Episode 18. Turning Point (3)
Yet, offering excuses felt like a form of self-indoctrination to justify my actions. This time, it was also a consideration for this fearless Duke.
“Pretend you didn’t see Sienna. That’s my final advice. Emperor has no intention of releasing that child, and once Emperor releases them, there’s no way they’ll let the child go.”
Interested in me leaving the palace due to marriage? The Emperor’s complex towards Sienna surpassed the imagination of others. He would torment me for the rest of my life, no matter how far I fled from the palace.
“I’m the one who’ll be asked today about how I tormented Sienna,” Julius muttered, thinking of my mother. But Percy’s sincere advice was no joke to him. Percy responded, exhaling a generous yet biting smoke.
“It’s well-intended advice.”
Julius’s face, stained with humiliation and anger once again, as Percy’s response seemed to ignore his words, turned a patchy red. Julius clenched his fists tightly.
“You don’t know. You have no idea how relentless Emperor’s obsession is, how terrifying of a person Emperor is.”
Percy’s crimson eyes stared at Julius. He snapped his fingers sharply, and the unburned tobacco instantly turned into fine ash, scattering into the air. Percy spoke with a cold voice.
“I’ll handle the work, so you can clap from behind.”
In response to the firm words, Julius’s brown eyes trembled. He held Percy’s sleeve for a moment, his mind momentarily blank. Then he said, clinging firmly to Percy’s words.
“If the Duke’s intentions are sincere, I can assist the Duke.”
Percy pulled Julius’s hand away as if it were stained with something dirty. Then, in a cold and rigid voice, he replied.
“The prince’s assistance in Princess Sienna’s marriage is not necessary.”
“No, I know what your wish is.”
Julius’s gaze strangely lit up, as if a madman’s eyes were gleaming.
“The division of the empire, the independence of the Confederation. That’s what you want to help with.”
As Percy heard those words, he smiled. His intuition was correct. Since meeting Sienna, his life had been filled with intriguing events.
* * *
Everyone has trauma.
Julius Zulatan also had trauma.
It’s a body hanging from the ceiling.
White, long, outstretched arms.
“The prince committed suicide!”
“Hurry and call the Emperor!”
“Scissors to cut the rope!”
Julius, who came to see his brother, saw his brother’s body hanging sprawling around.
Eventually, much later, it was announced that he had committed suicide, but Julius knew the truth.
My brother didn’t kill himself.
My brother was murdered.
It was to my father…
-Julius.
The lunatic pointed a fat finger at him and laughed.
-You are next.
The fingers were now as thin as tree branches, and Julius was a strong adult, but he was still afraid of his father.
* * *
Thanks to Percy accompanying Julius, I could leisurely clear my share of breakfast.
Throughout my breakfast, the system sent me messages like this:
※ Villains don’t overeat.
※ A well-fed villain doesn’t exist in this world.
I casually ignored the messages.
‘What are they talking about? Koreans love their food, right?’
Even if I endured all kinds of abuse, I couldn’t endure hunger like a typical Korean.
Besides, it was my first meal since being possessed.
‘Oh, I ate well.’
As I ate, I had these thoughts:
‘The person who feeds you is a good person. Percy Stewart is a good person.’
Being able to juggle hesitation and fondness like this was also a skill.
※ You may simply refer to me as ‘Sire.'”
The messages seemed more like provocation now that I openly ignored them.
I once again ignored them cheerfully. My stomach was full, so I felt like going back to sleep.
‘Oh, this isn’t the time for me to be sleeping.’
Not the time-time-time-time-time… It is.
It felt like becoming a newborn baby, but there was no helping it. I had my meal, then walked back to the bed where I first woke up like a zombie and lay down.
Then, I fell into a deep sleep.
When I opened my eyes again, the sun was at its zenith. Fortunately, I didn’t seem to have slept for too long.
‘At this rate, I might turn into a snail.’
Julius and Percy were nowhere to be seen. I got up from the bed and slipped my feet into the soft slippers.
‘Let’s take a walk for now. Maybe some fresh air will clear my head.’
I had just made up my mind and opened the door when I saw an unexpected person standing there.
It was Gerard, the emperor’s chamberlain.
“…?”
For a moment, I thought I had been transported back to the palace. Startled, I instinctively looked around. However, everything around me was unfamiliar.
‘It’s not the palace.’
Not the palace, but Emperor’s chamberlain was standing here.
I could only assume that my purpose was obvious.
I stared at Gerard with a guarded expression. Gerard spoke with a stern voice.
“His Majesty the Emperor requests your return to the palace.”
