~Chapter 23~
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Never mind the burning in my face—what I couldn’t control was the sensation of a huge balloon swelling inside my chest.
Thump. Thump, thump. My heartbeat rang in my ears.
God, if someone asked me to do it again, I absolutely couldn’t. Shaking my head desperately, I tried to erase the memory of last night. I was embarrassed—mortified, even.
“…S-sorry. I really wasn’t in my right mind last night.”
“So you’re saying you couldn’t have done it if you were?”
My expression must have looked amusing, because he chuckled and gently rubbed my lower lip with the pad of his thumb.
The soft pressure at the center of my lips reminded me of that hazy kiss from last night.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Anton was smiling like a mischievous boy.
To receive magic periodically, it meant I had to make deep contact with Anton, like last night.
Could I really cross that line with someone I barely knew, just to gain more power?
Suddenly, another doubt crept in.
Anton, who led a whole order of knights from Saragot, might not be a hostage at all—he might be a guest. Compared to me, who came here with nothing but my body, his position could be much stronger.
But persuading the emperor wouldn’t be easy. Then why did he make it sound so effortless?
Knock, knock, knock.
“Your Highness, are you in there? A delegation from Kashiya has come to see you.”
A servant’s voice came from outside.
“Tell them to wait a moment. I’ll be right there.”
Anton answered.
“Wait, hold on. Why are you answering when they’re calling for His Highness?”
A brief silence followed my question.
“Sigh… Just asking to be sure—but have you never once suspected my identity?”
Anton asked, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk. That playful look on his face was a little irritating.
“His Highness…? But you said you were from Saragot…”
“I was, sort of… exiled there for a while.”
He continued.
“There’s one thing you overlooked. I never once said I was a hostage. I never said I was a prince of a vassal state either.”
He was right.
A chill started at the back of my neck and spread down my arms to my fingertips like a shiver. I felt completely alienated from the entire world.
My hand was still in Anton’s. I quickly pulled it away and drifted into thought. The owl, Luna, had said something that now echoed in my mind.
The youngest prince had returned. He had been taken abroad for treatment after falling ill as a child, but had come back after completing his studies.
“That… was you?”
“My knight order will deploy to Kashiya soon. You have two days to decide—whether you’ll join or not. Just remember the terms.”
He glanced at my lips and let out a faint laugh before striding out of the room.
Left alone, I stood there in a daze.
The fourth prince’s name was… if I remember correctly, Antonio.
Anton. Antonio. Anton… Antonio…
I rolled his name around in my mouth.
So similar. It made me feel utterly foolish not to have realized it sooner.
‘So all this time… I’ve been treating a prince of this empire like a casual friend?’
What an insult. Even if he was the youngest, he was still fourth in line for the imperial throne.
The fact that he had tolerated my behavior until now was astonishing.
Why hadn’t he told me sooner?
I had to apologize immediately, correct how I addressed him, and show the proper respect.
In a panic, I flung open the door and ran down the hallway. Anton was nowhere to be seen.
Looking around, I noticed two massive portraits hanging in the main lobby.
One depicted a man who looked exactly like Anton, sitting beside a stunning woman with brown hair and blue eyes. Three children, all with the same brown hair and blue eyes as the woman, sat nestled in their arms.
The woman was probably the late empress, and the three children were likely the crown prince, second prince, and third prince.
So even those brats were cute when they were little.
Next to it was a half-length portrait of a child around three years old.
His hair was glossy black, and his eyes shone like sunlight over a desert.
Unlike the children in the first painting, he looked and felt entirely different. Somber, calm, and… lonely. The kind of aura no child that age should possess.
“…It’s you.”
I knew instinctively this was Anton—no, Antonio.
Maybe he wasn’t in the family portrait because the empress had died giving birth to him.
‘Three deceits followed one true birth.’
Suddenly, the prophecy delivered by the owl flashed through my mind.
I swallowed hard and looked back and forth between the two portraits. The three children in the first one shared no resemblance whatsoever with the emperor.
Three deceits, and one true birth… I felt like I was starting to understand what that meant.
No—he said not to ask. So I won’t. I won’t even wonder.
