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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Whispers and Plots
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Shortly after Chloe left, only Andrea's maids remained in the now-empty princess's palace.
The head maid of the prince's palace was supposed to call them back to their original posts soon.
But with the imperial palace in such a state of chaos, it seemed the head maid had forgotten about them. After all, no instructions had been given yet.
“It's a vacation until the head maid remembers us!”
The maids were thrilled.
They had never paid Chloe much mind before, but now they had even less reason to.
They spent their free time doing whatever they wanted, wherever they pleased.
Some even dared to lie on Chloe's bed, gossiping.
Then, one of them spotted a white piece of paper sticking out from behind the dresser across the room.
“What's that?”
She casually walked over, pinched the corner of the paper with her fingertips, and carefully pulled it out.
“Don't worry. I'll follow you...?”
The maid who read the words on the paper showed it to her colleagues, her face twisted in disgust.
The maids huddled together, their heads close as they peered at the note.
“What is this?”
“What's it supposed to mean?”
The maid who found it first snorted.
“What do you think? She's playing two parts again. Look closely. It's the princess's handwriting.”
She then shivered as if utterly fed up.
“Muttering to herself like she's talking to someone is her specialty, isn't it? I guess she's started exchanging notes with herself now?”
“Ugh, how creepy.”
“How did she end up so crazy? Sometimes she seems normal, but when she locks herself in her room and mutters to herself, she's clearly lost her mind.”
“Who knows why she's like that. Tsk, tsk.”
“That's why the Empress is sending her all the way to Ronheim, to get her out of the palace for good. So she can never come back.”
“But what if Marquis Rodrian sees her pathetic state, thinks she's possessed by a ghost, and sends her back?”
“Pfft! That would be too pitiful!”
The maids cackled, bad-mouthing Chloe.
Chloe had hidden the note behind the dresser to keep it from the maid who emptied the trash, but her efforts were in vain. The paper became the butt of a joke in the maids' hands before being tossed into the bin.
* * *
At that moment, Andrea, who hadn't even seen Chloe off as she left on the pretext of visiting the ailing Emperor, was not visiting anyone but was instead drinking at a high-end tavern outside the palace.
He was fuming, seething with irritation.
“What in the world is Mother thinking? Why send that wench to Marquis Rodrian all of a sudden?”
Andrea usually hung on Cavalla's every word, but this time, he was thoroughly displeased with her decision.
This was because the marriage between Chloe and Viscount Felsus had been Andrea's own plan from the start.
He had thought he was finally stepping out of his mother's shadow to do something on his own.
Andrea downed shot after shot of strong liquor, lamenting the massive sum of money he was supposed to receive from Viscount Felsus in exchange for arranging the marriage with Chloe.
“Damn it!”
It was hard-earned money.
He felt as though it had been in his pocket only to vanish.
He lamented in a drunken, slurred voice.
“Do you have any idea how much I had to coax and soothe that wench when she was whining about not wanting to get married?”
“Ha! The princess didn't want to marry me?”
Viscount Felsus, who was drinking with Andrea across the table, contorted his face as if his pride had been wounded. His pointy goatee twitched under his chin.
Unlike the heavily intoxicated Andrea, the viscount was only pretending to drink, listening to the prince's story with a clear head.
The man, in his forties, remained deferential and subservient, even as the much younger Andrea spoke to him without a shred of courtesy, as if addressing a servant.
Though he was a viscount, he was a commoner merchant who had bought his title, and sitting face-to-face with the prince who would one day be emperor felt like a tremendous honor to him.
Andrea forced his glazed eyes open and said.
“She has her standards, apparently. She whined day in and day out about not wanting to marry you, but she fell for Marquis Rodrian in a heartbeat. The mindless bitch. Doesn't she find it disgusting to live and share a bed with a barbarian like that?”
It was all just Andrea's version of events, but Viscount Felsus believed him wholeheartedly.
The viscount's face turned red, then pale.
