Hilde wore a silk robe as Sophia led her toward the hall where her father was waiting.

But Hilde didn’t like Pericles.

In the history books, Pericles was a heroic figure. In reality, though, he wasn’t much of a father. He was domineering and self-important, always putting the interests of the Athenians first and going on about Athens’s glory. Of course, Hilde knew perfectly well that Pericles didn’t like her either. He was strict, and he’d never been happy with a daughter who spent her days at leisure.

As they walked, Hilde looked at Sophia, who was a few steps ahead, and asked:

“Were you angry just now?”

“Not at all, miss.”

“Come on, don’t sulk. You know perfectly well…”

As she spoke, Hilde rested a hand on Sophia’s shoulder. With a mischievous smile, she leaned close to Sophia’s ear. “You’re the most special person to me in this whole archon’s residence.”

“I don’t mind you spending time with the other maids, miss.”

Sophia blushed and murmured softly:

“But I’m worried you might accidentally let your secret slip.”

“I know, I know.”

Hilde gently stroked Sophia’s wine-red hair.

“Still, you dared to talk back to your mistress just now. Don’t you think you deserve a punishment?”

“Miss, I…” Sophia’s cheeks flushed bright red, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say. As her nerves mounted, a strange rune on the back of her pale hand began to shine, giving off a faint red glow.

“I’m hungry anyway. Come to my room tonight.”

“…Yes.”

The other maids would never have imagined it.

Sophia, the stern and efficient head maid, was now blushing so hard that she trembled as she walked. Her imposing air had vanished with just a few words from Hilde, leaving her like this. Sophia walked ahead with her head bowed, her face scarlet, while Hilde bounced along behind her, acting nothing like a young lady.

Before long, Hilde stood before Pericles.

“You’re here.”

Pericles was fifty-five now, but the former general was still hale and vigorous. With his black curls and solid build, he was an imposing sight. Hilde wasn’t afraid of him, though. She smiled faintly and said to her father, “Oh, Dad, what did you want me to come here for?”

Pericles wasn’t used to Hilde acting so sweet. After all, no man could resist someone as adorable as she was. But he quickly turned serious. He stared at her with a stern expression and said, “Hilde, I’ve thought about this for a long time. You’re my daughter, yet you never learn a single bit of aristocratic etiquette. You show contempt for Athenian law, spend every day with the maids, and won’t study swordsmanship or pay your respects to the gods. Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

“Maybe I have gone a little too far?”

Faced with Pericles’s anger, Hilde didn’t get angry at all.

Instead, she calmly replied:

“Just tell me what you have in mind.”

“You… You still refuse to see reason. Your three older brothers have all made something of themselves: one became a general, one an accomplished scholar, and the other an orator. Each has excelled in his own field. And then there’s you. You’re already fifteen, and aside from your looks, you’re good for nothing! Your mother, Aspasia, spoils you every day, making you even more stubborn and incorrigible. The priest says that if things go on like this, you’ll become a disgrace to Athens—the ill omen that brings about its downfall.”

“…So that’s what the priest said.”

Hilde wasn’t surprised at all.

People had always seen her silver hair and violet eyes as a sign of disaster.

“And what do you think, Dad?”

“If the priest has said as much, then the people of Athens won’t tolerate you. And I’m afraid someone might try to take your life. Those fanatics are capable of anything. So, to protect you, I’ve decided to send you tomorrow to a newly founded city-state in Thrace.” Pericles sounded helpless as he added, “You probably don’t know where it is. It’s called Byzantium.”

“Byzantium…”

Hilde couldn’t help laughing.

“You’re not protecting me. You’re exiling me.”

“…If that’s how you want to see it, then so be it.”

There was no room for refusal in Pericles’s words.

Just then, Sophia, who had been standing nearby, suddenly dropped to her knees. “Master, master… Byzantium is so far away. I’ve heard that in winter, snow covers everything, and anything alive will freeze to death there. And—and there are savage Thracians, too. They’ll surely lust after the young lady’s beauty. You—you can’t do this. You can’t exile her there!”

“Sophia, this is my decision.”

Pericles’s voice was unyielding.

“I’ve thought it over for a long time.”

“Master, you really can’t…”

“And Sophia, you have no right to speak here. Remember your place. You’re nothing but a slave.”

“Master… I-I’m sorry…”

When Hilde saw Sophia being scolded, the smile vanished from her face.

“Sophia, you can go now,” Hilde said, turning to her.

“…Yes.”

Sophia hesitated at the order, but in the end, she left.

The journey from Athens to Byzantium was a thousand kilometers by land and more than seven hundred by sea. Along the way, they’d have to face all kinds of dangers: deserters, bandits, pirates. In other words, if a stunningly beautiful woman like Hilde set out for Byzantium, she’d likely die on the road. The journey was all but a death sentence. Hilde understood her father’s ruthlessness all too well, so she could only spread her hands in acceptance.

“I agree to it. But may I say something?”

“Go ahead.”