Chapter 5
Thanks to her frequent visits, Raylie often spent time with Caber. Whenever her father was granted an audience with Prince Caber, he would present his daughter as if she were a rare and valuable commodity.
“Your Highness Caber, what do you think? Isn’t she becoming more beautiful with each passing day?”
“It seems the Traila family has plenty of leisure time these days.”
Though he was only twelve years old, Caber understood all too well why Duke Beriter was saying such things.
What a transparent old man.
Seeing the stiffness on Raylie’s face, Caber frowned.
He had known Duke Beriter longer than anyone, having seen him constantly since he first learned to walk. Raylie, who once wore a bright, natural smile, had stopped smiling at some point.
“Hahaha. Since Your Highness is so busy with state affairs, I had no choice but to make time.”
The duke laughed it off with exaggerated cheer. It was almost impressive how he could hide the vile thoughts in his heart behind such a façade.
“You may leave now. I’ll personally see Lady Raylie home.”
“…It seems I failed to read the room. Then I’ll take my leave until next time.”
Smacking his lips in regret, the duke bowed and disappeared, casting a glance at Caber, who did not even bother to look at him.
Caber, who had been silently watching Raylie, cleared his throat.
“You look much thinner.”
If she looked like this even in front of him, how was she being treated at home?
Ever since Caber learned the truth—things he hadn’t understood as a child—he had begun to feel guilty about his relationship with Raylie.
He had never once thought of her as a tool for his own benefit.
Raylie becoming a sword for me…
He had never wanted her sacrifice. In fact, Caber had secretly admired Raylie since childhood.
From the moment he first saw her, he had been drawn to her. Even if they were to form a contract one day, he believed it would be different from what others imagined.
Something like registering a marriage, becoming lifelong partners.
However, unlike him, Raylie had changed greatly. At some point, she began drawing a line between them, and their once casual way of speaking turned cold and formal.
“I’m fine. I’m just a little tired these days, so you don’t need to worry.”
There was no emotion in Raylie’s face as she sipped her tea.
“What you’re worried about won’t happen.”
“…How do you plan on severing a predetermined fate?”
Her eyes, devoid of any expectation, met Caber’s. The lively eyes that once sparkled no matter how much one looked at them were gone.
What could have happened to a child who was barely ten years old?
Before she learned the truth, Raylie had always approached him with a smile—pure, innocent, without ulterior motives.
“I’ll sever it.”
No matter what.
Caber spoke with firm resolve. Though he hadn’t told Raylie, he had been struggling for a year already, searching for his own way to change things.
There were roughly ten years left until Raylie’s coming-of-age ceremony.
“No, Your Highness. You will never be able to sever it.”
Raylie shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Caber—it was just better not to expect things that weren’t certain.
If I expect something, the disappointment will only be greater.
She wanted Caber to remain, at least, her childhood friend—the one person she could feel at ease with.
Inside the carriage taking Raylie home, Caber said nothing.
“Why hasn’t the mark appeared?”
Raylie’s body trembled at the distorted expression and suppressed fury in her father’s voice. He had never been a kind father, but he had never directed such anger at her before.
“Raylie, tell me. Hasn’t there really been any other change in your body?”
“…What exactly is that mark, anyway?”
“It defines your worth. If it doesn’t exist, do you even need me to explain what your value becomes?”
Duke Beriter clicked his tongue and wiped his dry face. Looking at Raylie standing before him with her head bowed, he stood up and roughly ran a hand through his hair.
“You’re not hiding it, are you?”
“Ugh! Father… why—why are you doing this?”
Her head was violently yanked back as he grabbed her hair. He inspected her body, then even tried to tear at her clothes.
“No! Please stop!”
“Tsk.”
After failing to find any mark even on her exposed chest, the duke finally released her.
The sudden transformation of her father filled her with terror and fear. Her body shook violently, and the humiliation made her want to die.
“Come in and examine her.”
At his command, three maids entered the room. Raylie immediately understood what her father intended.
Clutching her slipping clothes, she cried out in a broken voice.
