Chapter 2: The Hostage (1)

The Kingdom of Ainel and the Herkessia Empire.

Once, the two had maintained a long-standing alliance, close enough that a royal marriage had even been discussed at one point. Their first conflict began with the King of Ainel’s greed over trade.

At the time, Ainel had emerged as a hub of maritime commerce. The king imposed excessively high tariffs, restricting trade from neighboring nations, including the Empire.

Despite multiple protests and negotiations, no compromise was reached. The breakdown of their once-amicable relationship was inevitable. It didn’t take long for what began as a minor dispute to escalate into war.

The war dragged on. Over five bitter years, both nations suffered heavy losses. Ultimately, it was the Kingdom of Ainel that first declared surrender.

Though the kingdom had a considerable military force, it was no match for the empire, widely considered the most powerful on the continent. 

In addition to surrendering valuable trade routes, Ainel was forced to provide vast amounts of essential resources to the empire. And as further proof of their submission, they agreed to send their one and only princess as a hostage.

[‘Lea Ainel. Do not forget your duty as a princess.’]

The King of Ainel looked down coldly at his daughter, kneeling beneath the royal dais.

At fifteen, Lea had grown into an undeniably beautiful young woman. Her silvery-white hair, inherited from a lowborn mother, gave her an ethereal, almost mystical aura. Her eyes, amethyst in color, marked her unmistakably as royal blood even if only half.

But that beauty, refined and elegant, only made her more hated among the royal family.

[‘You are to behave as a princess who has been raised under the full love and protection of the royal household. Do you understand what I mean?’]

The king had spoken without the slightest hesitation. He seemed entirely indifferent to the fact that he had never once treated Lea as a child of his own.

The status of a hostage required that the individual be of royal blood or, at the very least, wield significant influence enough for the empire to find value in the agreement.

But Lea Ainel belonged to neither category. She was the result of a single night’s mistake, the shameful offspring of a prostitute. A bastard, born of disgrace.

Burdened with every possible mark of shame, Lea was nothing but a stain on the royal bloodline. Someone to be cast aside without guilt.

Even though the king knew that the queen had gone out of her way to torment Lea, he turned a blind eye, perhaps seeing it as just punishment for his betrayal, or as a means to cover his shame.

Lea had grown up entirely neglected. And today, for the first time, she was recognized as his daughter. But only as a sacrifice to spare the children he truly loved.

[‘You’ll depart in a week. Prepare yourself accordingly.’]

That was the only encouragement he gave to a daughter destined to live out her life in a foreign land with no hope of return.

Exactly one week later, Lea quietly boarded the carriage bound for the empire. No one came to see her off. Not the family who had only ever scorned her, nor the few who had once shown her fleeting kindness.

Even so, Lea stared fixedly out the window, as if still hoping someone might appear. Only when the carriage began to move did she finally let go of her last remaining hope.

Her homeland had abandoned her.

The carriage traveled without pause along the long road until Lea’s heart had sunk too deep into despair to climb out.

She arrived in the capital where no one awaited her on a sweltering summer day.

— — — 

“Look at her. That girl’s the princess of Ainel? She’s the one we should’ve torn apart.”

Life in the empire wasn’t much different.

The people of the empire looked down on Lea with contempt and exclusion. And understandably so.

The Kingdom of Ainel had long been a thorn in the empire’s side. To its citizens, Ainel was an enemy, plain and simple. And Lea, a product of that enemy nation, was little more than a blight in their eyes.

The king likely expected this treatment and had sent Lea without a second thought. He would never have allowed his favored children to endure such disgrace.

Lea had always been someone easily treated like a criminal. A girl born guilty, now forced to bear the full weight of a nation’s hatred. That day, the ridicule had been especially harsh.

“Shameless thing. Typical of someone from Ainel. She doesn’t even know how to be embarrassed.”

It was a summer evening, during a banquet. Lea had been given special permission to attend, though that permission would prove to be her undoing. Harsh gazes trailed her every move.

“Does she think she’s still royalty here? She’s just a hostage from a defeated country… disgusting.”

Barbed words, laced with cruelty, were hurled at the young Lea without restraint. No matter how accustomed she became to such treatment, it never got easier to bear.

“Maybe if she’s publicly humiliated, she won’t dare show her face again.”

One of the noblewomen approached and deliberately spilled her wine on Lea. It was no accident. The crimson liquid soaked through her dress, dripping onto the white marble floor.

