Chapter 3
“There’s a theory that the current dynasty of Obelia was rebuilt on the ruins because the Tower’s mage destroyed the old Obelia.”
As with most founding myths or oral traditions, the story of the Tower’s mage was likely exaggerated or distorted, but still, it was interesting. That added one more thing to do later. I must see magic with my own eyes!
With a fluttering heart, I listened to the other stories Lili read aloud. Then, something suddenly caught my eye.
“I-uh, wah?”
What’s this? I pointed at the illustration in the book. It depicted a man standing with a large holy sword thrust into the throne.
“Oh my. Do you know who this is?”
Like I would know.
“Yes, of course. He is Your Highness’s father.”
Ah, what? That bastard who abandoned his own daughter and is off doing who knows what?
“Ugh! Waei!”
Bad man! Trash! I hurled insults at the man in the fairy tale book.
“Oh my. Our princess is so bright.”
As I furiously jabbed my finger at the man in the book, Lili stroked my head as if she found it admirable. Although I couldn’t read the letters in the book, putting together the stories Lili had told me, he was clearly my father and the current emperor of the Obelian Empire.
The fairy tale depicted him as a hero who slayed the emperor that had been obsessed with dark magic and tyrannical rule, then took the throne himself.
A man who committed a bloody massacre in the Ruby Palace and abandoned his own daughter – recorded as a wise ruler. I suppose history books really can’t be trusted. Even if it’s a fairy tale! I fumed with indignation.
“Come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve ever told Your Highness His Majesty’s name.”
Lili’s murmur, as if suddenly remembering, made my expression sour involuntarily.
“Would you like to look at the picture again?”
I don’t care at all! Why should I know anything about such a bad man? But the name whispered next into my ear immediately froze me stiff.
“He is His Majesty Claude de Alger Obelia, the father of Princess Athanasia.”
Right after that, my head was a whirlwind of ‘????????’ Huh? What did you just say, sister? As if sensing my questioning gaze, Lili stroked my head and smiled again.
“His Majesty Claude de Alger Obelia.”
No way… What terrible luck, why does he have the exact same name as the emperor in that novel?
“And you are Princess Athanasia de Alger Obelia.”
Ugh? Even my full name is the same as that novel’s princess, how creepy? I had never read a romance fantasy novel in my life, nor had I seen such obnoxiously long names, so I remembered it vividly.
Hey, come to think of it, my current situation is kind of similar to the emperor and princess from that novel, isn’t it?
Wow, everything is exactly the same. It’s really unsettling… But is it just my imagination? Why does the back of my neck feel cold? Haha…
Let me think. What was the plot of that novel again?
<The Lovely Princess> was a romance fantasy novel that gained explosive popularity as an online web serial. Of course, I only knew about it because I heard it from a middle school girl who left her book at the PC bang where I worked. As someone who had secretly read that book out of late-night boredom, I found it utterly incomprehensible.
As the title suggests, the novel features a lovely princess. That is Jennette, the second princess of the Obelian Empire.
Two princesses appear in the story, but the other one is merely a supporting character who meets a tragic end, so the true heroine is undoubtedly Jennette. She was a very beautiful princess with brown hair and the jeweled eyes unique to the imperial family.
Jennette was not only beautiful but also as kind-hearted as an angel, beloved by everyone. Not only the citizens of the Obelian Empire, but also the most prominent handsome men from across the continent all fell for Jennette and sent her passionate advances. And among those who cherished Jennette was her father, Emperor Claude.
Isn’t it natural for a father to love his daughter? That’s only because you don’t know Claude.
Claude was the emperor’s illegitimate son, born of a handmaiden. The problem was that despite that, Claude’s talents were strikingly outstanding, and his elder brother was not generous enough to leave his half-brother alone.
After the late emperor died and his brother ascended the throne, he continued to see Claude as a thorn in his side. For some reason anxious, he even resorted to dark magic in an attempt to kill Claude.
In the end, Claude fought back against his brother to survive. I won’t go into detail about how bloody and intense that process was.
After becoming emperor, Claude turned into a cold man, as if all his emotions had dried up. The one amazing person who melted that cold-blooded man was none other than the lovely Princess Jennette.
In fact, Claude only learned of Jennette’s existence when she was 14 years old. Until then, Jennette had been staying with the House of Duke Alpheus, one of the three pillars of the empire. Jennette’s mother, the daughter of a marquis family, was originally Claude’s fiancée, but after incurring the late emperor’s wrath due to some incident, she was driven out of the palace and died giving birth to Jennette.
Jennette’s maternal aunt, who had already married and become a countess – her aunt, I suppose – decided to hide Jennette’s birth and entrust her to the trustworthy Duke Alpheus family.
