Chapter 91
#091. The Princess's First Crisis
Countless eyes watched the Princess. Subtle suspicion and incredulous gazes mingled.
The Princess concealed her dizziness and wore a sorrowful expression.
What excuse should she make? Her mind was blank, devoid of any thoughts.
If she admitted to knowing, it would mean condoning Maria Etel's absurd engagement ceremony. If she denied it, her control over the Summer Ball would be undermined.
Choosing either option would tarnish her perfect reputation.
She should have found that fool Maria Etel and locked her away somewhere long ago.
Her teeth clenched in anger. Bitter regret washed over her, but she couldn't show it in front of the nobles.
The Princess had to choose the lesser of two evils.
"Lady Etel said she wanted to lend a hand to my brother... Even though she pleaded so earnestly, I should have scrutinized it more carefully. I've caused trouble for everyone."
Ah. Only then did expressions of understanding dawn on the faces of the nobles surrounding the Princess. It was plausible that Lady Etel, who was always jealous of Madeleine's achievements, would do such a thing.
It was a story that the nobles of the Empire, who knew the situation, would readily believe.
Although she was worried about the ball starting tomorrow, getting through today would be enough for now. If only her mother, the Empress, could appease Olivia Madeleine.
Soon, this terrible ball would be replaced by a sophisticated one, the kind she desired.
"Greetings to Her Imperial Highness, the Princess of the Empire."
It was then.
"Thank you for inviting me to this wonderful ball. I am Duke Kiwel, representing the Heferti delegation."
A handsome man with a monocle bowed to the Princess. Behind the man, who introduced himself as Duke Kiwel, followed the Madeleine Duchess.
"Having just arrived from Heferti, I haven't been able to follow the conversation. If it's not too rude, may I ask what the relationship is between supporting the Crown Prince and the Lady who just left?"
The Princess paused, her lips sealed. Everyone looked embarrassed.
Because of today's events, Marquis Etel was as good as cast out from the Imperial Family. There was no need to reveal to a foreign country that Maria and the Crown Prince were lovers in this situation.
However, the discourtesy towards the foreign country had already begun at the ball earlier. The Princess made a vague excuse.
"...As a noble at the heart of the Empire, wanting to support the Crown Prince is a perfectly natural thought."
"Thank you for your words, Your Highness. Rumor has it in Heferti that Her Highness the Princess is excellently overseeing everything at the Summer Ball. The Lady who just left must be a close confidante whom Your Highness trusts and relies on."
Confidante.
The nobles of the Empire tilted their heads slightly at that seemingly insignificant word. It was quite different from the gossip circulating among the nobles.
"Didn't Her Highness the Princess dislike Maria Etel?"
"That's right. She didn't share any credit for the ball even with Lady Libeorn, whom she cherishes so much. When did they become so close?"
"Oh, not Lady Libeorn, but who was it before? Why, Her Highness the Princess suddenly went on a carriage procession during the Summer Ball to restore the Famine Season Retail Territory. I heard someone checked the ball in her stead then."
"Ah, that's right. Madeleine."
When someone snapped their fingers and answered casually, the Princess's face turned pale. Keywords that could uncover the truth were mixed in with the trivial murmurs.
The Princess hurriedly looked around. This murmuring had to disappear.
She could appease Lady Libeorn, who was looking at her with a slightly sulky expression, at any time.
What was urgent now was the story of Olivia Madeleine, that half-breed, who had suddenly appeared.
If only that commoner wasn't here, she could change the course of the story as much as she wanted...
The Princess's thoughts, which had been comforting herself, stopped abruptly. Not far away, a group was sitting on a plush sofa as if watching an opera, and Olivia Madeleine was among them, watching her.
There was a clear sneer on top of her calm green eyes, as if seeing through her.
She had never been ridiculed like that by anyone before. In an instant, the Princess's heart fluctuated.
Fear and dread of her reputation. The foundation of everything that made up the Princess was shaken to its core. If Olivia stepped forward here, it would all be over for her.
Her fingertips trembled.
