Daughter of the Emperor

Volume 1

Chapter 2

Caitel not only had the looks, but the status as well, so many women had their eyes on him. Of course, behind all those women were many people of great power, they say.

He might be crazy, but at the end of the day, he was the emperor, and there was nothing people wouldn’t do to win him over. They didn’t hesitate to sneak into his room naked or seduce him like a prostitute and spend the night with him.

As a result, many women became pregnant with his babies. But it was said that none were able to give birth successfully, that each and every person who’d tried rope Caitel in met with gruesome endings…

I scowled at the thought.

What a lunatic! As someone with little to no affection toward his own bloodline, whenever women would foolishly try to leverage their unborn child, it was said that the emperor had done unspeakably horrific things. I hadn’t been sure before I saw him, but now that I had, I realized it was more than possible.

That bastard? Absolutely.

“She’s sleeping so soundly.”

“Shh, Her Highness might wake.”

“Psh.”

It was said that everyone was shocked when I was born because of that jerk’s notorious history. I would have been, too.

I eventually woke up, the ceiling looking hazy before me. They say that children generally have poor eyesight when exposed to light, but it was interesting to me that it didn’t feel uncomfortable. How is it that there isn’t much of a difference?

“Awake again, Your Highness?”

Nanny smiled as she watched me murmur as soon as I woke.

Lady Serira really was very pretty. According to my personal standards, of course. Unfortunately, unlike me, the beauty standards of people in this country were quite strict.

“She really is so adorable.”

Elene poked her head in from the side to interject. A cute, round face entered my periphery. She has that kind of face and she’s a chatterbox? I could already recognize Elene just by the sound of her voice, so I wasn’t too happy to see her.

I don’t like you.

“Aw, so cute.”

Get that hand off of me! When I scowled, Nanny slapped Elene’s hand away. Dispirited, Elene pulled her hand back.

“Her Highness hates me.”

Because you won’t stop yammering. I wanted to say something back, but only babbling came out of my mouth. Ah, being a baby is quite inconvenient. I wish my teeth would grow in sooner or later. I earnestly prayed that the day I could speak even the simplest words would come soon.

“But she’s still beautiful. I’m jealous.”

“Because she looks just like His Imperial Majesty.”

“True. Who knew she would even inherit his silvery-red hair?”

Elene peeked out from behind Nanny to look at me. I wanted to shove that face away, but surely it would make Elene cry, so I decided to leave her be.

Hmph. This is all because of my magnanimous heart.

“Aww, adorable little thing.”

“Don’t be rude. She’s still the princess.”

“Huh? But she’s still a baby,” Elene said with a bright smile.

But Nanny frowned.

Actually, it’s nice to be told that I’m cute… That means I am cute. That means I’m pretty. I don’t like chatterboxes, but I like compliments. When I smiled, Elene got excited and smiled back.

Fine. It’s thanks to you I found out that my father is crazy, so I’ll forgive you for all the yapping thus far.

Still, I scowled because I couldn’t help but be annoyed by Elene touching my cheeks. Suddenly, the palace door opened and people barged in.

Huh?

Even lying down, I could tell that a lot of people had come in. I could only imagine how startled Nanny and Elene would have been having to confront it head-on. They stood there, shocked. Nanny immediately picked me up and held me in her arms. It made me uneasy to see her pale face. What’s going on?

Did my crazy father relay orders to have me killed?

“What is it?”

Serira’s voice was surprisingly sharp when she was on edge, but it was soon drowned out by a clanking noise. I wanted to look up to see who had come in. Where was this clanking coming from? Was someone wearing armor?

Come on. Argh!

My head was facing the nanny’s chest, so regrettably, I wasn’t able to see for myself.

“Orders from the emperor,” said a man’s voice.

“Orders?”

Really? Am I really going to die already? Just days after my birth? In the midst of my sorrow and despair, the knight’s voice resounded clearly in my ears.

“Princess Ariadna is to be moved to the Soleil Palace.”

