Chapter 2

"Really, how embarrassing to have a sister as dull and slow as you! Father and Mother should just kick you out already!"

(You can kick me out if you want. But, I do think I have to fulfill my duty as a noble. I want to be of some use before you kick me out.)

"Say something!"

(Should I say something? But, no matter what I say, Sophia will get angry. Is she harboring some grudge? No, the tutor taught me that there’s no such thing. It’s troublesome, so I’ll apologize.)

"… I’m sorry."

Sophia, having received Eleonora’s apology, snorted and left, trailing her personal maids behind her.

(They look like goldfish droppings. My goldfish, Kuro and Hana, also swim with their droppings. Well, that’s kind of cute.)

While thinking such thoughts, Eleonora waited in the hall for two hours with her father, stepmother, and Sophia. Finally, the three of them descended into the hall. Step-mother Anna looked at Eleonora as if she were something filthy.

"Oh! That dress is one that’s popular among prostitutes, isn’t it? Really, Eleonora has no class! My lord, I can’t take such a girl with us."

Step-mother Anna, with her brown hair tied up high and adorned with jewels, laughed through her nose. Eleonora’s dress was one that Anna had chosen. It was Anna’s desperate plan to try and get Eleonora to miss the ball.

"It’s no good. The Emperor himself has ordered that she must attend this time. But don’t worry, such a vulgar girl won’t even catch his eye."

(I don’t really want to go anyway. I felt like I was being strangled by the corset. I can’t even eat with this on.)

When the four members of the Purpureus family were all together, they headed to the Imperial City, located in the center of the capital, by carriage. Inside the carriage, the conversation was centered around Sophia.

Step-mother Anna and half-sister Sophia looked very similar. They both had brown hair, large, droopy eyes of the same color, a small, low nose, a small mouth, and a slender build.

On the other hand, Eleonora had luxurious golden hair, violet eyes, a slender nose, well-shaped lips, and a very slim waist that contrasted with her large chest and hips. No matter what dress she wore, Eleonora never looked vulgar; she was always dignified and elegant, and was known in society as a young lady blessed by the goddess of beauty. However, since she rarely attended tea parties or evening gatherings, she was also known as the phantom lady.

The ball being held today was for the purpose of selecting a bride for the 27-year-old Emperor of the Wilides Empire, Alexei. It was a ball where young ladies from suitable families for the still unmarried Emperor would gather. Of course, Eleonora was not excluded from this.

◇◇◇

It was last year that a new emperor was born in the Wilides Empire, which had just celebrated its 300th anniversary. His name was Alexei Grakies Wilides.

Alexei III, with his tall and well-proportioned body, silver hair, and blue eyes, had been living in the Imperial Palace, located in the center of the capital, for a year. He spent almost every day in his office, a room so barren that it hardly seemed like the office of the most powerful emperor on the continent, containing only a large oak desk, bookshelves, and a vast amount of paperwork. There was a bed in the room next to the office, where he often took short naps.

There, he issued orders to punish the nobles who were oppressing their territories, in an effort to rebuild the country, which had been weakened by long-standing internal strife.

"I will dispose of the petitions here."

The nobles sent letters pleading for their lives, but Alexei instructed the Chancellor, Sergei Bazalov, to burn all the petitions, considering them not even worth a glance.

The main targets were the nobles known as the anti-emperor faction, who had continued the slave system that was supposed to have been abolished decades ago. Even after Alexei ascended the throne, the nobles who did not change their attitude were purged one after another.

The nobles who could be punished tried to flee, but all their plans failed, and not a single one managed to escape. And any plots to drag Alexei from his throne were always exposed before they could be carried out.

No matter how carefully and secretly they planned, Alexei always obtained accurate information and thwarted them. Since it was completely unknown how he obtained the information, Alexei was feared as an emperor who had made a pact with the devil.

"… A devil emperor. Ridiculous."

In response to Alexei’s muttering, the stout Chancellor Sergei, with his thick glasses, raised them and replied.

"It would be better if you were feared to that extent. The situation in the empire under your rule is still unstable."

"Sergei, you haven’t changed since I became emperor. Everyone is afraid to advise me now."

"I believe that only you are fit to be emperor, and I want to serve this empire until my death. To solidify your position, please choose a suitable young lady for the empress at today’s ball."

"I don’t want to, but there’s no choice."

Alexei sighed, feeling gloomy about the ball to be held today.