His hand, clutching the glass, trembled.
*'So that damn barbarian is acceptable because he's of royal blood, but I'm not because I'm a commoner?'*
His pride was wounded beyond endurance.
He had seen it as a great opportunity to connect with the imperial family, betting a vast sum of money and the position of his legal wife on a woman said to be mentally unstable.
But for her to ignore his sincerity and marry Marquis Rodrian.
*'How much must she look down on me!'*
A surge of anger rose within him, but it was directed at Chloe, not Andrea.
Viscount Felsus barely suppressed his emotions and pleaded with Andrea.
“The princess is still in Arental, so can't something be done, Your Highness? You've already received an advance on the investment, with the marriage as collateral...”
Andrea had boasted to Viscount Felsus about arranging the marriage with Chloe and had taken a third of the promised payment in advance.
When the viscount brought it up, Andrea scowled, clearly displeased.
“Are you daring to threaten me with that investment money? I can just give that paltry sum back! Do you think I can't afford to return it?”
Viscount Felsus jumped up, waving his hands frantically.
“Of course not! What I mean is, it's a shame that things fell through at the last minute when you were so confident about it. So, if it's at all possible, perhaps now...”
Andrea was the one who had failed to keep his promise, yet Viscount Felsus was the one frozen in place, sweating profusely and watching the prince's every move.
Andrea, on the other hand, snapped at the viscount.
“Mother said she's sending Chloe to Ronheim, so what more do you want me to do? Stop nagging me. I have a headache as it is. Ugh, this is ruining my drink.”
Andrea loudly called for a clerk from outside the room and ordered more expensive liquor.
The clerk, delighted, brought out the finest spirits.
Seeing this, Viscount Felsus shot a glare at the clerk behind Andrea's back.
*'Is he insane? It's someone else's money. How much does he plan to bleed me for?'*
As always, the cost of Andrea's drinks would come out of Viscount Felsus's pocket.
The viscount had already spent a fortune entertaining Andrea, who expected to be treated lavishly on the pretext of the marriage to Chloe.
*'And now the marriage is off.'*
No matter how wealthy he was, Viscount Felsus felt the cost of the liquor disappearing down Andrea's throat like a knife to his gut.
But he couldn't tell him to stop drinking, so he could only suffer in silence.
Just then, Andrea tossed back his drink and grumbled.
“I wish that damn, unlucky marquis would just drop dead. If someone were to kill him, I'd cover up the crime and give them a huge reward.”
Hearing this, Viscount Felsus's expression turned intrigued.
He tested the waters with Andrea, his voice light as if he were joking.
“And if that happens, will you give the princess back to me?”
Andrea nodded enthusiastically.
“Ah, of course. If you're willing to take a princess whose body has been sullied by a barbarian, I'd be grateful.”
“That sort of thing doesn't matter to me at all.”
“Really? I've always thought you were quite generous in that regard, Viscount. I wouldn't even want to hold a woman who's been with a man like that. She'd feel filthy.”
“I'm fine with it, so if another opportunity arises, please do arrange the marriage with the princess then, Your Highness.”
“Ah, yes, yes. Of course. I'll do just that.”
“You've promised.”
From the beginning, Viscount Felsus had no intention of having a normal married life with Chloe.
He just needed the connection to the imperial family.
After the wedding, he could just lock a woman like her in the basement and keep her barely alive. That would be enough.
*'Even if someone finds out later, rumors of her being insane are already widespread. I can just say I had to lock her up because I didn't know what she might do. Who cares about some crazy woman.'*
Viscount Felsus's eyes flashed with a fervent gleam, as if to say he hadn't given up on marrying Chloe yet.
Hadn't Andrea just promised?
If he killed Calius, the prince would cover up the crime and give him a huge reward. On top of that, he guaranteed the marriage to Chloe.
Viscount Felsus smiled, his eyes distant. It was the look of a man plotting a vile scheme.
