The Villainous Family Loves Me Too Much!

It was an ominous day echoing with the ominous cawing of crows.

Priscilla Delfia lay on the cold stone floor, staring blankly at the dark ceiling above.

Whenever she stirred, the shackles around her ankles clanked loudly.

This dismal underground prison cell had never factored into Priscilla’s life plans.

In the Delfia family’s heyday, she had envisioned only a rose-strewn future ahead.

Yet now her household had fallen, and rather than becoming the Felosite Archduchess, her very life hung precariously.

Accused of aiding the conspirators plotting the Empire’s downfall by victimizing innocent citizens.

A thoroughly unpalatable situation she found profoundly unjust.

“I only tried to survive. Just what did I do so wrong…?”

How had every endeavor she attempted ended in such utter ruination?

“Lady Delfia, are you truly ignorant of your sins?”

Emerging from the shadows was Princess Karena herself.

According to the gossiping guards, she was soon to be crowned Crown Princess.

“You sacrificed imperial citizens as beast offerings. Do you comprehend how many perished?”

Priscilla wished to silence Karena’s incessant, grating prattle once and for all.

She had taken an instant dislike to this woman from the very first encounter, constantly needling her nerves.

Above all, it was Karena’s very existence that most infuriated Priscilla.

“You have everything I ever desired, so why?! Why can I never achieve anything?!”

In an intense outburst, the frenzied Priscilla lunged towards Karena, shrieking furiously.

“Aargh!”

But weighted shackles dragged her legs, causing her to pitch forward helplessly.

“That’s enough. You’ll only harm yourself further.”

With graceful poise and an indifferent gaze, Karena peered down upon the fallen Priscilla.

Those dual heterochromic eyes of sienna brown and cerulean blue seemed to radiate an otherworldly aura entirely unlike human.

Overwhelmed by that inexplicable presence, Priscilla couldn’t summon any further words.

The Princess exuded an energy distinctly divergent from her previous self.

A sense that she was no longer human.

* * *C

“Hopefully the weather holds clear during our journey.”

Fluffy cotton-like clouds drifted across the azure sky, shielding the blazing sun’s intensity.

“Shall we depart, then?”

After confirming the carriage’s preparations, I extended my hand towards Lucian.

Lucian had come in person to the imperial palace to escort me himself.

Ostensibly to receive the criminal Priscilla’s custody transfer, yet he had delegated those proceedings to Gebino while spending the entire day by my side instead.

Smiling wryly, he grasped my hand and helped me up into the carriage.

“Time to return home.”

Home.

There was indeed a time when I too had referred to the imperial palace as home.

But somewhere along the way, Felosite had become my true home.

Like its outwardly stoic yet endearingly shy young master Lucian, Felosite’s enigmatic exterior concealed a warmhearted core.

“What are your intentions regarding Priscilla Delfia?”

“Of course, she must face due punishment for her crimes.”

On the eve of our departure, Priscilla Delfia had faced trial within the palace grounds.

Her charges included high treason for conspiring with Liam and Beatrice towards the imperial family’s downfall, accessory to the murders of imperial citizens, and more.

However, Priscilla had already committed prior offenses in Felosite before fleeing as a fugitive.

Weighing all factors, the Emperor had granted Lucian as Felosite’s lord full discretionary authority over her sentencing.

Outwardly deferential to Felosite, the Emperor undoubtedly wished to avoid directly bloodying his own hands. Because he had always deferred rulings and punishments onto others in such manner.

“What would you have preferred?”

Lucian’s crimson eyes glinted intensely as they studied me.

“Well…”

Priscilla’s anguished outcry from several nights prior resurfaced vividly:

-You have everything I ever desired, so why?! Why can I never achieve anything?!

From that moment she had cursed me with the Ivesernense, until now…

Perhaps I had inadvertently stoked Priscilla’s resentful desires:

Her yearning for the Felosite Duchess title, her covetous obsession over what I had stripped from her grasp.

Could my arrival in Felosite have diverged her path from the original storyline?

“I wonder, if I had never come to Felosite, would her fate have differed?”

“Such fates don’t exist.”

