Chapter 80
“How is your body feeling?”
“The imperial physicians said that if I devote myself to rehabilitation, I should be able to walk again in a month.”
Louis Hart delivered the news with a smile, thinking it was something to be happy about. But the Emperor’s expression was bitter.
Human greed has no end, but the Emperor, who had prayed only for the Crown Prince to wake up, now found it painful to see a son who could not even stand properly.
Louis Hart’s injuries were as severe on the outside as they were inside.
It was the Emperor himself who had driven his son to slay the giant monster, Phemos.
He should never have done that… At the very least, he should have sent enough soldiers. But because of a foolish father’s desire to make his son into a hero, far too much had been lost.
“…Yes… Angelina will be disappointed.”
The words slipped from his mouth without him realizing.
He always ended up saying the wrong thing in front of his son.
Looking at the Crown Prince who couldn’t walk, he suddenly thought of the coming debutante ball, less than a week away. His son would not be able to stand as Lady Angelina’s partner.
It sounded as though he was scolding his son for not being able to attend the ball with her.
“I will explain it to Angelina myself.”
But Louis Hart was already used to the Emperor’s slips of the tongue.
Awkward, the Emperor gestured with his chin, signaling his son to speak of why he had asked for him.
“Ah, there was something I wished to say.”
Louis Hart immediately spoke. The Emperor, though pretending otherwise, brimmed with expectation.
“It wasn’t I who cut off the head of the giant Phemos. It was Jayna, who stands here.”
“Yes, so it was Jayna who cut off the giant Phemos’s head…”
What?
The Emperor’s gaze turned toward Jayna, whom his son pointed at.
Jayna, startled to hear her name mentioned, looked around in confusion.
Only Louis Hart remained calm.
“…Are you saying it wasn’t you who slew Phemos?”
“That’s correct. I failed to accomplish the task His Majesty entrusted me with.”
He spoke clearly, without even realizing what his words implied.
It was the Emperor himself who had ordered the Crown Prince to strike down Phemos, driven by the ambition of making his son into a hero. He wanted the world to believe the Prince had done it alone.
In the end, the giant Phemos had been defeated, and the credit had gone to the Prince.
The Emperor had claimed he wished for nothing more than his son’s safe return… Yet here was the Crown Prince himself declaring that he had failed, exposing his own disgrace.
“…Is that true?”
The fact that the Crown Prince could no longer even wield a sword was something he could never reveal.
Jayna was flustered.
“Y-yes, it is true that I cut off Phemos’s head, but that was only possible because of His Highness’s plan! He spent days and nights thinking, roaming the forest, devising the perfect strategy! It was His Highness’s skill at riding that lured Phemos into the trap—something only he could have done!”
Seizing the chance to speak, Jayna poured out her words like a rushing torrent.
She couldn’t understand why the Crown Prince would throw away the perfect opportunity to earn recognition from both the Emperor and Angelina.
He had worked so hard, and yet Louis Hart was letting it all slip away. It was maddening.
The Emperor stared at Jayna.
It was always a woman who turned a man into a brave fool. He knew this truth better than anyone. He had lived it himself.
And now, his son, the Crown Prince, was clearly bewitched by Jayna.
“Jayna will surely become a knight who brings glory to the Empire!”
Blind to his father’s thoughts, Louis Hart continued to praise Jayna.
The Emperor’s insides burned.
The Crown Prince had not struck down Phemos himself, nor would he be able to stand beside Lady Angelina at the debutante ball.
Those were the two most crucial things needed to secure the Crown Prince’s claim to the throne.
At this rate, the boy would drift even further from it.
“…Very well. Then I shall grant Sir Jayna a rank equal to that of a vice-captain of the knights, and bestow upon her one of the imperial swords.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Though her achievement was great, Jayna’s career was still short, and vice-captain was the highest rank available to her.
Even so, the sudden promotion was so extraordinary that the advisors present were visibly shaken.
“B-but…”
“Did you not hear what I said?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
There would be no overturning this decree. That much was clear.
“Sir Jayna is no longer a mere guard knight. She is now Vice-Captain of the 12th Division of the Imperial Knights. Do well.”
“…Eh?”
Jayna could barely muster a proper reply, but the Emperor left the Crown Prince’s chambers without another word.
The wretched boy had thrown everything away—for a woman.
The Emperor’s furious footsteps did not falter.
At last, the day of the debutante ball arrived.
Liriana gasped when she saw the finished gown.
As the head maid’s assistant, she had been busy every day, too out of touch with fashion and trends to worry about her dress. She had entrusted all of it to her stepmother.
The gown, created through daily consultations between the Empire’s top designers, Oscar and Helene, was made of green tulle, adorned with lace around the bodice and hem that resembled curling vines.
Liriana had never worn such a splendid dress before.
It was like something woven by forest fairies from sunlight-soaked leaves and golden thread.
She would never have chosen something like this herself.
‘A dress like this… could it really suit me?’
Whenever Liriana had asked during its making, her stepmother had always answered confidently: it was the most perfect dress for her in the whole world.
Liriana was grateful for her stepmother’s heart, yet still she worried.
‘Do I really go to the ball in something so extravagant?’
But there was no time to hesitate.
Soon, her partner for the ball, Andre, would be arriving at Oscar’s boutique to collect her.
When Liriana hung back, Oscar’s staff practically pulled her forward and dressed her themselves.
Before she realized it, she was wearing the gown.
Another assistant let down her usual braid and styled her hair into a neat low bun.
And before long, Helene herself was standing there.
She had spent countless hours studying to find the makeup that best suited Liriana.
First, she placed cotton soaked with herbal water over Liriana’s face. Then she lifted her brush.
‘I’ll make her shine brighter than ever.’
It was Liriana’s first time experiencing color makeup.
Helene carefully drew her brows, each stroke delicate. Her features were already perfect; just shaping them was enough.
She shaded her eyelids with sand-colored tones, added golden shimmer, and at last, brushed coral pink onto her lips.
Liriana was left dazed through it all, as if under a spell.
Helene’s makeup, though it took time, was like magic.
Then Liriana saw the tiara in Helene’s hands—and gasped again.
She never imagined Helene had kept it all this time. She had assumed it had long since been sold.
It was the Breath of the Goddess, a tiara set with the world’s largest and most dazzling emerald.
For generations, the mistresses of the Emeldia family had worn it at social gatherings.
Her mother, Rebecca, had worn it at her wedding. Her grandmother had flaunted it at the year-end parties.
As children, she and Jayna had sneaked into Rebecca’s room, tried it on, and played at balls together.
She had once dreamed of wearing that tiara to her debutante ball.
And now that dream had come true.
Helene gently set the Emeldia family’s tiara upon her head.
Liriana had always been beautiful, but plain and demure. Now, dressed to perfection with the tiara gleaming atop her hair, she looked like a regal queen, commanding and benevolent.
“…Th-this is really me?”
She gasped at her reflection in the mirror.
Every time she looked, her stepmother seemed more and more like a fairy godmother.
Overcome, Liriana hugged Helene tightly.
“…But remember one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t come home before midnight.”
At her stepmother’s joking warning, Liriana giggled, her nerves easing.
“I’m kidding. Just remember—you are the most beautiful, wonderful person in the world tonight.”
Liriana nodded. Then she tilted her head, puzzled.
“But… why haven’t you changed into your dress yet, Stepmother?”
