Previously
Cecilia searches for the young Rosivius at the banquet but finds only a brown-haired boy with Marquis Alvinus. She encounters Leoport, who admits he has no friends and does not know Scarlett despite her hostile glares.
I really couldn't wrap my head around it. Why on earth was Scarlett targeting me?
‘Did she develop a crush on Leo just from the rumors? But his real charm only shows when you see him up close….’
True, the Gibbels family belonged to the Noble Faction, but that didn't mean they were openly hostile to the Imperial Family. And even if they were, there was no reason for their daughter to hold a personal grudge against a princess.
Above all, this was our very first meeting.
“Ah.”
My thoughts were wandering so badly that I failed to mind my expression.
I must have looked utterly blank, though Cecilia's fairy-like features barely salvaged the moment.
After staring at my face for a heartbeat, Scarlett turned to greet Leoport, who was smiling nonchalantly.
“You are the young master of House Ornbach, are you not? A pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes, the pleasure is mine, Lady Gibbels. I am Leoport of Ornbach.”
Talk about progress. Compared to when he couldn't even look me in the eye, he had grown remarkably.
Judging by Scarlett's dry demeanor and Leoport's neutral response, it was evident they were indeed meeting for the first time.
‘Then why hold a grudge against me…?’
Scarlett's expression remained faintly rigid. What was bothering her so much?
Just then—
“Scarlett, despite what you say, it seems you made good use of the opportunity for the brother who will one day become head of the family?”
Before I knew it, a boy had walked up behind her. He was tall and lean, with meticulously styled red hair.
So, by brother, he meant….
‘Willow Gibbels… that scoundrel…!’
The very villain who tormented young ladies from humble backgrounds, like Emily.
A faint shiver ran through me as his traits came to mind.
‘Come to think of it, one of the reasons Scarlett bullied Emily was because of this brother of hers….’
I struggled to mask my revulsion.
Willow stepped up beside Scarlett with arrogant strides. Though he had learned the same etiquette, his behavior was tainted with an insolence that matched his character.
“Willow of House Gibbels greets the Little Star of the Empire.”
Even his bow carried an air of showmanship.
Holding a prior grievance against him as I did, there wasn't a single thing to like about him.
‘Positively repulsive.’
Hiding my distaste, I gave a sweet smile.
“Pleasure to meet you.”
Yet Scarlett appeared even more on edge….
What now? Why was she acting this way? Was she angry at her brother? But why did her face harden further whenever she looked at me?
‘Was I not supposed to smile? Does she think… I was flirting with him too?’
As I sank deeper into my bewilderment—
“I have heard much of Your Highness's fairy-like beauty, but seeing it in person is a tremendous honor.”
Willow knelt to meet my eye level and extended his hand.
“If you would allow me, may I escort you?”
Huh? Where did he think I was going?
His brown eyes held an unsettling gleam.
What was this…?
‘What sort of manners are these? Making a sudden pass at a princess? And when I'm only ten!’
I tried to keep my composure, but inside, I was utterly bewildered.
As I weighed how to respond in a manner befitting an imperial princess—
“Brother, don't you think you are putting Her Highness in an uncomfortable position?”
Scarlett's refined voice cut through the corridor. The smile on Willow's face froze instantly into something chilling.
“Scarlett, are you trying to humiliate me, the heir to House Gibbels?”
He spoke slowly, drawing out the words.
You're the one humiliating yourself… and Scarlett is completely right.
Their eyes locked for a moment, Scarlett's gaze darkening into an abyss.
“How could I harbor such a thought? I merely wished to remind you to mind your manners before Her Highness.”
“Manners? You mean that hypocrisy of yours?”
“……”
What was this? I had no idea their dynamic was like this.
Despite his harsh words, Scarlett offered no reply, only letting her face set into stone.
‘There wasn't a single scene between the two of them in the original story, but their relationship is bizarre, to say the least.’
It felt imperative that I learn more about these siblings who were slated to make Emily's life miserable.
‘I need to reevaluate Scarlett first.’
While I was lost in thought, Willow kept glaring down at Scarlett.
“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Gibbels.”
I spoke up clearly to draw his attention away.
“However, I already have an escort today, so I must decline your offer. We shall be on our way.”
With that, I quickly took Leoport's hand.
Recognizing that I was deliberately brushing past him, Willow scowled heavily.
Standing a full head taller than me, his grimace was genuinely intimidating.
‘He's treating me like a mere child rather than a princess… Shameless.’
It had been a long time since the red-eyed child last appeared in my dreams.
The last time I had seen him was around when I became friends with Leoport… and he had grown considerably since then.
He was still in that storeroom-like chamber, his frame frail, likely from malnutrition.
Yet his red eyes shone with striking clarity under the moonlight filtering through the small window.
