Chapter 10
“Your Highness, did you know? That the Head Maid would make such a move?”
Standing by the window and looking down at the Head Maid’s subordinates as they departed, Medeia turned around.
“Yes.”
A simple answer. Yet its meaning was anything but simple.
Neril recalled what Medeia had said while persuading the maids:
“For borrowing help, this was cheap.”
She could never have imagined that the “hands” she borrowed would be those of the Head Maid.
And that, without any burden, she would cleanly remove all of the princess’s maids.
“So from that moment on…”
Neril looked at her blankly.
“The masters of the dismissed maids will likely grow wary of the Regent Prince. When they learn what his subordinates have done, he too will be left clutching the back of his neck.”
Neril nodded belatedly.
“Who will my uncle blame? His rivals? Or the Head Maid? Either way, it won’t be me.”
To him, Medeia would remain nothing more than a pitiable victim.
“Your Highness, are you planning to set them against each other?”
Instead of answering, a faint smile formed on her lips.
“You seem… different from the princess I once knew.”
The original Medeia had been a person whose innocence as a human stood out more than her dignity as royalty.
“That’s right. The Medeia you knew is gone.”
The princess admitted it calmly.
“I’ve realized something after standing at death’s door. I cannot afford to remain foolish forever.”
Medeia looked at Neril.
Her green eyes were fixed on her, yet somehow seemed to be looking past her—toward something deeper and darker, as though she were traversing an abyss.
“What about you, Neril? Do you dislike having a master like this?”
There was no wavering in her gaze.
As if it didn’t matter whether Neril accepted the change or not—nothing would change regardless.
“It reminds me of the first time I met His Late Majesty.”
Neril knelt on one knee.
She understood the girl’s words about no longer being able to remain foolish forever.
To survive alone in this den of demons, change was inevitable.
“No matter what kind of person Your Highness becomes, I will remain by your side.”
The corners of Medeia’s lips lifted slightly.
“I’m glad.”
Her face remained expressionless, her voice calm.
Not a trace of the person Neril once knew remained—but to her, this was the most fitting appearance of Valdina’s bloodline.
After a brief hesitation, Neril voiced her remaining concern.
“…It would be good if the Head Maid realized her mistake and restrained herself, but that doesn’t seem likely. If she attempts something reckless again…”
“It’s fine.”
Medeia patted Neril’s shoulder.
“If you know your opponent’s nature and track record, you can predict them. What they think, what they intend to do.”
She had experienced both the Head Maid and her uncle in her previous life. They were already within the bounds of her predictions.
What made her hesitate were—
The unknowns she had never experienced before.
For example…
Clang!
With a sharp crash, a teacup was overturned.
A pale Mariyu hurriedly poured tea into a fresh cup.
“Your Highness, I merely—”
She had brought tea she had personally prepared, hoping to improve her relationship with the princess.
I must regain the princess’s favor before the new maids take her attention.
Not long ago, she had seen the Head Maid’s people drag away all of the princess’s maids.
If she had not hidden herself quickly, she would have been dragged out like a dog alongside them.
Suppressing her anxiety, Mariyu tried her best to win the princess’s favor.
She knew intimately what the affection-starved princess was weak to and what would move her heart.
Moreover, when she arrived, the princess had even dismissed Neril, telling her to step out.
Though she had recently been treated coldly, this was surely a sign that the princess was growing tired of that wooden-faced woman and wanted Mariyu back by her side.
Steam rose from the teacup she had poured.
“It’s berry tea. You once said the tea I brew is the best.”
Mariyu sat beside her and held out the cup.
Medeia, who had been looking down absentmindedly, froze.
A deep, dark liquid.
So dark that the bottom could not be seen. It resembled the kind of poison she had once drunk before her death—just a few drops.
For a moment, dizziness surged. Her hand gripping the edge of the table tightened, veins briefly rising on the back of it.
“…I don’t feel like it right now. I’ll have it later.”
When Medeia refused the cup contrary to expectations, Mariyu grew anxious.
