Previously
Mercedes and Giovinetta form a manipulative alliance based on their shared hatred for Irenia, with Mercedes plotting to replace Irenia with Giovinetta. Meanwhile, Richard, the High Teacher and Royal Physician, arrives at the palace for a private meeting with Caesar.
“These are clothes I don’t wear anymore. You can have them.”
That was how Giovinetta had always been. Right from the start, she had been remarkably gentle with me—a girl who had come from nowhere. She would give me her dresses and hair ribbons, even dressing me in them with her own hands.
Back then, though, I was terribly gaunt and much smaller than her, so none of those garments ever fit. They hung so loose on me that it looked as if I were parading around in stolen adult clothes, leaving me to stumble with every step. Giovinetta had loved that sight; she found it endlessly amusing.
Some days, she would fill my hands with candies or biscuits—delights I had never tasted before in my life. Those sweet treats were so much better than silk gowns or trinkets that didn’t fit me and for which I had no use.
“It’s truly delicious… I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
Whenever she gave me something like that, my joy was genuine and unrestrained. She would give me a broad smile and say:
“How naive… You’re happy over something so trivial?”
No one had ever shown me that kind of attention, save for Annalisa. Because of that, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the beautiful, haughty young lady who had suddenly burst into my narrow world.
Giovinetta had been kind to me… even if those moments were born of a passing whim. Even if I were merely a temporary amusement to while away her boredom, I could not deny the pleasant feelings she had given me.
As that bond persisted, I fell into the delusion that we might truly become close sisters one day.
Yet those sweet days did not last. As time went on, a private tutor was appointed for me, and I gradually began adjusting to life within the family.
That was when Giovinetta changed noticeably. All at once, she grew cold toward me, ceasing to bring sweets or dresses as she once had.
I didn’t know why, nor did I possess any way to please her. Our connection had always been one-sided; her tenderness toward me had been a grace bestowed whenever she pleased.
I told myself that the beloved eldest daughter’s interest in her illegitimate sister had merely been a passing fancy, and so I accepted the rift that had grown between us.
With time, we drifted further and further apart, as though our bond were doomed to fade away entirely. Until that incident happened one day…
It was caused by a dress Giovinetta had given me. Having grown a little since the day I first arrived at the mansion, I wanted to try wearing a lovely dress instead of an ordinary maid’s apron.
“Giovinetta, look! This dress fits me now.”
The dress had been a gift from her, and I only wished to show my gratitude. Mimicking her graceful air, I lifted the hem of my skirt, and the atmosphere shifted in an instant.
“Why are you wearing that dress?”
“Because you gave it to me…”
Confusion seized me. I couldn’t fathom in the slightest what had made her so furious. In the end, she tore the dress to shreds with her own hands in a fit of rage.
Yes, Giovinetta was a capricious girl whose moods shifted dozens of times a day. People often say understanding others is difficult, but to me, she was the most baffling of all.
“Truly… an impossible girl to understand.”
Even now, I still couldn’t make sense of her. Why would she treat me so kindly at times, only to hurt me so brutally at others? The contrast was staggering.
Then came that fateful day when she shoved me down the stairs. After that incident, I decided I no longer wished to understand her. It had been such an excruciating offense, and even after all these years, I had never heard a sincere apology from her lips.
From that day on, our bond was shattered. I was left with scars that would never fade, and she began lashing out whenever she laid eyes on me, as though I were the one who had committed a grave sin.
Just the thought of Giovinetta made me feel suffocated. Truly, a bizarre girl. She had the power to ruin my mood in a heartbeat, so I usually tried to keep her out of my head just to preserve my peace of mind…
“I’m worried… We’re bound to run into each other constantly from now on.”
That was the real problem. If she joined the Empress’s retinue, there was no doubt she would clash with me often, just as she had with Caesar.
Giovinetta was malicious at heart, taking pleasure in tormenting the weak and gentle. What if she tried to hurt Caesar?
“I won’t let that happen.”
