Chapter 1: Scene 1. The Marionette with the Broken Strings

Scene 1. The Marionette with the Broken Strings

Translator: thursdays Editor: thursdays

The most beautiful woman in the world danced in the center of the Grand Hall. Once the song ended, she raised her hand in greeting. The people around her cheered and spilled wine from their glasses.

"Please dance with me as well, Your Highness!"

"It's my turn now, Your Highness!"

The woman's name was Cayena Hill, and she was the first princess of the Eldaim Empire. She was also the elder sister of His Highness, Emperor Rezef.

"It's the Emperor's turn now."

Rezef, who had been watching the hall with his chin on his hand, soon made his way to Cayena. He replaced his cold expression with a smile and placed his lips on the back of her hand.

"Happy birthday, sister. Today, tomorrow, and forever after, please continue to be your beautiful self."

Cayena laughed at Rezef's words. "It's as if you put honey on your lips!" Such middle-class flattery was her favorite sort.

Rezef internally sneered at his sister, who sought validation through these meaningless compliments.

'You have to stay beautiful so that your usefulness doesn't decrease.'

Cayena's only merits were her legitimacy in the Imperial bloodline, her symbol as the most beautiful woman in the Empire, and her status as the one and only princess.

'My beautiful, foolish doll.'

"Oh, Rezef," Cayena said. She grabbed him and straightened his collar with her long hands. "You're still a child."

In reality, her attitude was nothing short of lèse-majesté. However, Cayena didn't even realize that it was a problem. She saw her younger brother as someone below her, someone that she had to take care of. That was a misperception that Rezef had himself slowly encouraged.

"Do you like your gifts?" Rezef asked.

"Very much! I especially like this dress."

"Since you love roses, I wanted to give you a dress that would remind you of them."

He tenderly tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, and Cayena casually accepted his touch.

She was used to that sort of kindness because she had been loved by so many.

"Now, will you do me the honor of dancing together?"

"Gladly."

The music began anew as they got into position.

Today, like all other days, she danced around and around. In the Grand Hall, and in the hands of the Emperor.

***

"Rezef!"

Cayena ran into the Emperor's bedroom.

"How could you just—" The court attendants were astonished at her nerve. Though she was the princess, there were still rules that Cayena had to observe. Even Cayena, no matter how ignorant she was, could not call the Emperor by his name or run into his room without his permission. Her rash behavior only grew worse over time, and it would finally bring her to ruin.

The knights tried to stop her, but Rezef raised his hand to make them back down. "It's fine," he said.

Cayena, teary-eyed, ran into her younger brother's arms.

"Rezef, this has to be a conspiracy. It's a plot! Kill that insolent bitch now!"

But Rezef only looked down at his half-sister with indifferent eyes.

Not noticing his cold gaze, Cayena evilly continued to deride the other woman. "How dare that rude, dirty bitch try to lure in Duke Kedrey? It's all her fault. He would be so cold to me if she—"

"Cayena."

Rezef pushed her off of him.

Rezef had brought down dumb male aristocrats using Cayena as a doll. He had also used her poisonous personality to keep the female aristocrats in line. Until now, she had done an excellent job... but she had gradually become a nuisance to him.

"Do you still not understand? I knew that you were an idiot, but I didn't know that you were so dumb that you couldn't read the situation."

His cold words reached Cayena, and her instinct told her that something was horribly wrong. Unknowingly, she took a step back. Rezef grabbed her to keep her from running.

"You can't even kill Olivia properly. You come running to me with your tail between your legs, and you expect me to help you?"

"Rezef...!"

"Do I have no choice but to take care of you myself? What a waste..."

He brushed Cayena's trembling cheek with a gentle hand.

"How can you— how can you do...!"

"It's unfortunate that you couldn't seduce Duke Kedrey, but his vassal, Viscount Gillian, wants you, so I can at least throw you at him. Then we can negotiate."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Rezef, I'm you sister. How could you do this to me?"

Rezef sighed at his sister, who still didn't understand the situation.

"You need to realize that all of your power is borrowed from me. Well, it's too late for you to do anything about it, anyway."

"I refuse! How dare you insult me!"

Cayena looked as if she was about to go mad.

It felt like the world and everything she believed in was collapsing around her all at once.

"You can't do this to me! I'm the one who made you the Emperor!"

Rezef laughed at her distressed cries. "You still haven't realized that you were used? My poor, pitiful doll."

