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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Unfinished Danger (1)
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“What was that?!”
Helena shrieked, and the door softly opened, allowing a maid to enter. The young maid, seemingly unaware of the room’s tense atmosphere, spoke politely.
“Young Lady, for lunch…”
“Do you think I’m in the mood to eat right now?”
“Pardon?”
The clueless maid blinked.
The ladies-in-waiting exchanged pitiful glances.
“Do you think I can happily eat right now?!”
Helena picked up a teacup nearby and hurled it.
*Crash!*
The teacup whizzed past the maid’s face, hit the door, and shattered. Only then did the maid realize the room’s ominous atmosphere and flinched.
“I-I’m sorry, Young Lady.”
“Is ‘sorry’ enough?!”
Helena needed a place to vent her fury.
Her mother, who had returned a few days ago, wore an expression she had never seen before. Anger, despair, hatred, and resentment covered her like a dark shroud, making it difficult to even approach her.
Her father, Duke Jacob Bronte, hadn’t returned home much since that day. Sometimes, when he did come home, the scent of a woman’s perfume clung to him.
The family dinners, where they used to gather every evening, were now a thing of the past.
A father who didn’t come home, a mother who lay ill and wouldn’t leave her room, and Victoria, who remained holed up in her room, reading peculiar books with a gloomy expression.
The Bronte Ducal Estate was crumbling, all because of one Ariana.
And now, Ariana had not only received help from the Northern Duke but had also become the Princess of the Eastern Territory.
The thought of Ariana living happily, called ‘Princess’ in the famously beautiful Eastern Territory, made Helena feel like her blood was boiling.
“We! Work for the Bronte family! You! Need! To! Have! Some! Common sense!”
Helena grabbed the young maid’s hair and kicked her, shouting. The maid, receiving a barrage of kicks for reasons she didn’t understand, pleaded desperately.
“I’m sorry, Young Lady. I’m sorry.”
Even after kicking the maid until her body was red and swollen, Helena’s anger wasn’t appeased. Helena picked up the crumpled newspaper she had thrown away and stormed into Victoria’s room.
Victoria was calmly reading a book, as if the family’s atmosphere meant nothing to her. Helena threw the newspaper she was holding at Victoria.
“Is this really the time to be reading books so serenely?”
The newspaper hit Victoria’s face and fell.
Victoria calmly closed her book. The title, [Paganus and the Blood Curse], was written on the cover, but Helena didn’t notice it.
“Read that article!”
Victoria picked up the newspaper and began reading it, her expression unchanged. Her face, which would have twisted in displeasure before, now showed no emotion.
“The Northern Duke helped Ariana! Even His Majesty the Emperor intervened in the trial. Now everyone knows we tormented Ariana. We won’t be able to set foot in imperial high society anymore!”
“…”
“No matter how much we read books and cultivate ourselves, you and I are now just the sisters who tormented poor Ariana. Do you still feel like acting high and mighty, reading books like this?”
While Victoria read the newspaper, Helena continued to chatter beside her. Soon, Victoria put the newspaper down and rose from the sofa.
“Where are you going?!”
“I need to go see Grandfather.”
“Grandfather…? No, I’ll go with you.”
“Sister, just stay home.”
“Why? I’m going too. I also have something to tell Grandfather…”
Helena couldn’t finish her sentence. It was because of Victoria’s eyes.
An unsettling madness lurked in Victoria’s gaze.
Meeting her eyes, Helena felt a shiver down her spine and released Victoria’s wrist. For some reason, the sister before her didn’t seem like her sister at all.
Victoria looked at Helena with an ominously glinting gaze and said,
“I’ll be back, Sister.”
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
It was a clear early June day when Ariana, after a journey of just over a month, arrived in Ellus City, the capital of the Eastern Territory.
As her carriage entered the city gates, Ariana was surprised by the scene unfolding outside the window.
The sky seemed to have descended upon the entire city.
“What is that…?”
Caradine chuckled sweetly at Ariana, whose eyes had widened.
“It’s a festival to welcome you, Ariana.”
“A festival…”
Only then did Ariana understand why Caradine had made her change into a beautiful dress in the city they had stopped in just before.
“Everyone has been waiting for your return.”
Ariana blinked, taking in the sky that had settled over the city.
Sky-blue fabrics adorned the buildings, which appeared almost white in the sunlight. The sky-blue cloths stretched between buildings fluttered in the wind, a magnificent sight.
Soon, the carriage stopped, and its door opened.
Ariana took the hand of Eastern Duke Russell, who was waiting outside, and stepped down from the carriage.
Along both sides of the wide street, nobles were lined up, and behind them, commoners who had come to watch craned their necks.
Everyone was watching Ariana.
As this was her first welcome procession, Ariana felt nervous.
‘I am now the Princess of the Eastern Territory.’
Now, at last, she stood here as the Princess of the Eastern Territory.
Everyone was watching to see what kind of person the rumored princess was.
There must be no wavering. Everyone would remember this day for the rest of their lives.
Ariana straightened her back and held an elegant smile on her lips. Her eyes were lively yet slightly nervous. She crafted the expression of a princess filled with joy, having endured many hardships and finally finding peace in the Eastern Territory, and looked around at the faces of those gathered.
