Chapter 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 2
Act 1. This Love is Like a Curse.
Thalia stared into the mirror. The face reflected back was one she had known since birth, a sight she had long since grown tired of.
If there was any difference today, it was that the girl in the mirror possessed eyes clouded with anxiety and parched, trembling lips, rather than the elegant smile and the strange, sensual light that usually dwelled within them.
Scowling at her reflection with profound dissatisfaction, Thalia turned toward her nanny. “How do I look?”
“You look like a literal angel, Your Highness.”
The nanny, who had been tirelessly brushing Thalia’s hair, replied with her eyes crinkling into warm crescents.
“You truly are the spitting image of Lady Senevia. Now that you’re all dressed up, it’s like looking at her when she was eighteen.”
Thalia violently swatted away the plump hand fussing with her hair. Irritation flared within her at the nanny’s thoughtlessness; the woman spoke as if being told she resembled someone else was supposed to be a compliment.
“That’s enough brushing. Just bring me the clothes.”
With a face like a kicked puppy, the nanny waddled over to the chest.
Thalia watched her with a look of pure disapproval. How can someone be so incredibly dull?
After rummaging through the chest with a series of grunts, the woman pulled out a red satin dress and glanced tentatively at Thalia.
“Look at this. It’s the dress Lady Senevia wore when she first set foot in the Imperial Palace. It seems she prepared it specifically for you, Your Highness.”
Thalia’s expression soured instantly.
“Nanny, do you really remember everything my mother wore from that long ago?”
“Of course! How could I ever forget that day? Lady Senevia didn’t seem like she belonged to this world. It brought tears to my eyes just knowing someone that beautiful could exist. Even His Majesty the Emperor couldn’t tear his gaze away from her.”
The nanny let out a wistful sigh, her expression dazed as if she were lost in a daydream.
Thalia swallowed a hollow laugh. Does this woman truly think their meeting was some romance of the century?
At the time, the Emperor already had an Empress he had been married to for six years—and she had been on the verge of giving birth. The meeting between Senevia and the Emperor was a sordid affair, nothing more and nothing less.
Even after the former Empress Bernadette died and Senevia became the official Empress, people never forgot. As long as Thalia herself existed, the world would never forget the shameless sin they had committed.
Thalia swallowed the sarcasm rising in her throat and snatched the dress from the nanny’s hands.
“If you have time for idle chatter, finish getting me ready.”
“Of course, Your Highness. I’ll take care of everything.”
The nanny helped her into the beautiful velvet bliaut.
Thalia adjusted her hair and looked into the mirror once more. Dressed in her mother’s gown, the resemblance was even more striking.
Was that ominously thick aura of sensuality beginning to sprout within her as well? Thalia stared intently at the tops of her breasts, which curved roundly above the deep, square neckline.
It couldn’t be called dignified, but no one could deny it was an utterly captivating sight.
Thalia habitually moved her finger toward her lips to bite them but quickly lowered it, fearing she might ruin her makeup. Today, of all days, she wanted to look prettier than anyone. If possible, she wanted to look even prettier than her mother.
I want everyone to look at me. So that no one even spares a glance for someone like Aila.
An intense hunger flickered in the deep blue eyes reflected in the mirror. It was not the look an Imperial Princess should have; it was the desperate, hollow gaze of a beggar on the street.
Thalia snatched a heavy candlestick from the table and struck the woman in the mirror without mercy. With a loud crash, a spiderweb of cracks exploded across the glass surface. The nanny, who had been adjusting the hem of her skirt, shrieked in surprise and collapsed to the floor.
Thalia threw the candlestick onto the ground and spoke coldly.
“I’m tired of that mirror. Get a new one.”
The nanny looked up at her with a pale face, then pressed her lips together and stood up. She draped a lavish fur-trimmed surcoat over Thalia’s shoulders as if nothing had happened.
Thalia glared at her own reflection, fractured into dozens of jagged pieces, before turning away sharply.
As she left the room, she saw the escort knight sent by Senevia standing at attention in the hallway. Ignoring the man, who stared at her with a flushed face, she descended the stairs.
In front of the Annex Palace, a four-wheeled carriage with gold trim and eight guards waited. It seemed Senevia did not want her eldest daughter to appear pathetic.
‘You probably just want me to make your political enemies uncomfortable.’
She twisted her lips into a cynical sneer and climbed into the carriage. Just then, a new personal guard approached to close the door. He spoke as if the words were being wrenched from his throat.
“Today… you are truly beautiful, Your Highness.”
The raw longing in his voice made the fine hairs on her neck stand on end.
Thalia shot him a sharp, freezing look. She didn’t need praise from a man like this.
“Stop talking nonsense and just go.”
The man closed the door, his expression wounded and embarrassed.
Soon, the carriage began to move. She leaned back into the plush seat and watched the blood-colored sky through the fluttering curtains.
How wonderful it would be if tonight’s banquet were stained that same color. I hope a great commotion breaks out and ruins everything.
She unconsciously toyed with her lips again, but quickly lowered her arm when she saw red pigment staining the tip of her nail.
Her nerves felt like they were being scorched. Contrary to her mood, only beautiful melodies and brilliant lights flowed from the Main Palace.
Stepping out of the carriage, Thalia frowned as she surveyed the wide path leading to the banquet hall and the lavishly decorated gardens. Hundreds of nobles in silk garments were filing into the Main Palace hall, ascending the marble steps in a steady stream.
She ignored the knight who followed to escort her and strode toward the entrance. Those who recognized her naturally made way.
It was only right. The Imperial Palace was her home. She didn’t have the slightest intention of standing in line like a common guest.
Thalia spoke nonchalantly to the flustered attendant at the door.
“I’ve come to celebrate my siblings’ birthdays.”
The attendant’s eyes went wide.
Thalia snapped irritably. “What are you doing? Announce my arrival at once!”
Only then did the man scramble to the side of a pillar and shout at the top of his lungs.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Second Imperial Princess, Thalia Roem Guirta, enters!”
In an instant, a chilling silence smothered the grand hall.
She held her head high as she stepped into the brilliant, golden-hued room. She could feel hundreds of pairs of stinging eyes scanning her from head to toe.
Thalia walked gracefully, quietly savoring their shock, anger, and embarrassment—and the grudging admiration they were forced to exhale. As she moved, the crowd drew back from her like a receding tide.
It’s as if I’m a plague.
Thalia murmured to herself, a malicious smile playing on her lips.
Just then, someone blocked her path.
“What brings you here?”
She stared up at the man’s face. He was one of the foolish curs who followed her noble half-sister, Aila.
Thalia deliberately put on a suggestive smile. She had seen her mother enchant men in that way thousands of times.
“Is this a place I’m not allowed to be?”
The man’s face, which had been stiff with wariness, flushed a deep red. He took a step back in confusion.
Thalia stepped closer, closing the distance he had tried to create, and tilted her chin up high.
“This is my father’s palace, and today’s banquet is for my siblings. What is so wrong with me being here?”
As she stared directly into his eyes, the man stood frozen as if turned to stone.
She could see his nostrils flaring. It seemed he was catching the scent of the rose oil the nanny had painstakingly applied to every strand of her hair.
A sense of strange satisfaction and deep loathing washed over her simultaneously as his gaze clouded, looking as though he were drunk on strong liquor. Thalia walked past the man, who could only tremble his lips like an idiot, and headed toward the center of the hall.