Being trapped somewhere was more frustrating than I had imagined. I thought I could stay still under captivity, but that was wishful thinking.
Getting trapped somewhere was terrible.
There’s nothing one could do, and one wouldn’t even know the date and time. Even after being given rice twice a day, it would only confuse one’s sense of day and night.
“I need to do something.”
I was turning crazy, not knowing what to do to leave this dungeon.
Was it supposed to be a new type of torture? Even when I tried to calm my mind, I couldn’t stop being nervous. The only thoughts in my head were all about the helplessness of my situation.
‘Right, thanks for letting me know, brain!’
‘Ah, thank you for making me go crazy!’
This was the first time I faced such a situation. Was it because I always had someone looking after me? It seemed to me that I was in a position where I couldn’t do anything.
Come to think of it…
I still have my memories of childhood like they were brand new. It felt as if it just happened yesterday; I could remember them clearly. I thought that I would someday forget them.
Was my brain always so good? Usually, one would forget their memories .
“When I was a baby, Caitel would brainwash me into thinking I was ugly.”
I clearly remembered how Caitel looked during those days, telling me how ugly I was, and suddenly, I felt like crying.
When I was young, I wasn’t ugly at all!
Why did he keep saying that!?
“I always thought that I would be independent once I grew up…”
I didn’t know anything then that I would grow up longing for my dad’s love.
Stupid.
“Caitel was making me uncomfortable and scared.”
At that time, I didn’t want to meet him since I never knew when he would kill me for doing something. Although Caitel often nagged, those thoughts had disappeared from my mind.
Somehow, I managed to live longer. Maybe he grew kinder with time; looking back on the time which changed us, a smile formed on my lips.
If one knew me from the past, they’d just click their tongue at the weird attempts I made to survive in the palace.
When did I come to like my dad so much?
“Was it because of his beauty? Looks? No. It isn’t like I am attracted to handsome men. Then what? Was it his smile? That’s weird.”
Every time my dad laughed, I only thought of how scary it was. I had no reason for loving my dad, nothing specific came to mind.
I really love my dad…
A sudden realization. It was natural that I would love my dad in many ways, but liking Caitel came as a shock to me. I only realized something so simple once I turned 18.
While I was in my thoughts, I could hear the noise in the hallways.
I became anxious.
What? Was it already time to eat? It didn’t seem like that.
Above all, a few men were approaching the iron bars where I was trapped.
Around ten people.
What was it? Did something happen?
“What is it?”
When I asked them out of nervousness, they silently opened the iron door of the prison. It should have felt nice to get released from the disgustingly dirty prison, but it didn’t feel that good.
As I looked through the opened door, a man spoke.
“Come on out, princess.”
They knew I was a princess?
Since they were handling me pretty roughly, I thought they wouldn’t know. I didn’t want to go out because my intuition tugged on my mind telling me not to go out.
Well, if I didn’t do that, they would drag me out.
I sighed out loud. I was no prophet, but I knew a bad situation when I saw one.
Inevitably, I walked out of my cell in my own volition.
Ugh, I didn’t like this.
“Where are we going?”
When I was trapped, I wanted to leave, but when I left, I wanted to return. Something felt odd. Should I say that it felt like something huge was about to happen?
It seemed like a long time passed since I was last trapped, but it didn’t seem like I was out of prison forever.
‘Why the hell are they calling me? Why?!’
I was nervous and had no opening to ask, but the men wouldn’t speak even when asked.
‘Ugh, these damn men! Say something to me!’
“Who called me? Where are we going?”
The man started to get annoyed when I kept asking the question out loud. The tall man looked at me, making me flinch. His cold eyes stared down at me; it was bothersome to even look at him.
Maybe he’ll hit me.
“Mr. Siorn has called.”
The atmosphere about us was unusual, so I shut up.
Right, I had to figure out what was happening.
I shut my mouth and nodded and began to walk again. I followed them with my hands clenched.
For what was he calling me for?
Meanwhile, I was shocked at how long the dungeon was since I had to walk for a lot of time. Even when I tried to look around, I couldn’t find anyone other than the humans surrounding me.
