Asros wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and raced up the stone staircase in a single sprint before grabbing the handle of the firmly shut door.

As the door opened, a sliver of the Great Hall revealed itself.

The place was so silent it felt as though even a mouse would be afraid to make a sound.

There was not a single guard in sight.

Not even a maid.

Asros cautiously stepped inside, glancing around the dim hall before making his way toward the stairs.

He did not know why he was trying so hard to silence his footsteps.

He had felt the same thing the last time he came here.

This castle really feels like a graveyard.

The eerie atmosphere made him lower his voice and hold his breath without even realizing it.

Casting nervous glances toward the curtained windows, Asros bounded up the stairs two steps at a time and soon reached the third floor.

At last, his sister's bedroom door came into view.

Stopping before the large mahogany door, he took a moment to catch his breath before carefully knocking.

No answer came.

No one asked who was there.

No one invited him inside.

'Is she asleep?'

Pressing his ear against the door, Asros listened for a moment before knocking harder.

Thunk.

A sound came from inside.

After hesitating briefly, he grasped the handle and cautiously opened the door.

A hazy white smoke drifted through the disordered bedroom.

The stale air made him cough lightly.

Then his eyes widened.

The room looked as though a storm had swept through it.

He stood frozen, blinking in disbelief.

Then, as though drawn forward by something unseen, he stepped into the wreckage.

Shards of broken glass littered the floor.

A heavy scent of wine hung over the carpet, as though bottles had been hurled across the room.

Strips of torn fabric and feathers that appeared to have burst from pillows lay scattered everywhere.

Asros stared blankly at the destruction.

Then he suddenly noticed a full-length mirror shattered into countless pieces.

He flinched.

Dozens of fragments reflected dozens of versions of himself from the spiderweb of cracks.

A chill crept down his spine.

As he slowly backed away, a rustling sound came from behind him.

Startled, Asros spun around.

Then he froze.

Talia lay sprawled carelessly across the carpet.

His breath caught in his throat.

Wearing only a thin nightgown, she stared up at the ceiling with empty eyes.

The sight of a face that seemed utterly drained of life sent a shiver through him.

She slowly raised an arm as thin as a birch branch, gathered a handful of feathers from the floor, and tossed them into the air.

White feathers drifted through the smoky room like dust.

She stared at them with unfocused eyes for a long moment.

Then her gaze slowly shifted toward him.

Without realizing it, Asros took a step backward.

Her lips, crusted with dried blood, parted.

A rough, brittle voice emerged.

“...Did you come to watch?”

“I-I... I only came to visit you...”

Her ruined eyes settled upon the bouquet clutched against his chest.

Asros felt his ears grow hot.

For some reason, it felt as though he were doing something unforgivably cruel.

Talia lowered her eyelids like an exhausted person.

“...Leave it there and go.”

Awkwardly, Asros placed the bouquet upon a shelf beside the bed.

After that, he had no idea what to do.

He stared helplessly at his sister.

Then he left the room.

Waiting in the hallway, Berens frowned upon seeing his pale face.

He looked as though he suspected some sort of harm had come to the prince.

Without offering any explanation, Asros grabbed his hand.

“Let's go back to the main palace. Quickly.”

Then he ran down the corridor that was as silent as a tomb.

He did not know what he was fleeing from.

He only knew that he desperately wanted to leave this unnaturally cold and damp place as soon as possible.

Looking back once over his shoulder at the half-open bedroom door, Asros hurried down the stairs.

Moments later, like an animal escaping a trap, he fled the detached palace in one breath.

* * *

It felt as though an ant was crawling through her veins.

A stabbing pain crept up her shin, gnawing at her knee, her thigh, her pelvis, and finally her waist.

It was not as intense as before.

But it was just as unbearable.

Talia dug her nails into the uneven flesh of her knee and scratched relentlessly.

Immediately, the ant crawling beneath her skin seemed to resist, burrowing deeper into her bones.

Determined to rip the loathsome parasite out, Talia peeled away the tough layers of skin as though stripping bark from wood.

Blood streamed from the reopened wound.

Ignoring the burning pain, she dug her nails into the raw flesh beneath.

At that moment, the nanny entered the room.

Seeing the scene, she let out a shrill scream.

“Please stop doing that!”

The woman nearly threw the tray she was carrying onto a nearby table before rushing forward and grabbing Talia's hand.

Talia looked at her with lifeless eyes.

Then she simply placed her other hand atop the scar.

“Why are you doing this again?!”

The nanny seized that hand as well and sighed heavily.

“If those scars get any worse, what are you going to do? They're already terrible enough.”

Talia stared at her blankly.

This was the same nanny who had spent years praising her beauty until her mouth practically dried out.

The same woman who used to say she looked exactly like a young Senevier.

The same woman who had doted on her endlessly.

Apparently, even in the nanny's eyes, she had become ugly now.

Twisting her wrist free with force, Talia shoved the woman in the shoulder.

“Get out! I don't even want to look at you!”

The nanny glared back stubbornly before stomping toward the shelf.

Picking up the bowl of porridge and the medicine bottle from the tray, she thrust them forward.

“I'll leave after you've eaten this, so stop worrying about it.”

Talia reached out, intending to throw the bowl.

But even the dense nanny had learned after experiencing the same thing countless times.

She quickly stepped backward.

“You won't be getting any sleep-herbs if you refuse to eat.”

Talia glared at her resentfully.

In the end, she accepted the bowl.

She simply lacked the energy to argue anymore.

Picking up the spoon, she mechanically shoved the mushy food into her mouth.

It tasted like eating mud.

Suppressing waves of nausea, she forced herself to finish the porridge and swallow the unidentified medicine.

Only then did the nanny place a fresh bundle of herbs into the censer and light it.

Talia inhaled the thick, acrid smoke and collapsed onto the bed.

As her consciousness grew hazy, drowsiness washed over her.

Relieved by the gradual dulling of her senses, she turned toward the window.

Beyond the clear glass, the evening sky was turning red.

Once the sun ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) set, darkness would descend over her once more.

Even through her growing stupor, fear gripped her heart.

She was afraid of the night.

Memories of waiting endlessly for someone to come in the darkness seemed to tighten around her throat.

But she feared the morning even more.

She did not want to live through another day in this wretched body.

Closing her eyes tightly, she whispered a desperate prayer.

Please.

Let all the time remaining to me pass at once while I sleep.

Let me be freed from this pain forever.

But as always, her wish was not granted.

A hand shaking her shoulder dragged her from sleep.

Talia opened her eyes and stared toward the window flooded with sunlight.

A hollow sigh escaped her lips.

Another miserable day was beginning. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She pressed a hand against her aching forehead.

Then a strange voice reached her ears.

“Your Highness, you must get up now.”

Talia immediately turned her head.

A towering dark figure stood beside her bed.

She sat upright at once.

A woman with an imposing build and extraordinary height was looking down at her with eyes the color of steel.

The woman bowed with crisp precision.

“Please forgive the discourtesy of entering Your Highness's bedchamber without permission. My name is Trania Meldren, Head Maid of the Empress's Palace. By Her Majesty's command, I have come to attend to Your Highness for the day.”

Confused, Talia slowly looked around the room.

The bedroom had been cleaned completely.

Along one side stood more than a dozen maids dressed in gowns bearing the seal of the Empress's Palace.

The moment Talia noticed the armfuls of clothing they carried, her body stiffened.

A terrible premonition tightened around her throat.

“Attend to me? Why would you...”

“Today, Your Highness will be granted an audience with His Imperial Majesty.”