Chapter 22
No matter what, to be involved in framing the Empress as a mere maid—what courage and loyalty this maid had.
However, Cindy’s words were of no use. Everyone found Levein’s doubts more reasonable than Clayta’s explanations.
Even the young ladies who had been whispering about Azelina just moments ago subtly shot glances at Clayta.
Levein spoke.
“If Her Majesty the Empress had truly planned to push a young lady into the lake, there would have been plenty of opportunities. So why push her only when her maid was present? There would have been no need to create a witness, would there?”
“…….”
Cindy fell silent, looking embarrassed at his words.
Levein smiled faintly and addressed Princess Shulia II.
“Your Highness, in my view, the young lady, the Marchioness’s daughter, has many contradictions in her story. Please examine this carefully.”
“Lord Lavant is correct, but……”
Princess Shulia II hesitated.
It seemed she was more concerned about her close friend Clayta, struggling after almost drowning, than suspecting Azelina.
After a moment, she patted Levein on the back lightly and said,
“Please stop, Lord. She just went through something terrible, so she might not be able to answer properly.”
When Princess Shulia II herself defended Clayta, no one dared to speak. All they did was exchange confused glances.
Watching Clayta with a worried expression, Princess Shulia II then looked around and said,
“Well… I’m sorry to Lady Lankea, but given the circumstances, isn’t it awkward to continue enjoying the banquet?”
The young ladies, who had been quietly observing, began to move away one by one.
‘…Well, I guess it can’t be helped.’
Although the situation wasn’t completely resolved, the misunderstanding about Azelina seemed to have cleared somewhat. That was enough.
As Azelina also moved along with the dispersing young ladies, suddenly someone grabbed her.
“Ah, I, um… Your Highness…!”
It was none other than Romantica.
Azelina looked at her in surprise, then finally spoke.
“Go ahead, Lady Aer.”
“Y-You see… earlier, you were just so amazing!”
Romantica’s eyes sparkled, and she clasped her hands cutely.
It was the first time her heart raced this fast for one person.
The Empress was entirely different from herself.
Azelina was orderly like a single bloom of a flower, yet sometimes passionate and confident—a heroine Romantica had only seen in novels.
‘…Is she teasing me?’
Azelina, caught off guard by Romantica’s sudden words, pondered deeply.
But Romantica ignored Azelina’s hesitant reaction and continued chattering.
“If I had been falsely accused like that, I would have just collapsed and cried. But Your Highness was innocent and remained dignified. You’re truly amazing…!”
Azelina, seeing Romantica genuinely praise the Empress, felt awkward and broke into a large bead of sweat.
“If it’s alright, may we have a meal together at the Aer Manor next time?”
Romantica asked politely, finally calming down.
Azelina, flustered by the invitation, hesitated but eventually smiled gently.
Could it be that all her patience had finally borne fruit?
“Of course, Lady.”
Suppressing the widening smile, Azelina replied calmly.
Truly, if you put effort into something, nothing is impossible.
“Ah, then I’ll be going now, Your Highness!”
Romantica smiled brightly and waved at Azelina.
Azelina lightly waved back.
‘…It’s nice that she wants to be close to the Countess, which I also hope for, but why is she acting this way toward me…?’
Azelina sighed, thinking.
Well, whatever the reason, she would think about it later. For now, it was only right to accept Romantica’s invitation.
Just as she was about to return to the palace,
“…Iana?”
Iana, who had been staying close just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
Where had she gone now?
Worried, Azelina looked around the vicinity of the Count’s residence.
With the crowd moving all at once, an unfortunate event occurred.
As Iana had feared, Azelina had disappeared.
Where on earth had she gone?
Iana began searching frantically for Azelina.
‘I hope she’s safe and unharmed…’
Since Clayta had almost drowned in the lake earlier, Iana couldn’t help but worry that Azelina might meet the same fate.
Then someone grabbed Iana.
“Nice to meet you, Lady.”
It was none other than Levein.
“…Ah? Yes…”
Iana nodded awkwardly, then studied Levein carefully.
This person had been beside Princess Shulia II earlier…
“The knight from just now…?”
“You remembered me…!”
Levein smiled brightly, genuinely touched.
With her honey-colored blonde hair and distinct features, Levein’s appearance stood out in a memorable way.
