The Price Is Your Everything - Chapter 1: The Murdered Crown Princess

Fireworks echoed through the topmost floor of the Prisoner’s Tower.

Nerys was the only prisoner there, forgotten by everyone, left to rot in a filthy, dark solitary cell.

Not long ago, she had been the Crown Princess of the Bistor Empire, destined to become the next Empress, standing at the pinnacle of power.

She had embodied the eternal alliance between the empire’s royal family and the Elandria Ducal House, the most prestigious noble lineage on the continent.

She bore the legendary violet eyes of the ancient hero Elandria—a symbol of mystery and power.

Though her husband, the Crown Prince, regarded her as nothing more than dirt, demeaning her as the adopted daughter of a lower noble family and unworthy of her station, Nerys endured.

She thought it was her duty—for her family.

But a year ago… everything changed.

When the Elandria family finally revealed its ambition and declared independence from the empire, proclaiming itself a royal house.

When the Bistor royal family, after failing to suppress the rebellion, officially recognized the Elandria Kingdom’s sovereignty to end the conflict.

Nerys became a non-entity.

The Crown Prince, her husband of several years, threw her into prison without a second thought and announced his intent to marry Valentin, her stepsister and now a princess of the newly formed Elandria Kingdom.

And the Elandria family’s response?

The joyous sound of the parade outside was answer enough. According to the guards’ chatter a few days ago, Elandria’s delegation had arrived with the “new bride.”

“I’ve been discarded.”

Nerys murmured to herself, the words now a mantra repeated thousands of times.

Twelve years ago, she had been a mere academy student when her mother, a distant relation of the Elandria family, passed away, leaving her an orphan. Her father, a low-ranking knight, had died so long ago she could barely recall his face.

It was the Elandria family that adopted her, offering her a home and a semblance of family.

Though the Duke and Duchess of Elandria, along with Valentin, had never shown her kindness, Nerys felt indebted to them. She devoted herself to repaying that debt in any way possible.

Truly, in any way.

She stayed up nights mastering high society etiquette, acted as the villainess to deceive their enemies, and eventually… married a man she didn’t love, enduring his abuse in silence.

Even after marriage, Nerys worked tirelessly for the family—negotiating alliances, eliminating threats, always representing their interests.

Hadn’t she done the same for the imperial family?

Her husband, the Crown Prince, might have been too preoccupied with his mistress to notice, but Nerys had worked herself to exhaustion for years to ensure the comfort of the entire royal household.

And yet, the response from both families was as though she had never existed.

Her left foot, rendered immobile from brutal torture, throbbed with pain.

“…What will happen to me now?”

A single ray of sunlight filtered through a crack in the stone wall, briefly piercing the gloom.

Nerys’s unfocused eyes caught the light, refracting it into a myriad of colors—a testament to her gem-like eyes.

These jewel-like eyes, long believed to belong solely to the imperial family, had been the reason for her adoption into the Elandria family and her elevation to Crown Princess.

But in this place, they were of no use to her. The imperial family, convinced she was a spy sent by the Elandrias, had taken their wrath out on her frail body with unrelenting torture.

And when she left this prison…

Left? Nerys mocked herself. Did she really believe she could leave?

The royal family’s message was clear: welcoming the Elandria delegation with a festival while keeping her locked away.

Their alliance had nothing to do with her treatment.

“Does Nell know about this?”

Perhaps her so-called family cared nothing for her. Despite adopting her for the symbolic value of her violet eyes, the Elandrias had only feigned familial ties in public. Valentin, in particular, had always despised her.

But one person was different.

Only one person—Nellusion, the heir of the Elandria family and her stepbrother.

If there was even a shred of hope, it lay with Nellusion. He had always been kind to her, the only one who saw her worth. He would surely petition the imperial family for her release. Surely…

Nerys stared blankly at the cell floor.

Then the iron door to her solitary cell creaked open.

Startled, Nerys flinched and looked up. It wasn’t the torturer entering with the guard.

It was Valentin, dazzling in her radiance, stepping into the cell with a smug grin.

Though only a year apart in age, the two sisters were opposites in appearance.

Nerys, with her delicate features, had been worn down by years of political strife, constantly wary of others’ gazes. Now, tortured and imprisoned, she looked like a lifeless old woman.

In contrast, Valentin’s confidence and innocence radiated with the charm of someone who had always been adored.

“Valentin…”

Hearing Nerys’s hoarse voice, strained from her suffering, Valentin’s expression twisted in contempt. A sinister light gleamed across her lovely face.

Only then did Nerys recognize what Valentin was wearing. She had thought it dazzlingly beautiful, but…

It was the attire of the Crown Princess, stitched with golden threads and adorned with jewels, reserved for the direct imperial lineage.

Suppressing the despair rising in her chest, Nerys forced herself to ask calmly.

“What are you doing here?”

Valentin glanced over her before answering.

“I came to witness your last moments.”

Satisfied with the sight before her, Valentin’s face lit up with a gleeful smile.

“From your expression, I suppose you were expecting Nell. …How unfortunate. He’s staying by the side of his ‘new sister-in-law.’”

“New sister-in-law?”

Elandria had forged alliances with numerous influential figures at home and abroad to achieve independence from the empire.

One of the most significant of these figures was the current Pope, Omnitus III, who had demanded the engagement of his illegitimate daughter, Brigid, to Nellusion as a condition for his support.

Nerys had been well aware of the circumstances back then. After all, she had been the one to handle the matter directly, believing it was a necessity for the family’s position.

