Act 1: This love is like a curse.
I looked into the mirror. There was the face of the woman I had seen since I was born.
The only difference between her and me was that the girl in the mirror had anxious eyes and dry lips instead of an elegant smile and eyes that were young and radiant with sensuality.
I, who was glaring at my face with a dissatisfied expression, turned my head to the nanny and asked.
"How do you see me?"
"Looks like an angel."
The nanny, who was constantly brushing my hair, replied with her eyes folded into a half-moon shape.
"Your Highness really looks just like Senevere. This painstaking decoration is like seeing Senevere when she was 18 years old."
I roughly brushed her hands away from my hair. I was annoyed by the nanny's insensitivity to thinking that resembling someone was a compliment.
"I'm done combing it, so bring me some clothes."
The nanny waddled in front of the chest with a puppy-like face.
I looked at her disapprovingly. How could she have fallen so dull?
The woman, whining and rummaging through the chest, took out a red satin dress and looked at it.
"Look at this. This is the dress Senevere wore when she first set foot in the Imperial Palace. I think you prepared it for Your Highness."
I looked tired.
"Does the nanny remember what she wore so long ago?"
"Of course! How can I forget that day? Senevere didn't look like someone out of this world. I was in tears because there was such a beautiful person in the world. Even His Majesty the Emperor couldn't take his eyes off Senevere."
The nanny sighed with a dazed expression, as if she were daydreaming.
I swallowed my laughter. Does this woman think that the meeting between the two is the romance of the century?
At that time, the Emperor had an Empress who had been married for six years, and she was even expecting a baby. The meeting between Senevere and the Emperor was nothing more and nothing less.
Even after the death of the former Empress Bernadette and Senevere's official Empress, people did not forget about it. As long as they exist, they will never forget the shameless sins they have committed.
I swallowed a sarcasm that rose up to my throat and snatched the dress from my nanny's hand.
"If you have time to talk nonsense, please dress it up."
"Of course. I'll do everything for you."
The nanny dressed her body in a beautiful velvet blio.
Thalia straightened my hair and looked back into the mirror. In my mother's dress, I looked even more like her.
I wonder if an ominously thick sensuality has begun to stir inside me. I stared at the upper part of my breast, which had begun to rise in circles over the neckline of the deep square neckline.
It cannot be said to be elegant, but no one can deny the fact that it is extremely fascinating.
I habitually put my fingers to the corners of my mouth, and then quickly lowered my hands to make a mess of my makeup. I wanted to look prettier than anyone else today. I wanted to look prettier than my mom if possible.
I want everyone to see me. So I don't want anyone to look at Ayla.
There was an intense hunger in my dark blue eyes reflected in the mirror. It was not the kind of look that an Imperial Princess would have. It looked like a jerk on the street.
I picked up the candlestick from the table and slapped the woman in the mirror mercilessly. Along with the loud noise, a spider-like crack appeared on the surface of the mirror. The nanny who was arranging the skirt slumped down in surprise.
I threw the candlestick on the floor and said coldly.
"I'm tired of that mirror. Bring it to me as a new one."
The nanny looked up at me with a white face, then pursed her lips and pulled herself up. Then, as if nothing had happened, she put a fur coat over my shoulders.
I stared at myself in the mirror, which had broken into dozens of pieces, and then turned around.
When I left the room, I saw Senevere's escort standing upright on the side of the hallway. I went down the stairs, ignoring the man who was looking at me with a bright red face.
In front of the palace, a gold-rimmed chariot and eight guards were waiting. Senevere didn't want her eldest daughter to look shabby.
"You want me to offend your political opponents."
I cynically twisted my lips and climbed into the carriage. At that moment, the new guard who came to close the door said as if he was spitting out something hot from his throat.
"Today... You are truly beautiful, Your Highness."
His eager voice made his whole body fluff stand up for a moment.
I scowled at him with a piercing look. I didn't need any kind of praise from this man.
"Don't talk nonsense, let's go."
The man closed the door with a blank face.
Presently, the carriage began to move. I buried my back deep in my seat and looked up at the blood-red sky through the fluttering curtains.
How nice it would be if the banquet tonight were colored in such colors. I want a big commotion, and everything goes haywire.
I unconsciously fiddled with my lips, and when I saw the red dye on the tips of my fingernails, I quickly lowered my arms.
I felt like my nerves were burning. Contrary to my feelings, only beautiful melodies and brilliant lights were playing from the main palace.
When I got out of the carriage, I frowned as I looked around the wide path leading to the banquet hall and the ornate gardens. Hundreds of nobles dressed in silk were walking down the marble stairs into the halls of the main palace, one after another.
I pretended not to notice the knight who had followed me to escort me and stepped toward the entrance of the banquet hall. Those who recognized me naturally opened the way.
It was a matter of course. The imperial palace was my home. I didn't even bother to stand in line like the other guests.
I calmly said to the attendant, who showed a sign of embarrassment.
"I'm here to celebrate the brothers' birthdays."
The servant's eyes widened.
I snapped nervously.
"What are you doing without announcing my arrival?"
The man hurriedly stepped aside from the pillar and shouted loudly.
"The Second Princess, Her Majesty Thalia Roem Guirta, is entering!"
For a moment, a chilly silence filled the magnificent hall.
I stepped into the glorious golden banquet hall and raised my head. I could feel hundreds of pairs of stinging eyes running down my head to my toes.
I silently savored their astonishment, anger, bewilderment, and reluctant admiration. Then, as if the tide was receding, people distanced themselves from me.
It looks like a plague.
I muttered to myself with a malicious smile.
At that moment, someone stood in my way.
"What's going on here?"
I stared up at the man's face. He was one of the foolish men who followed Ayla, a noble half-sister.
I smiled a wry smile. I had seen my mother charm men like that thousands of times.
"Did I come to a place I can't come?"
The man's face, which had been hardened with wariness, turned red. He took a step back, looking puzzled.
I moved closer than he had withdrawn, raising my chin high.
"This is my Father's palace, and today's banquet is for my brothers. What's the point of me being here?"
As I stared straight into his eyes, the man froze.
I could see his big nostrils bulging. It was as if he was smelling the rose oil that had been painstakingly applied to my hair.
His eyes blurred as if he were drunk with a strong drink, and a strange sense of satisfaction and deep disgust came over me at the same time. I walked past the jerk-kissed man and walked to the center of the hall.
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