Chapter 72
#072. Esella's Counterattack
"How could that be? Unrealized plans often seem similar. Madeleine, you rarely attend Tea Parties or balls, so you may not know, but Her Imperial Highness's Summer Ball always surprises us."
The daughter of Marquess Liveorn hurriedly defended the Princess. Her words dripped with sarcasm, implying that the Madeleine, who didn't engage in much social activity, wouldn't understand.
Only then did the other young ladies chime in.
"That's right, Madeleine. You'll attend the Summer Ball once you have your Debutante next year. Join us then."
"Only a year until Madeleine's Debutante. You've always missed Tea Parties due to health issues. Wouldn't a year be too short to get healthy by your Debutante?"
"Don't say such things. It's not like Madeleine is doing it on purpose."
Among the young ladies, welcome and rudeness towards Esella alternated. The Emperor faction's young ladies continued their tightrope walk between the Princess and the Madeleine, but Esella only smiled faintly. Then, the direction of their conversation flowed in an increasingly strange way.
"Have you found a chaperone to go with you to your Debutante? I heard that the Young Grand Duke is looking for a chaperone."
One of the young ladies subtly brought it up. Everyone's eyes sparkled, pretending not to care.
The Madeleine's chaperone was a coveted position. It was an opportunity to make a lasting impression on the unmarried Conrad and Jade Madeleine.
Esella, who had been smiling elegantly, slowly opened her mouth.
"Oh, brother. I can just go with my sister."
Sister? Someone gasped.
Everyone stared at Esella for a moment. No one dared to speak, looking at her face that asked what was wrong.
Everyone there remembered what had happened last time.
Esella Madeleine, with a face that knew nothing, taking the side of Olivia, that bastard, her eyes sparkling.
"How can you treat the daughter of a dancer who killed your mother like a real sister?"
Even how her face had become empty, as if her world had collapsed.
In the situation where they were all watching each other, the Princess frowned.
She couldn't understand.
Why had Esella Madeleine suddenly changed her attitude? After learning the truth, the relationship between Esella Madeleine and that half-breed had clearly broken down.
After that, she had brazenly accepted the Grand Duke's proposal and left for the Territory of Vikander, so there shouldn't have been any changes in their relationship.
The Princess spoke urgently.
"Sister? Surely you don't mean that green-eyed b*tch,"
"Surely not."
A low voice cut off the Princess's words.
"Surely you're not talking about my sister, Olivia Madelaine, who is listed as the eldest daughter of the Madeleine Dukedom in the noble registry approved by His Most Exalted Emperor. Your Highness."
The table fell silent in an instant. Even the daughter of Marquess Liveorn, who had been about to stand up fiercely at the impudent behavior, froze.
The noble registry approved by the Emperor.
The Princess's eyes wavered.
Seeing that, Esella bit the inside of her cheek. Her nails dug into the palm of her clenched fist, but she felt no pain anywhere. Instead, her stomach churned as if she were about to vomit.
They couldn't say anything just because she mentioned the Emperor. How dare they dissect her sister on their tongues that day.
Haha. Esella suddenly burst into laughter. The Princess and the daughter of Marquess Liveorn were tense, but to others, it seemed like a laugh to ease the atmosphere.
"But Madeleine, back then."
Seeing a young lady cautiously speaking, taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, the Princess quickly signaled her to stop. But the young lady, taking that signal as encouragement, spoke to Esella with a slightly more confident face.
"...Back then, you clearly acted like you would never see her again."
Esella tilted her head for a moment, looking at the young lady. And then, she murmured as if she had realized something.
"You're the daughter of Count Shamin."
"Yes, Madeleine!"
The daughter of Count Shamin answered with a bright smile. The moment the Madeleine's gaze reached her, the daughter of Count Shamin thought of her belonging to House Madeleine.
But.
When the amethyst eyes turned cold, goosebumps rose on her neck. At the same time, a dry voice fell.
"How could I forget someone who insulted the Madeleine Dukedom?"
"I, when did I ever!"
The daughter of Count Shamin's face turned blue.
"How can you treat the daughter of a dancer who killed your mother like a real sister?"
Looking at the young lady stammering in embarrassment, the words automatically engraved in her mind were replayed.
The scene of that day, which she had replayed hundreds of times in her head, always ended with the Princess's words.
"The reason Madeleine's mother died."
"......"
"Is because of that green-eyed b*tch."
"......It's not. I really didn't do it on purpose......"
