Chapter 17
“…What do you mean? You can’t find the princess?”
“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
Inside the Emperor’s private chamber.
A knight knelt before him, bowing his head with a dark expression.
“We confirmed that she left the capital, but it seems she deliberately changed carriages several times. Her trail was lost halfway, so we cannot determine her current location.”
“That makes no sense!”
Bang!
The Emperor slammed his fist on the armrest of the sofa.
At his furious shout, the knights all held their breath.
“So you’re saying the princess intentionally avoided pursuit?”
“….”
“I asked if that makes any sense!”
“Please punish me with death.”
“Ha.”
The Emperor roughly pushed back his hair in disbelief.
Her trail had disappeared.
Whenever Loreia was in a bad mood, she would leave the palace in protest—
but she had never erased her traces before.
Of course not.
She enjoyed watching the imperial knights drop everything and rush to find her.
What strange thing is this?
It had already been ten days.
At other times, she would have returned by now, pretending she had no choice.
But not only was there still no news—she had even avoided pursuit?
It was too strange.
“However, Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“That is…”
The knights exchanged troubled looks.
“Speak at once!”
At the repeated command, the captain of the knights hesitated before speaking.
“I humbly report… the place where the princess disappeared was on the road leading toward the northeastern region.”
“…What?”
The Emperor’s gaze sank low.
“There is only the Carter Grand Duchy in the northeast of the capital.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
His brow twisted instantly.
“The Carter Grand Duchy…”
“…It is only speculation.”
The Emperor fell silent in confusion.
Why would that girl go there?
What kind of girl was Loreia Frize?
A foolish and arrogant troublemaker, drunk on wealth and power,
a puppet of the imperial family—
someone who did not even realize she carried the impure blood of the Carter family.
For twelve years, she had believed without doubt that the Emperor was her father,
committing countless cruel acts.
And now she suddenly headed to the Carter Grand Duchy?
Even hiding her tracks?
Impossible.
Unless Loreia had suddenly become a sage overnight,
there was no way she could know they were her true blood family.
That day, the Grand Duchy’s carriage that fell off the cliff had been burned,
erasing all traces.
Except for Edgar, the Emperor’s loyal subordinate,
no one knew Loreia’s true birth.
It was that complete a secret.
“No… there’s no way that girl went to the Carter residence…”
The Emperor shook his head reflexively.
“That cannot be.”
Loreia must never learn about her true origin.
At least not until the Carter Grand Duchy was completely destroyed.
“…Your Majesty, whatever the reason, at present the highest possibility is that Her Highness went to the Carter residence.”
“Silence! Shut your mouth!”
At the Emperor’s sharp shout, the knight commander closed his lips tightly.
A question filled his face.
Why is His Majesty so anxious over that half-blood princess?
The imperial family’s troublemaker.
A half-blood disgrace.
For over ten years, Loreia had been called such names.
Yet only one person—the Emperor—acted strangely weak before her.
Even above the Empress’s legitimate children,
this strange illegitimate daughter received the Emperor’s attention.
Even now.
The Emperor’s bloodshot eyes and trembling lips looked close to panic.
Is there something I don’t know?
Doubt rose in the knight’s eyes,
but the Emperor’s terrifying glare made him lower his head.
“We cannot leave it like this.
I cannot rely only on incompetent knights…”
Muttering obsessively, the Emperor suddenly widened his eyes.
“Bring the First Prince here at once.”
His lips twisted darkly.
“If he will not come on his own, drag him here.”
* * *
At last, it was the tenth day of training.
“Take your stance.”
At Damian’s words, I spread my feet shoulder-width apart,
slightly bent my knees,
and raised my clenched fists forward.
At first, I couldn’t even hold this posture without shaking.
But now, it was different.
I wasn’t trembling.
My balance was steady.
It was hard to believe this was the same body that used to gasp after running half a lap ten days ago.
Damian circled around me, observing from every side.
Then he nodded.
