“Saint-Liselle Palace is now mostly used for banquets and events, but it is a palace that Caliph II personally expanded, so its fame is tremendous. The nobles consider access to the Liselle Garden as a very great privilege. So, whenever they visit the palace once, they invariably pass through the garden on their way out.”
“Always this many people?”
“That’s not the case. Today is the day of the Privy Council meeting and there was a luncheon due to the continuous welcome banquets for the returnees. So, there are especially many people.”
As we entered the entrance of the garden, Madame Marie said.
“After finishing the walk and returning, I’ll show you the palace map. You’ll be surprised by the enormous scale.”
“Besides Saint-Liselle Palace, there are other palaces too?”
To my words, not knowing anything, Madame Marie kindly answered.
“This place is only a part of Saint-Liselle Palace. Strictly speaking, this palace where banquets and such are held is Saint-Liselle East Palace. The main palace, West palace, East palace, and the annexes as well as this vast grounds are all combined and named Saint-Liselle Palace.”
I recalled the day I escaped from the annex to see Orleans and wandered alone. I truly felt that the scale of the imperial palace was not to be taken lightly.
I looked at Saint-Liselle East Palace. The East Palace, with its blue arched roof rising high, had grand sculptures engraved on the windows and walls. They were sculptures of stern-faced people wearing crowns on their heads, riding horses or raising their hands high and shouting loudly. I guessed that those sculptures represented the previous Emperors of Ludenbach.
“Could it be that His Majesty deliberately plotted a conspiracy for the sake of that lowly thing?”
While gazing at the palace’s majestic appearance, a sharp voice pierced my ears. At the same time, I felt Madame Marie’s body stiffen beside me.
The owner of the voice was Princess Lena and her companions walking not far away. My attire was also beautiful, but Princess Lena was wearing a dress far more splendid, incomparable to mine. Princess Lena, who was walking haughtily, turned her head as if she had just noticed me belatedly.
“Has the Lady come as well?”
The young-faced Princess Lena asked, holding her head stiffly. The noble ladies standing beside her greeted me all at once.
The large mountains rising above their heads moving looked comical. To me, barely holding back laughter, Madame Marie hurriedly whispered.
“Greet Her Highness the Princess with proper etiquette.”
“Do I have to bow my head?”
“The Lady is an illegitimate daughter, but as the Emperor’s acknowledged daughter, you can receive it with equal courtesy. Greet her according to the etiquette I told you about.”
I looked straight at Princess Lena and responded to her with a smiling face.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Your Highness.”
Just from greeting, Princess Lena grimaced.
What? Does seeing my face make her feel bad? Then why did she act like she knew me first? Could the ‘lowly thing’ she mentioned be about me?
My mood soured sharply, and I scowled more fiercely than her. Then, the noble ladies standing beside Princess Lena let out surprised sighs one by one. If they get surprised by this much, it’s not enough.
“By the way, Your Highness just said ‘that lowly thing,’ but whose story were you referring to? I’m also very curious about that story.”
The flustered Madame Marie grabbed my arm. Pretending not to know, I continued speaking.
“Since you spoke loudly enough for everyone in the palace to hear, I think it’s not presumptuous to listen.”
“You don’t need to know. Lady, just continue on your way.”
Princess Lena said irritably. As if it was the first time Edita had spoken to her so boldly, she was flustered and ashamed.
Princess Lena added viciously, trying not to reveal her feelings.
“It’s so delightful that Lady Edita is speaking to me like this. But I have one curious point. Normally, the person who avoided associating with Her Highness the Princess and the ladies of noble blood, saying how could someone born from a lowly mother mingle with them, has she gone mad after falling into the water? Or were those words back then just pretense?”
At those words, the ladies beside Princess Lena burst into laughter. Princess Lena, regaining her confidence, also smiled maliciously.
