The 17th Princess Just Wants to Live

I was seized by an indescribable emotion and stood frozen in place.

“How did you get here?”

But we were not alone in this place—I’d just forgotten the other presence for a moment, distracted by Tristan.

When I turned around, I saw Ludwig and Anton looking at me with different expressions.

Ludwig appeared calm, as if nothing unusual had happened. In contrast, Anton once again looked visibly flustered.

‘So it was because of Tristan that he was so taken aback earlier.’

I remembered his unusually surprised expression when I asked the duke about the whereabouts of his youngest son.

Not only had he pretended not to know, but he also stayed silent after witnessing the truth. Anger surged in my chest like flames.

“I wonder where you’ve been following us from.”

Especially with Ludwig, I was even more infuriated. Seeing his composed demeanor, I could barely contain my rage. I wanted nothing more than to slap him like what had been done to Tristan.

But he was the heir of the arrogant Aschenbach family, a man who wouldn’t even defer to the emperor. Acting on impulse would only make things spiral out of control.

“Is that really what’s important right now?”

I chose my words carefully, then gestured to Tristan, who was cowering behind me.

“I followed because I thought I recognized someone, but when I saw it was a person, I stepped in out of surprise.”

Despite my voice being audible, Tristan remained unresponsive. Was he hurt? I fought back the urge to take him to a doctor immediately.

“Disciplining a younger brother is one thing, but isn’t this just plain violence? I don’t think such actions are appropriate on a day meant to celebrate His Majesty the Emperor’s birth.”

Ludwig had maintained his composure, but at the mention of the emperor, his expression finally changed. His jaw tightened slightly, and he spoke in a faintly irritated tone.

“Whatever you’ve heard, that is not my brother.”

This was utter nonsense.

Anyone could see that Tristan was an Aschenbach. His jet-black hair with a bluish tint and golden eyes, just like Ludwig and Anton, were undeniable proof.

Could he be a cousin or a more distant relative, not a direct sibling? There was no mention of that in the original story. Even when I pondered this, I took a step back.

“If he’s not your brother, does that mean you can beat up a child younger than you?”

“I was merely disciplining a servant. How I manage my subordinates is not something for Your Highness to interfere with.”

Ludwig spoke firmly, clearly wanting to end the conversation.

“A servant?”

But I couldn’t let it go. I felt as if I had been struck in the head and turned back to look at Tristan.

Now that I looked closer, Tristan’s clothes, though made from fine fabric, were plain and unadorned. They were similar to the outfits worn by the servants in the Opal Palace.

Tristan, a servant and not the youngest son of the duke?

I was thrown into confusion, unable to speak. During that moment, Ludwig took a step closer to me and leaned in.

“Exactly who — ”

Ludwig leaned in toward me.

His upper body cast a shadow over me, his golden eyes glinting in the darkness, eerily reminiscent of Tristan’s, making me feel a wave of revulsion.

“—told you about this boy’s existence?”

He scrutinized my face with eyes filled with suspicion and contempt, then added one final word.

“Princess.”

The intent to insult me was unmistakably clear.

The heir to Duke Aschenbach, who stood tall even before Rudolph, would surely see the Seventeenth Princess as insignificant, lesser even than the daughter of a mere noble family.

But I’d endured far too many humiliations to be daunted by such an insult.

“It seems this is none of your concern, my lord.”

I spoke clearly, facing him directly.

“I already explained that I followed, thinking I recognized someone. And anyone would have intervened upon seeing a child, yet your reaction only makes me more curious about who this child really is.”

This time, I seemed to have hit a nerve with Ludwig. His perfectly sculpted face twisted with rising anger.

“If you don’t speak clearly, then…!”

“My lord!”

Anton shouted.

Ludwig and I, who had been wholly focused on each other, turned to look at Anton simultaneously. I didn’t know about Ludwig, but I nearly screamed when I saw him.

A large, black crow was perched on Anton’s shoulder. Its size alone was intimidating, but what made it even more terrifying were the yellow flames burning in its eyes. It looked like a messenger of demon straight out of hell.

“The duke is calling for you.”

Anton spoke in a trembling voice.

What in the world was going on? I stared at the crow and Anton in turn, feeling completely bewildered. Was the thing on his shoulder supposed to be Duke Aschenbach himself?

“Very well, Princess. Let’s do this.”

Ludwig glanced at the crow and sighed with a weary expression. For a moment, Tristan’s somber features overlapped with his.

‘How disgustingly alike.’

I thought that as I frowned.

“If you promise to forget what you saw here, I will also forget meeting you here, Princess.”

I thought he was going to spout some nonsense again, but it turned out to be a surprisingly reasonable proposal.

From my perspective, there was nothing to gain from word getting out that I had argued with the young duke. And it seemed that Ludwig, too, did not want this situation to be exposed.

Whether it was about Tristan himself, or the fact that he was hitting him, or perhaps just the fact that I witnessed it — one thing was clear.

The person he wanted to hide this from was his father, the Duke of Aschenbach.

