Chapter 1
0. Prologue
I wanted to be a bride in May.
I blinked and stared at the ceiling. Whether my eyes were open or closed, the ceiling looked just as black.
It felt like my heart had been burned pitch black. Or maybe it was like my tear-streaked, ruined makeup.
Just a moment ago, it felt like a heavy lump in my chest. Like I had swallowed fire and it was burning me from the inside. But even that pain had faded now.
The tears that once poured like they could flood the whole Empire of Hebram had long dried up. It seemed my soul had already burned to ash, leaving nothing more to feel.
It was a pitch-black night, even the moon had disappeared. Cold wind rustled outside the window. I shivered and sat up. As I moved, my long, useless dress rustled along with me.
When I lifted my head, the tiara on my head fell to the floor.
I turned my head and blankly looked down at it. The big topaz in the center sparkled even in the darkness.
Seeing it made my tears fall again, even though I thought I had no more left.
To be honest, I wanted to wear diamonds.
But you said the topaz matched the color of your eyes, and your brooch was also topaz. You said you wanted us to look like one, just for that day.
“You bastard…”
Once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop. They ran down and wet my chin.
Yeah, bastard. To explain how cruel Prince Carmine Noah de Lailarc, the 7th Prince of the Hebram Empire, is, we have to go far back in time.
This is the story of the saddest and most miserable girl in the Hebram Empire.
* * *
7th century of the Hebram Empire. The last dragon that shared magic with humans had disappeared underground, and magicless fools began entering the magic tower.
Morality and order collapsed like a sandcastle, and the pride of magicians faded along with their remaining magic.
The monsters’ reach had already spread to the continent, and Hebram, once famous as a magical empire, barely held on with a thin barrier. Fear grew day by day.
Using the unrest as an excuse, nobles created private armies to threaten the royal family. The sparks of war lingered like ghost lights, always glowing faintly, leaving the people anxious.
“Sigh…”
With the world like this, it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to sigh. But me, Chelsea Rodrang (age 6, noble daughter), my sigh had nothing to do with the state of the world.
What does a six-year-old have to worry about? I was just thinking about the base-12 formula of the summoning circle.
Once I fixate on something, I can’t think about anything else. That’s a bad habit of mine. Just the day before, I missed dessert time because I was busy thinking about a question my uncle Trudy the alchemist had asked.
“All done, Chelsea?”
“Ah.”
That’s when Aunt Mary asked me. Surprised, I accidentally squeezed my hand. The orange rose in my hand snapped with a crunch.
“Kyah!”
Aunt screamed. I looked down. The flower had broken, and orange petals were scattered pitifully on the floor.
“What are you doing!”
She yelled and snatched the remaining flowers and vase from the table, like I’d destroy them too. I mumbled an apology.
“I’m sorry.”
“What were you thinking to make such a mistake?”
She asked like she was scolding me. So I answered honestly.
“I was thinking about the base-12 formula for summoning circles.”
“What, what…?”
Her lips trembled. At that moment, a small black dog poked its head out from over my shoulder.
“This one. I managed to summon him, but I can’t control him. Do you know how, Aunt?”
Aunt’s face turned red and then blue. Her breathing grew rough, and her brow twitched. She looked like she was about to explode with anger.
I didn’t understand why back then, but I do now. She had a son eight years older than me—my cousin, Drake Rodrang. Everyone expected he’d inherited his father’s genius for alchemy. But he was… not very bright.
He had no talent for alchemy and hated learning. Aunt, worried about his future, tried really hard to find his strength. After much effort, she discovered his talent—summoning.
He had been learning since he was seven and could now summon a small worm. Maybe by the time he was over 60, he’d summon something stronger.
Yes. Even the one skill he had wasn’t promising. And I had just shown off in front of him. No wonder Aunt was furious.
She practically breathed fire as she yelled.
“Why are you so scatterbrained? You were supposed to be arranging flowers! What’s the point of a familiar? You’ll just get married and be a housewife anyway! Why waste time on useless things like familiars?”
After shouting everything she wanted to say, Aunt finally covered her mouth in regret. But I was already in shock, frozen like stone.
It felt like I could hear all the voices of the universe’s philosophers and truth seekers singing in my ears. I thought of what Uncle had told me.
“In the Rodrang family, we’re always taught to choose the best option. At your age, that probably means deciding your dream.”
He was talking about our family values when he suddenly asked me,
“Chelsea, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Do I have to be something when I grow up?”
I blinked and asked. Uncle gave a troubled smile, then walked to the wall and took down a clock. I didn’t understand what he was doing until I saw that the clock had a secret opening.
“Look, Chelsea.”
I opened my eyes wide. Inside the big clock were gears, big and small, turning and clicking together.
“This clock is the world, and each gear is a person. Every part has a role—moving the hands, giving power to the clock…”
He bent down to meet my eyes and patted my head, speaking gently.
“What role will you play in this world? Try thinking about it.”
“Chelsea?”
When I didn’t answer, Aunt called my name nervously. I was staring with wide eyes and my mouth open when I shouted.
“I get it now!”
My role is to get married and be a housewife!
It felt like a huge question that had weighed on me had just been solved.
Suddenly, all the fairy tales I’d read flashed before my eyes like a movie. A princess who eats a poisoned apple and gets saved by a prince on a white horse.
A princess who kisses a frog and meets a prince on a white horse. Or a poor girl who loses a glass slipper and finds her prince on a white horse!
And the old heroic tales of Hebram, where a brave knight saves a princess from the demon king’s castle. I loved those stories.
True love!
An ancient sage in Hebram once said that love is the ultimate goal of life. I didn’t really know what that meant, but it sounded important.
With hope in my heart, I held Aunt’s hands and smiled brightly.
“Thank you!”
Now that I knew my role, all I had to do was find my prince!
I figured it wouldn’t be easy. I might have to eat a poisoned apple, turn into a frog, or lose my shoe. I was still young, so I thought I’d have to wait a long time.
But my prince showed up much sooner than I expected.
Apparently, my great-grandfather had been very close to the former emperor. They used to drink together often, and one day, 30 years ago, they drunkenly promised to marry off their future grandchildren. They even signed a contract while drunk, probably because they were so stressed at work.
So, thanks to that sloppy agreement, the 7th Prince and I got involved.
One spring day when I was six, our parents brought us together to build a friendship.
I wanted true love, so I didn’t like the idea of a forced engagement from a drunk promise. But my parents said they wouldn’t force me to marry if I didn’t want to. They just wanted me to make a royal friend.
Under the clear sky and bright sun, we met in the palace garden.
All the way there, I kept thinking that today’s sky was the most beautiful I’d ever seen.
But the moment I saw you, that thought completely disappeared.
“Hi. You must be Chelsea. Nice to meet you.”
You said with a voice soft like the spring breeze. Your hair sparkled like sunlight, and your eyes looked like they held the whole sky in them. When you smiled at me with the sun behind you, it was warm like sunlight and delicate like a dream. Even the real sky and sun weren’t as beautiful as you.
That’s when I knew, at first sight—you were my true prince.
