The Empire’s Sacrifice - Chapter 2

T/n note: We decided to change the FL’s name from Ludis to Rudis

Her eyes hurt. Her throat felt hoarse too. Even though she wasn’t eaten by ‘it’, she could still feel the pain all over her body.

‘Even if it’s a useless and foolish life where I can’t help anyone… I still want to continue living.’

Her father, who stared at Rudis with cold eyes, turned his head and left. He held Selena’s hand tightly as if he didn’t see Rudis begging in pain.

It wasn’t until the time of her death that Rudis realized her father and Selena had never considered her as family. Until then, she had been trying to gain unparalleled affection. The last memory that came into her mind right before death was ironically a bright memory during spring.

The spring where she escaped from the cold, dark palace and got to look up at the blue sky, hear birds singing as if greeting her, and the vivid touch of the soil that she could feel from her bare feet. She missed all of that madly.

If only she could survive here, then…

Then she won’t make any more foolish choices. She’s not going to sacrifice herself by chasing a false image. She’ll live a free life without looking into anyone’s eyes.

Then, she heard the footsteps of ‘it’.

Rudis shed silent tears. Death was the only thing left for her, but what she feared did not happen. The ‘it’ suddenly began to change its form. When she opened her eyes again, there was an incredibly beautiful man looking down at her.

Rudis lost her mind as she looked at his gold eyes shining in the dark. The man then hugged the fallen Rudis and kissed her forehead affectionately.

***

As Rudis gained her senses back, there was a fluffy sensation surrounding her body.

‘What happened?’

As she searched through her memories, there was a feeling of excitement surrounding her body, a thrilling pain spreading through her stomach, and air that was so hot, it was difficult to even breathe.

‘How did this happen? I should’ve been sacrificed and torn to death…’

The last scene Rudis remembered was when she was pushed into the stone chamber by her father. As she continued to concentrate, she remembered the endless darkness that filled the room, the ‘it’ hovering her side, and the hot breath that touched her shoulder.

She held a hairpin in her hand, where the blood of ‘it’ had flowed from when she stabbed.

“Ugh.”

While she was trying to think, her head started to hurt. Rudis then frowned. At that time, the people around started to whisper busily.

“Did it happen?”

“Hey, you, just in case, get some clean water.”

“What’s going to happen now to Princess Selena and us?”

“… I don’t know.”

Conversations that could not be understood in English continued.

Rudis was confused. The familiar voices whispered while she was lying in bed in a warm room. Someone removed the towel and wiped her forehead. Even though it wasn’t polite, it was a careful touch. Rudis gradually began to realize that she was not dead.

‘I lived…? How the hell did I do that…?’

Did the summoning fail? But then she wouldn’t be lying in this luxurious place while being cared for by Selena’s maids…

Selena’s maids always followed their master and treated Rudis with contempt. Even though they were maids, they are usually still ladies from high-rank noble families, so there was no way for Rudis to rebel. But, it was still hard to believe they were waiting on her.

Rudis began to worry that something had gone very wrong. She lifted her eyelids with all her might.

A familiar ceiling.

This was Selena’s room.

It was the most beautiful, colorful, and warm room in the palace. It was the jeweled room that Rudis had always envied.

“Ah…”

Rudis opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a groan. She was lying down for a long time, and her throat felt dry. The maids then all quickly came and brought her water.

Rudis, who was thirsty, drank the water. After taking a few sips, she finally started looking around properly and was surprised to see the polite faces of the maids who were sitting next to the bed.

“Princess, are you feeling well? His Majesty will be here soon.”

Princess Ivana, who was at the front, opened her mouth. She has never called Rudis a princess before.

-It’s too humble. I can’t think about someone like you taking over the blood of the royal family.

She treated Rudis worse than a commoner because she was an illegitimate child. She recalled the fact that she had locked her in the attic of the palace and had the maids feed her rotten bread. When Rudis thought of that, fear soared within her along with nausea. The bugs that were in the attic from the night she had to spend there seem to reappear before her.

“Princess? If you’re feeling unwell, I’ll call the doctor again.”

Rudis couldn’t believe that Princess Ivana called her princess and had maids waiting on her. She couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on, and she couldn’t be happy because it just seems like another dream.

Princess Ivana looked down at the floor with an unknown expression while waiting for Rudis to answer. The same was true for the other maids in the room.

Viscountess Bale took part in harassing Rudis while Countess Claden enjoyed humiliating her in public by ignoring her. This was all led by Princess Ivana, and all of them now were waiting for Rudis to say something.

