Her heart was racing. It was obvious Sezh wanted Raytan to like her present. Raytan knitted his brows. Ah, he must see it as an awful gift. Her face became downcast.

“What is this?”

“A necklace. I pulled an all-nighter to craft it… and I worked this morning too…”

“…”

“Of course, Luna also helped a bit. But I did most of the work…”

The ruby that Sezh gave Raytan on his birthday last time, she’d made it into a pendant on the necklace. The gem bears a resemblance to Raytan’s scarlet eyes.

Sezh knew she wasn’t a craftsman by any means, and she inwardly admitted that there must be some poorly made parts on her product, but she’d spent a long time making it. Even if the jewels she used were only slightly better in quality than before, Sezh thought it was nice enough to not be hated.

“Maybe it doesn’t look that nice, but if Brother looks closer, it’s really not that bad…”

Her voice turned into a squeak.

“I just keep thinking about how I didn’t give you a nice gift in the past… And this jewel looks like Brother’s eyes. I think it’s truly meaningful….”

“Are you playing with me right now?”

Raytan’s face stiffened, and Sezh’s mood sunk. Even if no one told her, she knew what was wrong. Seconds ago, she’d talked about his eye color.

Sezh quickly started talking and laid on the flattery.

“But I like the color of your eyes.”

The situation was making her desperate.

“Do-Doesn’t Brother remember the time when I said that before? Brother’s eyes are really pretty. They are similar to rubies.”

She was gushing out flattery, but those words were not a lie. If anyone just forgets about that legend, they will realize that Raytan’s eyes were beautiful. It was even more attractive than the blue color the Imperial family inherited. In the daylight, under the shining sun, his eyes shone like rubies. And when it met the glow of the sunset… it gleamed and twinkled as if sparkled with fairy dust. Of course, she can’t forget about the cold atmosphere that surrounded him. Even so, she couldn’t ever hate those crimson eyes.

“…”

Raytan didn’t say anything. He was staring down at the necklace in his hand. Surprisingly, he put it in his pocket.

“You’ll accept it?”

“You gave it to me, so I can do that, right?”

His reply had the corners of her lips arc up as high as they could go. She couldn’t stop the action even if she wanted to.

“Ah!”

While still smiling wide, Sezh reached her hand inside the bag again.

“There’s one more!”

She put forward a tiny jewelry box. Raytan took a peep at the contents, and his eyes shook with surprise. It was a bracelet, a sloppily made bracelet with a thumbnail-sized emerald.

“This one is for Lady Lize. That is… I feel she has been giving me endless care up to this day, but I haven’t once done anything for her.”

“…”

“Of course, I know this jewel is very inadequate compared to the jewels Lady Lize already owns. Still, since I could only give this much… ”

“I understand. Open your book.”

Raytan took the jewelry box carefully.

“I will deliver this.”

“Okay!”

Sezh grinned brightly. Until now, she owed them so much, and this jewel was so silly compared to the ones belonging to Lady Lize, who has the Emperor’s favor. But Sezh believed Lady Lize would value her kind intentions more than she would value the worth of the jewelry itself.

She was also happy to see Raytan receive the necklace without a fuss. She remembered the past when Raytan threw away her birthday present to him.

Sezh was feeling exhausted, but no pain, no gain. She tried to solve the assigned questions in her book while endlessly repeating those thoughts in her head.

“…”

Reflected in his red eyes was Sezh’s figure. He thought about her, who is undoubtedly an odd child. So many times was she stung by his harsh swears, yet none of them worked to stop her from returning to him. She is kind of stupid. Probably the stupidest kid…

Regardless, it was only this stupid kid who joyfully wants to speak to him.

Only her who was angry at all the gossip about him. Only her who willingly took his side in the dogfight that day… There was no one else but this happy-go-lucky idiot.

Sezh pretended not to notice his gaze and tried to do her problems. Raytan clutched the necklace in his pocket quietly.

