24 - The Crown I Will Take From You
24
Was Samon's bracelet, wrapped in the handkerchief, put there by the Princess?
What was certain was that the Princess already knew everything. Even that I had betrayed her.
Meeting her cold, green eyes felt like being doused in ice water.
"Y-Your Highness... I, I was wrong."
Realizing her situation, Mariu finally began to feel terrified.
"It's a pity that Mariu forgot her place and committed such an act. But what can we do about what's already happened? She's my Maid, so I can't just abandon her."
Medeia sighed.
"Grandmother. Please allow Mariu to be with Minister Etienne. If she misses him so much from behind her mistress, their bond must be deep."
"No!"
Mariu forgot her status and shouted hysterically.
"P-Please, save me."
She stumbled towards the Princess.
With each step, she felt like she was falling into a dark abyss. Her vision was darkening.
"Save you? The Minister is a good man. He's a high-ranking noble, incredibly wealthy, and he cherishes you. Mariu, isn't he the ideal husband you've always wanted?"
'Husband?'
Am I, not with my beloved Samon, but bound for life to that old, lecherous pervert?
Is the miserable future of the Princess, which I've always mocked, becoming my own?
'No. Absolutely not. I'd rather die than that.'
But can I escape? Can I get out of this predicament here?
"Congratulations. I'll miss you, but it's my duty as your mistress to send you to a better place."
The Princess's congratulations, delivered in a soft voice, sounded like a eulogy at a funeral.
"N-No, Your Highness. It was all a lie."
Mariu muttered, half out of her mind.
"The Head Maid, s-she ordered me to do it. She gave me the Minister's handkerchief and told me to hide it in Your Highness's room."
People couldn't believe their ears.
What did the Princess's Maid just say?
"Shut up!"
The Head Maid belatedly tried to silence Mariu, but Mariu was already sobbing and confessing everything like a dam had burst.
"The Regent Duke kicked her out because she argued with Your Highness, she said. He was going to replace her... She came to me, angry, and told me to do it. It's all Mrs. Cuisine's doing. Please believe me."
"No! Shut up! Don't slander me!"
The Head Maid tried to rush at Mariu aggressively, but she was stopped.
"She said she'd show the Princess what's what for daring to whip her. She said if I helped her, she'd get me registered into a noble family as compensation. So I could launder my status."
People murmured.
The courtiers present were seasoned veterans of palace life.
How many plots, big and small, had they witnessed in the palace?
Listening to Mariu's words, pouring out in a daze, they could understand the whole story.
The Head Maid, bitter about being dismissed by the Regent Duke, had tried to harm the Princess by hiding a fake Token.
People were shocked by the Head Maid's wickedness in trying to ruin the life of a young girl, and they were even more surprised that the Head Maid was a person of the Regent Duke.
"S-So I was blinded, I must have been crazy. Mariu was wrong. Waaah."
Mariu knelt before the Princess and begged frantically, as if she couldn't hear anything.
"I'll never do it again. Sob, please forgive me just this once. Your Highness, please save me."
"......"
"Mariu may be foolish, but you cherished me, didn't you? How long have I been with Your Highness...? You wouldn't abandon me like this, would you?"
Medeia looked down at the pleading Mariu.
Her trembling eyes held a last glimmer of hope.
A groundless belief that the Princess wouldn't abandon her like this.
Was that what my face looked like in my past life, when I was deceived by Mariu and handed over to the rebels?
'You betrayed me for your love. Both then and now.'
You loved so passionately that you sold out your mistress, so shouldn't you pay the price now?
Medeia bent down and placed her hand over Mariu's.
She looked like a saint pardoning a prisoner.
People exclaimed at how kind-hearted she was to take the hand of a cheeky girl who had tried to harm her.
But Mariu trembled.
The Princess's cold hand covering her own was peeling off each of Mariu's fingers that were clutching at the hem of her dress.
"Don't resent me, Mariu."
The Princess whispered softly.
"So don't resent me."
A familiar phrase, one she felt like she'd heard somewhere before.
'She really, knew everything...!'
