“Who on earth took it out?”
Marisa’s usually cultured voice raised a notch, and Lotte, standing beside her, gave her a poke in the ribs.
The royal librarian looked uncomfortable. Marisa, through Lotte, had come several times to check if a book had been returned to the royal library.
“You can’t tell me who it was, can you?”
Marisa asked, her tone suggesting she might just pull rank if needed.
“Princess Carmen…”
The librarian fidgeted with his glasses, which hadn’t even slipped.
“You do know that no one but His Majesty, the Queen Mother, and the royal family can talk down to me, right?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Marisa felt a bit petty. To think she was invoking her noble status over a mere romance novel…
“Um, well…”
The librarian’s face looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“Aren’t you going to speak?”
Marisa eyed the librarian with her typical haughty look.
“Well, I’ll tell you… but you must keep it a secret, okay?”
“Of course.”
Marisa turned away, hiding a triumphant smile. The thought of finally getting her hands on ‘The Prince Visits Nightly’, a book now only available in the royal library, sent a thrill through her.
“Uh, His Highness, the Crown Prince took it.”
“What?”
Marisa and Lotte looked incredulously at each other.
“Miss, could we perhaps find another romance novel?”
Lotte cautiously suggested, knowing well that Marisa had been harboring some ill feelings toward the Crown Prince and was up to something secretive. She wanted to avoid any chance of them meeting.
“His Highness took them all.”
The librarian, anticipating Marisa’s displeasure, squeezed his eyes shut as he spoke.
“What do you mean he took them all? Why would he do that?”
Marisa’s voice rose in anger, causing the other nobles in the library to glance her way.
“He said that having romance novels in the royal library undermines discipline…”
“Ha, that’s absurd. I won’t let this go.”
Marisa stormed out of the library and headed towards the Crown Prince’s palace.
The palace staff looked curiously at her as she entered, puffing with anger. They had never seen Marisa reveal her emotions so openly; she was always so poised and polished.
“Where is His Highness?”
Marisa burst through the office door, and Leo, who was sitting on a sofa, stood up in surprise.
“Princess?”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in the dressing room, selecting his outfit for the Emperor’s birthday celebration.”
“Ha, of course he is.”
Marisa, incredulous, hurried her steps.
“Miss!” Lotte panted as she followed.
“Lotte, it’s going to get loud. Prepare yourself and wait outside the door.”
Before Lotte could reply, Marisa flung open the dressing room door.
Ludwig, dressed in a black and white uniform that fit his well-built physique perfectly, caught her eye. His uniform highlighted his tall, muscular frame, drawing the eye.
Ludwig turned around as he sensed her presence. His blond hair, lightly resting on his shoulders, sparkled almost translucently under the light, and his eyes shimmered a deep gold. His well-proportioned nose and full, attractive lips naturally drew admiration.
Such a beautiful man. Once, she had sought that light.
But the light was too translucent to be contained. The more she desired it, the more it vanished into the darkness.
Despite her dramatic entrance, Marisa just stood there, prompting Ludwig to look at her questioningly.
“Marisa?”
“You ordered all the romance novels to be removed from the royal library?”
“I did. Is there a problem?”
“Why did you order them to be removed?”
Marisa’s voice suddenly became heated.
“They’re too risqué to be in the royal library.”
Ludwig dismissed it casually as he turned back to the full-length mirror.
He had cleared out the romance novels because the heroes in those stories were too dashing, and he feared Rapunzel’s standards might become too high. But he couldn’t possibly admit such a childish reason.
“Obscene? Oh, come on, you delusional prince! Is what you do with your valet supposed to be romantic? It’s nothing but a joke at the expense of the Romanov Empire.”
When Marisa unleashed a stream of curses loud enough to shake the palace, the servants rushed over, Elias among them.
“…”
Ludwig was so shocked that he couldn’t speak and just stood there with his mouth agape.
She thought, ‘He looks like such a fool drooling over there. What do they even see in him?’
“Marisa.”
Elias grabbed her arm and nearly dragged her out, though she continued her tirade as they left.
“Marisa, please.”
Once they reached a secluded spot, Elias embraced her and pleaded.
“Make sure you’re not late for the nobles’ meeting tomorrow. If I don’t strangle that guy, I’m not a man.”
Marisa shook off his hand and turned away with a sharp retort, leaving Elias looking after her with sadness.
“I’m sorry, Marisa. I can’t seem to do right by you, not as your brother, nor as your servant.”
“I guess I’m just…”
***
Ariel, following Ludwig’s instructions to escort a costume designer, spotted Marisa among a crowd that had stormed the dressing room.
“He’s been keeping a monster of a valet at the pavilion, feeding him and whatnot. If he’s so fond of him, why doesn’t he just throw away his title and run away? But I guess he doesn’t have the guts for that. Coward…”
The woman hurling insults at Ludwig had a striking appearance that carried an air of charisma.
