Harmang marveled at the Emperor’s face, which he never tired of seeing, no matter how many times he looked at it.
Tall and stately, with hair like a black velvet carpet, and eyes the color of sweet chocolate.
The face of Kai Edelgart, the Emperor of the Credion Empire, resembled a painting carefully crafted by a skilled artist.
Moreover, his muscles, honed from numerous battlefields, and his sharp gaze that could send shivers down one’s spine, made the Emperor appear more like a fierce beast than a fragile royal sheltered in a greenhouse.
Even from another man’s perspective, the Emperor was so strikingly handsome that Harmang couldn’t help but smile warmly.
“When you smile like that, it usually means some troublesome task is coming.”
Kai commented dryly, to which Harmang quickly approached with a notebook, flipping it open.
“It’s not trouble, Your Majesty, it’s something you need to do. And we’re already late.”
As the litany of names began, Kai felt instantly wearied.
“So, how many are there?”
Interrupted by Kai’s question amidst the unending list of names, Harmang responded.
“There are fourteen, including the new addition in Verdura Castle.”
Verdura was like the last puzzle piece in Kai’s grand plan. Its filling meant that now there were a hundred hostages sent to the Credion Empire.
“That’s good.”
Kai’s nature was such that he wouldn’t feel content until he completed a task, a trait that applied even to his obsessive quest of having a hundred hostages.
The number hundred didn’t have a particular significance. It was just more than ninety, and ninety-nine felt incomplete. Although a trivial reason, Kai felt a sense of relief as if he had completed his task.
“Let’s go.”
With a rare sense of refreshment, Kai left his office, followed lightly by Harmang.
It took over an hour by carriage from Verdura Castle to the main palace where the Emperor resided.
Stella felt a bittersweet sensation as she touched the soft dress she received as a gift. It was luxurious enough to ensure she wouldn’t feel inferior to the other princesses in appearance.
Oblivious to her shackles, she had signed the bloodline document, overwhelmed by selfish kindness.
Stella sighed deeply as she looked at the box next to her, holding the bloodline document. She quickly shook off the creeping sadness.
Despite feeling heavy-eyed with fatigue, her mind was surprisingly alert. She wished she could doze off, but instead, she wrestled with anxiety all the way to the main palace.
Worrying about her future actions, she heard Mila’s stern voice from across.
“You must be fully alert from now on. You can’t afford any mistakes. You’ve read the notebooks I gave you, right?”
Mila asked repeatedly, concerned about not being able to guide her in detail due to the late hour.
“I’ve read them. Don’t worry.”
“You’ll be on your own once we’re inside. I can’t assist you any further.”
“I understand. I’ll manage.”
Stella wondered about the vastness of the imperial palace. It seemed impossible to explore it entirely on foot in a day.
As the carriage began to slow down, Stella straightened up and took a deep breath.
“We must walk from here.”
Just as Stella was about to stand up, she heard Mila’s voice.
“Wait, Your Highness.”
Mila adjusted Stella’s slightly disheveled hair ornament and meticulously checked her appearance before nodding in approval.
“Now you’re ready.”
To Stella’s surprise, Mila seemed even more nervous than she was. Stella gave Mila a reassuring smile.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the main palace, unable to proceed further in front of the endlessly sprawling garden.
Initially flustered, Stella noticed that other carriages were also halting and reluctantly stepped out.
Complaints echoed around her, with other princesses voicing their disbelief.
“Walk all this distance?”
“It’s absurd. How can we go all that way?”
The princesses, who seemed like they had never walked in their lives, competitively whined and complained, each trying to prove they were more privileged than the girl next to them.
Mila expected Stella to echo these sentiments.
“Shall we go then?”
“Despite that, you can’t… Huh?”
Mila, who had anticipated a fit from Stella, was taken aback by her unexpected response.
“What are you doing? We need to walk, right? Hurry up, we can’t be late.”
Stella, already feeling subtly ostracized among the princesses and placed at the very back, knew she couldn’t afford to be the last to arrive.
As Stella started to walk briskly, the other princesses, initially as immovable as stakes in the ground, began to follow her lead. Having avoided the dishonor of walking first, they seemed ready to proceed.
Unintentionally leading the way, Stella was followed by thirteen princesses in quick steps.
After a thirty-minute walk, the main palace’s immense scale was evident. Even from a distance, the castle seemed enormous, but up close, its size was overwhelming.
“Wow.”
Stella, the first to arrive, stood in awe at the doors, adorned with a giant dragon sculpture, each scale made of gold.
Not just that, the dragon’s fist-sized eyes were red rubies, and its sharp claws were enormous diamonds, giving an impression of extravagant luxury, yet the dragon seemed almost lifelike.
As she mused that selling the door could sustain a lifetime of leisure, it opened, splitting the dragon in half. The sight of the vividly carved dragon being bisected pained Stella momentarily.
She was about to enter through the opened doors when the group of princesses behind her pushed past her shoulder and rushed in. Their earlier reluctance to walk first had vanished, now eagerly striving to enter first while still maintaining an air of sophistication, like swans floating on water.
Nearly losing her balance in the sudden commotion, Stella was thankfully caught by Mila, avoiding a fall.
“Thank you.”
Mila sighed softly, watching Stella, now at the end of the line, enter last.
An ominous premonition of a challenging road ahead crossed her mind. And that premonition turned out to be accurate, though not in the way Mila had expected.
Despite appearing calm, Stella was actually so nervous that she hadn’t eaten anything since morning, fearing she might vomit.
Pull yourself together, Stella. Just stay quiet and get through this. No one will pay attention to me.
Stella had always been confident in her ability to go unnoticed. By behaving invisibly and staying silent like a ghost, people tended to ignore her. Repeating affirmations in her mind, she moved forward with determination.
Stella couldn’t quite remember how she ended up in the preparation hall.
“Princess Stella Run Obelit, it’s your turn to enter.”
Startled by the sudden voice, she realized she was the only one left in the hall. Composing herself, Stella gracefully smiled and walked through the opened door.
Stay calm. No one here knows you’re the daughter of a concubine.
Stella repeated these words to herself like a mantra, steadying her trembling heart.
With each step, the music grew louder, and the lights became brighter.
Despite being indoors, the hall was even more luminous than the outside, thanks to the dozens of massive chandeliers shimmering like auroras on the high ceiling.
The gold pillars lining the sides of the vast central hall were themselves giant candleholders. The sight of dozens of candles burning at the top of each pillar was dreamlike in its beauty.
The sweet music, the dazzling lights, the tables set like grand art pieces, and the princesses smiling like blooming flowers around them.
Stella’s eyes were dazzled by the colorful splendor unfolding before her. Everything she saw sparkled and shone brilliantly.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
