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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: An Epiphany
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The maids, who had been impudently reading my letter over my shoulder, erupted into a fit of giggles.
“The Marquis Rodrian must be completely smitten with you, Your Highness!”
“Pfft, he said his soul was burning!”
Eventually, they even snatched the letter from my hand and passed it among themselves.
“Give it back!”
I held out my hand, but the maids, giddy over a love letter from a strange man, paid me no mind.
‘What should I do?’
I was conflicted. The old me would have shrunk back, unable to say a word in response to their behavior.
But now, I had the courage to give them a stern scolding.
‘What should I do?’
After a brief moment of thought, I chose to just let it be, as I always had.
All to keep Andrea off his guard.
‘If I don’t act like my usual self, word will get back to Andrea, and he’ll grow suspicious.’
I’d already embarrassed him last time. If he saw me reprimanding the maids now, he might truly start to doubt me.
‘Still, he hasn’t shown his face since that day. I expected him to rush over and lecture me for humiliating him.’
Speak of the devil. Just then, Andrea stormed in.
“Chloe, I heard Marquis Rodrian sent you a gift?”
‘News travels fast.’
It seemed one of the courtiers had run straight to Andrea the moment Calius’s gift arrived.
As Andrea appeared, dressed as lavishly as a peacock, the chattering maids instantly fell silent and lined up respectfully.
With a sharp eye, Andrea snatched the letter they were passing around from one of the maids.
“What in the world is that man thinking? To my sister, who has a fiancé!”
He scanned the letter quickly, then scoffed in disbelief.
“What prose. You haven’t fallen for such sweet nothings, have you?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. Only a witless woman would fall for such flowery words.”
This, coming from Andrea, who was more enthusiastic than anyone about seducing noble ladies with those very same flowery words.
“What on earth did you talk about with Marquis Rodrian without me last time for him to be acting like this? Your dear brother simply can’t stand it.”
“Why is that?”
“You have to ask? For him to do something like this means he doesn’t take you seriously.”
The question *‘In what way?’* rose to the tip of my tongue, but I chose to keep my mouth shut.
I, too, was puzzled by Calius’s intentions in sending all these flowers and letters, but of one thing I was certain.
Andrea was talking nonsense.
Arguing would only lead to a long-winded, illogical rant, so I just vaguely agreed with him.
“I see.”
Thinking I had agreed with his point, Andrea grew even more triumphant.
“Chloe, your brother is telling you this for your own good. From now on, don’t meet with Marquis Rodrian, even if he comes looking for you. He’s a devious man.”
I refuted his words in my mind.
‘For my own good? Who do you think is the reason my eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep?’
Oblivious to my inner thoughts, Andrea continued to prattle on.
“Honestly, why else would he approach you? It’s because you’re a pushover. You need to conduct yourself properly, Chloe.”
“…”
“Don’t just accept things like this so readily.”
“…”
“And what’s he giving you? Flowers? Ha! He must think so little of you to try and win your favor with cheap flowers like these. He should be offering you expensive jewels, and even that wouldn’t be enough!”
“…”
For someone who ran away because he didn’t have the courage to say it to his face, he sure talks big when the other person isn’t around.
Still, up to this point, I could bear to listen.
But what Andrea said next was hard to stomach.
“Think of the jewels Viscount Felsus sent you. This man doesn’t even have that much sincerity. See? It just shows how much the Viscount thinks of you, doesn’t it?”
Viscount Felsus. Hearing my ex-husband’s name made me want to retch.
Memories of his beatings and abuse flashed through my mind.
The fear from that time came rushing back, and my body began to tremble.
Andrea, misinterpreting my reaction, turned to me with a frown.
“What? Don’t tell me my words have upset you?”
“…”
How would the old me have reacted to Andrea’s words?
I probably would have blamed myself.
‘I must have seemed easy to others because I don’t conduct myself properly.’
‘Why am I like this?’
‘Who could ever like someone like me?’
‘What if my brother gets fed up with how pathetic I am and abandons me?’
‘It’s more than I deserve for Viscount Felsus to marry me.’
‘I have to do my best for him. He’s the one accepting someone like me.’
With thoughts like these, I would have belittled myself, shrinking like a sinner.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Of all the thoughts I’ve had, not a single one was for myself. Why did I only ever whip myself?’
Stepping back and looking at myself as a third party, my heart ached for me.
I soothed the past version of myself, cowering in a corner.
‘Chloe, none of this is your fault.’
That’s right. It wasn’t my fault.
The moment I thought that, tears welled up in my eyes.
I’m not pathetic.
Andrea shouldn’t speak to me like that.
I am not someone to be treated carelessly.
Even if I were at fault, that wouldn’t give anyone the right to mistreat me.
And whether it’s Calius or Viscount Felsus, it’s right for me to judge them based on what I see and feel.
I don’t need to blindly follow Andrea’s opinions.
From now on, I will trust my own thoughts and judgment.
Because my life is my own.
‘I am not Andrea’s doll.’
Suddenly, strength surged from somewhere deep inside me.
So this is what it feels like to be on my own side—so overwhelming and reassuring.
