For the One Who Hates Me - Chapter 3

Aura knew exactly what Tasha must have said. She was probably bawling, looking like a drowned rat, claiming Aura had tried to kill her.

Drowning? The tub only came up to her waist.

She decided not to bother with an explanation. He wouldn’t listen anyway.

Aura crossed her arms and slowly walked toward him. His physique was even more imposing up close. His eyes, still as sharp and vivid as if he were on a battlefield, were just as she remembered.

“It’s so difficult to see His Majesty the Emperor. I thought you might be bedridden from your wound.”

Aura gestured to Karl’s side, the exact spot where she had stabbed him.

“I was giving you time to collect your thoughts quietly, but it seems to have been useless.”

“That sounds a lot like you’re calling me crazy.”

“You are. Why else would you stab me?”

A silence fell between them. Aura didn’t want to get into an emotional fight. There was only one thing she needed to say.

“Karl. I have no intention of being your empress.”

“Is that why you caused such a commotion?”

“Yes. Now that you understand—”

“Aura.”

Karl cut her off. He looked at her with that direct, unsettling gaze of his.

“Aren’t you even curious why the Crown Prince kept you alive all this time?”

“I guess I wasn’t worth killing. The Zenia royal family was dead, and you had abandoned me.”

“How naive.”

He took a step closer. Aura’s head tilted back instinctively.

“Three years ago, I made a deal with my father. I would conquer Devla in exchange for him stopping the Crown Prince from killing you.”

“…”

“I fought like a beast for three years to save you, and you stabbed me with a dagger.”

“…Ha.”

Aura let out a mirthless laugh. He called her naive? It sounded more like he wanted her to be. If he truly had saved her, he wouldn’t have sent her a dagger with orders to kill herself. There was no point in debating his lie. The conclusion was the same regardless.

“I don’t believe you, Karl.”

A cold smile crossed Karl’s face at her words.

“Your belief doesn’t matter. I saved you, so it’s only fair that you give me something in return. It’s a calculation, isn’t it?”

“A calculation…?”

“Yes. Become the empress. As I said, I need you.”

As she had expected. Everything was a calculation. Both his abandonment of her three years ago and his desire to keep her close now. She felt like an object, one that could be thrown away at any moment.

Aura clenched her fists in a surge of anger. “Is ‘True Blood’ so tempting? Why? Are you not confident in your mother’s lineage?”

“How dare you.”

Karl grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. Aura was startled, her body instantly drawn in. His dark eyes looked as if they were ready to devour her. And his hand… The hand on her neck felt huge and hot against her skin. It felt like he could easily snap her thin neck.

But Aura had no intention of backing down.

“Conquering Devla isn’t just about killing monsters, is it? It’s practically a land grab in an unaligned territory where imperial knights slaughter everyone. How impressive. Conquering such a land.”

Aura asked with a feigned sweetness, “How many did you kill?”

Karl’s eyebrow twitched. Aura seized the opening and pressed on.

“Hundreds? Thousands? It must be nothing to add one more person to the list, right?”

“That’s enough, Aura. This is your last warning.”

“Monster.”

“…”

“I can smell the blood on you.”

Karl’s eyes darkened. His face, stripped of even a hint of anger, was expressionless. He wrapped his long arm around her waist.

“What are you—!”

Aura instinctively pushed against him with all her might, but it was useless. His body, as hard as stone, was pressed against her.

“Let me go! I don’t want this!” she cried.

He held her even tighter. The pressure from their bodies being so close made it hard for Aura to breathe. She managed to gasp out a single word. “…Let go.”

Karl looked down at her as if her weak resistance was laughable. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, slowly and deliberately. He leaned in, and Aura’s eyes widened. Just as their lips were about to touch, he stopped, turning his head to whisper in her ear instead.

“You’re right, Aura. I am a monster.” His low voice sent shivers all the way down to her stomach. If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have collapsed. “But now, all you have left is that precious lineage of yours.”

Bloodshot tears welled up in Aura’s wide eyes. His words were painfully accurate, a sharp jab at her circumstances.

“So, if I’m saying I’ll use what’s left of you, is that really so bad?”

“…”

“You’ll be nothing without me now.”

Aura couldn’t believe what she had heard. She was so shocked that she forgot her fear and turned her head to face him. A thin line of tears formed in her eyes.

Only then did Karl let her go.

“If you understand, prepare for the coronation. Eat properly, sleep, and get medical treatment. Everything is being delayed because of you.” He strode out of the room, and the door slammed shut.

“…Hic.”

