Chapter 9
The maids, irreverent as ever, were in a frenzy, giggling among themselves after sneakily reading my letter.
“Looks like the Marquis of Rodrian is head over heels for the princess!”
“Pfft! They say his soul is on fire!”
Eventually, they even snatched the letter from my hand and passed it around to read.
“Give it back!”
I reached my hand out to the maids, but they were too excited over this romantic letter from a stranger to pay me any attention.
What should I do?
I hesitated. The old me would’ve just cowered and said nothing, letting them do as they pleased.
But the me now had the courage to scold them if I chose to.
What should I do?
After a brief moment of thought, I decided to act as I usually would—do nothing.
It was better to make Andrea lower his guard.
If I act differently, word will reach Andrea immediately, and he’ll grow suspicious.
I had already embarrassed him once. If I now went around scolding maids, he’d definitely suspect something.
Still, I haven’t seen him since that day. I thought he’d come storming in to scold me for humiliating him, but…
Speak of the devil. Just then, Andrea barged in.
“Chloe, I heard the Marquis of Rodrian sent you a gift?”
News really does travel fast.
It must’ve been one of the court officials who ran to Andrea the moment the gift arrived from Callias.
As always, Andrea entered flamboyantly dressed like a peacock, and the noisy maids quickly fell silent and lined up politely.
Andrea swiftly snatched the letter from one of the maids who was still holding it.
“What is this man thinking? My sister already has a fiancé!”
He skimmed the letter and scoffed as if he couldn’t believe what he was reading.
“Such flowery nonsense. You didn’t fall for this sweet talk, did you?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. Only airheaded women fall for such drivel.”
This, coming from Andrea—the man who tirelessly wooed noble ladies with sweet words.
“What exactly did you and the Marquis talk about the other day without me? I can’t stand this!”
“Why not?”
“You’re asking because you don’t know? If he’s sending you this stuff, it means he doesn’t take you seriously.”
Which part of that exactly? I wanted to ask, but I kept my mouth shut.
I didn’t know what Callias meant by all the flowers and letters either, but one thing I knew for sure:
Andrea was spouting nonsense.
It would only lead to more absurd rambling if I said anything, so I nodded vaguely.
“I see.”
Thinking I agreed with him, Andrea puffed up proudly.
“Chloe, your brother is telling you this for your own good: from now on, even if the Marquis comes looking for you, don’t meet with him. That man is sly and dangerous.”
I inwardly scoffed.
For my good? I’m losing sleep because of you, and now you’re pretending to care?
Unaware of my true thoughts, Andrea continued as he pleased.
“Why do you think he’s approaching you? Because he thinks you’re easy. You need to conduct yourself properly, Chloe.”
“……”
“Don’t just accept things like this so easily.”
“……”
“What, and all he gave you was flowers? Ha! He must think you’re ridiculously easy. He should be offering you expensive jewels at the very least!”
“……”
He ran away instead of facing me, but had no problem running his mouth now that I wasn’t saying anything back.
Fine, up until here, I could still tolerate him.
But the next thing he said made my blood run cold.
“Think about the jewels Viscount Pelsus gave you. That’s real sincerity. You can see how much he values you, right?”
Viscount Pelsus. Hearing the name of my former husband made me feel sick.
Memories of being beaten and humiliated by him rushed back all at once.
I trembled as the fear returned, fresh as ever.
Andrea must have misread my reaction. He turned to me with a frown.
“What? Are you upset because of what I said?”
“……”
If it were the old me, how would I have responded?
I probably would’ve blamed myself.
I must’ve done something wrong to be treated like this. I’m so pathetic. No one could ever love someone like me. What if Andrea eventually gives up on me, too? Marrying Viscount Pelsus was more than I deserved. I have to do my best. He accepted someone as worthless as me.
I would’ve withered like a criminal, cutting myself down in shame.
I closed my eyes tightly.
Out of all the thoughts I’ve ever had, not one was truly for me. Why was I always so harsh only on myself?
Looking at myself from a distance, like a third person, I felt pity for who I had been.
I reached out to comfort that cornered, shrinking version of me.
Chloe, you did nothing wrong.
Yes, I wasn’t at fault.
As soon as I thought that, tears welled up.
I’m not pathetic.
Andrea has no right to speak to me that way.
I’m not someone to be treated however others please.
Even if I made mistakes, that doesn’t give anyone the right to trample me.
Whether it’s Callias or Viscount Pelsus, I’ll judge based on what I see and feel.
I don’t need to blindly follow Andrea’s opinions.
From now on, I’ll trust in my own thoughts and decisions.
It’s my life.
