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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: A Message for the Prince
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Unfortunately, Leticia's dismissal wasn't immediate. She returned to the mansion a few days later.
In the meantime, I investigated how Leticia had come to work at our mansion.
I learned that the head maid, the head butler, and the maids who had recommended her knew nothing.
Even the resume the head maid had for Leticia was flawless, even to my eyes.
Is he a prince or a criminal?
I recorded the head maid's statement and set the resume aside.
It would become a useful card to play later on.
When Leticia finally showed her face at the mansion, she was told of her dismissal and asked to give her final farewells.
As I heard her request, I hesitated. I wondered if I had any reason to grant it.
But I decided to use this as an opportunity to send a message to Ryan. And to make a small threat.
I didn't bother bringing Leticia into the drawing-room. The thought of one of Ryan's people entering my personal space made my skin crawl.
I went outside and stared intently at Leticia, who stood before the main gate.
Only a few days had passed, but the atmosphere around both of us had changed considerably.
The face that usually beamed with a cheerful smile was gone, replaced by the somewhat cold expression of the woman standing before me.
In the heavy silence, she was the first to bow her head in greeting.
“I apologize for everything.”
I had only one thing to say to her.
“You shouldn't have done something you'd need to apologize for in the first place. Especially if it's something no decent person would do.”
My attitude was completely different from how I usually treated her, but that was to be expected. I had no desire to be polite to someone who had tried to stab me in the back.
I bit my lip, staring at Leticia, before speaking as if chewing my words.
“Go back and tell His Highness the Prince. Tell him he was the one who crossed the line first, so our deal is off.”
“The deal…?”
“It means I’ll be coming and going as I please, whether in high society or anywhere else.”
Not that I was cooped up for Ryan’s sake in the first place—it was because everything had become so exhausting…
But if it's a necessary outing, if it's for revenge, I think I can endure that level of exhaustion.
This was a preemptive strike, to stop Ryan from spouting nonsense when he sees me out and about later.
Thinking of his face, I narrowed my eyes.
“And…”
“…”
“Don't get the wrong idea. It's not because I miss His Highness in the slightest.”
“…”
“He means nothing to me.”
As I turned away after speaking firmly to Leticia, Darcy suddenly came to mind.
Darcy, an unknown presence in a desolate palace.
Why did he have to be non-existent? What had kept him alive all this time, and why did he have to die? It seemed like there had to be more to it than just a hidden bloodline.
What had kept him alive until now?
And why had the direction of his life suddenly shifted toward my happiness?
Was it really just because I was the first decent person he could befriend? Was that all?
These were all questions that only Darcy himself could answer.
And why was I agonizing over these questions so much?
As I pondered, I found myself wanting to see him.
At the same time, I had to ask myself a question.
Darcy would probably tell me in his own time, so why was I so impatiently curious?
Since when had I become so curious about him?
Why was I curious?
Is this the kind of curiosity one has for an acquaintance, or is it something more?
I couldn't tell yet.
He and I needed more time to get to know each other.
***
After being beaten unconscious by Darcy, Ryan awoke in his bedroom, grinding his teeth.
His arm was broken, and an ugly bruise had formed on his face.
But the man who had inflicted such merciless violence upon him was perfectly fine. Far from being thrown in prison, no one even questioned his crime.
The atmosphere in the imperial palace had turned strange.
Doubts began to creep in about the certainty of him becoming emperor and ruling over the people.
As long as that bastard existed, things would not go his way.
Ryan muttered through clenched teeth to the attendant standing by his bed.
“Where is His Majesty the Emperor?”
Darcy needed Kies's existence to publicly announce his status as a prince. So he had to be alive. He had to find the Emperor and talk to him, no matter what.
It wasn't that mages capable of brainwashing didn't exist. They were rare, so he had forgotten about them until now, but there was also surely a treasure that could break the brainwashing. It, too, was made using magic stones.
“He is currently in his chambers.”
The answer came so readily it was surprising. He'd thought they would hide him away until the day he was proclaimed prince, but was this not even a challenge for them?
“Let's go see him at once.”
Ryan gritted his teeth against the pain as he rose from his seat. His body was in worse shape than he'd thought.
He was used to sparring with knights, but this kind of brawl was just too vulgar.
‘How could a brute like that even think of aiming for the throne?’
An emperor must possess the dignity and lineage befitting the position. He had striven to cultivate those qualities for years.
