Chapter 24
At that moment, a familiar voice pierced through the wretched self-loathing.
“I saw a carriage with a familiar crest standing at the castle and came by just in case, and it turns out the Madam was indeed at the palace!”
“Princess.”
Princess Sylvia, Padrick’s younger sister, approached with a delighted expression from behind Isabel.
Caught off guard by the unexpected encounter, Isabel hurriedly offered her greetings with proper etiquette.
As Sylvia rolled her eyes, blue as an autumn sky, to look at Lottie, Isabel belatedly remembered that Lottie and the Princess had never met before.
“Princess. This is my grandniece, Charlotte, the only daughter of Doctor Evanshire.”
“Charlotte? Oh my, what a lovely name. It suits the color of the young lady’s hair perfectly.”
The Princess, currently smiling innocently and praising her name, was the very sister-in-law who had once openly mocked her, saying her name sounded like something only grandmothers would use.
First the mother-in-law, and now the sister-in-law; it seemed today was the day for a full reunion of her former in-laws.
As Lottie swallowed a hollow laugh, she suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu coming from the maids lined up behind Sylvia.
“But Madam, why Charlotte? Since the young lady is surely of Matila, shouldn’t it be pronounced the Matila way as ‘Charlotte,’ rather than ‘Charlotte’?”
“That is because—”
“Princess. The young lady’s great-grandmother was from our neighboring country, Trie. Her name was likely taken from her great-grandmother or one of those relatives.”
One of Sylvia’s maids naturally cut into Isabel’s explanation.
She was a youthful girl dressed in a white muslin dress, her navy hair braided into a lush, hanging plait.
“It is a very beautiful pronunciation. Charlotte. Charlotte.”
Dark eyes gazed at her as if dreaming.
Seeing the girl repeat her name over and over, Lottie dragged a memory out from the very bottom of her mind where she had buried it.
—How did it feel every time I kissed your husband in front of you and acted like the mistress of the house? Tell me! Charlotte!
That woman’s name was Delinda Frostis.
The woman who would later be known as Miss Rose, named after the beautiful rose garden she received as a gift.
In Lottie’s first life, she was the mistress whom King Padrick had loved passionately.
Six years of marriage.
Though many things may have faded, the memory of the moment that period of love and hatred came to an end remains as vivid as if it were within reach.
When she closes her eyes, the first thing she sees is the murky sky of Ronvernon.
On that day, when it felt as though something was about to pour down at any moment, a man who had been hiding under the Queen’s bed was dragged out.
Before the guards could even beat him thoroughly, he confessed that he had been carrying on an inappropriate relationship with the Queen.
Lottie, who had been bathing, was dragged out in a near-naked state without even a chance to protest. Afterward, she was locked in the coldest solitary cell in the Royal Palace.
“It’s not true…. I, I didn’t commit adultery with anyone. Is anyone… is anyone out there? I will see His Majesty and prove my innocence myself! His Majesty will believe my words! Someone… please… the door…!”
She warmed her cooling, water-soaked body with her tears. She pounded on the door until the skin on both her hands was stripped away.
They truly intend for no one to come here. By the time she reached that desperate realization, she didn’t even have the strength left to move a finger.
Collapsed on the cold floor, she muttered like a madwoman. No. His Majesty will believe me. He will come to save me. Just like the day we first met, when he saved me from scandal….
“His Majesty has long since gone to the parliament to begin the divorce proceedings.”
A long shadow touched the fingertips that were sprawled haphazardly on the floor.
As if to spare her the effort of painfully lifting her head, the other person kindly crouched down in front of Lottie.
“Miss… Rose. I… I….”
“Did not commit adultery with that man.”
Whispering calmly, Miss Rose—Delinda—smiled beautifully.
“I know. Because he is my lover, not the Queen’s.”
“…! Miss Rose. Why…. Why would you…?”
“Are you asking why the Queen ended up in this state when I am the one who committed adultery? It is simple. In this country, even a King cannot have a divorce approved unless it is for the crime of his wife’s infidelity.”
Her body temperature, which had been no different from a corpse’s, began to heat up. Her eyes burned and her throat tightened.
Delinda’s black eyes sparkled as if she were watching a bug dying in agony.
“I’m sorry, but His Majesty also knows that I framed the innocent Queen for a crime she didn’t commit. If he didn’t, would he have rushed to the parliament as if he’d been waiting for it, not even half a day after it happened, without so much as an investigation?”
“…! No…. His Majesty… there is no way.”
“Oh dear. Do you still believe in the King so wholeheartedly? That His Majesty really married you because he loved you?”
Delinda giggled. Her plump lips, concealing a blade, moved enchantingly.
“You were merely a pawn used for Rick’s stable succession to the throne.”
No.
“A pawn that has served its purpose must be cleared from the board.”
No….
“That man has never loved you sincerely, not for a single day.”
