HPBUY Chapter 57

“My mother’s eyes were a similar turquoise color to that. Conversely, Mother’s ring was a sapphire as blue as the late emperor’s eyes.”

Jeremiah’s eyes widened in surprise. In his memory, the late emperor had been a cold-as-ice man, so it was hard to believe he had known such romance in his younger days.

“Does Your Highness have your mother’s ring?”

Sienna shook her head at Jeremiah’s question.

“It seems to have been lost in the chaos when she passed away.”

Jeremiah nodded quietly, then belatedly closed his mouth with a look of realization. He had just remembered how the princess’s birth mother had died.

“I brought up an unnecessary topic. I apologize if I upset you.”

“No need to apologize. I was too young then, and the memories are now hazy.”

Her tone was matter-of-fact, as if speaking of someone else’s story.

Her memories of that day weren’t clear. The only things that occasionally surfaced were the tremendous uproar when her mother was hanged, a limp hand beneath white cloth, and the crowd throwing stones at her.

As if everything else had been cut away, only those scenes remained etched in her mind, refusing to fade.

For her, the meaning of family was limited to her husband and daughter; she had no deep attachment to her parents.

The deaths of Soliet and Declan were more painful to her than those of her mother, whom she barely remembered, and her father, who had always been cold.

****

After parting with Jeremiah, Sienna was returning to the annex when she impulsively headed elsewhere.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never been there before.’

She had gone straight to Lopwell after the funeral, and after returning from Lopwell, she had left for the Grand Duchy, so she never had the chance to visit her father’s tomb deep within the imperial palace.

After walking for a while, she saw a solitary marble building in front of a quiet lake. Her father’s tomb was arranged inside.

A few wilting flowers lay before the tombstone inscribed with his achievements and prayers. Sienna’s gaze moved from the flowers to the tombstone.

They say that when the late emperor was on his deathbed, he had foreseen his death and firmly requested to be buried together with the empress. However, his son Joseph and the nobles did not honor that request.

To begin with, Melophe’s remains were buried somewhere in Ricata, making it practically difficult.

To bury the emperor’s remains in Ricata would naturally require lifting the closure order on Ricata, giving an opportunity to clear the name of a land branded as traitors’ territory—nothing about this appealed to Joseph.

Decisively, wasn’t she a woman he himself had executed as a traitor? She wasn’t in a position to be buried with the emperor.

Sienna stood before the tombstone, gazing at her father’s bust.

“…Would you have felt vindicated?”

Sienna murmured the question. As he watched her life being destroyed by Joseph’s hands from the afterlife, would he have clicked his tongue?

Imagining it suddenly, she laughed weakly.

“Perhaps you’re sneering, wondering why I didn’t listen to you sooner.”

No. Her father wouldn’t allow himself even a hint of laughter. As always, he would just stare at her with an ice-cold expression. Meeting that gaze always made her feel like an utterly useless person.

As she stared intently at the bust, trying to recall his faded image, she sensed movement not far away.

When she instinctively turned her head, Sienna froze. Dahlia too stopped in her tracks the moment their eyes met.

“Ah…”

Dahlia took a deep breath, seemingly very surprised. After being frozen for a moment, she quickly bent her knee.

“I greet Your Highness, the Princess.”

Sienna, who had been silently watching Dahlia, turned her gaze to the flowers placed before the tomb.

“Were those from you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“They’re pretty.”

Though the compliment lacked much emotion, Dahlia’s cheeks turned red. Sienna’s gaze briefly shifted to the fresh flowers Dahlia held in her hands, different from those already placed by the tombstone.

“Do you offer flowers every day?”

“N-no, I come every Monday. Since there isn’t much for me to do in the palace…”

When Dahlia answered awkwardly, Sienna gave a faint smile.

“His Majesty did hold you in special regard while he was alive. He must be pleased.”

As if unexpected, Dahlia’s eyes widened briefly before she smiled bitterly.

“He must be even more pleased that Your Highness has come.”

“That’s kind of you to say.”

Sienna smirked. Though Dahlia had meant it sincerely, Sienna seemed to take it as mere courtesy.

“How much longer do you plan to stay at the palace?”

