Chapter One
A Smile from the Throne of Arrogance
Since the day she was born, no one had ever surpassed her. Not in combat, not in magic, not even in wit.
She mastered what others twice her age could barely comprehend. And when she entered the academy, she wasn't just another student…
She was a nightmare to anyone who dared dream of being number one.
They said she possessed unmatched talent.
And a pride as bold as daylight.
But she never saw that as a flaw.
For what is humility… when you're the best?
Beautiful. Enchanting. Rare.
A princess of the greatest empire on earth.
And on her fated day. her coming of age.
She wasn't parading through some noble banquet to celebrate her womanhood as royalty…
She stood in the heart of the Empire's Grand Crowning Arena.
Chin high, heart cold,
And violet eyes glittering beneath the sun.
She was competing for the title of the academy's strongest.
With a smirk drenched in arrogance,
She gazed at her opponent as if he were nothing but air—
Unworthy of even recognition.
She wore a snow-white armor,
Flowing across her figure with a grace that stunned the crowd.
A silver sword rested at her waist,
As if it knew exactly whose hands it served.
Her opponent charged, sword cloaked in blue mana,
His stance sharp—desperate to land a single blow.
When their blades met,
The result was swift and absolute.
His sword shattered like a brittle twig,
Crumbling beneath her feet.
She hadn't even moved.
She simply glanced down at him—
With disdain too vast to measure.
He cursed under his breath and rose again.
Reaching for the broken pieces of his blade,
He whispered an incantation,
And summoned his magic once more.
Fragments floated back into place.
The sword reformed, glowing brighter, fiercer,
Bathed in a richer shade of blue mana.
He attacked again—
And once more, nothing changed.
His sword disintegrated like dust.
He crashed to the ground, defeated.
She lifted her leg and kicked him aside
As though he were a leaf caught in the wind.
He groaned in pain but stood again.
She struck him again—
And down he went, beneath her heel.
He rose a third time,
Body trembling like a broken branch.
But his spirit? Still burning.
She raised her pale leg high,
A wicked smile curling her cherry-red lips,
Then launched him across the field with a brutal kick.
His body skidded over the stone floor,
Cut and bruised—but still not yielding.
A tear slid down his cheek—
Not of fear, but defiance.
"I've been second place… for four years!" he shouted.
Before she arrived, he had never lost.
But ever since that monster entered the academy,
He had known nothing but humiliation under her feet.
He wasn't weak.
He was among the elite—
A dual wielder of blue and yellow magic.
But she… was something else entirely.
She wielded five elements.
A genius beyond geniuses.
With imperial blood and a magic depth that defied logic,
She was like a beast born to devour.
Unshakable.
Unreachable.
For four years, she had crushed him.
Time after time.
Still, he stood—
Unbroken in pride,
Ready to erase those years in a single moment.
Before two hundred thousand spectators in the imperial coliseum,
He raised his hands to the sky,
Summoning the last remnants of his soul.
The air trembled.
A vortex of energy formed above his head.
First came a massive blue orb—
Glowing like a newborn star.
Then came a second, yellow sphere.
The two swirled violently,
Then fused into a colossal core of pure magic.
The wind vanished.
Eyes squinted.
Breath halted.
Blood burst from his mouth like a shattered dam—
But he clenched his teeth and smiled,
Savage in resolve.
She saw it.
The determination.
Her smirk faltered.
For the first time… annoyance flickered in her eyes.
She lifted her right hand,
Red nails gleaming like blades,
And called forth her power.
Five magic threads burst into the sky:
Yellow.
Blue.
Green.
Violet.
Orange.
Gasps echoed through the audience.
Then whispers.
Then screams.
"The Five Colors...! She controls them all!"
Only a rare few in the empire's history
Had ever commanded all five elements.
Her threads rose and wove together into a vast magical web.
Yet it still looked smaller than the orb he had conjured.
He raised his eyes to hers, voice cracked but unshaken:
"I'll defeat you…
Even if you're the emperor's daughter!"
The sphere launched forward.
So did her threads.
They clashed in a brilliant eruption of arcane force.
But within a single heartbeat…
The orb vanished.
As if it had never existed.
His face fell.
His hope died.
He collapsed—not dead,
But empty.
She stepped toward him.
No pity in her eyes—only pure disgust.
Coldly, she spoke:
"Let me show you the difference…
Between me and garbage like you."
She moved her fingers,
And the five threads fused together.
Colors melted into a single radiant strand—
White as untouched snow.
