Elisha deliberately made a surprised expression.
“Oh my, you did not know? Did Her Highness the Imperial Consort not tell you? And, Your Highness, you should use the proper title. Lily is no longer a young lady, she is now the First Prince’s fiancée. Would it not be inappropriate to call her a lady in the Imperial Palace?”
Mikael frowned.
He wasn’t foolish enough to fail to notice that Elisha was deliberately provoking him.
“Say that again. Does Princess Consort Liliana really know about you and me?”
“Yes, she knows. And Lily even went to Her Highness the Imperial Consort herself to ask for help for me.”
“Is that true?”
“It is. Why would I lie to Your Highness?”
“So that’s how it is.”
After taking a long breath, Mikael turned his body.
Watching Mikael’s retreating figure, Elisha smiled faintly.
‘In the end, Your Highness has no choice but to come back to me.’
She hoped he would realize that.
***
Mikael went to the Ruby Palace to see Consort Isabella.
As he entered the garden, he saw her admiring the flowers.
“Mother!”
“Welcome, my Prince.”
Consort Isabella, who had been gently touching the hydrangeas in the garden, smiled softly as she looked at Mikael.
“It seems something has happened, Prince.”
“Why did you not tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“I heard that Liliana personally came to you and asked about Elisha.”
“She did. She even brought a gift herself and asked me to take care of that child. She said she was a precious friend. Isn’t her heart truly kind?”
Mikael’s face darkened with disappointment.
“Now that she knows, there is no hope left.”
“Why would there be no hope?”
“She must have been disappointed in me.”
“And so what? Did you come here looking like that over something so trivial, Prince?”
Mikael looked at Consort Isabella with an uneasy expression.
“Trivial, you say?”
“Do not worry. Even if she is disappointed, if you make the effort and win over Princess Consort Liliana, I will take care of the rest. So focus on winning her heart.”
“Mother…”
Consort Isabella approached and embraced Mikael.
“Do not worry about anything, my Prince. You have your mother, do you not?”
“Yes, Mother.”
Hearing her words, Mikael felt relieved.
‘Right, it’s not too late yet.’
If he worked to win Liliana’s heart, his mother would take care of the rest.
‘I can even get rid of that troublesome Elisha.’
Yes. It was still too early to give up.
***
Because of Elisha’s matter, Liliana headed to the Sapphire Palace to meet Estevan.
Estevan was in his study, discussing something with Leon.
“Are you still trying to make contact with Black Cat?”
“We are trying, but it is not easy.”
“So they are really hiding themselves well.”
“From what we have learned through other informants, they have not been active recently.”
“They haven’t been active?”
“Yes.”
Estevan clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them.
“The reason?”
“Well… perhaps something happened internally?”
Estevan tapped the desk lightly with his index finger.
“They’ve stopped their activities…”
Could it really be that something had happened internally, just as Leon suggested?
“For now, look into it further. Black Cat is something we absolutely need.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Knock knock.
Just then, a knock was heard.
“Your Highness, it is Liliana. May I come in?”
When Estevan nodded, Leon opened the study door.
“Welcome, Your Highness.”
“Sir Leon, you are here as well.”
“I am always one with His Highness, am I not?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“But it is true.”
Saying that, Leon winked at Estevan.
Estevan frowned.
“Are you picking a fight with me right now?”
“As if I would.”
A book flew toward Leon. Leon tilted his head and dodged it with ease, then caught the book.
His reflexes were truly remarkable.
He placed the book into Liliana’s hands.
“Please pass this to His Highness. I have something to attend to, so I will be going.”
With a faint smile, Leon walked past Liliana.
She placed the book Leon had given her on Estevan’s desk.
“It seems you are quite angry.”
“Not really. That fool was just provoking me.”
Liliana smiled softly and brought up her business.
“Your Highness, do you remember the maid Elisha I mentioned?”
“The maid you said you helped become a concubine?”
The corners of her lips curved upward.
“Yes, Elisha has gone to the Emerald Palace.”
Estevan’s red eyes widened.
“Mikael brought a woman into the Palace?”
“Yes, and a secret concubine at that.”
Estevan let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded and brushed his hair back.
“Ha, he is really doing all sorts of things. Does Consort Isabella know about this?”
“Of course. I personally went to Her Highness to ask for it.”
“You did?”
“Yes. That girl is also a childhood friend of mine.”
“This is absurd. That brat who calmly went through with something like this is a problem, but…”
Estevan’s red eyes flashed as he rose from his seat and stepped closer to Liliana.
“It seems to me this is all a scheme you devised to bind Mikael.”
“As expected, you are perceptive.”
“Impressive. To use a childhood friend to create a weakness for Mikael.”
Liliana shrugged.
“She is someone I care about, but I cannot bring personal feelings into matters of greater importance. At least, I know that much.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And that girl is quite greedy, which makes her difficult for me to handle.”
“Greedy, you say…”
“People like that often become consumed by their own desires.”
Which was to say, it wouldn’t end well.
“This weakness will surely prove useful to Your Highness someday.”
For Estevan, who had now learned of Mikael’s weakness, this was a good thing.
And yet, why did it not feel all that pleasant?
“Princess Consort.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I do not want you to dirty yourself for my sake.”
There was concern in Estevan’s gaze. The fact that he was worrying about her made her strangely happy.
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. But one cannot obtain the throne by remaining pure alone. And I will not do anything that would bring harm to you. If only to protect my family.”
At Liliana’s firm words, Estevan’s gaze softened.
“Make sure you keep that line.”
“I will.”
“Is that all you came for?”
“Yes.”
Estevan took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
“It happens to be lunchtime. Join me.”
“I would like to, but Consort Isabella has called for me, so I must go.”
Estevan frowned.
“Consort Isabella called for you?”
“Yes, she asked me to have lunch with her.”
Estevan spoke curtly.
“Don’t get too close to her. It’s not good to grow close to an enemy.”
“Do not worry. I am not foolish enough to not know that.”
Stepping closer, Estevan tucked a stray lock of Liliana’s hair behind her ear.
“Even so, there is no harm in being careful. A moment of carelessness can be fatal.”
With a faint smile, Liliana brushed off the dust that had settled on his shoulder.
“I know that very well too. Please do not worry.”
With that, Liliana stepped back and gave a proper bow.
“Then, I will take my leave.”
As she turned and left the office, Estevan watched her with a strange expression.
“Really, what is she…?”
He couldn’t find any opening.
She truly was an incomprehensible woman. Estevan remained lost in thoughts about her for a long time, unable to shake them off.
***
Elisha looked at Shuna, the maid attending to her, with a displeased expression.
She couldn’t understand it.
All this time, she had tormented Shuna both openly and subtly.
She had made her run all sorts of errands and even humiliated her. And yet, Shuna continued to attend to her as if nothing had happened.
It was an extraordinary level of mental strength.
An ordinary person would have run away in tears, but instead of crying, Shuna even smiled as if provoking her and said she was fine.
“What are you?”
“Pardon?”
“How can someone endure that much?”
Elisha wanted Shuna to quit on her own and leave. She didn’t want to be monitored by the Imperial Consort.
But Shuna, with her strong mentality, pressured Elisha instead—as if no matter how cruelly Elisha acted, she would never quit.
“Why are you enduring this much?”
Shuna answered calmly.
“Enduring you is better than being punished by Her Highness the Imperial Consort.”
“What?”
It was absurd.
“Is she that frightening?”
“A little… but have you not experienced it as well, my Lady?”
“That…”
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
“Her Highness the Imperial Consort is far more frightening than you think, my Lady. So it would be best for you not to go against her.”
