SDNT 01

Chapter : 1 Something That Must Not Exist

It was something that could not possibly exist.

It lasted only an instant.

Only an instant—but without a doubt, it was there.

An Adam’s apple.

I wanted to doubt my own eyes, but they were my eyes. There was no way I could have mistaken what I saw.

Even though I wished I could pretend I had seen nothing.

I lowered my gaze to the embroidery in my hands. For the time being, I decided to act as though I hadn’t noticed.

At the Royal Academy, the sons and daughters of noble families received their education. As the daughter of a count, I was one of them.

My family was a count’s house with a respectable amount of history. However, when it came to wealth, there was far too much room for improvement.

I was doing embroidery to earn some personal spending money.

Once, the daughter of a ducal family from this country had married the crown prince of a neighboring kingdom.

It was said that the two had shared a loving and harmonious marriage.

But their happiness was fleeting.

The second prince—the crown prince’s younger brother—murdered both his father, the king, and his older brother, the crown prince, before seizing control of the kingdom.

Perhaps the crown prince of the neighboring kingdom had sensed the signs of civil unrest. While his beloved wife was pregnant, he sent her back to her homeland.

He promised that he would come for her.

But that promise was never fulfilled.

Grief-stricken by the loss of her husband, the wife gave birth to a baby girl and soon passed away.

The girl was raised as the daughter of her grandparents, the duke and duchess.

In the neighboring kingdom, even a royal princess had no right of succession.

The man who had usurped the throne and become king of the neighboring kingdom appeared to have no interest in the girl either.

These events had taken place shortly before I was born, but everyone living in this country knew the story.

That was why that person could not possibly have an Adam’s apple.

I decided that I had seen nothing.