Chapter 1

This dungeon had an unbearable chill even in the middle of summer.

It was a place where felons, who committed crimes from assassination of the imperial family to treason were imprisoned. There was an execution ground in the yard to display their deaths.

“My beautiful sister, your face is ruined.”

Astor lifted Lily’s face, which was ruined by torture. As she struggled to open her eyelids, her deep blue eyes were revealed.

“…Aster.”

“But I’m sure you can hear me.”

People’s shouts rang in her ears. It was the sound of the crowd gathering at the execution site wanting the blood of the sinner.

“Listen carefully to that sound. I’ve never heard screaming like that in my life. The Empire still wants you passionately. For my sister’s blood to be poured everywhere.”

Astor smiled fishyly. Lily managed to hold on to her hazy mind. She was tortured day and night, so her whole body hurt like it was torn.

“…why are you doing this? I’m not a princess anymore.”

Lily couldn’t breathe, but she asked with all her might.

A princess who was disowned by the emperor for marrying someone he’s against. Now Lily had no power to threaten Astor, the prince.

“Well.”

Astor took out a small dagger and stabbed her. Blood poured out.

“Ugh…”

He smiled at Lily, who twisted her body in the unbearable pain of tearing up her raw flesh. He then shook the blood-stained dagger indifferently.

“Why? It’s because of your damn blood. Do you know what the fate of someone with imperial blood is?”

“…….”

“Sitting on the throne alive, or being dog-dead like you sister. That’s all.”

He hurled the dagger violently. As her view became blurred, Astor grabbed her hair roughly and twisted it. Lily couldn’t even faint at will.

“Not yet, sister. You have to look at your last present. Bring her.”

Following Astor’s instructions, a person wearing a bag on their head with their whole body bound was dragged in.

When the bag was removed, dazzling platinum blonde hair poured down and a pale face was revealed. She looked just like Lily.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Lily howled like a madman. Lily’s only daughter, Isabella, is standing in front of her.

He couldn’t have done this. More than 20 years have passed since the moment she had her in her womb. Lily’s only wish was to protect her baby.

She could throw everything away for the sake of her child. Her status as a princess, the loving family she loves. Nothing was as important to Lily as Isabella.

She must save her child, and she must protect her even if she has to give her life to the end. Now Lily was woefully powerless.

“How do you like my present?”

“…Help me. Please help me. I’ll die. If you tell me to die, I’ll do whatever you tell me to. What wrong did this child do who doesn’t know anything? Please save that child. Please.”

“What a tearful mother.”

Lily was already out of her mind. From the moment her daughter appeared in front of her, she only thought she had to save her.

“Please…”

She crawled on her stomach, groping at the cold stone floor. Having managed to get up and kneeled down, she just begged and pleaded. There was nothing she could do but plead desperately until her palms were worn out.

With a face full of tears and blood, she cried endlessly without knowing face.

“Please have mercy…….”

She hoped and prayed that there would be a little mercy for that cold-blooded man, her brother, the crown prince, who brutally tore apart even his disowned sister for his own benefit.

As if to laugh at her, Astor pushed Lily and strode toward Isabella.

Isabella didn’t avoid his eyes. She had blue eyes that looked just like Lily’s.

Anger, contempt, life. Even when she came to the place where she was going to die, she had such cheeky eyes.

“What should I do? She can’t get out alive because she’s a felon who was arrested for trying to kill the emperor.”

“…No way! That can’t be true!”

Lily screamed in disbelief. To drive a wedge, Astor threw a small pouch at her.

Lily opened the pouch with trembling hands. There was a vial of red potion inside.

“Unfortunately, she entered His Majesty’s bedroom with that in her arms.”

“No? Say no. Come on!”

Astor beckoned lightly and his men ungagged Isabella’s mouth.

She didn’t move at all.

“Did you try to poison His Majesty?”

“You are the one who benefits from His Majesty’s death, so that’s not the case.”

Isabella replied in a clear tone. It wasn’t wrong.

Astor was still not recognized as the heir to the throne even though he was the only prince left in the imperial family.

Maybe the emperor has a different intention. As the successor continued to be undecided, many rumors were rampant.

Among them, the words that bothered Astor the most were the stories of “Lily, the disowned princess.”

Although she was disowned by the emperor, Lily was a very capable princess. She made great contributions to the end of the Pandemonium War by directly negotiating and recovering from the devastated public sentiment.

‘Would the successor position have remained vacant even if the imperial princess had not been disowned?’

Everyone sighed and speculated. Astor couldn’t help but be nervous.

In fact, it was not difficult to restore the princess into her previous position by creating a plausible cause.

For Astor, it was better for the emperor to die quickly before he took any action.

Already, the emperor has been poisoned for quite a long time and is no better than a living corpse. The potion that Isabella hid in her body was an antidote to the poison that would temporarily awaken the poisoned person.

The emperor was the only one who could save Lily’s life with the board set by Astor to remove Lily.

It’s all gone up in smoke now.

“That’s funny. So it’s not poison?”

Astor grinned and approached Lily again.

“Okay. You prove it yourself.”

Astor took the medicine bottle and opened the lid and held it out to Lily.

“If this drug is not a poison, she will be proven innocent. Then I’ll spare Isabella.”

“What should I do?”

“Drink it and prove it. That this is not poison.”

Isabella’s eyes widened when she heard Astor’s words.

It is true that it is an antidote, but it was an antidote for those who were poisoned. Depending on the situation, such drugs can become either poison or medicine.

“Don’t leave a drop.”

Astor laughed hysterically. It was too strong a medicine for a person who was weakened by torture like Lily to drink. In addition, she was stabbed and bleeding severely.

If she drinks it all at once, she could go into shock.

“Oh, no.”

The sound of the empty bottle being chugged made her faint. Lily vomited blood and collapsed.