TPO 01

Chapter 01

“Evelyn!”

The door to the room suddenly opened without even a knock.

It was a rude intrusion, but for Evelyn, in her current situation, things like this were neither surprising nor strange. It was simply her everyday life.

Standing in front of the door was a middle-aged woman.

Her clothes were more elegant than a maid’s, but still plain compared to the garments normally worn by nobles.

She was Glena, Ophelia’s royal wet nurse and Evelyn’s mother.

“What brings you here all of a sudden, Mother?”

Evelyn asked while instinctively lowering her eyes.

If she met her gaze, she knew all too well what kind of scolding might come.

Glena walked straight toward Evelyn.

Her steps were light and graceful, almost as if she were dancing.

“You should go, Evelyn.”

Glena spoke in a gentle voice, completely unlike her usual cold tone.

Hearing such a voice for the first time in her life, Evelyn almost nodded immediately and agreed to go.

“…What do you mean by that, Mother?”

After calmly exhaling, Evelyn placed the needle she had been using for embroidery into the fabric and asked Glena.

Glena smiled brightly and slowly walked toward Evelyn.

“You are going in place of Princess Ophelia.”

Sitting beside Evelyn, Glena tightly held her hand.

Unlike Evelyn’s rough hands that had become hardened from difficult labor, Glena’s hands were smooth and delicate.

However, Evelyn had no time to admire the softness of her mother’s hands.

“I am going instead of the princess?”

Evelyn moved her lips, unable to hide her shock.

Glena had clearly told her to go in Princess Ophelia’s place.

Evelyn knew exactly what that meant.

“Are you telling me to go to Vite?”

Vite was a country bordering Hesta, where Evelyn was born and raised, and the two nations had maintained a fairly friendly relationship.

Until only two years ago.

Two years ago, the King of Hesta, looking down on the newly crowned Emperor of Vite, attacked Vite during the confusion of his coronation ceremony.

After that incident, the relationship between the two countries completely collapsed.

The King of Hesta had been filled with an unknown confidence.

He believed it was only a matter of time before Vite would kneel before him.

However, things did not proceed as easily as they had expected.

The Emperor, who had risen to the top of Vite after killing his own parents and siblings, was by no means an easy opponent.

Hesta’s army lost almost every battle except for two.

Hesta, which had believed it would easily place Vite beneath its feet, ended up surrendering seven strongholds to Vite’s counterattack.

And now, they had declared their surrender.

As a gesture of reconciliation and friendship, Hesta had promised to send Princess Ophelia, the only daughter of the King of Hesta, to Vite.

When Princess Ophelia learned of this, she cried for three days and three nights, but there was nothing she could do.

Rumors said that the Emperor of Vite had horns on his head, a body covered in stiff fur, and a mouth grotesquely torn all the way to his ears.

Evelyn thought there was no way a human could look like that, but people argued that if it was not true, then why else would the late Emperor of Vite have hidden his child away so carefully?

Because of that, the rumors spread rapidly.

On top of that, even stranger tales spread about the army led by the Emperor of Vite.

They said his soldiers tore people apart with monstrous strength and ate newborn children alive.

Naturally, everyone was forced to fear them.

So it was only natural that Princess Ophelia cried.

“In three days, all preparations will be complete.”

Glena lowered her voice so that only Evelyn could hear.

“You and Princess Ophelia have the same hair and eye color, so no one in Vite will be able to tell the difference. Therefore, you will go to Vite in place of Princess Ophelia.”

For a moment, Evelyn imagined the Emperor of Vite, who was said to have the appearance of a monster.

However, she could not easily picture such an image.

“I don’t want to.”

Evelyn trembled in fear and shook her head.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Evelyn!”

At her firm refusal, Glena frowned and shouted in a low voice.

Startled by the sound, Evelyn shrank back.

She had been this way since Evelyn was young.

No matter what Evelyn did or said, Glena always became angry, annoyed, and raised her voice.