When Mariu looked up, cold eyes were glaring at her.
A chill ran down her spine.
"......!"
She fainted right there, still sitting.
The Queen Dowager clutched her throbbing head.
"This is... quite a sight."
So, this whole mess was the Head Maid's doing? And the Princess's Maid colluded with her?
'Medeia was innocent from the start?'
"What a bold girl. Daring to harm her mistress, and the Blood of Baldina at that."
Then, Mrs. Pinatelli spoke first.
The Mrs. realized that the Queen Dowager was wavering and subtly mentioned the Blood of Baldina.
If she had limited the incident to Medeia's personal dislike, the Queen Dowager would not have been greatly shaken.
But the Blood of Baldina was different.
This was an act that went beyond disliking an eyesore of a granddaughter and attempted to tarnish the honor of the royal family.
The Queen Dowager's eyes narrowed.
"Drag those treacherous wenches away."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than sturdy Maids grabbed the Head Maid's arms. The unconscious Mariu was carried off.
"No! It's a lie! The Princess used her Maid to plot against me! Catherine! Help me! This is a trap! They're framing me!"
Sensing the end, the Head Maid went berserk.
But Catherine was too busy biting her lip and watching the Queen Dowager's reaction.
'Why is that stupid Maid suddenly dragging us into this!'
Everyone was looking at her suspiciously after hearing that the Regent Duke had tried to replace the Head Maid.
She was so busy thinking of a way to get out of this situation that she didn't even hear Mrs. Cuisine's screams.
"Aaaah! Let go! Princess! You did this! You planned it, ugh!"
The Head Maid struggled, but she was dragged away with a cloth stuffed in her mouth.
"Cut the tendons in both her hands so she can never harm her mistress again, and beat her until she dies. Lord Siseo, make sure to set a proper example."
"Yes, I will follow Your Highness's orders."
Siseo (Lord) nodded.
Only after the culprit was dragged away did the noisy atmosphere subside.
It was as if a storm had passed.
Everyone present remembered how fiercely the Queen Dowager had scolded her granddaughter earlier.
How wronged must the Princess have felt, to be falsely accused and even betrayed by her trusted subordinates?
People thought that the Queen Dowager would at least comfort her granddaughter.
'As if.'
Medeia knew that this incident wouldn't end with the Head Maid being punished.
As expected, the Queen Dowager's eyes were still cold.
"Hmph, holding the King's Seal and acting like I'm the master, it's no wonder that the lower ones are looking down on me."
Even though it was clear to everyone that Medeia was not at fault, the Queen Dowager thought it was her granddaughter's fault.
"Even though I've been holed up here, Medeia, I've heard all about your crazy antics."
"......"
"Do you think the King entrusted you with the Seal so you could do as you please? Peleus is cursed to have a sister like you. You immature and foolish thing! Who gave you such power! As the Queen Dowager, I can no longer condone you disrupting the palace."
The Queen Dowager glared at her granddaughter coldly.
"Hand over the Seal. Enough with your foolish antics."
Medeia stood still without moving.
"I said bring it here! What are you doing standing there!"
The Queen Dowager raised her voice once more, but she didn't budge.
Her rough breathing clearly conveyed the anger she felt.
"Mother, please calm down. Getting agitated is bad for you."
Catherine stepped forward to defend the Princess.
She stood in front of Medeia, just like a mother protecting her child.
"I'm sure the Princess didn't have any other special intentions. She's still young and doesn't understand the complex relationships in the palace. It must have been a naive desire to protect her own people. Please be generous and see her pure heart."
Catherine's words seemed to defend Medeia at first glance.
But in reality, she was reaffirming that Medeia was ignoring the palace's rules and acting as she pleased.
The Queen Dowager's eyes narrowed even further.
"Naive? Birna, who is younger than her, is more mature than her! How long must I tolerate that wretched thing!"
"......Your Highness, beg for forgiveness. If you say you won't do it again, the Queen Dowager will let it go."
Catherine gestured to Medeia to be quiet.
But Medeia didn't move, as if she couldn't hear.
