#1. A New Beginning (1)
2023.08.01.
Amy lay curled up on the damp, filthy floor of the dungeon. Kidnapped by Esmein Yeongae and waiting only for death, she had had her tongue forcibly cut out by a thug who had burst in the day before, losing her voice.
“…….”
She raised her trembling hand into the air and examined it in the bright moonlight. She no longer knew how long she had been imprisoned, but her bones were already gaunt. Even that exhausted her, and her hand dropped with a thud.
*How long must I live like this? Why won’t Esmein Yeongae just kill me in one blow?*
In her fading consciousness, a memory surfaced of the young Crown Prince sneaking into her room clutching a pillow, frightened by a night of thunder. She had scolded him, asking what was so scary, yet she had lifted the corner of the blanket and laid him down on the bed.
The one who had actually slept soundly thanks to the warmth of his hot little hand and his peaceful breathing had been her. Because the Crown Prince Amy knew had never been afraid of thunder.
*We’ve shared so much affection…… The Crown Prince might come to rescue me.*
That was the sole reason she could not abandon hope even in this state.
Just then, a voice came from the stairwell.
“What on earth is supposed to be here?”
Amy’s breath stopped. It was the voice of the Crown Prince she had so long awaited.
Too weak to move, she could only stare at the dungeon entrance with wide eyes. There stood the Crown Prince, his complexion pale, and stuck fast to his side, Esmein Yeongae, looking down at her with a sneering face.
“Oh my, Your Highness. Don’t you know?”
Yeongae smiled with her eyes. Amy stared only at the Crown Prince, not at her. Her heart blazed wildly with joy.
*Finally, he had come to save her!*
“…….”
The Crown Prince’s golden eyes swept perfunctorily over the interior of the dungeon, and he scrunched up his face.
“What is that smell…… Tch, it sickens me. Let’s go back.”
“!”
As he turned his back, Amy gasped involuntarily. At that moment, the Crown Prince flinched and turned halfway as if to look back. Esmein Yeongae stuck even closer to him and smiled.
“I suppose I’ve done something unnecessary. Well, it was fun.”
“……What’s fun about this?”
The two left the dungeon just like that.
“…….”
In the dungeon that had grown quiet once again, Amy scraped together her ruined mind and assessed the situation.
*He…… didn’t see me?*
That was impossible. Although the dungeon was underground, a space roughly the span of a hand lay open to the surface, letting pale moonlight stream through the iron bars and illuminate her. Anyone who knew Amy could not have failed to recognize her.
*So the Crown Prince…….*
Her reason coldly reached a conclusion.
*He saw me…… and just left.*
The Crown Prince, who had grown up with her since childhood and whined and clung to her at every chance to marry him, had furrowed his brows and grumbled about a foul smell upon seeing her sprawled in such a miserable state…… then turned and left without a shred of attachment.
Amy slowly opened her eyes. The memory from so long ago still filled her with disgust.
*In truth, my actual death wasn’t then, but several years later…….*
She silently looked around. The same scene from her memory greeted her eyes.
*This place is still cold enough to chill the bone.*
Even the cold shackles on her ankles were the same, and she felt a hollow laugh coming on. Amy sat on the ice-like floor and straightened her back. Each time her chest rose and fell, white breath puffed from her lips.
How long had she been sitting there? Finally, the sound she had been waiting for began to approach.
Click-clack. Someone was walking. Soon, the footsteps stopped before the dungeon.
“…….”
The woman slowly opened her eyes. Before the dungeon bars, a noblewoman dressed splendidly stood looking down at her, covering her mouth with a fan.
“How dare a lowly thing summon me to a place like this?”
It was a voice thick with anger and contempt. The woman in the dungeon—that is, Amelia, nicknamed Amy, who until recently had been the head lady-in-waiting of the Crown Prince’s Palace and was now the head lady-in-waiting of the Second Prince’s Palace—calmly replied.
“Was it not because you wished to hear a confession? Esmein Yeongae?”
“…….”
There was no answer, but Amy could feel that she was flustered at having her identity exposed. Amy inwardly scoffed.
*When it comes to the Crown Prince, you’re the one with eyes wide open. As if I wouldn’t know what you did.*
Outwardly, Amy spoke with due courtesy.
“I have told you from the very beginning that it is a misunderstanding. Esmein Yeongae.”
“……Yeongae?”
The noblewoman’s voice rose in a mocking lilt.
Amy clicked her tongue inwardly. Had she decided to throw a fit because her identity was exposed? Amy corrected herself in a still gentle tone.
“Ah, what a mistake. Your Highness, the future Crown Princess.”
“……Hmph.”
Yeongae was still hidden behind her fan, but she could not hide a satisfied snort. Disgusting, truly. Amy mimed vomiting inwardly, but outwardly continued her words neatly.
