Alle Kapitel von The Real but Sickly: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

I struggled to open my eyes, but blood blurred my vision. My breath was rough in my throat. The moment I tried to speak, black blood gushed from my mouth. My mother cried out and gathered me into her arms. "Jenine! What's wrong? Don't scare me like this!" Lucian leaned halfway out of the Stargazing Tower, his voice full of impatience. "Mother, don't let her fool you. She jumped on purpose to frame Georgina. It's only two stories high. How badly could she hurt herself?" Georgina, the girl who had taken my place, cowered behind him. She began to sob at just the right moment. "Lucian, it's all my fault! Of course Jenine's upset! I shouldn't even be alive!" My mother turned her head upward and gazed at them with a murderous stare. "Shut up!" Her shout sent every nearby servant to their knees. I lay in her arms, writhing in pain. It felt as though my organs were being torn apart. An imperial physician came scrambling over with his medicine case. The moment he felt my pulse, he

The imperial physician spent four full hours treating me with his medical tools before he managed to steady my failing heart. As he removed his tools, the elderly man kept shaking his head. Each sigh sounded loud in the room. "Your Highness, she has nothing left. Everything she has endured has already done lasting damage. Now, this latest shock has reversed the flow of her blood. I can prescribe medicine to keep her alive, but how long she lasts is up to the gods." My mother sank into a chair, seeming to age before my eyes. She dismissed everyone and sat alone beside my bed, holding my cold hand in silence. Outside, Roland and Adrian were still pleading for Lucian. The guards held him down in the courtyard, and both his legs were already broken as his screams grew louder and louder. Georgina was kneeling nearby, tears streaming down her face. "Mother, please have mercy! Lucian only did it because of me. If you have to punish someone, punish me!" Roland roared through the door

The ice cellar was completely silent. Georgina stood frozen, and the delight had disappeared from her face. The torches showed how pale she had become. Roland stared at her, his lips trembling. "Georgina, what did you just say?" Adrian could not believe that the sister he had doted on since childhood could say something so cruel. "The greased steps and the poisoned medicine... That was all you?" Georgina panicked. Her legs gave way, and she dropped to her knees. "Father, Adrian, let me explain. It's not what you think. Jenine made me say it. She threatened to kill me, so I just went along with what she said!" She lunged toward Roland, trying to cling to his legs. Mother gave a cold laugh and swung her sword instead. "Ah!" Georgina screamed as the blade cut a gash across the back of her hand. Mother stepped forward and kicked her in the chest. Georgina flew backward and struck the cellar wall, spitting blood. "You vicious witch… You're still trying to lie your way out

The imperial dungeon was dark and damp, and it smelled horrible. Roland was bound to a rack, his hair disheveled, and his body covered in wounds. In just a few days, he seemed to have aged years. When Mother walked in, he struggled to raise his head. Hope flickered in his eyes. "Elicia, have you come to save me?" She looked at him coldly, without a trace of pity. "Tell me. Did you know Jenine was switched at birth?" Roland froze. "What are you talking about? How could I have known? Jenine's my own daughter. Why would I let someone switch her for another baby?" My mother took a guard's sword and held it against his neck. "You still won't tell me the truth? Georgina's birth parents came to see us. They're just swindlers, rogues. How could they have gotten into the estate without inside help?" Sweat appeared on Roland's forehead. "Elicia, you have to believe me. I knew nothing about it. I was fighting on the frontier when you gave birth. I wasn't even in the capital!" Mother

After Georgina's death, Roland and Adrian were exiled to the southern borderlands of Southmere. Life there was harsh and bitterly cold. People as used to luxury as they were would not survive three years. On the day they left the city, Mother took me to see them off. Roland wore an iron prisoner's collar and shackles. He stumbled as he walked, then dropped to his knees at the sight of Mother. "Elicia, I was wrong. I was so wrong. If there's another life, I promise I'll treat you and Jenine well." She looked at him coldly. "Roland, there won't be another life for us. Even the burning hell is too good for you." Adrian had his head low before me. "Jenine, I'm sorry. I've failed you as a brother. I was a blind fool. Please, can you forgive me?" I looked at him without expression. "You're not my brother. Mother's the only family I have." One of the guards escorting them lashed them with his whip. "Keep moving! Stop wasting time!" Driven by the guards' whips, Roland and Adrian