The daughter of Count Shamin rushed to Esella's side, flustered. Her perfectly painted lips trembled. The other young ladies were the same.
Esella Madeleine, the true daughter of the prestigious Dukedom, referred to Olivia, that bastard, as 'sister.'
It was completely different from the past when Olivia was not protected by the Duke, nor by Conrad and Jade.
What was going on?
The young ladies were momentarily confused. But Esella did not embrace the trembling daughter of Count Shamin, nor did she give the young ladies a kind answer.
Esella wondered for a moment if she had looked like that last time. But the memory of that time was not clear, as if darkness had fallen.
She suddenly wondered what it had been like for her sister.
Thinking of the dozens of eyes in this vast Imperial Princess Palace garden, looking at her with hostility and ridicule, Esella felt suffocated.
Esella, who had lowered her head for a moment, suddenly embraced the daughter of Count Shamin's shoulder affectionately.
"......!"
"As you know,"
A voice as sweet as honey was directed towards the Princess behind the daughter of Count Shamin.
"The Madeleines are quick to calculate."
Thorough in repayment, and even more clear in revenge.
While everyone recalled the iron rule of the Madeleine Dukedom, Esella smiled brightly.
"Let's put the past behind us and return to the original purpose of the Tea Party? I heard there was a very unique and pretty flower arrangement at the last Tea Party. Her Imperial Highness made it 'herself.'"
The word 'herself' was pronounced somehow more clearly.
The flower arrangement that had been very popular at the Tea Party. Did she know that Olivia had made it? She couldn't gauge what cards Esella held.
So, even with the provocation to do as she pleased, the Princess couldn't say anything. Only fierce anger trapped in her blue eyes surged.
.
.
.
Esella Madeleine was still smiling brightly. But the already broken mood did not rise again.
In that uncomfortable atmosphere, the Princess picked up her teacup.
"Oh my, it's not rose tea anymore. Ah, well. You must need the roses for the flower arrangement, right?"
The Princess's eyes narrowed sharply at Esella's surprised whisper as she looked into the teacup.
She should have known from the moment she sent a reply saying she would come to her Tea Party.
She was furious at Esella, who was talking about the flower arrangement made by Olivia, that lowly thing, as if she were mocking her.
Even the hot tea was annoying. The Princess roughly put down her teacup. Then, she glared at Esella Madeleine, who was full of poison.
The eyes that pretended to be innocent and know nothing turned as cold as a snake every time they met hers.
If only she hadn't mentioned His Majesty the Emperor just now. If only that flower arrangement hadn't been made by Olivia, that lowly thing!
No. If only Maria Etel had prepared the Summer Ball well, Esella Madeleine wouldn't even have had a chance to crawl up to her.
The image of the Madeleine bowing her head in despair was still vivid in the Princess's eyes. She gritted her teeth.
Maria Etel. You made such a mess of things?
This year's ball plan was a direct copy of last year's ball by Olivia, that lowly thing.
She had seen it somewhere before.
Even Esella, who hadn't even attended last year's Summer Ball, knew, so the young ladies here, as well as the local nobles, would all know this fact.
Her face flushed just imagining it.
She wouldn't leave Maria Etel alone once the Tea Party was over. But was there a way to give that Esella Madeleine a taste of her own medicine?
It was when the Princess was barely holding back her boiling anger.
Suddenly, a maid approached. The maid, who had hesitated for a moment in the ominous atmosphere, clenched her fist tightly and informed the Princess.
"Your Imperial Highness."
The Princess's face softened as she listened to the maid's whisper. Then, she said loudly over the quiet table.
"Oh my, you should deliver such news in person. Tell him to come in for a moment."
The young ladies looked at the Princess for a moment at her usual elegant voice. The Princess gave them her usual saintly smile.
"A guest has come for a moment. Shall we all meet him together?"
Whoever the guest was, Esella didn't care. But the moment she saw a familiar face approaching from afar, Esella realized where the malice that gleamed on the Princess's smile came from.
"Sir Huxley?"
It was Sir Huxley, her father's aide. Sir Huxley paid his respects to the Princess.
"I greet the little moon of the Empire, Her Imperial Highness."
"Sir. Please deliver it directly to the Madeleine."
At the Princess's clear permission, Sir Huxley looked at Esella. Sir Huxley's gaze towards her felt strangely different today.
"Madeleine. The Duke is urgently looking for you. He sent word that you should be brought to him once the Tea Party is over."
"Oh my. It seems the Duke isn't busy today."