The Soleil Palace, simply put, was the emperor’s palace.

To be more precise, it was the palace where all of the emperor’s quarters, including his bedroom and office, were located. Furthermore, it was the palace where all state affairs were conducted. It was said that Soleil alone was so vast and important that it was often referred to as the “Small Imperial Palace,” so the fact that I was moving there seemed quite meaningful.

“Perhaps he’s really decided to accept the princess,” Elene spoke seriously for once.

I looked at her through narrowed eyes, bundled up in a blanket. She always looked to be in high spirits, but for some reason, she looked a bit gloomy at this moment.

She may have been an eighteen-year-old chatterbox with her head in the clouds, but she still seemed to fear the crazy emperor. I found that to be interesting. And seeing her so scared made me feel sorry for her.

“Shh, watch your mouth. This isn’t Echelon.”

“All right…” Elene trailed off. I closed my eyes again.

Echelon was the name of the palace I had been staying at. I didn’t know what kind of palace it was, but one thing I did know was that it was a shabby place tucked away in a corner, and also where my mother lived.

“I feel terrible for Princess Jereina.”

“I told you to watch your mouth!”

Elene bit her lip at the stinging reprimand. Nanny gave her a stern look. After watching for a moment, I pulled on Nanny’s hair. She looked down at me. Her blue eyes were refreshing to look at.

“You will be fine. Not to worry, Your Highness.”

Did I ever say I was worried? I pursed my lips with a dazed look on my face, but the nanny just smiled warmly at me. I had been thinking this before, but Serira had a kind of tragic kind of beauty to her. Whatever she did, it had a plaintiveness, a fondness, and a pitifulness. That’s a talent in and of itself.

“The emperor would never do such a terrible thing as to lay a hand on the princess. Of course not.”

I mean, if he lays so much as a finger on me, he isn’t just crazy. He is a one-of-a-kind rotten dog. Laying a hand on a baby… What kind of deranged lunatic…?

Ah, but there was something I had heard once before. When he had gone to the north to conquer a kingdom, he had burned the royal family, adults and children alike.

So he’s just complete trash. Just your average deranged lunatic…

My life is doomed.

“Not that room.”

“Sorry? Not this room?”

The room we had naturally walked up to was not it, apparently. The knight who had given us the emperor’s orders guided us elsewhere. Nanny and Elene both sounded surprised. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it sounded like this was the room I was supposed to be in, but that the crazy dog had moved me somewhere else.

Ah, whatever, just let me go back to the cradle. I want to sleep!

“Are you tired, Your Highness?”

“Nnngaah.”

“Oh my. She must be sleepy.”

I could feel the knight’s panic at my whining from where I was. I could see with my blurry vision that people were moving with more urgency.

Agh, my eyes hurt.

A baby’s eyes are so delicate, they become tired quite quickly. I just closed my eyes for a moment and felt the sensation of my body trembling.

Still, I felt comfortable because I was in Nanny’s arms.

I won’t be able to be held by her like this when I get bigger, will I? Surely I would have been held like this by my mother in my past life. It made me just a little sad that I couldn’t remember.

“All right now, Princess. We’re here.”

I opened my eyes just a little bit to see that Serira was smiling at me. Judging by the unfamiliar feeling on my back, it seemed I was in a new cradle. I whined.

Not this one! No! The old one!

“Princess, this is a much better bed than the other one. More spacious, too.”

Take me back to the other one! That one is more comfortable!

“Oh, dear Princess. But this one is more comfortable. There, there. That feels nice, doesn’t it?”

Nanny’s hand had to have some kind of magic. Whatever she was doing, it did feel nice, just like she said. Wow, that’s amazing. Serira smiled when I opened my mouth. I smiled back as I looked at her pale cheeks.

“How adorable.”

The hand touching my forehead was warm. Maybe this is what warmth is. I smiled once again, then closed my eyes.

