chapter 1.2

Although it was a country with a history of nearly 500 years, Ctia’s territory was not so vast compared to the neighbouring countries. However, thanks to maintaining neutrality among various countries, it has been able to keep the kingdom’s name. Of course, until the proud and immature Prince Julius had an accident.

Among the countries that existed on the continent, the vigorous Emperor of Pantheron, whose empire had not been formed for too long, began to conquer several small nations. Many countries have started to form alliances, giving up their fights against Pantheron and claiming to be subordinate states, calling for surrender in advance for its tireless desire for conquest and seemingly unstoppable victory.

In line with this atmosphere, some of the nobles in the Ctia kingdom began to suggest that they should form an alliance with the Pantheron Empire. And soon after, a letter arrived at the Ctia palace.

[His Majesty Jed Idnis, Emperor of the Pantheron Empire, wants to form an alliance with the Ctia Kingdom and enjoy prosperity together. Therefore he wants to elect concubines from several allies. His Majesty requests to send Elisha Edward, the princess of

Ctia kingdom, as the first concubine.]

It was insulting to ask for the oldest daughter of the King to be the concubine. However, Ctia, a small country in all aspects compared to them, had no way of rejecting him. If they refused the Emperor’s request to form an alliance, the result was undeniable. After several days of difficult consideration, King Joshua tearfully decided to send Princess Elisha to Pantheron.

Prince Julius, who could not accept the decision of his father, cut off the head of the envoy who had visited with the letter from Pantheron Empire. How quickly this news was delivered, before King Joshua could find a way to deal with the situation, the Emperor of Pantheron himself led the imperial army and entered Ctia with a red lion flag.

“Was he the one?”

Julius, who was trying to escape through the mountains behind the royal palace, got captured and taken captive by the Imperial Army of Pantheron, which was stationed there.

As if the soldiers threw Julius, he was flying to the feet of Emperor Jed. Looking up at Emperor Jed, Julius expressed his face proudly as a royal family of a country. The rumoured figure of the Emperor of Pantheron was often portrayed as a blood-stained beast that slaughtered for pleasure, not for survival. Of course, the appearance of Emperor Jed, who he met directly, was cold as expected.

The nobles who felt the fate of the kingdom through the act of the immature prince, surrendered and opened the door and entered the palace without wielding a weapon properly so they wouldn’t get killed. However, the Emperor’s eyes were shining like a blue-eyed beast that looked thirsty for blood. And his loose blond hair, too, looked like the mane of a wild animal, enough to make one feel afraid.

“Yes, he is the prince who killed our envoy. He was caught crossing the mountain behind the royal palace.”

At the words of Felix, the leader of the Pantheron Imperial Army and the Emperor’s guard, the Emperor tilted his head.

“Were you running away?”

At Emperor Jed’s question, Julius kept his mouth shut. Emperor Jed did not ask any further because he already knew without having to listen to Julius’s answer. Then he simply pulled out his sword, shining in a cold light without words, and struck Julius’s neck. The rebellion once failed, and Ctia’s Prince Julius died like that. It was not the King and Queen of Ctia who raised their voices protesting the death of Julius. It was Elisha, the princess with green eyes and rich emerald hair.

“Brother Julius just killed one envoy, and you took the life of a prince of a country! Isn’t it too much?”

At Princess Elisha’s sharp voice, Emperor Jed laughed.

“Are you the eldest daughter of the Ctia kingdom, Elisha?”

“Yes, I am!”

At Elisha’s reply, Emperor Jed’s hand wiped over King Joshua’s cheek. When the hand of Emperor Jed had passed, King Joshua staggered and fell down on the floor. Elisha looked with confusion at King Joshua and Emperor Jed alternately.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know anything about manners?!”

At Elisha’s questions, Emperor Jed spoke without blinking.

“Manners? I don’t think I can find it in your country that killed the envoy I sent?”

“Well, that’s because you made rude demands to our kingdom first! If it is not rude about demanding the eldest daughter of one country to be your concubine, then what?”

Emperor Jed looked scornfully at Elisha.

“I wanted your country to be an alliance instead of being conquered because I was considerate. But you didn’t like that, so I have to conquer it. Just, only one childish man died.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his sword, and King Joshua’s blood sprinkled through the cold air. Witnessing the death of her father right in front of her eyes, Princess Elisha rushed to Emperor Jed with a distorted face with anger.