"Why? Why are you doing this? Did I do something wrong? Are you angry at me? I honestly don't know. You have no reason to do this to me." Cayena managed to swallow down her anger and tried to persuade him as pitifully as possible. Her tears had never failed her before.

"Poor Cayena. You should have killed Olivia, then."

Shaking his head, Rezef went to sit on the sofa.

"It's really sad. I can't believe my older sister is such a horrible person."

"What...?"

"Duke Kedrey asked if he could investigate the incident right? Well, I'll allow it."

"Resef!"

He leaned on the sofa and looked at Cayena with frosty eyes.

"Lock that evil woman in her room."

The knights grabbed her roughly. Cayena, who had never been treated like this, screamed.

"Let go! Let me go! This is crazy— How dare you? Who do you think I am?"

She tried to push away the knights' hands, but her body was too fragile, having been sheltered her whole life.

"Rezef—!"

Cayena called for Rezef as if she was about to spit up blood. But soon enough, she was dragged away by the knights, and the door of the bedroom closed tightly behind her.

***

The woman turned off the screen of her cell phone.

It was a novel she had read many times to check on the villainess's fall. It was heartbreaking to read about how she was sold to Viscount Gillian to lead a miserable life.

It was just like what she had experienced.

"Manager, don't you have a meeting?" asked a subordinate to the woman.

The woman nodded. "Yes, I'm coming."

Even during work, the woman couldn't stop thinking about the novel. She kept getting a strange sense of deja vu. The woman and the villainess were similar. They were both dolls that had been thoroughly used by someone.

"Are you leaving work already?"

The woman rarely left early, but her subordinate had asked because she had already packed her things. Without a word, the woman nodded and left for the elevator.

"Wait a moment."

It was Executive Director Kim.

"Let's go down together."

The elevator door closed.

"You're leaving early today," he said.

"..."

"I saw that your work performance in the mid-year review was good. You sure are competent."

He put his hand on the woman's shoulder. It felt like bugs were crawling all over her body.

"I'll leave first," said the woman.

She rushed out as soon as the elevator door opened. Behind her, the director asked, "Are you still upset?"

The woman stopped walking.

"Thanks to me, you've become the youngest team manager, and you'll soon become the deputy manager as well."

"You need to realize that all of your power is borrowed from me. Well, it's too late for you to do anything about it, anyway."

The woman laughed as she remembered Rezef's lines in the novel. She looked back.

"You're saying this because you need me again, aren't you?"

Director Kim grinned and snapped his fingers at her. "You know, I only have one team manager right now."

The woman laughed and turned back around. She was tired of living as someone's doll.

That was when it happened.

"...Who are you?"

Someone was standing on the driver's side of her car. He was wearing a black sweater and a hat that shaded his face. It felt ominous.

The man turned to her slowly. "It's all your fault."

The woman stepped back.

"It's because of you that I've ended up like this!"

He rushed up to the woman and stabbed her stomach with a knife.

Director Kim, who was behind her, found the woman collapsed between two cars. The man grabbed his knife and attacked him as well.

"I'll kill you, too!"

The woman, grasping at her wound, saw as Director Kim was attacked.

'I guess villainesses all end the same way.'

Her vision dimmed.

"It isn't so bad to die like this.'

That was the woman's last memory.

"Ugh..."

Her head was throbbing and she was thirsty. The woman curled in on herself as she coughed several times.

"Ha... ha..."

She cracked open her eyes. Someone's voice was coming closer.

"Her Highness has awakened! Quickly, call the doctor!"

Holding her throbbing head, the woman looked around.

What happened? She was definitely stabbed.

"Your Highness! Can you understand us?"

She could feel the nervous energy of the people rushing around her. She squinted her eyes into focus.

An old-fashioned woman—a foreigner—was looking at her anxiously. Strangely, the woman felt like she had seen her before.

Then, the door opened, and someone came in.

"Announcing His Imperial Highness, the Prince."

"Sister."

It was a young man with golden hair. He narrowed the distance between them in an instant.

"Cayena, are you all right?"

'...Cayena?'

The man held the woman's hand. Then, the woman opened her eyes in shock.

How, how can this be?

"Rezef..."

The realization struck her like lightning.

"Yes, sister. I'm here."

The man kissed her hand carefully and looked at her with a worried expression.

"I'm back," she said.

Then, she fainted.