“Oh dear… it’s all wet. I’m so sorry. What a shame.”

Lea stared blankly down at herself, stunned. The woman tossed her a handkerchief with feigned concern.

The ornate handkerchief hit Lea’s shoulder and fell to the floor, and laughter erupted around her. She looked up to find herself surrounded by sneering faces.

Eyes gleaming with mockery, lips curled behind ornate fans – they were all too familiar.

[‘You filthy whore, I told you not to look at me!’]

The scene brought back memories of her half-brothers, who used to hurl the same abuse.

They had once told her that catching her gaze might infect them with disease. Because she was born of a prostitute, they assumed she must be tainted. Whether or not it was true never mattered; they hated her enough to believe it anyway.

As those nightmarish memories surfaced, Lea felt her breath catch painfully in her throat. Pale and trembling, she stumbled away from the hall.

She had to get out just as she had once run from the princes who slapped and kicked her.

Bumping into guests left and right, she burst through the doors without thinking how pathetic she must look. She ran blindly through the palace grounds. Only when she twisted her ankle and collapsed did she notice the wide lake nearby.

Finally, a place with no one around.

The cool night air seeped into her lungs, and Lea sank down in the grass.

“…”

She wiped the dried wine from her cheek with the back of her hand and looked up blankly.

The moon, already high, was heartbreakingly beautiful. Its light shimmered across the surface of the lake, gentle and radiant.

Lea sat carelessly atop the neatly kept grass, her eyes fixed on the lake as if entranced. She stared for a long while, then slowly drew her knees together and buried her face in them.

The sound of the gently lapping waves felt like a lullaby. When she closed her eyes, it almost made her sleepy. She knew she shouldn’t fall asleep, but she didn’t want to get up, either. All she wanted was to disconnect completely from this world.

It was only after some unknown amount of time had passed that a long shadow stretched over Lea’s bowed head.

“Princess.”

At the soft call, Lea flinched and lifted her head. A boy stood quietly before her.

“Are you planning to freeze to death?”

His voice was calm but firm as he addressed her without hesitation.

Dark hair messily draped across a smooth forehead. Sharp brows set beneath. Deep-set, shadowed eyes and a finely sculpted nose – his features were striking, almost like a carved statue. Though still tinged with youth, he was an undeniably beautiful boy.

Lea snapped back to her senses when he suddenly took a long stride toward her.

“Ah…!”

Overwhelmed by sudden fear, she sprang to her feet. Worried that he might be someone else sent to torment her, she instinctively stepped back. But the boy simply lowered his gaze, unbothered.

“Wear this.”

Without warning, he offered her his coat, holding it out toward the wary Lea.

Frozen in place, Lea could only stare up at him in stunned silence. The gesture was so unexpected.

Just as her thoughts were beginning to spiral in confusion, the boy closed the distance between them. As Lea flinched, he casually draped the coat over her trembling shoulders, as if that were all he intended to do. Then he promptly stepped back.

“…”

Lea looked down at the coat, far too large for her, before slowly lifting her gaze. The boy didn’t avoid her eyes.

Unlike the imperial citizens who would sneer or click their tongues the moment their eyes met hers, he was different.

His expression was blank, yet devoid of hostility or contempt – emotions she had grown all too familiar with.

It was strange. Foreign. This moment they shared, gazing at each other under the stillness of the night, felt somehow suspended in time.

Had the night breeze not swept through her hair just then, Lea might have believed time itself had stopped.

Only when a flicker passed through the boy’s eyes did their gaze finally break. He was the first to look away, turning around.

She thought he would leave. But instead, his voice drifted back to her, low and steady.

“You may not be a guest of honor… but you’re not a criminal either.”

Lea’s eyes trembled faintly. She had never heard such a thing before. She had always been a criminal: born a sin, existing a sin.

Everyone treated her that way, and she had internalized it long ago. She had come to believe she was a child who should never have been born. But that boy shattered the premise so effortlessly.

“There’s no need to endure those who treat you poorly.”

Turning his head slightly, he looked at her again.

Even in the dimness, his vivid blue eyes gleamed, resembling the lake she had just been staring into. Perhaps that was why this moment felt like dreaming with her eyes open.

……

T/N: Hello, Bunnyyy here~! I picked up another novel that looks interesting. Releases will be the same as To My Dear Family’s (every Sunday and Thursday). Hope you give it lots of love~! 💗