SMTD 41

Chapter 41 ….

“Wooooaah!”

Reana spun around with sparkling eyes.

“It’s like a castle where a princess lives!”

“Actually, a princess did live here.”

“Really?”

“Of course! I was the princess who lived here.”

Reana gazed at Hazel with admiration. Her pale face, like milk-soaked skin from not seeing much sunlight, seemed to glow.

Hazel gently held Reana’s hand as they walked. It had been a long time since she had seen such a soft, plump child. She had always only seen her heavy, constantly moving sons and nephews.

Hazel herself had only one son, and Empress Riena had two. Even the long-awaited Antoni was a boy.

Maybe that’s why. Just looking at Reana brought a smile to her face.

“What happens to the princess?”

“Do you want to be a princess?”

“Hmm… I want to be a princess too, but I want to make my sister a princess.”

“You mean Elena?”

“Princesses are saved by princes. The fairy tales always end with ‘and they lived happily ever after.’ I want my sister to be happy.”

Reana said this with utmost seriousness.

A child carefully choosing her words in such a manner looked incredibly endearing to a middle-aged woman. Hazel poked Reana’s cheek. Despite having been sick for a long time, her cheeks were still plump. It was proof that even when she couldn’t properly care for herself, Elena had taken meticulous care of her younger sister.

Despite her long illness, the child was charming. Her cheeks were slightly thin but still chubby and childlike, which made them adorable. Hazel chuckled.

“Would you like a prince to save Elena?”

“Yes! The prince on a white horse defeats the witch and saves the princess!”

Reana’s eyes sparkled as she said it. Hazel felt she knew exactly which fairy tale Reana had been reading lately.

“Alright. If you get your treatment and play well with Antoni, I’ll think about it. I’ll see who would make a suitable prince for Elena.”

“Really?”

“Have I ever broken a promise?”

Reana shook her head vigorously. Hazel laughed and lifted her up in her arms. After feeding her well recently, Reana had grown heavier than before. The happier Reana became, the happier Elena would be.

One wonders if Reana even knew that.

Hazel strode forward with Reana in her arms.

News that Camellia had come to the tea party reached Maxim as well. After yielding all the roses and baby’s breath and leaving the mansion, it seemed an uninvited guest had snuck in.

She had heard that Camellia and Elena had talked separately for a while. What could Camellia have been saying? Maxim cast a cold glance toward the mansion.

“…What a nuisance.”

“Are you very tired?”

The coachman responded immediately.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Haha. Who else would you be talking to here, then?”

“You’re still so meddlesome.”

“Thanks to that, you were able to take a beautiful lady as your wife, weren’t you? Perhaps I was Cupid, helping you connect.”

Maxim let out a hollow laugh. People never seemed to leave him alone.

“That bride might run away.”

Maxim murmured softly. Some called him a lunatic. No one thought it normal that he would repeatedly slit his wrist. Maxim agreed with that.

Who would want to be near a madman?

And who knew when he might do such a thing again?

Maxim felt utterly hopeless—until he had dinner alone with Elena.

“The flowers were so beautiful, Maxim.”

Elena chatted cheerfully, her face flushed.

“Mrs. Greta said you prepared the flowers, right? I couldn’t find suitable flowers in time, so thank you so much. Thanks to you, I wasn’t embarrassed.”

“Did you like them?”

Maxim asked quietly, pausing in his meal. Elena had been talking about the flowers and the tea party the whole time. Why wasn’t she mentioning Camellia?

‘Did she just let it go without saying a word?’

He would sooner expect the sun and moon to rise together than hope for that. Maxim smirked.

“Yes! Everyone loved them.”

“Then the flowers have served their purpose.”

Though the department store had been a bit lacking in flowers today, they had still fulfilled their purpose. Delco had scolded Maxim, but he paid it no mind.

“Oh, and do you know who I met today?”

Finally, the moment had come.

Maxim was about to put down his fork, feeling he could no longer eat, when Elena spoke.

“Wow, I met Cheryl!”

Not yet, he thought. Maxim readjusted his grip on the fork. He was hungry, so he could continue eating for now.

“Cheryl?”

“She was my closest friend in Delrosy. I’d wondered how she was doing, and I met her today! She said she’d been invited by Mrs. Hazel. After the head of Delrosy Academy retired, her whole family moved to Andres. I never imagined I’d meet her like this.”

Elena said this excitedly, ignoring her food. Unable to resist, Maxim tapped her plate lightly with his fingertip.

“The chef who grilled this calf steak over the fire will be very disappointed if the plate comes back like this.”

“Ah…”

Elena nodded and started eating properly. She seemed to forget to speak, chewing her food carefully. Maxim resumed his meal, but the silence did not last long.

“Cheryl is really a good friend. Even when I was in trouble, she wanted to be by my side. We promised to meet often from now on.”

Cheryl, huh. He remembered her as the second daughter of the Davis family. He had a feeling he would hear that name often from now on.

“Thank you so much, Maxim.”

“It’s not me who should be thanked, but your aunt. I wasn’t the one who invited her.”

“But today, Mrs. Hazel and Reana didn’t come.”

Elena blinked.

They had stayed late after having a check-up with Ollendo and dining with the royal family. At first, she had worried about Reana, but then realized it would be safer at the palace. Ollendo was there, and there were many who could look after Reana. So today, Elena decided to enjoy herself for her own sake, just like now.

“Making do with what you have?”

Elena smiled slyly.

Still, she ate diligently. Maxim slowly sipped his wine while watching her nearly empty plate. When should he bring it up? Now? In ten minutes? Tomorrow?

Better to take the bitter medicine first.

Finally, Maxim spoke first.

“I heard Camellia Delant visited today.”

“Oh.”

Elena’s expression clouded briefly. Maxim’s teeth clenched. See? There was no way she said nothing. He wanted to hear what had been said.

“It wasn’t a pleasant story.”

Elena carefully began. This story alone could hurt Maxim. She had struggled to decide how to present it before Camellia left and Maxim arrived. Should she pretend she didn’t know, or reveal the truth? Elena sighed softly.

“Maxim…”

He braced himself. Perhaps Elena would call him insane and point fingers. But what she said was completely different from what he expected.

“I understand you.”

Maxim’s pupils widened.

“There were times I wanted to die too.”

Elena spoke cautiously, gripping her fork. The taste of her food faded. It felt as though she had returned to the past, caught in the chains of misfortune.

She forced a bitter smile.

“I couldn’t rely on anyone’s help. All the money had gone to gambling, so what right did I have to borrow? I felt utterly abandoned in the world. That I couldn’t even try was entirely because of Reana. She needed me, Maxim.”

Elena barely lifted the corners of her mouth. Her heart fluttered.

“People buy good dreams with money, right? And they sell nightmares too.”

Elena placed her hand on Maxim’s. His hand was astonishingly hot.

“Buy my misfortune, Maxim. I will buy yours.”