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【Chapter 27 – Awakening, Villain Material】
Despite our grumbling journey, we arrived at the Imperial Palace. However, we were informed that Esadien was out for a stroll.
“If His Highness had been present, he would have been delighted. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
The servant bowed deeply.
“Not at all. How has His Highness been lately?”
“He has been quite… busy.”
Busy?
‘What kind of task did the Emperor or the Crown Princess assign him?’
I stopped questioning further as it seemed odd to pry while holding the servant in place.
‘I guess I’ll find out next time.’
With a lingering sense of unease, I turned my gaze toward Esadien’s Palace several times.
“What are you doing, Minuelle?”
Until Ramande urges me.
💧
And a few days later, following my older sister Elga, who was going to meet the Crown Princess, I also entered the Palace. However, once again, Esadien was out.
‘He seems really busy…’
Anyway, I accepted my sister’s suggestion to spend time together and headed to the Crown Princess’s Palace.
“Who is this! Is our baby, our lovely Minuelle, here too? Did I dream of this moment?”
The Crown Princess greeted us with a blush, particularly embracing me as if Sister Elga, who was originally the intended meeting partner, wasn’t even there. It was quite embarrassing. However, perhaps due to their closeness, both Sister Elga and the Crown Princess seemed unaffected by the situation.
“But where is Lady Celeste? She doesn’t seem to be around.”
I politely asked out of courtesy, but I was somewhat curious about the news. After all, she was the protagonist. I thought I would meet her here, but it seemed like she hadn’t even come to the crown princess’ palace. The response from the Crown Princess that followed was not much different from what I had expected.
“She was summoned by His Majesty to the main palace. It has been quite some time, so I assume she has returned.”
Early dismissal, you say? That sounds like the joy of a working person.
“How has she been?”
“Well, who knows. She’s not one to talk much about herself.”
Based on the Crown Princess’s response and the atmosphere surrounding the maids, it seemed that she didn’t have a particularly good relationship with the people here.
“Does His Highness have any recent tasks or responsibilities, Your Highness? He seemed quite busy.”
“Eddie? I include him in official outings upon his request, but I don’t really assign him any other tasks. I dislike giving him noticeable responsibilities.”
“Oh, I see…”
While Sister Elga and the Crown Princess engaged in lively conversation, I sat there like a broken doll, sipping my tea in silence.
‘Why am I feeling so uneasy again?’
I felt a chill as if someone had rubbed ice against my spine. Despite continuously pouring warm tea to dispel that feeling, my mood didn’t improve.
💧
When I returned home that day, I wrote a letter to Esadien for the first time.
「It’s awkward because it’s my first time asking how you’re doing in a letter.」
The letter, which started like that, continued with updates about my current situation, and ended with a suggestion to meet sometime after a while. However, the response that came back the next day, delivered by an imperial messenger in the late afternoon, was as follows:
「I apologize, but I am unable to find time as there are important tasks assigned by Her Highness the Crown Princess. I’m sorry.」
The hand holding the letter dropped abruptly.
Beep–
A sharp ringing sound echoed in my ears, causing a sudden throbbing pain in my head.
‘If I hadn’t met the Crown Princess yesterday and asked her, I might have believed those words.’
I placed my hand on my forehead and leaned my head back, feeling dizzy.
‘No, maybe it would have been better if I didn’t know anything at all.’
Esadien who came to visit me, said these words.
“I believe there should be trust between us, even if we can’t expect love.”
Trust…..
‘Whose words should I believe, the Crown Princess’s or Esadien’s?’
There is a saying that love is about trusting each other. So, should I trust Esadien? Her Highness the Crown Princess mentioned that it’s something difficult to disclose to outsiders, so I should think that way, right?
“Haa….”
Once again, my emotions began to boil within me. Now I knew that this was the lingering power of the spirits. However, despite this understanding, I still couldn’t adapt, and it felt like there was some kind of unquenchable charcoal burning inside me.
“Can I come in, Minuelle?”
Just as I heard a knock and Ramande’s voice from outside the door, I couldn’t muster the energy to respond. My eyes were burning with anger, and I tightly shut them. My arms fell weakly, and hot breath escaped through my lips.
“It’s time for dinner. Let’s go downstairs now.”
“…..”
Ramande and I were together just thirty minutes ago. And I was originally not someone who wandered around much.
“Minuelle?”
However, since I kept not responding, he must have found it strange. I heard the sound of the door being opened slightly. And in the next moment, I heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching.
“Minuelle! What’s wrong!”
“Don’t shout… It hurts my head…”
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
The touch of Ramande’s hand on my forehead and cheeks felt refreshing. Without realizing it, I murmured as I pressed my face against his cool palm, and he clicked his tongue.
“You have a fever again.”
Ramande swiftly embraced me and carried me to the bedroom.
“I’ll bring the meal, so just rest for now.”
Today, of all things, I was wearing tight-waisted clothes. Ramande tried to loosen the ribbon at the back of my dress while I sat on the bed, but I weakly raised my hand and stopped him.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to worry my parents. Just go eat.”
