Edythe de Villanova was executed the day she turned nineteen.

In the middle of winter and now numb from the cold, she remembered the last words her father said to her.

"I never loved you. You disgust me."

And she believed every word of it.

Where had she gone wrong? Where did she mess up? All her life, all she had wanted was her father's attention.

Just once.

Then she might prove her worth.

But he was second only to the Emperor. He was the wealthiest noble in the entire kingdom and from a cursed race.

Demons.

The shackles around her wrists felt heavy with the weight of cold metal and the future that faced her.

Was being related by blood not enough? What did Eleanor have that she lacked? The moment Eleanor arrived here, everyone fell over themselves trying to please her.

How disgusting.

She was a peasant. A commoner.

Edythe had been right to put her in her place. What right did a commoner have to dare speak down to a noble?

Edythe was pure nobility! Her father was feared above everyone else, even the Emperor! Everyone should be fearing her—worshipping her!

So why was she here?

Blinking, she refused to show weakness.

Why had she only grabbed Eleanors hair? She should have ripped it out and slit her throat! If the stupid crown prince hadn't been in love with Eleanor, she wouldn't have been sent for capital punishment!

They were all against her.

Every.

Single.

One.

Edythe hissed in anger and tried to claw at the shackles.

"Even the shackles are coated in a magic that not even you can break witch."

Edythe glared upward. One of the guards had noticed her clawing at her shackles.

Furious, she was about to reply before a sudden chill swept over her, immediately bringing her to silence.

There was one person she still feared.

There he was, like a rose among thorns, beautiful yet dangerous with eyes that glowed from the darkness. His mana was silencing her.

It was time.

"Edythe de Villanova. You are hereby sentenced to death on account of high treason. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

When she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Her whole body had turned to ice. She couldn't even move, her whole body was seized up from the overwhelming pressure her father's presence was placing on her. He sat on the golden throne and stared at her as if she were no more than a pawn in his game.

Now that she no longer had a use for him, she was being thrown away. Like vermin.

As if by some miracle, she felt the emotion overwhelm her. For the first time, she felt that she truly was going to die.

This was it.

"...and all I wanted to hear... was for you to call me daughter."

A tear slid down her cheek.

The last thing she saw was her father's piercing demonic eyes, before the floor suddenly came rushing at her...