Chapter 51
51
Gunther held his breath, waiting for Maria's answer. He couldn't take his eyes off her slightly parted red lips.
"Hoo!"
Maria stopped speaking and sighed deeply. She didn't want to manipulate or deceive him with her emotions, not even a little. But she was frustrated, unsure how to explain her complicated feelings in a way he would understand.
"I wanted to believe that I loved Henry."
"!?"
"I thought that if we respected each other, maintained a smooth relationship, and turned a blind eye to some deviations, that was trust and love between a married couple."
"Maria, I'm having a little trouble understanding."
Gunther scratched his temple with his index finger, looking perplexed. But he didn't want to miss a single word she said.
"I'm sorry. Was that too much?"
Even she found it complicated to explain, so it was greedy to expect Gunther to understand. She should have spoken in a way that was easier for him to grasp intuitively.
"When Henry fell in love with Laurent, I wasn't exactly thrilled, but I thought the Empress's duty was more important. But when I imagined Gunther kissing the Archwitch and spending the night with her, something that had been building up in my chest collapsed."
"Collapsed?"
"Hoo! So, I wanted to punch Gunther in the face. And grab the Archwitch by the hair. Are you satisfied?"
"Aha! I understand perfectly now."
Gunther laughed heartily, showing all his white teeth. A lack of jealousy would be proof that you have no feelings for the other person. But Maria was clearly angry when Samantha and he kissed. That alone was enough for him to guess Maria's feelings.
"Maria likes me."
Gunther suddenly erased his smile and spoke seriously. Maria's eyes darted around for a moment. She looked as embarrassed as someone caught revealing her inner thoughts.
"That's right. I don't know if it's love, but I like Gunther."
At her answer, Gunther kissed Maria. But they couldn't just gloss over things like this. Maria pulled away and asked him.
"Let me do it."
"Okay."
"Really? Thank you."
"However."
"However? What is it?"
"You must not exclude me from any of your plans or executions. I will always be by your side."
Maria nodded. She couldn't escape Gunther's sight anyway. Furthermore, Gunther made it a condition that Maria had to tell him the details of any plans she made. It seemed he intended to prevent Maria from acting unilaterally in the first place.
"Whether you take revenge or whatever, our Royal Wedding will proceed as planned."
Gunther said to Maria in a serious tone.
"I know. We'll have to do it, even if we can't invite all the diplomatic envoys. But..."
"Don't worry. I will respect your wishes. I won't ignore that continental law or whatever, or diplomatic efforts."
Gunther still didn't quite understand why Maria was so insistent on divorcing Henry, but he agreed with her that Helland couldn't handle state affairs arbitrarily if it wanted to be recognized as a country, as she said.
"Thank you, Gunther."
As Stone said, there was an order to things. Maria was ashamed that she hadn't even tried to narrow the gap in their opinions through conversation and had only insisted on her own way, when she could have done so with Gunther.
"Maria, what's the first plan?"
Gunther was curious about what Maria had most in mind right now. She had already eliminated the Seradu family from Landes, so the revenge was somewhat over. But Maria's thoughts were a little different. Laurent would think that the Seradu family had paid a sufficient price by being nearly wiped out by the Red Army of Helland, but that was just her calculation. Her revenge had not even begun.
'Openly wielding a sword is so like you, Laurent.'
Or perhaps he overestimated his brother's abilities. She was going to properly show him that sometimes money is scarier than a sword.
"Shall I guess?"
Gunther said confidently. He wanted to let her know that he had some idea of Maria's plan.
"Guess."
"King Henry's mistress. A woman with very large breasts who spoke cutely with a nasal voice. She was probably quite pretty? And full of charm."
"!?"
A moment of silence flowed between the two. Gunther had been showing off, but then he saw Maria's face gradually hardening and shut his mouth tightly.
"Gunther knows Laurent very well, doesn't he?"
Didn't he say that he had come to Lastonia to find her after a long time? He had only wanted one woman for ten years, but it was amazing to see him rattling off the characteristics of Laurent, not her. Moreover, his evaluation was generous.
"She came to find me."
"Came to find you?"
"She came to my bedroom at night. But that's..."