***

“Please wait for a moment, Prince Raytan,” Marie said with polite manners.

Raytan didn’t answer back but just nodded his head a little. He then picked at the jewelry box Sezh had passed to him.

It was just a brief moment before the door opened, and some maids carried trunks of exquisite dresses and jewelry as they left the room. Raytan looked at those maids expressionlessly. He then walked in.

“Mother,” he greeted politely.

Lize looked so tired while sitting on her bed. He knew that his mother’s health issues were never good, but her condition seems to be getting worse.

“Mother, your body-”

“I’m fine,” Lize replied. “The founding celebration banquet is happening soon, and I’m simply having a hard time coordinating my outfits.”

Denhelder’s founding celebration banquet is massive. It was the largest of the few events held by the Imperial family. When it began, both the royal families and the nobles gathered in one place. The Emperor was always present with Lize. He will give her the most expensive dresses in the empire and the most precious jewels to flaunt her beauty.

Lize only had one role throughout the banquet: to be a doll. The most beautiful doll in the world that the Emperor saved from an unfortunate life.

“So, do you have something to talk about?”

“… Yes.”

Raytan handed over the jewelry box from Sezh.

“What is this?”

“Princess Sezh entrusted me to deliver this to you.”

Lize slowly took over the box from his hand. She opened the clutch and appraised its contents. There was a simple emerald bracelet.

“It seems like she feels indebted to you and wants to express her gratitude.”

“… Really?”

A white porcelain hand lifted the bracelet. Holding it high in the air with a thumb and index finger, Lize appraised the item.

Then, without warning, she threw it to the floor.

“A cheap thing.”

Clear emerald eyes glistened above Raytan’s blood-red eyes.

“Yerena wears all sorts of jewels, and her daughter expresses her gratitude with a worthless jewel. Pitiful.”

“…”

“You know her position, Raytan.”

Raytan silently stayed still.

“It’s clear she’s badly treated, and no one in the Imperial Palace will take her side. She doesn’t have anyone to trust and is always feeling lonely and isolated. She locks up her wounded heart tightly. I’m telling you now, it’s the easiest thing in the world to buy a favor from a person like that. Once the wall around their heart has collapsed, they’ll be sincerely loyal to you. Having them open up to you is only the hardest part.”

Lize smiled heartlessly.

“You must keep her by your side. As it is now, she will certainly be of help to you in the future. After Yerena dies, the nobles would be attached to the Princess. You can then take them over.”

“But Mother, Princess Sezh told me… ”

Raytan was reluctant to finish his sentence. Even though he didn’t know when exactly, Sezh will someday leave him without regret. He remembered what she said: As soon as Sezh reached adulthood, she would break away from the Imperial Palace.

“The chick that comes out of its hatched egg will think the first person it sees is their mother.”

“…”

“The same goes for people. They will blindly devote themselves to the person who gives them affection first.”

Raytan pressed his lips tightly together. He stared at Lize.

Right now, was Lize talking about him? Or was she talking about Sezh? Or was his mother saying he was no different from Sezh? Raytan shifted with uncertainty.

“However, you must never be like that,” Lize pressed on, her expression bitterly cold.

“You must be different. You can’t reveal your emotions to her. Keep that in mind, Raytan. Truthfully, Princess Sezh is not any different from them. So if someday she has no more use for us, she will become as worthless as the others.”

“… ”

“Now, let’s stop. I have to rest. Leave.”

Lize didn’t even give a single look to her son before she laid down on the bed. Raytan stood there blankly for a while. Then he grabbed the bracelet, which was dropped on the floor like disposable trash.

“… I hope you rest well.”

Soon, there was a clicking sound as the door closed. As she was now left alone, Lize slowly tried to close her eyes.

She was tired. Dozens of dresses put on and taken off, trying all of them on again, repeatedly wearing jewelry she didn’t care about. Her energy was depleted by doing these meaningless things.