“What is that stupid mark that you’d do this to me?!”
Smack—
“Watch your tongue. That ‘stupid mark’ is what has kept you alive until now. If not you, then it would’ve been your sister.”
“…If the mark appeared, what were you planning to do with me?”
“What a foolish question. You were born to be given to the Crown Prince.”
“Then… am I not your daughter?”
“Useless. Without the mark, you are neither my daughter nor a child of the Traila family. Do you have any idea how your existence has ruined my standing?”
The duke stared down at the collapsed Raylie before leaving the room, as if he no longer wished to speak. Two maids remained behind, restraining her tightly.
“Let go of me!”
“Please stay still. The duke said that if you resist, we may force you to comply. You don’t want that, do you?”
“Sob… hic…”
Another maid began stripping Raylie’s clothes and inspecting her body. No matter how much she struggled, the maids didn’t budge.
As one maid lifted her skirt, Raylie screamed and kicked in desperation, her foot striking the maid’s face.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay still?!”
Rip—
“Ha… how dare you lay a hand on me?”
“Do you not understand what the duke ordered? If you continue, we have no choice.”
The maid’s gaze turned icy. Seeing it, tears streamed from Raylie’s eyes. With her mouth covered and her hair yanked back, she swallowed scream after scream as her clothes were stripped away.
“Sob… sob…”
“There’s nothing. It really doesn’t exist. Let’s report back.”
The maids left her behind. Raylie gathered her scattered clothes, wrapped herself up, and buried her face in her knees.
Her entire body was filled with shame. Her jaw trembled so badly her teeth chattered.
How could it come to this…
Biting her lip, she forced herself to steady her trembling body. The “value” her father spoke of was her worth as a sword—a weapon for the Crown Prince. In other words, sacrificing her entire life.
Not as Raylie, but as an existence living solely for the imperial family and the Crown Prince.
Staring at the sword hanging on the wall, Raylie bit her lip harder. She never wanted to live like that.
Contrary to her resolve, her life only grew more despair-filled after that day. Her father treated her as if she didn’t exist, and all the servants of the ducal household joined in ignoring her.
No one spoke to her.
Except for one person—Retta. But even she had to go to the imperial palace in Raylie’s place, so they couldn’t meet often.
Raylie painfully realized the meaning of her father’s words. Even the house she lived in was not truly her home.
There was nowhere she belonged.
If she left, her younger sister would take her place and suffer instead—but at that moment, all Raylie could think about was escaping this suffocating despair.
She thought her sister, who had always been favored by their father, might be fine. She didn’t realize how selfish and naïve that thought was.
Caber didn’t see Raylie for a long time. He had thought things might improve once she became an adult, but reality cruelly shattered that hope.
“It’s been a while.”
Raylie, thinner than ever, silently looked at him. When no mark appeared on her, Duke Beriter lost all interest in her.
Which also meant she no longer came to the imperial palace. From that day on, Retta was the one visiting daily.
“I heard from my father. Thanks to Your Highness, I was able to step outside the house.”
Hearing the exhaustion in her voice, Caber’s gaze wavered. He clenched the teacup, his bitten lip trembling.
“Raylie, just a little longer and it will finally be complete—”
Raylie gently shook her head. Did she really have the strength to endure this hell any longer? This was something she had brought upon herself by refusing to become a sword.
Caber… I’m sorry to you too.
Because of her, the contract would never be fulfilled, and the powerless him would face difficult days ahead. Still, she couldn’t tell him the truth.
She didn’t want her life to follow the path her father had laid out.
“Your Highness, thank you for everything until now.”
“…If I said I loved you as a person, not as a sword—would that change anything?”
Seeing the unwavering clarity in Raylie’s eyes, Caber smiled weakly. He didn’t need her to say it. She would never come to him.
Having come to hate the imperial family—the root of all contracts—he was no exception.
“If things ever become difficult, ask me for help anytime. I will always stand on your side.”
“For someone destined to become emperor of a nation, that’s a dangerous thing to say.”
Raylie smiled faintly at Caber’s absurd words.
Because she knew—he meant them.
