Previously
Cecilia decides to embrace the persona of a child prodigy to influence her family, arguing that discriminating against commoner soldiers will destroy the military's future morale. Her insight impresses Grace and Theresia, securing her status as a valued member of the family despite her lack of Holy Power.
“You son of a devil!”
That dream again…
I flinched at the familiar barrage of curses, blinking rapidly as I tried to adjust to the darkness.
“Creeping around like a rat! What kind of curse are you trying to bring upon us?”
“N-no… I was just hungry…”
“Greedy, just as expected of a devil’s spawn! Aren’t the meals we feed you enough, huh?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Did tossing him scraps of stale bread like garbage even count as feeding him…?
I could only watch the scene unfold in the dark, my heart aching for him.
The man began grabbing anything within reach and hurling it. The room barely held anything to begin with, so dry crusts of bread, long-rotten apples, a pillow that looked as if it hadn’t been washed in ages, and an old book came flying in every direction.
“How did I ever let such a filthy thing into my home!”
None of the thrown objects hit their mark, but the venom in his voice wounded far worse.
And the child—the very child who hadn’t cried even as an infant—did nothing more than curl into himself and tremble.
“Tsk… tsk…”
Having exhausted everything in his hands, the man stood there panting for a while.
From the sound of his voice, he seemed to be in his thirties. There wasn’t even a proper candlestick around, so I couldn’t make out his face.
‘Then again, if there were a candlestick, he probably would’ve thrown that too… Maybe it’s better this way.’
“I’m… I’m sorry, sir…”
Even though the boy called him “sir,” he didn’t seem to be a servant. He had this entire room to himself, after all.
The trouble was, this “room” was a miserable little closet of a space, with a tiny window that barely let in a sliver of moonlight.
It felt uncomfortably similar to my semi-basement room in my past life…
“If you dare slip out without permission again, it won’t end with just this.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
The boy stayed huddled in place, murmuring apologies over and over. In the faint moonlight, I watched his small silhouette in silence.
Thud… Thud…
With furious strides, the man stormed out.
“Serves you right, you idiot. Did you actually believe Father was going to present you to society?”
Another boy sneered from the doorway where the man had just left.
He was standing against the light, his face lost in shadow.
Judging by his frame, he looked to be around twelve or thirteen… right around the age to enter the academy.
“Keep dreaming. And lower those cursed eyes of yours. Ptui!”
He spat on the floor like he’d learned it somewhere, then kicked the wooden door shut with all his might.
Creeeak…
The hinges groaned in his wake, as if crying out on the boy’s behalf.
‘Just how many times has this happened?’
Every time I encountered the child in this dream, he was enduring the same abuse from that domineering father and son.
‘Leaving him neglected back when he couldn’t even talk or walk was almost merciful compared to this.’
Shortly after the knight Irina’s death, the child had been brought to this mansion.
During his earliest years, he had been entirely on his own, but since last year, this was how it always went.
And just like every other time, there was nothing I could do except watch.
Once the sound of the door fully settled, the child lifted his head ever so slightly. His crimson eyes brimmed with tears.
They spilled down his cheeks, yet he never made a sound.
“Baroness, I have a question.”
“What is it, Your Highness?”
It had been more than three years since I began my studies under Baroness Rentil.
Noticing that my mind was wandering, she shut her leather-bound book with a soft snap.
From the fond shake of her head, as if she could never say no to my curiosity, I knew she had been expecting it.
“Are red eyes rare?”
“Red eyes…?”
“Yes.”
“Have you come across someone with red eyes?”
“…Not exactly.”
It wasn’t a lie; I’d never met him in reality.
Seeing her slight tension, I tilted my head curiously, causing the short pigtails resting on my shoulders to sway.
“Did you read about it in a book?”
“No, just… I think I overheard something about it.”
My answer came out in a quiet murmur.
‘I didn’t hear it… I saw it. In a dream.’
Since I wasn’t permitted to leave the imperial palace, my world was small, but I had never seen anyone with eyes as crimson as that child’s.
Mary had blue eyes, Batisha had black, and my wet nurse had brown.
Even among the occasional visitors, there were violet eyes, but never red.
“Are people gossiping about such things in the palace as well…?”
The Baroness sighed, setting her book aside before removing her spectacles. A thoughtful glint appeared in her amber eyes.
“How about I share something interesting with you today? It’s not on the lesson plan I submitted to Her Imperial Highness the Crown Princess, so let’s keep it our little secret.”
“Of course!”
I closed my book with a radiant smile.
Baroness Rentil, who had been educating the imperial family since Rebecca’s youth, was a scholar who had spent her life in the Tower of Sages.
Even so, she possessed a broad understanding of etiquette and high society, likely owing to her distinguished noble background.
Her insights went far beyond textbook theory, so I treasured every piece of information about this world that slipped through her casual remarks.
“Within Asuramasura, certain archaic prejudices still linger. For an empire that holds dominion over the continent, it is frankly embarrassing.”
Coming from a democratic society in my previous life, I found such candid remarks thoroughly refreshing.
Her use of the name “Asuramasura” encompassed both the empire and the world itself.
