I looked around at the unfamiliar faces and frowned.

No wonder I had not seen any of the old household staff. My dear younger brother had truly lost all sense. He had been so enthralled by this jealous woman that he had dismissed Cedric, who had served him for more than a decade.

When Lydia saw me fall silent, she grew even more arrogant. "Today is my wedding day, so I won't make things difficult for you. Beg on your knees and apologize to me, then swear you'll never appear before the prince again. Then, I won't expose this matter. Otherwise, it's not my fault for doing what duty demands. Impersonating royalty is a capital crime. Even the Queen Mother won't be able to save House Upton!"

With that, she led the guards toward me. Her sharp nails dug hard into my arm. The maids and senior attendants beside me were stopped by the guards in their tracks, and Edwin was sweating all over from anxiety.

"Stop! How dare you disrespect Princess Sophia! Stop this at once!" He yelled. But a guard kicked Edwin to the ground with so much force that he coughed out blood just a split second later.

My eyes widened before I raised my hand and slapped Lydia on the face with all I had. "You dare cross such a line? You deserve this! I already told you I am not Sylvia! Since you don't believe me, go to the front hall and ask Alaric who I truly am!"

But Lydia would never let her imagined rival meet Alaric so easily. Touching her red cheek, Lydia kicked hard at the back of my knee with a furious expression on her face. "You wench! Even now you're still thinking of seducing the prince?! Your intentions are as clear as day! You won't see the prince today!

"You refused my mercy and chose the hard way instead… How dare you strike me, Prince Alaric's wife? Someone, strip off her clothes and throw her into the streets! Women in this backward age care most about their virtue, correct? I'll make it so bad for you that you have no way out other than to hide in a convent!"

I was kicked hard to the ground, and my face was bruised from Lydia's slaps. When I saw the maid beside her reach for my belt, rage burned inside of me. "You dare?! Lydia, I will make Alaric's entire household pay for what you've done!"

Lydia laughed and shook her head, her eyes full of contempt. "What? Still unwilling to give up the fake princess act? Alaric can only ever be mine no matter how you threaten me. Don't even dream of stealing him away."

With that, she personally tore open my outer gown and laughed with glee. "I'm an expert at such intrigue. You're no match for me at all. No matter what schemes you use, I'll easily see through them. You would have been better off groveling and begging me to spare you instead of going against me!"

I struggled hard, biting the inside of my mouth until it was bloody and torn. "Let go of me! His Majesty won't spare you! My mother won't spare you either!"

Lydia was not afraid. Instead, she smiled mockingly. "So what? The prince said he would protect me. Even if I killed a little wench like you, nothing would happen to me. I am the woman the prince married. What can a mere merchant's daughter use to fight me?"

Lydia tore my clothes completely open as everyone watched. Lydia picked up a quill and walked toward me with a provocative smile as my maids and senior attendants desperately tried to stop her.

"What a beautiful figure. What a pity it has to be marked with the word harlot. This is a special alchemical ink that won't fade. You better remember this humiliation well, you fake princess. Don't seduce men you should never covet again!"

I gritted my teeth and glared at Lydia. Just as she was about to lower the quill, the maid I had sent out stumbled over in a panic and shielded me behind her. "Don't be afraid, Your Highness. Prince Alaric is here!"

Alaric, dressed in his wedding suit, frowned as he stepped into the inner courtyard. After looking around, his shocked gaze landed on me. "Why is it so lively here among the ladies? What happened here?"

The voices around us fell silent at once, and even Lydia froze. The next instant, her eyes filled with tears as she ran weakly into Alaric's arms with a pitiful sob. "You're finally here, my love! Sylvia is pretending to be the princess and sneaks into the estate so she could get into your bed and seduce you, then break us apart. Please, see justice be done for me!"

I staggered to my feet and fastened the cloak my maid handed me. Then, I looked coldly at the two of them, fire burning in my eyes.

Alaric's face was pale as he wiped the cold sweat from his brow, yet he still patted Lydia's shoulder to comfort her. "Why would she pretend to be the princess to seduce me, Lydia? Is there some misunderstanding? She is clearly..."

Before he could finish, Lydia's sobs cut him off. She glared at me and raised her foot, about to ram herself into a nearby column. "Since you don't believe me, I might as well die and go back to my own world. I don't want to stay in this rotten medieval world anyway!"

Alaric immediately stopped her. When he looked at me, guilt flickered in his eyes as he said, "Of course not, Lydia. I believe you. Tell me how you want her punished. I will allow it all."

As I listened to them, I dug my nails into my palm until my palm bled with a firestorm brewing in my eyes. "Alaric, has this woman enthralled you so much to the point you've lost your mind?"

Lydia then handed Alaric the quill. He then quickly walked toward me. Under everyone's gaze, he allowed the guards to press me to the ground again and said softly, "Sophia, today is my wedding day. It wasn't easy to make Lydia agree to marry me. Please just take this for my sake and help me calm her down, alright?"

I stared in disbelief as he personally untied my cloak. When the cold ink touched the skin of my back, I endured the humiliation and roared with all my strength. "I am your sister! I am Princess Sophia! Why won't you explain to her who I am? Why are you helping an outsider humiliate me instead? Alaric, do you truly have a death wish?"

Unexpectedly, Alaric did not hesitate after hearing that. Instead, he frowned in displeasure. "So what? You have no idea how intelligent Lydia is. She's a transmigrator from the future, and she can help me in many ways. Of course I must keep her. As my older sister, you should be helping me instead. Why are you opposing her and making things difficult for me?"

I could feel my chest ache after hearing such shameless words from him. Now, even breathing has become difficult. "Alaric, you..."

The quill on my back was his answer as he said, "I will transfer all the shops in the southern district to you as an apology."

So in Alaric's eyes, my dignity and reputation were worth less than the wealth Lydia had helped him earn.

As my own younger brother wrote the shameful word "harlot" on my back, the tears I had held back for so long finally fell. I closed my eyes in despair as everyone watched, hatred burning in my heart.

"Even now, you're still being stubborn. I already told you that I am the person the prince loves most. What do you have to make you think you can even compete with me? Your fake princess identity?"

Just as Alaric lowered the quill without hesitation as Lydia laughed with a sneer, someone arrived in the inner courtyard through the corridor, surrounded by attendants. As that imposing figure appeared, all I could hear was everyone dropping to their knees and bowing.

"All bow for Her Majesty, Queen Mother Maria!"

I raised my head and met those aching eyes. In the next instant, I broke down and choked out.

"Mother!"