He couldn't let some whelp who knew nothing of it tear everything down.
It was then that Ryan opened the door to step into the hallway.
“…Leticia.”
“Your Highness.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I'm fine. However…”
“However?”
Leti—no, Leticia—searched for her words for a moment before swallowing hard. She knew that the moment Ryan heard what she had to say, he would fly into a rage again.
But Marso Etoile was going to resume her activities. Ryan needed to know about it.
“Lady Marso Etoile asked me to relay that she will be resuming her activities.”
“Ha, what? How long has it been since she said she'd lock herself away…?”
A changed person, my foot! It was just my own delusion, after all.
Just as Ryan's brow furrowed and he was about to raise his voice, Leticia quickly continued.
“She also asked me to add that it is absolutely not because of you, Your Highness.”
“What are you talking about? That can't be true.”
Ryan immediately denied Leticia's words. To him, the fact that Marso loved him was like a law of nature that would never change.
But while some laws last forever, others are meant to be broken.
This was one of them.
“Your Highness, she…”
Leticia vividly remembered Marso's face as she had spoken Ryan's name. It was by no means the expression of someone thinking of a loved one.
“She has truly changed.”
Now, Ryan had to accept that fact.
“It's true.”
Ryan let out a heavy sigh at her words. He found himself begrudgingly accepting what Leticia was saying.
After all, she had been the same the last time he saw her.
She might have really changed. His mind went blank at the assumption he had never once considered.
‘…Then how am I supposed to treat Marso Etoile from now on?’
Because Marso had been irrationally tormenting Reshuan, it had been possible to treat her irrationally in return. That had been his way of protecting Reshuan.
But what about now?
Along with the confusion, a strange feeling settled in a corner of his heart.
The person who he thought would love him forever had changed.
…He should be happy about it, but he couldn't understand why he felt so strangely empty.
‘No, that can't be right.’
Unable to bear the shattering of his world, Ryan once again refused to accept the truth.
This was Ryan's truth, his sincere belief.
***
Pitol's masterpiece was finally set to open at the theater. It was just one day before I was due to meet Darcy.
So much has happened in the past week.
I fluttered the two invitation tickets in my hand, wondering if my life had ever been this spectacular.
It was a gift from Pitol, given to me after he and the troupe had conspired together.
‘I know you haven't been going out much lately… but you helped so, so much with this play that I just had to invite you.’
Seeing Pitol's teary-eyed face as he said it was all thanks to me that the play could be completed, I knew I had made the right choice.
I had been watching recordings of all the troupe's plays, but I knew this would be different.
While it's nice to enjoy things by myself, cooped up at home, there's a different kind of charm when there's an audience, isn't there? A chance to feel the heat and energy firsthand.
There was also the positive effect of the troupe members' skills having blossomed through the process of monitoring and synchronizing their performances.
Despite it being the premiere, word of mouth had spread among the nobles, and the play was completely sold out. Nearly all the important figures would be there.
‘It's a good opportunity.’
It was the perfect time for me, who had been lying low, to make a new appearance.
It was also a chance to subtly hint that I had provided the troupe with ‘something,’ piquing people's curiosity.
I had to go see the play.
I had already sent my message to Ryan, so there was nothing holding me back. I was dressed to perfection for today.
For the first time in a while, I shed the simple dresses I wore at home for a gown of luxurious material, adorned with jewels and a bracelet. With a lace-trimmed hat to top it off, I was in full battle gear today.
It was an outfit suited for the occasion, but it was also my battle armor.
To re-enter the world I had distanced myself from out of exhaustion, a certain amount of preparation was necessary.
Especially if I was going alone.
I wanted to ask Darcy to go with me, but I didn't.
The play contained the secret of his birth, which was likely a trauma for him. Ugh, I can still vividly remember how he was when we watched the recorded play before.
That unusually long silence.
I'd thought he was just engrossed in the play, but now I understood. It was because it resembled his own life in certain ways.
Pitol had revised the premiere version he'd shown me countless times, using the secret of birth as an element to energize the play, but the subject matter itself was bound to be uncomfortable for him.
I didn't want Darcy to be reminded of bad memories while he was with me.
Knowing how much his decision not to leave had affected his life, I wanted to be as considerate of him as possible.
‘Time to get going.’
I stepped outside to get into the carriage I had prepared for the evening.
…And was bewildered to see a carriage already waiting there.
This isn't my family's carriage, is it?
