Chapter 3
1. Revolution
The northern Kingdom of Parozera was blanketed in pure white snow when the revolution erupted almost overnight.
Lamia Parozera, the queen of the Kingdom Parozera, was a descendant of Larre Parozera, Annerose’s beloved younger sister.
Unlike Larre, who had always cared for her people and lived frugally, Lamia was a lavish and cunning queen. The taxes she collected were poured into extravagant jewels and dressed, while the royal palace glittered with endless parties.
The moment Lamia ascended the throne, the wealth the kingdom had accumulated over generations was rapidly drained, and the people’s anger quickly caught fire like dry kindling.
It wasn’t long before word spread that enraged commoners had stormed the royal palace.
Annerose, who had abdicated the throne long ago and lived apart from the world, knew nothing of the revolution even as it unfolded. She was simply spending another ordinary day tending her roses in the greenhouse of the summer palace.
She lived quietly, away from the eyes of others, and so much time had passed that even Annerose had faded from people’s memories. Aside from the royal family and a handful of maids, more people had no idea she even existed than those who remembered her.
At the loud commotion outside that disrupted the usual quiet of the summer palace, Annerose lifted her head.
And then, the doors to the palace opened.
“…Lamia?”
“Lady Annerose!”
It was undeniably Lamia who had seized her arm.
Annerose looked at her younger sister’s descendant. She hadn’t seen her for so long, but she resembled both Annerose and her sister so closely that Lamia could have been mistaken for Annerose’s sister herself.
Annerose smiled warmly at the long-awaited visitor.
But something was wrong.
She had pulled her rose-colored hair tightly back so as not to attract attention, and the plain, dark-colored clothes she wore were hardly different from those of a commoner. She looked nothing like the queen of a kingdom.
But Annerose felt more gratitude than suspicion at Lamia having come to find her, and she welcomed her family.
“You’ve grown so much. The last time I saw you, you were still a little girl… Have you been well?”
Despite Annerose’s bright greeting, Lamia anxiously darted her green eyes from side to side.
Annerose realized that Lamia was dressed much like the maids who came and went from the royal palace. The clothes were so modest that, judging by everything Annerose had heard about Lamia’s personality, she would never have chosen to wear them. And certainly not as a queen.
“Lamia…? What happened?”
“Lady Annerose, please save me… There’s been a riot…! If I stay here, I might be killed…! The rebels have already taken the castle!”
A riot?
At Lamia’s words, Annerose stared at her with trembling eyes.
She had occasionally heard from the maids who visited the summer palace that Lamia was not a good queen. But she had never imagined that she could have incurred this much of the people’s wrath beyond the walls of the royal palace.
After all, Lamia was a descendant of Larre, a benevolent queen who was still revered to this day.
And so, Annerose had simply treated the rumors as mere gossip and turned a deaf ear to them.
Now that she herself had been completely forgotten by the people, there was nothing Annerose could do to stop Lamia’s actions. She had merely lived, quiet and powerless, in the summer palace while barely aware of the world beyond it.
From afar, she heard the sound of shattering glass. Then came the shouting. They grew closer and closer.
Since the descendant of her beloved younger sister had reached out for help, Annerose could not bring herself to refuse.
“Is… is there something I can do to help?”
“Yes…! Please change into these clothes right now! There’s no time! Hurry!”
At Lamia’s frantic gesture, the maids standing behind her opened several bags. A magnificent dress unfurled before Annerose’s eyes. Adorned with dazzling jewels and exquisite embroidery, it was beautiful enough to captivate anyone at a glance.
Annerose couldn’t hide her confusion.
Lamia ordered her attendants to hold the bewildered Annerose in place while the maids dressed her in the queen’s garments. Only then, as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, did Annerose realize something startling.
She looked exactly like Lamia.
Standing before her, Lamia smiled brightly and whispered,
“As expected, it suits you perfectly, Lady Annerose. And thank you. Since I resemble you so much, this should buy me enough time to escape.”
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