CHAPTER 33………………………………….
Adonis responded with silence. Countess Betriche hadn’t expected much in the way of an answer, so she clicked her tongue lightly and withdrew her gaze from Adonis.
“I don’t know who you got your bluntness from.”
“Mother, you’re here?”
The slight frown on Countess Betriche’s face brightened as Adolf descended from the second floor and greeted them.
“Adolf, I have something for you anyway.”
“For me? What is it?”
“It’s an ointment I got from the temple. They say it’s good for bruises. Since you’re always working your body, apply it whenever you can.”
“Ah…”
Adolf’s eyes briefly flicked toward Adonis. He seemed to think such ointment would be more necessary for his older sister, Adonis, than for himself as a member of the 2nd Knight Squadron.
Without waiting for Adolf, who hesitated, Adonis headed to her room.
Countess Betriche’s voice, urging Adolf to accept the ointment, faded as Adonis left. She understood well why her mother was so particularly attentive toward her younger brother.
Like her father, her mother wanted her to lay down her sword and believed that the older sister—Adonis, the future head of the family—would suppress her younger sibling’s potential.
Once inside her room, Adonis applied the ointment lightly to the cut inside her mouth.
Yes, April had been right.
“The one who values me the most isn’t my family—it’s myself.”
Neither her family nor herself had ever given her something as small as this ointment.
There was no real need to refuse Roziane’s invitation, so she returned to the royal palace. Yet, upon arriving, she immediately regretted the decision.
The moment she entered Roziane’s palace, a deeply unpleasant smell hit her nose.
It was a strange, indescribable odor, mingled with oppressive, humid air that seemed to envelop her body.
She briefly regretted coming.
“So, are you fully recovered, Princess?”
She nodded slightly at him while looking at Roziane, who was handing her tea directly. She answered after taking a sip of the fragrant tea placed before her.
“Yes. I’m completely fine, without a single ache.”
“That’s a relief. Still, let’s keep an eye on your condition. I worry you might fall ill again.”
Empty words.
Even I am this confident about my condition, so I wonder what Duke Alexis thinks.
When I glanced subtly at him, the duke remained silent.
It made sense; he had brought me here hoping this engagement would remain intact, so keeping quiet was the correct choice.
A duke who had spent years as the head of a ducal family and years at the royal palace could not have failed to notice that those words were false.
If the mentally unstable emperor were to die, Persephone would first get rid of Roziane in the palace.
Roziane needed a young noblewoman to survive, and clearly, Persephone would be the one to oppose him most. Yet he intended to break the engagement with the ducal family?
Was he blinded by love, or did he really believe he could handle this without the ducal family’s support?
“Seems like bad luck has struck the ducal family lately. Don’t you think?”
Lost in thought, she furrowed her brow at Roziane’s question, which seemed to fall from above her head.
Since he referred to the ducal family broadly, he wasn’t only talking about the carriage accident.
“What do you mean…?”
“The day before your engagement to the Crown Prince, the duke…”
“Roziane.”
Duke Alexis interrupted Roziane’s words.
The day before the engagement… the duke had collapsed. Roziane was probably going to mention that he had been unwell.
Although she had traveled between the capital and elsewhere for work, she had never heard this story.
She had heard the news of the princess’s engagement to the Crown Prince because it was an imperial matter, but she had intentionally tried to ignore all other affairs.
“I understand your concern, but let’s leave that matter be.”
Where exactly was he hurt? Was the reason his face looked so pale due to illness?
Even though she made it clear she didn’t want to discuss that day, Roziane continued with a light, teasing smile, pushing the conversation forward.
“You were worried because the duke collapsed, weren’t you? I heard you didn’t even show yourself to the cleric?”
Duke Alexis’ eyes narrowed slightly.
If Roziane wanted to speak, he would; if told not to, he wouldn’t.
“I called the cleric because I was concerned about her.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Although she is fully recovered, I am still concerned about the princess’s health.”
“Roziane, the cleric has arrived.”
The cleric had arrived at the worst possible moment. She pressed the inside of her cheek, reluctant to show her body.
Even though she claimed to have fully recovered, anyone could be suspicious that someone who experienced an accident would have no scars at all.
As the well-oiled door opened silently, Roziane’s lips curled smoothly into a smile.
His eyes did not crinkle—he was clearly intent on finding some flaw by any means.
If it was her flaw, it could become a reason to break the engagement, and he might also discover Duke Alexis’ condition.
Roziane’s smiling face was unnervingly beautiful. Though he was very attractive, his youthful appearance seemed unnatural for his age, bordering on grotesque.
As she set down her teacup at the sound of footsteps behind her, she sensed the cleric standing nearby.
“I hear you were looking for me.”
…Hmm?
She raised her head at the familiar voice.
The cleric, whose long hair swayed below, was someone she knew.
He had recognized her mother and was the only cleric in the temple who possessed sacred power.
“I called because I wanted you to see these two, not me, today.”
“Yes.”
Tamitarte, the cleric.
She met the cleric’s emotionless gaze and noticed a flash of surprise. He hadn’t expected to see her here, but he quickly composed himself upon realizing this was the royal palace, not the temple.
Even with a powerless cleric, entrusting her body would be uneasy—but with a cleric who possessed sacred power, it was even more alarming.
If he sensed even a trace of her power, it could be disastrous. At least until she brought April here, no one could know she wasn’t April.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
She shook her head at Tamitarte, who knelt to inspect her.
“There’s no need to show yourself to the cleric, Roziane.”
“But Princess—”
Roziane’s tone tried to coax her, and she lifted her lips slightly in response.
“It’s fine.”
She knew he would insist to the cleric if necessary, but this was enough to make him step back.
“I survived even being bitten by a pet leopard—how could I die in a carriage accident?”
At that moment, Roziane’s ever-smiling face stiffened.
It made sense; she had thrown herself in front of the leopard he raised in the palace, taking the bite meant for Persephone.
Roziane had likely hoped the leopard would bite the precious young daughter of the ducal family, not the future heir Persephone.
Who could have predicted that the ducal princess would risk herself to save the Crown Prince? Only the leopard, used and ultimately killed, was unfortunate.
She remembered Persephone’s childhood, when she had been mute.
After the funeral of the Empress Dowager, Persephone had remained silent, becoming a worrying figure even within the palace.
The emperor was preoccupied with men, and the young prince who seemed fine said nothing.
“As you saw then, I am resilient to wounds and accidents, so there’s no need to worry, Roziane.”
In a sense, both the palace and Persephone owed her a debt.
She had saved the only heir to the throne. And since she wasn’t much older than Persephone, becoming her companion was natural.
Although Persephone spoke little, she clearly felt emotion. Every time she looked at her, she remembered her apologetic expression vividly.
Perhaps feeling a debt herself, she must have tried to fulfill all of April’s desires…
Requesting a broken engagement just because she liked someone had been quite unexpected.
“Also, I don’t think Roziane’s servants would be so careless as to gossip.”
“……”
“No matter how much royal privilege there is, a noblewoman should not expose her body in public.”
She gave Roziane a faint smile while glancing subtly at Duke Alexis, who had slightly frowned.