Even as she orchestrated the engagement, Nerys had despaired in secret. Yet Nellusion had whispered to her in a kind voice that it was all just politics. In that moment, she had felt as though he could see through her hidden feelings, her unspoken affection for him.

She knew full well that they could never be together—she was already married. But even so, his sweet words had comforted her in those days.

And yet…

“Nell… Nell was here too?”

The brutal truth struck Nerys like a blow.

If Nellusion had cared for her even a little, surely he would have known. Known that she had been completely cut off from all contact since Elandria’s declaration of independence.

Valentin, seeing Nerys unable to hide her turmoil, covered her face with an ornate fan and laughed mockingly. Then, with a quick, practiced motion, she folded the fan and lifted Nerys’s chin, smirking as she did.

“Get a grip. Did you really think you were truly my sister, despite your lowly origins?”

Each word from Valentin felt like a dagger to Nerys, leaving her breathless.

Suddenly, a realization hit her, and she asked, her face pale, “Was this your plan all along? You, Mother, Father?”

“Why leave Nell out of it? He’s the one who suggested adopting you and sending you to the Crown Prince in the first place,” Valentin replied, her voice intentionally cruel.

“You were quite useful, weren’t you? Clever enough for someone of lowly birth, and your eye color matched our family’s perfectly. It was convenient to have you in place, cooperating from a suitable position. But now that you’ve outlived your usefulness, it’s time for you to disappear—for a fresh start between our two nations.”

Tears streamed from Nerys’s eyes—tears she thought she no longer had. Under the torchlight, her violet, jewel-like eyes sparkled like crystals.

Seeing this, Valentin, whose eyes were a pale blue despite being a direct descendant of the ducal line, appeared to seethe with envy.

“Don’t resent me too much. Did you really think the Crown Prince would be satisfied with a lowly adopted daughter? What are mere eye colors compared to true power? For people like us, marriage is a transaction, and of course, it should involve a legitimate daughter.”

Who had sacrificed everything for the family until now?

Nerys hadn’t expected grand recognition.

All she had wanted was someone to acknowledge that she had been of help.

That was all.

The pounding in her head was unbearable, and she could no longer muster any words. Valentin, displeased even by her silence, struck Nerys’s cheek harshly with her fan.

“What a pathetic woman. You couldn’t even handle your own marriage, could you? Every time I saw ‘that shameless woman,’ I couldn’t help but think how pitiful you were. But don’t worry, it will all end in three days. Once I become the Crown Princess, I’ll banish her to the temple. Aren’t you grateful? You hated her too, didn’t you?”

Megara, the Crown Prince’s mistress, had been acting as the de facto Crown Princess for years, attending all but official ceremonies. She was the same age as Nerys, but their lives could not have been more different.

Wealthy, beautiful, and effortlessly charming, Megara had tormented Nerys for as long as she could remember. Valentin wasn’t wrong—Nerys had indeed loathed her.

But now, all Nerys could think was, ‘You, too, will end just as easily as this.’

In a broken, faint voice, Nerys pleaded, “You don’t need me anymore. I worked hard for the family. You know I did everything you asked. Please… let me go.”

“Oh my, would any master simply let a dog run away?”

“What more do you want from me? I’ve done enough…”

“No, no. Even a dog’s corpse can be useful,” Valentin said with a shrug.

“Princess Camille told me so. She said loose ends must be tied up. The moment you think, ‘It’ll be fine,’ is when you leave yourself vulnerable.”

A chill ran down Nerys’s spine.

Princess Camille had always shown kindness to her, offering support when her husband ignored her. She had scolded the Crown Prince for his disgraceful behavior and praised Nerys for her efforts to benefit the royal family.

Camille’s acknowledgment had been the sole reason Nerys had endured her desolate marriage. But now, Valentin claimed that Camille had advised her to ensure even the corpse was dealt with.

‘So quickly things change.’

Everything Nerys had believed in was crumbling. She shook her head violently without realizing it.

“No. I won’t die like this.”

“Joseph, grab her,” Valentin commanded casually.

The knight who had entered with her seized Nerys. She recognized him—he had grown up with Nellusion and served as his loyal aide.

Staring straight into his eyes, Nerys shouted sternly, “Let me go! I am your master’s sister!”

The knight closed his eyes tightly, avoiding her gaze. Valentin smirked.

“Sister? Still delusional, I see. Well, thanks to you, our family is now regarded as a true royal house. For that, I’ll grant you one final piece of information.”

Her sky-blue eyes, filled with disdain, bore down on Nerys. In those eyes, Nerys thought of the sky she hadn’t seen in so long—the same eyes Nellusion possessed.

Once, she had thought just looking at the clear sky was enough to feel him by her side.

But now, she found the sight of that blue utterly repulsive.

“Your mother—my troublesome stepmother—it was Nell who got rid of her. Did you never suspect that?”

Strength drained from Nerys’s body. She had always suspected as much, ever since hearing that Nellusion had orchestrated her adoption.

Everything was meaningless. Her entire life had been built on lies.

“What do you think this is?” Valentin pulled out a small vial.

She forced its contents down Nerys’s throat as the knight restrained her.

“Be grateful for Princess Camille’s mercy in granting you a painless death. Better this than a more gruesome end, don’t you think? You should be thankful even in your final moments.”

Nerys’s vision blurred. She couldn’t tell if it was from the poison, her tears, or being thrown to the ground.

All she could hear as she fell into an endless abyss was Valentin’s laughter, fading into the distance.

Until, far away, a faint glimmer of light appeared.