"Princess Alicia! The king is seeking you. He requested your immediate presence," said Teresa, one of the few staff members I had in the castle, with a mix of excitement and concern. This was to be expected since my dear father had never called for me before. It couldn't be good news.

"Right now? What's going on? Wait! Why are you dragging me?" I asked Teresa as I noticed two unfamiliar servants forcefully taking me with them.

"You'll find out when you get there. Today is a joyful day!" The unfamiliar servant replied. A joyful day? If that's the case, why am I being taken by force and they are avoiding my gaze?

"Good news, my dear daughter. Your husband has been chosen," said my father, the king, with tears in his eyes, as soon as I was brought before him by the two servants.

"First things first... It's the first time I'm meeting you, father. You know that, right?" His sudden interest in me after so many years; I didn't even need to ask why—I'm sure I'm being sold to a wealthy nobleman. The tears must be tears of joy from the money he got by selling his bastard daughter.

"Daughter! Be happy! The marriage proposal is from Emperor Icarus Brown! Isn't that wonderful?" The king said with a smile. It seemed like a terribly bad joke, but the emperor so soon?

"What? Emperor Brown? Clearly, I am nowhere near the perfect candidate for the role of empress. It doesn't make any sense!" I shrieked in horror!

"You're so excited you screamed. I understand your enthusiasm. Not everyone has the honor of being an empress," the king completely misunderstood my cry of despair.

"No, no. Hold on. You've got it all wrong. How could I be happy about this absurd situation?" How did I end up in this predicament?

Icarus Brown became emperor at 16. As a gift for his ascendancy to the throne, he hung his relatives' heads at the palace gates. He's the maddest person in the entire empire, dubbed the tyrant emperor. There are various rumors about him. I remember a story from the time of his coronation; someone tried to stop him from annihilating his family. They ended up having to choose between taking incredibly painful poison or killing their own child. Seriously? This tyrant sent me a marriage proposal? Since I had to be sold anyway, I was hoping to be sold to a handsome duke from the north, because I am extremely beautiful! Could it be why the emperor chose me? It would make some sense. Even the tyrant fell for my charms?

"The marriage was decided by lottery," the king said, shattering all my illusions. "Apparently, he had no intent to marry, but was under pressure. Many want him and his lineage dead. Thus, to maintain the throne, he asked for a healthy bride to be sent. And here you are! How fortunate for us, right?"

"Have you lost your mind? Are you even human? What kind of father sends his daughter straight to death?" I couldn't believe it; the man who had never even cared to see his daughter with his own eyes, now remembered her only to send her directly to hell. Clearly, I would be killed, so there was no care in the choice of the empress candidate; I'm just a sacrifice.

"Watch your language. It's the emperor's will. It must be respected above all else," the king warned me. I wanted to throttle him. What kind of father is so indifferent to his daughter?

"Really? You think I'm concerned about that? To hell with the emperor!" This is about my life, or rather, my death.

"I'm delighted to learn that such an energetic daughter is being sent to the emperor. What are you doing, take the princess. She's so eager to go," the king said, looking at the staff watching us.

"Hello? Are you senile? When have I ever been treated like a princess here?" I yelled indignantly.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Henry. It's a pity this will be the last time," said Henry, my older brother whom I knew only from paintings.

"I'll remember you, Alice? No, Alicia, right? Your sacrifice will not be in vain. We'll honor your death," my sister said, feigning tears.

"I promise we'll collect your corpse properly," my second brother said with a broad smile.

"Do you even know me? What are these words to your younger sister you've just met? What kind of reputation is this? Then again, what did I expect. I've lived years here and none have even come to know me," I questioned. This is ridiculous. Whatever. I don't care. I showed my middle finger to them and left the room.

My story begins when my father got very drunk and slept with a maid. As a result, the sole illegitimate daughter of the king of the north, me, was born. With golden hair, like strands of gold, and eyes green as emeralds, traits of the royal family, my mother was killed in front of me at the age of nine, and I was dragged to an isolated castle. Upon arrival, it was made clear that I was the illegitimate daughter with only two uses: political marriage or to be sold for good money. Which, in the end, is the same thing. I won't lie; I thought it would be good to marry a handsome duke from the north. If I was to be sold, at least let it be to a beautiful buyer.

"Princess! Congratulations on your marriage. May you live a long and happy life," the teacher cried as she said goodbye to me.

"Princess Alicia, you'll always live in our hearts," Teresa said as she hugged me tightly. "I swear I'll never forget you."

"I'm not dead yet," I shouted.

As they wept for my death before me (though I was quite alive), I found myself reflecting on that white castle where I had been living, the delicate lace adorning the bridal veil I wore, that white and silken gown that seemed as though it might slip off my body at any moment. I was radiant in that attire. Spinning in front of the mirror, I was taken aback by my own beauty. What a waste to be killed. Some women truly dream of this moment from a young age. Perhaps this really is the happiest day of my life. Today, for the first time, I was cared for like a true princess, although being one, I was treated more like a VIP prisoner, but it's a bit tough to enjoy thoroughly, knowing that soon I will die.

When it was time to leave, none of my family came to bid farewell. Only a few employees and onlookers watched my departure. At that moment, the entire empire was speculating how long the new empress would survive in the hands of that madman. I'd heard quite a bit about the tyrant emperor, even while imprisoned in the castle with restricted information. Nevertheless, I still picked up whispers about him. He's quite famous. Usually, it was about the number of people he'd killed or what he'd destroyed. Delightful husband-to-be!

The whole journey to the palace, inside that extremely luxurious carriage, I pondered how I would like to end my life. A death both grandiose and outrageous seemed fitting for me.

"Princess Alicia, we have arrived at the palace!" one of the employees said, opening the door of the beautiful carriage that had brought me.

