Chapter Seven: Isolde

Elizabeth Isolde von Elysium was already decided to be the empress before she was even born.

“Your Majesty the Empress,” whispered the duke of Elysium to the reddened ear of his daughter, who was just born mere moments ago. Her parents gave her a name that matched the Crown Prince’s.

“Tristan and Isolde, what a good match they are.”

“Those are just names from a fairytale. No need to put so much meaning into it.”

“But the people who see our child’s name in history would be so impressed. She was born to be an empress, and even the names of the empress and emperor match!”

“…Well, it is our family’s honor.” The duke of Elysium cleared his throat as he stroked his well-groomed beard.

The duchess took her baby daughter, who had just opened her eyes outside the womb for the very first time, from the nanny’s arms and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. “My beloved daughter, my precious Isolde. You’ll be loved throughout your life.”

The duke unknowingly smiled as he watched that sight, but quickly rectified his expression. Then, as he remembered the time when the heir of the imperial throne was born, he decided to forcefully separate the baby from the mother first.

The duke gave the baby to the nanny and said, with a cold voice to the confused duchess, “You will not be nursing her personally, wife. This child may have been born in our family, but she’s already part of the imperial family. You have to get used to it starting from now.”

“But, dear…”

“Are you talking back to me right now?”

“That’s not it, I…!” The duchess cast a doubtful glance at her daughter, who stirred fretfully in the nanny’s arms.

“Everything is for Isolde’s sake, so no need to make that face.” The duke stroked his wife’s back to soothe her.

The duchess nodded. Ever since she got married into the family, his words had never been wrong. That’s why his decision this time must be right as well.

“…My daughter is someone who will marry into the imperial family. She must grow up to be someone suitable.”

“I’ll entrust it to you in that regard. If you need anything, just say the words and I’ll prepare it no matter what.” The duke whispered as he placed his hand on top of hers.

The child who will get married into the imperial family must grow up to be the best lady. The duchess’ abuse, disguised as an education, started from the moment Elizabeth took her first steps and said her first words. The duke remained a bystander in the middle of all that. He thought that as a father, it was enough to keep his daughter well provided through material means. Their servants couldn’t see, hear, nor say a word about it. The people who had been chased out because they spoke up thoughtlessly, had all drawn their last breath.

And so, eight years passed like that.

***

I’m so glad I’m the only daughter in my family. Elizabeth thought on the day she wore high-heeled shoes for the first time. There were a few maids who murmured that it was too much for a child who barely started walking, but all of those stopped at the duchess’ glance.

“Mother… my feet huwrt.”

“You should pronounce it properly.”

“My feet… hu… are hu… are huwrting.”

“Again!”

Hic! Elizabeth was about to cry when she saw the stick on her mother’s hand. Even when she looked around, there was no one who would help her. The maids all had their heads down, staring at the ground with a stiff expression on their face.

“Hold out your palm.”

“Mo… mother…!”

The weakest of heart among the maids finally turned her head to the side. What the duchess was doing was not education… it was plain child abuse. However, there was no longer anyone brave enough to point that out in this house. Because they were already thrown out of the mansion as corpses.

Along with the slapping sound, they could hear a faint sobbing voice that sounded like she was enduring the pain.

“Just what does the madam want from a child who can barely talk and just started walking?” Someone whispered in a small voice.

“Say it again.”

“My feet… are hurting…”

“So?”

Elizabeth was in despair. There were so many long, red lines filling her palm that it felt painful for her to even move her fingers slightly. But she had to behave like a lady. “I apologize…”

Among all the words Elizabeth had said since she first started speaking, that was her most used word and one of the words she could pronounce best.

“Does your palm hurt?”

“Yes…”

“A lady wouldn’t leave her hands up in the air just because her palms hurt. No, in the first place, you shouldn’t have created any reason to get hit.”

Elizabeth could only stare at the white ground without speaking. Mother’s words were right. It took her a while, but Elizabeth let down her hands and gracefully put them together at her waist. When she checked on her mother’s expression, it was only then that she saw her mother’s face showing a satisfied smile instead of the cold and stiff expression she was donning earlier.

Seeing that face made Elizabeth feel so relieved. Still, she was getting worried that she would get scolded again for moving too slow. It was as if her heart that was beating so fast finally was calming down a little.

“Try walking again.”

But at the very next moment, Elizabeth’s small and gloomy face showed clear disappointment. It was difficult for her to walk with two books on top of her head while wearing a pair of shoes that made it hard for her to even stand.

I’m so glad I’m the only daughter. I’m so glad my big sister or little sister doesn’t have to go through this. Elizabeth bit her lower lip and began to take her steps one by one.

One of the maids once again quietly complained, wondering why the child had to do this during the time when she should be toddling barefoot on a soft carpet.

It was a sight to which no one could get used, even after eight years.

The duchess always glared with eyes that seemed to say, “If you talk any more than that, I’ll make you just like one of the people who left this mansion a few days ago.”

Other than high-heeled shoes, another thing that tormented Elizabeth the most was the corset. The duchess specially ordered a corset made of steel and whale tendon—the kind even an adult wouldn’t use—while saying that Elizabeth’s waist should be shaped while her bones were still not fully developed yet.