Until it’s confirmed, it’s all just speculation.
Knowing could be dangerous.
I forcefully buried the questions rising inside me.
I felt conflicted. For someone I had briefly considered a friend, the fourth prince Antonio was someone I realized I didn’t know at all.
***
Antonio stepped into the emperor’s bedchamber.
Though it was still midday, the heavy curtains made the room oppressively dark.
Only after his eyes adjusted could he see it clearly.
Every wall was covered with portraits of the empress.
From her youthful days before marriage, to one of her in a white wedding gown, even a portrait of her heavily pregnant.
The emperor’s room, papered wall-to-wall with images of his dead wife, was disturbingly bizarre.
Antonio felt a surge of revulsion. Even though she was his biological mother, he couldn’t help his reaction.
Perhaps it was because of the prophecy.
“Count Godric. I wish to speak with His Majesty alone.”
At his request, the chamberlain, Count Godric, lit the lamp and quietly exited.
The emperor, in a thick robe, slowly sat up in bed.
Half-empty medicine bottles cluttered the side table.
“…Yes, my son. Is the deployment going well?”
The emperor reached out with trembling hands to beckon Antonio.
“Yes. Thanks to your generous support.”
Antonio replied with a polite smile.
Until recently, he hadn’t known. He didn’t know where this sudden affection came from.
But ever since hearing the prophecy from the owl, he could see right through his father’s intentions. The emperor was showering Antonio’s knight order with weapons, supplies, and support.
The emperor shuffled over and placed a hand on Antonio’s shoulder, stroking it like a cherished treasure.
“So gallant. You’ve grown into a fine man.”
“Had I known Your Majesty was so generous with praise, I would’ve returned to the empire much sooner.”
The emperor cleared his throat. Antonio thought, Had I returned before the prophecy, he wouldn’t have welcomed me like this.
“So, what brings you here today?”
“I have a request.”
“I’d fetch the stars from the sky for you. Name it.”
The emperor’s eyes overflowed with affection. He looked ready to give not just his liver, but his heart as well. For Antonio, who had never received such a gaze before, it was enough to give him goosebumps.
“I don’t want stars. I want someone of talent—please give her to me.”
“You can even have Chancellor Demodocus if you like. Just tell me who.”
“Princess Josephine of Iote.”
“Ah, the hostage in the Ruby Palace? Can’t say I remember her name—never stood out much.”
The emperor stroked his chin and picked up a crystal glass from the table.
It was empty. Antonio picked up the wine bottle beside it and poured until the glass overflowed.
The emperor chuckled and took a generous sip.
“Well, it’s better than sleeping with some street whore, I suppose. Do as you wish.”
“…What did you just say?”
Antonio’s brows furrowed as he glared at his father.
He recalled what the princess had once said:
“The courtesans of the princes. That’s what they call the princesses of the Ruby Palace.”
“Because they warm the princes’ beds, they’re called that.”
The emperor looked puzzled and shrugged.
“Why? Isn’t it just to satisfy a young man’s needs?”
The emperor had completely misunderstood. He thought Antonio wanted Josephine merely to satisfy carnal urges, like any other warlord with a mistress on the battlefield.
Antonio clenched his fist tightly.
Rage surged within him, sharp and violent as a blade.
CRASH!
A piercing sound exploded like thunder.
The crystal glass in the emperor’s hand shattered in an instant. No physical impact—yet it had burst.
Wine spilled onto the floor, but the shards didn’t fall. They hung, frozen midair, as though time had stopped.
Then the shards began to move—each one pointing directly at the emperor.
“H-how dare you threaten your own father?!”
The emperor’s face turned pale as he shouted in terror.
Antonio was clearly threatening his father’s life.
He opened his palm, and each shard began to vibrate subtly, like a living organism, ready to strike and pierce flesh.
“…I gave you free rein. What did I say that was so wrong?”
“You gravely underestimated me, Father.”
“W-what did you say?”
The emperor trembled like a leaf, frozen in place. From Antonio’s golden eyes, a chilling, deadly aura radiated.
“No wonder you were deceived three times.”
