Villainous Lady, The Obsession Begins

【Chapter 39 – Awakening, Obsession Material】

 

Although it was confusing, knowing that Apostle wouldn’t speak nonsense, I returned home and immediately attempted to engage in a conversation with my inner self.

However.

 

“My lady, sleeping in a place like this will make your body stiff.”

 

Every time I tried….

 

“Our youngest… Oh my gosh.”

 

I fell asleep!

“Ahhhh.”

As such things were repeated several times, I couldn’t help but give up on meditation. Slowly, I began to feel like Ramande and the my sisters were looking at me like a sick chicken.

“Since I lay down comfortably and relax my whole body, I fall asleep easily….”

Ugh, seriously.

Moreover, hitting a wall trying to find information about the Fire Spirits in the books was frustrating. Despite spending all day in the library and flipping through countless books, descriptions of the spirits were consistently vague.

It was all about how they sealed themselves away due to their immense power, and when they did act, it resulted in catastrophes… and so on.

Do I need more detailed descriptions, like accounts of natural disasters that occurred when the spirits awakened and became active?

“What, are these spirits collectively going through puberty or something…? Here, are earthquakes and tectonic shifts caused by the earth spirits rather than magma?

Exhaling a sigh of frustration at the earth misbehaving instead of the spirits, I scratched my head, which I had lazily tied up in a rough fist-shaped bun, and left the library.

I had been stuck in there since morning, not even bothering to wash my face. It was about time to clean up and start acting like a human again.

Heading towards my room, I contemplated where else I could search for information on the spirits.

“Should I try looking in the Imperial Palace Library, the magic school library, or maybe even the library in our territory?”

Even if I could find a way to sneak into the magic school, Imperial Palace still felt a bit uncomfortable.

“As expected, our territory’s main stronghold would be the best option, right? Since it’s responsible for the Fire Spirits, there might be some information there, at least…”

Mumble mumble.

It was when I was walking down the corridor, which overlooks the foyer below, alone, organizing my thoughts.

“This is inappropriate!”

“Your Highness!”

Your Highness?

At the unfamiliar word, unheard of in our household, I found myself involuntarily halting my steps and peering downwards.

‘Oh, my. It’s Esadien, isn’t it?’

As the knights and servants bustled around him, unable to muster the courage to approach him, my father suddenly revealed himself in the midst of my flustered state.

“I greet the Third Prince.”

While my father bowed with decorum, the ensuing words could hardly be deemed polite.

“I thought I conveyed Karainen’s intentions sufficiently during our last meeting, but…”

I heard from my parents a few days ago that the family officially sent out the engagement annulment letter. It seems Esadien must have visited afterwards and been sent back without my knowledge.

“This time, I have come only to deliver a letter from His Highness the Crown Princess.”

“A letter? If you give it to me, I will deliver it to the Grand Duchess.”

“Not to the Grand Duchess.”

Suddenly, Essadien looked up. His blue gaze, still grasping the railing, shot straight towards me, down below.

‘How did you know I was here?’

I was startled for a moment, almost reflexively bending my body, but his following words froze me in place.

“Minuelle, she sent me to give it to you.”

What could the Crown Princess possibly have to send me a letter for?

She’s Sister Elga’s friend, and while she’s been kind to me, we’ve never had any personal contact before.

I thought hard as I descended the stairs, but I couldn’t find an answer.

‘Anyway, what could he possibly want at a time like this? He always chooses the most inconvenient moments to show up and do something annoying.’

What’s worse than ‘Are you sleeping?’ is ‘I’m in front of your house, come out.’

I concealed my frustration and slightly bent my knees in front of Esadien, then carefully removed the seal from the envelope.

 

「Come and see me right away. The less visible the better.」

 

…There was no indication of the purpose. Reflexively, I looked towards my father, but his expression was equally perplexed.

“It’s a request from Her Highness the Crown Princess, so there must be a reason.”

It was a request to come and see her.

“Then please prepare a carriage without any markings for me quickly, Dad, as I’ll be ready to leave shortly.”

However, before my father could call the butler, Esadien interjected.

“It’s fine as it is right now. I came here in a small carriage, so we can use that.”

What do you mean ‘it’s fine’? Being alone in the same carriage with the person I thought I wouldn’t have to see again, especially in my unwashed state? 

Seeing me hesitate, my father quickly intervened

“As the father of a just-adult daughter, it’s not appropriate for her to be alone with any gentleman, let alone one with whom she has no acquaintance.”

“Not acquainted…?”

As Esadien watched me, seemingly pondering those words in his mind, his gaze resembled that of a lost child. 

In the past, I might have reached out to hold his hand and offer comfort, but now, I turned away as if cutting off his gaze.

Between our silent struggle, I hastily changed into some clothes and grabbed a hat. However, Essadien didn’t even allow that.

“I didn’t accept that annulment letter.”

“What do you mean?”

As I turned around in astonishment, despite my father narrowing his eyes and emanating a stern aura, Essadien remained resolute.

“So, you are still my fiancée, Minuelle.”

Is he… serious right now?

💧

I glared at Essadien, and while he remained firm, I couldn’t keep confronting him in the courtyard where the Crown Princess was waiting.

In the end, both of us made slight concessions. I quickly changed into modest attire and boarded Esadien’s carriage with him. Since there was no excuse to refuse when it seemed the engagement was still intact.