Aura choked on a sob and collapsed. The despair that had seeped into every part of her body where he had touched her now piled up in her chest.

She fought back her tears with all her might. She couldn’t afford to be weak. If she stayed by his side, she might die in a swamp of despair, becoming nothing more than a doll with a “precious lineage” price tag.

Aura grasped the sofa and struggled to her feet. The snow-covered imperial palace lay before her outside the window.

“…I have to get out of the palace.”

She planned to escape, no matter what it took.

The next day. Karl’s words wouldn’t leave Aura’s mind.

“You’ll be nothing without me now.”

They were cruel words. And because they were true, they hit even deeper. She had no family or country to return to. Being Karl’s wife was the only status she had left.

That’s why she had to leave the palace as soon as possible. A life of being used only as his wife was a nightmare. She would rather start over as a nobody.

First, I need to find the people of Zenia. I need to know if they’re doing okay after the fall of the royal family.

At mealtime, Tasha entered with a group of maids. The maids placed food on the table.

Aura asked Tasha, “What happened to the people of Zenia? Are they being treated as citizens of Kasa?”

“Please eat.” The reply was almost a dismissal.

“I asked what happened to my people.”

“Your food is getting cold, Your Highness.”

Aura laughed softly and with a smooth motion, swept her arm across the table.

Crash!

The dishes fell and shattered on the floor. The maids rushed to clean up the mess. Tasha, with an impassive face, ordered a maid, “Bring new dishes.”

“Wait.” Aura tapped a coffee cup with her fingernail. A clear ringing sound echoed through the room. “The coffee’s cold, too. Brew a new one.”

A maid quickly took the coffee cup away.

“Make it properly hot. Unless you want to see the head maid drown in coffee.”

Tasha’s lips trembled slightly as she held back her fury.

The maid returned with new food and coffee. Steam was rising from the cup. Aura picked up the coffee cup, then, as if by accident, let it go.

Clink.

The hot coffee spilled onto Aura’s skirt and ankle. The burning pain was so intense that she couldn’t help but scream.

“Ah!”

“Your Highness! Are you alright?” A maid rushed over with a towel to wipe her ankle.

Aura squeezed her eyes shut, enduring the pain. The burning sensation was penetrating deep into her bones. She snapped at Tasha, who was just standing there watching, “What are you doing? Go get the physician.”

A moment later, the imperial physician hurried in. He placed his bag on the table, put a wooden step on the floor, and knelt in front of it. “Please put your foot up, Your Highness. I will examine it.”

Aura placed her bare foot on the step. Blisters were already forming on her ankle. The physician clicked his tongue. “You’ve been badly burned. You will be in some pain for a while.”

The physician reached for his bag to get some medicine. Just then, Aura subtly pushed the bag off the table.

The bag tipped over, and its contents spilled everywhere. The physician, who had been focused on her foot, was flustered.

“Oh, dear! I’m so sorry, Your Highness. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

While the physician and maids were all scrambling to pick up the scattered items, Aura spotted something glinting near her foot: a small surgical scalpel. She discreetly nudged it with her heel. The scalpel slid under the sofa beside the table. The physician, unaware it was missing, tightly wrapped a bandage around Aura’s ankle and left the room.

Tasha, as if she had been waiting for the moment, said, “You must finish your meal.”

A new meal was placed in front of Aura. She picked up the soup spoon.

“Tasha.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll ask you one last time. What happened to the people of Zenia?”

“Please eat.”

Just then, a maid finished filling a water glass. Aura grabbed the maid by the collar and shoved her hard.

“Ah!”

The maid fell backward. Aura climbed on top of her.

“Y-Your Highness!”

As everyone tried to rush toward her, Aura pointed the spoon at the maid’s eye.

“Take one more step. I’ll gouge out her eye.”

The maids froze. The maid trapped beneath Aura was trembling.

“P-Please… help me…”

“Tell me. Where are the people of Zenia?”

“In… Ansena…”

Ansena. A barren wasteland on the outskirts of the capital. It was arid land, too dry for farming.

“Why are the people of Zenia in Ansena!”

“They… they were slaves, but they were just made second-class citizens…”

“What? Slaves?”

Something snapped in Aura’s mind. She moved the spoon even closer.

“…Who did this? Whose doing is this?”

“The late… C-Crown Prince…”

Aura couldn’t comprehend. They had been subjected to such misery?

“They had magicians! With the magicians, how could that have happened?!”

“The magicians…!”

Just then, the door burst open. Karl strode in and snatched Aura’s hand.

He yelled at everyone, “Everyone, get out!”

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