TSHF 04

Chapter 04

“Neroli.”

The voice sounded like the growl of a beast.

When I turned my head, a man with blazing red hair and blood-red eyes was staring straight at me.

“Where have you been this whole time?”

He shoved me back against the wall, snarling viciously.

“You weren’t in your palace all day. Where were you?”

“Derian.”

My half-brother—and the prince who resembled the emperor the most.
Derian Helta Lornord.

An unwelcome guest, unsurprisingly. And the wrist he had grabbed hurt.

With an expressionless face, I sharply slapped his hand away.

“That hurts.”

Derian blinked rapidly, as if startled by my reaction.

“Hah. Looks like you’ve finally dropped that ridiculous act of playing innocent.”

He actually looked a little pleased as he said it.

Ignoring him, I quickly scanned my surroundings.

Servants were clustered at the far end of the corridor, unable to approach, fidgeting among themselves.

Far enough that they can’t hear clearly… or see our expressions.

That was when Derian grabbed my chin roughly.

“Where are you looking? When you’re with me, focus on me.”

The possessiveness in his voice was unmistakable.

Yes—Derian had always been this kind of man.

Not only his face, but everything about him was a perfect reflection of his father.

Including that madness—this obsessive fixation on beautiful things.

The emperor had coveted my mother because she was the most beautiful woman in the empire.

True to that bloodline, Derian had shown an unsettling interest in me since childhood.

What a revolting father and son.

If my nanny were still alive, I would have liked to show her this.

She had always warned me about the madness of the Lornords.

Not hallucinations or delusions—

But this greedy, possessive obsession. That is their true insanity.

Hiding my thoughts perfectly, I whispered,

“You say I’ve stopped acting? Do you really think I’d ever do something that benefits you?”

“What?”

I deliberately put on a pitiful expression.

Just as I intended, tears quickly welled up and shimmered in my eyes.

I shoved Derian in the chest.

“I said it hurts!”

Loud enough to be seen even from afar.

“My mother just passed away—how dare you treat me so rudely?!”

“Neroli!”

“You knew the palace owner wasn’t here and stayed anyway? At this hour?!”

“Neroli Mivan Lornord!”

“You still look down on me! I thought maybe you’d changed after all this time—!”

At that last remark, Derian finally lost his temper and swung his fist.

Bang—!

A deafening crash rang beside my ear.

“You think I look down on you?! Watch your words! It’s always been you who looked down on me!”

Derian roared, eyes blazing.

At the reaction I’d been waiting for, I shrank back, pretending to be terrified.

“Eek!”

Only after my scream did two knights rush out from behind the servants.

One shielded me protectively; the other blocked Derian.

“Your Highness, are you all right?!”

“Restrain him, Prince Derian!”

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

Those two were guards the emperor had assigned to me.

Proper, well-mannered, neatly groomed—royal knights in name only.

Their loyalty to me was pitifully low; their obedience to power absolute. Decorative pieces, nothing more.

Still, they left me alone, so I didn’t bother dealing with them.

But now that Derian had returned from the front lines, it was time to put them to use.

Right on cue, Derian snarled, veins bulging in his neck.

“How dare you lay hands on her? Get away from Neroli this instant!”

The ferocity made both guards flinch.

True to their nature, they were clearly afraid of him.

Well, of course. He’s the commander of the First Knight Order, backed by the prestigious Helta Ducal House.

Tall, broad, and overwhelmingly intimidating.

Unlike me, whose maternal family is barely clinging to survival.

The guards seemed to think the same, subtly trying to distance themselves from me.

But they overlooked one thing.

“Knights…”

I called out to them in a fragile voice. Their heads turned instinctively.

At that moment, I let a single tear fall.

“Aren’t you supposed to be my guards?”

I had never seen anyone unmoved by tears.

These two were no exception.

Their faces flushed as they sucked in sharp breaths.

“Your Highness…”

“Well…”

They swallowed hard, unable to look away from my face.

A familiar gaze.