Seeing Evelyn become fearful, Glena reached out with her other hand and brushed Evelyn’s platinum hair aside.

“This is also a good thing for you. Even if you stay here, you will never be able to have a position higher than a maid. You know that, don’t you? But if you go to the Emperor of Vite in place of Princess Ophelia, things will be different.”

Glena continued speaking with a gentle smile.

“You will go to Vite as the princess of Hesta. There, you will receive the honorable treatment you never received here. Think carefully. If you gain the favor of the Emperor of Vite, you will become the mistress of the entire Western Continent.”

The words sounded good.

Evelyn was nothing more than the daughter of Glena, Princess Ophelia’s wet nurse, and without a father, her life would never allow her to rise above the status of a maid.

That was why Glena was telling her to leave this place and live while enjoying everything as the princess of Hesta.

Rarely, Evelyn could tell that Glena had said this because she was thinking about her daughter, who would otherwise live and die as a maid.

But if the person in question was the Emperor of Vite, things were different.

“I… I could die.”

Evelyn’s voice trembled.

The problem was the danger.

If Evelyn’s deception was discovered by the Emperor of Vite, she would be killed on the spot.

Of course, if that happened, the friendship between Hesta and Vite would obviously collapse as well.

“If we do not keep our promise to send the princess, everyone in Hesta could die.”

“What if they find out? If the truth is revealed, there will be war anyway. It won’t just end with my death.”

“What are you worried about? You just need to make sure they don’t find out.”

“Mother!”

Even then, Glena remained unmoved.

Evelyn raised her voice out of frustration, then immediately closed her mouth, realizing what she had done.

Fortunately, Glena showed no reaction.

“I am your daughter, Mother. Do you really have to send me to my death?”

The words she could not bring herself to say remained inside Evelyn’s mouth.

“You are my daughter, but before that, you are also a citizen of this country. Going to Vite in place of the princess is the greatest loyalty you can offer.”

At those cold words, Evelyn bit her lips.

Glena’s priority had always been Princess Ophelia.

Even when Evelyn returned after suffering a serious injury, Glena never spared her a single glance.

But if Princess Ophelia pricked her finger while embroidering, Glena would cry as if the entire world had collapsed.

Having lived 21 years without ever feeling love from Glena, Evelyn had always carried resentment toward her mother.

Still, she had held onto a small hope.

Perhaps Glena did love her deep down, even if she could never show it to her own daughter.

That was why Glena’s words now shattered Evelyn’s heart, leaving her unable to properly argue back.

Glena smiled as she looked at Evelyn, who no longer responded.

“Actually, this argument is meaningless, foolish Evelyn.”

At those words whose meaning she could not understand, Evelyn raised her head and stared at her mother.

“Whether you want to go or not does not matter. You must go. Because I have already informed His Majesty the King that this method exists.”

“……Mother?”

“Yes. The decision has already been made.”

After all, Evelyn was just one of the many unnecessary people within the castle.

The King did not want to send his precious only daughter, Princess Ophelia, to the infamous Vite.

Although he had personally suggested it to the Emperor of Vite for the sake of the future, when the time actually came, he simply could not bring himself to do it.

At that moment, Glena’s suggestion must have sounded very appealing.

“His Majesty was delighted, saying it was a method he had never thought of.”

Glena whispered in a voice kinder than ever before.

Evelyn could not control her trembling gaze and tightly closed her eyes.

“So stop saying unnecessary things and prepare to leave.”

Leaving Evelyn behind in her pain, Glena leisurely left the room.

Soon, the door closed, leaving only Evelyn and silence behind.

Alone in the room, Evelyn quietly raised her hand and touched her burning forehead.

The words Glena had spoken were not a request.

They were a one-sided and violent declaration.

Neither Evelyn’s wishes nor her opinion had been considered in Glena’s suggestion or the King’s decision.

It meant that Evelyn had never possessed the right to refuse in the first place.