I remember music.

It used to fill the entire second floor with beautiful melodies. The pieces my mother would play on the piano used to be so happy as the sound weaved its way to my bedroom. I remember jumping out of my bed and running toward the music room only in my nightgown. It wasn’t something a lady of noble birth such as myself should do. If my tutors saw me run around the mansion like that, they will surely faint.

I remember peeking into the music room and seeing my mother sit on the piano stool with her eyes closed as her hands moved gracefully across the keys leaving behind majestic tunes suspended in the air. My father would nod his head to the music as he lifts up a teacup to his lips.

My brother would appear behind me, putting both his hands on my shoulder as he flashes me a smile. I remember making a small yelp that caught the attention of both my parents. Father would walk toward me with his hands outstretched. I remember him saying the words “May I have this dance, little princess?”

I remember laughing at him before I place a small hand on his large ones. I would stand on his toes as he glides me around the room with my mother still playing in the background. She would look at us adoringly and nod to my brother. He would sit next to her and they would perform a piece together.

When I remember those happy moments, it makes me want to turn back time and live in those moments again. But I know, more than anyone else in the entire Empire, that those moments will forever me buried in my memories. The once happy memories have now turned into something bittersweet.

The dream I had last night felt awfully real. My brother’s bony hand and his touch on my face—I can still feel them all. It was as if the things that happened in my dream were all true.

I woke up sweaty that night. My hair was stuck on my skin as sweat trickles down the back of my neck. I never had a dream such as that one before. My brother’s distorted voice and his pleads. His anger and resentment towards the Seventh Prince, turned Emperor.

I made a promise with him that night and I intend to abide by that.

Marie walks into the study with a tray full of cookies and a pot full of tea. A bright smile graces her lips as she sees me across the room. “Good Morning, my lady,” she says quite delightfully.

“Good morning, Marie.” I respond dryly.

“You are up quite earlier than usual.” She opens up a topic. Usually, nosy maids like her would have been sent to the cellar for walloping and punishment, but Marie was an exception.

I smile at her. “I had a very uncomfortable night.”

“Oh dear! Was it the fireplace? Or did the maids possibly did not do your bed well?” She asks, concern was evident in her voice.

I shake my head at her and chuckle. “Everything was alright, Marie. I simply had a nightmare. It’s no big deal.”

“Should I get you some interesting books to read before you go to bed, my lady?”

“You don’t have to bother with such trivial things, Marie.”

“But—”

“If you’d be such a dear…I would like to be alone for a while.”

Marie pauses for a moment before she dips her head into a bow. “I shall take my leave.”

I watch as she turns her back and heads for the door after she places the tray on the table. “Ah, right…”

She turns back to look at me in confusion. I give her a smile and glance at the papers on my desk. “Please tell Coleberg to call for Lord Adelard,” I pause. “Tell him I need him right away.”

“Right away, my lady.” She says before she closes the door behind her.

If my brother really did ask for that favour from me last night—no—no matter if it was my brother or if were my own feelings, I would also want revenge. The Seventh Prince is someone who I cannot swear loyalty to. Not when he was the man who killed my older brother.

My mind wanders to the dream last night.

The picture of my very own brother pitifully pleading for me to get revenge. He asked me to avenge him—to kill the person he hated the most. The person who the entire Empire despises, their ruler, the Emperor.

I wonder what he’s like. I never met him even when I went into the capital with my brother and my mother. He was someone who was very hard to meet and information about him is not easily obtained. Something tugs at my heartstrings. It was a familiar feeling—something I know all too well but at the same time, something very foreign to me.

The tug was faint, just enough to let me know it was there. And after a few moments, it disappears. My heart suddenly feels empty. It was like I lost something very important to me and all I’m left is an ugly hole etched inside. I try to find it again, but it wasn’t there. I wonder what that was.

After wallowing in my thoughts for a good while, three knocks came and then the clicking open of the study door. I drag my eyes to the direction of the door, and saw Osric Adelard step into the room. “I heard you called for me, my lady.”

“Ah, yes I did. Sit down. Let’s have a chat,” I say to him and make my way to the chesterfield. He follows me soon after and sits down opposite from me.

“You can speak comfortably, Brother Osric. It is quite uncomfortable for me to call you Lord when we’re alone.”

“Then I shall do that, Nerisia.”

