In a dank dungeon where not a single light entered, Rellia was huddled up against the wall, her body fully contracted. The sight of her weeping while hugging her knees was pitiable.

It had not even been a full day since she was thrown into the dungeon, yet she couldn’t bear her fear.

“How could this, how could this happen to me. How could I….”

Her murmured words were still enveloped in shock. Rellia still couldn’t believe it. The fact that she was imprisoned here by the order of none other than Liurian.

[“I will do my best to help Your Highness safely inherit the throne. Whatever is needed in the process, I will give it all to Your Highness.”] [“It appears that in your eyes, I am just a nobody. A mere duke who couldn’t even inherit the throne without your help.”]

She had often said she would do her best for his throne. Each time, Liurian had held her in his warm hands with an emotional expression.

That’s why she said it. She wished for him to rush to her and embrace her warmly like before. That was undeniably all she wanted.

“Ha, to be seen as nothing more than a nobody, how could he say that…”

Fresh tears spilled from Rellia’s eyes as a renewed wave of sorrow hit her. Liurian’s face, which kept coming to mind, shattered her heart into pieces. Her heart ached so much that she wanted to erase his face, even for a moment, but couldn’t.

No matter how she thought about it, it was shocking. Especially Liurian’s subsequent behavior seemed like a person annoyed for not being able to protect the Crown Princess.

[“Ah, so this is why you’ve belittled the Crown Princess?”] [“I was curious all along. What were you thinking, belittling the empire’s Crown Princess when you are just a duke?”] [“I’m also a laughable person in your eyes, so how low must I appear to you? Isn’t that so?”] [“It’s truly regrettable that you looked down on not only me but also my wife.”]

Each time these words were spoken, the title directed towards Evelia made Rellia feel as if her blood were boiling in reverse.

She couldn’t deny it at this point. The Crown Prince’s affections had shifted toward the Crown Princess. Otherwise, he would not have done this to her.

“……I wish I were dead.”

Before she knew it, a resentful Rellia mumbled to herself.
Relia truly despised Evelia. There had never been a moment when she felt any fondness for her. It was no exaggeration to say that in the deepest recesses of her heart, she had always been pouring out curses upon her. Now, even her mere act of breathing was enough to send shivers down Relia’s spine with loathing. She wished she could make her disappear from sight.

If the only way to accomplish that was through Evelia’s death, then she was willing to go to such lengths to remove her from her view.

“Just die. Die…! Die, damn you…!”

With unfocused eyes, Relia stared into the void, muttering her curses. It was an exceedingly perilous act, one that could make her even more culpable in the eyes of any observer.

Yet Relia seemed to be completely oblivious to the risk as she blindly stared into nothingness, as if Evelia was at the end of her gaze.

Her curses went on for quite some time. Yet, despite the unchanging reality, she felt more miserable and kept crumbling down. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps started echoing in the eerily silent prison.

Fear-stricken, Relia instinctively curled into a ball and buried her head between her knees. Into her ear came an unexpected voice.

“Your Highness.”

Slowly lifting her tear-streaked eyes at the unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable timbre, she was astonished to see it was Duke Dwayne of the Garnet Duchy.

As if she had met her savior, Relia crawled on her knees to the iron bars.

“Du, Du, Duke, please save me. Please get me out of here, will you?”

Her hand, reaching through the bars, trembled pitifully. Dwayne looked at her shaking hand and met her gaze.

“Your face has changed quite a bit, Your Highness.”

“Du, Duke, please get me out of here. If not, my father, my father…!”

“Yes, the Count seemed quite troubled about Your Highness.”

“Sigh.”

At Dwayne’s words, Relia broke down and sobbed uncontrollably. Dwayne silently watched her pathetic state.

Her sobbing continued for quite some time, yet he waited quietly. He waited for all the heightened emotions inside her to be fully vented.

After what seemed like an interminable period of waiting, her sobbing finally began to subside. Only then did Dwayne bend his knees, sit down, and meet Relia’s gaze.

“Your Highness. I came because I have something to ask you.”
“……Is there something you wish to ask?”

Dwayne nodded, looking at Lellia’s tense face, and subtly brought up what he had been keeping inside.

“The rumor says you’ve spoken about the throne, is it true?”

“……Th-That is.”

Dwayne unusually asked in a gentle tone. Even so, Lellia displayed noticeably anxious reactions. She stammered and couldn’t produce a proper answer. But Dwayne felt as if he had already heard one.