“A warning?”
“It is advice.”
“Ha!”
“You spilled your meal, so I will prepare it again.”
Elisha looked at the overturned food with an uneasy expression.
It was the food she had knocked over herself.
Shuna neatly cleaned up the spilled food and left the room.
As soon as she left, Mikael entered.
“Can’t you stay quiet for once? Because of you, the Emerald Palace is in an uproar.”
“Then change my maid.”
“What’s wrong with Shuna?”
“I do not like her.”
“Isn’t it because she is a maid sent by my mother?”
Elisha didn’t answer.
“You are really simple.”
“Excuse me?”
“I used to like that simplicity of yours, but now that I think about it, it was just stupidity. Why didn’t I realize it before?”
“Your Highness…”
At that moment, Mikael shut the door and stepped closer to Elisha, roughly grabbing her chin.
“It hurts…”
“It hurts?”
As Elisha looked at him with tears welling in her blue eyes, Mikael roughly pressed his lips against hers.
Then he pushed her onto the bed.
“Elisha, I will make you understand your place.”
“What do you—”
Mikael forcefully pressed her down. Elisha’s face flushed with humiliation.
“Listen carefully.”
Startled, she looked at him with wide eyes.
“Here, your existence is no different from this bed.”
“…”
“You are nothing more than a bed for me. Do you understand?”
Elisha froze in shock.
Mikael gently stroked the cheek of the frozen Elisha.
“So a bed should fulfill its role as a bed, don’t you think? Don’t get greedy beyond your place.”
He stepped away from her, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his lips.
At that sight, Elisha’s face turned even paler.
“Know your place.”
Mikael slammed the door as he left.
Elisha clutched the bed sheets and tears streamed down her face.
Mikael no longer loved her. It was clear from the way he belittled her and treated her so humiliatingly.
He regarded her as nothing more than a bed.
Her pride was deeply wounded.
Elisha straightened her clothes and roughly wiped her tears with her sleeve.
“Fine. I don’t care how you treat me. I will never let you go until the end. The place beside you is mine!”
There was no way she would give up here. Absolutely not.
***
Liliana received an invitation to the Ruby Palace and had lunch with Consort Isabella.
Consort Isabella treated her kindly.
But beneath that kindness was the intention to connect her with Prince Mikael.
She had even gone as far as calling Prince Mikael to join them for lunch.
Moreover, now, at Consort Isabella’s suggestion, Mikael was escorting her to the detached Palace.
“Your Highness, you do not have to trouble yourself like this.”
“It is fine. It is also my mother’s request.”
Mikael hesitated as he touched his violet hair.
Noticing this uncharacteristic behavior, Liliana spoke.
“If you have something to say, please do.”
“Th-That… about Elisha. I heard you know.”
“Yes, I do.”
“I am sorry.”
Liliana looked at Mikael with surprise as he apologized. She had never expected him to say such words.
But even at his apology, Liliana didn’t waver. Instead, she hid her mockery behind a mask.
“Your Highness has nothing to apologize for. It is something that can happen between a man and a woman.”
“If I say that I regret it, would you believe me?”
“Regret?”
“I must have truly lost my mind back then. To leave you and turn to another woman…”
Liliana stopped walking, turned toward him, and smiled faintly.
Mikael thought that smile was incredibly beautiful.
“Your Highness, what has already happened… cannot be undone even if you regret it. I only ask that you treat Elisha well. That girl trusts only Your Highness.”
Mikael’s expression darkened.
“If I had not met Elisha, would you have become mine?”
“Perhaps.”
Mikael’s red eyes widened.
“I might have believed in Your Highness’s sincerity. But you deceived me.”
Mikael had nothing to say.
“If that incident hurt you, then I sincerely apologize.”
“I accept your apology. So please keep your distance. I am now someone who will become Prince Estevan’s consort.”
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the detached Palace.
At the entrance, Estevan was waiting for Liliana.
Already aware of why Consort Isabella had summoned Liliana, Estevan approached her in front of Mikael and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“I missed you.”
“Did you?”
Brushing aside a strand of her hair, Estevan spoke gently.
