"You already have a lot of wives!"

Phillip built up his political position by marrying numerous daughters of nobles.

"I told you. I only love you."

"I'd rather die than marry you."

"The day you die, the Bellacian family will perish."

Phillip didn't even allow me to die.

I was trapped in the tower like this.

I couldn't even see my family.

Only Phillip and a maid could visit me in the tower.

The maid was talkative so I received a lot of news about the Imperial palace and the outside world from her.

"His Majesty treated the orphans with Tancinol today. I can't believe he even took care of them himself. I'm so proud of our Emperor."

The maid praised him happily, but I felt devastated hearing that.

Everything was going as Phillip wished.

The nobles who protested against him all became ill or disappeared.

Phillip treated the Tancinol and no one suspected him, rather everyone admired him for it.

The people regarded him as the Emperor sent by the Goddess of Light.

Phillip created another story and spread it all over the Empire.

Phillip was chosen by the Goddess, so he destroyed the corrupted Zelcans and became the Emperor.

Of course, some nobles, intellectuals, merchants in the Empire knew that this story was a lie.

But anyone who spoke of it would die of Tancinol.

'Whoever slanders the Emperor Phillip will be punished by the Goddess.'

Such rumours spread through the Empire, so those who knew of the truth remained silent.

The nobles of Roum were purged, and Phillip bestowed the nobility on those who were completely loyal to him.

All the positions of nobility in the new Empire became filled with his people.

Even more tales of his heroism spread and Rakshul quickly became the villain that was despised by everyone.

There wasn't much I could do under such circumstances.

"A Roum noble just died from the Tancinol. I'm sure he must've talked bad about our Emperor. He deserved to die."

The maid continued to blabber innocently.

I had the urge to tell her the truth, but I couldn't.

If this little girl knew the truth, Phillip would surely kill her.

***

"Ser, can you hear me? Serphania, where are you now? You're alive, aren't you?"

I desperately called for Ser as I clasped the necklace she gave me. I searched for her traces.

Was Ser really dead?

I couldn't believe it. I could hear Ser's screams in my mind.

She was obviously asking me to save her.

At the same time, Ser's blessing came to me again. Part of her power entered my body.

Even though I hadn't heard Ser's voice for a long time, I didn't stop praying.

Suddenly, the door opened and Phillip came in.

It was the usual routine.

I turned my head and tried to ignore him but he grabbed my face.

"How to solve that?"

"What?"

"How to solve that?! How the hell do I get rid of it?! What do I do?!"

He screamed like a mad man.

It was the first time he ever lost his temper like this.

Something big must've happened.

"What are you saying? What do you need to get rid of?"

Phillip looked at me in the eye.

Slowly, he loosened his grip on my face.

"Did you not know?"

"What's going on?"

"No, if you don't know, then forget it."

The next day, the maid whispered to me quietly instead of combing my hair like usual.

"The first prince is cursed."

"The curse of the Goddess?"

"Yes, there was a ball a few days ago and the first prince's face was imprinted with black inscriptions."

Black inscriptions?

Last night, Phillip shouted at me to ask me how to get rid of something.

"What is it about?"

"I don't know. As soon as the inscriptions appeared, the Emperor was surprised and hid him immediately. But it must've been the Goddess of Light's resentment towards him."

"....the Goddess' resentment?"

"Yes, it's strange isn't it? Why would the Goddess resent him?"

Word spread throughout the Empire that the prince had been cursed by the Goddess.

The nobles who came to the party were unable to read the letters.

Phillip bestowed titles to whoever offered him their undying loyalty regardless of their origin. Among these people, there were knights, mercenaries, and even commoners, so naturally, most of them were illiterate.

In addition, Phillip hid his son's face so quickly that only a few saw it.

Nevertheless, rumours about the Goddess' curse spread.

This was because the Royal Family suffering from the curse was big news.

A few days later, the prince died. The curse had been passed to another one of his children.

The next day the princess died, and another one was cursed.

Phillip came to see me from time to time while his children were dying.

"You know how to fix this! You're screwing me over, aren't you?! Tell me how to get rid of it. Say it!"

Phillip poured all of his anger on me.

He wouldn't have done this if he were his usual self.

Even though he knew I didn't know anything about the situation, he was too consumed by anger to think straight.

Phillip was out of his mind.

He had completely lost his mind.

"Ser's alive, isn't she? Where's Ser?"

When I saw his reaction, it was clear that Ser had cursed his children and wives.

Ser didn't die.

"She's dead! Dead!"

Phillip screamed madly.

He had become engulfed by fear and madness.

"You're crazy."

I wasn't just cursing at him. He really had gone crazy.

Eight of his children and wives died.

No matter how cold-blooded he was, he must've cared about them.

It was weird to see Phillip going mad about the curse without thinking of finding a solution to stop the rumours first.

He deserved this, but his children and wives were innocent victims.

Did Ser really do it?

Did Ser really kill Phillip's family?

Even if it was for revenge, Ser couldn't kill innocent children.

While Phillip was busy agonizing, another prince died, and the curse was then transferred to the 6th prince.

"The 6th prince is the son of his 5th wife."

My existence was a secret, and yet there were people who knew about me.

His wives thought that the reason they couldn't become an Empress was because of me, so they came to the tower to harass me sometimes.

Phillip only sat by and watched from the sidelines even though he knew the situation.

In the first place, they wouldn't be able to go into the tower if he had stopped them from entering it.

"Laontel, isn't it unfair to be treated like that by my wives? You just need to marry me and I'll make you the Empress. It'll all be worth it."

He would always come to look at me and say so after my hair became disheveled and my clothes were torn to shreds because his wives hit me.

Among his wives, the 5th wife was the most jealous of me. She'd visit me frequently, but now she was busy dealing with her own situation.

The 6th prince didn't die until two months later.

After the 6th prince was cursed, Phillip didn't come to see me anymore.

According to the maid, he had left the palace to find a way to solve the curse.

I grabbed the necklace that Ser had given me and talked to her.

"Ser, what happened? Did you really do that? You're alive, aren't you? Where are you? Please tell me."

But she didn't answer me.

I put down my necklace, when suddenly, the whole tower shook.

Why was the barrier broken?

Phillip was afraid I would run away.

So he poured all his energy into making the barrier.

But it was now broken. Phillip must have run into a problem.

I got up from my seat.

This was an opportunity.

It may be the only chance I have to escape the tower.

But if I escaped, what would happen to my family...

The door opened and a woman came in.

"Lady Bellacian!"

It was the 5th wife that always came to harass me.

I hesitated to answer.

She'd usually insult me with vulgar words, yet she called me by my proper title now.

"Lady Bellacian, please save my John!"

John was the 6th prince, and he was currently suffering under the curse.

"If it's about the curse, there's nothing I can do."

I wanted to see the letters Ser left behind.

If I said I could help her, she'd let me meet the prince.

But I couldn't give false hope to a desperate mother.

Phillip's powers were stronger than mine anyway.

The chances of me being able to lift the curse were slim.

"The curse doesn't matter! Lady Bellacian please help me stop His Majesty from killing my son!"