I sit there in silence and pick up a teacup. The strong aroma of an unknown tea Marie had given me aimed straight to my nostrils. It was rather pleasant. “You know, I have always been wondering…” I pause and glance at him. He had a charming smile on his face. He would have been popular with the ladies in the capital if he hadn’t come back to help manage the entire Circe territory.

“What is it?” he asks.

“You are at the right age for marriage. Why haven’t you settled down yet?”

I watch him carefully as he falters. He looked like he was caught off-guard. Well, I would be too if someone I knew since young asks me that question out of nowhere. Osric looks at me with a frown and gently places the teacup he was holding the on the table. “I made a promise to your brother.”

I hum. His response was nothing like I had expected. but the loyalty he has toward my brother is a good sign. He studies me like a hawk and crosses his arms. “Nerisia,”

I glance up at him. “This is not what you called me here for,” he says.

Oh, he’s quite quick-witted.

My lips curl up into a smile. “You are right, brother Osric. I did not call you here for idle chat.”

“I know you don’t like beating around the bush. I’ve watched you grow up, Nerisia. Tell me the real reason why you called me here.”

“This is about the temporary head,” I say. When I mentioned the position to him, his expression turned from curiosity to a frown. By now, he must have caught on to the fact that I have made a decision. Something that would make the other vassals hate me. But I do not care whether they hate me or not. Their opinions and how they feel about me is none of my concern.

“Have you finally made up your mind?”

I nod.

“…What is it?”

“I agree—”

“What?! Are you out of your mind, Nerisia?” He opposes. He looked shocked and perplexed at my final decision. If I were in his position too, I would also have the same reaction as him. After all, it was uncalled for—having someone without the Circe blood manage and take control of the territory and the mansion. If the seal goes to the wrong person, it could lead to the ruination of the entire Circe bloodline.

However, no matter what he says to persuade me otherwise, my decision will remain final. “You know very well that your decision could be a risk to the entire Circe Household!”

Yes. “I know very well of that fact, yes.”

“Then why?”

I purse my lips and stare at him. “Management of the house or the territory is not my first priority, brother Osric.”

“…What?”

I stand up and pace around the room. “My brother was wrongfully killed by the man you worship as emperor. I cannot stand by and tolerate such injustice.”

Osric stays silent for a moment. He was probably shocked—I would be too. An eighteen-year-old noble girl like me was talking about revenge against the most powerful man in the empire. Of course, nobody would expect something like that.

“Are…you saying that you’re going to betray the emperor?”

I do not answer. It was a question that had a very obvious answer. Osric Adelard is a smart man. He would not need any verbal confirmation about my plans. “You could die for that,” he pauses. “Do you know what kind of man the Seventh Prince is?”

“The rumours say it all.”

“And yet you’re planning on revenge anyway?!”

I walk toward my desk and open a drawer. I stare at the bracelet I had found earlier this morning and hold it in my hand. It was a golden bracelet with a hummingbird as a pendant—the last remaining memento my brother ever gave to me. It was a present he had given me during my fifteenth birthday.

“I will not rest until I see to it that my brother’s murderer suffers the same way my brother made him suffer.” I say through gritted teeth. Osric heaves a sigh and runs a hand through his hair.

“The path you’re going to walk will not be easy.”

“I know that.”

“You will have many enemies among the seventh prince’s supporters.”

“I already have a handful of enemies, brother Osric.”

He sighs. “You will die if you will be found out.”

“…I am willing to die if it means I’ll get justice for my brother’s death.”

“Nerisia, please think this through.” He pleads. He places both his hands on my shoulders and gives me a gentle shake. But I shake my head—I have made a decision and I will not back down. “If I say I will kill him no matter what even if it means tainting my hands with blood…will you help me?”

“You are going to get killed with me if you cooperate.”

“It is my duty to protect you—that is one of my promises with your brother.”

“Are you really sure you want to do this?”

Osric hesitates for a moment but his eyes burned in anger as he stares at me. “My life is nothing more than a speck of dust compared to yours, Nerisia. Just know that I will do anything in my power to help you.”

My lips curl up into a satisfied smile. He was helping me with my revenge against the Seventh Prince. This is only the start of my revenge. “But, if you really want to kill the Seventh prince,” he pauses. “There is only one group of people you can ally with. Just like you, they want the seventh prince dead.”

Oh? How interesting. I already knew that there were people who despised the seventh prince and I knew that there were a few of them as well. But I never knew that Osric would know who they are. “Who are they?” Osric turns his attention to me and sighs.

“The Stygian Society.”