Listening to her critique the empire right before a member of the imperial family showed just how deeply she cared for society and humanity.
“The clearest example is the rift between the Imperial Faction and the Noble Faction. Nearly five hundred years have passed since the founding of the empire, yet that divide persists to this day. Isn’t it absurd?”
“…It is.”
Nodding in agreement, I recalled the political feud between the Imperial and Noble Factions, which had formed the central conflict of The Princess and the Emperor’s Eyes.
While the male lead, Leoport, was the heir to the family spearheading the Imperial Faction, the second male lead, Rosivius—the shadow obsessively clinging to the heroine—had acted as the enforcer for the Noble Faction’s schemes.
Because of that, Rosivius’s machinations accounted for a large part of the frustrating drama throughout The Violet of the Duchy.
And the villainess, Scarlett, belonging to the Noble Faction, couldn’t easily approach Leoport despite her feelings for him, leaving her to take out her spite on the heroine, Emily.
Thanks to the Leoport family’s long-standing loyalty to the imperial throne…
‘By the way, when will Leoport and I get to become playmates?’
Thanks to that allegiance, the opportunity to receive him as a childhood companion was bound to arrive.
‘If he weren’t from the Imperial Faction, my overprotective imperial family never would have allowed him to be my companion.’
A friendship with the male lead…!
Suppressing the sudden flutter in my chest, I turned my attention back to Baroness Rentil.
“There is also discrimination between the central nobility and provincial lords. Even if someone possesses remarkable holy power, rising to High Priest is nearly impossible without noble blood.”
True enough. Even Emily, despite her noble birth, had faced ostracism simply for hailing from a rural territory.
“Though the climate has shifted after three empresses took the throne throughout history, and with Princess Grace being named Crown Princess, there remain households that refuse to let women even be considered for succession… And the prejudice against red eyes is yet another form of that discrimination.”
“Is it literally called ‘red eyes’?”
“In the past, they called them the devil’s eyes or the eyes of the curse, though the phrasing has softened. Even after you turn ten and begin venturing outside the palace to meet people… you will not see red eyes.”
“To that extent?”
“You remember what I told you about the Sea of No Return, don’t you?”
I nodded quietly.
The Sea of No Return. The battlefield where the Holy Knights suffered a devastating defeat years ago, forcing Grace to march out with the priests and the remaining knights to reinforce the front…
And the very place where that child lost his mother, the knight…
It wasn’t an actual sea, but rather a gateway to the demon realm.
They said the first emperor emerged victorious in his war against that realm, yet failed to seal the boundary entirely.
Consequently, once or twice every century, that gate would break open.
Whenever the two moons aligned with the sun to create a dual eclipse, a phenomenon people called the Rampage of the Sea of No Return occurred.
During those times, monsters poured through into the world, just as they had in the bloody campaign years ago.
“People believe devils cross over through it, and so they say anyone connected to them is born with red eyes.”
‘Ah… so that’s why.’
I remembered how the father and son in my dream kept calling the boy a devil’s child.
“No actual demonic crossing has ever been proven, and in the Tower of Sages, we view red eyes as nothing more than a genetic mutation… Yet what is rare is either revered or reviled. Either way, the person is treated as something other than human.”
Given that the child had been born right by the Sea of No Return, the cruelty he endured must have been all the harsher.
As I tried to pack the Baroness’s complicated explanations into my small head, I kept nodding along.
‘The imperial family’s genetics are certainly putting in work inside Cecilia’s brain.’
Thanks to that, I could digest such heavy conversation without a headache, even at six years old.
‘There wasn’t a single mention of red eyes in the original novel… I had no idea.’
A sense of satisfaction washed over me, as if I’d uncovered a secret piece of trivia about the original work.
‘Come to think of it, did Baroness Rentil join the Tower of Sages because she lost a succession battle in her family?’
Rumor had it she only received her barony after becoming a private tutor to the imperial heirs…
Noticing my grave expression, the Baroness offered a satisfied smile from behind her spectacles.
Perhaps because of her unconventional views, she couldn’t help but dote on me as her pupil.
“Cecil, you have a visitor arriving tomorrow.”
One day, when I had reached seven—not the terrible sevens, but an adorable seven—I received the news I had been waiting for.
“A visitor for me?”
“Yes. I’ve decided it’s time to give you a friend your age.”
“I’m going to have a friend?”
A friend… Has that day finally come…!
The only outsiders I had ever met were Mother’s guests, so I waited eagerly for what came next.
If it was a friend for Cecil, it had to be…!
“He is the grandson of Duke Ornbach, whose territory lies directly north of the capital, and he is the exact same age as you.”
Yes, that’s him!
At last, I was going to meet the hero of The Violet of the Duchy, Leoport!
‘The novel’s world is finally in motion.’
How long had I waited for this day, the day I would meet my favorite male lead?
Granted, myself, my family, and even my second sister Roselia—who occasionally appeared as his commander—were all characters in the novel… but meeting the hero in person was an entirely different matter.
‘How long have I waited, believing that we would one day become friends?’
After seven years of living as Cecil, genuine emotion lit up my eyes.
“I’m so excited!”
Tomorrow, at last… I was going to become a truly successful fan.