WTTAO CH 01

“Cough, cough.”

Inside the dark, freezing prison, where the only source of warmth was the faint light entering through a window smaller than a palm—

A silver-haired woman lying collapsed on the floor, wearing a dress stained with blood and filth, coughed weakly as her frail body trembled.

Creeeak.

At that moment, the thick iron door of the prison opened, and two knights clad in silver armor stepped inside and stood before the woman.

With not even the slightest trace of mercy in their eyes, they spoke.

“Get up! It’s time to go to the courtroom, Roselia Hailen.”

Roselia barely managed to raise her upper body. Her pale face looked almost lifeless, and the blue eyes that once shone brightly had become dull and clouded.

“Ugh.”

When the knights grabbed both of her arms and pulled her to her feet, a painful groan escaped her lips. But the knights paid no attention and roughly dragged her outside.

“Cough, cough. Haa… haa…”

Roselia’s weakened body, her bare feet frozen against the cold floor as she was practically dragged along by the knights, soon began coughing again.

It was a violent cough that made it seem as though she might stop breathing at any moment, but the knights only urged her to hurry because she was slowing them down.

Before long, they passed through a dark corridor and arrived before a massive door with light spilling through its cracks.

One of the knights gave a signal to the guards standing on either side, and the heavy doors swung wide open.

Brilliant light poured out from within and spread across the surroundings.

Roselia instinctively frowned and closed her eyes before slowly opening them again. Having spent so long in the darkness of the prison, she found it difficult to adjust to the bright light.

Once her eyes finally adjusted, she could see inside the courtroom.

The courtroom was enormous and magnificent.

The marble floor and domed ceiling were decorated with paintings of a god holding a set of scales, accompanied by angels who followed him.

At the very front of the courtroom, at the top of a tall staircase covered with a red carpet, sat a man dressed in white priestly robes.

The nobles, dressed in splendid clothes, filled both sides below the staircase.

Their murmurs reached Roselia as the knights roughly dragged her toward the center.

‘It’s unbelievable that the prestigious Count Hailen family, a renowned family of water spirit mages, committed blasphemy and treason!’

‘Prestigious, my foot. I heard the new head of the Hailen family was a complete scoundrel. And apparently, he was reported by the heir of the Naizer ducal family, the family of fire spirit mages.’

‘Ah! You mean the son who went missing at the age of eight and was thought to be dead, only to be found a month ago? Was his name Cardian?’

‘That’s right. That’s why this trial is being held under the supervision of the Temple.’

‘Regardless, if they committed blasphemy, they obviously deserve to be punished!’

Those words pierced painfully into Roselia’s ears.

The knights dragged her to the place prepared in the center, forced her to stand upright, and then stepped back.

Roselia’s frail body swayed, and she barely managed to steady herself by gripping the railing.

The hostile gazes of everyone in the courtroom seemed to squeeze her entire body.

Her legs trembled.

Standing beside Roselia was a gray-haired man, bound with ropes and barely able to remain standing.

He was Sven, her cousin and her reckless older brother—the new head of the Hailen family.

At that moment, the priest who had been seated stood up and raised his hand.

The murmuring crowd instantly fell silent.

“From this moment onward, the trial of the Hailen family shall begin!”

After the priest finished speaking, Roselia’s blue eyes caught sight of a man sitting close to him, dressed in a black uniform.

Black hair reminiscent of a deep night sky.

Ruby-red eyes.

The man possessed an elegant aura as though he had stepped straight out of a painting, along with a beautiful face that looked almost like a sculpted statue.

Roselia’s pupils widened for a moment as she stared at the familiar man.

‘That man!’

She desperately tried to remember where she had seen him before.

One month before the Hailen family had been reduced to ruins—

Her reckless older brother, Sven, had fallen in love with a commoner woman he noticed while inspecting the territory.

But the woman was about to get married, and in order to forcibly take her for himself, Sven had exercised the droit du seigneur, a practice forbidden by the Empire.

Unable to bear the humiliation, the commoner woman died the following day.

Sven simply dismissed it as bad luck and ordered her corpse to be returned to her family.

Her father had collapsed from the shock, so her younger brother came to retrieve her body instead.

「Sob… Please bring her back! Bring my sister back! You damn people of the Count’s family!」

The commoner woman’s younger brother had clung to her coffin and wept bitterly for a long time.

Remembering that much, Roselia finally understood the words the nobles had been saying.

‘They said the heir of the Naizer ducal family, who had disappeared at the age of eight and was believed to be dead, reported the Hailen family for treason.’