“It’s actually not good to wear a corset at such an early age. Even if you put off on making her wear it until she grows up a little, she will quickly adapt to it since she’s still young and her bones are still soft.”

On the day she ordered the corset, the worried tone of the perplexed craftsman must have been fuming. However, the duchess wanted everything that she thought best for her daughter’s future. She personally made Elizabeth wear underwear as hard as armor on her waist and tightened the string herself.

“Breathe out more!”

“Ha… Ha… Hph… Hmph…! Fwah! Ah… Ahh… Ack…!”

“Come on! Tighter!”

“Ahhhh!”

“It might be painful right now, but you’re going to be grateful to me in the future. A thin waist and a delicate body are one of the most important virtues of a lady. Okay, Isolde?”

“Mother… I… I can’t breathe…”

“That’s just how it is. You have to get used to it. From now on, go to sleep with the corset on. Understand? Compared to girls your age, you have to have the most slender waist, the most graceful walk, and the most refined manner of speaking and pronunciation!”

“…Yes, mother.”

“Stop panting. You’re not a dog, Isolde. You’re…”

“…I have to… be the future empress… so I must be the best lady…”

“Good girl, my daughter.” The duchess stroked the crown of her daughter’s soft silver hair with a gentle voice and a loving gaze.

The girl must be a perfect empress. That way, she could revive the Elysium family from the brink of ruin. This was the ultimate investment.

The duke would spare no expense for Elizabeth’s education. The duchess then would use any means to strictly educate her with the image of an excellent lady she knew. Elizabeth never defied them.

The duchess straightened her back with a satisfied expression, stood with her chin pulled back, and patted Elizabeth on the head with a loving smile. There was not a single shred of doubt in Elizabeth’s eyes. Only trust.

Once the duchess left the room, the maids helped the stumbling girl and released the corset off her in a hurry. Elizabeth felt so dizzy from wearing a corset so tight she couldn’t breathe that she collapsed in the maid’s arms.

None of the maids reported that to the madam. They knew that if they did, the madam would first confirm that the young lady bore no injury before scolding the maids and getting angry at the young lady for not acting like a proper lady. It would be better for them to secretly help the young lady among themselves like this instead.

A temple that masqueraded as a place for nurturing the ideal bride-to-be, but in reality, was dedicated to creating the world's most perfect doll. That was what the servants secretly described the duke of Elysium’s residence. Of course, the master must never find out about this. People who got found out never left with their heads still intact.

There was only one time when Elizabeth decided to run away from home, during the time she was barely used to the children’s, no, infant’s corset and shoes. Her nanny, who couldn’t bear to watch the ducal couple’s abuse anymore, held out her hand to Elizabeth and told her that she’d better run away with her. That this was not right no matter how much they gave her and promised her.

On that day as well, Elizabeth bore another mark on her tender skin, and her small toe showed signs of distress, exhibiting a gentle but unmistakable sign of her ongoing ordeal.

“I don’t have to wear a corset? The shoes too? But aren’t I a lady?”

“You don’t have to be a lady anymore. You’re not a doll, miss. Even if we’ll be poor, I’ll show you what real happiness is.”

But before they could even get out of the forest surrounding the mansion, they were found out. Elizabeth watched as her nanny was dragged away—kicking and screaming—before she met her father.

The duke of Elysium held his cane—the one that looked like it was made from ebony but was actually filled with lead.

The duchess was standing by his side with an ice bag on her reddened and swollen cheek. She tried to calm the duke down to no avail. He slapped her again and demanded to know how exactly she had been educating the child.

The duke of Elysium then raised his cane. “You little bitch…”

Everything else that happened after her father raised his cane in fury was erased from Elizabeth’s memory. She didn’t even want to remember it, but whenever she tried to forcibly recall that day, there were some things that she calmly remembered as if she was looking at it as a third party.

Her voice screaming as she begged to be forgiven and spared. Her mother’s voice dissuading the duke, questioning what he would do if he left an untreatable scar on the body of the child who would become the queen.

And the terrible pain she felt when her bones were broken. She thought she forgot about it. She thought she erased everything already, but the memories buried underneath her subconscious often bothered her in the form of nightmares.

From even a deep sleep, Elizabeth would spring up in cold sweat. She would only be able to go back to bed after fumbling for any broken bones or scars and checking in front of the mirror herself. And on such days, the nightmare would repeat whenever she closed her eyes again.

I was bad. I was the wrong one for doing something unbefitting of a lady. Father is always right. If only I’d acted according to mother’s words, such a thing would’ve never happened… if only I behaved a little more like a lady…

She feared closing her eyes. Secretly, she sobbed and held her eyelids wide to keep her eyes from closing.

Even now, whenever she thought about that moment, she would get goose bumps and she would suddenly find it hard to breathe. Would it be better if she let it out in writing, or would it be better if she just laid it all on the pillow?

However, Elizabeth decided to hide everything completely instead of opening her diary and giving her pillow a name to tell it how much she had suffered. As long as she stayed quiet, by herself, without telling anyone, her day would go by just like any other day.