For You, Who Hates Me - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Princess Aura

Aura was the only princess of the Kingdom of Xenia.

She possessed ash-blond hair, turquoise eyes, intelligence and cultivation that surpassed the princes, and a sense of pride that matched her noble pedigree.

Everyone in the kingdom treasured and adored her.

It was pleasant and joyful until the Casa Empire proposed a political marriage.

Princess weddings were common, but the king and queen were reluctant. Aura was just eighteen years old, a precious and noble daughter. Furthermore, her intended companion was the fourth prince, born of a commoner concubine.

Aura persuaded her hesitant parents.

“I’ll marry. If it is my job as royalty, I am eager to fulfill it.”

Thus, Aura travelled alone to the Casa Empire. She met her future husband, Karl, for the first time during their wedding.

He was a slim young man with a pale complexion, jet-black hair, eyes, and a direct, disinterested expression.

All of Casa’s royals wore stunning blond hair. Karl was like darkness hidden among the light.

‘A wonderful gloom.’

Aura fell for him at first sight.

On the first night following their wedding, the young couple sat side by side on the bed. Aura grabbed the blanket tightly. Just having Karl near her made her shake and feel uncomfortable.

Karl, who had remained mute, suddenly spoke.

“I have nothing to give you.”

Aura turned her head. Karl looked into the nothingness with a tired expression.

“If you meet another man, feel free to visit him. Or start over.”

Karl attempted to exit the room after merely saying those words.

“…!”

Karl halted as he got out of bed.

A little hand grasped his sleeve. It was white and thin, yet full of courage.

Karl remarked, “You are such a foolish child. You heard the murmurs, didn’t you?”

She had. She was aware of his mother’s humble birth and early death, as well as the fact that he was only a prince in name, lacking both scholarship and swordsmanship skills.

“If you cling to me, you will only experience suffering. Find your happiness without me.”

“My name is Aura.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke, and Karl gently raised his gaze to see his wife for the first time.

“People call us a married couple.”

“…And?”

“I am genuinely a little worried. About suddenly marrying, about the mood at this imperial court. But I am not unhappy.”

Aura smiled a shy yet genuine smile.

“As long as we are together, everything will be fine. For both of us.”

Karl glanced at her indifferently, but his Adam’s apple gently bobbed. Then he turned and left the bedroom.

Thunk.

Aura’s hand dropped to the blanket.

That night, Aura cried a bit. She didn’t resent Karl. He may have resented the arranged marriage as well. But she missed her relatives in Xenia.

Aura was astonished the next morning when she went out of her bedroom with swollen eyes.

“!”

A clump of daffodils appeared before her eyes. It was a badly arranged bouquet. Karl’s face appeared amid the yellow flowers.

“Call me Karl. There is no need for formalities. We are the same age.”

Only temporarily surprised, Aura’s face brightened with a brilliant smile as she extended her hands.

“If you accept this, then you become my only destination.”

“….”

“If you’re okay with that, take it.”

Becoming someone’s sole destination appeared terrifying, but it also sounded like a promise of steadfast devotion.

She did not think for long. Aura hugged the bunch of daffodils.

“Thank you, Karl.”

Karl offered a slight smile.

Aura liked Karl. His manly taciturnity, honesty, and intelligence stood out from the rumors.

Karl and Aura spend much of their time in the library. They leaned against the bookcases, sharing stories, opening their hearts, and creating secrets.

Aura touched Karl’s fingertips as he flipped a page in a book. Band-aids accumulated on his hands, a tribute to his intensive swordsmanship training.

“Why do people regard you as lazy and lethargic? You read a lot and are skilled with a sword.”

“I keep it hidden.”

“Why?”

Instead of responding, Karl glanced at Aura. She chuckled uneasily under his foreign stare.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Karl cupped Aura’s cheek. She flinched at the unexpected sensation of the band-aid. Karl kissed her at that very time.

This was their first kiss for the two of them.

They instinctively sought warmth. They spent a long time delving into one another. Aura recognized that true sweetness might be found in Karl.

“I just need to protect you.”

Those were great days. She assumed Karl would always be there for her.

That was a foolish thought.

***

Several months later, the Emperor fell ill and became bedridden.

The Crown Prince got apprehensive. He had nothing to boast about other than being the genuine heir. He needed to demonstrate his capacity to assume power easily.

His preferred tactic was conquest, and his first objective was the Kingdom of Xenia.

Xenia perished in a few days. The entire royal family was executed. The country, which previously housed the continent’s greatest magicians, was decimated.

The Crown Prince did not stop there. He imprisoned Aura in the royal palace’s northern tower, claiming to have cut off any treasonous links.

The captivity will last until she dies.