Ariel, intrigued by this impressive woman, asked a familiar valet, “Who is she?”
“What? You don’t know Princess Marisa, His Highness’s fiancée?”
“Oh, right.”
As Ariel nodded and turned to leave, he heard malicious criticism from behind.
“He dares to flirt with His Highness without knowing his place…”
“With that face, how did he manage to ensnare him? What tricks did he use, I wonder.”
Ignoring the snickering voices, Ariel sighed.
“It seems His Highness’s fiancée is misunderstanding something.”
‘He’s just being kind to me because he pities me… It’s heartbreaking that she’s so upset because of me.’
She vaguely heard there’s a nobles’ meeting about Ludwig and her tomorrow. Ariel thought it might be best to leave before people misinterpreted things further.
“When?”
Anna asked, worried yet expecting the answer.
“I think it would be best to leave tomorrow night.”
“Why not in the morning?”
“The roses planted in the front yard of the Crown Prince’s palace are budding, and I think they will bloom tomorrow morning.”
Anna shrugged helplessly at Ariel’s words.
If they officially label her tomorrow at the nobles’ meeting, both His Highness and the princess will be in danger…
If it were Anna, she would have left tonight or at dawn tomorrow. But Ariel, as always, seemed to think differently.
“Maybe I should look into getting a ship in case I need to escape far away.”
***
As Marisa climbed into the carriage, the vehicle emblazoned with the Duke of Carmen’s crest sped across the road.
They had been preparing since early morning for the nobles’ meeting.
The atmosphere at the Duke of Carmen’s breakfast table was heavy, as they were supporters of the Crown Prince. The duke and his wife, and even Elias, who was home for some reason, didn’t speak but looked gloomy.
“Ah, this is tasteless.”
Marisa loudly clanged her fork and knife down, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and stood up.
No one rebuked her actions, and that only soured her mood further. Only Lotte, who had ridden alongside her in the carriage, fidgeted uncomfortably.
As they traveled along a dirt road widened into a royal hunting ground, the carriage’s rear wheel got stuck in the mud, rendering it immobile.
“Miss, please wait a moment.”
The coachman got down to inspect the carriage, but it didn’t budge.
Marisa and Lotte, having stepped out to assess the situation, realized the seriousness: the recent rain had softened the dirt, impairing its function as a road.
“What do we do? We’ll be late at this rate…”
In desperation, she and Lotte tried to push the carriage from behind, but it wouldn’t move, and Marisa, exerting too much force, fell backward, ruining her dress.
“Damn it, Lotte… My dress is ruined. What am I going to do about the meeting…”
“Miss, this is terrible. What should we do?”
While they were flustered, a passing carriage stopped, and a man got out.
It was Alexei.
The carriage, carrying Alexei and his entourage from Prolands, had stopped upon seeing them struggling in the mud.
“Should we help?”
Alfred appeared to ponder for a moment before seeing Marisa and changing his mind.
“Better pass quickly. If Marisa catches us, it’ll only lead to more trouble.”
“Are you not going to help?”
From a distance, Gale noticed Marisa’s striking beauty and couldn’t hide his materialistic interest. Alfred shook his head disapprovingly and suggested they just keep going.
“You’re really heartless. How can you just ignore that delicate lady in distress? I should help her.”
As Gale was about to get up, Alfred grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear.
“Damn it…”
After hearing Alfred’s words, Gale crouched down to stay out of sight.
“Alexei, you help her.”
Alexei reluctantly agreed, knowing full well that Alfred was his cousin. With a look of displeasure, Alexei watched the two for a moment before getting out of the carriage.
“May I help you?”
Alexei asked halfheartedly, and Marisa, who had been staring blankly, looked up and seemed startled by his cold gray eyes.
“The carriage is stuck in the mud and won’t move. I have an important meeting, and we’re already running late.”
Upon hearing this, Alexei’s bushy eyebrow twitched as he walked back to his own carriage and opened the door.
“You heard? Get down and push the carriage.”
“Uh? No way! Absolutely not, I’d rather die!”
Alfred and Gale almost flattened themselves against the carriage floor and desperately shook their heads, prompting a knowing look from Alexei.
“Seems you know the noble lady. Running away from another scam, are you?”
The coachman joined Alexei’s proposal and helped push the carriage, freeing the rear wheel.
“Sir, thank you so much.”
The coachman repeatedly bowed his head in gratitude, and Marisa gave a cool, slight nod of her head.
She was arrogant, yet undeniably beautiful.
Alexei glanced at Marisa one more time before climbing back into the carriage.
“Cold as ice, she wouldn’t bleed a drop even if you stabbed her.”
As the carriage began moving again, Marisa’s mind was already filled with the troublesome thoughts of the impending noble meeting.
🍉🍉🍉
