Cerden wiped his hands and sat down in a chair.
His face, adorned with a languid smile, was calm. It was as if everything that had just happened and everything that was currently unfolding meant nothing to him.
His demeanor was in stark contrast to the agitated aides, who were at a loss for what to do in their anger. Finally, one of the aides, unable to hold back any longer, spoke up.
He was someone who had just witnessed the disgraceful behavior of the woman referred to as the Crown Princess.
“Are you going to just let this continue?”
Cerden lifted his head and met the aide's gaze. Perhaps because the sunlight was behind him, a chilling sense of intimidation emanated from Cerden.
Only then did it become clear. Cerden was not unaffected. He was quietly seething with anger.
“What’s the problem? The Lady seems to be completely oblivious. This should keep Duke Spelman quiet for a while.”
“...Are you really going to keep that woman as the Crown Princess?”
“That woman? Watch your words.”
The aide bowed his head and apologized at Cerden's sharp remark.
Cerden rubbed his lips together.
In truth, when he heard that Spelman had sent the Lady, he thought it was likely that he had set up a substitute for his sick daughter.
But the moment he saw the Lady, who was drooling with her mouth open, he changed his mind.
Duke Spelman had not set up a substitute. He had genuinely made his sick daughter the Crown Princess.
‘There must be some ulterior motive.’
He still could not discern what it was.
This tiresome royal family, which was still being manipulated by Spelman, was infuriating, unable to protect even one of its own children.
At the same time, it was somewhat amusing. Spelman, who had enough yet still flailed about.
The childish woman that the snake-like Duke Spelman had pushed forward.
The image of the red candy that had rolled out of her mouth came to mind. Wasn’t his own situation just as ridiculous?
Duke Spelman must think of Cerden as that candy. Something he could put in his mouth when he wanted and spit out whenever he pleased.
The aide cautiously added a question.
“...Then what will you do about Lady Rozalina? Weren’t you supposed to marry her as soon as Your Highness returned?”
“For now, let’s wait and see. Perhaps I can use the Crown Princess to strike at Spelman.”
“...Yes, Your Highness.”
“And have Rozalina enter the palace tomorrow.”
At those words, the aide's expression brightened.
“There will surely be a new purpose for her.”
“Yes, Your Highness! She is a clever one, and having her around will surely be beneficial!”
Cerden smiled with an inscrutable expression. He did not fully reveal his thoughts even to the aide.
‘The smarter one is, the more they tend to hide.’
Moreover, Cerden trusted no one. Even if they were loyal enough to risk their lives for him.
Perhaps this opportunity could also be a chance to uncover Rozalina’s true intentions.
Cerden was contemplating keeping Rozalina and Evelyn close together.
He chuckled at the thought of Evelyn. An image of her foolishly blank expression came to mind. Even when he left the room, she had been staring at the candy the whole time.
“Oh, and have a jar full of candy sent to Evelyn.”
The aide nodded with a displeased expression.
An hour later, Evelyn received a gift containing jars filled with colorful candies.
Hugging it tightly, Evelyn screamed into the empty room, muffling her voice.
‘Aaaah! Is this for eating!!’
The pink blanket, likely favored by young girls, flopped around. Frilly pillows rolled off the thick rug.
In the gentle moonlight, the ‘gifts’ placed on the table calmly asserted their presence.
Clink, clink.
The jar full of candy rolled off the floor. Evelyn, with her messy hair resembling a bird’s nest, sprang up. Snorting, she looked around the room.
“I will absolutely, absolutely survive! That’s all I need to think about!”
The next day.
Duke Spelman sent two girls of my age to serve me as maids. They were the same girls I knew. The ‘only friends’ left in Evelyn’s memory. It was sad that the only friends the Lady had were maids.
It was clear how Evelyn had been treated in Spelman’s household. Though it might have looked good on the outside, like a shiny but rotten fruit, the Duke was indifferent to Evelyn. The only brother she had was always dismissing his sister.
The only ones who paid her any attention were the maids, so it was understandable that she would consider them friends.