Rudis’ lips began to tingle.

“I…”

All the maids in the room were focused on her small voice.

“Get out…”

“What?”

Princess Ivana looked up.

“I just thought -”

“Hey, you don’t have to do this, so just get out of here.”

Rudis spoke while trembling. For a moment, Princess Ivana’s expression changed. Her eyes were filled with terrifying anger. Rudis knew that look well. It was also the same look Princess Ivana showed when her pride was hurt.

‘You might be right.’

Rudis quickly shrank back, but what she was worried about didn’t happen.

Rudis could see the tip of her lips trembling as Princess Ivana forced a smile. There was still anger in her eyes except she didn’t express it outwardly.

Rudis blinked while puzzled.

‘Why aren’t you angry?’

She was preparing herself for whatever Princess Ivana might do. She hated being surrounded by scary people who can beat and starve her.

“Princess.”

Princess Ivana smiled forcefully while speaking in a high-pitched voice.

“Until now, there have been a few things that made me feel sad for the princess.”

After hearing her words, Rudis’ head went blank.

What she has done to her was just ‘sad’?

Rudis limped, but she wasn’t a fool. She was able to see through the situation. Anger began to boil up inside her, but she suppressed it as usual.

“… Why are you doing this?”

Rudis asked in a small voice.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

The answer that came back was even more predictable. Princess Ivana continued while giving Rudis a pretentious look.

“You’ve always envied Princess Selena, who is being served by us.”

She was.

She once thought that it would be nice to be loved like Selena for a day, no, an hour, or even a few minutes. But the craving disappeared as soon as her father pushed her into the stone chamber. Rudis knew well that they would never truly care about her. Even if that day comes, the hurt she received was too great for her to accept their apology. If she could, she would want to live without seeing her father, Selena, and everyone else who was involved.

“Today, we will listen to poems, as I do with Princess Selena. I will also attend the bath and bring delicious food.”

At Princess Ivana’s words, Rudis lowered her head with a firm expression. At her response, Princess Ivana smiled confidently and thought:

‘After all, this is easy to handle.’

Princess Ivana, who had been with Selena since the age of ten, had been seeing Rudis for over 13 years, so she was confident that she knew more about Rudis than anyone else.

‘With just a small bait, I could almost see a tail shaking, like an abandoned dog.’

Rudis was abused and abandoned countless times, but she would still cling to her opponent to crave even the smallest amount of affection. She was always submissive, and she had never rebelled no matter how much she had to suffer.

Princess Ivana was happy to see Rudis in this state. She felt superior to Rudis, who sought affection.

It was true that Rudis was an illegitimate child and was lame, but the emperor’s blood is still mixed in her.

Princess Ivana, who was always ashamed of her father’s defeat in the battle for the throne, used to express her dissatisfaction by ignoring the current emperor’s daughter, Rudis.

There was no better person than her whom Princess Ivana could feel superior to for Selena, who is a well-born heir, could never be compared to her.

“So you’ll be treated today, princess.”

Princess Ivana spoke while smiling. She thought Rudis would easily take the bait, for she also envied Princess Selena.

“… Princess.”

But that was all Princess Ivana’s illusion. Rudis’s face was cold with no expression. She clasped her hands around the sheets to suppress the boiling anger that was seeping through her insides.

“I asked… for you to leave.”

At that moment, Princess Ivana’s expression crumbled, and she was so embarrassed where she couldn’t say anything for a while.

“Princess.”

After a long time, Princess Ivana opened her mouth and spoke in a trembling voice.

“You seem to be out of your mind right now since you just woke up… if you act like this, I’m sure you’ll regret it later.”

You’ll regret it later. Those words were definitely a threat.

“Princess Ivana, my mind won’t change.”

But, Rudis’s cold expression did not change.

“Get out. Please. It’s uncomfortable.”

Those words struck Princess Ivana and Selena’s maids, but that didn’t matter to Rudis, because now she had a greater sense of betrayal. Furthermore, Rudis had just experienced the most horrifying and horrendous situation that any other human being will never get to experience.

Compared to the breathing of “it” that was growling right next to her, and the terrible feeling of fear that her whole body might be torn alive, the threat posed by Princess Ivana didn’t bother her at all.

Rudis signed as she was tired from Princess Ivana’s attitude for she didn’t leave even after being asked several times to do so.

“Or I’ll get out of this room. This is not where I live anyways…”

“No!”

The moment Rudis tried to leave the room, Viscountess Bale, who was watching the situation from behind, caught Rudis in a hurry.