“I’ll likely leave around when autumn begins.”

Sienna nodded.

“I suppose we’ll see each other at least once more before you leave.”

The conversation ended there.

They weren’t close enough to ask about each other’s recent lives. The relationship between Dahlia and Sienna was quite delicate. Though not openly hostile like with Joseph or Marianne, there was an undeniable awkwardness.

Long ago, Sienna had been jealous of and disliked Dahlia, but that was merely a childhood story.

As Sienna turned to leave, Dahlia quickly curtsied. Sienna passed by her without pause.

Only when the footsteps faded did Dahlia straighten up. She stood quietly watching Sienna’s retreating figure, and only after Sienna had completely disappeared from view did she let out a soft sigh.

“…That startled me.”

She took another deep breath and clutched her chest.

While Sienna was the sister closest to her in age, she was also the most difficult to approach. This wasn’t simply due to the awkwardness between a legitimate daughter and an illegitimate one.

[His Majesty did hold you in special regard while he was alive. He must be pleased.]

She really doesn’t know anything.

Dahlia smiled bitterly. She knew she had grown up with certain privileges.

How could she not know? With three older siblings, the way their father treated them was completely different from how he treated her.

The deceased emperor had been an infinitely gentle father to Dahlia, but to his other children, he was merely a stern emperor.

Though he provided abundantly in material terms, he only acted like a normal father in front of Dahlia. Even Sienna, the only one granted the title of princess, feared the emperor.

Napping on the emperor’s knee, acting spoiled – things the other siblings couldn’t dare hope for were allowed only to Dahlia.

There was a time when she had unquestioningly considered these things her due.

Dahlia crouched before the tombstone, moved aside the wilted flowers, and arranged the fresh ones she had brought.

After neatly arranging the flowers, Dahlia finally raised her head to look at her father’s bust.

He had been a father who had loved her endlessly.

Having been born and raised in the Duke’s residence, Dahlia always looked forward to visiting the imperial palace in her childhood. While her maternal uncle, Duke Lowell, was excessively strict and frightening, her father always doted on her.

Even if she accidentally dropped a vase or spilled ink on documents, he always dismissed it with a smile.

That unconditional love was so sweet and addictive. Whenever she was at the palace, Dahlia never wanted to leave her father’s side.

That day was probably one of those days too.

****

The capital was hit by a thunderstorm with heavy rain during the monsoon season. Frightened by the thunder in the middle of the night, Dahlia ran to the emperor’s bedroom and climbed into his bed.

[My baby has come.]

When Dahlia sniffled and burrowed into his embrace, her father held her tight and asked tenderly.

[Oh dear. Were you scared of the lightning?]

The emperor patted Dahlia’s back with drowsy movements, his eyes still closed.

[It’s alright, Sasha. Father will protect you.]

His sleep-laden voice was so warm. Warm enough that Dahlia mistook the name he called.

[Father is here, Sienna, nothing can hurt you.]

****

From that day on, Dahlia’s attention was completely focused in one direction – toward her half-sister who seemed both similar and different from herself.

Sienna was pretty. Extremely so.

While she had some resemblance to their handsome father, it wasn’t much. Rather, their brother took after their father the most – blonde hair and blue eyes, a face beautiful like a fairy tale illustration and a gentle smile. Among these features, Sienna had only inherited the deep blue eyes.

People said Sienna was eerily similar to her mother. The former empress who died hanged in the square.

Dahlia had heard she was once considered the most beautiful woman in the Kralto continent, but she had passed away before Dahlia was born.

So naturally, Dahlia didn’t know what the deceased empress looked like.

But strangely enough, while Sienna and Dahlia only shared their father in common, they had several similarities beyond what they inherited from him. Their slender figures, pale skin, and jet-black hair were all alike.

It was easy to realize the truth she hadn’t known before. And it was even easier to ignore it.

Instead of trembling with betrayal and exploding with anger, Dahlia chose to continue receiving her father’s love with a face that knew nothing, just as she had always done.

But once the realization hit, she started noticing things she hadn’t seen before.

Like where the emperor’s gaze lingered longest. Or how he always took his walks circling around the annex.