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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Spy in Disguise
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I stared at Cavalla, my eyes wide at her unexpected words.
Just then, the chilly air of the Empress's Palace seemed to drift between us. I instinctively shrank back.
The Empress's Palace wasn't shaded, yet a strange chill always seemed to settle in my bones whenever I visited, leaving me with an unsettling feeling.
Cavalla approached with her characteristically elegant stride and sat down close beside me.
“Chloe.”
She called my name with great affection and took both my hands in hers.
Her hands were cold. Goosebumps instantly rose from where she held me, all the way to my shoulders.
I had to fight the urge to instinctively pull away.
“I need you to do something important.”
“What do you mean…?”
Intimidated, I let my voice trail off. It was a habit I’d been working hard to correct, but in Cavalla's presence, my old tendencies resurfaced automatically.
Empress Cavalla offered a sad smile, her expression brimming with concern and pity.
“You've heard of Ronheim, haven't you, Chloe?”
“Not very well…”
Unsure of her intentions, I deliberately feigned ignorance.
In response, Cavalla began to explain the relationship between Ronheim and Arental in a gentle, warm tone.
“Ronheim, you see, is a region the emperors of Arental have striven to subjugate for hundreds of years. We in Arental have made great sacrifices for those poor people.”
“…”
“We have spread Arental's beautiful culture to the people of Ronheim, who had been living uncivilized, inhuman lives, and we helped them learn to live with dignity.”
She spoke as if Arental's conquest of Ronheim had been a sacred mission, a noble sacrifice to teach barbarians how to live like human beings.
The pretext for a war of conquest is always framed so nobly.
When an emperor starts a war, he can't very well shout, ‘Young men, I will relax and enjoy myself in the palace, but you must go out and die for my greed!’, can he?
As if deeply immersed in this noble cause, Cavalla sighed, her face etched with concern.
“But those ignorant, pitiful people still don't know what a precious gift they have received from the Arental Empire.”
“I see…”
“The former rulers who remain there are always looking for a chance to devour Ronheim once more. It would be a cruel fate for its people. They would be forced to live like beasts again.”
Cavalla squeezed my hands.
“So, Chloe. Your father and I have decided to entrust you with a great responsibility for those poor people.”
“What…”
“The governor-general of Ronheim, Marquis Rodrian, has sent you a marriage proposal. You are to go to Ronheim with the marquis.”
“Are you saying I should ma-marry him?”
After that long preamble, her words arrived at the very conclusion I’d been desperately hoping for. I was so overjoyed I nearly bit my tongue.
My stammering must have given her the wrong impression, for she looked at me with immense pity and gently stroked my hair.
“It's a sham marriage. You're going there to keep an eye on Marquis Rodrian. This doesn't mean I'm sending you away permanently.”
“A spy…?”
“We appointed Marquis Rodrian, a man from Ronheim's royal line, as governor-general because we feared a strong backlash if we installed a new ruler immediately after the war.”
“…”
“But I've heard rumors that Marquis Rodrian is preparing for Ronheim's independence in defiance of Arental's rule. If that's true, it gives us the justification we need to replace him.”
In other words, she was telling me to go and see for myself whether Calius was really preparing for war.
It meant she was planting me in Ronheim as a spy to find a pretext to get rid of Calius.
I deliberately trembled and put on an anxious expression.
“C-can I do it?”
“All you have to do is go and report Marquis Rodrian's every move to me. You can do that, can't you?”
“Yes… I-I'll try.”
“As a member of the Arental imperial family, you must have a sense of duty, Chloe.”
Cavalla spoke with emphasis, her gaze on me incredibly warm and gentle.
“My dear child… It pains this mother's heart to send you so far away.”
With that, she pulled me into her arms.
My body stiffened in surprise.
It was the first time. Even in my past life, Cavalla had never hugged me so affectionately.
Since my real mother died when I was seven, no one besides Kal had ever held me like this in my entire life.
The strong scent of perfume coming from Cavalla seemed to numb my mind.
Cavalla was in league with Andrea. And Andrea killed me. There was no way Cavalla's will wasn't involved. Andrea was Cavalla's puppet.
Even knowing that, I found Cavalla's embrace warmer and more comforting than I expected, and I nearly burst into tears.
The motherly love I had so desperately craved from Cavalla in the past.