Whether Iana realized it or not, Levein’s delighted reaction made her feel uneasy.
Every gesture of hers seemed to affect him unusually.
“Since Aprilis Palace and Selina Palace are far apart, it’s basically our first meeting today, isn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
Iana replied calmly.
When she didn’t respond further, Iana, curious, raised her head to look at Levein. His face had turned a deep red, like a perfectly ripened apple.
Levein, staring intently at Iana, spoke seriously.
“This may be sudden, Lady, but I fell in love at first sight.”
“…What?”
“I’ve never seen someone as beautiful as you in my life.”
“…?!”
It was literally a sudden confession.
Iana frowned in surprise, and Levein made a sad face.
“D-Do you dislike me, Lady?”
Iana quickly shook her head.
Levein’s sudden sadness weakened her resolve.
“…Of course, it’s not that I have no feelings for you at all.”
“Oh, then…”
“But the reason I felt any liking was simply because you helped our Empress earlier.”
Iana explained calmly.
Levein’s face stiffened like ice.
Although Iana noticed this, her priority was finding Azelina.
“Then I have to find Her Majesty, so I’ll go now.”
“……”
Levein’s hands went limp. His blue eyes trembled wildly, having been rejected for the first time in his life.
A full day had passed since the day he got thoroughly rejected right after confessing.
Yet Levein was still in shock.
‘…There won’t be another chance to meet her.’
As Princess Shulia II’s guard, he could not leave her side, and visiting a palace other than Aprilis Palace was extremely difficult.
“So, what happened?”
Felix naturally assumed that Iana had accepted Levein’s confession and asked. He had seen many young ladies tearfully following Levein.
Levein glared at Felix and, resigned, finally spoke.
“I got rejected.”
“…?”
“Completely rejected.”
“…?!”
Felix’s jaw dropped. He had never imagined that a mere maid would reject Levein’s confession.
Levein’s eyes glistened. His disappointment was as great as his initial expectation.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have confessed so directly.”
He had naturally assumed that Iana would accept him.
Levein fervently hoped that Iana wouldn’t think he was crazy.
Then, someone caught Levein’s eye.
“Uh…?”
Levein, who had been sitting bitterly, suddenly stood up, and Felix instinctively stood too.
“My Lady…!”
Seeing Iana, whom he thought he would never see again, Levein’s face lit up.
It was a bit odd that Azelina wasn’t with her, but he had no time to think about that.
Meanwhile, Felix frowned. What was so beautiful about such a plain face?
‘What brings her to Aprilis Palace?’
Levein tilted his head.
Though happy to see Iana again, he was also genuinely surprised.
“…It would be nice if you told me your name.”
Levein muttered bitterly.
“Iana Lasshal.”
Then a clear, pure voice came from the side, startling Levein.
He had thought only he and Felix were here…
“The person you’re looking at is Iana, the only daughter of the Lasshal Viscount family.”
“Ah… thank you, Your Highness.”
Levein awkwardly thanked her, and Azelina smiled gently.
‘So that’s why Iana came here.’
Although Azelina didn’t know why Iana had suddenly come to Aprilis Palace, it was good news that she could see her again.
“Iana, I love you!”
Levein shouted with a bright smile.
“…Ugh.”
Iana frowned. How did he even know my name?
Unable to watch Levein’s overwhelming display any longer, Iana finally turned her head.
“No way.”
When Azelina suggested meeting Levein, Iana immediately furrowed her brows and shook her head.
Azelina wanted to see Levein and Iana brought together, as she personally owed him a favor from Lankea Manor. Visiting Aprilis Palace was essentially because of that favor.
Also, Iana, as a viscount’s daughter, would eventually marry someone.
Wouldn’t it be better if her future spouse truly loved her?
“Why? He seems fine to me.”
“He looks too flashy.”
“Being handsome is fine.”
“I think he’d cheat a lot!”
Iana frowned again.
Other maids nearby chimed in.
“Yes, yes.”
“And someone who confesses to a woman they just met? That’s obviously a problem!”
“What problem?”
Azelina asked, and Eve, even more excited than Iana, answered.
“For example, he might have been divorced once or have multiple mistresses. Those kinds of minor flaws!”
“Hmm…”
Even if he looked flashy, he didn’t seem like that kind of person.
But seeing that no one agreed with Azelina, it seemed everyone was on Iana’s side.
