“Never take off the mask.”
Ludwig spoke with a face full of disgust. He was immediately furious at the sight of Ariel wearing a mask.
Who dares to wear a mask in front of a Crown Prince? He thought it was unacceptable and angrily ripped the mask off her face.
The people were shocked and horrified when they saw Ariel’s face. Half of her face was horribly scarred, as if snakes had coiled around it, leaving a cruel trace where the fire had passed.
“What is your name?”
“Ariel… No, Rapunzel. I am the Crown Prince’s servant.”
***
The four sitting in the king’s reception room were each uneasy for their own reasons.
“What, a thousand pounds?”
Queen Linda’s beautiful face turned pale as she dabbed her tears with a handkerchief, shaking.
King Philip, who sat beside her, appeared old and feeble, his expression one of utter despair.
Only Prince Gale tried to look apologetic, but his carefree, dissolute eyes seemed to be laughing. Seeing her brother, Princess Ariel let out a sigh.
The Kingdom of Charden was known to be barren from ancient times. Situated on rocky mountains, even the farmland was cracked and parched from prolonged drought, revealing its dry, desolate interior. It was hardly a true kingdom, more like a mere knight’s domain.
“Gale, you’re not even studying at the Imperial Elton Academy, but instead taking out loans to gamble? Have you lost your mind?” Linda asked, her voice breaking.
“That’s why, Ariel…”
Gale began cautiously.
“The king of the neighboring country lost his queen to a chronic illness years ago and is now looking for a new queen, with a dowry of…”
“What, Gale, are you really thinking of sending your only sister to some old lecher? How could you even consider it?”
“Gale, I don’t want to send Ariel to the neighboring king either.” Philip spoke sternly. Since he rarely showed anger, Gale flinched momentarily.
“What about the Crown Prince of the Romanov Empire then?”
“The Crown Prince?”
If Ariel could become the Crown Princess of the empire… Linda’s eyes sparkled with hope, different from before.
“That pompous Prince Narcissus is apparently looking for a maid…”
“What? A maid?”
Linda looked at Gale incredulously, her expression furious.
“Mother, please save me! If I can’t find a thousand pounds, I’ll be locked up in the dungeons beneath the imperial palace!”
Gale clung to Linda, feigning tears. Though he had never cried before, he seemed genuinely desperate.
“What should we do?”
Linda asked with her eyes, but Philip frowned and shook his head, clearly unwilling to tolerate his son’s reckless behavior any longer.
Ariel sighed deeply, and a cobweb precariously clinging to the ceiling trembled slightly. The uneasy glances of the three who had been watching Ariel also became unsettled.
Ariel frowned as she noticed a hole in the sofa between Gale’s legs, exposing a tuft of white stuffing, and a cobweb on the ceiling. While she didn’t mind the shabbiness elsewhere, she was determined to keep at least the king’s reception room from looking shabby, and her mind quickly filled with plans for its renovation.
Feeling the need for some solitude, Ariel stood up and declared, “Let’s start by getting rid of these cobwebs.”
Leaving behind three bewildered people, she closed the door behind her.
“Ha, don’t worry mother. Ariel will take care of it!”
Gale’s voice could be heard through the closed door.
“What? ‘Ariel will take care of it?’ More like a skunk, a porcupine, a snake,” Ariel muttered, her eyes brimming with tears.
With her delicate, pale face, beautiful violet eyes, straight and cute nose, and her pink-tinged silvery hair cascading down to her waist, Ariel was undeniably lovely. However, her thin, malnourished limbs from not eating properly and the dark shadows under her eyes betrayed the kingdom’s poverty.
“Gale, you’re the skunk, the porcupine, the snake!” Ariel yelled, rushing out to the palace gardens to vent her frustration. She wanted to say the most hurtful things to her brother, but the only swear words she knew were the ones he had taught her.
Though a princess of a declining kingdom, Ariel was still bound by the etiquette she had learned since childhood, and her gentle nature prevented her from truly lashing out. Moreover, she had never ventured outside the castle, remaining ignorant of the ways of the world.
Ariel lay on the grass, looking sullenly at the lilies blooming nearby. The garden’s lilies were withering from a long drought. She felt pity for them and wanted to water them, but there was simply no means to even water the flowers.
