“You’re only saying that now after 28 years of war in this barren territory. I’ve heard it all!”
“Oh, really…! Do you know what it’s like to be in a barren land? They say you can’t even look at your favorite pudding or macarons, there’s no social scene, and there’s no theater or salon! Is that all you know?”
Even as Ellen continued to list the things that weren’t there, Cecilia’s hands, which were fastening the buckles of her suitcase, didn’t slow down at all.
“You’re the one who’s missing the important point, brother.”
“What?”
“Why do I need pretty dresses or a social scene in the first place?”
“Huh?”
Ellen stuttered at the sudden change of mind. Cecilia clicked her tongue at the sight.
“All of those things are ultimately necessary to become the Crown Princess. Aren’t they?”
“Uh… well…”
“And I’m going to the most necessary place to become the Crown Princess, as always. It’s just that it’s Pervaz. Don’t you understand?”
Then Dylan, the second son who had been listening quietly, sneered.
“Wow, you’re so mean. Who would like you if you’re so mean?”
But Cecilia didn’t waver at all.
She had heard that she was poisonous countless times since she was a child, and if it wasn’t for that poison, she would have been a puppet for the family by now.
‘You’ll never understand, you who inherited the house and the business just because you were born a son.’
Cecilia glared at her older brothers, who enjoyed more than her despite being less capable than her.
Ellen and Dylan had been bullying Cecilia, who was smarter than them, since they were young.
[What is a girl doing reading something like “The Rise and Fall of the Atrius Empire”?]
[Come here!]l
[Men don’t like women who pretend to be smart. So go and embroider or practice dancing.]
Even when she told her father about their despicable act, she didn’t hear anything good.
[Your brothers are right, Cecil. If you want to read books, read novels or poetry instead.]
If it had been someone else, they would have experienced anger and frustration and lamented their fate, but Cecilia was different.
From the age of ten, she used her angelic appearance and acting skills to get what she wanted.
[Didn’t Count Ludwig, who you’ve been doing business with lately, like history? I heard him mention “The Rise and Fall of the Atrius Empire” last time, so I was reading it in advance. It’s sure to help you with your work, Father.]
It wasn’t empty words.
When the Ludwig family visited the mansion, it wasn’t Ellen and Dylan, who had ridiculed her for being a smart woman, who made the atmosphere lively, but Cecilia, who created conversation topics by reciting important passages from the book.
That’s how she gradually won her father over, became the most sought-after flower in society, and the strongest candidate for Crown Princess.
She was so close to achieving her goal, but…
‘She’s just like that damn Empress.’
This was definitely the work of Empress Beatrice.
I thought that no matter how much the Emperor hated Carlyle, there was no way he could remove him from the position of Crown Prince as he was a hero of the Empire, but the Empress made it possible by appealing to the Emperor’s pride as a “man.”
‘I don’t know whether to call it absurd or brilliant…’
Whatever it was, Beatrice was no easy opponent.
I told my father loudly that Carlyle would be reinstated, but in truth, even Cecilia thought it was a gamble.
With rumors that even the Emperor’s mistress, Viviana, was trying to have a child, there was no way to know how things would turn out.
‘But I have no choice but Carlyle Evaristo.’
There was no way that I, who had been mentioned as a candidate for Carlyle’s mistress, could become Matthias’s mistress.
I could try to appeal to him by saying that I would take away everything from Carlyle, but it was a well-known fact that Matthias had his heart set on another socialite, Lucia Lipinto.
‘I’ll probably just end up as a mistress at best.’
I couldn’t be satisfied with just being the next Emperor’s mistress.
No matter how much Viviana was favored by the Emperor, the one everyone bowed their heads to was Empress Beatrice.
She was the one who received the most bribes, held the most power as a woman, and had the most honor.
As I was thinking about this, Ellen and Dylan suddenly asked.
“Alright, fine. This is all good and well. But what the hell are you going to do in Pervaz?”
“That’s right. Are you just going to interfere in someone else’s honeymoon and end up being a nuisance?”
Cecilia snorted at those words.
“Honeymoon? Do you guys really think those two are a real couple?”
“I don’t know. The woman seemed pretty when I saw her at the wedding ceremony?”
That was something Cecilia hadn’t thought of either. However, Cecilia knew Carlyle to a certain extent.