Seeing this, Derian ground his teeth as one guard held him back.

“Neroli, you—!”

“Everything that happened today—”

I cut him off and spoke more clearly.

“I will report it all to His Majesty at tomorrow’s audience.”

The spell broke instantly.

Both guards stiffened.

Yes—what they had forgotten.

My mother had been the emperor’s beloved empress.

And the emperor’s favor is a power entirely separate from the Helta Ducal House.

Publicly, the emperor doted on me.

That meant I saw him more often than my siblings—and tomorrow was one such day.

In other words…

With a single word, I could have their heads taken tomorrow.

I had never done so before, playing the part of sunshine and innocence—but why should I care now?

Everyone in this palace had just seen them fail to protect me. The justification was more than enough.

Sniffling, I suddenly lowered my voice.

“And yet… will you just stand by and watch someone threaten me?”

The abrupt change made their eyes widen.

Staring at them coldly, I gave an order.

“What are you waiting for? Throw him out.”

That was when Derian finally snapped.

He shoved aside the guard blocking him with ease and reached for me without a word.

The remaining guard hurriedly stepped in.

“Your Highness!”

“P-Please, calm yourself!”

The other guard, who had been knocked to the floor and was bleeding from the head, scrambled to restrain him as well.

To put the final nail in this performance, I buried my face in my hands and bowed my head.

“H-Hic…”

My sorrowful sob echoed through the corridor.

That was enough.

The servants rushed forward en masse and dropped to their knees before Derian, clinging to his legs.

“Prince Derian, please stop!”

“Her Highness has only just lost the empress! Please understand her grief!”

“Your Highness, please!”

The servants who cherished me risked their lives, desperately pleading.

Perhaps that finally dampened his fury.

After glaring at me for a long moment, Derian spat out one last line and turned away.

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice.”

Like a raging wildfire, he left my palace in ruins.

Only then did the tension break.

The guards collapsed onto the floor, and the servants sighed in relief.

Supported by the maids, I slowly stood.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

“We’re so sorry. We should have sent him away sooner.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m fine.”

I murmured and let out a breath.

My head spun—the condition was worse than before.

I need to rest.

The medicine I’d taken earlier kept the fever down, but I felt like I might collapse if I relaxed even slightly.

Noticing my state, the maids hurried me to my room.

Once inside, they helped me prepare for bed quickly.

“Please rest well, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, all of you.”

The maids bowed and left.

Then, the last maid hesitated and hurried back.

“Um, Your Highness. This…”

She held out a small vial filled with yellow liquid.

“What is it?”

“Prince Derian asked me to give this to you.”

I didn’t take it—just stared.

The maid bowed even deeper.

“He said it’s just cold medicine.”

“Throw it away.”

“…Pardon?”

My cold tone made her flinch.

I gave her a sad smile.

“I don’t want anything from Derian. Please.”

“Neroli, Your Highness…”

My voice wavered, and the maid’s eyes filled with tears.

She nodded vigorously.

“Yes! I’ll take care of it. Please rest comfortably!”

She quickly took the medicine and left.

Click.

Only after the door shut completely was I truly alone.

Lying on the bed, I thought quietly.

Cold medicine, huh.

Now that I thought about it, Derian hadn’t taken his eyes off me throughout the days of the funeral.

Not even for a moment—until yesterday’s rain.

Maybe that’s how he noticed my condition so quickly.

That made it all the more unsettling.

A recovery potion would have made sense.

But cold medicine—for a Lornord imperial?

That meant one of two things.

Either blatant mockery—you’re weak—

Or…

He’s testing me.

Mother had said no one knew the truth of my birth.

That was naïve.

In a palace built on lies, blinding eyes and sealing mouths was routine.

I should know—I’m living proof.

And Derian possessed an animalistic intuition.

So maybe…

Before I could finish the thought, I buried my face into the pillow.

The medicine I’d taken earlier surged all at once, my eyelids growing heavy.

For now, I just wanted to sleep—without thinking about anything.