I was so starved for affection that even her pretense felt sweet.
Cavalla had seen right through that weakness of mine.
I bit my lip so hard it could have bled.
‘Get a grip, Chloe.’
I had been through something too terrible to be easily fooled by such sweet words and actions.
As I struggled, Cavalla continued to press her advantage, trying to break my resolve.
“Don't worry. This mother will surely bring you back soon.”
She gently caressed my cheek.
“You have been my daughter for a long time, Chloe. My child, I won't let you suffer for too long.”
Her affectionate voice seeped into a heart weary from years of loneliness.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
‘So even this can be fake.’
If I hadn't experienced that miserable death, I would have never escaped Cavalla's grasp.
‘This time, it's your turn. Let's see you dance in the palm of my hand.’
I lifted my tear-filled eyes and gazed at Cavalla.
“I will follow your words, Mother. But I have one request.”
* * *
Right after Chloe left the Empress's Palace, Denev appeared before Cavalla as if he had been waiting.
“Are you really sending the princess to Ronheim, sister?”
Cavalla stood by the window, gazing at Chloe’s retreating back as she walked along the corridor, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Her crimson lips curved into a picturesque smile.
“There's no better way to plant someone close to Marquis Rodrian.”
Denev silently watched Cavalla's profile for a moment.
Cavalla felt her younger brother's gaze and turned to face him.
Their gazes intertwined strangely.
Denev broke the heavy silence with an unreadable smile.
“Will the princess cooperate as you wish?”
Cavalla scoffed.
“That fool is useless. She'll just be trembling in fear. I'll be sending one of my own people with her.”
“By the way, what did the princess ask for earlier?”
“Oh, that.”
Cavalla shrugged and chuckled.
“She asked for a merchant guild and some land as a wedding gift.”
“What? Isn't that a rather demanding condition? Did you agree to it?”
Cavalla let out a high, melodious laugh.
“What she asked for was a merchant guild the former empress owned and the most useless barren land. The fool. Of all things, to ask for a failing guild and a wasteland.”
Her tone suggested she could part with such trifles without a second thought.
“The audacity of her, scrambling to claim something for herself right in front of me, is infuriating. But if I consider it a final gift, it's hardly a waste.”
Denev nodded and asked.
“What do you plan to do with her?”
Cavalla looked down at her palm.
Small letters were glowing red on her palm.
It was the hand that had held Chloe's so tightly for a while.
“I planted a curse.”
The ominous, blood-red letters soon faded, disappearing as if absorbed into her skin.
“Once she finds the key to the Sacred Relic, Chloe will die, unable to withstand the Ronheim cold.”
Her smile deepened, utterly enchanting yet chilling to the bone.
“She's too fragile a child to survive in a place like that, isn't she?”
* * *
After meeting Cavalla, my marriage to Calius was confirmed in an instant.
I heard that Viscount Felsus, his engagement abruptly broken, had caused a disturbance at the palace in protest.
Since my opinion was never considered in either the engagement or its annulment, there was no reason for me to get involved.
It seemed Cavalla had handled the matter with Viscount Felsus capably.
‘I've escaped Viscount Felsus.’
I was so happy I could have cried.
‘I changed the future.’
A thrill ran through me.
I gained the conviction that things could change if I took action.
I had saved myself from the pits of hell.
‘And on top of that, I got the Seged Merchant Guild and the Rosendal Territory.’
Cavalla readily gave them to me, considering them useless.
‘They may be worthless now, but…’
In the near future, their value will exceed their current worth a thousand times over.
Then she will weep tears of blood, regretting having given them to me.
‘Just wait. It will happen soon enough.’
A laugh escaped my lips.
This incident, which I had pursued solely out of revenge, gave me a new zeal beyond just vengeance.
A new driving force had emerged, making me want to act more proactively.
So I planned a new adventure.
‘Before I leave, I'll steal the palace's treasures.’
I may have acquired a great merchant guild and land, but the income from them would come later. I needed funds I could use immediately upon arriving in Ronheim.
I know very well where the imperial family's most valuable treasures are kept.
‘Cavalla's treasury.’
All the real gems were there.
I have no trustworthy confidants, no physical strength, and no freedom to roam the palace.
But I have a very powerful ability.
‘I know the future.’
That alone can compensate for all my weaknesses.
I knew a good opportunity would soon present itself.
