Prelude

I’m no longer who I had been. All those priceless moments I share with Casimir are erased like a burst of lightning, along with everything else I hold dear. She embodies everything I know about my father. The same as two peas in a pod. She is the person I had been looking to for answers as to why I never looked like my father or mother, why they never love me with such tenderness, and why they always treat me like an outcast in their family.

She has that beautiful golden blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes. At the time of my eighteenth birthday, the solution was clear as day. After my celebration, the real daughter showed there with an appealing smile and a glance that suggested I had done a terrific job.

I first have no idea why. I’m perplexed. I’m always aware of the lack of respect I receive from my family, but it never occurs to me that I might be a fake or even an adopted daughter. After all, the servants have treated me with great courtesy.

Sebastian, who serves as our family's chief butler, is there. He comes from a broken noble family and had been raised there. Although a Baron, his father chooses to work for our household. May is another; she has been my maid from infancy. Even in her advanced age, she remains lovely and caring. Jaime, Kaylla, and the rest are also the same and presently caring.

Since I've known them for so long and they've always been kind to me, the idea that I might be the family's outcast never crossed my mind. I could never help but notice some disdain in my parents' eyes whenever they turn to face me.

It is clear how I am in their hearts based on how my reflection appears in their eyes. They never bother to show me any care. Am I merely dreaming? I always believe that I’m possibly in a protracted dream, which is why I would always feel as though I’m living in a nightmare.

But each time I wound myself, I’m made aware of the fact that this is indeed my circumstance. Everything that is occurring to me is genuine. It's never a dream or a nightmare; instead, it's experiences and memories from the past and present that I wish I could run away from.

Time passed, and when I’m around ten years old—I’m still a youngster at the time—I would play in our garden, chat with our household's staffs, and grin affectionately at the vibrant scenery of the warm sky. It is, nonetheless, a highly remarkable circumstance at that age.

I first encounter Casimir, the Romana empire's crown prince, when I’m that young. I had trouble breathing. Time moves slowly, and all I could hear is the cold breeze's rustle of the dancing leaves. I couldn't deny the influence the boy's presence has on my heart since my heart begins to beat regularly and loudly that first time, I see him with his emotionless gazes.

I know then that I have fallen in love with Casimir Romana, the crown prince of the Romana empire. Back then, I had no idea what being engaged meant; all I could think about was him. Most of that time I spent thinking about him, and up to that point, Sebastian has taught me the true meaning of engagement.

It is about two people who genuinely love one another and decide to be married when the moment is appropriate. But when the butler told me anything, I become abruptly perplexed. The story centers on two lovers who ought to be engaged but are still strangers.

I have loved Casimir since the first time I lay eyes on him if that makes sense. He possesses golden eyes that symbolize the feature of an emperor passed down to their generations, along with fiery crimson hair that looked like twilight when the sky is red or orange.

Whenever I gaze into his eyes, I felt inadequate to him, as though I couldn't be the crown princess standing by his side. His secretive nature and dictatorial side would always make me terrified. As if I have never been his property, to begin with. But I’m not a property, I’m also a human being born from the wrong side of a noble family.

However, I swallow my pride and keep learning the future manners of an empress out of love for that person. The only greed I have is for his love, his desire to be with me, and his genuine self, therefore in the end I wouldn't regret not having to state that. I want to learn those things from him alone. But I never consider that I might already be too late to claim him as mine. Ravia, the name of the legitimate daughter of Duke Gregory and Duchess Cornelia of the Lafera house, is the cause of everything.

I tense up as I saw Casimir kissing the woman while wishing to gaze at me as he did at the real one. I have the impression of a stone that is about to crumble. My mouth is open, and my eyes are enormous. I couldn't decide whether to approach him and ask why or simply flee and act as if nothing has happened.

But I’m unable to execute either of those two alternatives. All I did is stand there with my hands to cover my mouth in front of them. Then, out of nowhere, hot, warm water poured into my eyes, obscuring my vision.