No…!
Reading the confusion on Lottie’s face, Delinda brushed back the disheveled hair on Lottie’s cheek with a gentle touch.
“His Majesty does not yet know about the inappropriate relationship between your lover and me. Now, I have left the door to the solitary cell open, so run out just like this and tell His Majesty everything. Tell him that the mistress he lives for is a femme fatale who will one day lead him to ruin, and that only you, pure and devoted, are the saint who can save him.”
“How… dare you…. How dare… you…!”
A roar like that of a beast burst from between her teeth.
But that was all. Lottie could not raise her body, nor could she even strike the mistress’s brazen face.
It wasn’t because she had no strength left. It was because the realization that nothing would matter suddenly crashed down upon her.
Delinda’s hand, which had been stroking Lottie’s cheek, gripped Lottie’s neck tightly. Lottie struggled in pain.
“Even if I killed you right here and now, that fool would defend me, saying a woman who committed a mortal sin deserved to die.”
“Ugh…!”
“How does it feel for a member of the highest nobility, noble from birth, to have everything taken away by a half-breed lowlife like me? Hmm? How did it feel every time I kissed your husband in front of you and acted like the mistress of the house? Tell me! Charlotte!”
As she twisted the Queen’s neck, Delinda seemed possessed by a strange sense of elation.
Only when Lottie went limp, nearly on the verge of passing out, did Delinda let go of her neck.
With red marks left on her throat, Lottie lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. As she gasped, she sobbed.
Looking down at her with a bizarre smile, Delinda slowly stood up.
“Beauty is a talent God gave to me, who had nothing. I simply made good use of it. It was that idiot Rick who fell for it. So if you want to resent someone, blame your indecisive husband.”
“…….”
“Ah, is he your ex-husband now?”
With those words full of mockery, Delinda moved away.
The door closed with a heavy thud.
It was about a week later that Lottie confirmed Delinda’s words were all true.
It was when Padrick, having finished all the divorce proceedings, kicked Lottie out of the Royal Palace without a hint of regret.
Lottie woke from the stifling memory and returned to the Central Garden.
She saw one of Princess Sylvia’s maids urgently whispering something to Sylvia. Sylvia’s face turned red instantly.
Judging by how the blue eyes glancing at Lottie had changed from before, it seemed she had just learned that this woman was the legendary femme fatale who had toyed with two princes.
“Charlotte. This is the eldest daughter of the Frostis family, Delinda.”
Since Sylvia was a princess who had been educated from birth to be a role model for all women, instead of pulling out all of Lottie’s hair, she introduced Delinda to Lottie with polite words.
“I am delighted to meet such a beautiful lady, Charlotte.”
Delinda greeted her by lightly lifting the hem of her dress. She smiled brightly while looking at her.
Lottie stared blankly at the face that still retained its girlishness.
This woman, in the end, remembers nothing, just like her ex-husband.
Not the fact that she had so easily snatched away a man’s love that had been so desperate for someone else, nor the fact that she had no guilt even after hacking her rival to pieces with her own tongue.
Since it has become something that never happened for them, she cannot even hold them accountable for their sins.
Because Lottie kept her mouth shut while trying to compose her emotions, the group was seized by an awkward silence.
“Why are you saying nothing? Miss Charlotte, I have just introduced my maid to you; do you mean to ignore my favor?”
Sylvia snapped coldly, a complete reversal from when she was first introduced to Lottie.
Even as Isabel lightly grabbed and shook her grandniece’s sleeve, Lottie’s gaze remained fixed on Delinda.
Even in this situation, Delinda’s black eyes blinked hypocritically as if she had no idea why.
I want to scream, if I could, asking why I should exchange introductions with the daughter of a harlot who nearly ruined a family. I want to leave countless claw marks on that clear face.
However, Delinda was the illegitimate daughter of the Frostis family and, at the same time, the Princess’s maid. Treating her poorly was the same as treating the Princess poorly.
Therefore, Lottie had no choice but to bow her head humiliatingly.
“I apologize. I cannot help but be impressed by Miss Delinda, who possesses both beauty and intelligence, for remembering even the unremarkable history of my family.”
“It is something I must naturally master to properly serve the Princess, yet to receive praise… I am embarrassed. Please, withdraw your excessive compliments.”
“Excessive compliments? I feel as though I want to receive guidance from the wonderful tutor who taught you, young lady.”
“I am embarrassed to say it myself, but my father provided high-quality education to his children regardless of gender. The teacher who taught me history and literature is a truly wonderful person, so if I could connect you with them, Miss Charlotte, it would be an infinite honor.”
“Oh, how delightful. Since the young lady says she will introduce such a wonderful teacher, I shall also introduce a Trie language teacher who might be of help to you.”
“Pardon? What do you mean….”
The conversation, which had continued incessantly as if they were lifelong best friends, came to a dead stop at that point.
