Chapter 1: A Fall From Grace

"Kaahhhhh"

"Lady Li-"

"Delilah! Watch out!"

Thud

Thud

Thud

...

The near-endless sounds of a body slamming on every other step echoed through the empty halls; the silence that followed was deafening. At the bottom of the grand staircase lay a young, slender girl who couldn't be more than 18 years old.

Her beautifully long, light steel blue hair scattered around her, soaked in the blood that flowed from her head. Soft purple eyes hazily looked towards the top of the stairs where she once stood; half-closed eyelids gave her an almost pitiful expression.

Is this it? Is this how her life ends?

It was laughable. She merely wanted to protect the Baron's naive daughter; to warn Delilah Tinselmu to stay away from her fiance. Delilah is so much smaller than herself. Her blond hair glistened like the morning sun, while her eyes sparkled like the midday sky. Her beautiful looks, combined with her kind and meek manner, made her seem like she was a saintess bestowed upon the kingdom by the Sun God himself.

It was only a matter of time until the Crown Prince fell in love with her, even if he was bound to marry the Count's daughter from birth. After the Great Continental War, the marriage was established as a result of Countess Bennerita leading the fight and winning the war, but at the cost of her life. To show how grateful the King and Queen were, instead of a new title, money, or land, had promised their firstborn's hand in marriage. That promise allowed the Countess' remaining family to be well protected and gain peerage while also keeping them in check.

However, the Crown Prince, Jacek Viserse, didn't love the Count's daughter, Lilac Bennerita. At first, it didn't bother her, as she was only a baby when it was first announced, and it just became something like common sense to her. However, the more she grew, the more she knew she wasn't too fond of Prince Jacek at all. With royal purple hair and eyes that shined like topaz captivated anyone and everyone in an instant. However, to Lilac, it wasn't outer beauty that she found attractive. His cold nature and snide remarks made her feel small and unworthy while his delicate features didn't allow her to see him as handsome in the slightest.

Unfortunately, Lilac knew and understood the importance of the arrangement. To not be a burden on her father while he struggled with grief at that time, she bottled up her true feelings. Over-come with the many lessons given to her to be the perfect bride and future queen, she learned to hide her disdain; becoming almost doll-like with a veil of pride to mask the pain at a very young age. She made every effort to change herself to try and get his affection, but it was all in vain. The moment Lady Delilah met Prince Jacek's eyes, anyone could tell that they had fallen in love.

Lilac couldn't blame the prince, as she also thought they made a good pair. If they could be married instead, she would be free from the constant berating and emotional abuse she had to suffer. Though, she knew better than to pass her position onto an innocent Baron's daughter. For she had no idea if the prince would stay affectionate to Delilah or if it was just a passing phase but that was only the tip. Delilah would have to deal with criticisms ranging from how she looks to her low family status to how she "broke up" a previous lady's engagement.

Lilac couldn't let that happen; Delilah deserved better. Much better than a prince who could end up hurting her more should he ever lose interest in her. She only wanted to protect Delilah but now... it seemed like she couldn't even protect herself. As she lay sprawled out and nearly choking on her blood, Lilac had one wish.

'I wish....I could...forget...everythi-'

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…

"Li-"

"Lila-"

"Lilac!"

A loud cry could be heard but nothing could be seen.

"Priest! What the hell are you doing!! Save my little girl!!"

"Wahhhh my lady!! please, please wake up!"

"ugh..mm..."

!!!

The room fell silent for a moment, time seemed to have stopped until..

"uh?" Lilac, who was lying still like a corpse just moments ago, slowly rose up and cautiously opened her eyes.

"Lilac! My baby girl!!"

"My-my lady!!"

On her left crouched a fumbling middle-aged man, his wrinkles were deep but they didn't take away from his beautiful and lush light blue hair and soft purple eyes. Upon closer inspection, he had stands of ash hair scattered about the roots of his head, giving him a more elegantly aged aura. His eyes looked haggard like he hadn't slept in days and with how puffy and red they looked, it was obvious he was busy crying. His lips were chapped and his cheeks were sunken in, he was simply a shell of his former self, and the pain he experienced could not be measured.

To her left was a weeping young girl, clutching Lilac's hand as if it would disappear at any moment. Her sand-colored hair was tied in a twin braid style which would have looked cute if it hadn't looked so disheveled; it had the look of having been braided once and never redone. Through hiccups and tears, the only words that could be understood were "my lady". Her grassy green eyes didn't dare look away from Lilac's eyes, not even when her endless tears started soaking their hands. Her lips trembled as she attempted to calm her sobbings, only being able to bring them down to heavy breaths.

"Lilac? Please, my dear…say something. Does it hurt anywhere?"

"Hic, My lady? Sniff"

From the two by the bed to the line of doctors, priests, and maids, everyone didn't dare speak until finally…

"Who are you?.... Who…am I?"