Chapter 004
Emma, the Head Maid of the detached palace, sensed that the atmosphere of the palace had changed.
The faces of the servants, who usually displayed a lax attitude, were somehow all frozen stiff.
Most of them were people dispatched from the main palace. Emma, who knew their true purpose, soon noticed what the cause of this atmosphere was.
‘It’s an assassination. Someone has finally made up their mind.’
There were many who wanted Dana dead.
The Emperor, who called Dana a shameful stain; her other siblings, who prioritized the honor of the Imperial family; or high-ranking nobles who wished to exploit her death, and so on.
One of them had finally issued the order, and it seemed some of the servants had moved to execute it.
‘I guess this life is finally over, too.’
Emma was swept up in a strange feeling.
She had once harbored special expectations for Dana, but those expectations had long since turned into disappointment.
This was because Dana, contrary to her expectation that she would endure, was a foolish royal who lived only while waiting for death.
A loser who gave up on even struggling and silently accepted poison.
To Emma, Dana was nothing more nor less than a residence to operate comfortably within the Imperial Palace.
Therefore, even if spies were to carry out an assassination, she had no intention of stopping them.
But now that she actually sensed Dana’s death, a strange emotion arose.
Whether this was pity or self-reproach for a matter she could not stop, she did not know.
While preparing for her final duty with the thought that she would at least place a single flower on her grave after she died.
“Head Maid! The Princess is calling for you!”
Lilibel, the new maid, came to find her.
‘Don’t tell me, did the assassination fail?’
To fail at killing Dana, who couldn’t even leave her bed alone—could there really be such an incompetent assassin?
After a moment of bewilderment, Emma headed to the bedroom following Lilibel’s words.
She could guess to some extent why she had been called.
‘She must want to seek help.’
It was clear that Dana, having discovered the assassin, intended to request protection. Since Emma was the only trustworthy person among the servants in the detached palace.
While contemplating how best to refuse, Emma opened the bedroom door.
“Sit down, Head Maid Emma. I have something to say.”
And the moment she saw Dana, she froze.
Dana was sitting in a chair in front of the window in neat attire, looking this way.
Her aura, with the dawning sunlight at her back, was quite different from yesterday.
Her emaciated limbs were the same as ever, but a strange vigor could be felt from her eerily glowing golden eyes and her relaxed posture.
“……Has your health recovered?”
“Something like that. This is the first time you’ve seen me looking so well, isn’t it, Head Maid?”
Since Dana was already in a state where even movement was difficult when Emma first saw her, it was her first time seeing a face with such a healthy glow.
Emma tried her best to hide her bewilderment and congratulated her on her recovery.
‘Just how did she regain her health? There’s no way she detoxified in a single night. Could she have been acting for a long time? Or did she truly use some evil sorcery?’
Suddenly, the rumors of Dana being a demon’s reincarnation that circulated in the Imperial Palace came to mind.
Surely that couldn’t be it. Emma erased the foolish assumption from her mind.
‘Then, her purpose for calling me is…….’
At the moment she tried to read Dana’s intentions, as if she had been waiting, she revealed the main point.
“Head Maid, the truth is, someone tried to assassinate me today.”
And the expected conversation followed.
Emma acted as if she weren’t interested. When she gave off the nuance that she could call someone else but could not help her personally, Dana nodded nonchalantly.
“Forget it. Pretend you didn’t hear what I said. I’ll find the evidence myself. Instead, I want you to go to the main palace for a bit.”
“What kind of task is it?”
Dana said it was a simple letter delivery, but there was clearly some scheme at play. When Emma sent a suspicious gaze, she spoke with a bright smile.
“I’m going to put out an advertisement to find a fiancé. I don’t want to get married, but I’ve found myself in need of a husband.”
“……?”
Her mind went blank at the incredibly out-of-the-blue story.
However, Emma was also a person weary of Imperial politics. She immediately grasped Dana’s purpose.
“Are you saying you intend to enter high society?”
“Exactly. As expected of Emma.”
Dana tilted her head as if impressed.
In that relaxed appearance, Emma felt the illusion that she was dealing with someone other than Princess Dana.
The voice and speech were clearly Dana’s, yet something was different. As if she were facing someone who transcended power itself…….
‘Useless suspicion is forbidden. Rather, let’s think of the purpose for entering high society.’
First, the reason the subject of engagement came up must be related to her social debut.
In the Empire, regardless of family circumstances, it was considered an obligation to have one’s child debut in society and engage in marriage activities. It was because of a stale tradition that viewed marriage as a noble’s duty.
