The Empire was detestable.
This was a thought Princess Ariel constantly repeated in her mind.
Born as the second child of the imperial family and treated as if she didn’t exist simply because she was a girl, Ariel was shunned by the Emperor.
‘The Emperor only knows conquest.’
Obsessed with war to the point of requiring treatment, the Emperor showed no interest in raising his children.
Even the birth of heirs was only due to the persistent pleas of his retainers.
When the Empress gave birth to Ariel and passed away shortly after, the Emperor firmly declared he was done with fatherhood.
The Emperor considered even the time spent on his heirs a waste.
Thus, Ariel grew up without experiencing parental love, raised under the care of her nanny.
‘Armin hates me.’
Unlike Ariel, Crown Prince Armin received his mother’s love for six years.
Since he was a child, Armin was pressured by his father to learn imperial studies and tactics.
Whenever things became difficult, he sought solace in his mother’s embrace, where he found peace.
However, after Ariel was born, he lost his only refuge.
The Emperor, more focused on war than on heirs, poisoned the Empress shortly after Ariel’s birth.
At a time when she needed rest, the Empress succumbed to the poison and passed away.
Unaware of the truth, Armin blamed his younger sister for their mother’s death.
Even when Ariel later discovered the truth and told him, he refused to listen, closing his eyes and ears to her.
No matter how much Ariel protested her innocence, all she received were hateful glares from her brother.
‘Why won’t Armin listen to me? I just don’t understand.’
Voices began to rise, claiming Ariel was wiser and more capable than the foolish and stubborn Armin.
Hatred soon turned into murderous intent, and Armin ordered his supporters to assassinate his younger sister, just as the Emperor had once planned the Empress’s death.
‘So many people have left my side.’
From her childhood nanny to her guards, countless people who cared for Ariel lost their lives.
Enraged, Ariel collected evidence of Armin’s assassination attempts and reported it to her father.
But the Emperor’s response was truly shocking.
“If you are truly my blood, then struggle to survive. Those who do not prove themselves have no place here.”
The Emperor, the root of all evil, was the epitome of irresponsibility.
Ariel had once hoped he might have some concern for his children, but she now berated herself for that foolish belief.
‘This empire has no future.’
Her father was a tyrant exploiting the people, driving the Empire into ruin.
Her brother was an incompetent fool, manipulated by sycophants and driven by sheer stubbornness.
Though they shared the same blood, Ariel saw them as strangers.
‘If you want to walk on thin ice, you need a hardened heart. Show any weakness, and you’ll be devoured.’
To survive among killers, Ariel resolved to become a killer herself.
She acted arrogantly, mastered all forms of cunning, and refrained from forming emotional attachments.
‘Anyone who stays by my side dies eventually. It’s less painful not to grow attached.’
She convinced herself that even if someone died protecting her, she need not feel grateful—it was only natural.
Ariel’s only focus was survival, leading her to adopt a heartless mindset.
As guards were replaced due to repeated deaths, Ariel met Siyoon.
‘He’s missing an arm?’
Her first impression of him was, of course, terrible.
Though he was a knight who had reached the level of a master, he had lost an arm as a punishment for failing his first mission.
The Emperor had cast him aside like defective goods, so it was natural for Ariel to look down on him.
‘Whatever. He won’t last long anyway and will die soon enough.’
Deeming him unworthy of her attention, Ariel erased Siyoon from her memory.
However, contrary to her expectations, Siyoon did not disappear from her sight.
While most guards didn’t survive a month, he remained alive and well.
‘He’s skilled, I’ll give him that, probably because he’s a knight.’
Each morning, as Ariel opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was him, drenched in blood.
The blood belonged to assassins who had tried to sneak into Ariel’s chambers overnight.
Managing to fend off multiple attackers without sustaining a single injury was impressive.
But that was where her admiration ended.
Acknowledging his skills or expressing gratitude would only double the pain of losing him later.
Ariel didn’t even offer him a word of thanks but instead scolded him to go clean up.
‘No matter how well he fights, the imperial palace isn’t a place where you survive on strength alone.’
There had been other skilled guards before him, but they were often framed for crimes and executed.
Ariel believed Siyoon, being a “musclehead,” would eventually fall victim to palace schemes.
“Your Highness, this is a false letter found in a servant’s possession. It was forged using my name to lure you out at night.”
“Another petty trick?”
“What should we do with the servant?”
“Make him confess who ordered it, then kill him mercilessly.”
“Understood.”