Once again, it was a request to return to the palace. Sending a court eunuch for something like this.
‘Does the Emperor have that much free time?’
It couldn’t be. The only thing I could feel here was the Emperor’s strong obsession with Sienna.
‘This is creepy.’
Discomfort piled up inside me as if I had entered a horror game.
‘I never imagined it would be like this. I never expected this kind of background behind my villainous sister.’
<Victorian Love> was not a game that gave off such a gloomy feeling. The title sparkled in pink, and the coloring was not dark at all.
As I was lost in thought, the court eunuch approached me closely.
“This is an Imperial order. Please follow me quickly.”
His casual approach actually put me on edge. I pushed his chest away. Maybe it was because of the situation. I only had one choice.
▶ They mentioned that my palace is under renovation. Where exactly am I supposed to go?
That’s right. Julius mentioned something about my palace earlier.
‘Do the characters in female-oriented games remember every single detail like this? It’s really an extreme profession.’
If this option hadn’t appeared, I would have just missed this part of the story entirely.
In response to my question, Gerard replied with a stiff posture.
“If Princess Sienna’s palace cannot accommodate you, His Majesty the Emperor has graciously allowed you to stay at his palace.”
‘Ugh.’
Among all the words I had heard so far, this was the most dreadful.
Just the thought of staying in the Emperor’s palace for a brief moment made me feel like bugs were crawling all over my body, but now I was being asked to stay there?
‘I might go insane if that happens.’
I had considered shoving Gerard aside and making a run for it, but that plan had to be canceled. Gerard hadn’t come alone. Behind him were four eunuchs who gave off a similar vibe.
‘It seems like he brought more than just that one.’
No matter how much they said they were Emperor’s chamberlain Gerard, Percy Stewart’s mansion’s gatekeepers wouldn’t have opened the gate so easily. It seemed like they were prepared for potential resistance.
‘Is my situation really this bad?’
I made a disgusted expression. The more I knew about the Emperor’s obsession, the more dreadful it seemed. Just the fact that I had such a father made me feel like I could become the world’s top villain.
‘Hurry up and give me an option! I can be as violent as I want this time.’
It was one of those rare moments when I actually cheered for the system. Surprisingly, in a situation where violence seemed acceptable, the options that appeared were far from violent.
▶ I will express my gratitude to Duke Stewart and leave.
▶ I must stay at the palace with His Highness, the Crown Prince.
Now that I thought about it, there was that Julius guy too.
‘Why do I have to stay at the palace with that guy? He’s even worse than the Emperor.’
It was like suddenly grabbing someone else’s wrist.
‘Looks like Percy is being lenient with me, so he’s pretending to be close all of a sudden.’
I found people who changed their attitude according to the situation detestable.
In the end, I chose the first option. Even though it was Emperor who told me to come back, I could at least express my gratitude to the Duke.
‘So please move aside.’
With that meaning in mind, I glared at Gerard.
A man who had been upright and resembled a respectable grandfather suddenly twisted his face and spoke in a sinister voice.
“How dare you look at me with such disrespect?”
“?!”
What is it now?
‘Ugh! My heart is pounding. What kind of game is this?’
At least write down that it’s a bad guy on your forehead or something. You just came in like that.
Fortunately, Sienna managed to maintain her composure despite my surprise. Gerard, the chamberlain who had been staring at me with disapproval, sighed in annoyance and said,
“It seems your manners have deteriorated, Princess Sienna. How disappointed would Empress Mother be if she heard this? You should consider receiving education again.”
Oh, he’s back again.
‘The person who makes Sienna unbearable without turning her into a villain.’
Is it because the Emperor’s psycho-virus has spread everywhere?
‘No, judging by how he’s criticizing the Empress, he might be on her side’.
The Empress probably wouldn’t favor Sienna, the concubine’s child.
‘This is getting ridiculous.’
Suddenly feeling exhausted, I pressed my forehead with my fingers. I wondered why these lunatics kept appearing tirelessly.
I only met a very effective insecticide against such human pests the other day.
‘Where is Percy?’
This was precisely the moment when I needed Percy the most, but he was nowhere to be seen.
‘He’s probably busy being a duke.’
In reality, there was no guarantee that he would be here to help just because he was in this position. He was quite unique. Perhaps he’d find it amusing and just watch.
‘I don’t know if he’s actually a helpful person or not.’
As I seriously contemplated this, the court eunuch continued to prattle on without restraint.
“There’s no need to trouble Empress Mother. Today, I will firmly correct Princess Sienna’s behavior.”
