B-ronken-R-ing 159...

Dolores used to parrot everything Empress Cayetana did, from her gestures to words. The girl had revered, worshiped, and loved the empress for as long as she could remember.

Inés recalled that at times, when Empress Cayetana spoke of Dolores, even if her words were cold and calculating, her eyes radiated a warmth that made her seem human. While the empress didn't love Dolores as much as Oscar, her affection for the girl was enough to make her look like she was at the very least not speaking of her husband's illegitimate child.

"This party is being held for Lady Dolores after all... His Highness is very fond of his only sister, so..." Alicia began to rattle off excuses in a hesitant tone.

Inés smiled lopsidedly. Indeed, Oscar had always been disgustingly fond of his sister.

When most of the people present at this evening party had been children, Inés recalled watching the empress laugh out loud at the sight of Dolores running around after Oscar. She had thought then that Empress Cayetana was a good person, perhaps even warmhearted, contrary to her icy exterior. The empress had shown no sign of disdain at the illegitimate child of her husband calling their son "Brother." In fact, she had seemed to welcome it. In those moments, the empress had appeared like a gentle and caring mother.

It was easy to judge someone based on a single facet of their personality. There wasn't much risk of criticism either, even if your judgment turned out to be wrong, since it was merely in your own head.

But at times, it would also lead to greater errors than one would normally make. This had been the case for Inés, back when she had trusted the empress. Just because someone loved one person, just because it was evident that a parent would love their child, it did not mean they would treat everyone else the same way.

Even a woman as vicious as Empress Cayetana could be a devoted mother to her children, and someone like Dolores could just happen to fit under that umbrella. The empress could be as generous to some as she was merciless to others, and the recipients of her love or ire could switch places at any moment, as need be. This was clear in how Alicia, whom the empress had doted on so much in Inés's first life, was now a subject of scorn after taking Inés's place, and in how it did not even occur to the empress to look for flaws in Inés now, despite having found countless things to criticize her over once upon a time.

Even Oscar's despicable stench seemed to disappear without a trace as soon as he was in front of his younger sister. Yes, even that debauchee had always been a wonderful brother to Dolores. As the emperor's only official child, Oscar never once showed any sort of hostility to Dolores and treated her like his own sister. In this regard, he behaved as though he had a good character by nature. Though she did not have the title of princess, Dolores was practically considered the princess at the palace. Everyone there, including the crown prince, doted on her, and yet ironically, she was not actually a member of the imperial family.

Dolores's eyes, sparkling with joy, swept over the room, lingering on Inés as she danced with her brother. Unlike in Inés's first life, the gaze held no ill will whatsoever. Dolores simply seemed curious about a woman she had not gotten to see very often.

Just like both Empress Cayetana and Oscar, Dolores was beautiful on the outside. It wasn't just that she had a pretty face, but that she gave off a very amiable impression. Her hair was as splendidly golden as though she had taken after the empress, and her small, delicate features made her look like a doll. If she had also taken after the empress in her demeanor, she would have looked far less amiable, but taking after her birth mother's gentle features made Dolores appear as virtuous as an angel-at least on the outside.

Though she was not related to the empress by blood, everything in Dolores's head had been planted there by the empress herself. Dolores was practically a little Cayetana at her core, which perhaps explained her obsession with and protectiveness over her brother. This had made Inés her mortal enemy in the past. If Marchioness Yargavá was the empress's eyes, Dolores was like a little empress who wandered the palace, acting harmless. She had despised Inés along with her mother for making her brother so neurotic over her, and she had found it utterly unacceptable for a mere duke's daughter to have a much higher status than herself, the daughter of the emperor, after her marriage.

The consensus of the Grandes de Ortega was that, as much as the emperor may be her father, Dolores was still an illegitimate child. This meant that she was neither part of the imperial family nor the emperor's daughter, officially, because she wasn't the empress's daughter on paper. The only status she held was being Countess Fernandez's child born out of wedlock. Legally, she was not even considered a noble, let alone a princess.

As much as affairs and lovers were a common part of marriages in Ortega, bigamy was strictly forbidden. A child born to a woman other than one's wife could not be considered one's own. Things would be different if the wife were to generously grant the child their surname, but there was a law in place to prevent husbands from pressuring their wives into this. In an emergency in which a noble house lost all of its sons, leaving no successors, it would ask its members to agree to adopt an illegitimate son, but such cases were rare. Main branch families preferred to adopt nephews rather than an illegitimate child, after all.