They had been away from me for a few days to learn royal etiquette.
Knowing Duke Spelman, they hadn’t learned royal etiquette in those few days; they had likely learned effective ways to assassinate the Crown Prince.
From the start, they were not people who could become close to me. If I were Evelyn, I would have welcomed them. But now that I knew their true intentions, how could I be friendly with them?
It was like two parallel lines that would never meet.
Should I drive them away? Or keep them close? Still, if I wanted to dig into the Duchy’s intentions, it would be better to keep them close.
I made up my mind.
I would keep them close and torment them. I would make them pay for the humiliation they had inflicted on Evelyn. One of the maids shamelessly spoke up.
“Hello, Your Highness, the Crown Princess. It’s been a while.”
“It hasn’t been that long. I saw Evelyn three days ago.”
That was before the wedding.
Thanks to my past acting experience, behaving like a five-year-old was nothing. I would show them what an infuriating third-person perspective looked like. I even smiled brightly.
“...You’ve become quite clever in the meantime. Remembering all that.”
The maid hid her annoyance and smiled. It was subtle enough that Evelyn might not have noticed. Not enough to hide from an adult’s eyes, though.
“Right. Evelyn is clever!”
This is sincere, you fools. I didn’t memorize all the scripts for nothing. Back then, I had memorized even the lines of other characters.
So I remembered a lot about this story as well. From now on, they would get a taste of K-society.
Let’s see how infuriating it is to be fed with a smile.
“...That’s right. You are clever.”
“Cherryna. Why are you even entertaining her? ...What does it matter what she says? We just need to do our own thing.”
Though she said it quietly, I heard everything. A fool? Even if they cursed in front of me, Evelyn wouldn’t have known. She must have been a love-starved child. If they treated her well in front of her, she would have just smiled.
The maids whispered casually.
“Still, it’s fun.”
I interjected into that conversation.
“Wow. What’s so fun? I don’t find it amusing at all.”
The maids flinched and quickly shut their mouths.
I deliberately made a sulky face. This is what they call the imitation technique. Children often mimic what adults say.
“Evelyn isn’t a fool.”
“D-did you hear that?”
“Evelyn isn’t a fool! Ah, the fool is not Evelyn, but you, right?”
The maid turned pale and trembled all over. She couldn’t control her emotions well, could she?
Well, she probably didn’t need to.
If they treated Evelyn well for just a moment, she would have been happy. I was exploiting the innocence of children.
“What did you just say?”
“Hold on, Rosie! What did you say? She probably doesn’t even know what she’s saying, so don’t engage with her!”
Then I quickly jumped in and caught the tail of the conversation.
“Wow... Cherryna doesn’t know what she’s saying?”
“Not me, Your Highness, the Crown Princess!”
“Evelyn is clever and knows what she’s saying! You two are both fools. Hmph.”
I exaggeratedly slumped my shoulders.
By the way, their names are Cherryna and Rosie. Thanks to that, I learned their names.
The two, who had danced to my tune, trembled with frustrated expressions. It didn’t seem like they had treated Evelyn well in the past, judging by their attitude towards me.
Moreover, from what they were saying, it seemed they had ulterior motives for entering the palace.
My decision to keep them close was indeed the right one.
“It must be nice to be clever, Your Highness, the Crown Princess.”
“Yeah, it is. Being foolish isn’t good. What’s wrong with Cherryna being foolish? It’s pitiful.”
“...Aah!!!”
Wow. They don’t even consider me a concern. That was beyond what Evelyn remembered. It was understandable. Evelyn had lived in her own world.
It was rude, far too rude. Cherryna stomped her feet and rolled her eyes.
She seemed to have a bad temper. She probably displayed that same temper towards Evelyn as well.
I understood why Evelyn had listened to them so obediently. She must have hated it when her only friends were angry.
Now that I knew the truth, I disliked them even more.
His face, adorned with a languid smile, was calm. It was as if everything that had just happened and everything that was currently unfolding meant nothing to him.
His demeanor was in stark contrast to the agitated aides, who were at a loss for what to do in their anger. Finally, one of the aides, unable to hold back any longer, spoke up.