“If His Highness Carlyle were the kind of person to be swayed by looks, I would already be living in the palace. That woman is just a fling that will end after a few times in bed.”
“How can you say that?”
I was getting annoyed by my brothers who were trying to belittle me to the end.
“That woman is just a penniless Countess of Pervaz, and I am the youngest daughter of the prestigious ducal family of Dupret!”
Cecilia wanted to add “you morons!” after that, but she barely held back for the sake of her dignity.
It was pathetic that these people were my brothers, trying to tarnish the family name just to spite me. I couldn’t live my life bowing to such people. Never.
‘I have to make Carlyle Evaristo the Crown Prince, and then the Emperor.’
Cecilia’s eyes shone as she packed her belongings in another suitcase.
‘And I will definitely become the Empress.’
A future she had never doubted for a moment.
Cecilia prepared to leave for Pervaz to create that future with her own hands.
***
Early September
The crops that had been hastily sown in late June were now growing tall and their large leaves were rustling in the wind.
“We should be able to harvest them by the end of this month or early next month.”
“Oh, I can’t wait! Potatoes from our own field!”
The work of watering and weeding the large field was hard, but no one complained. Everyone enjoyed the joy of working at ease and sweated.
However, the danger approached silently.
“Hmm? Is it going to rain?”
“Rain? There was no sign of rain.”
“But… look over there. Isn’t that a cloud?”
The farmers who were threshing beans in northern Pervaz tilted their heads as they watched the clouds rising in the distance.
“A cloud… isn’t it too close to the ground?”
“And the color is a bit strange…”
The color of the clouds was ominous.
Then an old man shouted.
“It’s an attack! The barbarians are coming!”
The old man’s mind still vividly remembered the clouds of dust raised by the Luere cavalry unit as they charged 28 years ago.
Only then did the people realize that another barbarian invasion was coming.
But sadly, they were not surprised.
War was no different from life to them.
“Inform the lord! Everyone hide in the caves!”
“Hurry up! Ring the bell!”
Fields that would yield ripe grain in a month were spread all over Pervaz. The people gritted their teeth and ran with the determination not to waste this harvest opportunity.
Because the hope of life was already in their hands, the news of the enemy’s surprise attack spread much faster than before. Asha, who had already heard the strange news from the north through the guards on the watchtower of the castle, quickly put on her armor and drew her sword.
“Fortunately, there are not many of them. It seems they think we are still in the same state as we were after the war with the Luere.”
“Well, that’s not a wrong assumption.”
Although they were rebuilding, it was not enough time for Pervaz to recover from the wounds of the long war.
Many people were still recovering from injuries sustained in the war, and the size of the Pervaz army had been greatly reduced. The weapons were still outdated, and there was a severe shortage of mounts to face the cavalry.
Decker looked at Asha, who was preparing to leave for the battle, and asked cautiously.
“Is there any chance… we can ask for help from His Highness Carlyle?”
Asha’s hand, which was tightening the belt of her sword, stopped for a moment, but she soon shook her head.
Asha’s hand, which was tightening her black belt, stopped for a moment, but she soon shook her head.
“We shouldn’t ask for help right away.”
“This isn’t the time for us to be prideful.”
“Pride? Do you think I’m being prideful?”
Decker regretted his words as he glanced at Asha’s gaze.
Pride to Asha.
She was the one who had signed the contract with Carlyle, enduring humiliation. She was the one who had been ignored and ridiculed by not only Carlyle, but even the lowest of his servants.
“I’m sorry. I said something stupid.”
Asha smiled faintly at those words.
“I’m not trying to blame you. I mean, it’s time for us to move strategically. Even if it looks like we’re trying to be prideful.”
After tightening her black belt, Asha wrapped a thin cloth around her hands. It was to prevent the skin on her palms from peeling off when she swung her sword.
Even the soldiers of Carlyle’s Knights wore leather gloves, but the Pervaz people had no such luxury. They only had thick gloves for protection from the cold.
“His Highness Carlyle doesn’t know what kind of people we are yet. In his eyes, we’re just people who are barely surviving.”
“……I know.”
Decker stopped himself from saying that in Carlyle’s eyes, everyone looked like insects. After all, he was Asha’s husband.
“If those people run to him and beg for their lives, saying that a few savages have come, how ridiculous will that look?”
****
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