Prologue. The Monster

— “Does that woman truly possess the qualities to become Queen?”

The clear brown eyes that had been staring intently at the bold headline slowly shifted to another newspaper.

— “The Suspicious Queen Candidate—Can She Explain Herself?”

— “The Fall of the ‘Angelic Young Lady.’ Has She Betrayed Everyone, or Was She a Hypocrite From the Beginning?”

“…She was a hypocrite from the very beginning.”

The seventeen-year-old girl muttered as she set the newspaper down. She diligently scribbled a few notes onto a sheet of paper, summarizing the articles she had just read.

• Reputation ruined.
• Queen’s title revoked.

“Ah… Please.”

The graceful amber eyes, shining like polished topaz, sparkled above Astir’s faint smile.

“My lovely big sister, Sei.”

“Please fall spectacularly. Let me—the fake young lady—have my revenge.”

Her small hand, with its long, slender fingers that gave her the air of a scholar, continued writing as though sketching a blueprint.

“I’ll turn us both into monsters. Along with our grandfather. I’ll make sure neither of you can ever dream of happiness or love again. And then…”

• The North’s downfall.

Tap.

Quieter than the sound of the pen touching the paper, yet far darker, a soft whisper rippled through the still air.

“…Even if you become a Saint.”

Astir de Nuxieike was a monster.

For two reasons.

She wasn’t called a temptress because she was so unbearably ugly that the title itself would have been laughable.

Slouched shoulders. A sickly complexion.

Nor was she called a villainess.

She was simply too foolish.

She had no refinement, no manners, no academic talent—nothing to boast of.

That brown-haired girl was nothing more than a revolting creature no one even wanted to look at.

A monster.

She was so pitiful that even her own family, the Ducal House of Nuxieike in the North, had abandoned her.

A useless half-blood.

And every one of those judgments stood in perfect contrast to her elder sister.

Alexei de Nuxieike, better known by the nickname Sei, was a Saint.

For two reasons.

First, because she was so beautiful and kind that the title suited her perfectly.

Golden hair that shone like sunlight.

Sky-blue eyes resembling flawless aquamarines, incapable of concealing the nobility within them.

Second…

Because she truly was the Saint.

The final holy one foretold by an ancient prophecy.

“When mankind’s calendar turns beyond the thousandth year, the last Saint shall be revealed where the pioneer’s sweat became ice. She shall be born in the body of a woman and shall be worthy of bearing the name of that land. Should she succeed, everlasting victory shall come. But should she fail—or be slain—then only the end shall remain.”

Across the continent stood five great ducal families that had defended humanity against the demons for generations.

Every territory, save one, had already produced its destined Saint.

Only the North remained.

The Duchy of Nuxieike, often shortened simply to Nukk, the frozen northern territory of the Empire.

In Imperial Year 1000, the prophecy finally pointed to one woman.

The eldest daughter of House Nuxieike.

“Long live Saint Sei!”

“May the gods bless our Saint!”

“The Queen of High Society!”

“Our beautiful Saint!”

White lilies rained down like snow as everyone celebrated the Saint’s appearance.

Everyone…

Except one person.

“Ahhh!”

“The Saint has collapsed!”

Except the monstrous second daughter of House Nuxieike—

The girl wicked enough to attempt to kill the Saint.

The Duke of Nuxieike, ruler of the frozen North of glaciers, ice walls, and snow-covered mountains, once had an only son.

He had been a brilliant heir.

But he died young in battle.

That son had adopted a little girl as his daughter just before his death because he loved her so dearly.

When the Duke recovered his son’s body…

Another little girl appeared before him.

She claimed to be his son’s biological daughter.

The problem was obvious.

It was an outright lie.

The Duke had already found his real granddaughter.

Even so, drowned in grief as he was, he pitied the orphan girl and brought her home as well.

Thus, House Nuxieike came to have two daughters.

The true young lady, officially recognized.

And the suspicious fake young lady, who had somehow found her way into the family.

No one in the Empire was unaware of the story.

The beautiful, kind, highly educated eldest daughter…

And the monstrous second daughter.

But now…

That woman was no longer a young lady.

“They already expelled you from House Nuxieike. You’re nothing now—not even a family name. Just Astir… Noname.”

“Still…”

“My dear Astir.”

“My one and only little sister.”

“……”

Despite the canary-like voice, Astir did not move.

She only stared blankly through the prison bars at the dazzling figure beyond them.

The diamond tiara reflected off silky golden hair just as it had during the trial where Astir had been sentenced to excommunication and death for attempting to assassinate the Saint.