The Princess, who had lost control of herself, tried to eliminate any gap for Olivia to intervene.
So she answered carelessly.
"Close, friends? That can't be. It's just, as everyone knows, Lady Etel wants to stand next to my brother so officially. So..."
"Your Highness."
As if appearing from somewhere, her nanny, Baroness Luhan, called out to the Princess. The Princess was startled by the urgency in her low voice and looked around.
But it was already too late.
"Ah, so she wasn't just a Lady who was 'not feeling well'."
Duke Kiwel, subtly twisting the Princess's words, nodded. The nobles of the Empire looked at the Princess with bewildered faces.
The Princess, who was always perfect, was exposing the Crown Prince's flaws. What was going on?
In an instant, the Princess's face turned as white as if all the blood had drained from it as she faced Duke Kiwel.
Please, he shouldn't have realized what her words meant. Before that desperate hope could bloom, Duke Kiwel bowed politely.
"We in Heferti have been slow to receive news because we've been busy with post-war reconstruction. I am sorry to say that I had only heard that the Crown Prince's fiancée was Madeleine."
It was a confirmation kill. It was something that was publicly known, but the Princess had confirmed it with her own mouth, something no one had dared to say for sure.
The Princess shut her mouth as if it had been glued shut. She looked at the Madeleine Duchess behind Duke Kiwel, but the Duchess, who was always capable, did not say a word.
A heavy atmosphere settled. There was nothing that could be said to resolve this situation.
"Ah, it seems I have misread the atmosphere again."
Duke Kiwel smiled awkwardly. Just like when he first spoke to the Princess.
The Princess stared blankly at him, and after a long time, she smiled faintly.
"...I, for a moment. I need to get some air."
The Princess slowly turned her body. Only when her elegant steps faded away did the nobles realize that for the first time since the Summer Ball had begun, no member of the Imperial Family was remaining in this ballroom.
Now, the Grand Duke, the noblest person in this place, was smiling contentedly as he escorted his lady.
"It seems like it's all over, shall we go back now?"
.
.
.
The lukewarm night breeze brushed against her cheek. The Princess exhaled a resentful breath through her teeth. Her sea-blue eyes gleamed ominously.
"That, that sly Heferti Duke. Knowing everything, he..."
"Your Highness!"
Baroness Luhan was startled by the harsh words and looked around.
It was the Summer Ball.
Her face showed that she was worried about someone overhearing, but the Princess had no room to care about that.
"Why did a foreign delegation have to come to this ball of all times...!"
She used to be proud of the fact that foreign delegations attended the Summer Ball, but with that fact completely erased from her mind, the Princess expressed her anger.
"Why did Olivia Madeleine have to be there...!"
If only she hadn't made eye contact with her. Why did the Duke of Heferti have to say those words to her at that exact moment?
No matter how she looked at it, Olivia Madeleine must have used some dirty trick. Otherwise, there was no way she would have been watching her at that exact moment.
Her panting breaths grew rougher.
Following Maria Etel, the Duke of Heferti, and Olivia Madeleine.
"No, I can't. Nanny. I'm really not going to let any of them get away with this. Not a single one."
"Greetings to Her Highness the Princess."
A quiet greeting descended over the night sky. The Princess, who had been venting her anger, blinked in confusion.
A fairly handsome Knight with gray hair. The Princess knew who he was.
"...A Knight of Bikander."
"My lord has one message that he absolutely wanted me to convey to Her Highness the Princess."
Without even asking for permission, the Knight brought up the matter at hand. This was something that could not have happened to the Princess, who had received the oaths of all Knights. The Princess turned away without listening to the Knight's words.
"Where, how dare you without permission! Are all Bikanders this rude?"
"Your Highness will face three crises. What happened a moment ago was the first crisis."
"...What?"
In an instant, the Princess's body, which had been about to move, froze like ice. The first crisis? Three crises? What did all this mean?
The Princess's heart beat irregularly, thump-thump. Her mouth was parched. Could it be that all of this was a scheme orchestrated by the Grand Duke?
