“How is her condition?”
Sienna visited Dahlia as the afternoon sun was setting.
While the Grand Duke’s physician was giving a general explanation to the Princess, Dahlia rolled her eyes slightly to glance at her.
Up close, the Princess’s eyes were incredibly blue. Like the jewel embedded in that ring. And like her father’s eyes that remained uniquely vivid even in her hazy memories.
“Rest for a while before you leave.”
Only after the physician left the bedroom did Sienna speak to Dahlia.
“Since the Grand Duke has permitted it, there’s no need to feel burdened. I hear that if you move carelessly in your condition, your symptoms could worsen.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”
Silence fell again after this brief exchange.
Sienna rose from her seat as if she had nothing more to say. The situation was equally uncomfortable for her.
Perhaps because they had grown up without proper conversation since childhood, they found it difficult to interact despite being blood relatives.
“…Actually, I have something to show Your Highness.”
Sienna stopped her movement to leave at Dahlia’s tentative words.
Dahlia hesitantly reached inside her dress’s neckline and pulled at the string she was wearing. As she pulled the plain, unadorned string quite long, a ring with a blue jewel appeared.
It was an item Sienna couldn’t fail to recognize. Her eyes, filled with shock as if she’d seen a ghost, shot toward Dahlia.
“Why do you have that?”
At the sharp voice, Dahlia hastily waved her hands.
“It wasn’t me, I just happened to find it. At the Imperial Palace… that is, when I saw an unfamiliar box among Uncle’s belongings…”
Dahlia stammered out her explanation.
“It clearly doesn’t seem like it belonged to the late Uncle. And it seemed questionable that it belonged to the late Duchess, given the initials on the back of the ring…”
“……”
“When the Grand Duke visited, I asked him about it, and he said it might have belonged to the late…no, the previous Empress…”
Dahlia’s voice grew increasingly small. Sienna’s rigid gaze turned back to the ring.
The fact that the Duke had secretly kept her mother’s keepsake sent chills down her spine. Meanwhile, unanswerable questions rained down in her mind.
“Why are you showing this to me?”
Her voice was cold as she asked. Dahlia, who had lifted her head with a start, pressed her lips into a straight line when her eyes met those blue ones.
Although she had brought the item for negotiation, standing before the Princess left her frozen, unable to speak.
It was after some time that Dahlia finally opened her mouth.
“What I want is to be released from the House of Lowell.”
Sienna slightly furrowed her brow as if she couldn’t understand.
“For what reason? Do you want to obtain the imperial surname?”
“That’s not it!”
Dahlia shouted with emotion.
“Uncle treats the inheritance I received as if it’s his own. All I want is to completely sever ties with Uncle and reclaim what’s mine.”
Dahlia breathed heavily, unable to contain her indignation.
“Moreover… I don’t want to be married off without any say in the matter.”
After saying this, she nervously glanced at Sienna, worried that the Princess might take offense at her words regarding the previous engagement.
Sienna stared at the blue ring hanging from Dahlia’s neck as if lost in thought, then raised her gaze.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
Dahlia’s eyes widened at this straightforward acknowledgment.
“However, if you use this to attack the Duke, you won’t be able to remain completely free from this matter either.”
Dahlia was still young. Moreover, she probably didn’t know as well as Sienna how cunning her half-brother was.
“I don’t care. I’ve already prepared myself for that…”
“You might end up opposing the Emperor.”
Sienna spoke in a clear tone.
It wasn’t because she had any particular affection for Dahlia. She simply didn’t want to drag someone else’s life into her affairs.
The Grand Duke, Theo, and even Jane – well, they all had their own power and abilities, so they would ultimately find their own way to survive, but Dahlia was different.
From what she’d heard, Dahlia didn’t even have control over her inheritance, and if she were to make enemies of both the Duke and the Emperor, the situation would spiral uncontrollably into the worst-case scenario.
The Emperor wasn’t particularly generous to his blood relatives, except for his full-blooded sister. So if things went wrong, Dahlia would end up in a situation no different from Sienna’s.
Having another person in such a predicament was certainly not pleasant.
“But you got along well with those two, didn’t you?”
