Her status was immediately problematic. Prince Julius, being more empathetic by nature, treated her with a certain brotherly kindness. In contrast, Prince Adrian openly despised her. He often ridiculed her in public, calling her the whore. Her father, the emperor, did not officially recognize her as an heir.
He avoided her gaze and refused to include her in official ceremonies. For him, she represented a flaw in his image as a pious and virtuous sovereign, proof of his hypocrisy.
The injustice suffered by her mother was the breaking point. The servant was found dead in her quarters, throat slit. The official investigation concluded it was suicide, which was absurd.
No culprit was sought and the matter was hushed up. For Olivia, then a child, it was a clear message: her life and those of her loved ones had no value in the eyes of power.