My molars clenched tightly in my mouth. I understood why Edita had been so cowed until now. These people had been beating the Emperor’s daughter this way and that, using her mother’s status as an excuse. No matter how upright a person, they couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
But since I came from another world, I had no qualms seeing them in this world. As I was about to retort one by one, the one lady who hadn’t joined in, with a timid expression, tried to stop Princess Lena.
“Your Highness, please stop and continue the walk.”
“Lady Zita, stay quiet!”
At Princess Lena’s command, she wilted and quickly bowed her head. Yes, Lady, stay quiet. I’ll handle this little ginger.
“From what I hear, it seems that the ‘lowly thing’ Your Highness Princess Lena mentioned refers to me?”
“Since the Lady herself said so, I merely responded accordingly, but are you displeased?”
When I spoke without any reservation, Lena seemed a bit perplexed but still didn’t lose her impudence and retorted. I got annoyed at her brazen attitude, as if she had come out of her mother’s womb with a steel plate on her face.
“Then, you’re saying that His Majesty deliberately plotted a conspiracy for my sake? To suspect His Majesty, it seems you have three or four lives.”
The sight of Princess Lena’s impudent face turning pale in an instant was a spectacle. Princess Lena, caught in the trap she had set herself, had no way out. This time, a smile rose to my lips.
“How could you so carelessly utter words suspecting His Majesty? I doubt if you’re the same person who was so concerned about my honor.”
As my words continued, Princess Lena’s face turned red and blue like fireworks. Even Madame Marie, who had been trying to stop me, seemed somewhat satisfied and stayed quiet this time.
Princess Lena was trembling almost all over her body. It wasn’t fear, but anger. The clear anger in her young eyes was directed at me. She clasped her trembling hands and took a step forward.
“Oh ho, now I understand why the Lady is suddenly persecuting me like this!”
“Wasn’t the persecution started first by Your Highness the Princess? And that from a very long time ago.”
I also didn’t back down and took a step forward to confront her.
“You’re looking down on me because you’re engaged to Duke Albrenovich, aren’t you? However, the Lady will be marrying down from the annex, not Saint-Liselle Palace. Between the Lady and me, there is an insurmountable difference in legitimacy…!”
Princess Lena, who had been shouting as if to show her uvula, suddenly stopped speaking. From her large mouth that couldn’t close, only a sigh escaped. The noble ladies beside her were also startled in the same way.
I turned my head toward where their gazes had stopped.
Behind me, Duke Brandt Albrenovich stood with cold eyes.
‘Why is this person here?’
I was the most surprised by his appearance. Madame Marie had to support me as I stumbled.
Brandt, however, walked forward without paying any attention to this side and stood in front of me and Madame Marie.
His huge shadow enveloped us. I felt frustrated because I couldn’t see Brandt’s expression as he turned away.
“I greet the honorable Your Highness the Princess.”
Brandt greeted Princess Lena with impeccable etiquette, without a single deviation.
‘What? Why did he skip me?’
I was dumbfounded that he didn’t even greet me, let alone acknowledge me.
We’re engaged, aren’t we, despite how it looks?
Suddenly, I recalled his cold gaze looking at me. Back then, I was shocked to be engaged to a stranger and only lamented my own situation, but now it occurred to me that from his perspective, this engagement might not be particularly welcome. After all, the head of the Empire’s most prestigious family had to get engaged to a so-called ‘good-for-nothing’ woman because of a vow made on the battlefield.
‘But he could have just not stepped forward in front of the Emperor while talking about some blood oath!’
No matter how I thought about it, I was the most unfairly treated.
It would be better to just fight it out. Being ignored was miserable in itself.
It was at that moment when resentment was surging up. Princess Lena started sniffling with tears, then began crying out loud with ‘Heung.’ I was quite surprised, as I hadn’t expected her to perform the ‘villainess classic’ in front of me.
“Duke Albrenovich! Heung…!”
Seeing that Brandt showed no reaction even as she cried, Princess Lena began to wail even more intensely. Looking at Princess Lena crying like a child, a sigh escaped me naturally. If it had been me, Madame Marie would surely have nagged, ‘Lady, you must cry with dignity, like heuk, hik.’