If only there had been a separate carriage like Ramande’s for health reasons, I could have used that as an excuse to ride separately.

‘Of all times, he had to be dispatched for knight training.’

“How have you been?”

“I’m fine. I’m sorry, but I have a headache, so I can’t engage in conversation right now.”

Despite my firm refusal to engage, Essadien continued to try to talk to me, but I stared out the window as if I didn’t hear him.

Eventually, even Essadien gave up, and for a while, only the sound of hooves and wheels echoed.

Soon, the carriage, which entered through a small entrance I had never seen before in the palace, came to a stop.

“Minuelle.”

Esadien, who had gotten off the carriage first, reached out his hand. Naturally, I pretended not to see it and descended alone. Then, I greeted the Crown Princess, who was waiting for me.

“I greet Your Highness.”

“I congratulate you on coming of age, Minuelle.”

It seemed that we had descended into the Crown Princess’s private hunting grounds. Unlike the densely packed tall trees on the other side, this area was neatly cleared, almost unnaturally so. 

And as soon as I saw the lone tent erected in the center, I realized something.

 

‘It seems I was summoned for personal matters.’

 

It’s probably about Esadien. That’s why she’s trying to avoid public attention like this. 

The Crown Princess led me in that direction, and he frowned at Esadien, who was trying to follow us inside.

“Why are you coming in too?”

“Sister.”

“I’m going to have a private meeting. Leave.”

“……”

Instead of answering, I met Esadien’s gaze as he looked in my direction.

‘Why are you looking so sad?’

His strangely lingering gaze had been bothering me since earlier. I naturally turned my head away and sat on the chair the Crown Princess had graciously pulled out for me. 

After a moment of silence, I heard the sound of Esadien turning away, and only then did the Crown Princess also sit down across from me with a sigh, grumbling.

“What a dense fellow.”

It was a subtle attempt to lighten the mood. I couldn’t embarrass the Crown Princess, so I also put on a polite smile.

“Because of that dense fellow, you’ve had a hard time.”

“Not at all, Your Highness.”

“I heard bits and pieces. They say you gave Esadien a hard time at the coming-of-age ceremony.”

Ugh. I didn’t think news of the incident would spread like that.

“I apologize.”

“No, perhaps that shock was necessary for him.”

The Crown Princess insisted and personally brewed the tea for me. The actions of pouring tea into the cup, stirring it with a silver stick inside the teapot, felt familiar as the sand in the hourglass ran out.

“Minuelle, have you ever felt that Esadien is suppressing his emotions?”

“Your Highness… He seemed quite… confused.”

He seemed to be swaying me, yet unable to grasp the situation himself. Embarrassed.

Yes. There have been such occasions. Despite it being just a while ago, perhaps due to the emotions clouding my memory, even that recollection felt hazy.

“He also mentioned not believing in fleeting emotions.”

“Yes, that’s still the case.”

The teacup was splendid. Its handle and the rim of the saucer were all surrounded by gold. 

However, silver was used on the bottom of the top edge of the teacup that touched the mouth.

However, the very top rim of the teacup where the lips touch and the bottom was made of silver. It seemed like a display of a facet of the lives of the emperor and his successor, along with the thin silver stick used to stir the teapot.

“In the past, Esadien lived with his birth mother before coming to the palace.”

“Yes, she was the late Princess Maya.”

I’ve even been half-forced to visit that mansion in the past.

 

“I wanted to say thank you for letting me protect this place.”

 

Words heard from the roof of that place flashed through my mind. Just as I felt like pounding the ground, the story flowing from the Crown Princess’s mouth awakened me.

“Yes, she…. They said that after her lover disappeared and she was expelled from the Imperial Palace, she lost her clear mind forever.”

The Princess poured out her resentment against her missing lover to Esadien. It was even said that she manipulated and expelled the servants who tried to protect him. A sigh escaped involuntarily at the tale.

‘And then, coming to the palace only to be tormented by the Second Prince? It’s a strange environment where raising a child properly seems more unusual.’

“So, the child built a fence. And within it, no one was allowed in. Not even the Emperor or myself.”

The Emperor and the Crown Princess are merely adults worthy of gratitude and reliance.

“Only you, Minuelle, have entered that space.”

“….”

“To be honest, I was surprised. Just the fact that he accepted you, who come every day.”

“He said that’s to repay the debt to my family.”

The Crown Princess chuckled bitterly and scratched her forehead.

“He said that? Haha. He’s really my brother, but he’s a hopeless case.”

However, even after lowering her hand, her smile remained, and her expression brightened.

“But you know what? When the annulment letter from the Karinen family arrived, and he locked himself in his room for days, do you know the first thing he said when he finally came out?”

I don’t want to know!

It felt like the words were clawing up my throat. 

I couldn’t believe I had to hear such a story after it was all over, but given the difference in rank, I had no choice but to listen quietly, hiding my discomfort behind the rim of the teacup.

“He said he wouldn’t accept it.”

‘As expected.’

There was no twist. He probably declared it confidently, just as he did at our house earlier. 

Esadien’s childhood experiences were, well, pitiful and tough. 

But that sympathy was just a natural human emotion, right? We feel sorry even for animals being mistreated.

Regardless of whether it was Esadien’s fence or wall, the fact that I couldn’t overcome it and ended up bouncing off remains unchanged. 

Refusing to accept the annulment also felt selfish, for that matter.

💧

Thank you for reading!