However, just as I’m about to pass out, I notice my fiancé grinning at me and the woman in his arms staring at me as if to tell me that I had always been hers. Then I fall into darkness.

I initially believe it to be only a nightmare when I woke up. Casimir would never treat me that way, I knew. Even though he is enigmatic and constantly avoids me, I knew he is still my fiancé, so even if not for me, there must have been respect for him because of the position I have. But when I look around the area where I have woken up, I suddenly felt a chill down my spine.

I have already entered a chilly, dim cellar. I’m surrounded by rusting metal bars. The setting is eerie and chilly. I wouldn't have known how long I have been unconscious if I haven't thought to check on my clothes. My gorgeous dress on my eighteenth birthday is still part of my body. I treasure the outfit because Casimir gave it to me.

It features floral patterns with golden-brown margins, the same color as my eyes, and the same color as his eyes.

But everything is currently ruined. On the inside portion of my thighs, the dress is ripped to shreds. It is difficult to identify the floral pattern, and it already lacks elegance. Now, it resembles a rag more. Then, out of nowhere, from outside my prison, I heard footsteps echoing.

Why did I come here? What is the cause of this? Why am I in the imperial dungeon if I have done nothing wrong?

My head is filled with thoughts to the point where I’m immobile until I see a set of familiar golden irises. Although the color is pleasant to look at, for a split second I have a sudden shaking in my legs, and if it isn't for a large box next to me, I would almost fall to the ground.

"It appears that you manage to wake up despite being without food for a day. You really are that man's traitor's daughter."

Even though it is the first time I have heard him speak to me, the anguish is too much for me to bear. His tone and facial expression reveal how icy he is rather than his speech being soft or kind. I fail to win his heart in the end, but what then? Am I the offspring of a traitor?

Who is it? Who are my family then?

"I suppose you'll enter history exactly as you've imagined, merely a filth to be put to the sword, former crown princess,"

"Hold on, Casimir---"

"I've never let you refer to me by my name, Lady Solstice. But then, I guess there’s no problem with it this time since you'll no longer die in vain."

I maintain my posture firmly. I’m unable to move. Like the first time I saw him that night when he is standing with a woman, I’m powerless to do anything but sob hopelessly inside my prison. What? Why? Why did fate treat me unfairly?

If that is the case, I'd rather die than watch someone else be put to death inside the execution place. Who am I kidding, though? To damage myself, I couldn't even lift my finger. I'm a coward who has been harmed in the end. I’m such a pathetic false lady from that household. A coward for everything. A person who never deserves to be loved. And it’s all because of this fate’s fault.

Though I know it is too late for me, I desperately want to get even.

"Given that her father had committed numerous crimes throughout the empire, the traitor Duke Lucias Rominus—who had since been killed—had offended the Lafera family by giving birth to his daughter under a false name while under the care of Duke and Duchess Lafera. Then, the emperor signed the decree to execute Solstice Rominus, the only child of the traitor Lady and former crown princess of the Roman Empire."

Within my ears, I could hear the death's message. When the man -I don’t know who he is- finish speaking, I couldn't help but smirk. The sentences are well-structured, and they describe how to tidy the household where I grew up. My desire for that guy, however, is the same as it always has been since my eyes are drawn to him.

I just couldn't understand how he could be grinning with the woman by her side and then reveal that possibly, just perhaps, she is the genuine daughter. She will inherit the rights to the phony one's home after she passes away. Then, am I merely acting as a stand-in till the real one arrived all along? That explains why I never felt like my foster parents love me.

And that's it. I just couldn't accept my situation, but I know I won't have to endure pain. I will at last be free of the love I have always desired but never experience.

So goodbye, my darling. If I have another chance to live my life, I wouldn't fall in love with anyone else and I would be aware of the truths hidden behind the masks Casimir constantly wears.

Splack!

Then, as tears start to flow from my eyes, blackness began to dominate my vision.