1 To seize my place as the future Crown Princess for my illegitimate half-sister, Evelyn, my three older brothers stopped at nothing. My eldest brother, Damon, deliberately unleashed his prized tiger, which tore half the skin from my face, leaving me disfigured. My second brother, Julian, secretly allowed bandits into our estate. They severed the tendons in both my hands, ensuring I could never hold a quill again, my talents forever wasted. My third brother, Adrian, bribed a debauched nobleman to violate me, shattering my reputation and my purity. Evelyn successfully took my place and became the Crown Princess. Only after their goal was achieved did my three brothers remember me. "Don't worry, Alice," they promised, "we'll make it up to you. We'll take care of you for the rest of your life." I clutched the marriage contract just delivered to me by the crippled Lord Chancellor, and answered calmly, "That won't be necessary. Your repentance is a burden I can no longer bear." It took me three days to legally sever all ties with them. Then, without a backward glance, I stepped into the bridal carriage. Later, I heard my three brothers turned the capital city upside down, even posting a bounty, just to bring me home. But what did it matter? I was no longer connected to them in any way… … In the training grounds, my eldest brother, Damon, was personally training a tiger cub. He was the most renowned beastmaster in the Kingdom of Veridia, training animals exclusively for the royal family. But now, he stroked the cub's head, his face full of tender hope. "Pip," he murmured, "you must be a good boy, so you can protect Evelyn when you're grown…" Tears streamed down from under my mask, seeping into the unhealed wounds on my cheek. The stinging pain was sharp and deep. I had always wanted a tiger cub of my own, but Damon had always scolded me for my impropriety, saying that the tiger was the king of beasts, a companion fit only for a king. I used to think he was just a stickler for rules, afraid I would bring trouble upon myself. Now I knew the truth: for the person he truly cherished, he was more than willing to bend those rules. Seven years ago, after my mother passed away and my father brought his mistress and her illegitimate daughter, Evelyn, into our home, the brother who had once adored me became a stranger. His eyes saw only Evelyn; his trueborn sister had ceased to exist. I walked over to Pip and stroked his soft, downy head. "Brother," I asked, my voice low, "do you remember that I always wanted a tiger cub, too?" Damon saw me and recoiled as if from a monster. He snatched Pip into his arms, his eyes wary. "Alice, what are you trying to do? This is a wedding gift for Evelyn. Don't you dare think of taking it!" His distrust wasn't new. Seven years ago, when Evelyn first arrived at our estate, she had deliberately paraded in front of me in her new, fine clothes, a clear provocation. I paid her no mind, simply ordering my handmaiden, Lyra, to escort her out. But Evelyn tore her own dress, slammed her head against a stone table, and accused me of attacking her. When Damon arrived, he saw only her pathetic, tear-streaked face. She shrank into his arms like a frightened fawn. "Brother," she whimpered, "Lady Alice said I was a bastard, unworthy of such fine cloth. She had her maidservant tear my clothes from my body…" Damon had always been simple-minded, believing only what he saw with his own eyes. He refused to listen to my explanation, slapped me hard across the face, and our relationship has been cold ever since. In his mind, I was a jealous shrew who wanted everything for herself. It was true seven years ago, and it was true now. I had tried to prove my innocence countless times over the years, only to be met with disgust and dismissal. Every word from my mouth was, to him, a lie. Now, on the verge of leaving forever, I had finally found peace with it. You can't force affection, and a heart won by deceit will never be true. My goal today was simple: to sever our ties, not to reconcile. Damon looked at the disownment writ I had prepared and sneered. "A highborn lady with such a petty heart. You're nothing like Evelyn, so gracious and understanding. Having a sister like you is my greatest shame." I touched the cold, unfeeling mask on my face, as if tracing the ruined flesh beneath. "And having a brother like you," I said with a self-mocking laugh, "is mine." I had always adored Damon, hanging on his every word, never once contradicting him. Even after the tiger mauled me, I never directly accused him. This was the first time in my life I had shown him such insolence. He couldn't stand it. He grabbed me by the throat, his eyes shot with blood. "You brought this on yourself, Alice! The day you commanded that cub to attack Evelyn, you should have known this day would come!" I was suddenly thrown back to a summer when I was eight. Evelyn had dragged me into the tiger enclosure to play. I tried to stop her, warning her of the danger, but she was determined to touch a cub that was teething. The startled cub pounced, scratching her face. When Damon rushed in, she pointed at me and screamed that I had ordered the attack. Without a single question, he locked me in an empty tiger cage and starved me for three days and three nights. The memory was a heavy stone in my chest, crushing the air from my lungs. Eager to be free of this place, I pushed through the pain. "Since you hate me so much, Brother, then sign the papers. Then Evelyn can be entered into the family archives as your trueborn sister…" "Fine! A venomous creature like you was never worthy of being my sister anyway!" Damon snatched the quill from a servant and