Come to think of it, the younger brother of the woman who had died also had black hair and red eyes.

‘No way. It can’t be.’

Roselia was too dazed to properly comprehend how the trial proceeded.

The trial moved swiftly, and before long, it was time for the final verdict.

The priest looked down at everyone while holding a rolled-up parchment.

“I shall now deliver the final verdict concerning the Hailen family.”

After speaking in a solemn tone, the priest unrolled the parchment and began reading.

“Upon examination, all charges brought against the Hailen family have been proven true. The Count Hailen family dared to exercise the droit du seigneur, an act forbidden by His Majesty the Emperor, the holy representative of God. Therefore, in addition to the crime of blasphemy, the crime of treason shall also be added to their charges.

“Accordingly, all their possessions shall be transferred to the Temple, and Sven Hailen, the head of the family, is hereby sentenced to death.”

“N-No! Please, spare my—my life…!”

As Sven turned deathly pale and screamed in desperation, the knights behind him quickly covered his mouth.

Sven struggled wildly for a moment before soon falling silent.

The priest looked at him with contempt before continuing to read from the parchment.

“Tsk. The evidence is clear enough. Lastly, Roselia Hailen, daughter of the Count Hailen family, is sentenced to life imprisonment in the underground dungeon.”

The moment the verdict was announced, Roselia tightly clenched the hem of her filthy dress.

Her vision blurred.

The priest who had delivered the verdict rolled up the parchment and spoke again.

“On behalf of His Majesty the Emperor and the Temple, I would like to express our gratitude to Cardian Naizer for reporting the wicked Count Hailen family, thereby helping preserve peace within the Empire.”

When the priest finished speaking, the man stood from his seat, placed a hand over his chest, and bowed formally.

Then he raised his head and glared coldly at Roselia.

“Gratitude? I merely reported the vile Hailen family, who plotted blasphemy and treason, solely out of loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and the Temple.”

Roselia finally understood the truth.

Cardian Naizer had taken revenge on the family that had raised him.

Roselia curled up on the cold floor, which received not a single ray of light, wrapping her trembling body in an old blanket.

Tomorrow would be her twentieth birthday.

It had been exactly one year since she had been imprisoned in the underground dungeon.

‘If I hadn’t locked myself away in my room ever since I was fifteen… If I had fought with everything I had when Sven exercised the droit du seigneur… would something have been different?’

Tears welled up once again in her blue eyes.

Then, a sudden, agonizing pain struck her chest.

Roselia clutched her chest tightly.

Something warm and metallic suddenly surged up from her throat.

She hurriedly covered her mouth with her bony hand.

“Cough, cough. Gah…”

Dark red blood continued to seep between her fingers.

She could barely breathe.

Soon, her vision became blurry.

And one day before her twentieth birthday, Roselia closed her eyes.

“Hngh!”

Roselia suddenly jolted awake.

As her blinking eyes slowly adjusted, she saw a leafy pattern on the ceiling and beige wallpaper.

For some reason, everything around her felt incredibly familiar.

‘This is my… room? Why? I clearly… coughed up blood and died…’

Roselia sat up and leaned against the headboard.

No matter how many times she looked around, there was no doubt about it.

This was her room.

Just then, there was a knock, and the door silently opened.

A young maid with short green hair entered carrying a silver tray.

When her eyes met Roselia’s, the maid looked slightly surprised and spoke.

“You’re awake?”

If Roselia’s memory was correct, this was definitely the maid who had replaced the previous one shortly after Roselia turned fifteen.

Clack.

The maid placed the silver tray on the round table and straightened herself.

“I brought your breakfast.”

Roselia glanced at the tray.

It contained a simple salad and soup.

But breakfast was the least important thing right now.

“There’s something I want to ask you. Your name is… what? And what is today’s date according to the Imperial calendar?”

“Pardon? Ah, my name is Me—Mary. And today is exactly March 2nd, 1013, according to the Ortia Imperial Calendar.”

Mary seemed slightly flustered by the questions, but quickly composed herself and gave Roselia the answers she wanted.

‘What? Today is March 2nd, 1013, according to the Imperial Calendar…?’

“B-Bring me a mirror! Quickly!”

At Roselia’s urgent shout, Mary hurriedly found a round mirror and placed it in her hands.

When Roselia looked into the mirror, she saw the face of a young, adorable girl with long, silver hair that shimmered like moonlight, lake-blue eyes, and delicate features that made her look much younger.

It was unmistakably her own face from childhood.

‘Mary made me suspicious, but… did I really go back five years—to when I was fifteen?’