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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Alliance
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I delivered the final blow.
“Something terrible will happen soon because of what you’re planning.”
“A terrible thing?”
“Something you desperately want to avoid. The snowy mountains of Ronheim will be stained with blood once more.”
And in your attempt to protect Ronheim, you'll get entangled with Andrea and be killed.
I left out the last part.
I feared that speaking of his own death would only provoke unnecessary resistance.
Instead, I added a detailed explanation.
“If you sell that gold mine to Count Elvern to raise money for an army.”
He showed no change in expression, but through the brief silence, I could tell he was surprised.
He had just heard a plan only he knew from my lips.
“Count Elvern will use that place to join hands with Andrea. The Count isn't actually after the gold mine. He intends to station his army there. He may seem foolish, but he's a cunning man.”
“Let's assume everything you say is true. Why would Count Elvern plot such a thing?”
“Because Andrea, who plans to eliminate me and become the next emperor, despises you.”
The fact that Andrea spent so much time around me to make me seem insane means I also spent a great deal of time by his side.
I knew more about Andrea than one might think.
Andrea hated Calius to a strange degree.
He had no real connection to Calius, and since Calius was often away in his territory or on the battlefield, they rarely even crossed paths. Yet, his hatred remained.
*In my past life, Andrea tried to kill Calius at every opportunity.*
That was one of the two reasons I chose Calius.
I looked up at the man before me with determination.
*I will save this man with my own hands.*
From Andrea, who is so desperate to kill Calius, I will save him, no matter what.
In this life, my goal is to obstruct everything Andrea wants to achieve and to take everything he wants to possess.
As the first step, I planned to marry this man whom Andrea despised so much and save him.
*If I announce my marriage to Marquis Rodrian, Andrea will surely jump up and down in protest.*
I couldn't wait to see Andrea's face contorted in fury.
Calius tilted his head.
“Weren't you on good terms with the Prince?”
“There's a ‘rumor’ to that effect, I suppose. Just like the rumor that I'm mad and you're a cannibal.”
“…”
I gazed at Calius with a dignified expression.
“You'd be wise to choose me, Marquis.”
I said confidently.
But Calius was not so easily swayed.
“If what you say is true, why would you make a losing deal, marrying me in exchange for a worthless gold mine?”
His sharp eyes peered deep into mine, as if trying to discern my true intentions.
“What do you stand to gain from this marriage, Princess?”
It was an easy question.
I answered without hesitation.
“I want to leave this place.”
It wouldn't matter if he didn't believe how important this was to me.
I met his gaze with unwavering eyes.
“Because I thought you could take me as far away as possible.”
At my words, he gave that same strange smile as before.
“If you want to run as far away from here as possible, Ronheim is indeed the perfect place.”
The word ‘run’ escaped his lips.
From that, I knew he had decided to believe me.
Just then, I saw Andrea's attendants rushing out from the direction of the banquet hall.
They were undoubtedly looking for me.
I hurriedly said to Calius.
“If you decide to accept this deal, come find me.”
There was no time left.
I could see some of Andrea's attendants heading toward the garden.
“Well then.”
As I turned to leave, hiding myself in the shadow of a tree, he caught my arm.
“Let me ask one more thing. Why do you covet that gold mine, Princess?”
I answered cryptically.
“I'm going to make a flower garden.”
“…A flower garden?”
“As I said, I'm very fond of flowers.”
*Especially if they are flowers that will one day be worth incomparably more than gold.*
His grip on my arm loosened.
Then, something was draped over my shoulders. He had taken off his outer coat and given it to me.
“…?”
Surprised by the unexpected kindness, I looked up at him as he spoke nonchalantly.
“Your clothes are wet.”
Was it my imagination, or did the atmosphere around him feel warmer than before?
“Th-thank you. Well then.”
Not having thought about how to act in such a situation, I gave a stiff bow and fled as if escaping.
Using the shadows of the moonless wall as my shield, I headed for my palace.
From behind, I faintly heard Calius let out a low, incredulous laugh.
* * *
After Chloe left, Calius remained for a while, gazing blankly at the spot where she had stood.
“I'd heard the rumors and was worried she wasn't doing well.”
Recalling the determined expression on her face as she spoke of making a flower garden, a smile spread across his lips.
It was a complete change from the menacing air he had projected just moments before.
“You've grown into an interesting person, Chloe.”
The things Chloe had said were astonishing.
How could she have known all that?
And what circumstances was she in?
At first, I was wary, thinking she was trying to blackmail me by exploiting a weakness. But hearing the tremble in her voice made my caution feel pointless.
“Trembling like that. As if I were going to eat her.”
Still smiling, he lowered his gaze slightly.
A hint of disappointment was hidden behind his eyelids.
