07
Arthur and Louise
did not look alike, but their bright and innocent nature felt exactly the same.
To Candice, whose temper
was on edge, Louise was
nothing but a hindrance. Candice,
who had been confident as an Imperial
Princess until now, found Louise's
existence offensive. What she disliked even more was that she had taken control
of those around her, starting with her beloved father.
When she was twelve, Candice's mother passed away from illness. Ever since she
was born, Candice had
lived in the White Palace,
and because she was separated from her mother, unlike her other siblings, she
had never experienced parental love and was starved for affection. After her
mother died, she became obsessed with her father, making it her emotional
support to be acknowledged by him. Then, a shocking event occurred that shook Candice's position. Even though Candice and the others who lived
in the same palace had never even shared a meal together, Louise was permitted to be by
their father's side as if it were a matter of course. Candice's pride was deeply
wounded, and she gradually came to view Louise with hostility, strongly desiring to eliminate her.
And so, Candice
exhausted every means to drive Louise
out of the palace, but everything ended in failure. Before she knew it, weren't
her older brothers Maxence
and Luca moving to
protect Louise? And
finally, when Candice
laid her hands on Louise,
she ended up killing Arthur,
who had shielded Louise.
To Candice, the harmless
Arthur was the same as
an insect. He was an existence with no value whatsoever. At the same time, she
remembered these words from her father.
『I shall have the strongest inherit
my position.』
Candice's bright red lips drew a large arc. She convinced herself,
as if rationalizing it, that if she eliminated her older brothers, he would
surely look at her this time. She came to firmly believe that if she did so, he
would distance himself from Louise
and look only at Candice,
the successor. In the meantime, being compared to Louise who was kind to everyone, Candice's place to belong was gradually disappearing. No one
would look at Candice......
Driven into a corner, Candice
resorted to a heinous act. However, she understood now. Even doing such a thing
wouldn't make her happy; there was no way it could.
（……Just what have I done, I wonder.）
Candice was staring at the pure white ceiling. The back of her head
throbbed with pain, but Candice
remembered the words Louise
had spoken into her ear.
（I must have been set up by Louise.）
Now that she had calmed down, she was able to think that
way. Louise had used Candice to eliminate the other
siblings, and then obtained everything.
（I was supposed to have been beheaded
by Otou-sama, so why......）
Candice unconsciously touched her neck. Then, she got out of bed
and checked her body while pressing her aching head.
（Just as I thought...... I am in the
form of a child.）
Perhaps due to confusion, she could not move for a while.
Her head was overflowing with questions of why? and how come? A
reality she simply could not accept. Feeling as though she were in a nightmare,
Candice closed her eyes.
Was the figure she had just seen in the mirror around five or six years old?
And she still retained the memories of having grown up. Called the Evil Imperial Princess, she was ultimately
thrown into a dungeon and killed by the hands of the father she had wanted love
from. Candice remained
dumbfounded.
（What is the meaning of this...... It
would have been better if they had just let me die like that.）
Unloved by anyone and merely used, Candice's heart remained hollow. It was as if she were inside a dark dungeon. The verbal abuse and mockery still lingered in Candice's ears.
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