CHAPTER 59……………….
Of course, Yulken almost got severely scolded and expelled by Arpad.
“Three months’ salary cut for insulting the royal family!”
“Ah! No, Your Highness! That’s impossible! I’m already having my salary taken by Your Highness! To think that both of you as a couple would try to take the salary of a poor subordinate is too much!”
“What? Why would Hilia take your salary?”
“Well, the truth is…”
Yulken tearfully explained the circumstances that had occurred.
Thanks to this, Arpad learned about the bet between Hilia and Yulken.
He summarized Yulken’s situation in a single phrase:
“You got what you deserved.”
“…”
“Have I not told you several times? One day your tongue will get you killed. This is mild in comparison.”
The two attendants didn’t know that Yulken had actually come close to dying because of his words.
Yulken clung to him, sniffling.
“Could you please persuade Your Highness just a little?”
“To return your salary?”
“Yes!”
Seeing the hope sparkle in Yulken’s eyes, Arpad chuckled.
“No.”
“Why not! Don’t you feel sorry for a flea whose liver has been taken?”
“Well, couples are one body. If Hilia’s wealth increases, I benefit too. So there’s no reason to stop it.”
As Yulken glared resentfully and ran off, Arpad tossed the stamped documents after him.
Nearly a week later, Lady Filern came to the Crown Prince’s palace, grumbling.
“Your Highness! This is too much! You didn’t even invite me, and you keep refusing all my audience requests!”
Hilia smiled gently.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. I told you I’ve been unwell.”
“That may be, but…”
Despite her complaints, Lady Filern never once expressed concern for Hilia.
Hilia forced a wry smile.
‘I suppose Evangeline scolded her for failing to monitor the Crown Princess’s palace for a week.’
Her guess was correct.
Lady Filern had been scanning for any changes with keen eyes.
Today, she had even participated in Hilia’s dress fitting for the Artanus Hall banquet.
“How is it, Lady Filern?”
“…”
Hilia, in the midst of trying on the dress, was paying more attention to observing her surroundings than to herself.
At that moment, Lady Filern noticed something unusual.
‘What’s that?’
It was a large crystal ornament. Several intricately shaped metallic decorations hung from it, and inside, a mysterious light seemed trapped, shimmering softly.
Without asking for permission, Lady Filern moved closer.
“What is this? I’ve never seen it before…”
Anima replied, clearly annoyed.
“It’s a lighting ornament gifted by His Highness the Crown Prince. It’s fragile, so don’t touch it carelessly.”
Lady Filern’s brow twitched.
‘How dare a mere maid speak like that!’
Fortunately, she had no reason to scold Anima directly.
Hilia, who always kept her composure, spoke first, raising her voice.
“Anima! What rude words are those! Lady Filern is my only friend!”
Anima pouted.
“You may go wait in the next room.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Once Anima was sent out, Lady Filern spoke.
“I’m fine. There’s no need to chase me away…”
“It’s okay. Feel free to watch. Rifa gave it to me because I get scared at night. Even when the lights are off, it glows gently and beautifully.”
“Ri…fa?”
Hilia’s cheeks flushed pink as she replied.
“His Highness the Crown Prince. It’s a nickname just for the two of us.”
“I-I see…”
Lady Filern wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
After confirming there wasn’t much else changed besides the ornament, she criticized Arpad’s gift.
“It’s large, but not particularly special.”
“…Right?”
Hilia continued smiling brightly.
Internally, Lady Filern scoffed at her.
‘She’s boasting about something so trivial. Such vanity.’
Finally, she approached Hilia.
By now, the palace staff and even the dressmakers connected with Lady Filern were giving sharp looks.
The schedule had been thrown off entirely because of Lady Filern’s exaggerated behavior.
She deliberately clapped her hands in over-the-top admiration.
“You are absolutely breathtaking!”
Her voice echoed alone in the reception room.
Normally, for a Crown Princess’s dress fitting, numerous noblewomen would want to observe, along with the maids.
The toilette room should have been bustling.
But now, it was almost empty.
Lady Filern was the only one outside the Crown Prince’s palace attending.
No one else paid attention or came by.
The scene was reminiscent of the banquet day itself, not a week prior.
Lady Filern mocked Hilia silently.
‘Truly a foolish, dumb woman!’
Hilia, however, seemed completely unaware of Lady Filern’s thoughts.
She felt shy but relieved.
“Really? I’m so glad. I wanted to secure the most popular dressmakers in the capital, but when I heard they were booked for years, I was terrified.”
Hilia’s voice faded at the end, almost melancholic.
Lady Filern hid her sly grin.
‘That’s because I leaked the dressmaker information to Evangeline in advance!’
Thanks to this, Evangeline ensured that most of the capital’s top dressmakers could not make Hilia’s dress.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible, but all those shops were Evangeline’s regulars.
Moreover, Evangeline dictated the capital’s social fashion, so even shop owners dared not disobey.
Thanks to her success this time, Lady Filern regained a small measure of Evangeline’s trust.
But Evangeline was, of course, not satisfied with just that.
“It’s not enough to just ruin the banquet. That girl needs to be thoroughly humiliated that day!”
She ordered Lady Filern to guide Hilia to choose a particular dressmaker, whose staff were all bribed by Evangeline.
This way, Evangeline gained access even to the design of the dress Hilia would wear at the banquet.
Hilia, unaware of these schemes, was simply grateful to Lady Filern.
“It’s all thanks to you introducing me to the Kemel dressmakers. Otherwise, I might not have gotten the latest fashionable dress and would have had to wear the late Empress’s garments.”
“It’s nothing. As a friend, it’s only natural.”
Lady Filern smirked as she observed the nearly finished dress on Hilia.
‘Yes, keep being naïvely grateful. On the day of the banquet, you’ll cry in despair.’
She was too intoxicated with her sense of victory to notice Hilia’s true expression.
After Lady Filern and the Kemel dressmakers left, I finally felt at ease.
Once Anima cautiously returned, I apologized first.
“I’m really sorry about earlier.”
“It’s fine. We had already agreed on it!”
Anima smiled bravely.
Of course, her being sent away earlier had been a planned act.
“By the way, our little one—no, Your Highness—you performed that act really well.”
“Thanks. Ah, Anima, check if ‘that thing’ is alright.”
“Yes.”
Anima checked the glowing ornament that Lady Filern had fiddled with earlier.
If it were cracked or chipped, it would have been a disaster.
“It’s fine. No issues.”
Then, as expected, Anima activated the device.
The crystal gradually brightened, and a sound began to play.
-Your Highness! This is too much! You didn’t invite me…
Our earlier conversation was replayed exactly as it had happened.
Anima marveled.
“It’s truly an amazing device.”
Of course, I was not surprised as she was.
‘The sound quality is worse than an Earth recorder, but in this world, it’s still incredibly innovative.’
The reason Lady Filern hadn’t come to the Crown Prince’s palace all week was that I had often been absent, searching for the maker of that thing.
It was fascinating.
‘Someone so clumsy could create such a genius magical device.’
I recalled the foolish-looking man I had seen a few days ago: broken glasses, shabby clothes.
“Y-you’re going to buy such a crude device at that price? I… I’m grateful, but…”
“Wha-what? You’re investing so much gold in me…?! Ah, no, of course I’m thankful! But, but…”
Even with Yulken’s information, it took some time to find him, but eventually I did.
And I obtained both the device and its creator.
Of course, this wasn’t the only thing I had prepared.