But unlike then…

The thing glittering upon that pale, translucent face was not tears.

It was a radiant sneer.

“No! Please! Not execution… not burning at the stake! She’s still… still my little sister!”

“My dear Sei… don’t cry. This foolish old man was wrong. I never should have brought that monster into our family. Please don’t cry—you’ll make yourself ill.”

“Please… can’t something be done? She may have tried to kill me with dark magic and poison, but I’m still alive, aren’t I? How could I ask for her punishment…? Our Astir…”

“How dare that bitch attack someone so kind!”

“Even if she weren’t the Saint, how could she try to murder the sister who loved her so much?”

“Sob…”

“Sniff… What am I ever going to do with you?”

Just as she had during the trial, Sei stood before the iron bars with a white handkerchief pressed elegantly against her lips, like a noble lady struggling to suppress her tears.

Astir, who had watched silently all this time, painfully parted her cracked, blood-caked lips.

“You.”

“Hm?”

“Stop it already.”

“Hm?”

“Stop pretending.”

“It’s over now.”

“You don’t even want to keep saying things you don’t mean anymore… do you?”

“Oh.”

As if surprised—

Or perhaps amused—

Sei lowered the handkerchief.

“Pfft… Hahaha…!”

The tears hanging from her sky-blue eyes remained.

But beneath them…

A brilliant smile appeared.

“You stupid girl.”

“You should have stayed invisible from the beginning.”

“You should have lived like the little rat you are.”

“You forgot your place.”

“You didn’t know your own worth.”

“So now you’re paying for it.”

Her crystal-clear voice was filled with genuine delight.

“Why?”

In contrast, Astir’s voice was rough, soaked in the taste of blood.

“Hm?”

“Why…?”

“Why?”

“You already had everything.”

“You possessed everything.”

“You enjoyed everything by yourself.”

“So why did you do this to me?”

“Why… why… WHY?”

“Why go this far…?”

Hack!

Blood spilled from Astir’s mouth.

Her hands were chained, preventing her from wiping it away.

She continued staring through the bars.

“You…”

“You poisoned the roses I was supposed to wear at my debut.”

“They withered, and everyone whispered that I was cursed.”

“The puppies your pet dog gave birth to…”

“You killed them too, didn’t you?”

“And framed me.”

“……”

“You destroyed my assignments at the Academy.”

“You hid my textbooks before exams.”

“You slipped cheating notes into my cloak.”

“You planted your gifts in my room and claimed I’d stolen them.”

“At the Academy… at every party…”

“People spread lies that I’d insulted them.”

“That I’d spoken badly about you.”

“I never did any of it!”

“They said I poisoned your tea?”

“You were the one who summoned me that day!”

“I never gave you anything!”

“The talismans found in my room…”

“The poison…”

“I knew nothing about them!”

“I wasn’t guilty!”

“This time too…”

“You did all of it…”

“All of it… didn’t you?”

“Pfft.”

“Ha… hahaha!”

Sei burst into laughter once again.

The reason she had remained silent while listening…

Was simply because she had been trying not to laugh.

“That’s right.”

“From the very first moment I saw you…”

“I wanted to kill you.”

“My beloved little sister.”

“Even if I had to frame you.”

“What…?”

Her voice rang as brightly as tinkling jewels.

“So I’m happier than words can describe.”

“Because I’ve finally gotten to see someone like you…”

“A filthy little rat…”

“A monster…”

“Receive the ending you deserve.”

“Monsters belong in the fire.”

“!”

Looking into those aquamarine eyes shining with pure joy…

Astir’s eyes widened.

After being dragged into the dungeons of the Inquisition under charges of heresy…

She had endured countless horrors.

Clubs.

Whips.

Water torture.

Needles.

Every torment imaginable.

She had endured them all.

Because she was innocent.

There had been only one thing…

Only one thing she could not withstand.

Only one thing that finally broke her and forced her to confess to crimes she had never committed.

The branding iron.

That glowing red branding iron…

That alone…

She could not endure.

“The criminal, Astir Noname. For the attempted assassination of the Saint and for seeking the power of heresy to commit the act, this court sentences you to excommunication and death.”

And then…

“The execution shall take place on the last day of this month… by burning at the stake.”

“Hah…!”

Astir’s lips curved upward, mirroring Sei’s smile.

What had I done wrong?

No…

I really hadn’t done anything wrong.

Then where…

Where had everything gone wrong?

When the Saint appeared?

When the war began?

Or…

“…Ah.”

“It began the day I met you.”

“And your beloved grandfather.”

“My destruction started then.”

A crimson light flickered within her brown eyes.

They were tears of blood.