Rumors are spreading that Celia Brillion attempted to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.
Gabriel spoke as she leaned closer to Hariel.
At those words, Hariel’s expression twisted instantly.
“…What did you say? Gabriel, is that true?”
“Yes, the rumor is already rampant in the streets.”
“So that damned wretch has finally decided to ruin our family!”
Hariel clenched the armrest of the sofa, seething with rage.
“That filthy gutter rat… After all the kindness we showed raising her, she repays us with betrayal?”
Gabriel gently grasped Hariel’s wrist and whispered soothingly.
“Mother, don’t be so upset. It doesn’t make sense for ignorant Celia to have killed the Emperor. They conduct thorough body searches before anyone enters the sleeping chamber—this must be an exaggerated rumor.”
Hariel frowned. She didn’t believe an unfounded rumor could spread all the way from the capital to their remote viscounty.
“Gabriel, what if the rumor is true? That lowborn girl might be deliberately dragging our family into ruin, using our past treatment of her as an excuse!”
“Mother.”
Gabriel sharply cut her off.
“When exactly have we ever mistreated Celia?”
She tilted her head, bewildered.
“After all, she wasn’t even blood-related. Father was the one who brought her into the family when she was scavenging through trash bins in the slums.”
And besides, what kind of father looks at his adopted daughter with such lustful eyes? Even my own brothers were no better—the way they looked at Celia was no different from dogs in heat.
Whether Celia truly killed the Emperor or not, Gabriel felt not a trace of regret for selling her to the palace.
The family would return from their estate and likely throw a tantrum, but since Celia was now in the Imperial Palace, there was nothing they could do.
“We’re ruined! If I’d known that wretch would kill the Emperor, I should’ve chopped off her hands and feet!”
Hariel cursed Celia while tearing at her own hair.
Gabriel felt a flicker of irritation at her mother’s premature panic, but instead of showing it, she soothed her gently.
“Mother, even if Celia did kill His Majesty, we won’t suffer any consequences.”
“Gabriel! What are you saying? Have you ever seen a family that opposed the Emperor survive unscathed? We could die—all because of that one girl!”
Frustrated, Hariel pounded her chest with her fists.
Gabriel frowned slightly, but then smiled sweetly at Hariel as if nothing had happened.
“Don’t worry. After all, the real Emperor is the Three Great Princes.”
Three powerful dukes who ruled vast territories and wielded immense influence.
These three dukes came from ancient noble houses that had existed since Abelon was merely a small nation, and each was outstanding in both appearance and ability.
Ileon Gredrick, the master strategist; Arthur Servantes, the sorcerer; and Balt Portman, the Swordmaster.
Each was a figure more imperial than the Emperor himself.
Gabriel spoke softly.
“The Emperor was merely a puppet. The previous Three Great Princes jointly installed a hollow figurehead, knowing that if they became entangled in power struggles, their hard-earned prestige and status would crumble.”
Leaning against Hariel’s shoulder, the girl who had sold her unrelated younger sister to that hollow figure continued.
“Mother, why not aim higher? Celia killing the Emperor might actually be an opportunity for us.”
“…An opportunity?”
Gabriel beamed with a radiant smile.
Exactly as it sounds. Celia is famously beautiful, after all. But the late Emperor wasn’t held in high regard.
Gabriel was right. The Emperor had been incompetent and neglectful of the palace, causing frequent discontent among the people.
“Just wait and see. There will certainly be people who praise Celia as a national hero.”
“….”
“Who knows? Celia might even bring us into the palace herself.”
Hariel stared at Gabriel as if she were a stranger. She knew Gabriel was clever for her age, but never imagined she understood the workings of imperial power so thoroughly.
“Gabriel, you’re truly remarkable! How can you be so intelligent?”
Gabriel smirked faintly.
The reason she knew so much about the royal court—secrets other noble daughters could only dream of—was all for one purpose: to win Dietrich.
Dietrich Calypso.
A man of extraordinary cunning who had clawed his way up from the bottom to claim a dukedom.
Years ago, when Gabriel visited the capital, she had accidentally encountered Dietrich on a street in front of the Imperial Palace.
The moment her eyes met his indifferent red ones, she vowed she would make that man hers, by any means necessary.
A man whose eyes sank with cold detachment, like an unfathomable swamp—surely he wouldn’t be swayed by someone like Celia.