When something bad happened to sons, it was usually twice as hard on daughters. However, for illegitimate daughters of high-ranking nobles, being born a girl could be a blessing. Dolores, born as the daughter of the highest-ranking man in the empire, had kept her life because of it. She had also had the great fortune to be taken in by her father's family, doted on, and revel in luxury.

But as the princess who wasn't quite a princess, Dolores was treasured at the palace in an entirely different way from Inés. The marriage talks that had gone on between Dolores and the sons of the five dukes of the empire had all failed to come to fruition. At the time, Inés had been the only girl of marrying age among the high-ranking nobility, and if it hadn't been for the empress, she would have had her pick among all of those young men, which was obviously a great point of resentment for Dolores.

However, the true reason behind the contempt Dolores had held for Inés was nothing so petty.

Dolores's status held absolutely no value, especially compared to Inés. Even compared to Alicia, whom Dolores had looked down on, and all the other young ladies, she was inferior. The only thing that kept her in her position was the empress's favor, and the calculating noble houses that needed the empress's influential power.

The day Dolores had ended up revealing her true nature, which so closely resembled that of the empress, was when she finally realized the full extent of her predicament. It dawned on her that her lack of legitimate status did not simply limit her choice of husbands, but that it nullified all of the admiration she had received her whole life. This realization struck especially hard when the eldest daughter of Count Olivares, whom Dolores had never even considered a threat, easily managed to marry Marquess Montor, the object of Dolores's long-held secret and unrequited love.

In the end, the true cause of this tragedy was the empress, who had raised Dolores as her own while refusing to grant her any official status. Still, Inés had to admit that Empress Cayetana was nothing short of a savior to Dolores. Her luxurious lifestyle was only possible because of the empress, and Dolores had been treated as a princess at the palace all her life. Even if the fact that she wasn't actually a princess had shattered all of her dreams she had been extremely fortunate.

The empress, who had grown very fond of her fake daughter, failed to keep in mind Dolores's lack of status and only picked out the noblest men for her. These men, in turn, quite reasonably refused to be paired up with a lady whose lack of rank was too great a flaw. They didn't want to become nothing more than her servant. This did have the positive effect of filtering out the underhanded men who simply sought the empress's protection, but it was of little consolation to the young Dolores.

And yet, her trust and loyalty toward the mother who had raised her was so complete that she ignored the fact that the empress had doomed her to her lack of noble status. She spent her days relieving her disappointment by tormenting those she considered beneath her. Once upon a time, Inés had been one of them. Inés had been the only one to defend Dolores with her influence and the only one to make life difficult for her.

"Even a pathetic wench like you was given the name Ortega. Even you are a Valeztena, and yet..."

"That is simply because I am your brother's wife."

"You do not even share a drop of blood with the imperial family... you aren't even the emperor's daughter!"

"Your horrid statements do not suit your sweet countenance. If I had been His Majesty's daughter, how could I have married your brother?"

"I am His Majesty's only daughter. The empress's only daughter. The crown prince's only sister. Not you..."

"I would not like to be born as your mother's daughter, Dolores, even if that would make me the most honored person in the whole world rather than simply an Ortega. I would not like to be your despicable brother's sister, either."

"This is unfair. It doesn't make any sense. It is so easy for the likes of you, so why can't I..."

"If you envy my position so much, please take your brother back and start an incestuous relationship with him."

"You blasphemous Perez wench! How dare you say such things?! Do not speak of my brother so disrespectfully! My brother, Oscar, he... the likes of you cannot speak of him that way. How dare you!"

"If your brother should be respected so much, then you shouldn't dare to treat me, his wife, in such a way, either. Even if the imperial family does dote on you."

Despite sensing Oscar's eyes on her, Inés rested her gaze on the lovely girl chattering away in his arms. Inés's face remained entirely composed as she recalled the moment when Dolores's bright facade had shattered completely.

"It was you who spread those ridiculous rumors about me and Marquess Montor, wasn't it, Dolores?"

"Do not blame me for your indecent dalliances with your cousin, Valeztena. You should be ashamed of yourself for spreading your legs to your kin."

"My cousin will live happily with his wife for a hundred years, no matter how much you try to stain his reputation because you could not have him for yourself."

"He is an honorable man, so of course he will not be affected, but what of the stains on you?"

The memory of Dolores's kind smile twisting into a wicked smirk was so vivid that Inés could practically see it flickering into view, overlapping with the girl's bright expression on the dance floor.