"What nonsense is this."
"Did you rest comfortably in Katangta?"
The Princess's face, which had been trying to sneer, stiffened. A chilling wind slid down the Princess's spine.
"...Katangta, how dare you!"
Her trembling voice cried out sharply. The face of Baroness Luhan, who was behind her, turned as gray as the Knight's hair, but the Princess saw nothing.
"...Are you, threatening me, this Princess?"
The voice that squeezed out through her teeth was rough. When her gleaming eyes met the Knight's, the Knight answered with the same calm and serene face as he had from the beginning.
"I am merely carrying out the orders given by my lord. Now, if you'll excuse me."
The Knight, after giving a light bow, strode away. She would tear them to pieces. That Knight, and Grand Duke Bikander who gave the order. And Olivia Madeleine, who was hiding behind them and watching her.
Her vision was dyed bright red with anger.
* * *
A reception room in the ballroom.
Maria couldn't believe this situation. The tattered hem of her dress, her torn and aching earlobe, no, leaving all that aside.
"What were you thinking when you did this!"
The sea-blue eyes that Maria loved so much were glaring at her. Her body froze in fear. Maria reached out to Leopold as if begging.
"L, Leopold."
Tears welled up in her blue eyes, but Leopold didn't take her hand.
"I told you, Maria Etel. You only need to work hard for one year. But you can't even do that one year properly and you do something like this? Do you have any brains or not! And in front of all the foreign delegations!"
The anger that spread in all directions mercilessly stabbed Maria. Clutching at her pride, which had already been torn to shreds, Maria gritted her teeth.
"I'm your lover. Why am I a one-year fiancée?"
"...What?"
Maria's vision blurred. The sorrow and misery that she had been holding back overwhelmed Maria like a tidal wave.
The despair over the situation, the humiliating treatment from her lover, and the shame of being disgraced in front of all the nobles all burst out. In the end, Maria uttered the words she hated more than death.
"Why do you, treat me like a mistress,"
"Just, because of that now! Ha."
But even greater anger stopped Maria's words. Maria's vision blurred. Her breath quickened, and everything felt strangely like a dream.
Just, just that? She repeated it several times, but nothing changed. Strangely, her tear glands dried up in an instant. Meanwhile, she saw Leopold looking out the window beyond her now clear vision.
"...Let's talk later."
Before she could stop him, Leopold left the reception room. Knights standing guard solemnly were briefly visible, and then, bang. The door closed.
An uneasy premonition was always right. Maria put strength into her staggering legs and stood up. And she approached the place where Leopold had stood and looked outside.
And.
Haha. Maria burst out laughing. This might not be real. Maria shook her head like a madwoman. The area under her unfocused blue eyes began to turn red.
* * *
"How was it? Was it okay?"
Red eyes full of anticipation sparkled towards Olivia. Under the jet-black night sky, Olivia paused for a moment.
"...To be honest, yes."
Hahaha. Edwin laughed softly. Olivia shrugged.
It was quite an interesting time. To see the reputation of the Princess, who had always been loved by everyone, shaken with her own eyes.
It felt strange. In the past, it was always her reputation that was shaken. Being swept up in social rumors while watching Leopold's back, and receiving sharp questions.
It was a strange thing.
Her position, which was so natural in Bikander, was incredibly unfamiliar at today's Imperial ball. Today's her was in the position that the Olivia Madeleine of the past envied.
She was loved, protected, and watched someone else go through hardship as if it were someone else's business. What would be the next step now?
"Olivia!"
At that moment, she heard the Crown Prince's voice calling her name anxiously. Olivia raised her head without realizing it.
Under the night sky filled with moonlight, the Crown Prince was running down. And with a face she had never seen before.
Was it the magic of the moonlight? Or had her position really changed?
The Crown Prince, who seemed to have run after her.
The Crown Prince, who had come close, bit his lip for a moment. While looking at his sea-blue eyes, which seemed to want to say something, Olivia smiled brightly. And she spoke to him first.
"...Congratulations on your engagement, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
