Aran thought she was mistaken because of the rain. But when she closed her eyes and opened them again, everything was the same.
âDonât look!â
Enoch tried to cover her eyes from behind. Aran escaped from his hold.
âMother, Father!â
And without having to think twice, she ran towards her parentsâ carriage. She couldnât even see the horses that were frightened out of control.
She made a narrow escape from the guards trying to hold her and finally came close to the carriage. A low groan was heard from inside. It was the voice of the emperor.
âWait a minute, Father!â
The emperor, who recognized his daughter, shook his hand even though his mind was faint.
âNo, go back, AranâŚ!â
But his cries of distress fell on a deaf ear. Aran knelt on the floor and opened the carriage door with all her might, but the badly crushed door wouldnât budge.
Then a big horse rushed at her. Aran, who belatedly discovered it, was frozen and stuck.
At the moment of desperation someone wrapped her around her waist and rolled her sideways. An excited horse kicked him in the back. Aran blinked slowly. Enoch asked the lost woman.
âYour Highness, are you all right!â
Aran fainted as she was.
And when she opened her eyes again, a lot had changed.
***
That day was a disaster in every sense of the word. The accident left the empress dead on the spot, and the emperor had a severe head injury and did not recognize the face of his beloved daughter. Prince Luazan, the great brother of Aran, became the acting emperor to fill the void.
Before the accident, the emperor handed Aran dozens of large gold mines over at the Setia province, the countryâs largest reserve.
Greedy Luazan and Second Prince Dylan coveted their sisterâs wealth. Up until recently, the emperor was holding out, so they didnât dare to intercept it, but now there was nothing for them to be bothered about. The two princes, who were usually at odds with each other, were willing to join forces to achieve their ends.
It was not that the emperor did not recognize the greed of his sons. The emperor, who expected that they would leave their sister needing after his death, intended to keep Aran safe through her marriage to the heir to the Grand Duke of Roark, but his plan was thwarted by the rebellion of the Grand Duchy. Having been unaware of his upcoming betrayal, the emperor could not come up with any other contingency plan.
Aran placed a bouquet of white flowers on the empressâ coffin. The emperor was unable to attend the funeral, so the princes and the princess organized the funeral.
Aran barely came to her senses the night before and managed to attend the funeral, but she shed so much tears that she almost collapsed again. Luazan helped the wavering Aran.
âHow could mother close her eyes in peace seeing your current state, Aranrhod?â
âOlder brotherâŚâ Aran looked up at Luazan, a little surprised.
She wasnât very friendly with her two older brothers. The princes, who had been severely educated as members of the royal family since childhood, were not keen on Aran, who had made no effort and still monopolized their parentsâ love, and Aran also had difficulties communicating with her older brothers with whom she had a wide age gap.
âWeâve been too indifferent to you. But in times of need, blood draws on blood. From now on, Dylan and I will protect you.â
Luazan spoke in a fleshy tone. Dylan wiped away her tears. The sorrow still lingered, but the kindness of her remaining blood-relatives was a deep consolation to Aran. As a young and naive girl, she had no talent to know the blackness of her older brothersâ hearts.
The two brothers pretended to take care of Aran for a while and before she knew it, she became completely dependent on the princes.
After the empressâ funeral, Aranâs daily routine became very simple. As soon as she opened her eyes in the morning, she visited the emperor, paid her respects, and nursed him until sunset. The emperor not only became an idiot, but he hardly moved. However, Aran spared no effort, believing that he would soon get well.
And when the emperor fell asleep, she went to see Enoch.