scrawled his name. He threw the document in my face. "Don't you regret this! Who would want you, looking as you do now? What good is cutting ties? You'll still have to live in this house, eating our food, using our resources!" I picked up the writ, folded it carefully, and tucked it into my sleeve. "You needn't worry, Lord Damon. Alice will not be a burden." His eyelashes fluttered. He took a step closer, his voice a low growl. "You call me Lord Damon?!" I stepped back, maintaining the distance between us. "Our ties are severed. It is only proper." He trembled with rage, his jaw tight. "Good! Very good! Let's see how long your pride lasts. Don't come crawling back to me!" I won't, I thought. In three days, I will leave this house and never return. Regret, hardship… whatever comes next, it will be mine alone to bear. 2 The next day, I entered the study of my second brother, Julian. After our father, the Duke, passed away, Julian, as the most learned and promising son, inherited his title and became the new Lord Chancellor. Years in the royal court had taught him a composure Damon lacked. He didn't react to my unannounced entry, his eyes remaining on the document he was writing. A single, perfunctory question drifted from his lips. "Are your hands any better?" I looked at my hands. Though the wounds had healed, they could no longer hold a quill. "Much better," I said, a bitter laugh escaping me. "Thank you for leaving me with at least some ability to function." Julian, pleased by my lack of hysterics, offered a small, satisfied smile. "Now, this is how a lady of a great house should behave. Alice, don't blame me for my harshness. Evelyn suffered so much in her youth. Her skills in poetry, painting, and politics are no match for yours. If we hadn't helped her this time, I fear she would have chosen a life of lonely spinsterhood after losing the Prince…" I gazed at the painting of orchids I had gifted him, which hung on the wall. A wave of sorrow washed over me, a single tear tracing a path down my cheek. "And what about me, Brother? My engagement is ruined. What am I to do? Live out my days as a lonely spinster?" He saw my tear but mistook it for an accusation. The flicker of guilt in his eyes vanished, replaced by annoyance. "Alice, I was trying to spare you some dignity. You know full well how you came by that engagement to the Prince! Evelyn was the one who saved him. You shamelessly stole the token of affection the Prince left for her, which led him to propose to the wrong sister! You owe her this!" At the Midsummer Festival when I was ten, I pulled a boy my age from the river. Before he lost consciousness, he pressed a jade pendant into my hand. I didn’t know he was the Crown Prince, who had snuck out of the palace to see the festival, so I casually left the pendant on my dressing table. Evelyn's mother, while pretending to bring me medicine for a cold, saw it. After making inquiries, she returned with Evelyn and accused me of theft. They described the pendant's design and the events of that day with perfect accuracy. My father and brothers naturally believed them. But when the Prince came to formally propose, he ignored the pendant. Instead, he closed his eyes and gently took my hand. "It was her," he declared. "This is the hand that saved me. I would not mistake it!" The Prince’s validation did not clear my name. It only made my father and brothers despise me more, convinced I had used some dark art to bewitch him. From that day on, Julian lost all faith in me and sided completely with Evelyn. He held fast to our father’s last words: "You must help Evelyn reclaim the marriage that is rightfully hers!" "Alice, if you have a shred of conscience left, you will wish Evelyn nothing but happiness!" Julian’s sharp words pulled me from my reverie. I no longer had the will to argue. I nodded meekly. "I understand." I took down the orchid painting. "This was my finest work. Let it be a wedding gift for the Prince and Evelyn. Since you never truly liked it anyway…" A flicker of regret crossed his eyes, but his proud, stoic nature wouldn't allow him to show it. He looked down. "Do as you wish. As long as you don't cause any trouble for Evelyn." I placed the disownment writ on his desk and offered him the quill. "Sign this, Brother, and I guarantee I will never disturb Evelyn again." He looked up sharply, his voice laced with anger. "Are you threatening me?" "Yes," I replied calmly. Julian hesitated, then snatched the quill and signed his name. "You said it! Don't you dare go back on your word!" I folded the document and glanced one last time at the decree he was drafting. "Lord Julian," I said, "reducing taxes by thirty percent will certainly help the common folk, but it will be a great burden on the royal treasury. A ten percent reduction, coupled with incentives for cultivating fallow land, would be a more sustainable path to prosperity." His eyes lit up, the corners of his mouth twitching into an appreciative smile. "Alice, you truly have a gift for governance. It's a shame your heart is so twisted. Stay by my side. Be my advisor. As for this disownment writ… I'll consider it a childish tantrum." I shook my head calmly. "Thank you for the offer, Lord Julian, but my nature would only vex you. I will not offer my counsel again. Consider this last piece of advice a repayment for your years of care." Julian sighed. "Very well. We will speak again when you have come to your senses and changed your ways." You won't have time to wait for that, Brother, I thought. In two days, we will part ways, forever.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "393008", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel