expression only brightened briefly when her younger sibling was mentioned, otherwise remaining unchanged.
“Yes, yes, it was a pleasant meeting.”
“However, I have one request.”
…A request?
The Emperor’s face tensed again.
Although he had met Calista a few times before, she had never asked anything of him. The fact that she was now speaking up meant she was about to make an extraordinary proposal.
Perhaps she would ask for great wealth and honor in return for solving the security crisis. Or maybe, given her unstable position, she would ask for support in becoming a duchess.
Or… could it be marriage? Now that he thought of it, wasn’t she around the same age as the First Prince?
The Emperor didn’t have the decisiveness to settle such an important issue on the spot.
“Uh… If it’s not a serious matter, you can tell the attendant later…”
“It’s a very important request.”
Calista looked him straight in the eye as the Emperor, already feeling a headache coming on, gave a small sigh and nodded.
“A marriage proposal, I knew it…”
“Please allow me to take the leftover macarons.”
“…Pardon?”
“Macarons, Your Majesty. Not just the ones left on the table, but also any extras made in the kitchen—please give them to me. It’s an earnest request.”
Macarons? That overly sweet, tooth-rotting round snack?
“These… seem like a bit of a failure in sugar balance.”
He glanced at Calista’s plate. She herself had barely touched them and pushed the rest aside—so why was she asking for them?
“No. I really need them. Please grant this request.”
“Why would you want to take these?”
Was she going to use them as proof of mistreatment in the palace? A weakness to use someday?
The Emperor asked suspiciously, but she answered with a deadly serious expression.
“…I have to feed them.”
“…What?”
“My younger sibling. I need to feed them to my sibling.”
Calista gently pulled the macaron plate she had set aside back in front of her, seemingly oblivious to the dumbfounded Emperor.
With her movement, the slightly crooked purple ribbon atop her head swayed softly.
***
Where was this again?
She had no memory.
Having once lived in the palace in her past life, she’d confidently refused the attendants’ help, thinking she could navigate it on her own.
But she had forgotten the fact that she had spent most of her time locked in a room back then.
“…I’m screwed.”
The palace garden, about the same size as the Luperne estate, was so vast and similarly designed in every direction that she couldn’t find her way out.
She had looped around the same spot several times in just an hour.
“If the scenery were at least worth it, I wouldn’t complain…”
She muttered quietly.
It wasn’t the garden itself she was criticizing. The neatly trimmed grass and vibrantly blooming flowers—despite the chilly weather—proved the meticulous care involved, even using magic.
The problem was that she kept encountering the same obnoxious golden statue as she circled around.
Unnecessarily large, gaudy, and cringe-inducing, the golden statue stood atop a grand fountain.
It was modeled after Klein Bayan, the Emperor and Empress’s pride and joy.
Why didn’t they use someone like the handsome Killian instead of this eyesore?
“Ugh, my eyes…”
She rubbed her eyes and turned away. Her mood only began to settle when she spotted a bird’s nest nestled peacefully in a tree.
Alright, let’s try again.
“So I started from that direction, then ran into that ugly golden statue, and…”
Rustle.
While muttering to herself, she suddenly heard something rustling behind her. When she turned, she saw a shadowy figure through the bushes.
A person. Thank goodness.
She took a few steps toward the figure to ask for directions.
Rustle.
The bushes rustled again as if the person had also noticed her.
“Excuse me, where exactly is…”
She started hopefully.
But as soon as the figure stepped out of the bushes, her mind went completely blank.
“You’re bold. Running through the imperial gardens without permission?”
That eerily familiar voice and tone hit her ears first. Then came the flashy clothes, the sword at his waist, and those extravagant shoes.
She slowly raised her head. A boy, around Calista’s age, stood before her.
“Whose daughter are you? Do you not know where you are?”
Black hair, thick brows, and eyes that always seemed to carry an unexplained anger. He looked nearly identical to how she remembered him.
Except… he looked a little younger than she remembered. And there was no eye patch or long scar over his left eye.
“Your… Highness…”
She opened her mouth to greet him, but her voice faltered. It felt like her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.
Klein Bayan.
Of all the people in the palace… why did it have to be him?
