The room fell silent in an instant.
The knight who died had been someone with great influence among them. In disgrace and shock, they chose to stay alive—because the man before them was royalty and held immense power. Still, they all thought the one who should die for such tactics was that man—no, that boy.
Damn Batisse—the seventh emperor of the Empire, infamous for being a tyrant.
Everyone there probably wished for his death. But the boy didn’t die. He always took the most dangerous missions, handled all the risks with strange tactics, and kept coming back alive—becoming more of a legend each time. Even those who had hated him at first began to follow him, swept up in the thrill of becoming part of that legend.
The enemy heads he brought back after beheading them hung on the city walls, swarmed with flies for days. The blood of his enemies became the knights’ pride and passion. Whenever the knights saw the pale boy soaked in someone else’s blood from head to toe, they felt a strange reverence.
And for ten years, until the boy became a man, he was almost like a god in this place.
War was hard and cruel, but people believed that as long as this man stood behind them, they would always win. That belief was so strong that they even thought it might be okay to never return to a normal life.
But just yesterday, this man had declared that he would end all of that. That he would no longer stay here.
“I’m going to take Behibalize’s head.”
This war was just a way to make money. Expanding the border was nice, but from the Empire’s view, it wasn’t necessary. It was a war to show off their power—good if they won, not a big deal if they didn’t.
But for Angelman, losing this place meant the capital was next. So they were far more desperate.
And now he wanted to take Behibalize’s head?
Romex once again bounced his sword off the ground and spoke.
“Behibalize will fight harder than ever to stay alive. His survival is proof they haven’t lost the war. He hasn’t even shown his face on the battlefield in three years. So how are you going to kill him?”
“Were you sleeping during tactics class?”
“You call that a tactic? It sounds more like a child’s fantasy.”
Romex blurted it out and then quickly raised his sword in defense, worried the man would cut him down. But the man just chuckled and shrugged. Romex felt embarrassed for drawing his sword and coughed awkwardly, adjusting his stance.
“Ahem… Even if you are the commander, this isn’t right. It’s too dangerous. Why the rush? You could take two years and finish this safely. But if you act now…”
The man, silent for a moment, finally said in passing,
“…There’s no time. I have to see Sophia. Sophia ate it.”
But that wasn’t a helpful answer.
Romex frowned, confused.
“What? Who’s Sophia? Some dog from the palace? Did it eat something bad?”
The man said nothing. He silently finished getting ready and put on his helmet. Romex watched as the white hair disappeared under the helm and cautiously asked,
“Are you going back to the palace… to gather support? Prince Casgen won’t sit still if you do.”
The current Emperor and Empress had three children: Prince Casgen, Princess Yulicias, and this man. Only those three royal children existed. He should’ve lived in luxury at the palace—but he was thrown into war at just fourteen.
The reason was obvious—his birth was uncertain.
The Emperor and Empress never called him illegitimate, but everyone knew he wasn’t born from the Empress. The story was that the Emperor fell for a beautiful wandering priestess and she gave birth to this man.
The Emperor ordered the Empress to accept the boy as her own. In return, she was given a diamond mine. Likely unable to refuse, she obeyed—but the moment he turned fourteen, she coldly sent him to the battlefield. A battlefield with no end in sight.
“Either way, I have to go back.”
Until now, the man had lived quietly at the front lines.
Romex thought, given how many people he had killed, maybe war suited him. So it was hard to understand why he suddenly wanted to leave.
But this time, there was a determined look on his face—something Romex had never seen before.
Even when killing or facing danger, he had always looked empty, like someone lost in thought.
“Back there… I have to meet—…”
Romex couldn’t catch the last part.
He only hoped it wasn’t the Empress he was talking about.
Shame doesn’t last long.
That was what Sophia had come to realize lately. Embarrassment that came from doing the same thing over and over didn’t last. Humans were creatures of habit, after all.
The clothes that once made her want to die from shame, the embroidered patch—they had all become familiar.
It was like, “You made me wear it, so shouldn’t you be the ones ashamed?”
After some time, Sophia even wore the outfit when visiting other palaces, not just the princess’s quarters.
When someone mistook her for a maid and tried to assign her chores, she simply pointed at the U-shaped embroidery on her chest.
“You’re a lady-in-waiting?”
“Yes. I’m Sophia Hilden.”
She even smiled softly.
But as she started wearing it openly outside, strange rumors began to spread. A few days later, Yulicias summoned her and exploded with anger.
“Are you trying to humiliate me on purpose? I clearly told you to only wear that inside here!”
Yulicias shouted, unable to hide her frustration.
But she didn’t realize that her words admitted her own shame about what she had made Sophia wear.
Sophia tilted her head and asked,
“Why? Are you embarrassed that I’m walking around in these clothes?”
Yulicias’s face turned red.
“No! I’m not embarrassed!”
“Then why are you saying this to me?”
Sophia asked, and Yulicias was so flustered she couldn’t respond, then yelled like a child,
“Fine! So it doesn’t bother you? Then just wait—I’ll make sure you wear it forever!”
She sounded completely hysterical.
Sophia stood still, expressionless like a doll, trying to make Yulicias even angrier. Watching her, Yulicias let out a sharp grunt and stomped over to the vanity, trying to fix her hair.
But her irritated hands tangled her hair in the jeweled hairpin, making a mess.
“Kyaa! What are you doing? Hurry and bring the maids!”
She groaned in pain as her hair got caught.
Sophia walked out slowly on purpose.
As soon as she left the room, she smiled in silent triumph.
“That felt great.”
It wasn’t even close to repaying the humiliation she’d suffered—but it was still satisfying.
Humming, she turned a corner—and came face to face with a figure.
Sophia gasped and stepped back.
“Goodness! You scared me.”
“Sorry.”
It was Michelle Piels. Even without her black dress, she still looked gloomy. Sophia immediately felt uneasy.
With other maids, it wouldn’t have mattered, but her relationship with Michelle was always a little awkward.
It looked like Sophia had helped Michelle by wearing the black dress instead, but Sophia never really thought she had saved her.
Michelle still seemed like an outsider—just in proper clothes now.
Michelle must have been stuck between watching the princess’s moods and not knowing how to treat Sophia—unable to be kind or cold.
Sophia understood her position and always tried to avoid being alone with her.
Even now, she nodded slightly and tried to walk away.
But then Michelle’s quiet voice called from behind.
“You shouldn’t push the princess too far. She’s more cruel than she seems.”
Her flat tone held something deeper beneath it.
Sophia straightened her shoulders and replied,
“I haven’t pushed her.”
“Well… if you say so.”
Michelle answered lightly, nodded, and walked into Yulicias’s room.
Sophia shook her head hard, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling.
“It’s fine. Nothing will happen.”
She whispered to herself.