“Fair enough.”

I said that and nodded.

With a slightly softened expression, Ludwig bowed slightly and walked toward the center of the garden where the party was being held. Anton followed his brother, barely managing a farewell.

Then, Tristan slowly got up from behind me.

“Ah…!”

For a moment, I had forgotten about him. I tried to reach for Tristan, but he quietly passed by me, as if I were invisible.

And so, the three of them disappeared, leaving me alone in a dark corner of the garden.

“Ah…”

I collapsed to the ground. After sitting there in a daze for a long time, I suddenly placed my hand on the ground and tried using Stella.

Nothing happened.

***

Tristan Aschenbach was born as the youngest of the Aschenbach Duchy.

His father was a strict man in matters of business but exceptionally warm at home. His mother was bright and cheerful, so their home was always filled with laughter.

Tristan’s two older brothers took after their parents, growing up as well-mannered children with good looks, and they cherished their youngest brother dearly.

The power struggles common among noble families were like a foreign concept to the Aschenbach family. The duke had decided to pass the title to his eldest, and the two younger brothers had no objections. The three siblings grew up loving and respecting one another.

Tristan’s life lacked for nothing.

But perhaps someone envied that happiness.

The Aschenbach family was falsely accused, ending hundreds of years of history in disgrace.

Treason.

It was an absurd accusation. The duke vehemently proclaimed his innocence, and anyone who knew him would have believed it.

But the conspiracy had been in motion for a long time. By the time the trap had ensnared the Black Lion of the Northeast, there was no escape.

The plot was intricate and relentless, with an endless stream of evidence. The duchess died under torture, and upon hearing of her death, the duke lost all will to fight.

The Aschenbach House was eventually eradicated.

As with all traitors, every member of the Aschenbach family was sentenced to death. Not only the young duke, the eldest son, but also the family, relatives, and even the servants who worked in the ducal mansion were executed.

However, the emperor spared only Tristan, the youngest.

It was not an act of mercy. Rather, it was intended to humiliate. Instead of executing him, he made Tristan a slave.

Imperial law did not recognize slavery. Making a person a slave or trading them was illegal. But there was an exception to this law: criminals branded by the imperial seal.

The moment a brand was seared onto a criminal deemed too worthless to kill, their rights as a human were stripped away, and they became property. For the rest of their lives, they would serve their master’s commands—usually in ways too horrific to describe.

Branding the youngest child of the ducal family as a slave was a calculated move to utterly destroy the Aschenbach.

Tristan, as a noble son, tried to end his own life, but he was unsuccessful. His attempts at suicide failed, and he eventually appeared at the New Year’s slave auction, bound and gagged.

And that was when Imelda found him.

***

“This is the beginning of the story…”

I muttered in bewilderment.

It was the morning after the emperor’s birthday festival. I had tossed and turned until late at night and barely managed to sleep, so I was still exhausted in the morning.

But resting wasn’t an option — my head was too full of thoughts. So, I sat at my desk and began writing down Tristan’s backstory as it appeared in the original novel.

I read over what I had written.

To be honest, I couldn’t recall the exact words. Some of the details might be off. But I was certain that the backstory of Tristan’s family was accurate.

Because that backstory was the core of the male protagonist.

He was a character of noble blood, second only to the imperial family, who fell from grace. And the heroine, who reached out a hand to save him, was also the daughter of the enemy who caused his downfall.

Their tragic, intense, and passionate romance was the heart of this story!

Though there were political elements and various subplots, at its core, was a romance. The male protagonist’s and heroine’s pasts, and the love that bloomed between them despite those pasts, were the most important aspects.

But now, Tristan was not the son of the duke, but a servant?

“A servant…”

I furrowed my brow and fell into deep thought.

Tristan was clearly of the Aschenbach blood. His hair color, his eye color — all matched. And the fact that his features and aura subtly resembled those of the eldest son, Ludwig, confirmed it.

“It’s too close in age for him to be Ludwig’s illegitimate child…”

As I muttered that, I suddenly realized something huge and froze.

A duke who denied his own bloodline, a hidden son who endured beatings from his brothers and lived as a servant.

There was only one explanation for their relationship.

“Tristan is an illegitimate child.”

That would explain everything.

In the Empire of Esperusa, the perception of illegitimate children was very poor. A child born out of wedlock was considered a sign of promiscuity, thus tarnishing the family’s honor.

Nobles generally took one of two approaches to such children.

First, they could pretend the child was legitimate and add them to the family registry. For noblewomen, this was easy enough; for noblemen, it wasn’t impossible as long as they reached an agreement with their spouse.

Second, they could deny the child’s existence. Offering a bit of money and sending the child away was considered the kinder approach. In many cases, to protect the family’s honor, both the child and the mother were quietly eliminated.

It seemed the duke had chosen the second option. But rather than killing or sending him away, he kept Tristan as a servant in the ducal estate, which was odd.

In fact, this was the strangest part.

“This wasn’t in the original story…”

What on earth was the original story I knew?