Chapter 117
#117. The Saintess No One Knew
“Wh-What nonsense…!”
The Princess moved her frozen body and desperately shouted.
Olivia Madelaine—, Olivia Madelaine—, the Princess's scream was layered over the echoing sound.
“Drag her out immediately! Before that woman spouts any more nonsense!”
Then, Baroness Sophron urgently gagged Maria Etel and dragged her towards the door. Servants hurriedly opened the door and helped the Baroness.
Ugh, ugh…!
Hearing the muffled sounds fade away, the Princess steadied her legs. And she tried to come to her senses.
She had to somehow salvage the situation.
Hundreds of eyes were looking at her, the Princess, with suspicion. The Princess tried her best to hold her trembling hands and lowered her head towards His Majesty the Emperor.
“…I am sorry. To show such an unsightly appearance when both Their Majesties have graced us with their presence.”
“Ahem…!”
His Majesty the Emperor cleared his throat. His displeasure was evident, but he did not say anything more.
Barely managing to seize the last chance she almost lost, the Princess turned around and spoke to the nobles.
“It seems that Lady Etel is going through a series of difficult events, so she is mentally very unstable.”
Among the faces filled with doubt, Grand Duke Bikander’s subtly smiling face caught her eye. Even with that unsettling expression, the Princess continued to speak carelessly.
“Lady Etel’s groundless nonsense…”
“Ah-!”
At that moment, a sudden scream was heard. Everyone's gaze, which had been on the Princess, turned towards the doorway.
Good heavens…! One noblewoman covered her mouth in horror and stifled a scream.
“…Lies! The Princess’s words are all lies! If that weren’t the case, how could I have tried to hold the engagement ceremony at the Summer Ball…!”
Maria Etel, with blood on her pale face, screamed, and Baroness Sophron hastily gagged Maria Etel again with her bloody hand.
The sound echoed through the open door and into the hallway.
Maria Etel’s doll-like blue eyes were chilling to even look at.
Maria Etel, who had been making muffled sounds while gagged, began to laugh as if sobbing.
As Maria Etel, who was laughing as if everything was going to hell, was dragged out and the sound of the door closing faded away,
the Summer Ball became quieter than ever.
Chillingly silent gazes turned towards the Princess. It felt as if an invisible hand was strangling her neck, making it hard to breathe.
“No, that’s impossible! Surely you don’t all believe those absurd words, do you?”
The Princess shouted vehemently.
It felt as if the pressure constricting her chest disappeared as her voice grew louder. At the same time, a sense of injustice surged to the top of her head, making her eyes burn.
“Even if the delegation doesn’t know, all the nobles here know! Everyone here knows what I have done for the Empire!”
How, how could they look at me with such eyes?
“Yes, last year! The spring famine last year!”
The Princess looked at the nobles as if seeking their agreement. At the mention of the spring famine, the nobles’ gazes changed slightly.
“Everyone remembers how I restored the Retail Territory during the spring famine last year, right?”
The miraculous event that saved hundreds of thousands of starving people from starvation. At the same time, the perfect achievement that elevated her from merely the flower of the Empire to the noble position of Saintess.
“That’s, that’s true. Her Highness the Princess did save hundreds of thousands of people…”
“But, what if even that was really done by Madeleine…”
“Shhh. We don’t know yet.”
The nobles were also wavering at the story of the spring famine. Although her back was drenched in cold sweat, the Princess looked at the nobles, pretending to be confident while hiding her desperation.
She would rather die than have people know that Olivia Madelaine had done all her achievements.
“Do not worry. Your Highness. I am one who knows loyalty.”
Olivia Madelaine swore to her that she would not tell anyone.
Since she babbled about knowing loyalty, she must have disposed of the ledger. So, no one would claim that this was not her achievement…
“That can’t be.”
A voice so exquisite it sent shivers down one’s spine descended upon the Summer Ball.
A man whose presence was revealed by his voice alone, Grand Duke Bikander slowly walked forward in front of everyone.
