Beatrice Ravalley had only ever looked up, never down. More precisely, she had never even considered falling again. To her, falling was something that happened to others – something to watch and find amusing.
She knew the social ecosystem too well and had only received praise for her outstanding beauty. After endlessly rising higher and higher, she couldn’t get her bearings when the sudden fall came.
Beatrice, who had always been treated with proper courtesy, albeit discreetly, whenever she entered Soleil Palace, was now in the position of having to sneak in through the servants’ door when Count Horhen called for her.
“The mages have completed their initial investigation. They want you to take another look.”
She was unceremoniously thrown into the magic tool room, full of nothing but ashes and water stains. Count Horhen didn’t even come out to see her, and no one else was around. The meaning behind making her cover her face and disguise herself as a servant was clear.
Count Horhen clearly didn’t want to have her examine the magic tool room in the first place. Given the situation, he had work that needed to be done, but treating her like a dirty sorcerer was his way of dealing with his discomfort about the whole thing.
Beatrice gritted her teeth while pretending to investigate the ash-filled magic tool room. Under the pretense of ‘necessary for the investigation,’ she pulled a servant into a corner and asked about what happened during the fire.
Although a gag order had been issued, the shock of that day was too great to keep completely quiet. Moreover, Lady Ravalley was here only as a sorcerer. Shouldn’t they speak up for the sake of the investigation?
“The evil dragon spewed fire everywhere. Just like in the old prophecy.”
The terrified servant clung to Beatrice, the sorcerer, asking various questions.
“Will I be alright? Haven’t I been cursed since I heard the dragon’s voice? I’m so scared I can’t sleep.”
The evil dragon’s laughter that had shaken all of Soleil Palace and darkened the corridors was more frightening than the order from above to remain silent.
Beatrice discreetly gave the servant a sleeping pill, claiming it was medicine to help with sleep and protect against the evil dragon, and extracted every bit of information from them.
“His Majesty had to evacuate…, doesn’t it seem just like the prophecy?”
Beatrice’s heart raced. She was so excited she could barely breathe.
‘The prophecy is being fulfilled!’
The heart of the Golden City is ultimately the Soleil Palace at the center of the royal palace. That place had burned, and everyone had heard the evil dragon’s voice. They say the Crown Prince was there too.
In the future that Beatrice had seen through divination in Lusenford, hadn’t the crown fallen and burned! This was that fire! Ahaha. She held back her urge to laugh.
‘Right. People don’t always have to die. The prophecy continues to unfold, and when the sun falls, a new crown will rise!’
She had to somehow catch the one who would wear that new crown and wear it together. Beatrice instinctively thought this was her only lifeline. If she lost this, it would be completely over.
She absolutely, absolutely had no intention of letting go, nor did she want to ruin her life bearing both debt and accusations of patricide. So she secretly headed to the Crown Prince’s palace and asked the one who would wear the new crown.
“Would you rather become Emperor with a regent, or would you rather be a true Emperor who rules alone?”
When falling, anyone would try to grab whatever they could reach out and hold onto. The only being Beatrice could grasp between her slipping hands was the Crown Prince.
Now there was nothing else left. Despite being in the same situation, he didn’t realize they were in the same boat – he was the only stepping stone she could use to climb back up.
“You, you shouldn’t say such things. His Majesty still holds the throne.”
This weak Crown Prince was easy to manipulate for his position, having been raised under the Emperor’s constant high standards and pressure, and under the influence of the Marchioness of Schroz’s hovering.
“Then would you rather lose everything? Do you want to become a puppet?”
Though weak, the Crown Prince had tremendous pride.
“My situation as the Crown Prince of the nation is clearly different from yours. My legal rights cannot be infringed upon by anyone, but aren’t you a criminal?”
The Crown Prince’s eyes grew fierce.
“This isn’t what we discussed! You said the Grand Duchess would quietly walk away on her own! How did this happen? My mother was hurt!”
He confronted Beatrice, forgetting to be cautious about his surroundings.
“How did it happen? We were outmaneuvered.”
She spoke coldly. The Marchioness of Schroz was foolish and got outplayed.
“I clearly told her to be careful.”
She must have said that, Beatrice believed without a doubt.
“We’re dealing with the Grand Duke of Lusenford, Your Highness.”
Therefore, she could also swallow this Crown Prince who was now looking at her with cold eyes as if she were an insect. She could do it. Even though the Crown Prince was frustratingly stupid.
