Episode 12. A Thrill of Satisfaction Ran Through Me
“Y-Your Highness the Princess, Your Highness the Crown Prince! P-please forgive me!”
Helena begged for mercy, but it was far too late.
I didn’t bother to answer—just lowered my head.
Around me, I heard others whispering:
“I never thought she’d be so shameless. What a disgraceful young lady.”
“I agree. I thought she was well-mannered…”
—That was the Duke and Duchess.
“Lady Riley, don’t be hurt. The one at fault is Lady Helena.”
—That was Lady Vanessa.
“To fix bad habits, proper punishment is necessary. Lady Helena must learn how serious the crime of insulting royalty truly is.”
—That was my brother, Francis.
“I-I’m innocent! This is unfair!” Helena cried.
“If you have complaints, tell them to the investigator,” Francis said coldly.
He was usually gentle, but when it came to the royal family, he was merciless—just like Father.
I pressed my lips together, fighting back laughter.
A rush of satisfaction spread through my body, making me shiver with delight.
The largest hall in the Imperial Palace was decorated splendidly.
Masterfully crafted chandeliers, luxurious carpets, elegant tables, expensive candlesticks…
I stared at it all without feeling a thing.
Maybe because this marriage wasn’t something I truly wished for. Maybe because I had no romantic dreams about weddings.
And after all… this wasn’t my first marriage.
I remembered my wedding with Henderson.
We hadn’t married in a grand hall like this, but in a small temple. Because Father had opposed our union.
It was a quiet, modest ceremony, with almost no guests.
But at that time, I had been happy.
Even without anyone’s blessing, I thought as long as Henderson and our child were with me, it was enough.
As long as I had the warmth of my family’s hands holding mine.
“……”
Suddenly, tears welled in my eyes.
Not because I regretted not marrying Henderson again.
But because I could never return to those days when I had truly been happy.
That time was gone forever—yet the memory remained so vivid, too vivid to bury as just a “nice memory.”
I wanted to forget.
“…Riley. Do you like it?”
It was Father who spoke.
He was personally arranging my wedding this time—such a different attitude from before.
I shook off my thoughts of the past and looked up at the chandelier.
“Father, the lights should be brighter. Replace them with something more expensive, more beautiful.”
Then I glanced at the carpet.
“And this carpet? It looks cheap. People might think I’m marrying into a poor family.”
Finally, I looked straight at him.
“This is the marriage you always wanted for me—with a man of a good background. Spend more money on it.”
The grander the wedding, the more devastating it would be when it fell apart.
Yet, even at my spoiled demands, Father didn’t look displeased.
“So be it. I’ll place a new order today.”
“Thank you.”
A week passed since Helena’s punishment.
She kept claiming innocence, but every noble who had attended the tea party—and the witnesses I prepared—took my side.
In the end, Helena was sentenced for insulting royalty.
Her punishment: five years of seclusion in the countryside, without family support.
If I had wished, I could have demanded her life.
I could have played the role of a poor, wounded woman and used Father and Francis against her.
But I didn’t.
Because I refused to become like Helena.
I had no desire to take someone’s life through deceit.
Killing her would only create more hatred from others.
Revenge was important, yes—but more important was living peacefully with Eddie.
I didn’t want any new obstacles in the life I would share with my child.
Now that Helena was dealt with, it was time to decide what to do about Henderson.
As I sat on the sofa in my room, thinking about him, I heard Matilda’s voice.
“Your Highness, you have a visitor.”
“Who is it?”
“Duke Henderson Graham, Your Highness.”
At once, tension filled my body.
“…Henderson.”
His name slipped from my lips.
Why was he coming to me now?
Should I meet him?
Henderson had been thinking about her for weeks.
The woman he believed was fate itself.
She had appeared out of nowhere, bewitched him, then disappeared without a trace.
He had tried to look for her, but it hadn’t been easy.
He didn’t know much about the nobles of the Lopez Empire. Before becoming Duke, he had lived abroad for a long time. After inheriting the title, he rarely attended banquets or gatherings.
He disliked indulgence—and hated the stares of others.
“The bastard-born duke.”
“A lowborn duke.”
He had no desire to hear those whispers.
Sometimes he wanted to scream: I never asked to be born a bastard!
It wasn’t fair to be judged for something beyond his control.
To make matters worse, he couldn’t even remember her face clearly.
The room had been too dark that night.
Half-asleep, he had thought, I’ll ask her name after dawn.
Never imagining she would vanish like smoke.
All he remembered was her cotton-candy pink hair, eyes as green as midsummer forests, and her small body that fit perfectly in his arms.
A woman with such looks could only be Riley, the Imperial Princess.
But he couldn’t believe she would spend a night with him, when she was desired by everyone.
So he convinced himself she would come find him first.
But she never did.
Instead, she seemed to have forgotten him entirely.
And still, he dreamed of the same woman—again and again.
In those dreams, it wasn’t just her face.
It was his wife. Their child. The wife who grew to hate him.
Each dream grew sharper, more vivid.
Now, he could even hear her voice clearly.
“Henderson… Did you ever love Eddie?”
“Do you not love me anymore either…?”
Most of her words in the dream were lonely whispers.
Eddie.
That name felt strangely familiar, impossible to forget.
And in the dream, he stood on the deck of a ship, whispering a name with sorrow.
“Riley…”
It was bizarre. How could he dream that Princess Riley was his wife?
Then, recently, he heard an interesting rumor.
“Helena Moore was punished for insulting royalty.”
The whole capital was buzzing about it.
No one knew which royal she insulted, but when Henderson happened to meet Duke Bernard, he learned more than expected.
“Helena spread nasty gossip about the masquerade, insulting Princess Riley. The Crown Prince himself punished her. Tsk.”
The talkative duke didn’t stop there.
He even explained what the gossip was: that Riley had gone into a room with some man.
And in that instant—Henderson realized the truth.
The mysterious woman from the masquerade had been Riley.
And the man in the rumor… had been him.
The impossible had turned out to be real.