The Princess and his eyes met in the air, and at the same time, his red eyes smiled threateningly.
“I believe Her Highness the Princess was at the underground auction house during the spring famine last year.”
How could that man know something that no one else knew…!
Grand Duke Bikander kindly added, as if he had belatedly remembered.
“You spent quite a bit of money to obtain the Necklace of Le Calle, I heard.”
“…What, what kind of slander is that! Grand Duke, even if you are a war hero, you cannot insult me like this.”
The Princess spoke calmly. She didn’t know where he had heard such a thing, but there was no evidence.
Everything about the underground auction was kept secret. Even His Majesty the Emperor could not uncover the true nature of the underground auction.
But that confident appearance, the red lips that were smiling faintly, and the eyes that gleamed eerily were strangling the Princess.
“Surely you didn’t think I would bring it up without any evidence.”
“What evid…!”
At that moment, the Princess’s eyes widened. It was then that the Princess, who was so pale she couldn’t breathe, screamed as if in agony.
“Surely Olivia, that vulgar woman, didn’t give you the ledger, ugh…!”
The Grand Duke strangled the Princess with just his sharp gaze. The Princess, having lost all composure, groped around her neck.
“Grand Duke! What are you doing!”
His Majesty the Emperor’s roar felt distant. It felt as if she could not escape the murderous intent in his red eyes no matter what she did.
“…I apologize. Your Majesty. I was angry.”
After the utterly dry voice, the chilling murderous intent disappeared. The Princess looked at the Grand Duke through her tear-filled vision.
As her vision cleared, the Grand Duke’s face became clearer and clearer. The man, without any expression, was looking at her with a terrifyingly indifferent face.
No. Please…! The Princess’s instincts begged the Grand Duke. But she could not stop his red lips from parting.
“I only found out about the existence of the ledger just now. Thanks to Her Highness the Princess’s ‘direct’ mention of it.”
The tension that had been building up exploded in an instant.
“Then, does that really mean that all of Her Highness the Princess’s achievements up until now were all done by Madeleine…!”
“You were always so meticulous about every Summer Ball, but the question of why Maria Etel interfered only this time, when Madeleine wasn’t present, is now resolved!”
“What about Viscount Katangta’s words that he didn’t go to the Territory of Vikander?”
Ridicule, mockery, and criticism.
The Princess slowly shook her head and looked around.
“…No, no, this must be a nightmare.”
Her muttering voice trembled. Her soaked back became cold. The Princess, who had lost her composure, hurriedly looked at the nobles around her.
The nobles who met her eyes avoided her gaze, and her playmates had already gone far away. Even the knights who had always expressed their unwavering affection for her had hardened faces.
All the foundations that had supported her were collapsing. In a situation that felt like death, the Princess looked at His Majesty the Emperor.
Now, only His Majesty the Emperor was left. The Princess ran to His Majesty the Emperor with staggering steps as if she would fall.
“Fath, Father…!”
“…It seems that today is not a suitable day for a Tea Party.”
His Majesty the Emperor’s gaze skipped over the Princess.
Thud-. Her last hope was plunged into the mud.
Even as her lips trembled, His Majesty the Emperor’s smooth words were clearly heard.
“It’s a shame to send the delegation away like this. Prepare a grand banquet for my farewell. It will require preparation, so how about the delegation return to their respective residences for a while to spend time preparing?”
“Yes. Your Majesty.”
Duke Kiwel answered politely to the Emperor's firm dismissal. As if he had been preparing to withdraw early, he gestured to the entire delegation.
The delegation glanced at the Princess with regret. And they began to leave as if they couldn't help it. At that sight, His Majesty the Emperor let out a short breath and added a word.
“I will leave for a while to prepare for the banquet. The Crown Prince will remain to clean up.”
“Yes. Your Majesty.”
There was no mention of the Princess's well-being in those words.
Even as everyone paid their respects to the Emperor's departure, the Princess could not move her frozen body.