The Princess's words were a signal.
Subtle smiles busily crossed the table. Esella knew those smiles well. When the young ladies were coordinating with each other before the Princess told her about her sister's birth.
"Madeleine must be a very loved daughter."
"The First Madeleine was never called even once."
"He was so coldly indifferent, his eyes were much warmer when he looked at me, a stranger."
"It was pitiful to see her staring blankly."
She thought she had prepared enough. Sir Huxley's appearance was an unexpected variable.
But.
Even with the voices of the young ladies coming and going, Esella put strength into the corners of her lips and said.
"......That's right. My father loves me very much."
It was a leisurely affirmation. Esella, who did not lose her smile despite the ridicule, slowly looked over the table. Only when the voices that had been chattering loudly subsided did Esella look at the Princess and continue.
"So much so that he grants all my wishes, which sometimes makes it difficult for me. Now I'm curious."
The Princess's spine tingled. Esella, smiling brightly, continued.
"......I wonder, how far will he grant my wishes?"
The Madeleine's gaze, looking at her with her lips raised, was exactly the same as Olivia, that lowly thing, when she took away her Abandoned Mine last time.
* * *
"Madeleine has arrived."
The Duke's office in the Imperial Palace.
At Sir Huxley's words, the Duke hurriedly got up from his seat. And he went out to the reception room outside the office.
Esella, whom he hadn't seen lately, was sitting on the sofa in the reception room. Esella got up from her seat when she saw the Duke.
Her hair and eye color were inherited from the Madeleine bloodline, but Esella looked just like Hazel.
The Duke coughed dryly at the rising affection. Esella's complexion looked dark.
"You're late. I sent Sir Huxley on purpose to get you out quickly. Did anything happen?"
He had heard the news that Esella had entered the Imperial Princess Palace in the middle of the day. At those words, the Duke's heart sank.
She was a child who had refused to eat or drink for days after visiting the Imperial Princess Palace last time. He had wanted to send Sir Huxley to bring her back quickly, but Sir Huxley, who had gone to the Imperial Princess Palace, had returned alone.
"Yes. The story wasn't quite finished."
It was the same answer he had heard from Sir Huxley.
He could talk about what had happened later. Until now, he hadn't been able to call her to the palace to be wary of the Empress and the Princess.
"This is your first time in my office. Let's have a cup of tea first."
Sir Huxley immediately understood and went outside. But Esella did not sit down and avoided his gaze.
"......No. I heard you called me, so I just came to see you for a moment."
The Duke's heart turned cold at the somehow cold voice. Esella, who always smiled brightly and called him "Father!" was not even looking at him now.
"Has something been going on lately, Esella? You don't tell this father anything."
At the worried voice, Esella raised her head without realizing it. The face that was genuinely worried was the father she knew.
Father.
The father who cherished and loved her more than anyone else.
"Esella. Our princess. The world brightens when you smile. Hazel too......"
The lullaby she had heard as a child was still vivid. Also, the sadness of her father, who always lowered his head whenever he inadvertently mentioned her mother's name.
So she tried not to run into him. Because whenever she saw her father, she kept wanting to ask the reason.
It was the same now. If it weren't for the eyes of the Imperial Palace, she would have just returned to the mansion. Esella pressed her lips tightly.
"Could this father have made you feel uncomfortable in any way, Esella? I was even going to make time to prepare for your Debutante together."
But, the moment she heard those kind voices, Esella couldn't bear it.
"Father......"
"Yes, Esella."
Her father smiled brightly. Looking at that face, Esella couldn't swallow the words that had come up to the tip of her tongue.
"Why, did you do that?"
"What are you talking about?"
Her father had a face that truly didn't understand. So Esella clenched her fist tightly. Her feet hurt from the high-heeled shoes she had worn for the first time in a while, but she didn't even feel the pain now.
Was it really nothing to her father? When something she didn't want to know came crashing into reality, Esella murmured.
Words she couldn't even bring herself to say to her older brother Conrad, whom she treated most comfortably in her family. At the same time, words she had tried never to say to her beloved father.
"To my sister, why did you......"
A cold energy filled the reception room to the point where she couldn't continue speaking. Her father's face hardened coldly.
Only then did Esella realize one unchanging fact.
The moment her father, who always loved her, got angry. It was always when she mentioned her sister.
"That child, what did she say to you......"
Esella burst into a hollow laugh. Her father's expression blurred.
The place her father turned his arrow was once again her sister.