“You said I am in love with His Highness the Crown Prince, did you not? But I have never harbored him in my heart, not for a single moment.”
“Denying it with words is easy.”
Esmein Yeongae spoke coldly.
*As expected, she won’t believe me easily.*
Amy bowed her head and hid an annoyed expression. But only for a moment; she opened her mouth again.
“If I must put it another way…… Your Highness the future Crown Princess has a younger brother, does she not? Baron Dorian. The one who will become the Duke of Esmein in the future……”
“Why is he being brought up now?”
Yeongae immediately scrunched up her pretty face.
Amy smirked. Yes, that was it. Exactly the reaction she had wanted.
Amy cut in firmly.
“To me, His Highness the Crown Prince is exactly the same as him.”
“……What?”
“He is troublesome and high-maintenance, but he is one who will rise to a high position. That is why I observe propriety toward him, nothing more; I hold no other feelings whatsoever.”
Perhaps sensing the blazing sincerity in Amy’s words, the corners of Esmein Yeongae’s eyes softened slightly.
“……Is that true?”
To the doubtful voice, Amy raised one hand and spoke reverently.
“I swear by the name of the great god Delial.”
Then her fervent voice rang loudly through the dungeon.
“That I would ever desire His Highness the Crown Prince with personal feelings—never, even if I died a hundred times. No, a thousand…… no, ten thousand…… no—”
As Amy rolled her eyes wildly and multiplied the numbers, Esmein Yeongae cut her off with a look of disgust.
“Ah, enough, stop it! I said I understand.”
“……I am relieved that the misunderstanding has been cleared.”
Amy prostrated herself flatly. Esmein Yeongae coughed awkwardly. In hindsight, it seemed she had been too hasty in capturing Amy. However……
*That girl restrains His Highness the Crown Prince’s every action.*
Could she truly have no feelings for him? Yeongae narrowed her eyes and glared at Amy. Amy looked haggard from cruel torture, but as befit the noble daughter of a once-renowned family, she possessed a beautiful and lovely appearance. Recognizing this, the suspicion she had barely suppressed squirmed back to life.
Amy, seeing through her inner thoughts, drove in the final wedge.
“By the way, did I tell you?”
“What?”
“I am leaving for the Northern Grand Duchy soon.”
“What? Isn’t that a barren land where there’s nothing?”
Yeongae asked in bewilderment.
Amy nodded.
“Yes. I am going there to live, serving His Highness the Second Prince.”
“You? With the Second Prince?”
“Yes.”
Yeongae forgot even to cover her face with the fan and stared blankly at Amy.
“I heard the Second Prince swore to His Highness the Crown Prince that he would never return? Then you too……?”
Amy calmly nodded.
“Yes, I suppose I shall bury my bones there as well.”
“……Ha, why didn’t you say so sooner!”
Only then did Esmein Yeongae’s expression brighten, and she urged the guard to unlock Amy’s shackles. Amy bowed her head politely as if she had never been treated unjustly. Pleased by such posture, Yeongae tapped Amy’s shoulder with her fan and laughed.
“Look at you, how fortunate that you know your place. You nearly lost your life, didn’t you? So take care in your conduct from now on. There’s no guarantee that next time you’ll fall into the hands of someone as generous as me, is there?”
“That is truly so. I shall take it to heart.”
As Amy answered demurely until the end, Yeongae smiled broadly as if a festering tooth had been pulled.
“Then take your leave. You must have much to prepare for your journey to the North.”
“Yes, then I shall……”
Amy bowed politely and began hobbling up the dungeon stairs. Feeling the gaze staring fixedly at her from behind, she gritted her teeth and carefully moved her feet one step at a time. Her ankle, cracked from torture, hurt so badly it sent chills down her spine, but she didn’t show it. She simply ground her teeth inwardly.
*Esmein Yeongae, don’t fall more or less—exactly five times on these palace stairs.*
The Crown Prince’s Palace had five flights of stairs in all. Having cast a curse that was not quite a curse, Amy finally escaped the hellish Crown Prince’s Palace.
In the distance, she could see the Second Prince’s Palace. From its towering spires to everything else, it was utterly shabby. Amy turned her head with effort and glanced back at the Crown Prince’s Palace. It sparkled as if it were brand new.
Amy clicked her tongue inwardly and clenched her teeth.
*It won’t be long before those living in that shiny place get their due.*
In her mind, the childhood of the gentle and lovable Crown Prince flashed by like a revolving lantern. Strength entered her clenched fist.
“I’m back.”
Amy arrived at the old, shabby Second Prince’s Palace and spoke in a dying voice. At that, a noisy clattering rang out, and two women in maid uniforms appeared. Their faces were full of surprise that Amy had returned. Amy glared at them.