Steeling my resolve, I lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. What was Caesar doing right now? They had mentioned the royal physician was visiting; I wondered what sort of man he was. I closed my eyes to ponder it… or rather, I tried to.
At that moment, something flickered before my eyes. A black patch spread like a stain until it swallowed my entire field of vision.
“Ah…?”
Even after blinking several times, nothing changed. Even when I rubbed my eyes, the darkness remained. Panic seized me. Had my sight suddenly failed me?
I couldn’t understand what was happening. Then something began to take shape in my view, coalescing like a mirage. It was an all-too-familiar scene.
“No… not this…”
I recognized it immediately as one of the nightmare scenes that haunted me night after night. I had dreamed it so often that the moment I caught a glimpse of it, I knew exactly what would happen next.
Yet I wasn’t asleep. I couldn’t fathom why I was seeing visions from my dreams while wide awake. Were all my previous nightmares simply waking illusions, too?
I kept blinking. What I saw before me was the edge of a pond. The scene flickered repeatedly, vanishing and reappearing.
“What is happening…?”
A profound terror took hold of me. Something was terribly, horribly wrong. I thought I needed to move, to wrench myself free of this nightmare.
I tried to get up, but my body refused to budge, as though sleep paralysis had frozen me.
Then the sight of my room dissolved entirely, and something else began drifting across my sight. Cold sweat trickled down my forehead. The scenes unfolded as though time itself had stopped, leaving me to watch, utterly powerless.
Information rushed into my mind like a deluge. This time, I saw the location of that place. All at once, it felt as though my perspective were soaring, flying through the open sky. Dizziness washed over me and I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, but I couldn't.
A quiet gasp of wonder escaped my chest. I felt just like a bird in flight. Below, the sprawling vista of the Imperial Palace unfolded. There was the pond, not far from the Emerald Palace.
I realized, albeit faintly, the route I had to take and how to slip past the palace guards to reach it unseen.
I didn’t comprehend what was happening, but the knowledge flooded my thoughts in a torrential surge. It was so overwhelming my head felt on the verge of splitting open.
“Ugh…”
My mind reeled from the sudden influx of knowledge. That pond was the very one where a girl had drowned.
Now I recalled… I had never visited the spot myself, merely asking about it, because Delfina had stopped me. She must have worried I would do something reckless, which was why she hadn't told me where it was.
Yet this vision… this dream… seemed to be telling me it was important, guiding me directly toward that pond.
After what felt like an eternity, my sight returned to normal. I blinked rapidly and wiggled the tips of my fingers. Fortunately, I could move again.
I sat up all at once, releasing the breath I had been holding the entire time. Having forgotten to breathe properly, I began coughing violently.
It felt as though every ounce of my mental strength had been drained. Wiping the cold sweat beaded on my brow, I gradually caught my breath. This dream… it had never shown me anything but the truth so far.
So it was crystal clear what was expected of me this time as well.
“I have to go there myself.”
Fortunately, Delfina was away, having been sent to Caesar on my orders, which meant I had the room entirely to myself. That made things considerably easier.
The thought crossed my mind that I might discover something new if I went to that pond.
“Peep, cheep!”
Right then, Abr began squawking noisily.
“What is it?”
The little chick was nibbling at the cuff of my sleeve, tugging on the fabric in quick, sharp jerks with his beak.
“Are you worried I’ll leave you behind?”
“Cheep. Peep, cheep!”
“I’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”
“Cheep!”
He seemed dissatisfied, almost as if he were protesting… but could a tiny chick really make facial expressions? Perhaps I was reading too much into it.
It was hard to leave him behind, hopping before me as if making his presence impossible to ignore. If I left him chirping away in the room, the servants might assume he had been abandoned and dispose of him.
“Stay quiet in here, all right?”
“Peep.”
I had no choice but to open the inner pocket of my dress.
At once, he folded his wings neatly, scurrying inside before settling down with the solemn dignity of a little chieftain, letting out his customary, serious “cheep.”
FADE OUT