And this tradition was naturally even stronger for members of the Imperial family.
‘The Emperor also forced Princess Dana into high society in the past. It eventually fell through because her health was so poor and misfortune followed her around.’
She had even heard that a large incident, such as a chandelier falling, occurred during the debutante ball. That was supposedly the biggest reason the Emperor gave up on Dana.
But suddenly, the healthy Dana intends to enter society using an engagement as a pretext. The cause was clear.
‘For freedom.’
It was the Emperor who imprisoned her in the detached palace, claiming she had abandoned her duties as a royal. Therefore, conversely, if she stepped forward saying she would fulfill her duties now that she was healthy, there was no justification to block her.
“……But isn’t that only possible if there is a partner……”
At the question that came out instinctively, Dana tilted her head.
“Don’t worry. Even if there’s no one suitable for an engagement, the other side will provide a candidate on their own anyway.”
“By ‘the other side,’ you mean?”
“The Council of Nobles. There are many who want to exploit my hair and eyes, after all.”
‘……Indeed.’
It was a short but sufficient answer.
To the Council of Nobles that opposed the Emperor, Dana was a mouth-watering ally. Because there were many elements to exploit: features contrary to the Imperial family, an unclear origin, and her position as an adversary to the Emperor…….
In other words, while she would make a request regarding her return to society, it also meant she had no intention of joining hands with the Emperor.
‘Brilliant.’
To an excessive degree.
It was a level of judgment unimaginable from the Dana who had been submissively accepting poison until yesterday.
While pondering the cause of the change, a thought flashed through Emma’s mind.
‘Wait, setting the recovery of her health aside, what happened to the assassination? An assassin must have visited?’
She hurriedly scanned the surroundings. No trace of an assassin could be seen. instead, a crumpled carpet was visible.
It was certain that the assassination had failed. If so, the fate of the assassin was…….
Cold sweat ran down her spine. In that moment, Dana before her began to feel not like a frail princess, but like a person of power with unidentified strength.
‘It’s certain she has an extraordinary secret.’
Emma unconsciously clenched her fists.
The thought occurred to her that perhaps Dana might bring the opportunity she had long looked forward to.
And the first button of that might depend on this letter.
Gulp, Emma swallowed her saliva silently and spoke cautiously.
“……I understand your intention, Princess. I shall deliver the letter. In exchange, may I ask one more thing?”
“I’ll listen.”
“What is your purpose, Princess? By gaining freedom and plunging into the political struggle, what is it you want to do?”
As if it were an unexpected question, Dana hesitated to answer for a moment.
“……Why are you curious about that?”
“It is a small curiosity.”
“Does your attitude change depending on my answer?”
“It probably would.”
After a long while, Dana spoke again.
“Emma, do you know the joy of your legs moving?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I, Emma, lost the sensation in my lower body when I was young. After becoming an adult, I became someone who couldn’t even lift a heavy cup.”
She knew. There would be no one in this palace who did not know of Dana’s misfortune and disability.
Dana reached out and clasped Emma’s hand.
“That’s why this sensation makes me happy.”
“……?”
“The fact that I can feel a person’s warmth, that I can walk with my own feet, that it doesn’t hurt my throat even if I speak—it makes me happy. I’m so happy that even now, I’m at the point where tears might flow.”
Dana’s hands, which had always been cold, were exceptionally warm today. At the heartbreaking sincerity that made even her steadfast coldness waver, just as Emma was about to speak words of sympathy.
“That’s why I don’t want to have this happiness taken away. I can do anything to protect this happiness.”
Dana’s aura changed.
“Just surviving isn’t enough. I want a guaranteed future, safety, and tranquility. To do that…… a certain amount of revenge will be necessary, too.”
In that moment, an extraordinary energy rose around Dana. Emma trembled at the vigor that felt like murderous intent.
It was like being in front of a giant beast. She felt a threat as if her throat could be bitten off at any moment.
‘She is not Princess Dana.’
And she felt it instinctively.
The fact that, at the very least, the woman before her was a different being from the Dana of yesterday.
A change of heart, growth, or the true intentions she had hidden until now…… anything was fine. To Emma now, the fact that Dana had changed was what was important.
She had become not a loser trying to accept death, but a successor trying to change everything.
That was the optimal boss Emma had wanted.
Emma forcefully lowered the corners of her mouth that were trying to rise and made a vow.
‘Let’s grant her request.’
To watch over the changed Dana from her side.
She decided to place her expectations once again on the being who would fulfill her wish.
