Chapter 71
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ Translator: wuttisyun
For some reason, Granius let me leave work early as if he had somewhere to be. Normally, he would have left me and Penne to continue working but this time, he was leaving with Penne.
“Take care on your way back, Princess.”
“Yeah.”
Penne and Granius were courteous when they sent me off but they looked busy.
“If the nasty Ceres gives you candy, break his calves.”
“Excuse me, Penne. I’m sorry but aren’t you two colleagues?”
“I don’t think of ignorant patrols who only know how to fight as colleagues. They’re people who waste our country’s taxes and only know how to eat.”
Penne nodded his head seriously.
“Alright, I shall go now.”
“Yes. Be careful!”
If they were going somewhere because of me, they would have told me. Just like that, I left the Central Palace.
The coachmen looked a little disappointed at the fact that I left work early today but we soon took off.
I leaned comfortably on my seat as I took out the diary. Since it was still the afternoon, the diary had gotten warm after being in my arms this whole time, I had brought it along with me as I was afraid of it being discovered by my maids or any of my brothers. It had become a habit and now, it would feel empty without it in my hands.
“Is there anything new…”
Flutter.
The pages stopped turning.
[Year 825, on the 7th day of the month of Helios.
The skies were very clear. There was not a speck of clouds in sight. This was my favorite weather.
On days like this, I often wonder what the capital city looked like.
(omitted)
However, that was impossible, right? Because I was the Princess.
If I stay in the Palace, one day, either the Emperor or the Crown Princess would find me someone to marry. I just hope to meet a good husband.
I heard that there will be a visitor this afternoon so I have been wondering who it will be.
They said it was my lady-in-waiting.
Could I become good friends with that child?]
It did not look like I was going to die today. When I looked at the next entry, it then wrote that I was going to die from the tea I was going to drink.
“… It looks like I won’t be drinking tea on that day. I should go on a walk somewhere”
It had been three years since i had this diary and now I have gotten a gist of the rules it operated under. I had recently discovered that this diary was not exactly telling the truth or announcing the future.
For example, I would never write my diary entries this way.
‘If I had kept a diary, more than half of the entries would be about Castor and the diary itself.’
The diary might have been predicting my future but it was making a shoddy impression of me,
“… Right. Whether it be the way it was written or my thoughts.”
But sometimes, it managed to guess exactly what I thought, It knew I could not eat spicy food and knew that the hairpin that Dane gave me was not my cup of tea. These were things only I could choose to think. The diary had been guessing what kind of person I was accurately.
Then why was the diary depicting me as some clumsy klutz? Even as I pondered, I could not figure out the answer.
There was too little information.
Even if I were to skip to the last entry, it did not tell me who this ‘lady-in-waiting’ was.
‘It’s probably the one that the Duchess sent me.’
Seeing as how she was barely mentioned in here, she might be more meek than I thought or someone who did not have a presence.
Either way, she would be welcomed.
‘It wrote how I wondered if we could be friends? Maybe she’s my age.’
By the way, what would be good to bring along with me to meet her? It had been a long time since i had let go of myself so I had forgotten what girls my age liked. What could be cute and quaint enough to tickle their hearts?
Hm, Auresia did leave behind quite a few accessories, so should I give her some? Well, I could give away plenty. And if something from Auresia did not suit her, maybe something from Fleon might. He was a rich kid.
Fleon had caused me a bit of trouble so I thought it would be alright to give her some of his stuff.
“Everything seems to be going fine today…”
***
The palace was bustling with activity.
The maids were very busy. They were running around without even noticing my presence. Hannah could be seen running around with a white tablecloth I had never seen before. What were they doing? When did anyone mention we were changing our decorations?
“Ack, my lady!”
As curiosity rose to the top of my head, Bess spotted me.
“What’s with all this fuss?”
“That… A guest has arrived.”
“A guest?”
I suddenly recalled the face of the most handsome man, Hernandez. No, it could not be him, The maids would not make such a fuss otherwise.
“Was this what this guest told you to do?”
After asking her this, Bess nodded as if I was completely correct.
“Yes. It is the Princess’ lady-in-waiting.”
Ah. So this was all happening because of my lady-in-waiting, right? Because the lady-in-waiting was in charge of the palace’s setting?
‘Ho? What’s this?’
Being a lady-in-waiting, she should be a daughter of an intermediate or high-ranking administrative official but was this not too much? To order her master’s maids around without even saying hello first? Moreover, although most of the maids were unaware, the head maid was no pushover. Such a strict lady let her take charge so easily? No wonder a trickle of anxiety was ticking the back of my neck. This was not looking good.
My steps to the drawing room were heavy, And when the door opened, I saw something strange.
“The flowers are tilted. You didn’t get the angle right.”
“M-my apologies, my lady…”
“And when will the tea arrive?”
“I-it’s still…”
“Stop! Aren’t you a proud maid of the Princess! Stop stuttering. Can you not be confident?”
The room under the scarlet light of the setting sun from the window looked as if it had been caught alight by a blazing flame. It looked like the entire room had been drowned in blood again.