Among the nobles, some sent gazes mixed with dissatisfaction or wariness, but most had eyes full of favor and curiosity.
Jeor, who had been waiting at the very front, strode forward.
“Welcome back, Princess.”
Jeor said with a hearty laugh and draped the cloak he was holding over Ariana’s shoulders. The blue cloak, trimmed with white fur, perfectly matched Ariana’s blue dress.
Starting with Jeor, members of the White family approached to offer their greetings. Then, the vassals bowed deeply and exclaimed in unison,
“Welcome back, Princess.”
Ariana hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should say something, but decided against it. There would be a reception later, so it would be better to maintain an air of mystery until then.
Jeor spoke.
“A processional carriage, or a horse. We need to go to the Grand Plaza, what would you like to ride?”
Ariana pondered for a moment.
‘The fact that a horse is an option means it’s probably better to ride a horse.’
While kings usually rode horses, queens and princesses typically rode in processional carriages. However, the Eastern Territory was known for the saying, ‘Even women are warriors.’
For a woman to safely ride in a processional carriage might make her appear frail.
Now that she was the Princess of the Eastern Territory, it was better to act like an Eastern Territory native.
“I’ll ride a horse.”
“Oh, you can ride?”
“A little.”
Choosing the horse was the correct decision.
Everyone, from the Eastern Duke to Caradine, the former Duchess of the Eastern Territory, and Isabel, were all adept at riding horses.
Ariana took Jeor’s hand and mounted the white horse.
Averster asked cautiously,
“Will you be alright?”
“I can manage to reach the Grand Plaza safely.”
Averster looked at Ariana with concern before returning to his position.
Today, Ariana was the protagonist, so Ariana and the Eastern Duke rode side-by-side, followed by Jeor and the former Eastern Duke and Duchess. Behind them, members of the White Ducal family and the White Count family followed in a line.
Those who had gathered to see the ‘rumored princess’ had expected Ariana to be a pitiable and fragile girl, so they were impressed by her spirited demeanor as she took to a horse.
Ariana wore a shy smile, yet she kept her back straight and rode with elegance.
Riding alongside the large Russell, Ariana looked particularly small, but her posture was flawless. Seeing her appearance, which closely resembled Russell’s, and her spirited attitude, people thought, ‘She truly is His Grace the Eastern Duke’s daughter.’
However, there were also those who cast unfavorable glances at Ariana.
‘She lived her whole life in the Western Territory, and now she’s usurping the princess’s position.’
‘Isn’t she a spy from the Western Territory?’
‘What makes her so special that Lord Jeor and Lord Averster are protecting her like that?’
‘She lived like a maid, and now she’s acting as if she’s someone important.’
Among them, the most chilling gaze came from Duke Obellier.
The more perfect Ariana’s actions were, the more his displeasure grew.
Duke Obellier wanted his son, Jeor, to succeed the Eastern Duke. If Jeor sat on the Eastern Duke’s throne, his father, Duke Obellier, would be able to freely control the Eastern Territory.
But suddenly, Ariana, who had been in the Western Territory, had come to the Eastern Territory, claiming to be the Princess.
‘The Eastern Duke deeply missed his daughter.’
Everyone who knew understood how much Russell yearned for Ariana.
‘The Eastern Duke will surely hand over the position of Eastern Duke to that girl.’
If that happened, many of Duke Obellier’s meticulously laid out plans would be thwarted. He couldn’t give up on the things he had planned for years, things that would spectacularly blossom in a few more years.
Although he had entrusted the task of dealing with Ariana to Jeor, he had no intention of missing such a good opportunity today.
Duke Obellier, who had been quietly watching the White family’s procession, gestured to a person hidden in an alley. The person, dressed in a black cloak and lying in ambush, gave a slight nod, then pulled something from their pocket and aimed it at Ariana.
Ariana was unaware of what was happening behind her. Russell was also oblivious.
“Ariana, when we arrive at the Grand Plaza, we will proclaim you the Princess of the Eastern Territory.”
“Yes, Father.”
“When you become Princess…”
Just as he was about to ask if there was anything she wanted to do, something small and glittering cut through the air.
The tiny silver needle, shot from the assailant’s device, flew straight and lodged deeply into the thigh of the horse Ariana was riding.
With a piercing pain, the horse let out a cry of agony and reared up.
“Hee-haw!”
A sharp shriek. Violent thrashing and snorting, as if trying to throw Ariana off.
Everyone froze at the sudden commotion amidst the peaceful procession.
The small girl’s body, seated on the white horse, flew upwards. Her blue cloak flapped, and her blue skirt fluttered.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as their princess rose into the air, unable to fully comprehend what was happening.
“Ariana!”
Russell reached out his hand.
“Princess!”
Jeor, who was behind, kicked his horse’s flank.
Russell’s fingertips touched the fluttering edge of her cloak, but it wasn’t enough.
Ariana, who had been suspended in the air, fell towards the ground.
Everyone watched, holding their breath, as the girl’s body descended like a single blue petal.