The tower was a terrifying place. It was chilly, filthy, and creepy.

Aura, terrified, scraped at the barred door, yelling, “Karl! Let me see Karl! Please, Karl!”

Her sole remaining hope was Karl’s pledge to keep her safe.

But Karl never arrived.

When her voice was hoarse, and her fingernails had fallen out, she overheard the guards outside.

“What? Has His Highness Karl gone to conquer Devla?”

Devla, a wild territory in Casa’s northernmost tip, was dubbed ‘the graveyard of knights’ because of its vicious creatures.

‘Karl, to Devla?’

“It sounds nice to call it a conquest, but isn’t he actually fleeing from the Crown Prince?”

“The poor consort got the worst of it.”

“It’s not all bad. His Highness Karl sent a message right before he left. He asked that the consort be slain with this.”

Her heart fell.

‘What did I hear?’

Even the guards outside couldn’t hide their disbelief.

“Eh? To kill his wife?”

“He does not want to be held back by his wife. It’s a new beginning, so to speak.”

Aura shakes her head.

‘Me…? No. Karl would not do that.’

The guards appeared disturbed.

“I can’t do it, however. Who knows what kind of sin we’d commit.”

“Same here. But how about this…?

A moment later.

Clang!

The food chute on the floor opened. Aura, who had been trembling from terror, flinched.

Clang.

A dagger was tossed inside the cell.

“His Highness Karl has commanded you to end your life. It would be better for you to die than live like that.”

Aura’s gaze clouded. It was obviously Karl’s dagger.

That night, Aura attempted to take her life. She couldn’t imagine living any longer.

Shivering, she cut her wrist with the knife. It was hot and painful, with an intensity she had never experienced before.

Aura asked herself, “Why should I die?”

Clang!

Aura tossed the dagger away. She then applied pressure to the wound with the hem of her dress to halt the bleeding. She cried and hurt enough to die, but she did not die.

“…I’ll live. I will live and see his face at least once more.”

Her horrific life inside the tower began. Her meals were rotten veggies, and the water was icy cold and dirty. Rats and insects swarmed, constantly nibbling at her nerves.

The biggest hurt, however, was the sorrow of being abandoned. And gradually, sadness evolved into loathing for Karl.

Aura shifted in ways no one could have predicted.

Her bright blonde hair turned ashen, and her eyes became lifeless. Vengeance and disobedience shattered her royal majesty and threw her into the abyss.

After three years, on a day of severe snowfall, the Emperor died of a protracted illness.

It was the night of the funeral.

The imperial palace was in disarray. Aura peered outside the window. Smoke emerged from several locations as if a conflict had broken out.

‘Was there a rebellion?’

That’s when it occurred.

Clinking, creaking…

The door, which appeared to be permanently locked, finally opened. Knights clothed in black stormed inside.

They kneeled before Aura.

“Her Highness, Princess Consort Aura. His Majesty the Emperor has ordered that you be brought before him.”

“Which emperor would that be?”

The knights shuddered momentarily. A restrained wrath, like fine silt, overtook them.

“His Majesty Karl.”

Silence ensued. The knights cautiously raised their heads to look at her. Aura broke into sardonic laughing.

“Ha… Shameless.”

It was all quite amusing. The whole thing.

Shortly after, Aura emerged from the tower, accompanied by the knights.

The scenery outside was amazing. Snow covered the ground; bodies covered the snow; blood covered the bodies; and snow covered the blood once more.

Aura stepped onto the snow with her bare feet.

She followed the knights into the imperial palace, leaving footsteps in blood and snow.

The doors to the audience hall opened. The scent of blood hit them. Every single one of the royal guards was dead.

Far across the chamber, Karl sat on the throne. At his feet rolled the skulls of three bodies: the Crown Prince and two other princes.

A perfect rebellion. The birth of a new emperor made from blood.

Aura slowly approached him.

The knights guarding Karl were taken aback by her appearance. Her body was gaunt as thorns, and her eyes were lifeless. She looked like a ghost that had just escaped from a coffin.

Only Karl gazed at her calmly from his seat.

He rose from his throne and approached Aura. She gazed up at him.

He had grown taller, expanded his shoulders, thickened his frame, and had a cold, passionate look. He also smelled of blood.

The once-powerless kid had grown into a warrior. No, an emperor who ruled the earth while Aura lost everything.

Aura hurled herself at Karl, whispering gently, “Bastard.”

“!”

Karl took a step back as a dagger dug deeply into his side. Dark, scarlet blood streamed freely.

Aura chuckled as she gazed at Karl.

She was now prepared to die. In reality, she thought it was all that was left to do: leave this horrible life cleanly.

…However, Karl had no intention of allowing it to happen.