“It's a bit disappointing that you didn't recognize me.”
* * *
After parting with Calius and leaving the garden, I hastily clutched the collar of my clothes against a sudden gust of wind.
The coat he'd given me was so large it was practically a blanket on me.
Though it was still late summer and the wind wasn't very cold, my body, which was particularly sensitive to the cold, quickly lost its warmth even in the lukewarm breeze.
Every time the wine-soaked hem of my nightgown wrapped around my legs, the chill made my skin prickle.
*Thank goodness my nightgown is thick.*
Calius's coat helped, but the thick nightgown also did its part in keeping me warm.
I was probably the only person who wore such a thick nightgown in this season.
Thanks to that, I could slip out quietly without having to call the maids and cause a fuss about changing clothes.
If I had been wearing a summer nightgown, it would have been too sheer to go out in.
*Not that the maids Andrea assigned to me would have let me leave in the first place.*
Andrea was constantly worried that his mentally unstable sister might tarnish the dignity of the imperial family.
So, despite me being a princess without even a single handmaid, let alone a lady-in-waiting, he had graciously assigned his own maids to me.
Those maids stuck by my side diligently, watching me without leaving me alone for a moment. Such touching devotion.
*That's why it was so hard to sneak out.*
The surveillance was so tight.
I was proud of myself for getting past them and secretly making it to the banquet hall.
*I wonder how Andrea will react when he hears I appeared at the banquet.*
Thinking of Andrea, I gritted my teeth.
The sense of betrayal from being deceived by Andrea, the one person I thought I could rely on and follow, made my heart ache.
“I won't be a fool and let the same thing happen again. And… I will have my revenge.”
I'll make him feel the same pain and misery I suffered.
Just as I was making that vow.
“What happened at the banquet to make you use such bloodthirsty words?”
A youthful voice came from behind a pillar in the corridor.
It was a scrawny boy who looked to be about twelve.
The boy was dressed in shabby clothes completely out of place in the imperial palace, with a worn, chipped sword hanging at his waist.
Despite his youthful features not having fully settled, he was a handsome boy with a promising future.
His beautiful, bewitching golden eyes shone with confidence. The boy's smiling face sparkled.
I knew the boy.
He was my old friend, Kal, who had a body that never grew.
“Kal.”
He looked at my wine-stained nightgown in horror.
“Are you okay?”
I gave a bitter smile and nodded.
I never knew how he managed to sneak into the palace every time, but Kal would secretly enter through a hidden passage only he knew and keep me company.
Ever since we first met when I was ten, right up until the day I died.
He was the only friend who secretly stood by my side.
“Everything went according to plan. This stain was part of it.”
Spilling a drink on my nightgown was a necessary evil to get away with Calius naturally.
“It did feel strange, with everyone staring. I thought if I slipped in during the commotion, no one would notice.”
“Wasn't that a bit naive?”
“It was wishful thinking.”
“Overly wishful, I'd say. How could people just ignore a princess showing up in her nightgown?”
I shrugged.
“Everyone thinks I'm crazy anyway, so isn't it normal for a crazy person to do crazy things? This outfit is perfect for me.”
Kal grinned mischievously.
“Makes sense.”
Then, he asked in a low, serious voice.
“But what will you do if Marquis Rodrian refuses you?”
Kal knew what I was planning.
But just because he knew the plan didn't mean he knew the reason behind it.
*Even to Kal, I couldn't confess that I had memories of a past life and had returned from death.*
If I said that, even Kal, my only supporter, might think I'd gone mad.
From his perspective, I must have seemed strange, suddenly turning on Andrea and declaring him an enemy. I was grateful that he supported me without question.
Kal disliked Andrea, so he supported me without asking any questions.
“He can't refuse me.”
He must be tempted by my offer.
*Besides, he's in desperate need of a helping hand right now.*
Kal didn't look convinced, but he let it go.
“But why him of all people? You don't even really know Marquis Rodrian.”
“Well…”
“…?”
The other of the two reasons I chose Calius.
“I like his face.”
“What!”
Kal's face twisted into a comical expression.
I giggled at his expression.
“You're going to seduce him for *that* reason?”
“Why not?”
“Haven't you heard what Andrea's maids whisper? They say he bathes in the blood of the people he kills on the battlefield. That's why he always smells of blood.”
“Is that some special skincare routine? His skin did look good when I saw him earlier. It looked so smooth.”
Kal's jaw dropped in disbelief.
Finding his reaction cute and funny, I let out a small laugh.
“Sorry, I'm kidding. I don't care what people say. You know how it is. They all whisper that I'm crazy just because Andrea says so.”
Kal nodded in agreement.
“Right… Fine, then what *does* matter? It's not really just because of his face, is it…?”
I gazed at Kal's face.
“He looks like you.”