“Using divine power to suppress it is only a temporary solution, you know.”
“For now, that’s enough. Really. It’s not because I’m in pain, just… a little…”
“Just? You’re in pain, and there’s nothing ‘just’ about that.”
Ramande’s frowned eye reached my hand, which was still clutching the paper tightly.
“Is it because of this?”
Since the letter had more empty space than writing, it didn’t take long for Ramande to skim through its contents. His eyes widened slightly, then quickly hardened.
“Haaahh.”
He said with a sigh.
“You… even the blood vessels in your eyes have burst. Close your eyes.”
“Okay…”
I leaned on Ramande with my eyes closed.
“Breathe, take a deep breath.”
The divine power poured into me like a rushing wave as he held me tightly. The familiar power of Ramande. At this moment, I felt like a butterfly enclosed within a sanctuary of divine power. In this warm embrace, I expected my heart to find peace, but thoughts of Esadien kept creeping into my mind.
“I can’t help but keep thinking of you, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
You’re such a bad prince.
‘Now, I really don’t know what to do.’
I wanted to seek advice from Theodore, who had known Esadien for a long time. However, he had been deployed back to the desert region after Sister Juella’s wedding.
“I shouldn’t have said things like ‘I’ll wait.'”
In the end, I couldn’t help but utter regretful words.
“I should have just… done as I always have.”
I wish I had been by Esadien’s side, tirelessly guarding the threshold of the palace. But as always, regrets came too late, and things gradually veered off course.
💧
Several gloomy days passed like withered puppy grass. It was around that time that the events between the Second Prince and Esadien fell into my hands.
“Goodness. This is not just something that happened ‘between them’; it’s one-sided torment.”
From the moment Esadien entered the palace, the torment began. There were numerous minor acts of violence that were too numerous to count, and among them, two incidents stood out as particularly heinous.
One was when he manipulated and bribed the trainee knights to gang up on Esadien and subject him to a merciless beating. The second was during mountain training, where he intentionally gave Esadien faulty maps and attempted to kidnap him to sell him as a slave.
“Back then, it was Judith Karainen who saved you… my mother and the Order of Knights, right?”
“I accepted the engagement to repay the favor to His Majesty and the Grand Duchess.”
“I wondered what kind of favor it was, and this happened.”
There is a limit to covering up incidents. The incident of Esadien’s abduction naturally reached the Emperor’s ears, and the enraged Emperor scolded Second Prince.
Although the official reason was stated as studying abroad, it was more like being “banished” from the Empire. Of course, it was labeled as studying abroad, but considering the few times he had returned to the empire, it was clear to anyone that it was a form of exile.
As I closed the shallow report with a sigh, I exhaled deeply.
“There was a villain who surpassed Minuelle here.”
Esadien became the Third Prince when he was only nine years old. What could such a young child have possibly done wrong to be subjected to such torment from the Second Prince?
“How difficult it must have been for him.”
It was painful to think that little Esadien endured all those hardships in silence for the sake of the Emperor who had accepted him. It made my heart ache. If only I had met Esadien earlier, how wonderful would it have been. Just like I helped Ramande, I could have helped him too.
“I miss you…..”
The longing and torment that enveloped me recently were all the feelings I felt because I liked Esadien.
Now, I finally realized it.
“Yes, I should believe him. I promised that I would wait.”
I should believe in the words that he said, that he doesn’t know what to do because thoughts of me come to his mind.
“I miss you, Esadien.”
Though I can’t return to Esadien’s parlor, which used to feel like our own little space, just seeing his face and hearing him say that everything will be okay would make everything truly okay. My eyes welled up with tears, but instead of shedding tears, I let out a little blood.
“Ugh…”
Is it a delusion to think that my emotion became slightly more intense after absorbing the fireball last time?
I pushed the blood-stained handkerchief under the ashes of the fireplace before anyone could see it. My fingertips were trembling inexplicably, as if in a hurry.
💧
“I’m sorry, My Lady.”
However, the determination I had made with great effort that day was shattered shortly after I visited the Imperial Palace.
“……”
There was still no response from Esadien, and he remained absent as before, not even replying to my letters.
“My Lady?”
Upon seeing the unfamiliar face, my already uneasy feeling plummeted even further. Once, I was so familiar with the palace, wandering around it as if it were my own. I knew the features of the palace servants as well as the faces of the palace guards. However, the person standing in front of me, scrutinizing my complexion, was undoubtedly a face I had never seen before.
“No, it’s not your fault if His Highness is busy.”
“I will inform him that you visited when he returns.”
“Very well.”
I shook my head and briskly walked past the servant, entering inside.
“L-Lady?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It seems that the palace has changed somewhat, so I’ll take a look around for a moment.”
I see. Esadien’s Palace has changed. The unfamiliar ambiance, the slightly altered decorations. These changes have brought about a different atmosphere.
‘During the time I was absent…..?’
I bit my lip and firmly opened the door to the nearest reception room. At the same time, a sticky scent of chocolate filled the air.
“…….”
I looked around the room in silence, unable to find the words to speak.
💧
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