Irene

After that day, I was immediately sent to the palace where I will be staying for the Regina Selection. Before leaving, my father reprimanded me. He couldn't show his displease in front of others so he must do it within our mansion. Father slapped me twice on the face and shouted profanities at me. My mother couldn't do anything – even my siblings. All my mother can do was shed tears – looking at me with hopelessness in her eyes. That was the first time my father got so angry and all I can do was accept all the blow and the pain. He is the head of the house, my father, the Grand Duke – I have no power to win against him. 

      "Do not disappoint me, Bae Joo-hyun. This is your first and last warning." My father spat. I can still feel the sting on my face. I cannot even show a slight sign of grimace. If I do, it will only enrage him even more. 

      My father glared at me, "You are my daughter. You must be empress. Do you understand?" 

      I bowed my head, "Yes, your grace." 

      Everyone thinks that the Grand Duke is the kind of father every man should and must follow. Little did they know, the good father figure they thought of is not who they think he is. I do not hate the grand duke – I just dislike him, but I still respect him as my father. 

      Arriving at the palace, everyone treated me as usual. People find it hard to converse with me, even the crown prince, because of my aloof demeanour. I don't mind since that way they won't mind me as well. I would rather live in this palace in silence with only those who are close to me. The only person who can converse well with me is probably the emperor. 

      The lady-in-waiting that was assigned to me was a close friend of mine – the daughter of an earl. "Your highness, Lady Irene—I, the daughter of Earl Park, Park Soo-young, pledges her loyalty to thee." She said with a courtesy. 

      "Joy!" I exclaimed, giving her a hug. 

      "Your highness, this is inappropriate for a Regina candidate!" 

      I let her go with a scoff. "Hush. It is only the two of us here." I sat on the couch, "I am delighted that you're my lady-in-waiting." 

      "You are my friend, so here I am. Remember? I told you when we were kids—I will help you become Regina." 

      Joy and I are childhood friends. She knows all my secrets, all my highs and lows – she is like a sister I can run to. She knows how important my role is, and how eager I am. I am thankful that she, a daughter of an earl, is willing to be my lady-in-waiting. She is supposed to get married this month, but decided to delay her marriage to help me. 

      "Have you heard about that other candidate?" Joy asked. 

      "You mean Seulgi?" 

      "She had her room change. The crown prince himself gave the order. I heard from the maids that when her highness said she doesn't like the room, the crown prince immediately has another room prepared for her—and it is closer to his office. She's so demanding! She even had Lady Wendy as her lady-in-waiting. Can you believe it? A daughter of a marquess serving the daughter of a baron!" 

      I am not blind. The moment he asked for a dance with Seulgi, and the way he looked at her, and the way how he prioritized her, I knew he likes her and not me – and that is a crucial fact for my goal. If I want to be Regina, I need to fight against Seulgi – the prince's love interest. 

      How can I possibly do that? How can I fight against someone the prince is in love with? Scheming to destroy her reputation? I am not like other candidates before me. I cannot risk planning such scheme. If I want to be Regina, I must surpass and deal with this with honesty. I must fight in accordance to the rules.

      "Joy," I spoke, "what do you know about, Seulgi?" 

      Joy sat on the couch opposite of mine. She answered, "She is one of Baron Kang’s children—the oldest. She is loved by the public, your highness. From what I've heard, she loves to help the citizens of the empire—travelling from places to places with her father and mother for their welfare program. That made her popular." She shrugged, "I guess God chose her because of her good nature." 

      During our stay in the palace, the candidates studied, spent time with the prince and the emperor, and conduct parties to further widen their faction. However, I haven't met the prince in private – not even once. Though, we do stumble upon each other in the halls or anywhere in the palace, and we have dinner together – but with Seulgi. My attendants kept telling me that I must do something about Seulgi – plotting a scheme and the like. As much as I want to, that will only make me look like a coward and a cheat. I want to win against her without any malicious intent. 

      As for Seulgi, we do see each other – out of coincidence of course. I don't like her, but I don't hate her at the same time. There is no point to befriend her when we are both Regina candidates. And who knows? She might be hiding her horns behind that angelic demeanour. Even though I gave Seulgi cold and strict stares, she doesn't even flinch. She is somehow easy to read – just like how I can read the prince. The way she looks at me, it is all out of curiosity and wonder – that is all there is. Most of the time, however, I cannot read her. Maybe because I don't know her that well, unlike the prince whom I spent most of my childhood with. 

      While the rest are preparing for the Regina Selection, the imperial court is taking matters of the empire. The empire will experience drought and winter season during the selection. Currently, our supplies and resources weren't able to recover much due to the previous conflict from last year's drought and winter. If our enemies take advantage of this, the empire will fall and people will perish. I don't want the citizens to go through such hardship. When the news came out from the gathering of the Imperial Court, I immediately thought of a solution. It wasn't my responsibility to begin with, but I cannot just lavish myself with riches and do nothing but study while in the palace. To become Regina, the candidate must have the ability to adapt during a crisis and is read to assist the future emperor. I work on my proposal to end the empire's predicament. I sneak out during the night to go guilds to gather information, I sent out people to investigate and gather intel from our allied countries; staying up late to find answers and solutions. Everything done in one week. 

      I know Suho doesn't like me, but I hope he will listen to my proposal when I am done with it. This way, not only we will avoid the predicament, it will also help me walk my way up. 

      The moment I was done, I immediately set off to the prince's office. It is rude to suddenly visit the prince without notice, but we are in a crisis that needs urgent action. 

      As usual, the prince and I end up having an argument. I took me a while to convince him to look into my proposal though. I walked out of the crown prince's office out of frustration when he wasn't treating me nor my documents seriously. The maids nor guards couldn't even look at me in the eyes as I continue to walk back to my chambers – not even Joy and my attendants. They know I am not to be bothered. 

      I can't believe he won't take this seriously. Does he hate me that much to the point he wouldn't even take a glance? I stopped walking. I want to punch the wall and throw a tantrum just to release this anger, but it is not appropriate for a lady to be doing such thing. 

      "How aggravating..." 

      I stayed in my room while waiting for the prince's response. He mentioned that he will look into my proposal and give his answer right away. 

      All the all-nighters and the strain caused an impact to my health. I thought, when I close my eyes and finally have a good wink, I will wake up hearing good news. The prince prioritizes his people so he might consider my proposal – that is what I thought. 

      But the outcome was different. 

      The prince didn't even bother reading my documents and dismissed my plan. He dismissed it to spend time with Seulgi. It made me angry, so I stormed back to his office. Joy and the rest had to follow me – scurrying to meet with my pace. Joy kept telling me to calm down and act rationally, but how can I when the crown prince isn't taking matters seriously. What is more important than tackling the issue of the empire? Seulgi? Absurd! 

      The guards stopped me from further going in. 

      "Let me through." I spat. "I need to speak to