The Enemy of an Enemy is a Friend

"It's wonderful to see you again, Countess Bianca. It's been a while. Is your granddaughter well?"

"Yes, she's a very healthy baby. Thank you for asking, Lady Kalina." Countess Bianca's eyes wrinkled with a genuine smile. She had become quite fond of the eloquent girl who always spoke politely and studied diligently.

Countess Bianca was temporarily living on the Ephraims' land in order to teach Kalina. She had recently gone back to her family estate for a few months to help her daughter give birth. Now she had returned to continue her lessons.

"Are you familiar with the imperial family, Lady Kalina?" The Countess retrieved a small stack of yellowed books with worn covers from her bag. The titles read: "The Glorious Solythaire Empire," "The History of the Greatest Empire," and "The Solythaire Empire Throughout History."

Kalina was familiar with them, alright. Especially that despicable crown prince and the lecherous emperor who spent his days indulging in carnal desire instead of governing his empire. She had even almost become their family, before Lucille schemed her death.

"I think I am. There's the emperor, Emperor Ozias Atticus Solythaire, the first prince, Prince Heinrich Wienthid Solythaire, and the empress..." Kalina's voice trailed off when she got to the Empress. The Empress hadn't been seen in public for decades and it was well known that the Emperor didn't have a good relationship with her. In the past, she never showed her face even after the Emperor died.

Some speculated that the empress had already died in a some cold corner of the palace.

"Empress Juniper Cortbell Solythaire." Countess Bianca said with a wistful look. She had taught Empress Juniper since she was just over twenty. She would never forget such a bright pupil. Looking at Kalina, the Countess could see traces of the Empress in her.

The Empress had married into the Solythaire Empire from a foreign kingdom that rivaled the Empire in size and power at the time. She was her country's treasured youngest princess and had been doted on her entire life by everyone around her.

Shortly after coming to the Empire, she had fallen in love with the handsome crown prince, putting all her effort into becoming an empress worthy of standing by his side.

Little did she know, that charming prince would actually turn into a promiscuous womanizer right before her eyes. He would spend his days drinking expensive liquor and sleep with a different woman each night.

It was horrifying for a young princess who had never endured hardship.

Her home country caught wind of the prince's unruly behavior and demanded for the engagement to be cancelled. How could they tolerate their cherished princess being tossed aside like she was nothing?

Just as the king had finished writing the letter calling for the cancellation of his daughter's engagement, a civil war broke out. For months, a rebel group who wanted to claim the throne for themselves ransacked the country, slaughtering the royal family. All that was left was the youngest princess, safe in a faraway empire.

The rebel group was finished off by a group of royal knights that had managed to survive–but they all perished from injuries soon after.

With that, the kingdom fell, and the land was quickly snatched up by the neighboring countries–the Empire included. The Empress was now alone in a foreign country with no power to back her up, her family all dead.

She sought the comfort of the prince, but he refused to see her. The servants in her palace began to look down on her, and even her friends turned away from her. All she had left was her teacher, Countess Bianca, who stayed with her through everything.

"I've heard that the Empress was an unrivaled beauty that could be compared to a fairy's," Kalina said after hearing the Countess's story. "Why did the Emperor despise her so much if he adored beautiful women?"

"In the Empress's home country, dark eyes and hair were the norm. In fact, the darker their hair and eyes, the more attractive they were considered. Empress Juniper was born with exceptionally dark hair and eyes. Some even called her a goddess of the night. All the citizens loved her very much.

"However, here in the Empire, light colored hair and eyes are considered beautiful–such as your own, Lady Kalina. Dark eyes and hair are considered unpleasant and some even believe that they are cursed. The Emperor is one of them."

Kalina was dumbfounded. "Then why'd he keep her as Empress?"

"The answer is simple. It is because she excels at her job. She manages all the palace's internal affairs, since the Emperor is too busy living his hedonistic life. He needs someone to do the work that he won't do."

Kalina nodded silently, lost in thought. She remembered that the crown prince had flame-red hair and mahogany colored eyes. He resembled the emperor greatly, and thus he enjoyed the status of the crown prince from a young age.

"The first prince isn't the Empress's child, right?"

"No, he is not. He is the child of the Imperial Consort, Marchioness Heather Burbaum."

Marchioness Burbaum did not always have a noble title. In fact, she was once the Empress's personal maid, closer to her than anyone else. However, due to her beautiful face that didn't fit her status as a maid, she caught the Emperor's attention and was forced to sleep with him.

She later became pregnant at just twenty years old. Since she was pregnant with a child of royal blood–and the firstborn, too– she was conferred the title of Imperial Consort.

Of course, it wouldn't be fitting if the heir to the throne was not born from the Empress, so there was a lot of pressure on the Empress to get pregnant.

The Emperor rarely visited her palace, so there weren't a lot of opportunities for a baby to be conceived. The Empress resorted to taking multiple fertility medicines at the same time, resulting in numerous side effects that caused her health to deteriorate over the course of two years.

Finally, after those two painful years, the Empress was pregnant at last. Since the Imperial Consort had given birth to a son, she also had to have a baby boy to protect her position. Otherwise, the first prince would undoubtedly become the heir.

To her delight, the Empress gave birth to a healthy prince. The labor made her even weaker and she was bedridden for a few years, but she was able to recover for the sake of her son.

The Emperor wasn't as pleased as she was about the birth, however. The second prince bore no resemblance to the Emperor and instead resembled the Empress in every way. Black hair, dark eyes, and delicate features. After seeing him once, the Emperor never visited him again.

The unfavored prince's name was never revealed to the public. Only his appearance was divulged, and some people even speculated that the father was not the Emperor due to his looks.

The rumors were cleared up with a quick paternity test, and everyone moved on. The Empress, seeing that her husband would throw away his own son so easily, barricaded herself in her palace out of grief. Only a few confidants were able to meet with her, and the second prince quietly grew up away from the prying eyes of the palace.

'The second prince...previously, he was betrayed by one of his most trusted aides who was a spy for Prince Heinrich. Prince Heinrich spent days gloating about killing his own brother. The poor prince only wanted to live a peaceful life. He wasn't a threat to the throne, yet he died at the hands of that brainless dog.'

Kalina leaned back on the couch. Countess Bianca had already finished her lesson and left, but Kalina couldn't get her story off her mind. The second prince's story was similar to hers in more than one way.

They were both of the noblest blood, yet they were ruthlessly killed by their siblings. They were also shunned by their fathers and never officially debuted into society. The second prince lived in the shadow of his older brother for his entire life while Kalina was pushed into the dirt by her sister.

Who wouldn't harbor hatred towards someone who ruined their entire life?

Although she had never met the second prince and knew nothing about him, one thing was for sure: she needed him as an ally in order to take down Prince Heinrich.