A tear streamed down my cheek. It wasn’t a tear of sadness or anger.
It was a tear of self-comfort.
“Chloe? Why are you suddenly crying?”
“I’ve had an epiphany, thanks to you, brother.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie. After all, Andrea was the cause of this realization.
Andrea’s face filled with smug satisfaction at my words.
“Yes, yes. Everything your brother says is for your own good. I’m glad you finally understand.”
It seemed another lecture was about to begin.
Pretending to agree with him, I picked up one of the vases filled with the lovely flowers Calius had sent.
“You’re right, brother. I should get all of this out of my sight.”
“A wise decision. You there, help Chloe throw out this worthless junk.”
The maids, who hadn’t moved a muscle when I tried to clear the vases myself, sprang into action at Andrea’s command.
“Your Highness, let me take that. I’ll clear it away.”
“Thank you.”
As I handed her the vase, I let it slip from my grasp as if by accident, sending it crashing toward Andrea.
Crash!
The glass vase shattered against the marble floor, sending shards flying everywhere.
One of them grazed my cheek, leaving a cut.
“Gah!”
I, being used to the sight of blood, was unfazed, but Andrea shrieked and recoiled at the sight of the blood trickling down my face.
“What—what was that?”
At Andrea’s panicked cry, his knights rushed into the drawing room.
“What is it, Your Highness!”
The knights placed themselves between Andrea and me, separating us.
It was as if they feared a monster like me might kill the fragile Andrea with a single touch.
‘I’m the one who’s hurt.’
Instead of asking if I was all right, Andrea snapped from behind his knights.
“You didn’t have to break it! A girl should have some grace. You’re being far too aggressive.”
This was the attitude of the man who claimed to worry about me as a matter of habit.
“My apologies. It seems we need to clean up.”
The maids brought cleaning supplies and bustled about.
The commotion distracted Andrea, who seemed to forget his intended lecture. He clicked his tongue and turned to leave.
“In any case, I’m glad you understood. I’ll be on my way.”
Having achieved my goal of driving Andrea away, I carelessly wiped the blood from my cheek with my fingers and turned away.
My cheek stung, but it didn’t matter.
I was more pleased that I hadn’t allowed Andrea to gnaw at my soul with his serpent-like tongue.
* * *
“She’s out of her mind. She must be mad, Mother, don’t you think?”
Andrea paced back and forth, rubbing his arms as if he’d gotten the chills.
“I don’t know who she takes after to be so violent.”
He had rushed straight to Cavalla’s palace, determined to find some fault in Chloe to report.
Cavalla’s ruby-red lips twisted into a captivating smile. It was a smile full of malice.
“She must take after her mother. That woman was just as difficult.”
Cavalla was more interested in Marquis Rodrian than in Chloe.
“By the way, you say Marquis Rodrian has taken a fancy to Chloe?”
Andrea fumed.
“I have no idea what that bastard is plotting. You should have seen the letter he wrote—as if he’d give her his heart and soul!”
“Is that so?”
One of Cavalla’s eyebrows arched. Her expression was one of interest.
“What if Viscount Felsus decides to call off the marriage because of this?”
Cavalla considered this for a moment, then glided elegantly to Andrea’s side and patted his shoulder.
“Don’t you worry, Andrea.”
She whispered softly.
“It would be best to watch a little longer.”
“You’re just going to let Marquis Rodrian do as he pleases? He knows our secret—!”
“Shh.”
Cavalla cut Andrea off. Her eyes were ice-cold, and the air in the room instantly grew sharp.
“Watch your tongue, Andrea.”
At her soft but firm warning, Andrea swallowed hard and fell silent.
“There, there. Good boy.”
Cavalla smiled brightly again. Andrea finally let out the breath he had been holding.
Cavalla patted her son’s head before returning to her seat across from him.
“There is nothing to fear. Your mother doesn’t make losing deals. For now, let’s allow the Marquis to do as he pleases.”
A meaningful smile played on her lips.
* * *
‘What on earth could he be planning?’
I stared at the letter and flowers that had arrived again today, lost in serious thought.
For a solid week, Calius had sent flowers and a letter every single day without fail.
A few times, he’d apparently even loitered around my quarters for a while before leaving. I couldn’t count how many times the maids had gleefully reported this to me.
“They say Marquis Rodrian cries out Your Highness’s name every night.”
“I heard he’s fallen ill from pining for you, Your Highness.”
“I heard he’s refusing all food and drink.”
Suddenly, the maids began acting friendly, eagerly bringing me news of Calius.
For them, it was an exciting new game.
Their words only added to my confusion.
‘Where are they even hearing these rumors? More importantly, what is Marquis Rodrian thinking? Am I just too dense to understand some kind of signal he’s sending?’
Under Andrea’s watchful eye, I couldn’t contact Calius, and my frustration mounted.
‘If he wants permission to marry me, he should be trying to persuade the Emperor and Empress, not sending me flowers and letters.’
Can I really just trust him and wait? Shouldn’t I be doing something?
I grew more and more anxious.
Then one night, to my surprise, Empress Cavalla summoned me and said abruptly,
“Chloe, I need you to go to Ronheim.”
Huh…?