“That day, didn’t you feel something was strange about the Grand Duke?”
Can’t you tell just by looking that something was suspicious? Beatrice glared at the flinching Crown Prince with narrowed eyes.
“You must have investigated.”
“…Why should I tell you about that?”
Beatrice finally let out an irritated sigh. It was overwhelming to have to drag this stupid young master along the path to fulfill the prophecy.
“This is why I didn’t want to get involved. Your Highness. Please assess the situation. Who’s left by your side now?”
“I am…!”
“Yes, yes, you’re the Crown Prince. But why are you so anxious? I know about the Regency Council being activated. It’s impossible not to know the moment you enter Soleil Palace.”
In truth, Beatrice had only roughly deduced this from receiving the message to come in and investigate because the Emperor had collapsed. It was something anyone could have figured out. Only the Crown Prince’s eyes wavered, not knowing this.
“Everyone else is busy, but Your Highness alone is very idle. I’m the only one visiting you, and you’re out taking walks in this heat.”
She looked over the Crown Prince with knowing eyes.
Because no one except the Emperor had ever looked at the Crown Prince in such a way, he became even more intimidated. He wanted to object, but the words struck so mercilessly at his core that he couldn’t.
“Peon entered the palace again today. So did the Duke of Ostein. Kaela will be out soon too. She’s also on the Regency Council. Only you’re not.”
The Crown Prince clenched and unclenched his trembling fists.
“Don’t you feel wronged? I feel terribly wronged. They got there by stepping on me. Now they’re stepping on Your Highness.”
“Sh-shut up!”
“His Majesty always kept me close.”
What nonsense is this now? The Crown Prince was aghast at Beatrice, who now seemed to be attempting to insult even the Emperor.
“Ah, so you didn’t know that either.”
Beatrice smirked.
“It seems there’s quite a lot you don’t know, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince didn’t know what to do. He had never faced such insult in his life. And to receive such insult from a worthless girl! The Emperor had said one must rule magnificently.
But how should one rule? The only powerful rule the Crown Prince knew of at present was one. Trembling like he did when being scolded by the Emperor, he unconsciously raised his hand high.
“Would you like me to tell you?”
But Beatrice was a bit faster. She glared at the Crown Prince with his raised hand. Though she felt intimidated inside, she didn’t show it. So Beatrice had won, right?
“I know the secret passages of Soleil Palace. That’s how I came here without being seen by anyone. I can tell you everything I know.”
The cunning tongue whispered. She was confident in brainwashing. Beatrice could figure out what people wanted and what they considered important if she set her mind to it.
In Peon’s case, duty and guilt toward his mother, and the anxious feelings and sense of responsibility about needing the Emperor’s approval were the strongest. So Beatrice willingly became as important to Peon as the Empress.
The Crown Prince was obvious too. Could there be anyone whose goals aligned with Beatrice’s as well as this weak Crown Prince?
“I know about the dragon too.”
She had brainwashed the dragon’s son, so what of a mere human’s son? Beatrice didn’t think at all about whether that brainwashing would still work now. She didn’t want to think about it.
“I know the dragon’s weakness too. Would you like me to tell you?”
The Crown Prince, who hadn’t known what to do, finally lowered his hand.
“Tell me everything you know. If you don’t want to be dragged down.”
He wanted to think he had made a frightening threat in his own way. That Beatrice Ravalley would be scared and spill everything. He could punish her for ruining his mother’s plans after hearing it all. So he had taken control as a dignified Crown Prince, right?
****
The Grand Duchess of Lusenford, who had collapsed for the fourth time since marriage, recovered a bit faster this time. Darinka, her attending physician, honestly thought even this quick recovery was a miracle.
‘The Grand Duke must have done something.’
All she had done was bring and pour in the antidote. Based on all the patients Darinka had experienced so far, the Grand Duchess couldn’t have gotten up this quickly – she should have been in more pain, if anything.
‘Has her mental illness improved somewhat? Is that why?’
Darinka treated and served the Grand Duchess with all her heart and soul. Not simply because the Grand Duchess was her noble employer.
“Since you’re out in Craine, learn everything you can. Outside of treating me, focus on going around Craine to research and study.”
Kaela was the only one who gave Darinka plenty of money to research and learn about treatment centers, new medicines, and new medical techniques, and even buy books while roaming the streets of Craine.