“I’m sorry, just hang in there. There must be a way.”
***
“Have you heard? The royal silk supply is running low because of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“His Highness’s obsession with cleanliness is well-known. He wipes his hands with a silk handkerchief after touching anything, be it people or objects.”
“This time, it’s about a large silk flower. They say he must have silk flowers laid down wherever he walks. Recently, a servant was nearly killed for not laying the flowers down in time, causing His Highness’s foot to touch the ground.”
“Is he out of his mind?”
“Lady Countess of Hammel, how can you say such a thing? Honestly, can anyone in this world match his looks?”
“That’s true.”
“His hair and eyes are like the sun’s gentle golden rays, his nose is prominent, his lips full and alluring, and he has a tall, muscular physique…”
The noble ladies enjoying tea at the royal household were imagining the prince’s appearance, their faces showing an almost reverent ecstasy.
Marisa, a lady from the Duchy of Carmen, nodded at her brother Elias through the slightly open door. As he turned and walked away, she made a spiteful expression and added, “And to add, a mind sharp enough to make a swindler weep, a personality that could intimidate a tyrant, and…”
“And?”
“A narcissist who knows too well how good he is, incapable of loving anyone but himself. Isn’t he just not human?”
***
Ludwig sat in his office in the Crown Prince’s residence, visibly agitated, furrowing his brow.
“So?”
He pretended not to hear, making a gesture of digging his ear.
“Ha, what have you been listening to all this time?”
Elias, the duke’s heir and the next prime minister, spoke with an uncharacteristic flush on his usually calm face. Ludwig subtly lowered his gaze.
“In other words, don’t do idiotic things like you were raised without being nursed, right?”
“…”
“Isn’t it enough madness to walk on silk, the lifeblood of your people, not to mention the violent act of trampling on your servants until they’re nearly dead? And that these actions tarnish the image of both the Crown Prince and the imperial family?”
“Yes.”
Elias, having regained his composure, stared at Ludwig with his sharp brown eyes.
“Alright, I’ll respect what an old friend has to say. Hmm, silk is the lifeblood of the people? Then let’s switch to paper, and I’ll find a servant soon.”
“Ludy!”
‘Oh no, Elias is really angry.’
Ludwig moved towards the window, shielding his back against Elias’s fury. While his back seemed sturdy enough to withstand any weapon, his face was smiling, betraying his affection for Elias.
“Hmm, the breeze is quite refreshing.”
***
Ariel had fallen asleep in the garden, waking up in the late afternoon.
No matter how much she thought about it, the answer was clear. The thousand pounds Gale gambled away was more than the Kingdom of Charden could afford.
She could have ignored his mistake, but the thought of him locked up in the dungeons was too painful to bear. After all, they were twins who had grown up together.
“A queen for the lecherous king next door? A maid for the psychopathic narcissist prince?”
Even if she could be sold into servitude, she couldn’t partake in the sacred rite of marriage under false pretenses.
No, she couldn’t compromise her principles. That was her last shred of dignity.
“Anna, I’m going to clear the cobwebs in the reception room. Can you help me?”
Anna came out from the kitchen with a broomstick and hurried after Ariel.
They lit the room, now darkened by dusk, and pushed the sofa towards the ceiling where the cobwebs were. Ariel climbed onto the sofa and swept the cobwebs away with the broomstick Anna handed her.
“Ariel.”
Gale entered the reception room with a much more dejected expression compared to earlier in the day. His head was bowed, and his long hair flowed down, making him look almost like her twin sister.
“Yes?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“What did father say?”
“He said I should clean up my own mess.”
“Ha! Really?”
Ariel leaned back, laughing, causing the old sofa to tilt. Gail instinctively caught Ariel as she started to fall.
“What? That was risky!”
“I tried to hold it back, but it was just too funny. I never thought father would say something like that.”
“Exactly. How much must he despise me to say something so undignified as a king of a country, haha.”
It wasn’t clear if Gale’s laughter was genuine or not, but he burst out laughing, holding Ariel, and Anna joined in.
After a good laugh, Ariel said, “Gale, let’s start with the cobwebs. We might not get another chance today.”
🍉🍉🍉
T/N: welcome to my 4th work! I had a blast translating the first few chapters, so please look forward to it.