Seeing Princess Lena’s state, which showed no trace of imperial dignity, I could understand why Madame Marie was so insistent on propriety. If I had to cry in the future, I thought I should elegantly dab my tears without Madame Marie’s scolding.
“It seems Her Highness the Princess is deeply hurt inside. Duke.”
“Even watching makes my heart ache so much I can’t bear it.”
As Brandt just stood indifferently, the noble ladies clung to him and started fanning the flames. It was truly a sight I couldn’t bear to watch with open eyes. That’s why people call those who fawn over others ‘handmaidens.’
“Your Highness, what is the matter?”
Brandt asked in a listless tone, as if saying ‘Here.’
“Since Duke Albrenovich asks, I will answer, but it’s an embarrassing matter that I hesitate to put into words. Heung… I didn’t want to go this far with someone older than me. But Lady Edita’s arrogance pierces the heavens, so as the Empire’s sole Princess, I had no choice but to say a word. Even so, how could the Lady do this to me?”
Princess Lena spat it out as if she had been waiting. As expected. It was a new attack through a third party. But this third party had just treated me like air. In short, I was done for.
“Your Highness, don’t cry.”
“The Lady was too much.”
“I really saw such a side of Lady Edita for the first time.”
The noble ladies standing beside Princess Lena clapped along to her detestable acting. Only the one lady who had tried to stop Princess Lena earlier and got scolded by her stood dejectedly at the back.
Unable to watch any longer, Madame Marie stepped forward.
“Your Highness the Princess, this lowly non-robe humbly asks if I may say a word?”
“If you know you’re lowly, stay quiet! Heung…..!”
But Madame Marie had to retract once more in the face of Princess Lena’s blatant disregard.
I could take it, but I was furious at Princess Lena for humiliating even Madame Marie. I wanted to grab that brat’s hair right then and shake her like a windmill to teach her what real tears taste like.
However, with that intimidating man standing there like a rock just by his presence, I couldn’t bring myself to act on it. If I stepped out and faced a joint attack, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
At that moment, the silent Brandt opened his mouth.
“Your Highness.”
“Hik, yes…”
“May I presume to ask the intent behind speaking of my fiancée in such a manner?”
In an instant, the air around froze. I, Princess Lena, Madame Marie, and even the annoying noble ladies all widened our eyes and looked at Brandt, who had uttered unexpected words.
“Ah, Duke Albrenovich…”
“Words directed at my fiancée are the same as those directed at me. I believe Your Highness Princess Lena, well-versed in etiquette, is aware of this.”
I stared at Brandt’s back, standing turned away, with a burning heart. From his voice alone, I couldn’t sense any emotional fluctuation. However, his calm tone instead sent chills down the listeners’ spines.
“Duke, that’s not what I meant…”
“However, before the honorable Princess Ludenbach, my honor is but a trivial thing.”
Brandt suddenly bowed at the waist.
“If my fiancée has erred, I will accept that insult in her place and gladly receive Your Highness’s punishment.”
At first glance, it seemed like a deferential tone to a superior, but no one missed the thorns embedded in the content.
I covered my mouth in surprise.
Yes, that man was my fiancé. It was natural for him to protect his fiancée. Why hadn’t I realized this obvious truth? I had held prejudices against him just because of that bad memory from that day. Perhaps that momentary incident was a misunderstanding…
Brandt’s dignified back view suddenly looked different.
But even if I could accept it, I couldn’t understand what Princess Lena was relying on to scheme such an obvious plot in front of Brandt. He didn’t look like the type to gently cater to others’ whims. It seemed like the words of a spoiled and ignorant princess who had grown up only among those who indulged her in the imperial palace until now.
The cornered Princess Lena rolled her eyes here and there, then shrieked at me just as she had before.
“Duke Albrenovich, you’re being too much to me!”
That one always acts like only she’s the victim.
Leave a Reply