For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 12

The orchestra began to play a magnificent piece. The nobles sat up straight, their eyes on the platform. The High Priest and the emperor stood side by side on the platform. On a red table between them were a crown and a scepter.

The High Priest picked up the scepter and struck the floor three times. Thump-thump-thump! The sound of the ceremony’s start echoed through the chapel. That was the signal for the chapel doors to open. The nobles craned their necks to look back. There was no better sight than seeing what Princess Consort Aura looked like.

But the nobles who had turned their heads expecting an interesting sight could only stare with their mouths agape. Aura was far more beautiful than they had anticipated. She was already famous for her beauty, but her posture and steady gaze were particularly striking. There was no trace of confinement on her.

The nobles all thought the same thing. ‘Not bad.’

Meanwhile, Aura prayed that this choice was not a mistake. She had given up her chance to escape and returned to this place, so she hoped that it would bring her the Pin. Only then would she not regret staying by Karl’s side.

Aura slowly walked and knelt before the High Priest. The High Priest spoke with dignity. “Aura Kasa, the princess consort of the Kasa Empire, shall now receive two treasures and ascend to the position of empress.” He held up a thin silver scepter. The scepter symbolized the will of God, and the lily decorating the handle symbolized the empress. The scepter shimmered under the light of the chandeliers. Aura received it with both hands.

Next was the empress’s crown. The right to bestow the crown belonged to Karl, the protector of the imperial throne. The two of them met each other’s eyes for a moment. Just as Karl put his hand on the crown, Bang! The chapel doors burst open, and people stormed in.

“The people of Kasa oppose a Zenia empress!”

“Do not stain Kasa with the blood of Zenia!”

“Kasa is for Kasa’s bloodline only!”

The unexpected protest turned the chapel into a chaotic scene. Soldiers were deployed but couldn’t easily stop the protestors. The protestors were so fanatical and pushed the knights with all their might. They could have drawn their swords, but weapons and violence were not allowed in the chapel under any circumstances. The protestors seemed to know this, and they came in without fear.

“My goodness, how did commoners get in here?”

“What is happening to this country! I’ve never seen anything like this before.” The startled nobles murmured. But their surprise was short-lived, as their eyes began to focus on Aura. They were all thinking the same thing. ‘When will that frail woman break down in tears?’

Meanwhile, Karl glared at the protestors who were pushing forward and reached for his sword hilt, as if the rules of the chapel didn’t matter.

“Karl.” Aura called to him in a low voice. “The crown, quickly.”

At her steady words, Karl let go of his sword hilt and grabbed the crown. When he lifted it, the protestors became even more frantic.

“No!”

“Kasa’s blood will be stained, Your Majesty!”

“Aah! Absolutely not!”

Karl paid them no mind and placed the crown on Aura’s head. The coronation was complete. Aura was now the Empress of Kasa.

“Karl, help me up.”

Karl offered his hand. Aura took his hand and stood up. She turned around.

“…”

The protestors, tangled up with the soldiers, had come within a few steps of them. She stared at them.

“Princess Aura, step down!”

“We cannot accept the blood of Zenia!” The protestors yelled frantically.

A few knights, having seen enough, reached for their sword hilts. Aura raised a hand to stop them. ‘The moment a break in etiquette happens, I lose.’

The soldiers, the curious nobles, and the protestors who looked down on the foreign empress—they all seemed to have forgotten one thing: Aura had been raised as a princess.

Aura’s mother, Queen Inia, would often teach her daughter lessons, lessons that would become her strength for life.

“Aura. For a woman of the royal family, your conduct is extremely important. You must handle everything gracefully, but you must not be looked down upon.”

“Hmm… It’s always difficult to handle yourself.”

“It is. But you must do it. If you are unlucky enough to face a confrontation with your people, remember this: the important thing is to make them feel who they are facing. Who they are, what their position is, and what kind of power they hold.”

A confrontation with the people? She had wondered if such a thing would ever happen to her. The people she knew had always loved their royal family and their princess. Queen Inia took Aura’s hand. “Aura. I’ll say it again. A royal must never fight with their people. You must always control them. Understand?”

Aura met the eyes of every single protestor. Her dignified composure and sharp gaze seemed to pierce through them. It was a grace that only someone born and raised as a “true-blood” could possess.

The protestors instinctively felt that no matter how much they screamed, they couldn’t shame this woman. The protestors slowly quieted down. Her gaze and silence made even the nobles hold their breath.

