Chapter 1

I Thought it Was BetrayalChapter 1

Why did it have to happen?

“Why, that time….”

Why on earth?

“That… I…”

Were we not in love?

“Edwin!”

The woman with her fascinating golden hair cried out in woe, clutching her neck as her blood leaked from it. Yet the man merely looked at him, his eyes contained fear for some reason.

“Ah! Ah! … Ah!”

The man groaned and backed away from the bleeding woman, leaving her to hopelessly watch his figure storming out. The woman stared in disbelief at his unfamiliar movements.

In hopes that it was a mere nightmare, her body shook violently. She internally wished this was just a dream. However, to deny her fantasy, the wound from her neck released a horrible pain.

“Ha, haha…!”

The woman dejectedly laughed and slowly yet unwillingly staggered. A steady stream of warm blood dripped from her neck. This must be her wild dream.

Is this how I die? Tears of regret trickled down her eyes thinking that, ‘Love wasn’t of the fleeting emotions.’

No, I want to live.

Back then, she was even willing to give up her noble position.

Alas, I was foolish.

As she lost consciousness, a desperate wish resurfaced within her. Whereas the cut on her neck said otherwise; it was already intending to end her life. She began to gasp for air, filling the chill of the tower with her faint breath. In her slowly fading consciousness, she remembered the first time she had met the man who had betrayed her. The day she met him, who looked warmer than the sun in spring, in the orchard full of apple blossom scents.

[***]

“I thank you, the Sun God!” Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“We thank you!”

The people praised her like some of gold, while her brilliant eyes shone as though they were from the sliver of the sun. Elevating her hand above her head, the gazes turned to her in awe praising her like a goddess. Standing on a glass altar on the shores of Lake Malgan, surrounded by hydrangeas, she was literally the embodiment of the sun.

Selenia del Amor Apollonia.

She was a woman of the noblest blood in this sun-serving empire of Apollonia. Born to the daughter of the duke-turned-Empress and the Emperor, Selenia was recognized for her noble birth and had been a Crown Princess as soon as she was born. While most of the people applauded the emperor’s decision, some worried that her recognition was too soon.

After all, despite being an illegitimate child, the Imperial Princess Evangeline was still the eldest daughter of the Imperial Family. But all their worries were put to rest when Selenia began to showcase her abilities. Selenia didn’t lack anything: a strong will, sage-like wisdom, and stunning beauty; she was flawless. Her imperial blood was legitimate and powerful thus even her physical abilities were far superior to those of ordinary humans.

“Well done, Your Highness!”

“This is because of your efforts!”

Today was to offer holy water to the sun god in hopes of a good harvest. It was a sacred task, an honor reserved for only the noblest blood of the imperial family, excluding the Emperor. Selenia fluttered her eyelashes gracefully and smiled at her subjects as they watched her in fascination. Then she picked up her skirt with her hands, handing it over to the maid who followed her. The maid, too, was enamored of her and then quickly recovered her composure, speaking in a hushed tone.

“The ceremony is over, Your Highness. Afterward, you must bathe.”

“Yes, let us hurry back.”

Selenia replied nonchalantly and climbed onto her horse. Despite everyone asking her to ride in the carriage, she insisted on riding the horse every time. She wanted to feel her beloved empire with every fiber of her being.

“Haah!”

Selenia stamped her foot vigorously. The palace wasn’t far from the lake, so it wouldn’t take her long to reach it.

“Welcome, Your Highness!”

The knights guarding the palace greeted her cheerfully. She returned it with a smile raising her hand, seeing the knights’ gazes filled with respect. In particular, she was well-versed in swordsmanship. Her swordsmanship was not only sharp and precise, but there was an understated beauty to it that made her shine, too. It was her skill that allowed her to lead the charge against the invading other tribes that sought to destroy her empire. Mermaids, demons, and even mythical birds. These tribes always try to come after the Empire. But one race in particular posed the greatest threat to the Empire: the vampires who hunted humans and drank their blood.

“Your Highness. How are you, and did the ceremony go well?”

“Yes. How are the vampires doing?”

“Since their last failure, they seem to be staying away from hunting humans. It’s all thanks to you.”

Mikhail, the leader of the knights guarding the empress, smiled faintly as he recalled the last battle. The sight of Selenia on her white horse, slicing through vampires with her holy water-soaked sword, had been engraved in his mind as divine. Without her, the Apollonian Empire would have fallen to the vampires’ hunt long ago.

“Rather, it was everyone’s efforts. Doing it on my own wouldn’t have gone this far. Well, I have a bath to attend to.”

“Ah, yes. Don’t worry, Your Highness, the preparations for your coronation are well underway.”

“I am trusting you for that.”

Selenia patted Mikhail on the shoulder and walked past him. Her father, the Sun Emperor, had died a few days ago. Thus, Selenia had been occupied with the funeral and the harvest festival. The Imperial custom dictated that the emperor’s funeral would last two months. This meant that Selenia would only be crowned emperor in two months. As Mikhail disappeared before her eyes, Selenia sighed and entered the room.

She removed the necklace from her neck first, then undressed. Her ceremonial white uniform fell to the floor at her feet. A lonely hand slowly opened the door to the bathhouse. Even though the soon-to-be emperor was bathing, there was no maid inside to assist her. Selenia quietly stepped inside as if she was already familiar with the situation.

“… You’re not getting any better.”

With the huge mirror, her entire body was reflected in it. There were three rows of ugly scars on her back as if scratched by large claws. Out of it, there was a hideous, oozing, poisonous fluid. If she were to enter the bathwater, the poison would surely spread throughout the bath.  She quickly averted her bitter gaze from her scars.