“This devil! I will kill you! I will kill you!”

For Emperor Jed, who is more familiar with the battlefield than peaceful daily life and more familiar with the smell of the enemies’ dark blood than the smell of grass, Princess Elisha’s punching was not even itchy. Emperor Jed grabbed Princess Elisha’s wrist and made a cold remark with a grin.

“There are a lot of princesses in my palace who used to be like that. Do you know what’s coming out of their mouths now? Well, you will know soon.”

After saying that, Emperor Jed handed over Princess Elisha to the soldiers. Despite being taken away by the soldiers, Princess Elisha rebelled until the end without bending her pride. By the time her voice was no longer heard, Felix approached Emperor Jed and asked.

“What shall we do with the rest?”

Emperor Jed, who was casually watching the princesses and princes who were born with different appearances, standing in a row, was hidden behind the guards so they couldn’t be seen. However, at the end of the line, a person dressed differently from others was seen. She didn’t have the emerald-coloured hair or even green eyes which was Ctia’s pride. There was a young girl who looked plain and skinny.

“Is that person also a royalty?”

Emperor Jed’s question drew everyone’s attention to the end of the line. Since she was born, she had never been in someone’s attention or focused. Living in one of the most remote parts of the royal family, she had never left her world, a tiny bedroom behind the castle.

She had a father who had never visited her and never called for her. And although she heard the names of the other princes and princesses living in the palace, she had never seen the owner of those names. She was just a forgotten princess with no presence not only in Ctia kingdom but also in the royal palace. Felix told Emperor Jed what he had heard from the soldiers around him.

“Yes, she is also a princess. Her birth mother was a maid. She is a princess who was born from a one night stand.”

After hearing Felix’s story, Emperor Jed stared at the girl wearing a black hooded robe for a long time. While thinking over what to do with an ordinary and unsightly princess, who didn’t even look good to be used as existence for overnight pleasure, he gave instructions with a bored expression.

“That’s all in my eyes anyway. Except for Princess Elisha, all other princesses who are taken prisoner can be used as maids. And Princes don’t need to be alive. It will be a headache if they do something later.”

“Yes, I understand, Your Majesty. But wouldn’t it be too much to be used as maids? They’re royal in name…”

“They are royalty here, but in Pantheron, they are simply prisoners from the ruined country.”

Emperor Jed’s decision was cold, and Felix didn’t ask any further.

“Then, what would we do with the nobles?”

“Kill them. And burn the palace.”

There was no mercy towards the surrendered nobles who opened the gates of Ctia. He didn’t need an explanation. They surrendered, but that wasn’t a reason to keep them alive. There was no need for mercy to the traitors who abandoned their country. Although it seemed like a harsh decision, Emperor Jed, who made a decision for his own interests and his imperial power, left the royal palace of the Kingdom of Ctia with leisurely steps as if there was nothing to look back.

The palace of the Ctia kingdom, which was destroyed in return for the killing of the envoy of the Pantheron Empire, disappeared in blazing flames, failing to fill its 500-year history.

******

The royal family of Ctia in a prisoner convoy wagon could not easily smooth out wrinkles on their foreheads because of the narrow and uncomfortable space. They complained and were irritated towards each other. Among them, Psili, sitting with her knees in her arms, was distracted by the scenery that was seen outside the wagon. Small spaces had always been familiar to Psili. For her now, the vast world she had never seen before was just amazing rather than a narrow space.

The wind was chilly. The smell of the trees was cool. The sound of the stream was just like music. The world outside the bedroom was more beautiful than she thought. Who would have known that she could see the world with her own eyes which she had only known with writings and paintings in the book? She thought she would live in that room forever, and never thought she’d be able to see the outside world like this.

Of course, it was a pity that the country was destroyed. It was also sad that her father died. But for Psili, neither was it shocking enough to consume her emotions nor was emotionally intense enough to show tears. So she couldn’t understand the tears of the princesses who had been crying for hours, their irritation or complaints.

‘’If I just cried like that, I would be hungry. If I was annoyed, I would only lose strength.”

Psilli looked at them for a long time with an expressionless face, worried meaninglessly, and soon turned her head outside the convoy wagon.

‘’The sun is setting. The sunset is even prettier from the outside.’’

For Psili, who was not very interested in the rise and fall of Ctia or other people’s business, the red sunset that looked like a picture from her small world was just beautiful.