The audience froze.
Their whispers returned—louder, harsher:
"How can an eighteen-year-old… transform magic colors?!"
In this world, worth was measured by magic.
Few possessed what most could only envy:
The colors of the elite.
Black. Red. White.
Only ten percent of the continent's mages
Ever awakened to these supreme colors.
The rest?
Ninety percent belonged to the common spectrum—
Dull before those who wielded "peak magic."
But those who could transform their color…?
They were legends.
Geniuses who appeared once every ten thousand years—
Bringing change that bent time itself.
Amid the stunned silence of the arena,
Awe and fear mingled in every gaze.
The boy looked up at the new color—
That immaculate white—
And laughed… like a madman.
She raised her hand again,
And aimed the blinding thread straight at his chest,
Like a sword cleaving the heavens.
The blow wasn't just brutal—
It was a public execution of his pride,
His dreams, his very being.
He slammed into the ground.
Unmoving.
Barely breathing.
The crowd went silent.
Then came the shouts—
The panic.
Healers and mages rushed in,
Coaches and commanders storming the stage,
Screaming for urgent recovery.
She… remained still.
Crossed her legs.
Tilted her head.
And smiled.
Then she blew a kiss to the roaring crowd.
Moments later, the royal announcer's voice boomed:
"The match is over!
Victory belongs to the Supreme Genius!"
The arena exploded in cheers.
Applause thundered.
Songs erupted.
Her name echoed like a legend reborn.
She walked to the center of the field,
Waved, smiled, twirled in playful glee—
Like a blooming rose on the battlefield.
Then her eyes lifted—
To the emperor's throne.
Empty.
She froze.
On this day?
At this moment?
Where… was her father?
She smiled again, as if it didn't matter.
She saluted the audience one last time—
And walked away…
Unaware that the life she knew
Had just begun to unravel.
.
"My lady… my lady! Please, wait!"
The maid stumbled behind Princess Dali, breathless and flushed, struggling to keep pace. The princess moved swiftly, her golden hair trailing behind her like a silk ribbon caught in the wind. Her delicate features were tinted with a flush of visible irritation, and her lips trembled with unspoken fury.
"How could he?! My father… on the most important day of my life—he abandons me?"
She whispered through clenched teeth, her voice fragile with disbelief.
"Unforgivable… absolutely unforgivable."
She marched straight toward the imperial wing, her violet eyes ablaze. The maid trailed behind in vain, trying to halt her. But then, suddenly, the maid cried out:
"Princess Dali! His Majesty… he's not in his chamber!"
The princess stopped at once, turning sharply. Her eyes widened in disbelief, the silk of her gown swaying with her motion.
"What do you mean? Then where is he?!"
The maid hesitated, shrinking under her lady's gaze. Dali took a step closer, her voice soft and low—dangerously so:
"Suni… don't make me force it out of you, dear. Speak. Now."
The maid's lips quivered before she whispered with reluctance:
"He's… in the audience chamber, my lady."
Dali narrowed her eyes with a strange unease.
"The audience chamber? At this hour? What is he doing there?"
The maid fumbled over her words, voice nearly lost to dread:
"He's not alone… the Five Generals are with him… they seem to be receiving someone."
Dali froze, her gaze hardening.
"A royal procession? No… no one was announced. Then who?"
She asked sharply. The maid's eyes darted, then she confessed:
**"Captain of the Guard issued strict orders—no one is to approach or eavesdrop… that's why… that's why I didn't tell you earlier…"
Dali stepped closer, her tone lowering into a playful warning:
"Suni, my darling. The Captain of the Guard—he's yours, is he not? Heed your mistress."
She gave a soft, knowing laugh.
Suni flushed deeply and lowered her gaze in shame. She nodded shyly, then murmured:
"He said it's just… one man. Appears to be in his late twenties… dressed in plain black attire."
The princess gasped—as if lightning had split the sky inside her mind.
"A single man?! No escort? No procession?!"
She shouted:
"And a commoner?!"
The maid took a cautious step back:
"He's not from our empire either, my lady… but… Matthew said this outsider may possess powers that rival the Emperor himself."
Dali's expression tightened with a silent storm. Her snowy-white complexion turned crimson with indignation. Her heart pounded, not with fear—but with betrayal.
"He abandons me… on the day of my coronation? The day I come of age? Just to meet a man—an outsider? A commoner?"
She fell silent, caught in a whirlwind of emotion and thought.
Who is this man?
And why… does everyone gather around him?