I couldn’t see anyone.
As I sighed, I noticed a hall.
Roughly, I knew that I was trapped in some kind of mansion or palace, but I felt strange when I entered a hall where balls were held.
Why would he suddenly call me to that place?
“Come on, Ria. There are guests I need you to meet.”
The sixth prince, who greeted me with a smile, didn’t pass through my vision. Only one man who entered the hall came into my view.
“… dad?”
‘What is he…?’
I couldn’t figure what was happening, so I just looked at him and the sixth prince instead. It was just by chance, but for a moment, the sixth prince looked like he had power above all, and that frustrated the hell out of me.
But.
“Uh…”
Is he alone?!
I couldn’t tell if it was my eyes or my mind playing tricks on me. What was he even thinking, my dad, walking in here all alone?
Didn’t he know that it was an enemy camp?
Obviously, the sixth prince had planned it, a trap, but how could he still have such confidence?!
I had nothing to say. Shocked, I couldn’t even form any words to say.
Caitel, who entered the hall, smiled while looking at me. With a different smile than usual, I wanted to punish myself.
‘What was with that smile!? I had nothing to say! My dad!!’
“It has been a while, brother.”
“It has been very long, Siorn.”
I didn’t know what was going on. I just watched from a distance. Unlike the bright smile he had, when Caitel talked with the sixth prince, his face distorted.
He had a twisted smile. I didn’t see him for a day or two or longer, but he still seemed fine. All the people in the hall seemed to be working for the sixth prince.
Even after I rubbed my eyes and looked back at them, it seemed like no one came with my dad.
‘Woah, we are done.’
“Aren’t you happy to meet your family, brother?”
“We’re family?”
“We are family, brother.”
As if sad, the sixth prince frowned at Caitel’s words. He looked upset that someone unknown would misunderstand their relationship.
The problem was that the expression wasn’t an honest one. The sixth prince shook his head.
“Isn’t this a peculiar situation?”
As if he didn’t know, the voice of the sixth prince made Caitel’s expression crumble even further. I thought that dad would have thought of something before coming over.
“Now stop dying so slowly, brother. You have lived for a very long time.”
“Isn’t it you who lived a lot more than expected?”
At the sixth prince’s response, Caitel shrugged.
“You stupidly stole everything from me, everything! I was very disappointed.”
Their conversation and the way they spoke could make the others tremble.
I was frightened to see the sixth prince grunting his teeth. On one side of the hall, I saw dad, but he seemed relaxed as if he could handle anything.
‘Dude, this is not Agrient!’
I wanted him to shout and yell too.
“Right, but thanks to your pretty daughter here, I can take down your life, right? All because you ran over here like a stupid man.”
… the sixth prince emphasized the ‘stupid’ part; it couldn’t be my mistake, right?
Of course, it was Caitel and not the sixth prince who moved. He was relaxed, standing tall and calm. That was all he did, and almost everyone in the hall looked nervously at him.
I felt it all the time, but no one could get used to the feeling and aura that my father exuded.
“Give me my daughter.”
“Take her. If you can.”
The sixth prince laughed at Caitel’s words.
“I think you misunderstood.”
Caitel spoke.
He shrugged and spoke again.
“I am not asking. I am ordering. Give her to me.”
The sixth prince laughed at my dad’s words—an obvious mockery.
“You think you can order me around?”
“I don’t think I can.”
What was happening?
Someone stepped into the hall before I could even wonder.
An old woman with her hands tied was dragged into the room. The woman brought by the Agrient soldiers stood pale and exhausted. She looked pitiful.
Uh? Who? This was my first time seeing her.
I was wondering who the woman was, but the sixth prince answered my questions.
“Mother!”
What? Mother?
I was shocked.
That lady was the sixth prince’s mother?! It was shocking that she was still alive, but it was even more shocking that Caitel brought her here.
… who was the bad guy!?
“If you want to live, you better heed to my orders.”
The additional warnings…
‘My dad is a villain!’
In that moment, Caitel smiled.
“You want a political upper hand over someone who’s prepared to die, aren’t you being careless?”
The situation turned.
