Previously
Irenia officially launches Operation: Turn Caesar into a Human, enlisting the help of the maid Delfina to improve Caesar's appearance and hygiene. While discussing the need for formal attire for the upcoming summer ball, Countess Elvira arrives unexpectedly with a massive delivery of luxury goods.
“Her Majesty the Empress sent this to me?”
It was a cream-colored velvet gown designed in the latest fashion, featuring a deep square neckline and puffed sleeves. Sumptuous gold and silver embroidery blanketed the lustrous fabric, patterned with roses depicting the imperial crest, while seed pearls were nestled into every detail among the delicate threads.
The collar of lace and organza was the height of extravagance; merely looking at it was enough to make one’s head spin.
And these gifts were not meant for me alone.
“Her Majesty the Empress also sent attire for the First Prince.”
She opened another chest, revealing fine men’s clothing. Among the garments was formal attire tailored to match my gown perfectly, fashioned from the same cream-colored cloth laced with threads of gold and silver. It also included a double-breasted vest, cufflinks, a dress shirt, and an elegant cravat. Ignorant as I was of men’s fashion, it was distinctly, undeniably handsome.
· · ·
I could not say why, but gazing upon those clothes left me feeling as though someone had their hands around my throat. It was as if I had become a captive bound to an inescapable fate. Countess Elvira ignored my state, speaking in a singsong tone:
“It is said you made a grand promise to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Did she mean my claim that I would present Caesar naturally before everyone at the ball? I waited in silence to see if she would say more.
“Her Majesty the Empress truly appreciated your devotion in tending to your husband, and she commanded that no assistance be spared for the two of you.”
Yet contrary to my expectations, her tone held no mockery or venom. It was entirely detached.
“And she ordered me to provide whatever you require, no matter what it may be.”
“Anything?”
“Yes, anything, by whatever means necessary.”
While I was still absorbing her words, the countess added slowly:
“Therefore, I do not wish to hear you claim later that you failed for lack of support.”
· · ·
She studied my face intently to gauge the effect of her words, then concluded:
“You should be grateful for the Empress’s regard.”
My breath caught at the word ‘regard.’ What the Empress had offered was nothing short of a stark warning: there was no retreat now.
“I shall also see to your comfort, Your Highness.”
“Is that also by order of the Empress?”
The countess offered only a slight smile, offering no answer. But I felt trapped in a meticulous snare. It was a contradictory sensation, as if I had been plummeting into a bottomless chasm only to find myself standing upon a carefully arranged stage.
It remained entirely unclear what my role was in this play, or whether it would end in laughter or disaster… Even I did not know.
I tried to reassure myself. Perhaps—just perhaps—this was better than receiving no aid at all. I had entered an impossible gamble; having support might prove advantageous in the end.
So I straightened my posture once more.
“Please convey to Her Majesty the Empress that I am profoundly grateful.”
Her lips curved into a crescent smile, and she turned toward the door, saying as she departed:
“May you attain the honor of the Order of the Holy Cross.”
After that, the servants continued carrying more chests into the chamber. With each one that piled up, it felt as though invisible fists were tightening around my neck, cutting off my breath.
Meanwhile
Giovinetta Flores marched furiously down the hallway. Every stride of her pointed shoes clattered sharply against the floor.
The Duke of Flores’s servants bowed low the moment they saw her, terrified of provoking her wrath. Her destination was the parlor.
“Mother!”
She threw the heavy door wide open. Celestina was taking tea in leisure.
“Giovinetta, that is most unseemly.”
Celestina spoke smoothly as she set her teacup down gently on the table. But her daughter ignored the reprimand, rushing over to sit beside her. A maid hurried to bring over a glass of cold water.
“Have you heard the news?”
She asked between breaths, having downed the glass in a single gulp.
“What news?”
“About Irenia!”
Celestina raised an eyebrow.
“What of her?”
Giovinetta stared at her mother, seemingly stunned by her composure.
“She survived! With both eyes wide open!”
In contrast, the duchess appeared entirely untroubled.
“I thought it was something more serious.”
Giovinetta sighed and shook her head in frustration.
“I had already chosen my dress, my hat, and my gloves to attend her funeral!”
She had planned every single detail: a lace veil to drape over her face, the variety of roses adorning the hat, a gown to present her in delicate, mournful sorrow. It was supposed to be a golden opportunity to display aristocratic grief before all of society, where everyone would sympathize with her and she could command the center of attention… but the whole thing had collapsed!
“I swear that wretched girl brings nothing but trouble!”
“Do not utter such things aloud. We do not want rumors spreading.”
“Mother, I am no fool; I know what I am saying. But she has ruined my most important chance to make a moving impression before everyone.”
Giovinetta had long believed that unusual occasions like funerals paved the way for fateful encounters. This was particularly urgent now that her latest betrothal had fallen apart, after the suitor’s family went bankrupt following failed investments in the western continent’s mines.
Ever since, she had insisted on leaving love to chance.
Celestina looked weary as she pressed gently beneath her eyes. Yet Giovinetta would not cease her babbling.
“All that talk about the Crown Prince being cursed was a lie, wasn't it? How else could she be the only one to survive?”
“No, the curse is real.”
Celestina spoke with a faint, wry smile. Yet in her heart, she too could not comprehend how that eerie girl had managed to stay alive.
All she had heard was that Irenia remained alive and well, residing within the imperial palace.
“Then how did she survive?”
Her mother drew closer, pressing a finger playfully against Giovinetta’s small lips before adding in an affectionate tone:
“She possesses an unbreakable will, doesn’t she?”
“Mmm, perhaps.”
They looked at one another with curious gazes, then shared a lazy smile. Irenia had always been that way. A stubborn girl who never broke.
She would take blow after blow without crying out or shedding a single tear. She simply did not care. Even when treated worse than a slave, she had never complained. Once, wanting to test the limits of her endurance, they had left her without food… but she had displayed no sign of weakness.
She had never begged anyone. Instead, they discovered later that she had been secretly mixing wild herbs and plant roots with soil, eating it in the shadows to endure.
Celestina had engaged a high-ranking private tutor to instruct her, ordering an overwhelming amount of assignments and severe punishments whenever she fell short.
At times she would even beat her for no reason at all, purely to test her reaction. Yet the girl merely remained silent, then began memorizing her lessons through the night without pause until her knowledge surpassed that of her tutor. They had been forced to advance her to a higher level of instruction.
There was not a single endearing quality about her. If only she had wept or pleaded, she might have stirred some pity, but she was an uncommonly sharp, clinging street rat—far closer to vicious than innocent.
Even when she was shoved down the stairs and suffered a severe injury, she had acted foolishly, hiding in her room in silence without ever showing her pain. That alone was enough to describe her entire nature.
“Still, she will not last long.”
Celestina spoke with a cold, mocking smile, as though a quiet certainty underpinned her words. Giovinetta could not tell whether her mother’s statement stemmed from pure confidence or a deeply buried wish.
“For the Hollow Dragon’s Curse is something… of intolerable horror.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“Besides, Her Majesty the Empress will not simply sit idly by.”
“Truly?”
At that, Celestina glanced around, then whispered something into her daughter’s ear. Giovinetta’s face flushed at once, and the two exchanged a look thick with amusement before bursting into short, stifled giggles.
“We shall see… Let us wait and watch.”
And the faces of mother and daughter twisted into a cruel, vicious expression, brimming with pure malice.
FADE OUT