Siyoon’s ability to detect suspicious signs and avoid traps had been honed by his past failures, where betrayal from his subordinates taught him to grow stronger.
Despite the frequent turnover of guards, Siyoon remained as Ariel’s escort for over ten years.
‘So, he wasn’t just strong.’
After a decade together, Ariel finally acknowledged his competence.
Even so, she still refused to grow attached to him.
Ariel knew that if she gave him her heart, losing him would be unbearable.
Feeling vulnerable would make her seem weak, so Ariel remained silent.
She internally justified her actions, telling herself that bowing her head to a guard would make her appear fragile.
“Your Highness, may I have a word, even if it’s impertinent?”
“Speak.”
“This journey to the front lines is far too dangerous. I beg you to reconsider.”
“It’s an imperial decree. If I refuse, they’ll use it as an excuse to tear me apart.”
“Enough! I won’t allow any further comments!”
The Crown Prince had used the Emperor’s name to send Ariel to the battlefield.
Siyoon, concerned for her safety, advised against the journey and sought alternative solutions.
But Ariel ignored his counsel and embarked on the perilous journey, convinced that her intelligence and Siyoon’s strength would see her through.
“Your Highness! The enemy numbers are too great! You must flee!”
“This… this isn’t what I expected…!”
Her expectations were shattered when she finally witnessed the overwhelming forces of the kingdom’s army.
Faced with the kingdom’s army in front and assassins sent by Armin closing in from behind, Ariel found herself trapped.
A direct confrontation would have been a grave mistake. Acting quickly, Siyoon eliminated the assassins approaching from the rear.
“Your Highness, I’ve taken care of the assassins! I’ll hold off the kingdom’s army alone—use this chance to escape!”
“Siyoon! I didn’t know! I truly didn’t know the kingdom would bring such a massive army to capture me!”
“Calm yourself. Even I didn’t expect the kingdom to intervene so blatantly. But for now, please focus on escaping to the capital. I’ll buy you time.”
“What are you saying? Do you expect me to abandon you and run? I can’t do that!”
Ariel’s words carried no malice, but they were born from misunderstanding.
Though she wanted to convey her true feelings, time was unforgiving, and she had no choice but to leave Siyoon behind.
‘What… what have I been saying?’
Siyoon’s final words left a hollow void in Ariel’s heart.
She realized too late that her arrogant remarks had been hurtful to someone so loyal.
Cowering in the corner of the carriage, she trembled as regret consumed her.
When she finally understood how much she resembled the family she despised, she felt her stomach churn.
“Urgh…!!”
“Bleurgh!”
Losing Siyoon, her trusted companion of ten years, shattered Ariel.
She had promised herself not to form attachments, but how could she not care for someone who had been by her side for a decade?
No matter how much she denied it, her heart betrayed her as her eyes sought Siyoon.
“Siyoon…! Siyoon…!”
She despised herself for fearing the pain of loss and for avoiding facing the world.
Pulling at her hair, she cried out his name in regret, but Siyoon did not return.
News of Siyoon’s fate was lost, and as expected, a new guard was assigned to Ariel.
However, she could not accept anyone other than Siyoon as her escort.
“Your Highness! Please eat something! If you continue like this, it will be disastrous!”
As days turned into weeks, Ariel’s body and mind deteriorated.
Once full of determination, she now lacked the will to live.
“I should have stayed… I should have died with Siyoon at the hands of the kingdom’s forces.”
She repeated these thoughts over and over, wishing for death.
Armin, satisfied with Ariel’s broken state, ceased his assassination attempts, taking joy in her suffering.
Watching her waste away became his sole pleasure.
As time passed, Ariel stopped eating altogether, her body and soul reduced to a shell of their former selves.
She lived like a ghost, devoid of vitality.
Then, one day, unexpected news reached her.
“Your Highness! Urgent news!”
Ariel, bedridden and indifferent to the world, didn’t even flinch.
She merely stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Sir Siyoon…! Sir Siyoon might still be alive!”
“What?”
At the mention of Siyoon, Ariel sprang to life.
Grabbing the messenger by the shoulders with her frail hands, she demanded details.
“Explain. Now!”
“There’s news from the tournament in the kingdom of Lyor. A man matching Sir Siyoon’s description entered as a competitor under imperial identity.”
“A one-armed knight! Rumors say he’s sweeping the tournament!”
Siyoon was alive.
The news rekindled the light in Ariel’s eyes, marking the beginning of a new chapter in her life—and the history of the Empire.