“Where is Valerie?”
“Miss Valerie just woke up as well, my lord. Her mother is here.”
As if waiting for her, Valerie appeared, carrying herself with a graceful presence. Her face, fresh from a good night’s sleep, seemed particularly lovely today.
“Look at those rosy cheeks. How could Miss Valerie be so adorable like this?”
“I have to say, at first I thought she resembled Miss Celeste, but the more I look, she seems to resemble His Grace more, don’t you think so?”
“Yes, now that you mention it. Those clear eyes and that button-like nose. Even at one year old, she can be this beautiful?”
“Aww, so adorable. So adorable.”
At first glance, with Valerie included, you might think there were five of them chattering away.
Surrounded by four adults who were showering her with affection, Valerie enthusiastically responded to their coddling with babbling. Watching this, the four women acted as if they were fainting in their seats.
Seeing the fuss made over this adorable creature, one might understand that it wasn’t just a biased opinion as a parent; objectively, she was too beautiful and lovely to be true.
Yet, a thought crossed my mind that perhaps I, as Valerie’s mother, should be the one enjoying her cuteness to the fullest…
“Um, my lord. There is a visitor outside.”
As Valerie and the other four, or rather, five of us, were blossoming with affection in the bedroom, Kendrick cautiously knocked from outside to announce his arrival.
“At this hour? Who could it be?”
Margaret was the first to regain her senses. Tightening the muscles of her face that melted while watching Valerie, she left the bedroom. Kendrick, folding his large body, leaned towards Margaret and whispered something in her ear.
“What? Who is it?” Margaret’s normally calm voice rose as a sudden scream echoed through the mansion.
“Why, what’s wrong, madam? Who has come to visit?” Curious, Leev rushed towards Margaret. Meanwhile, Hannah and Cecilia embraced Valerie, playing hearts wildly.
“Why are you like this? Who has come?”
Margaret’s alternating glances outside and inside gave away her uneasiness. Who could have come to cause such a reaction?
“Uh, well….” I turned to look out the window but froze in place as Margaret continued speaking.
“Lady Pulcheria has come to see you.”
As soon as I heard the guest had arrived, a few faces unconsciously came to mind. First was Franz, whom I recently sent off in a carriage, followed by Karl.
Contrary to my expectations, the guest turned out to be neither of them.
“Lady Pulcheria? Karl’s aunt?”
Why had she come?
“She seems to have come regarding the marriage to the Duke. Incredible.”
Visiting a noble’s house without prior notice was not common, especially among nobles. It could be seen as a breach of etiquette, potentially embarrassing the family.
For nobles, let alone from the imperial family, to come in person from this morning was an unprecedented event.
“What should I do? Where do I even start? I should invite her in quickly, right?”
“Yes. We mustn’t leave the nobles outside the mansion.”
Hannah, Cecilia, and Margaret each found their tasks and scattered busily. Watching their busy movements, I realized once again that they were exceptionally cold-hearted and efficient individuals, despite occasionally showing themselves as fools in love due to their special affection for their people. Originally, they were talented individuals from the aristocracy.
“Your Lordship, you need to change your clothes quickly. No, you should wash first, but then it might take too long… Hurry up for now!”
While everyone was busy, Cecilia pulled me away, standing alone foolishly. Oh, that’s right. The purpose of Lady Pulcheria’s visit was me, so I was the one who needed to hurry the most. Since becoming Celeste, it was the third most hectic moment.
***
Pulcheria returned to her residence after attending the funeral of her young nephew and lay down as if collapsing in her seat.
At just 14 years old, thinking of Maximilian who took his last breath for unknown reasons, she was engulfed in the illusion of tasting bitter blood in her mouth.
The doctor in charge of the autopsy couldn’t find the exact cause. With no previous illness and the young age of the deceased Empress, they couldn’t understand why she suddenly collapsed. They even conducted a poison test, but nothing was found.
However, Pulcheria could sense it. This was Marina’s doing. Or perhaps her son Franz’s.
How many deaths had occurred by now? The first was her father, the former Emperor, the second was her older brother, Bayern, who ascended to the position of Crown Prince. All of them passed away with similar symptoms. Add to that, pushing her father to induce the death of her younger brother Meinhard made it the fourth.
While Bayern had an old underlying illness, it wasn’t the direct cause of death. At least that’s what Pulcheria thought.
Bayern’s condition was related to his lungs not functioning properly, but with proper care, he was able to lead a normal daily life without significant issues.
To find her older brother discovered lifeless overnight without any apparent reason, just like Maximilian now.
The filthy and vile Marina and her son Franz. Just thinking about those two scoundrels made her eyes fly open even in her sleep.
When her father brought a young twenty-year-old government official into the palace, Pulcheria secretly trembled in fear that something like this might come to pass someday.
“Hello, Your Highness. I am Marina.”
Pulcheria recalled the moment when Marina first entered the palace and greeted her.
“I have heard of Your Highness’s reputation. It is truly an honor to meet you in person.”
Marina’s gaze was not merely a cute desire to please the Emperor and fulfill her ambitions.
Without knowing my own limits and boundaries, I was consumed by a dreadful and despairing greed that sought to possess everything, even what should not be touched.
“His Imperial Highness has passed away.”
When the news of Maximilian’s death reached her, Pulcheria finally thought that the time had come.
“In the end, the cruel and desperate greed of the demons who do not know their limits has spread this far, reaching out their filthy hands even to the young emperor,” Pulcheria lamented in despair, sobbing and crying through the night.
Amid tears and anguish, as she watched the dreadful dawn break and the rising sun, she cleared her clouded mind. This time, she will not let it pass. It cannot be overlooked.
She vowed to unearth and investigate everything from the past that had remained undisclosed, and to punish the sinners mercilessly. With a resolve to extract justice, she pledged to avenge the sinners and relieve the injustices of the deceased. Everything must be set right.
“Pulcheria, how great it would have been if you were a son. Your insight and broad-mindedness would have been traits befitting a crown prince, such a waste.”
Since she was young, Pulcheria, due to her strong character, often heard that she should have been born a man. Even her father, Emperor Alexander, admitted this fact.
Despite the numerous comments, Pulcheria did not particularly like the idea. Being considered as having the best traits if she were a man ultimately meant the worst for her as a woman.
Driven by curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, she would stay awake until a problem that captured her interest was solved and understood. Answers always had to follow every problem that caught Pulcheria’s attention; it was a daily routine for her.
Her arrival upset everything: the order of the imperial court was disrupted, and all laws were upset. However, the Emperor’s love for Marina was so deep that no one dared to act against her.
The only person who could speak boldly to the emperor without fear, his daughter Pulcheria occasionally pointed out Marina’s wrongdoings, but the emperor closed his ears and refused to listen properly.
Could the width of a woman’s skirt be so pleasing? Pulcheria, recalling her father’s appearance holding a greedy young woman in his arms with closed eyes and ears, trembled with anger.
In the end, even though she despised and pitied her father for lavishing everything until the end without knowing he would be killed by the beloved government, Pulcheria seemed on the brink of madness.