Lucian answered without the slightest hesitation.

“But how can you be certain? Perhaps my intervention altered the original storyline…”

“No, there was never any possibility where I didn’t bring you to Felosite.”

Taken aback, I gaped at him in astonishment.

“You can speak so brazenly about such matters now?”

“Brazenly… no, not quite.”

Upon closer inspection, a telltale flush had crept from Lucian’s ears down his neck, even beneath his cuffed shirtsleeves.

Grasping his wrist, I closed my eyes and summoned my Ability’s energies.

Enveloping him in a refreshing whirl of cooling breezes, his feverishly reddened skin gradually subsided to its normal pallor.

The gentle winds caressed his silvery tresses as Lucian graced me with a tender smile I had never witnessed before.

“Thank you, Rena.”

Softer and warmer than any of his previous subtle smirks, more akin to his late father’s warmhearted expressions.

Just like his father did.

* * *

We arrived at the Felosite palace grounds well into the nighttime hours.

Having to transfer Priscilla into custody first before returning, the late hour explained the eerie stillness pervading the palace.

“That’s strange. Where have all the sentries gone?”

None of the butlers like Delgado who normally welcomed us promptly, nor any other servants in sight.

“Remain in the carriage a moment. I’ll survey the situation.”

My heart pounded anxiously.

‘Surely nothing grave has befallen my family here?’

Grandfather-in-law, Grandmother-in-law, Sylonne, Jonathan and the Kenoch Count’s couple – they had all been residing within the palace.

Could Liam have launched an attack on Felosite itself this time?

No, even so, the state-of-the-art fortifications and magic barriers surrounding Felosite should have proven impregnable against Liam’s assault.

“Your Highness!”

Someone flung the carriage door open – Gebino Augusto, in a disheveled state with bloodstains streaking his white knightly attire.

“Sir Gebino, what in heavens has happened here?!”

“You must get off quickly! We need to conceal you immediately!”

Propelled by his urgent grasp, I hastily descended from the carriage.

“Wait, what of His Highness the Archduke?!”

“Upon His Highness’s direct orders – to protect Your Highness at all costs! We must depart forthwith!”

And so Gebino ushered me towards the banquet hall at a frantic pace.

“But why here…?”

“The hall offers the most secure sanctuary for now. Quickly, inside!”

I hurried through the dimly lit hall’s entrance as he bade.

“So what now…”

At that moment, the hall’s grand chandelier blazed to radiant life.

“Happy birthday!”

Where the cavernous space had seemed deserted moments before, a crowd suddenly materialized before me.

All bearing gifts large and small in their upraised hands.

“My… birthday…?”

“Oh dear, you didn’t even realize it was your own birthday, did you, new sister?”

Sylonne appeared with a beaming grin, ushering me into the hall’s center.

“Our lady of honor has arrived, everyone!”

Three long tables laden with lavish culinary delicacies lined the hall’s interior.

And presiding regally amid them all – an eight-tier, towering strawberry cream confection of glorious splendor.

“A cake specially commissioned to commemorate the natal day of our Princess – no, our Crown Princess! Felicitations, Your Highness!”

“Our dearest daughter! You simply must accompany this old mother on a shopping excursion this time. Let’s go gown hunting straight away!”

Even Lucian joined in the barrage of well-wishing gift offerings, albeit shyly:

“Name your heart’s desire – anything you want is yours.”

“Everyone, you tricked me! I was so startled!”

“Apologies, Your Highness. The Captain… issued strict directives…”

Gebino hung his head sheepishly, attire still stained with bloodied smears.

“You all had me completely fooled! Thank you so much. Since we’re all together, let’s enjoy the festivities!”

Surrounded by my most cherished loved ones, savoring delectable feasts while swapping stories – sheer blissful euphoria.

Yet that heartwarming idyll proved short-lived:

“Your Highness!”

A cloaked knight burst through the hall’s entrance in urgent haste.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Panting heavily, he knelt before Lucian to deliver his report:

“Grave news from Baron Donovan’s estate, Your Highness. A massive explosion struck last night – believed to be Lady Beatrice Donovan’s doing.”