I didn’t want to look at it for long.

Staring at the scar brought back terrible memories of that day. Merely five years and already obtained these flawed scars. Then, she heard a clear voice outside the bathhouse.

“Your Highness, are you ready?”

“… Yes. Come in.”

It wasn’t a maidservant who stepped into the bath, but a priest.

“If you’ll excuse me, Your Highness.”

The priest put her long, white hand on Selenia’s scar. A faint warmth grazed over her back, but the burning pain was otherwise.

“Ugh.”

Selenia bit her lip and pushed through the pain. Soon, golden energy flowed from the priest’s hand and slowly seeped into her scar. The shuddering, agonizing pain slowly faded. Although it was not completely gone, the pain was a lot more bearable than before.

“Hooh. Thank you, Angeline.”

Selenia exhaled heavily, then she smiled weakly in gratitude.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, Your Highness.”

“…. Yes.”

Angeline smiled brightly, ducked her head, and headed out the door. Afterwards, Selenia socked into the bath and the smile on her face slowly hardened. In truth, Selenia could not live a single day without the protection of the priest’s power. This was the fact of her life.

She had seen every doctor in the empire since she was a child, but none had been able to heal her scars. All of them, even the skilled ones, frowned at the sight of these horrible scars as if they were grossed out. And although they were ordered to keep quiet about the empress’s scar, they couldn’t help but talk about it as if it were cursed or demonic. They must have been disappointed to see such a flaw in her body, which they considered a work of art made by a goddess. Of course, the Emperor, who loved his daughter so dearly, would never have allowed such a thing to exist.

“When will I ever be able to take a bath and relax?”

Selenia’s sigh mingled with the warmth of the bath. She wished she could forget the burdens of being a princess and an emperor.  Rather, enjoy her bath even momentarily. But even that was a luxury she would have to suffer for. Selenia stepped out, wrapping a soft towel around her honey-colored hair.

“Look who it is.”

In the room was a woman who looked like her, but strangely more virtuous, sipping tea and waiting for Selenia.

“Evangeline.”

“You were very cool today. Perhaps, was it because of your noble blood?”

The woman called Evangeline swirled her teacup around, the corners of her mouth lifting softly.

“Those words again. You, Evan, are, in fact, the eldest daughter of this imperial family.”

“Yes, that’s right. I am the older sister who has a wonderful sister, the soon-to-be Emperor.”

She smiled brightly and handed Selenia the tea she had prepared in advance. The purple sparkling tea was just like Evangeline’s eyes. Evangeline looked like the emperor and had the same golden hair as Selenia, but her eyes were different. Selenia’s eyes were golden, likewise her mother, who had been the former Empress. On the other hand, Evangeline’s mother was from a lowly background – a commoner. And so, unlike Selenia, who had become the Crown Princess upon her birth, she had not become the same despite being an imperial daughter.

Selenia, however, was quite fond of Evangeline; she was fragile but had a certain regal quality about her. Besides, even if she was the child of the Emperor, Evangeline only had half imperial blood. Selenia didn’t want to ostracize her for being of half-imperial blood, nor did she want to marry her off to a random noble and cast her out of the palace. But her people had a different view of Evangeline.

“Your coronation is just right around the corner.”

“Yes, I’m more nervous than I thought.”

“You’re nervous?”

Evangeline rose from her seat, smiled, and then slid a necklace around Selenia’s neck. It was a necklace of crystal-clear diamonds, sparkling with brilliance.

“I’ll tie on you, it’s a keepsake from the Empress.”

“Thank you, Evan.”

“Other than me, you should find your paramour to put this on you.”

Selenia merely smirked and tipped her teacup.

“A paramour?”

“Why, if you suddenly become imprinted…”

“That’s all superstition, Evan.”

There were a lot of superstitions lingering around the Empire. One of the superstitions was the fate-based ‘imprinting’. When two fated people imprinted themselves on each other, their love was but a stormy one.

But Selenia didn’t believe it. It was just a superstition. How could there be such a thing as love at first sight? She looked at Evangeline and smirked.

Evangeline pouted her lips as if she didn’t like Selenia’s answer, then turned back to Selenia as if she’d remembered something.

“… How are your scars, are they getting better?”

Her tone was contained with worry and concern. Selenia shrugged her shoulders and replied nonchalantly.

“Still the same.”

“…. So, you’re not even recovering.”

Evangeline’s shoulders drooped at Selenia’s nonchalant response and her watery eyes sunk into sadness.

“It’s okay, Evan. I’m getting help from the priest every day.”

“But….”

Evangeline’s large eyes slowly filled with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. Selenia smiled and put an arm around her worried shoulders.

“One day there will be a doctor to fix this scar…”

“Your Highness!”

Before she could finish her sentence, a maid burst through the door. Although this maid was one of those who knew Selenia’s scars, it was still disrespectful. Evangeline scrambled to her feet; her brow furrowed.

“How rude! How dare you enter Her Imperial Highness’ chambers…!”

“I’m, I’m sorry, I was in a hurry!”

“What’s the matter?”

The maid cleared her throat, swallowed hard, and shouted in a concerned voice.

“We’re in trouble!”

“What’s all the fuss about?”

“V, vampires…!”

She trembled with fear, but once again, she forced the words out.

“Last night, the vampires kidnapped people again…!”

Evangeline and Selenia’s eyes met upon her words. Selenia rose from her seat with a grim face and put on her jacket. And she wore her sword, which was as white as the moon, to her waist.

“I will slay them myself.”