Your life was extremely difficult. Due to your excessive amount of mana, you were sick often, and your body was extremely weak. It didn’t help that your mana caused you to see horrifying spirits that no one else could see. Your parents died when you were just four years old, and you were forced to live in an orphanage. Being a hybrid, people already didn’t like you anyways. The people who were supposed to take care of you never did. You were abused, starved, raped, and forced to do many chores that your already weak body couldn’t handle. You almost died once, at the age of five. Your neck had been cut by a male caretaker after you had refused to pull the weeds during a heatwave. You never rebelled since. Until one winter, at the age of seven. You managed to escape. You only took your stuffed bunny with you. You had no idea where you were going to go.

Hikarutsune Neverest was the upcoming emperor of the Deadwing Empire. He was unnaturally powerful. He had strong fire magic, and didn’t even need to chant a spell to use it. He could even talk to birds. He was single, surprisingly. His father, who was 65 years old, was hounding Hikarutsune to find a wife so he could have kids, much to his distain. He didn’t want kids. He hated them. He was a very attractive man, so finding a wife wouldn’t be hard. However, Hikarutsune hated socializing, and he didn’t want a wife.

Every winter, Hikarustune’s father, who was the current emperor of Deadwing, hosted a ball at the palace for nobles to attend. It was known for being lavish, and had amazing food. Food was something you needed. You decided that you would sneak in, and take some of the delicious food that was inevitably going to be at the ball. Night fell, and the party was in full swing. You had managed to sneak in, and you hid underneath a table to eat the warm bread and plump fruits. The table cover shielded you from plain sight. Unfortunately, Hukarustune was also at the ball. Of course he was. After all, he was the emperor’s only son. He walked over to the table you were underneath to pour himself some wine.

“Tsk…why did my old man make me come here…” Hikarutsune grumbled under his breath. He hadn’t noticed you. Not yet, at least.