The maid then rushed to the door, panting.
“W-welcome, Princess.”
The androgynous gaze that could overwhelm people turned this way. Her face was pale, calculating and cold. Her nose was thin, her lips were dyed red as if she had been biting rose petals and through those lips, she spoke.
“—I am.”
I could barely understand what she was saying. Her face, which was as beautiful as a camellia’s, smiled gently.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Ah… No. There’s not.”
I blinked and looked up slowly. The sight of the woman standing proudly in the drawing room as if it were her own surprisingly made the drawing room unrecognisable. She was someone I truly knew.
“This had all been different from what I’ve been hearing but I have been looking forward to this.”
Why was she here?
“For an adult, you look quite young.”
Slowly, the woman narrowed her eyes.
“A dignity that you cannot find even if you take supplements.”
Despite speaking politely and looking kind, I could feel her disappointment,
“Tell me.”
Everything she was wearing from the tip of her head to her feet were meticulously tailored. I could tell she was a noble with just a tilt of her head.
Her head tilted proudly.
“So you are the daughter of Her Highness, the Queen?”
Her eyes scanned my face, shoulders and legs before finally looking up again. Her elegant and delicate face distorted before her eyes bent out of shape as if she was mocking me.
“I am so pleased to know that your mother must have gone crazy.”
I seriously knew her.
“So you are my master. I’m disappointed.”
Rebecca Eileen von Aventa.
Like a fairy of fire, in the novel, she had a fiery love for the tyrant and she loved him till she burned into a handful of ashes by his hands.
It was the first time I had thought a villainess to be so pitiful. Castor, who was now the Crown Prince, was a tyrant from day one. In front of such a rare psycho, even such a wicked woman could only be considered a poor victim.
To be honest, it was debatable whether the woman in front of me could be considered a villainess. If she had been in any other novel, she could have been. But what she would do could only be seen as appropriate and normal compared to Castor.
‘How the heck did this happen?’
This woman was the villainess who had loved my brother and tyrant, Castor, so passionately, she was shunned by the Duke of Aventa despite being the only child.
“How, did you come here? You?!”
I mean, was the Duchess in her right mind? She placed her only daughter as my lady-in-waiting! Rebecca, who was looking at me extremely displeased, was not supposed to be here.
“Why now? Do you not like me? From today forth, I am your lady-in-waiting.”
“I mean, that’s not what I meant…”
“This has been bothering me for a while. Could you please speak up?”
As I pressed my temple and pondered, a distant memory began to play in my head but an elegant voice sliced it down.
“You are the noblest flower of all the women in the Empire. Could you be more confident when you speak?”
“…..”
I looked up at her.
“… I will.”
Indeed, a rose’s thorns did not only make the flower more beautiful, but also more mature. (1)
“Seeing the 8th Branch now, I realise we still have a long way to go. It could be because either you were not qualified or you neglected putting in the effort. Or perhaps both.”
She twisted her lips to a smirk.
“In any case, I do not want to waste my time and effort here. I don’t know why my mother left me here but I’m still your lady-in-waiting as of today. So I shall be in charge of educating you.”
She snapped her fan close. I knew she was only two years older than me but we looked very different. I looked like a rice cake while she looked like a flower in full bloom.
“I don’t want this to be a terrible experience for you. I have said something unpleasant to someone noble, I seek your forgiveness.”
When I looked closer, I noticed a hint of the sun under her make-up. Rebecca swept her hair behind her shoulders before talking arrogantly like a queen.
“I, have seen nothing but embarrassments.”
She spoke elegantly. She seemed to be saying how I was speaking the aristocratic language very poorly and how she could not believe I was the daughter of the ‘Auresia’. However, since her mother had sent her here, we were inevitably in the same boat. Did she hate it? Well, I hated it more. However, she did not hide what she was feeling. ‘Listen to what I say if you do not want to be humiliated’ was what I was getting from her.
I suppressed the urge to scoff.
‘Actually, you’re the one in danger by being here.’
I really wanted to accept her with the remaining sympathy I had for her but now I just wanted to stab her smug face with a needle. I smiled bitterly.
“… Sorry. For showing you an embarrassing side of myself.”
I lowered my head innocently before grabbing my skirt and walking towards her lightly.
Soon, I stretched my hand towards her. Fortunately, she looked pleased and the girl softened her face.
“There’s nothing else to be done now so please take good care of me.”
Rebecca approached me smartly before kissing my pinky. Staring at the girl, I mumbled.
“Yes, take good care of me.”
Now that she was here, that meant her name was already on the administration list. Any proceedings in the inner court would begin with paperwork.
Which was why if she were to back out now, only her reputation would be damaged. Of course, here, dishonour was worse than losing lives…
“Don’t tell me, you’re thinking of kicking me out today, are you?”
Looking at the state the girl was in, I did not think she would easily listen to what I had to say.
T/N:
(1): I’m not sure if that’s accurate because i wasn’t sure so this was based mostly on context.
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