At these matter-of-fact words, Dahlia slowly rolled her eyes. It was clear that the two people this Princess referred to were the Emperor and the First Princess.
As she said, Dahlia outwardly maintained an unproblematic relationship with the siblings Joseph and Marianne. But was it appropriate to describe this relationship as “getting along well”?
Dahlia tilted her head slightly.
“Indeed, His Majesty and the First Princess have been kind to me.”
Compared to this Princess who was always ostracized, that was true.
Once, Dahlia believed their benevolence toward her was pure affection, but as she grew up, she realized the emotion underlying it was a subtle sense of superiority. After that, it became difficult to accept it as innocently as before.
They were still kind to her, but their charity-like kindness only caused discomfort.
“But Your Highness must also know that their kindness toward me isn’t purely intentional.”
Sienna silently turned her gaze to the window. Neither inadequate comfort nor well-meaning lies came from her lips.
Though she had never thought deeply about their relationship with Dahlia, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
Joseph, who had no foundation, desperately needed the Duke. Regardless of Duke Lowell’s reputation, considering his lifelong influence on imperial politics, it was inevitable. Especially now that even the Grand Duke had turned against the Emperor.
Dahlia’s existence was probably one of the means for Duke Lowell and Joseph to strengthen their relationship.
“It’s no different from the late Emperor. The warmth they show on the surface is ultimately just pretense.”
“Now I’m hearing all sorts of things.”
Sienna let out a dry laugh.
Dahlia’s dark gaze turned toward her. Sienna was smirking as if she had heard something utterly absurd.
“While it’s undeniable that Father’s interest in your mother was abnormal, that doesn’t mean he saw you as someone’s replacement.”
She had no intention of defending the late Emperor, but it was undoubtedly true that he had regarded Dahlia specially.
Even after sending her to the Duke’s residence, didn’t he constantly summon both the Duke and Dahlia to the Imperial Palace? Dahlia seemed to not remember those times properly, probably because she was too young.
If he had merely thought of her as a replacement, why would he repeatedly summon those who lived far away to the Imperial Palace?
So the Duke must have already vaguely known. That to the late Emperor, Dahlia was by no means an insignificant existence.
If the late Emperor’s feelings toward his child had been shallow, the Duke would have been finished the moment he withdrew from politics. It was only because of Dahlia’s presence that the late Emperor didn’t completely cast out Duke Lowell.
“So… will Your Highness not accept me?”
The flow of thoughts was broken by the timid voice.
Sienna’s gaze turned to Dahlia. A face mixed with tension and expectation was looking at her.
Ironically, she was the one who could understand Dahlia’s feelings better than anyone right now. Having a share taken by others, and the desire to reclaim it.
Moreover, in the current situation where even Declan had fallen out of the Emperor’s favor, Dahlia’s cooperation would certainly be helpful to her. After all, there was no one better than Dahlia for investigating Duke Lowell’s background.
But would that be enough?
“There are things you need to know before that.”
****
The Duke called for a carriage as if fleeing. It was an action that clearly showed his desire to leave the Grand Duke’s territory as soon as possible.
The Princess had caught onto something. The Duke, who was already at the peak of anxiety due to the missing ring, had now reached a state where maintaining his rationality was difficult.
“Are you leaving already?”
The Duke, who turned around with a start, grew cold the moment he discovered the owner of the voice.
“I forgot something at the Imperial Palace. Besides, I have no desire to stay here longer.”
As Declan had no intention of stopping him either, he simply nodded.
He just needed certainty now. He couldn’t turn the Duke into an enemy based on groundless intuition alone. Even Melophe’s ring couldn’t serve as clear evidence that the Duke had committed fraud regarding the late Emperor’s will.
The ring was merely meant to strain the relationship between the Duke and the Emperor. It was something to plant deep distrust toward the Duke in Joseph’s heart. That was the extent of its significance.
Confirming that the Duke was the notary of the will was clearly a separate matter.
“What do you plan to do with the Princess?”
“Why would I take someone in that state and face embarrassment?”
The Duke burst out angrily without warning.
“Does it matter? It’s just going to be an empty room anyway.”
At the fuming sound, Declan let out a long sigh.
