“For someone called the Emperor’s mad dog, you don’t seem to like the Emperor very much.”

Celiya fixed her gaze on Dietrich’s face as she probed him with her words.

However, the man before her did not react to Celiya’s words. Though his inner thoughts were unknown, at least outwardly his expression revealed no emotion.

He simply stared at Celiya with his mouth firmly shut. Celiya continued speaking in a soft voice, as if not expecting a response from Dietrich.

“Unlike the rumors that you followed the Emperor like a dog, you didn’t even spare a glance at his corpse.”

As Celiya finished speaking, she smiled with her eyes crinkling. Her clear eyes folded into thin crescents at the corners, and her verdant irises curved into the shape of new moons.

Dietrich scrutinized her face carefully. As if searching for something, Dietrich, who had been staring intently at her face, opened his mouth.

“It seems you’ve forgotten what I said earlier.”

His gaze moved from Celiya’s smiling face to the line of her neck.

“I told you that if a person talks too much, their life might be shortened.”

Instead of replying, Celiya looked at Dietrich’s right hand. Dietrich had his fist clenched, and to Celiya’s eyes, it looked as if he was desperate to strangle her.

“If you kill me now, you’ll surely regret it.”

At Celiya’s words, Dietrich’s eyes narrowed.

“Regret…”

Dietrich’s gaze remained fixed on one spot. A faint sneer appeared on his dry face as he looked at Celiya’s slender neck.

“Then why don’t we test whether I’ll regret it after killing you?”

Dietrich immediately put his words into action. His strong hand grasped Celiya’s neck in one swift motion.

The nickname “mad dog” wasn’t given for nothing. Dietrich always returned harm done to him several times over.

Never once in his life had he regretted his actions.

The Emperor shouldn’t have died. He should have killed him more horribly, more miserably, with his own hands.

But this woman had turned the plan he had prepared for ten long years into nothing in an instant.

He had left her alive only because killing her recklessly would surely cause an uproar.

Given the situation, killing her right now would do him no good, so Dietrich had only intended to frighten Celiya.

He wanted to teach her a lesson because he didn’t like her arrogant attitude of looking down on him.

Even as her throat was being squeezed, Celiya was smiling at Dietrich instead of letting out agonized groans.

At that moment, Celiya’s small, snow-white hand touched Dietrich’s cheek.

The moment her hand touched his cheek, a scent of flowers that shouldn’t exist in a prison wafted over them.

The scent of hyacinth enveloped the two of them and their surroundings. Dietrich’s eyes shook violently like a tsunami before a storm, overwhelmed by the strong scent that made his mind hazy.

“!”

Dietrich instantly released his grip on Celiya’s neck. In just a few seconds, red marks had already appeared on Celiya’s neck.

Celiya touched her marked neck and looked at Dietrich with wide eyes, as if observing a strange creature. Dietrich stared at her large green eyes, round like those of a startled deer, with an indescribable expression.

“Aren’t you affected at all?”

Celiya’s voice, tinged with disbelief, echoed through the iron bars. Almost simultaneously as she finished speaking, the thick scent of hyacinth also disappeared.

Dietrich glared at Celiya as if he wanted to kill her.

“How… how can you use your ability?”

* * *

The Brillione Viscount’s estate.

The enormous mansion, which was once hard to believe had been a crumbling estate barely able to pay its servants’ wages, was now filled with all sorts of luxuries.

From angel statues carved by renowned sculptors whose names alone commanded high prices, to fountains adorned with lion statues spewing water, and gardens full of rare and colorful flowers – everything was extravagantly expensive.

Inside the mansion, in a spacious room, was Hariel Brillione, the mistress of the viscount’s family.

Her deep navy hair, like faded river water, was styled in an updo that was currently fashionable among noble young ladies in the capital.

It certainly didn’t seem like a hairstyle befitting a noblewoman who had given birth to three children.

She always maintained a youthful style. She followed the fashions of the capital and put on airs as if she were more refined than anyone else.

Hariel was reclining on a plush sofa, receiving a foot massage from her maid, Lisa.

“It feels especially good today.”

Hariel, who was usually stingy with praise, rarely complimented Lisa.

Lisa, who massaged the mistress’s feet every day, felt that the typically ill-tempered mistress had been in an unusually good mood lately.

More precisely, since sending Celiya to the imperial palace.

Lisa cautiously observed the mistress’s mood. Hariel had practically sold off Celiya to the old emperor while her husband, the viscount, and his two sons were away from the mansion for a while.

Lisa knew that the mistress disliked Celiya, but she never expected her to do something so cruel.

Knowing how Celiya had been treated by the mistress, Lisa felt very sorry for her.

It was all thanks to Celiya that the Brillione Viscount’s family, located far from the capital, had gained such overflowing wealth and fame.

Ever since they took in Celiya, who had been wandering the streets alone, as their adopted daughter, the Brillione mansion, which had never had visitors before, was bustling with people coming to see her every day.

They said that one look at her would make anyone fall in love. Even the most stoic of men would pine for Celiya after seeing her.