“Wait a minute… now that I look closely…”
Klein studied her frozen posture and stroked his chin.
The gesture was exactly the same as the one from their first meeting in her past life. Though she had once thought that was their second encounter.
So many people had perished at the hand of that gesture.
And watching each death unfold had been agonizing.
“Are you from House Luperne?”
His gaze locked on her eyes.
“I thought so. Calista Luperne entered the palace today, didn’t she? Then you must be her younger sibling.”
“…I greet Your Highness.”
She barely managed a proper bow. One corner of Klein’s lips curled up.
“I’m very pleased. I’ve heard of you from your sister.”
…From Calista?
She stared at him in confusion. His reddish-brown eyes, so similar to blood, gleamed maliciously.
Gulp.
She swallowed dryly without realizing. That was the expression he wore whenever he found a perfect new target to torment.
And in this place, she was the only small prey.
“You’re late in greeting me. Didn’t anyone teach you how to show proper respect to royalty?”
“…I apologize.”
“Words alone won’t do.”
He slowly approached, bending down so his face was close to hers.
“You should kneel, Lady Luperne.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I said, kneel at my feet.”
Klein whispered softly, the twisted smile on his face deepening.
“Kneel, bow until your forehead touches the ground, rub your hands together, and beg for forgiveness, Lady Luperne.”
Each word made it harder to breathe. When she raised her eyes, the familiar mad glint in his red irises mocked her.
Klein Bayan, you rotten, despicable waste of space.
At sixteen, he was no different than the monster she had first met at twenty-two.
She muttered every insult she could think of—only in her head, of course.
“Did you not hear me? Beg already.”
He crossed his arms and looked down at her arrogantly.
She remained still.
“Well, well. Are you ignoring a royal command?”
He sneered.
“You really are like your sister. Though perhaps not quite as delusional and out-of-line as Calista Luperne.”
“…What?”
She forgot her fear for a moment and looked up in disbelief.
‘Delusional’ and ‘out-of-line’ were the last words that suited Calista.
“Your sister—acting like everything in the world belongs to her.”
He chuckled as he watched her shocked expression.
“I always thought I’d teach her a lesson someday, but lucky me—I ran into her sister instead.”
At those words, her past life memories of Klein flooded in.
“I was going to put your sister in her place someday, but I met you first.”
He had once said the exact same thing while revealing his plans to go to war with House Luperne.
She remembered the thousands, tens of thousands who had died because of those words. Her previous life, wasted in captivity.
Something hot rose from deep inside. Her face, her entire head felt like it was boiling.
Anger. Pure, overwhelming rage—something she had never felt before.
Vmmm—
The air around her vibrated oddly, as if heating up.
“Hey, little Luperne.”
Klein spoke mockingly, growing bored with her silence.
Vmmm—
The strange sound and warmth intensified. There was a force in the air—something she had never felt before.
“Can’t you hear me?!”
Klein shouted again—and the force in the air surged upward toward the tree.
Crack—
Something snapped above Klein’s head.
“Huh?”
Crack. Whizz—
They both looked up at the same time. Klein’s face turned pale.
“What the—?!”
Whizz—
A thick branch that had been securely attached to the tree just moments ago was now falling toward him. The bird’s nest that had rested on it floated briefly in midair.
“Aaaagh!”
Thud—
He curled up and covered his head—but it was too late. The branch smacked his forehead and crashed to the ground.
“You damned tree!”
Klein shouted, furious.
But opening his mouth was a mistake.
Plop! Crack!
The fallen bird eggs from the nest began to splatter onto his head—one even dropped straight into his open mouth.
“Urgh… ptuh!”
Now covered in yolk from head to shoulders, he choked and gagged trying to spit out the mess.
Oh, right. He had a bit of a germ phobia, didn’t he?
She glanced around, now more composed. The strange humming sound had disappeared. The air felt normal again.
What was that?
The broken branch and fallen nest weren’t a coincidence. Some force had clearly caused it…
“Urgh… You little brat. Because of you…”
Just as Klein tried to speak again, a different sound came from the sky—loud flapping.
“Caw! Caw!”
Birds. Two massive, black birds the size of chickens, with razor-sharp talons.