Besides, Gunther had no tact. Maria got up, put on her clothes, and left the bedroom. There was nothing more to hear. She couldn't even properly meet her cousin, Aiden, but Gunther was enjoying everything he wanted to see.
* * *
Maria enjoyed refreshments in Stone's room. Of course, everyone except Gunther and Solskjaer was there. Ramona had adapted to Royal Palace life quite well, and she would serve tea and participate in conversations on her own during tea time.
"I have something to say to everyone."
Maria had already discussed with Stone what plans she would carry out in the future. But it was a difficult task to accomplish alone, so she needed people's help.
"I can't just leave alone King Henry, who ordered me to be killed, that is, my ex-husband's mistress."
"How can you just leave her alone? She should be killed off."
Nora put down her teacup and huffed.
"Maria, what are you going to do?"
Ero's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"I'm going to send a gift."
"A gift? Aha! That!"
Everyone nodded as if they knew what gift Maria was going to send. But Maria's serious expression remained unchanged.
"I'm going to let Laurent Seradu know. I will mercilessly throw her into a pit of despair, showing her how great a sin she has committed, and what it feels like to be rejected by my man."
A deep anger could be felt in Maria's words.
"To do that, we need to plant our people in the Lastonia Imperial Family. We need a spy who can contact us regularly and send information."
But the problem was that there was no suitable person. Nora didn't know anything about the Royal Palace, and she stood out too much. And for Ero to do it, no, the chances of her failing the courtier screening were very high.
"If you have any trustworthy people around you, recommend them."
"I'll do it."
As soon as Maria finished speaking, Ramona raised her hand and answered. Soon, all eyes turned to Ramona, the fairy-like girl with pink hair.
"Laurent Seradu..."
Ramona's voice trembled. She told in a soft voice about the atrocities Laurent had committed against her when she was young. She roughly knew about it, but hearing it from her own mouth made her feel resentful even though it wasn't her own business.
"I understand Ramona's intentions. But her appearance is too striking to be in the Royal Palace."
Ramona, whom Stone had healed, was a fairy to anyone who saw her. Pointed ears, pink hair, and doll-like features. If such a maid walked around the Royal Palace, she might be killed by Laurent first. At that time, Ramona's gaze turned to Stone.
"Grandfather, please help me."
At Ramona's words, the others also looked at Stone earnestly.
"I'll help you if you promise this grandfather."
"Really? What is it?"
"Ramona, you must not get hurt and return safely to this grandfather."
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn at Stone's words. It seemed that the two had grown close in a short period of time. Stone wanted Ramona to live comfortably in the future because she had lived unhappily until now. Of course, he was more concerned and pitiful because Ramona was a hybrid of Spirit and human.
"And we need one more person."
"What role is it this time?"
Ero asked excitedly.
"A young tycoon with an outstanding appearance that can seduce all the women in the world, insight into the political situation of the continent, and vast information and connections."
But the problem was that there was no suitable person for this either. Perhaps it was the most important role. The first person Maria thought of was Aiden, of course. But his face was quite well known in Lastonia, so it would be impossible to deceive them. Of course, Solskjaer was no exception. He had been Gunther's adjutant for a long time, so there would be quite a few people who recognized him. So, she was going to ask Stone for help this time as well.
"Can't I do it?"
Ero mimicked Ramona, raised her hand, and said. But Maria, including Nora, had a skeptical expression. Ero was a man in name only, but she was more feminine than anyone else. She had such strong habits ingrained in her... Besides, asking her to live as a perfect man even for a short time was an unreasonable request.
"Ero, I appreciate your intention, but I don't think it will work."
"Why? Do you think I can't do it?"
"No, it's because it goes against your identity. You want to be a woman more than anyone else, so how can I tell you to be a man?"
"Maria, I want to test my abilities too."
"It's not just a test. I'm trying to get revenge on them."
So, she had to remind Ero that this was not something to be taken lightly. But Ero's intention was also firm. It was natural for her to want to help her friend Maria, and she said that she wanted to do something that she thought she could never do. Maria's worries deepened. She repeatedly told Ero that she was against it, but her intention was very firm.
"Maria, I'll show you how valuable Ero is as a man."