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“Thanks to your consideration, I did.”
“That is good.”
Estevan smiled as he looked at Mikael.
“Thank you for personally escorting my precious consort.”
“…It is nothing.”
Lifting the corners of his lips, Estevan whispered near Liliana’s ear—loud enough for Mikael to hear.
“Then, will you give me some of your time now?”
As he spoke, he kissed the back of her hand.
“Of course, Your Highness.”
As Estevan wrapped an arm around Liliana’s waist and began to walk away, Mikael watched the two of them with a darkened gaze.
Mikael clenched his fist tightly and, grinding his teeth, turned away.
***
After confirming that Mikael had left, Liliana turned to face Estevan.
“You are quite mischievous.”
“Me?”
“You really provoked him. I did not know you could be this mischievous, Your Highness.”
“I didn’t like it.”
Liliana smiled faintly and kissed Estevan on the cheek.
“Well done. You have gotten much better at acting.”
Since he hadn’t expected Liliana to kiss his cheek, Estevan was quite flustered.
“You are the shameless one.”
“Me?”
“To launch a surprise attack like that.”
“Did it bother you?”
Estevan covered his mouth with his hand. It didn’t bother him. If anything, it made him feel good.
“Not really. It’s just that you startle me whenever you suddenly come close.”
“It is fine when you approach me, but when I approach you, it makes you nervous?”
“I don’t know.”
Liliana whispered in a subtle voice.
“I like it.”
“What?”
“I like it when Your Highness comes closer to me.”
As she spoke, Liliana brushed his side hair back just as he had done to her.
Estevan’s golden hair slipped through her fingers.
Every time her hand touched his skin, Estevan felt a strange sensation.
“I do not dislike your touch.”
“You really are…”
Estevan took a step back.
“It would be best to end today’s date here.”
“Is that so?”
Trying to hide his flushed face, Estevan turned away.
Liliana watched his retreating figure with a smile.
***
When Mikael returned to the Emerald Palace, his mood was low. Because of that, no one dared to approach him.
Suddenly, his gaze turned toward Elisha’s room.
He recalled the first time he had met her.
He had met her a year ago, after he began courting Liliana. It had been Elisha’s deliberate approach.
Elisha had boldly linked arms with him, openly seducing him with a charming smile in her eyes.
He hadn’t disliked it. If anything, he found it cute.
If that was her charm, then it was indeed a charm.
So while courting Liliana, he secretly met with Elisha.
Their secret meetings gave him a thrilling sensation and made his heart race.
He couldn’t even describe how stimulating those hidden encounters had been for him.
In his position, where he had to live wearing a mask of pretense, the stimulation Elisha gave him was something he couldn’t give up.
It had been a fleeting passion, a burning heat.
But once that heat faded, all that remained was a heart reduced to ashes.
It made him realize just how significant Liliana’s existence was to him.
Mikael opened the door to Elisha’s room and entered. This was the Emerald Palace, and there was nowhere he couldn’t go.
Startled by his sudden visit, Elisha looked at him.
Mikael merely glanced at her and then headed toward her dressing room.
Elisha watched his actions closely with trembling eyes.
Entering the dressing room, Mikael looked over the dresses hanging there, then picked out a light pink dress and brought it out, tossing it to Shuna.
“Put it on her.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Shuna approached Elisha with the dress.
“Please change.”
“What?”
Shuna took Elisha by the arm and led her into the dressing room.
After a while, Elisha came out wearing the dress Mikael had chosen.
Mikael looked at her with a dazed expression. The Elisha reflected in his eyes overlapped with the Liliana he had seen earlier.
Liliana had been wearing a soft pink dress like cherry blossoms, smiling sweetly.
“Smile.”
“Pardon?”
“Smile, I said.”
Elisha forced a smile.
As she smiled and looked at him, Mikael’s red eyes burned even more intensely.
Stepping closer, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in, wrapping an arm around her waist just as Estevan had done.
Burying his lips against the nape of her neck, Mikael breathed in her scent.
Elisha stood stiffly, like a statue.
“This isn’t it…”