It was to protect the young niece from Claude, whose madness was ripe and who was running rampant. That’s why Claude only learned of Jennette’s existence much later.
Of course, this man with blue blood didn’t feel affection for Jennette from the start.
But what kind of person was our heroine Jennette? Wasn’t she the princess loaded with heroine buffs and possessing unrealistic lovableness? Even Claude, who radiated chill like a solid block of ice, eventually fell helplessly for Jennette.
After that, Jennette gained a powerful backer in her father, as well as Ezekiel, the empire’s most eligible bachelor whom she had grown fond of while staying with the Duke Alpheus family, and lived happily and prosperously ever after.
“Ae-ueom-eo.”
How annoying.
I stopped thinking about the novel’s plot and bit down on my blanket.
The soft piece of cloth was chewed between my baby teeth. It might just be unwarranted jealousy, but for some reason, I found Jennette, the heroine of this novel, annoying.
Maybe it’s because she’s an untainted, angelic heroine who doesn’t know the bitterness of the world. When this young lady, who had been raised with nothing but love since birth, finally won the heart of her father, Emperor Claude, I was so furious that I threw the book I was reading onto the counter without thinking.
Wow, both Claude and Jennette are really awful bastards. That was my review after finishing <The Lovely Princess>. But isn’t it natural to curse? Think about Princess Athanasia, the first princess, who had to be miserably neglected while the heroine Jennette was loved by all and walked a flower path.
Athanasia, the twin sister of Jennette, possessing pale platinum blonde hair and jeweled eyes. Born of a lowly dancer, Athanasia lost her mother as an infant just like Jennette, but her life took a completely different trajectory.
Unlike Jennette, Athanasia’s existence was reported to Claude immediately after her birth, but he locked his daughter away in the consort’s palace. So Athanasia grew up as a weak, fragile princess, cowering under the contempt of the Ruby Palace maids.
The first time she met her father was on her 9th birthday. Claude, who would never remember his daughter’s birthday, was hosting a lavish banquet for envoys from a neighboring country.
Drawn by the light and sound, Athanasia left the Ruby Palace late in the evening, and after accidentally taking a wrong turn, she came face to face with Claude in the imperial palace’s rear garden.
Of course, Claude glanced at young Athanasia with indifferent eyes and then passed her by. But for Athanasia, starved for affection, it was nothing short of a fateful encounter. Even before Jennette appeared, she was already cowed by her cold father.
Yet despite that, Athanasia made every effort to be loved by him. So Athanasia grew into an elegant princess skilled in various arts, but on her debutante day at age 14, the appearance of Jennette, under the protection of the Duke Alpheus, shattered her hopes.
In contrast to the bright, radiant Jennette like the sun, Athanasia was a misty woman with a somewhat somber, hazy atmosphere. So perhaps it was only natural that people came to love Jennette more than Athanasia.
Throughout the story, Jennette is emphasized as an angelically pretty princess, but Athanasia, though timid, was also an extremely kind princess. How kind, you ask?
Far from resenting Jennette, who appeared late and monopolized everyone’s attention and love, it was actually Princess Athanasia who, when Jennette first entered the palace, struggled to adapt and felt awkward around Claude, felt sorry for her and helped her adjust to palace life.
Oh dear. She’s truly a foolish woman. You should look out for your own interests, not help a rival princess.
Anyway, Athanasia, who was that gentle, eventually lost even the father’s love she had so desperately longed for to Jennette. In fact, since Claude never once loved Athanasia as a daughter, saying it was ‘stolen’ might be inaccurate.
And as a result, this poor princess ended up being killed by her own father, Claude. On the day of a grand banquet, she was accused of instigating the assassination of Jennette, who had collapsed after drinking a poisoned cup.
But it was actually a frame-up. The real culprit was Jennette’s aunt, the countess, who wanted to eliminate Athanasia, an eyesore, and make her own niece Jennette the first heir to the throne. Even without doing such a thing, Athanasia was merely a pitiful princess who never received a shred of Claude’s attention.
Moreover, crucially, Athanasia wasn’t even capable of such an act. If this foolish young lady had known the truth, she would have tried to save Jennette even by taking the poisoned cup herself.
Because she knew Claude would be sad if something happened to Jennette. Athanasia was that stupid and pitiful a princess.
The countess had only expected, at most, that Athanasia would be confined or stripped of her status as first princess. But what kind of man was Claude?
While Jennette was hovering between life and death, he killed Athanasia, who wasn’t even yet confirmed as the culprit.
On her 18th birthday. A clear day, exactly nine years after the day she first met him at age nine.
Isn’t that ironic?
