Episode 1

The trial had begun. The emperor and empress were in their respective seats while the judge at his bench reviewed the charges against the defendant. On another seat, a young woman looked fearful as a young man at her side tried to calm her. These were the crown prince and his fiancee, who had been nearly poisoned to death.

Before the judge's bench, a young woman sat with her hands tied. She was a beautiful young woman with black hair, red eyes, and fair skin. Even though she was wearing a simple dress, she didn't seem to lose her glamour. She was Alesha Von Hansen, the daughter of the great Duke Von Hansen. She was being accused of attempting to murder the prince's fiancee out of jealousy, as she had been the prince's previous fiancee. He had broken off their engagement to be with the other woman, so Alesha decided to murder her.

"Lady Alesha Von Hansen, in the name of His Majesty Emperor Carlo Werner of the Zhak Empire, you are sentenced to indefinite exile. You will be sent to the northern lands where your parents will not be able to visit and will only be allowed to send what is necessary for your needs." The judge struck his gavel on the bench.

"What? This is outrageous! She tried to kill my fiancee, the crown princess. Her sentence can't be so minimal," the prince protested.

The young woman by his side covered her face, crying at the injustice. Alesha, however, seemed calm.

"Your Highness, if my daughter is sentenced to death, forget about our family's continued support of the country. I remind you that all this is due to your lack of honor. Be thankful that I haven't retaliated after you broke your engagement with my daughter," warned the grand duke.

"But..."

"Silence, Prince. The decision has been made. Lady Lange will no longer be in danger, and the grand duke is right. Be grateful that we are not enemies with his family," the empress scolded him.

The prince clenched his fists as he sat down, feeling powerless to do anything against Alesha after she had nearly killed his beloved Delia. With the sentence pronounced, the trial was adjourned. Alesha was taken away by the palace guards, but the grand duke and his escorts went as well, as he had been allowed to accompany his daughter to her destination. As she walked through the palace corridors, Alesha kept her head held high and her face serene, as if she didn't care what had just happened. Before she got into the carriage, the prince's fiancee reached her.

"Lady Von Hansen, I apologize. I know all this is because of me, and I forgive you for what you did. I hope that now that I'm still alive, you can learn to live without resentment."

"You forgive me? As if that would do me any good. Don't try to have a clear conscience when you were just the fox who got involved with another's fiance. Whether he loved me or not, you had no right," she replied seriously.

The girl stood there speechless as Alesha climbed into the carriage accompanied by her father. Delia stood there watching the carriage drive away. Even at the last moment, Alesha showed no remorse for her actions. The prince quickly reached her.

"Lady Delia, are you alright? Did she do anything to you?" he asked worriedly.

"No, she just said goodbye," Delia answered.

Later that night, Delia was at home when her maid told her that someone was looking for her. When she came down, she found an attractive young man. His name was Ritter Escalante, Delia's childhood friend. He was handsome, with albino hair, light eyes, and a toned body from his training. Although he wore glasses, they didn't detract from his physical attractiveness.

"Lady Lange, I've come to tell you that I'm leaving the capital for a while."

"Why? The wedding is soon. I wanted you to walk me down the aisle," she said sadly.

Delia's father had fallen ill recently, just when he learned that his daughter had been poisoned, and her grandfather was an old man bedridden. So the only friend she had was the one she wanted to walk her down the aisle.

"I'm sorry, but my duty can't wait. Besides, don't you think that's a cruel thing to ask of me? Before the prince, I was your fiance..."

"I know, but we've been friends, and we didn't love each other. It was just an arranged engagement," Delia replied.

"That's how it was, but I loved you. I told you so. I'm sorry, but I can't accept your request. That's why I accepted the mission."

"But...it's not fair. I was counting on you. Please, for our friendship..."

"Lady Lange, our friendship ended when you decided to break our engagement and break the prince's engagement," he said seriously.

"I know it wasn't right, but we love each other...You can't force us to be with people we don't love..."

"Then you can't force me to walk you down the aisle. For once, put your selfishness aside. I'm leaving, and when I return, forget that I once loved you and was your friend."

With that, Ritter bowed and left the room. Delia stood in silence. It was the first time Ritter had spoken so harshly to her.

****

Alesha had traveled for a week to reach the northern county. This territory belonged to her mother's family, but she couldn't take care of it, so she had entrusted it to the family's trusted steward. It was a large territory, but it was close to the dark territory, the place where demons lived. While they kept to themselves, that didn't mean there weren't rebels who wanted to cause trouble. But for that, there was the empire's special guard, and of course, the Von Hansens had a lot to do with that.

As she got out of the carriage, she was greeted with hugs and kisses from a beautiful woman. It was her mother, who was crying tears of joy to see her daughter well.

"Thank you, darling...I knew our daughter would be fine," she said gratefully to her husband.

"The emperor knows what's good for them. But, the fact remains that the real culprit is still free." The grand duke looked annoyed.

"Don't worry, Father, Mother. The real killer will come to light, and they will realize that I am innocent." Alesha seemed calm.

"That's right. When they come to beg forgiveness, there will be none," the duchess assured her.

The grand duke tried to calm her and suggested they go inside. They should have dinner together, because the next day they had to leave. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay with their daughter. But at least they knew she would be safe. She wasn't weak, and she would have the best guards at her disposal. After the family dinner, Alesha was finally alone in her room. She looked out the window in the direction of the empire that had turned its back on her. Everything had gone according to plan, with one big difference: Alesha was supposed to die when they discovered that she had tried to poison the sweet protagonist.

But now, she wasn't the real Alesha, at least not in soul. From the day she arrived in this world, she had let everything run its course, from the protagonists falling in love to harassing the sweet Delia so that her lovers would protect her. However, she hadn't poisoned her. It seemed that someone else wanted to try and blame her, which didn't go according to plan, because she wasn't executed. The mystery remained of who did it and how no one was interested in investigating, because everyone there should know that she wasn't stupid enough to leave evidence in plain sight. Alesha raised her hand, showing her palm.

"Well, now to wait for the right moment, and then I will crush them all." She closed her hand, clenching her fist tightly as a malicious smile spread across her face.

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