When their attempt to cause shame was thwarted, the protestors became flustered. As they stumbled, the soldiers seized the opportunity and dragged them away.

“W-Wait…! Let go of me!”

“Let go! Let—” The powerless protestors were easily removed from the scene.

“Haa…” Aura let out a subtle sigh of relief.

Then, applause erupted from the nobles. The noblewomen, in particular, were ecstatic. Noblewomen were often captivated by that kind of grace.

“Come up, Aura.” Karl offered his hand to Aura. Aura took his hand and stepped onto the platform. Finally, the emperor and empress stood side by side and bowed to the people. The nobles responded with even more applause for the birth of a new imperial family.

Meanwhile, all the protestors were locked in the dungeon. They still couldn’t believe what had happened.

“Why… why couldn’t I speak?”

“That woman is weird. How could she not react at all?”

“Maybe it was some kind of magic? There are a lot of magicians among the Zenia people.”

“Maybe.”

A man sighed and said quietly, “By the way, ‘he’ secretly opened the back gate of the palace for us, so this is a big problem.”

“A-Are we going to be okay?” The mood among the protestors turned grim.

The leader-level protestor said, “We’ll be fine. He said so himself. He said the emperor’s power base is weak, so he can’t punish the common people harshly. He said we’ll probably just be locked up for a few days and then released.”

“Right. Besides, we didn’t break anything or make the princess cry. We didn’t actually do anything.”

Just then, footsteps approached. Josh came to the front of the dungeon and unlocked the door. “You’re released. Go.”

“What?”

“Already?” The protestors were shocked.

Josh replied in an irritated tone, “Do you want to stay here forever?”

“N-No! We’re leaving.”

“We’re going, we’re going!” They awkwardly stumbled out of the dungeon.

The knights chased the protestors out of the palace’s back gate. The protestors left with a wide smile, as if to say the palace was nothing to be scared of.

Josh gave the knights a low-voiced command. “Follow them.”

As Aura and Karl descended from the platform, nobles lined up to greet the emperor and empress. Aura was overwhelmed. She hadn’t realized there were so many Kasa nobles. The noblewomen, in particular, were very interested in Aura. Questions mixed with admiration and curiosity poured out, and Aura answered them appropriately.

After the greetings, they left the chapel and moved to the grand ballroom. The banquet would begin with a ball.

Aura danced with Karl. Karl, who hadn’t said much, finally spoke. “You have an interesting way of handling people.” It seemed he was referring to how she handled the protestors. She couldn’t read his expression to tell if he thought it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Only those who are capable can do it. A person who only knows how to draw a sword will do just that.” Aura answered, mocking Karl for reaching for his sword hilt. He didn’t seem offended.

“Aura. Aren’t you curious about who those protestors were?”

“Pure-blood supremacists, I assume.”

“You’re right. Their numbers grew like cockroaches when the Crown Prince was in power.” Pure-blood supremacists were a group that believed only those with Kasa blood were superior. They were mostly commoners. However, their size suggested there must be a noble funding them.

Karl asked, “What kind of punishment should I give them?”

“Do as you wish. I’m not interested anymore.”

“Then I’ll kill them all.”

It didn’t feel like a lie. If she said so, he might really kill every single one of them.

Aura hadn’t forgiven them out of kindness. But killing citizens was something that bothered her, even if they were from Kasa.

“Don’t kill them. It’s not a good time to hand out that kind of punishment.”

“Are you worried about me?” he said, teasing her.

Aura was flustered. She was about to say no, but the music ended. Karl, who didn’t seem to care about getting an answer, led her out of the ballroom.

“That’s enough dancing for now.” Aura nodded. Her feet were starting to burn anyway.

Just as they were about to leave, “Brother.” Someone approached them. It was a blonde man with a bright smile. It was Isen.

“You came, Isen.” Karl greeted him calmly.

Isen smiled sincerely at Aura. “Princess consort… No, Empress. Do you remember me?”

“Of course, Prince Isen. Was your trip enjoyable?”

“Yes, very. I’m so happy to see you again.”

Isen kissed the back of Aura’s hand. Isen, who was now nineteen, had finally shed his boyish charm.

“Are you back in the capital for good?”

“For the time being. I missed the palace.”

“You should sit down and rest, Empress,” Karl said, taking Aura’s hand. Just then, Isen also held out his hand to her. “Ah, if it’s alright, I’d like to ask for a dance with you, sister-in-law.”

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