I am not Andrea’s puppet.
Suddenly, strength surged through me.
To have myself on my side—this was what true comfort felt like.
Tears rolled down my cheek—not from sadness or anger, but from the relief of being comforted by me.
“Chloe? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
“Thanks to you, brother, I had a realization.”
It wasn’t even a lie. After all, Andrea had unwittingly been the cause of my epiphany.
Andrea looked proud.
“Of course! Everything I say is for your sake. I’m glad you understand.”
It looked like he was about to launch into another long speech.
Feigning agreement, I picked up one of the vases full of flowers Callias had sent.
“You’re right. I should get rid of these right away.”
“Good thinking. Servants! Help the princess throw out this worthless junk.”
When I’d tried to do it myself, the maids had done nothing. But now, at Andrea’s command, they scurried to help.
“Your Highness, allow me. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
I passed the vase to her—and then whoops, as if by accident, dropped it toward Andrea.
CRASH!
The glass shattered on the marble floor, shards scattering everywhere.
One sliver grazed my cheek and left a cut.
“Huh?!”
I was unfazed, used to the sight of blood. But Andrea screamed and jumped back, horrified by the sight of it running down my face.
“W-what the—?!”
His knights rushed into the sitting room in a panic.
“What happened, Your Highness?!”
They quickly placed themselves between me and Andrea, as if afraid I might lash out and hurt their precious prince.
Even though I’m the one who got hurt.
Not a single “Are you okay?”—Andrea just shouted from behind the guards.
“You didn’t have to smash it! A lady should have some grace. That was way too extreme!”
This from the man who claimed to always act out of concern for me.
“Sorry. I guess I should clean it up.”
The maids hurried in with cleaning tools and began tidying the mess.
With the atmosphere disrupted, Andrea forgot his speech and turned away, clicking his tongue.
“Well, I’m glad you understand now. I’ll be going.”
Having succeeded in getting rid of Andrea, I wiped the blood from my cheek with my finger and turned away.
It stung, but I didn’t care.
What mattered was that I hadn’t let Andrea’s serpent tongue eat away at my spirit today.
“She’s gone mad. I’m telling you, Mother, she’s completely lost it!”
Andrea rubbed his arms as if he had goosebumps, pacing nervously.
“Who does she take after to be so violent?”
He’d rushed straight to Queen Cabala’s palace, desperate to tattle on Chloe.
Queen Cabala twisted her blood-red lips into a seductive, sinister smile.
“She must take after her mother. That woman was a real handful, too.”
But Cabala seemed more interested in the Marquis of Rodrian than Chloe.
“So… the Marquis has fallen for Chloe?”
Andrea jumped up, enraged.
“I don’t know what that bastard is scheming, but he wrote her a letter like he’d give her his heart and soul!”
“Is that so?”
One of Cabala’s brows arched in intrigue.
“What if Viscount Pelsus tries to call off the engagement?”
Cabala paused, clearly thinking something through, then approached Andrea and gently patted his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Andrea.”
She whispered softly.
“We’ll just wait and see for now.”
“You’re just going to let the Marquis do as he pleases? He knows about our secret—!”
“Shhh.”
She cut him off with a sharp glare. The air in the room grew icy.
“Watch your mouth, Andrea.”
Her tone was soft but firm. Andrea gulped and shut his mouth.
“There, that’s better.”
Cabala smiled again and patted his head before sitting back down.
“Nothing to worry about. I never make a losing deal. Let’s see what the Marquis does for now.”
There was a knowing smile on her lips.
What on earth is his intention?
Once again, I stared at the flowers and letter delivered that day.
For a full week, Callias had sent flowers and letters every single day without fail.
He’d even been spotted wandering near my residence several times. The maids were more than happy to gleefully relay the news.
“They say the Marquis cries out your name at night, Your Highness.”
“He fell sick from missing you so much.”
“He’s stopped eating, I heard.”
Suddenly, the maids were all eager to be my friends, bustling with the latest gossip about Callias.
To them, this was thrilling entertainment.
But the more they talked, the more confused I became.
Where are they even hearing these things? More importantly, what is the Marquis thinking? Am I missing some subtle message he’s trying to send?
Andrea’s surveillance made it impossible to contact Callias, and the frustration was unbearable.
If he wants approval to marry me, shouldn’t he be persuading the emperor and empress? Why is he sending me flowers and letters?
Can I really just sit back and trust him? Or should I be doing something?
My anxiety grew.
Then one night, to my shock, Queen Cabala summoned me.
“Chloe,” she said abruptly. “You’re going to Ronhaim.”
Huh…?