The massive capital overflowed with knowledge to learn. While the Grand Duke also spared no support for his wife’s attending physician, strangely enough, the Grand Duchess was more concerned about Lusenford’s poor medical standards than he was.
‘I thought we’d return to Lusenford soon, but I guess not.’
The quick recovery wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Today too, the Grand Duchess drank the medicine Darinka had prepared with disgust, then continued to carefully read the politics and society sections of the newspaper she had been looking at. The letters flying to the townhouse overflowed two trays daily, and the Grand Duke went to work at the royal palace.
The Grand Duchess, who sat at her desk as soon as she felt a little better, looked after Lusenford in place of the Grand Duke. Coming to Craine, she realized that taking care of a huge territory and being involved in central politics made one the most successful noble in Craine.
In that sense, Darinka was serving the most successful noble, but still, what good was it to be successful if one only worked like that?
“Your Highness. Please rest.”
“Ah, just let me finish reading this…”
“You’re writing letters while reading too.”
“This much is nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
Darinka grumbled grumpily.
“I may be a country person who only knows Lusenford, but there probably isn’t another noble in Craine who works as much as Your Highness. They all seem to just go around having fun.”
Kaela looked up at Darinka and smiled.
“Where did you see such things? You’ve really become a Craine person too.”
“Somehow it became known that I’m the attending physician of Her Highness the Grand Duchess of Lusenford. Other nobles’ physicians started greeting me, and I learned while socializing with them. Your Highness needs to rest. You should reduce work as much as possible and enjoy yourself plenty.”
“Work is also a source of vitality.”
“Oh my goodness, Your Highness. If other nobles were half as diligent as you, our country would be a better place to live than it is now.”
Work is a source of vitality! Darinka, who sometimes didn’t even want to get up in the morning, shook her head back and forth when suddenly-
“That’s true.”
The Grand Duke, who had gone to the royal palace at dawn, suddenly entered. With his large build and health that seemed like he would never need to meet a doctor in his life, crossed the quite spacious bedroom.
“You should listen to the doctor, Kaela.”
At this point, Darinka tactfully began to back away toward the door.
The Grand Duke, who was even more sensitive about health than Darinka, would handle it. She quickly glanced at the grand ducal couple before hurriedly closing the door and leaving. From now on was her free time. Hooray!
“I took the medicine.”
Kaela spoke sulkily, lowering her long eyelashes to hide her eyes. She would never have acted like this before.
Could he just pinch her cheek once? Would she cry? Peon held back for now. These days his wife seemed more comfortable with him, showing attitudes never seen during the 4 years they alone remembered.
Even her sulky voice, which he thought he could never hear, was cute.
“Taking medicine is only natural.”
There was an empty chocolate box with two spots opened next to the newspaper. It made him happy that she had eaten it on her own when he had just quietly left it there without saying anything.
“It’s not natural for a sick person to work.”
Peon quietly took the pen from Kaela’s hand.
“Ah…!”
She reached for the pen as it went up, but when Peon stretched his tall frame up with his arm, the much shorter Kaela couldn’t possibly reach it.
She looked at the pen she absolutely couldn’t reach, then looked up at Peon below it in dismay. Her eyes seemed to ask how he could do this.
“What?”
The oppa who used to take care of his younger sister so kindly now put on an arrogant expression on his handsome face and asked what the problem was, as if he had never done such a thing.
“Using physical advantage to extort items is wrong behavior.”
“That’s true.”
Peon readily admitted it. Surprised by the unexpected response, Kaela became a bit triumphant.
“Since you did wrong, give it back.”
“If you let me bite your cheek once.”
Kaela made an expression asking what nonsense that was. Ah, she’s pretty. Now her defenselessness in showing her honest expressions right away without managing them or being careful was lovely.
“If you let me kiss you once.”
“You’ve never asked for permission when you did it before. And why should I do something like that when you did wrong?”
“I don’t particularly think I did anything wrong.”
“You just admitted it!”
“That was because you said so.”
What’s this? Seeing Peon nodding along so readily made Kaela feel a bit strange, so she lowered her hands and blinked.
Looking down, she suddenly realized just how big and broad her husband was. Kaela backed away for no reason.
But her legs hit the chair behind her, and Peon wasn’t the type to let her retreat. He immediately stole her breath.
Thank you for the chapter!
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