It was understandable. After all, the reason Hariel’s husband, Viscount Brillione, had taken in Celiya as his adopted daughter when she was rummaging through garbage cans in rags was because of her beauty that even filth couldn’t hide.

The viscount who adopted her, and his two sons, all looked at Celiya with eyes clouded by desire.

Hariel went a step further and generously gave men who offered the most wealth a ‘chance’ to meet and talk with Celiya.

As soon as Celiya became an adult, men rushed to offer their wealth to the viscount’s family as if they had been waiting for this moment. Instead of refusing, Hariel pocketed all the wealth they gave without missing a single coin.

Fearing that Celiya might say unnecessary things to the men, she always made sure to send a maid who would be her eyes and ears in the room.

Celiya’s own wishes were nowhere to be considered.

Although the viscount and his two sons were displeased with Hariel’s actions, they didn’t stop her.

It was clearly visible how their old mansion was transforming into a magnificent estate.

Seeing money pouring in monthly that they couldn’t have earned even if they squeezed their territory’s people for a lifetime, they chose to turn a blind eye and remain silent.

They were truly selfish people. In Lisa’s eyes, they weren’t even human.

However, Lisa was in no position to criticize them. She had been serving by Hariel’s side for years because the wages were three times higher than elsewhere.

Hariel always had lavish meals with meat.

On the other hand, she insisted that Celiya eat tasteless porridge made of grass and tree leaves three times a day, claiming that if she gained weight, her value would decrease.

The image of Celiya silently eating the porridge that even stray dogs wouldn’t touch was vivid in her mind.

Perhaps that’s why Lisa, uncharacteristically, meddled.

“…My lady, when the master returns, he will surely be angry. Sending the young miss to the imperial palace without any consultation was too hasty an action.”

Hariel’s mood, which had been elated until just now, plummeted. She spat out in an irritable voice.

“What on earth are you saying! Celiya went to the imperial palace because she wanted to.”

“…”

“She went of her own accord, not because I sent her. I guess even a pretty girl who wants for nothing likes power. If she says she likes the emperor, what can I do? It breaks my heart, but I had to let her go.”

Hariel said nonchalantly as she picked up a teacup filled with jasmine tea.

“Watch your words, Lisa. I care for you very much.”

At the warning in her words, Lisa nodded and focused on the foot massage.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“Mother, may I come in for a moment?”

At the voice heard from beyond the closed door, a smile bloomed on Hariel’s face.

“Come in, Gabriel.”

As the door opened, a woman wearing a mermaid dress studded with rubies, the only one of its kind in the empire, gracefully walked into the room.

This extravagant dress, with rubies becoming darker towards the hem, had been given to Celiya by a merchant who admired her, but Celiya herself never got to even see this dress before being pushed off to the imperial palace.

Not just the dress. The multicolored opal earrings Gabriel wore, the pink diamond necklace, and even the butterfly-shaped hair ornament with its delicate craftsmanship – there wasn’t a single item that didn’t belong to Celiya.

“Gabriel, you look even more beautiful today.”

At Hariel’s compliment, Gabriel raised the corners of her mouth and replied.

“It feels like this dress was made just for me.”

Gabriel, who inherited Hariel’s deep navy hair color, was Hariel’s beloved youngest daughter. Unlike her disobedient brothers, Gabriel was intelligent and mature.

However, after taking in Celiya as an adopted daughter, Gabriel was overshadowed by Celiya’s halo and couldn’t shine.

Hariel felt uneasy. She knew that her beloved daughter wasn’t as beautiful as Celiya, but she couldn’t accept that fact.

Moreover, her husband and two sons drooled over Celiya.

The only person truly on her side was Gabriel. So she deliberately isolated and ostracized Celiya in the mansion.

Gabriel had once pleaded with her not to torment Celiya, saying:

– Mother, Celiya is also our family, so please don’t torment her too much.

Hariel was inwardly upset that her daughter didn’t understand her true feelings. Then Gabriel added, with a gentle smile on her lips:

– If you’re really worried, why don’t we open the mansion doors wide and hold a public courtship? Celiya is beautiful, so men will flock to see her without rest. Naturally, Celiya’s narrow worldview will also broaden.

Thus, using Celiya, the mother and daughter pair gained overflowing wealth and fame.

It was all thanks to Gabriel’s help that they were able to sell Celiya off to the old emperor when the viscount and his two sons were away.

– Celiya is already an adult, she can’t stay under the family’s shadow forever. If we’re going to send her somewhere, it might as well be to His Majesty the Emperor, the highest authority. Since Father and my brothers will make a fuss if they find out, I’ll write a letter to the imperial palace on your behalf, Mother.

And so, they sent her to the emperor who was over seventy years old. But today, Gabriel’s expression didn’t look good at all.

She glanced down at Lisa.

“Mother, I’d like to talk to you alone.”

Hariel gestured for Lisa to leave. Lisa bowed her head and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Gabriel approached Hariel and spoke in a soft voice.

“Mother, have you heard the news?”

“…What news?”