He lay on the floor near the sill, surrounded by a scattered mess of the elementary primers commonly read by noble children.
‘It seems they taught him how to read.’
By his feet rested a shoddy tray bearing milk, stale bread, potatoes, and sausage… It wasn't a tiny portion, but it lacked any care in preparation, and he barely seemed to have touched it.
‘Does this child truly exist in this world? If so, the family head who keeps him locked away must have been among the guests today….’
With a sudden bang, the door swung open violently.
Light from the corridor spilled deep into the room. If they had the wealth to illuminate the hallway so brightly, the fact that this room lacked even a single candle was blatant proof of neglect.
“Hey, you cursed demon.”
It was the voice of a boy who had seemingly just passed his vocal break. Was he around Willow Gibbels's age?
Standing with his back to the hall's glare, his face remained obscured in shadow, just like every other time.
“Want to hear something incredible?”
Lying on his side with his back turned to the door, the child didn't stir, no matter what the boy said.
“You bastard, your elder brother is talking to you.”
“Ugh!”
Since the room was narrow, it took the boy only a couple of strides to kick the child square in the back.
Though he wore soft wool slippers, meaning the physical pain wasn't intense, the gravity of violence cannot be weighed by its force alone.
“Consider it mercy that I'm in a good mood.”
With a sharp nudge, he tapped the tip of his foot against the child's shoulder.
The child's face remained blank, as though carved from marble, but his eyes seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
“Today, I went to the Imperial Palace and met the girl who will become my bride.”
He went to the Imperial Palace today?
Was this scene playing out in real time right now…?
“Father said he'd move heaven and earth to make me a son-in-law to the Imperial Family. So you—monster though you are—will be related to royalty. All thanks to me.”
Huh? What did he just say?
If he was truly an imperial noble, the Imperial Family meant our family.
Grace was married, Roselia was unmarried but at least ten years his senior, and Rebecca was a priestess….
‘Me?’
Why was everyone so relentlessly fixated on targeting me?
In that moment, I desperately wished this scene belonged to an entirely different dimension.
“Of course, before that happens, I might just toss you onto a funeral pyre.”
He spoke in a voice dripping with cruel amusement.
If he was mentioning burning at the stake, this really might be another world or country… There were no burnings here.
‘Even if I try to look on the bright side, what's certain is that this child's mother was a knight slain in the Sea of No Return… Ah.’
The boy continued to nudge the child's head with the toe of his shoe to no response, then clicked his tongue and spat a curse, seemingly bored.
Scanning the room for something else to torment him with, he snatched a piece of stale bread from the tray on the floor.
He certainly had no intention of eating it, spitting it onto the ground after a single bite. Anyone could tell at a glance that it was hard as a rock.
“…Tsk. You just wait, you demon.”
Slam—
The moment the door slammed shut, a tear rolled down the child's cheek, as if dislodged by the jolt.
Just like that day inside the tent, I reached out my unreachable hand and patted his forehead.
‘Under the moonlight, his hair was unmistakably brown….’
Brown hair was far too common. Which family did he belong to?
Though I had wished what the boy said wasn't from this world, part of me hoped just as fiercely that it was.
At least then, I might be able to change—even if just a little—how people viewed the red eyes that brought this child so much blame.
After all, I had power… and knowledge.
“Cecil, I will definitely accompany you on your next outing, so you must follow the guards' instructions closely today.”
One of the best perks of turning ten was that I was finally allowed to sneak out—albeit under escort—beyond the palace walls.
“Sister, don't worry. You really have to come with me next time, all right?”
Despite my sweet words, the very first thing I had planned after setting the date was how to keep Roselia far away from me!
‘My escort alone consists of eight people… and Roselia is morbidly obsessive about my safety….’
I was going out for a specific purpose, but under her suffocating, meticulous protection, nothing would succeed. Her personality was as razor-sharp as the short bob cut just beneath her ears.
That was why I had intentionally scheduled my outing on her duty day right after the Holy Knights' shift roster was released, playing totally dumb.
Even so, she couldn't quell her anxiety, arriving at my bedchamber at the break of dawn.
‘Since my lack of holy power is a top-secret matter, Roselia—stickler for rules that she is—couldn't swap her shift without good cause.’
Feeling a twinge of guilt over her genuine worry, I lifted my index finger and showed her the thin wire ring.
In reality, it held a large gemstone, made to appear minuscule through concealment magic.
“Brother Theo also gave me a teleportation ring to use in an emergency.”
When my disguised outings were finally permitted, Theodore—who ran a charitable foundation and boasted a vast web of connections—had procured several state-of-the-art teleportation rings from the Magic Tower.
“Yes, I saw it.”
Roselia sighed.
“Still, if someone without magical power uses that ring….”
She lowered her voice, gently tying the ribbons of my bonnet.