The girl did everything she could to save her brother, but he coldly shoved her away.
"Who allowed you to call me brother?"
With that, the man turned and walked away without looking back. He left only the little princess trembling in the cold winter night, and she had long since grown used to being treated like this.
Her name was Yashallodi. She was the empire's most noble princess, but her raven-black hair made her a symbol of ill omen. In a high priest's prophecy, light and darkness would be born on the same day. The child of light could lead the country to prosperity, but the child of darkness would bring calamity to everyone. Unfortunately, the little princess happened to be born on the day of the prophecy.
Because of her black hair, she was naturally regarded as ominous. She was made to live in the most remote palace. She lived a life worse than even the servants. Meanwhile, the illegitimate daughter born on the same day had silver hair, a symbol of royal blood. Therefore, she was treated as the incarnation of light in the prophecy. Naturally, she received everyone's love.
And so the two little princesses grew up in completely different environments. In the blink of an eye, little Lodi was already twelve years old, and by her side, only Lowina remained to take care of her. The palace she originally lived in had long since fallen into disrepair. Even her allowance was often withheld by the treasury. Because of a shortage of food, she learned to endure hunger at a very young age.
But no matter how hard life was, the girl always wore a satisfied smile on her face. Lowina looked at the child teasing butterflies, and her heart was filled with pity. If only that damned prophecy did not exist, her little princess could have had such a beautiful garden, too. But now all of this belonged to the princess of light.
The princes had filled it with lilies that bloomed all year round for that illegitimate daughter. And the little princess of pure royal blood could only watch from afar. Even if she wanted to come in and play, she had to do it secretly. The more Lowina thought about it, the angrier she became. How could a child as kind as Lodi possibly be the child of calamity from the prophecy?
Just as she was lost in thought, a rumbling sound came from the little princess's side. Lowina quickly asked if the girl was hungry, but the sensible child only held her stomach and shook her head. The maid knew the little princess wanted to save her own portion of food. But if a child did not eat properly, she would get sick.
So she entrusted the little princess to a knight she was close to and went to the kitchen to prepare food herself. Little Lodi obediently followed behind Ashwin, but she had not expected to run into her brother and sister having afternoon tea in the courtyard. They were both younger sisters, yet her brother favored only the white-haired one, just because black hair represented misfortune.
Even though the little princess had once saved his life, the only sister the man acknowledged in his heart was Lily. The eldest prince looked at the girl who was bowing with obvious displeasure. That disgusted look made the little princess's chest ache. That kind of coldness was just like that night a few days ago. She had anxiously waited for him to wake up and carefully called him brother.
She herself was shivering from the cold, yet she had covered her brother with the only blanket. But what she got in return was only, "Don't call me brother. The only one who can call me that is my sister Lily." At that moment the little princess felt as if her heart had been gouged out alive. The family she had yearned for so desperately treated her like a plague.
"I am your sister too," the girl murmured in despair, but she engraved it in her heart: she was not allowed to call him brother. So when they met again, little Lodi obediently called him crown prince. The man did not notice the change in how she addressed him. Only the little princess knew how much it hurt inside. But at that moment, Lily, who was beside them, suddenly spoke up with a smile.
She invited her sister to stay and have tea together. Naive little Lodi thought this was concern from family. But she did not expect that the moment the girl spoke, she brought up her pitch-black hair. Her arrogant tone carried a faint disdain. This made the little princess feel inferior. Indeed, compared with Lily, she looked far too shabby.
Her younger sister's hair was as beautiful as a lily's, and her whole body radiated noble grace, while she herself was still wearing a plain old dress. No matter how one looked at it, she did not seem like a princess at all. And besides, her black hair had always signified misfortune. At that moment, she finally understood why her family disliked her.
Lily suddenly noticed the hairpin by the little princess's ear. How could she possibly allow her sister to have something she did not? So the girl arrogantly reached out her hand.
"Your hairpin is quite cute. Give it to me."
Lily's tone carried an order that could not be disobeyed. Seeing this, the little princess hurriedly stepped back twice. She was so anxious she was almost about to cry. But her sister directly ignored her resistance.
"If others saw this, they might think I was stealing your things. It's just a cheap lily-of-the-valley hairpin, and you're really that unwilling to lend it to me?"
Seeing Lily about to snatch it by force, the little princess somehow found a little courage within herself. Lowina had once told her that the flower language of lily of the valley meant that one would surely become happy. So this was not merely a small hairpin. It also carried her hope for life. The girl said seriously that the hairpin was hers, so she could not lend it.
As soon as she finished speaking, Lily's expression had already changed. This was the first time anyone had dared to speak to her like that. The girl angrily swept all the teacups off the table. She was waiting — waiting for her brother to stand up for her. Right in front of her brother, the little princess was viciously bullied by this scheming younger sister. Scalding tea splashed all over the girl.
Little Lodi frowned tightly in pain, but Lily had no intention of stopping at all. Just as a heavy slap was about to fall, the eldest prince beside them finally stood up. He suddenly grabbed Lily's small hand.
"Stop it."
The man's voice was gentle, but the willful younger sister did not give her brother any face at all. She forcefully flung away his hand, and tears rolled down like pearls.
"Brother, you've gone too far. You're making it sound like I'm the one trying to steal sister's things."
Her accusation struck the man's heart again and again. The eldest prince quickly promised to buy her an identical hairpin. But such an answer did not satisfy Lily. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the little princess who was being comforted. Why, when they were both royalty, did this girl still have to come and fight her for her brother?
Thinking of this, the girl curled her lips into a sneer. Then she turned and ran out of the courtyard. She was waiting for her brother to leave her sister behind and chase after her, watching Lily's figure run farther away.