The misery of the situation where everything was revealed without any embellishment, the despair at her father's abandonment, and the shame of being ridiculed. Everything combined to drag the Princess down to the very bottom.
“His Majesty the Emperor seems to be very busy. Your Highness the Princess.”
In a moment when no one was speaking, the only voice that was heard was the Grand Duke’s. At the same time, the Princess raised her head sharply. This scene, which felt like déjà vu, was clearly the same as what she had said.
“The Duke must be very busy. Madeleine.”
It seemed that the Princess was not the only one who had that thought flash through her mind. From somewhere, a light snicker was heard, and someone added a word.
“Her Highness the Princess also said those words to the Madeleine before…”
No.
The Princess shook her head.
She was clearly the legitimate child of His Majesty the Emperor. She was a noble Princess, and she was a precious person who could never be abandoned.
She could not admit that she was in a situation comparable to that of Olivia Madelaine.
But…
The Princess stared blankly at the closed door. The Emperor had left through that door. Her last chance had ended like this.
Her mother did not protect her, and her brother did not approach her.
Then, what was the difference between herself and Olivia Madelaine, whom she had so harshly criticized?
“…Ah, hahahaha.”
Everyone held their breath. A weak laugh slowly began to spread. At a certain moment when the Princess’s laughter, which had been a bitter laugh, rang out loudly…
“Your Highness the Princess!”
With a piercing voice, the Princess’s frail body collapsed.
Towards the dirtiest floor of the Summer Ball, where everyone was stepping.
.
.
.
“…Escort the Princess to the palace.”
Oh my, Your Highness!
The Princess’s nanny, who had been pacing back and forth, supported the Princess and led her out. At the same time, the Summer Ball, where only the nobles of the Empire were gathered, became quiet once again.
A disgrace had occurred in the presence of the delegation, and it was revealed that the Princess's achievements were actually Madeleine’s accomplishments. And the Emperor had tacitly rejected the Princess.
Whose eyes should they be watching in this situation?
At some point, Duke Elkin’s figure had disappeared. But the nobles, unaware of that fact, looked back and forth between Duke Madeleine, the Crown Prince, and Grand Duke Bikander.
It was when the chillingly frozen Summer Ball began to stir again.
“Duke. Let’s move to another location for a while.”
It was because of the Crown Prince, who was ordering Duke Madeleine.
The Crown Prince did not seem to have any concern for the Princess who had left. Far from comforting the nobles, he was even trying to give the Grand Duke a chance to dominate the Summer Ball.
“…Is it really true that Madeleine restored the Retail Territory?”
Now that the floodgates had been opened, the nobles had nothing to fear. The nobles opened up with faces that showed they were chilled to the bone.
“Good heavens. I got goosebumps when I heard the story of the Summer Ball!”
“I wonder when it started. When Madeleine started doing the Princess’s work for her.”
“The engagement with His Highness the Crown Prince was eleven years ago, could it be?”
“Good heavens. Madeleine was the Saintess.”
At someone’s exclamation-like words, the nobles closed their mouths for a moment. Once again, confusion washed over them.
Green eyes that were as lowly as could be, a bastard born from an affair, a femme fatale who caused the Duchess to die.
No one showed it, but everyone was thinking the same thing. The Madeleine that had spread throughout society and the actual Madeleine were very different people.
It was only when that silence weighed heavily on their shoulders that someone barely said a word.
“…The Saintess no one knew.”
The nobles unknowingly looked at one place.
Did the Grand Duke know this and take Madeleine away? To monopolize all this praise?
What kind of triumphant expression would he be making now? What kind of ridicule would he be throwing at the Crown Prince?
But the nobles, who were looking at the Grand Duke with pounding hearts, paused for a moment.
It was different from what they had expected.
The Grand Duke, who they thought would be proud and boast about the praise for his lady…
“What do you think, Duke.”
The words he spat out as if grinding them were chilling. The Grand Duke looked at Duke Madeleine with a face that could not smile and asked.
“Did the Duke help? Is that why my lady was able to accomplish these many things that deserve to be praised as a Saintess?”