But Dietrich would never meet someone like Gabriel, who had no connection to him. Believing she needed to be useful to gain his attention, she threw herself into studying everything about the royal family.
Now, years later, her knowledge of the palace was so vast she could converse with imperial ministers on equal footing.
She had repeatedly tried to bribe the gatekeepers to arrange a meeting with Dietrich, but he had never once granted her an audience.
Thus, Gabriel’s final gambit was to send Celia to the Emperor.
If Celia entered the palace, Gabriel would have a perfect excuse to follow. And on top of that, she could enjoy watching Celia sink into despair and misery—killing two birds with one stone.
“…I never thought she’d have the courage to kill the Emperor.”
Gabriel murmured under her breath.
Celia would survive the assassination. Countless men infatuated with her would never allow her to die.
Deep within the underground prison of the Imperial Palace, Celia was recalling her conversation with Dietrich.
—How can you… use supernatural abilities?
Her powers had no effect on Dietrich. Worse, he seemed to know all about these abilities.
Celia doubted her own ears. Because everyone who knew of these powers had died ten years ago.
She concealed her shock and feigned ignorance.
—Supernatural abilities? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.
—…….
Dietrich stared silently at the angry red handprint on Celia’s neck. Under his piercing gaze, Celia wondered if he would strangle her again.
For a long time, Dietrich didn’t avert his eyes from her neck. Uncomfortable, Celia tightly covered her throat with one hand.
Then, Dietrich suddenly grabbed her hand and lowered his head toward the nape of her neck.
Celia, whose powers had failed, still assumed Dietrich was just another man driven by base desires.
But Dietrich’s next action completely defied her expectations. He buried his face against her neck and sniffed her like a dog.
The sensation of his breath and skin brushing against hers left Celia momentarily speechless.
But quickly recovering, she shoved him away in panic. His solid, unmoving body surprisingly gave way smoothly under her touch.
Dietrich looked down at Celia’s small head and muttered flatly.
—You don’t smell like her.
—What?
What kind of man was this? Celia glared at Dietrich with disgust. Meanwhile, Dietrich’s expression remained utterly blank—as if he couldn’t possibly be the same person who had just done such a bizarre thing.
—Stay quiet. Pretend to be dead.
With those final words, Dietrich stood up and walked slowly, neither fast nor slow, toward the cell door.
Clank!
Dietrich locked the prison door, and their eyes met across the iron bars.
—What are you going to do with me?
Dietrich didn’t answer. He stared at Celia for a moment, then turned his back and walked away.
Left alone, Celia clenched and unclenched her hand.
In her entire life, this was the first man her supernatural ability had failed to affect.
Celia’s true identity was the last princess of the Shan Kingdom, destroyed ten years ago by Abelon and erased from the map. In the Shan royal family, each member was born with a unique supernatural ability.
These abilities varied widely—from insignificant ones like making plants grow faster through singing, to the ability to communicate with animals.
Celia was the first in the history of the Shan dynasty to be born with the power to control another’s mind.
Her ability emitted the scent of hyacinth, paralyzing all of a person’s senses. Anyone who inhaled the fragrance would become deaf to words, numb to pain and suffering—reduced to a helpless fool.
Once the hyacinth scent faded, the victim wouldn’t remember anything that had happened.
Yet this extraordinary, seemingly perfect ability had a fatal flaw: it only worked on men, and each use gradually consumed her own lifespan.
The greatest tragedy was that Celia possessed extraordinary beauty.
People often said the world was kinder to the beautiful—but really?
Celia wondered what kind of fool had ever said such a thing.
Then, a bloody cough suddenly burst from between her lips.
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, she laughed bitterly.
‘Only about a year of life left.’
After using her ability so recklessly, it was no wonder her body had reached its limit. People had always tried to exploit her, and she had used her power freely just to defend herself.
Countless men had rushed to declare their love for her, but to Celia, they all seemed like blind men.
They were fooled by shiny exteriors, never realizing how rotten and decayed they truly were inside.
Relying on others was foolish. That’s why she had killed the Emperor with her own hands.
If she had feared death, she wouldn’t have used her ability so recklessly.
‘Everyone who knew about these powers should be dead—except me…’
Then how did that man, Dietrich, know about them?
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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