Why? Was the princess still angry?
Had everything not already been resolved?
“I cooled it just right. You prefer it slightly warm rather than too hot. Shall I feed it to you?”
“Later.”
“Ah, Your Highness, please. These are berries I personally picked from early dawn until my knees were soaked. Please consider my sincerity.”
She forcibly pushed the cup forward.
“At least take one sip.”
Her attempt to bring the cup to Medeia’s lips was somewhat forceful.
The dark tea rippled before Medeia’s eyes.
“Pour it already! What are you waiting for!”
It felt as though her throat was being strangled. Her vision darkened.
“That’s enough!”
Without hesitation, she knocked the cup away.
Crash.
The teacup Medeia struck flew and shattered.
The air turned cold.
“How many times must I say it?”
“Y-Your Highness, I only—”
“It seems my words don’t even reach your ears.”
“Please forgive me, Your Highness. I made a mistake.”
Quick-witted maids grabbed Mariyu as she pleaded and dragged her away.
“Your Highness! Please forgive me! Don’t hate this pitiful Mariyu anymore! You are the only one I have!”
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
“Haah.”
Only after confirming she was completely alone did Medeia exhale.
Her pale hand instinctively moved to her throat.
“….”
She looked down at the tea in the cup.
Dark liquid.
A sense of suffocating rejection lingered.
Medeia reached out.
Not for the tea—but for a clear glass of water beside it.
It was fine. From touching her lips to passing down her throat, nothing was wrong.
“So it’s only colored things that are a problem.”
A lingering aftereffect of her previous death by poison.
It seemed the trauma was limited to dark-colored liquids.
“It’s fine. As long as it’s not exposed, it doesn’t matter.”
In the pale silence, Medeia murmured quietly.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Neril, who rushed in after hearing Mariyu’s scream, examined Medeia.
The room was in disarray with shattered teacups.
Neril frowned as she looked at the spot where Mariyu had been dragged out.
“What was she thinking, acting so boldly? If not for Your Highness…”
Her hand rested on the sword at her waist.
“Wait and see. Now that the maids have all been replaced, she has no one to vent her anger on, and I’ve been cold to her as well—she’ll explode soon. The time will come. We’ll deal with her completely then.”
Medeia patted Neril’s shoulder.
“Keep a close watch on Mariyu.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
In the deep night, when all the lights of the princess’s palace had gone out, Mariyu slipped out secretly.
“Samon!”
Under a faint lantern, she spotted her lover pacing anxiously.
Mariyu rushed into his arms.
As if releasing all her longing and frustration, she buried her face against him and rubbed her cheek.
“Shh.”
Samon Claudio.
The eldest son of the Regent Prince and his only heir.
He hurriedly grabbed Mariyu’s arm and pulled her inside.
“Mariyu.”
Only the faint moonlight from a small window lit the room.
Shadows fell across the man’s face.
Tall and slender. Ash-brown hair. Refined features.
Among the young nobles of Valdina, Samon was considered quite handsome.
However, upon closer inspection, his thin lips seemed somewhat sly, and his dark eyes gleamed in the shadows with a certain shrewdness, like a rat’s.
But to Mariyu, he was the most handsome man in the world.
“Samon, I missed you so much.”
Mariyu opened her arms wide, but unlike usual, his strong embrace did not come.
“What the hell is going on?”
Her lover, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, greeted her curtly. Mariyu’s smile stiffened.
“What do you mean?”
“All of Medeia’s maids have been replaced. What exactly have you been doing?”
“Darling, I couldn’t help it. The princess pushed me away without warning—what was I supposed to do?”
Mariyu was equally worried. She needed to regain the princess’s favor before the new maids took her place.
So she visited the princess daily, flattering her in every way, but Medeia’s heart remained unmoved.
Pouting, Mariyu revealed her leg.
“Look at this. The Head Maid sent me away and—”
“Wait. Medeia pushed you out?”
Samon’s eyes flashed.
