Chapter 7
“Lady Annerose, here is today’s outfit.”
Some time after sunrise, the servants would enter the greenhouse without a sound and line up neatly to tend to Annerose.
These peculiar servants, dressed in maid uniforms and wearing masks, would touch Annerose’s body each day to check her health before dressing her.
The clothes were so thin that in the Kingdom of Parozera, they would practically have been considered sleepwear, with her pale, naked body clearly visible beneath the fabric. But Annerose liked them precisely because their lightness allowed her to move freely.
After making herself presentable, Annerose watched the servants disappear silently beyond the greenhouse. Even their footsteps were remarkably light. They were clearly specially hired attendants, rather than ordinary maids from noble households.
‘They said not just anyone is allowed to enter this place, so those people must not be ordinary servants either. Knowing that people like them are guarding this place does make me feel safer, but…’
“…Is staying here really the right choice?”
The words escaped her before she realized she had spoken aloud. Perhaps it was because the anxiety weighing on her had become too much to contain.
She thought about her situation. Even without pretending to be Lamia, she had no choice but to live as though she were already dead.
And in the Costeria Empire, where magic was deeply feared, immortals were regarded as deeply ominous beings. Because of that, Annerose had to be careful with her every move.
She knew that even if she left this greenhouse, even if she left this garden, there was nowhere else for her to go.
And so this beautiful prison felt strangely comforting.
Here, she didn’t have to force herself to pretend to be Lamia, nor did she have to fear a miserable death.
Annerose looked toward the open greenhouse doors.
The small greenhouse had been built deep within the Rose Garden, the imperial family’s hidden garden. It was so quiet that she could barely hear anything beyond the songs of birds and the faint chirping of insects.
She wanted to savor the comfort of this greenhouse and hoped that the time she had here would pass slowly.
‘There are so many roses here, and I don’t have to meet anyone. I don’t have to worry about the outside world…’
Forcing a faint smile, she wandered through the greenhouse, now bright with sunlight. Then she began tending the roses she had planted not long ago, reminding herself once again of who she truly was.
Long ago, Annerose Parozera had been the queen who ruled the Kingdom of Parozera.
Annerose had certainly been a remarkable member of the royal family. Noble blood, graceful manners, a bold and lively personality, and a captivating charm.
She might not have been quite worthy of being called a “benevolent queen,” but she had fulfilled her duties to the very end before willingly stepping down from the throne.
For that reason, the historical accounts left behind by scholars held a fairly favorable view of Annerose.
But the records from several centuries ago never told the darker story of her life.
After executing the crown prince of an enemy kingdom, who had secretly been her lover, Annerose passed the throne to her younger sister, Larre, and shut herself away in the most secluded corner of the royal palace.
The terrible memories that began on the day she killed her lover tormented her every day.
As the years passed, her bold and lively personality gradually withered into timidity. One by one, even the few people she could speak to passed away, until she was left completely alone.
Yet Annerose never resented the immortality her lover had given her. It allowed her to witness more changes of the seasons than anyone else, and to grow more flowers than anyone else ever could.
An immortal body was a blessing. She would not die even if she didn’t eat or sleep.
But perhaps nothing was ever perfect.
The lover who had given her immortality had once told her,
“Annerose, even though you’re immortal, my magic is incomplete. If your head is severed and your body is burned afterward, your physical form will die. But as long as you don’t die that way, you’ll be able to live forever. You won’t age, either.”
“So even immortality can be defeated. I wonder what happens after death.”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure myself. I’ve never died before. This is my first time.”
Though her immortality was incomplete, Annerose still had a way to continue living while escaping from reality.
All she had to do was live hidden from everyone’s eyes.
But little by little, she was reaching the limits of what her mind could endure.
Just as she was beginning to fear living without any sense of direction, the revolution that swept through Parozera and her reunion with Iver shattered the quiet, ordinary life Annerose had built for herself.
The Costeria Empire, where Annerose had fled, had been built upon the ruins of the Macaras royal family, a dynasty of mages that had ruled for generations.
In Costeria, magic was considered ominous, which meant Annerose’s very existence — an immortal being created through magic — was something that had to be kept hidden.
To make matters worse, she was now inside the imperial palace of an enemy nation. The mere fact that Iver, the Crown Prince, had hidden Annerose there could be considered an act of high treason.
And yet, her life was far too peaceful to be called that of a “hostage.”
The contradiction made Annerose’s heart ache with unease.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.