Sleepy. I’m falling asleep…

I couldn’t remember what I’d dreamed about, only that I was floating around on what felt like clouds. The feeling was obscure.

This is what it would feel like if I were walking on clouds. Dreamy and somewhat like cotton candy. Fluffy and soft to the touch as my body floats around from here to there.

It tickles. I let out a squeal and a laugh.

But all of a sudden, the air became heavy. It felt like something was pressing down on my chest. It feels tight. My chest feels stuffy. It was hard to breathe. I whined as I struggled to open my eyes.

My blurry vision was freed from the darkness. At that moment, my eyes met the cold gaze looking down at me.

Aaaah!!

I almost burst into tears. I could see my chest rising and falling violently. I looked around with my big eyes to check my surroundings and saw that night had fallen.

Why is he here at this hour? Why isn’t he in bed?

I looked up at him, thoroughly upset. Our eyes met. Our gazes became entangled in the air.

I thought quietly to myself, Is that color what you call “crimson”?

The bright crimson hue disoriented my vision. Combined with his fierce glare, I felt like I was being pushed into a corner. Was it murderous intent or just hostility? I couldn’t tell. And it seemed neither could Caitel, my father. He let out a slightly deflated laugh. His smile felt a bit dispirited somehow.

“I noticed this earlier too…”

As I looked up at him, lying in the cradle, he brought his ice-cold hand to my cheek. It was freezing. No, chilling. It felt like I was submerged in dry water.

“She doesn’t cry.”

One definitive statement.

He seemed surprised that I didn’t cry when I saw him.

I mean, I was just as surprised. Of course, I wanted to cry like most other kids. I definitely had the desire to. But the problem was that if I did, this man would not hesitate to slit my throat, simply to stop the noise.

The thought that he might not do such a thing never crossed my mind from the start. He’s crazy, after all.

“The princess is very docile.”

Ah, the nanny is here after all. I thought she wasn’t.

I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw that Serira was standing there with her hands clasped. Her already pale face had gotten even paler as if it had been washed with bleach.

She looked restless, worried that the emperor might actually kill me. On top of that, his gaze on her after she said something seemed to be quite burdensome for her.

I mean, it’s just as burdensome to me, too.

If I feel this way, I can only imagine how intense it is for Serira.

Thankfully, there was nothing more that intrigued him once Serira fearfully lowered her head and held her breath. So Caitel’s gaze came back to me.

“Even so.”

He stroked my cheek with his cold hand. It gave me goosebumps. Then he reached for my neck.

Is strangling people his hobby or something? Why does he keep going for the neck?

“She should at least be able to sense when someone is trying to kill her.”

Oh, I’m sensing it. Trust me.

I wanted to nod as an affirmation, but his hand was so cold on my neck that I couldn’t. Ah, if I really die, I’ll die by being strangled by this hand. I groaned with a look on my face that was hard to distinguish whether it was a sigh or a lament. He chuckled.

It sounded strange—hard to say it was laughter but hard to say it wasn’t. Actually, if I really had to describe it, it was closer to a mocking laugh.

“The daughter is too calm.”

I’m your daughter, you dimwit. Don’t act like you’re talking about someone else’s daughter.

He rested his chin on his hand and leaned in toward me. A shadow was cast on my head. It wasn’t that bright a room in the first place, but it became extremely dark when he covered the light. The way only his glaring red eyes glowed amidst the darkness was quite frightening.

“She bears no resemblance to her mother. How unfortunate.”

Do you even remember what my mother looks like? I looked up at him blankly, and he suddenly began laughing like a lunatic. He even threw his head back.

Uh, there’s a maniac over here! Somebody? Anybody?

I looked up at Caitel, suppressing the desperate urge to call 911, when he put his hand on my forehead.

“A curse, was it?”

A curse? I widened my eyes.

“Not too bad.”

What in the hell is this nonsense?

“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of curse you will cast upon me.”

Even the lips that touched my forehead were cold. In that moment, I saw something sparkling in those crimson eyes looking down at me.