“At this level, you won’t hold us back.”
He said it casually.
…Wait.
Was that praise?
It was praise, right?
I tried to suppress the corners of my mouth from lifting.
I shouldn’t show it. I’d look proud.
But it is praise.
Inside, I felt so proud I could burst.
“You’ve worked hard.
We leave tomorrow morning. Prepare yourself.”
“Yay.”
A small cheer slipped out without me noticing.
Damian’s eyes turned strangely cold.
“…Are we going on a picnic?”
I could ignore this level of provocation now.
I had heard it every day for ten days.
“I told you. I have something to do.”
Damian looked at me with a strange expression—
as if he wanted to say something, yet didn’t.
Recently, he had been looking at me like this more often.
“Come to the main gate at 5 a.m. tomorrow.”
In the end, that was all he said.
“If you’re even one minute late, I’ll leave without you.”
He really couldn’t speak nicely.
But I wasn’t planning to be late anyway.
“Then that’s all for today.”
After saying that, Damian began cleaning the training ground.
The sun was still high.
Ending this early was the first time in ten days.
I looked at him briefly,
then quickly left before he could tell me to help clean up.
Today, I leave first. Hmph.
Thinking about my small revenge, I walked down the corridor—
then suddenly stopped.
Someone stood at the end of the hallway.
Carlos, wearing a robe.
A pale face.
Dry eyes.
The bloodless complexion of someone suffering from demonic energy.
It was just an accidental meeting,
yet my feet wouldn’t move.
Carlos also stopped.
An awkward silence flowed between us.
“Is training over?”
He spoke first.
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“He said I won’t be a burden anymore.”
“Seems you can at least act like a person now.”
A short reply.
Nothing more.
We just stood there, looking at each other—
like a confrontation,
or like two people simply frozen in place.
Then suddenly, his pale face caught my eye.
A body consumed by demonic energy.
A body that couldn’t last a day without purified stones.
Someone who endured pain every day without showing it.
The one who hated him was the Emperor—
fearing he would threaten imperial power.
Sending poison, stealing wealth, slowly suffocating him.
But the one who helped that Emperor…
…was me.
In the name of the princess.
As the Emperor’s daughter.
The one who led the cruelty against the Carter family—
It was me.
The me before regression.
Stupid. Arrogant.
A fool who believed the Emperor was my father
and that everything he said was right.
…Without even knowing this man was my real father.
I treated him as an enemy.
Used him for the Emperor.
Pushed him toward destruction.
If I had not regressed,
I would never have known the truth.
After swallowing dry breaths for a long time,
my mouth opened without thinking.
“Please make sure to eat properly.”
“What?”
Carlos frowned slightly.
“I taught Mia most of the recipes.
Foods good for detoxifying demonic energy.
You just need to not skip meals.”
“That is not something the princess needs to worry about.”
“I won’t be able to prepare lunch for a while.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Isn’t this situation proof you can’t handle it yourself?
I thought it,
but couldn’t say it aloud.
I had no right.
Carlos looked at me for a moment, then turned his body.
It seemed he was about to leave.
“Um…”
I called out to him without thinking.
I didn’t even know why.
The words just came out.
Carlos glanced back at me.
His face was still expressionless,
his red eyes—so similar to mine—completely dry.
I hesitated.
I didn’t know what to say.
“…I’ll be going now.”
In the end, that was all.
A short farewell.
To him, I was an unwelcome guest.
The Emperor’s daughter. His enemy.
Maybe it was an unpleasant greeting.
But still… I wanted to say it.
I’m leaving.
“……”
Carlos did not answer.
He only looked at me for a long time.
Then his gaze left,
and he turned and walked down the corridor.
Even as he disappeared, he said nothing.
I stared blankly at his back.
He didn’t answer. Of course.
That’s the kind of existence he is.
There’s no reason for him to say such words to me.
And yet,
one corner of my chest ached strangely.
…I’m sorry.
I whispered only inside my heart.