The palace was immense, as expected. There were many people waiting for me outside, but I could hear their murmurs. A massive red carpet stretched from the carriage, up the stairs, and to the entrance of the castle. I must admit, it's an extravagant way to die. At least, my death will never be forgotten. They confined me an entire lifetime in an isolated castle to hide my existence, everyone pretending I didn't exist. In the end, when they remembered I did, it was for their own pleasure. They sent me away as a sacrifice, so they all could live comfortably and happy. I can't judge him. If I had the choice, I'd do the same. I'd send them all to be sacrificed and live in utter luxury, completely carefree.

"Princess Alicia, the emperor awaits you. Could you please follow me?" an employee said, extending his hand but avoiding my gaze. As I rose from the carriage seat, I saw that everyone outside was there to glimpse the empress for the last time. I should put on a show for them, shouldn't I? If my fate is already sealed, why should I follow any orders?

"I don't want to," I said, settling back into the carriage and crossing my arms. I felt like a child throwing a tantrum, but it was quite entertaining. I, who had never been allowed to say no, only to agree with everything uncritically. Saying no was liberating. And the looks on everyone's faces were priceless.

"Pardon? I believe I didn't quite catch what the princess said. Could you repeat that?" The employee looked at me, completely befuddled by my reaction. Had no one ever been mad enough to defy an order from the emperor? By the way they looked at me, it seemed not. I was making history here.

"I said I will not be accompanying you," I reiterated. If I'm going to die anyway, I shall do something outrageous and fun before death can claim me. I'll be remembered as the mad empress, which is totally in keeping with the tyrant emperor, right? "If the emperor does not come to fetch me here, I won't leave this carriage. Inform him. I won't move from here; only he can remove me. Come on, hurry. Inform him. I don't want to wait too long. Oh, and that's not all. I have other conditions."

I must admit that the desire to go mad is not new to me. Since childhood, largely due to the boredom of that empty castle, now and then I would do something to make everyone think I'd lost it. I would wear summer clothes in winter and vice versa. I turned the direction signs around. I'd eat only one bite of everything on the table and finish nothing. It was amusing to see everyone's reactions to the unexpected behavior. On reflection, perhaps I really did go mad in those years trapped in an isolated castle.

The buzz grew even louder after I spoke. I wanted to laugh at the spectacle. Everyone was talking about me without the slightest concern that they were in my presence.

"Did they send a mad princess?" someone in the crowd said.

"What madness! Does she have no clue? How can she demand such a thing of the emperor?" Another was saying.

"Dear God, another soul will be received by you," a man said, clasping his hands and looking up to the sky. At least someone is already praying for my soul.

"She won't even last until the ceremony." They were all quite thrilled with the prospect of my death.

"Look what she's doing with her own bouquet of flowers. She definitely has a screw loose." Someone pointed at me. I wanted to laugh even more. I wasn't playing with the bouquet; I was counting the petals, petal by petal, to determine if my head would fall to the right or left when it was chopped off. Sorry, heart, mouth, and brain are in collapse. They're just doing what they want. Could it be a family inheritance? The only thing my mother left me? Some kind of curse? Unlucky in love?

"Whatever. I don't want this inheritance. Instead of living waiting for death, I will scream with all my strength and die. At least I'll give him a good headache. Yes. That's the plan. Let's leave the emperor deaf," I decided when the petal count informed me that my head would fall to the left. Good. My right side is my better one.

While I was examining in the mirror how my head would fall after being cut, my message with the demands was being relayed to the Emperor.

"What did you just say?" Heitor, the emperor's adviser, said in disbelief after hearing my request, which, let's admit, wasn't that outrageous. It's the bare minimum!

"I had the same reaction when I heard, but it is exactly as I said. Princess Alicia stated that she will only leave the carriage if carried in the emperor's arms and..." The man broke out in a cold sweat, wondering if his soul would be harvested along with mine that day.

"And..." the emperor was solemn. Everyone had already given up on my soul. Not that they really cared about it at any point.

"Wait a second. I've written everything down. The princess demanded to be carried in the emperor's arms to the cathedral. All the flowers must be replaced with sunflowers. Any servants that cross her path must clap and shout. And the emperor must wear a pink item in his attire. These are all customs from my hometown and..." The man reading from the paper trembled, lacking the courage to look at the emperor.

"Is this princess completely insane? Is she begging for death? Can we do her this favor, if that's what she wishes? Does she have any idea to whom she's making these demands?" One of the advisers said, annoyed.

"No matter the customs of the north, she's in the south now; she should follow local customs. Why on earth should we adopt her customs?" another adviser shouted.

"Regarding that... The princess added, 'I've traveled a long way to get here, and I believe that if even this small thing cannot be granted, it's because the emperor's heart is too small for me.' That's what the princess said," the man barely managed to stop trembling as he read the paper with the notes of the message. The emperor cracked a sinister smile, bringing the whole room into complete silence, some already pondering how they would send my body parts back to my family.

"So that's it... Does the north really have these customs?" the emperor said, rising to his feet.

"Emperor! This isn't important. Who cares about the customs of that place? They had the audacity to send a madwoman to you. Are they clamoring for war? Let's erase that place off the map," the adviser spoke, even though he was in shock.

"I recall you telling me we could only have three wars a year; this would be the fourth," the emperor joked.

"Taking everything into consideration, it's fine to have a fourth war this year, an exception," the adviser agreed.

"Yes, in that case, let's wipe the northern duchy off the map next month, get ready," the emperor said as he headed for the door.

"Your Majesty, where are you going?" His adviser shouted.

"Where, you ask? I, the husband with a huge heart, will fulfill the insane wishes of my mad wife," the emperor smiled ominously, giving everyone the chills.