However, today her mind was clear. The days she struggled against nightmares seemed to be a lie.

Starting from a day she’d already forgotten, Lize always dreamed when she slept. It must have begun after taking that terrible medicine. There was always a nightmare tormenting her every day. A mother struggling as fire burned all over her body. An unknown monster. A man with a brutally crushed head… her man who didn’t even look like a person anymore.

What kind of nightmares will she have today? Lize’s eyes were dull.

“…”

Suddenly, her vision shifted to the window. Isn’t it odd? She was sure she dreamt about something last night. Why is she feeling fine today? And why can’t she remember anything?

‘You’re dreaming. When you wake up, when you open your eyes, you won’t remember anything… ‘

She thought she heard a distant voice. However, Eton’s commands were clear. Lize, who was forgetting everything, couldn’t recognize the person who uttered those words to her.

Lize shut both of her eyes heavily.

***

Beside her bed, the wide-open window let in the cold night breeze. Sezh knew Luna would start her overly worried antics again if she got a fever, but as she was feeling right now, Sezh couldn’t give a blaze if she caught a cold numerous times.

Sezh rested her hands on the window sill, laughing and humming by herself. If others saw her, they would think she’s crazy. But what can she do? She felt so good.

Sezh recalled Raytan, who peacefully received her gift this morning. In the past, he was so hostile toward her. Now, she thought the situation had turned itself around. Her relationship with Raytan has naturally progressed.

“It would be nice if time moved faster,” Sezh murmured to herself.

Throughout her whole life at the Imperial Palace, she has never hoped for tomorrow to quickly come like this before. She liked everything and was relieved her relationship with Raytan has improved. Since the last fight, Lilian and Bern haven’t bothered them. It seems that Lady Lize’s words about her conversation with the Emperor were scarier than Sezh thought.

Her Kazaki language skills were also increasing each day. Sezh now has a grand and secret dream. She dreams that one day— when the day comes that she could finally leave the Imperial Palace safely— she will cross the sea and go to the Iyont Empire.

She hasn’t been there before, and of course, she doesn’t know what to expect exactly, but she heard from Luna that the Iyont Empire was a nation active in trade and business. Sezh was confident she wouldn’t starve: she could speak the Anthyo language of Delhender, as well as the Kazaki language used by Iyont and other nearby empires.

Obviously, there were still a lot of things that haven’t been solved yet. The closest one, the accident that will happen in a few years: Luna’s death. Luna passed away due to an accident on her way back home. Sezh was debating tying her wrists and ankles to stop it at all costs.

Next is Lady Lize’s death. Actually, she didn’t yet have a plan to prevent it. If she remembered correctly, the cause of Lady Lize’s death was poison. The poison was sent over by Yerena. Sezh recalled the dim memories in her head.

The Emperor had been pitifully unaware that her mother was the cause of Lady Lize’s death. If she was caught, Yerena would have received severe punishment. However, as Sezh remembered, she was fine until Raytan started the coup d’etat.

That wasn’t an unlikely story.

It was due to Yerena’s vice-like grip on the nobles. Also, all the other concubines hated Lady Lize, so no one would protect her. Her death was a godsend for them. Everyone would just watch, regardless of if Yerena really killed her or not.

The nobles would have done their best to erase Yerena’s crimes or at least keep Lize’s death hushed, never breathing a word about it. Yerena was not reckless. Throughout her association with the nobles, she’d collected many weaknesses that could sway the families. If they betrayed her, Yerena wouldn’t have died alone.

But of course, all their efforts crumbled under the hands of Raytan during the coup.

Sezh couldn’t be sure if successfully preventing Lize’s death would cause Raytan to cancel his coup as well. Sezh thought carefully. A future where Raytan doesn’t start a coup d’etat.

But I will leave the Imperial Palace… so will Brother be left alone?

“Looks like something is distressing you.”

“Eh?”

Sezh gasped at the sudden interruption of a voice.