He was someone who had just witnessed the disgraceful behavior of the woman referred to as the Crown Princess.
“Are you going to just let this continue?”
Cerden lifted his head and met the aide's gaze. Perhaps because the sunlight was behind him, a chilling sense of intimidation emanated from Cerden.
Only then did it become clear. Cerden was not unaffected. He was quietly seething with anger.
“What’s the problem? The Lady seems to be completely oblivious. This should keep Duke Spelman quiet for a while.”
“...Are you really going to keep that woman as the Crown Princess?”
“That woman? Watch your words.”
The aide bowed his head and apologized at Cerden's sharp remark.
Cerden rubbed his lips together.
In truth, when he heard that Spelman had sent the Lady, he thought it was likely that he had set up a substitute for his sick daughter.
But the moment he saw the Lady, who was drooling with her mouth open, he changed his mind.
Duke Spelman had not set up a substitute. He had genuinely made his sick daughter the Crown Princess.
‘There must be some ulterior motive.’
He still could not discern what it was.
This tiresome royal family, which was still being manipulated by Spelman, was infuriating, unable to protect even one of its own children.
At the same time, it was somewhat amusing. Spelman, who had enough yet still flailed about.
The childish woman that the snake-like Duke Spelman had pushed forward.
The image of the red candy that had rolled out of her mouth came to mind. Wasn’t his own situation just as ridiculous?
Duke Spelman must think of Cerden as that candy. Something he could put in his mouth when he wanted and spit out whenever he pleased.
The aide cautiously added a question.
“...Then what will you do about Lady Rozalina? Weren’t you supposed to marry her as soon as Your Highness returned?”
“For now, let’s wait and see. Perhaps I can use the Crown Princess to strike at Spelman.”
“...Yes, Your Highness.”
“And have Rozalina enter the palace tomorrow.”
At those words, the aide's expression brightened.
“There will surely be a new purpose for her.”
“Yes, Your Highness! She is a clever one, and having her around will surely be beneficial!”
Cerden smiled with an inscrutable expression. He did not fully reveal his thoughts even to the aide.
‘The smarter one is, the more they tend to hide.’
Moreover, Cerden trusted no one. Even if they were loyal enough to risk their lives for him.
Perhaps this opportunity could also be a chance to uncover Rozalina’s true intentions.
Cerden was contemplating keeping Rozalina and Evelyn close together.
He chuckled at the thought of Evelyn. An image of her foolishly blank expression came to mind. Even when he left the room, she had been staring at the candy the whole time.
“Oh, and have a jar full of candy sent to Evelyn.”
The aide nodded with a displeased expression.
An hour later, Evelyn received a gift containing jars filled with colorful candies.
Hugging it tightly, Evelyn screamed into the empty room, muffling her voice.
‘Aaaah! Is this for eating!!’
The pink blanket, likely favored by young girls, flopped around. Frilly pillows rolled off the thick rug.
In the gentle moonlight, the ‘gifts’ placed on the table calmly asserted their presence.
Clink, clink.
The jar full of candy rolled off the floor. Evelyn, with her messy hair resembling a bird’s nest, sprang up. Snorting, she looked around the room.
“I will absolutely, absolutely survive! That’s all I need to think about!”
The next day.
Duke Spelman sent two girls of my age to serve me as maids. They were the same girls I knew. The ‘only friends’ left in Evelyn’s memory. It was sad that the only friends the Lady had were maids.
It was clear how Evelyn had been treated in Spelman’s household. Though it might have looked good on the outside, like a shiny but rotten fruit, the Duke was indifferent to Evelyn. The only brother she had was always dismissing his sister.
The only ones who paid her any attention were the maids, so it was understandable that she would consider them friends.
They had been away from me for a few days to learn royal etiquette.
Knowing Duke Spelman, they hadn’t learned royal etiquette in those few days; they had likely learned effective ways to assassinate the Crown Prince.
From the start, they were not people who could become close to me. If I were Evelyn, I would have welcomed them. But now that I knew their true intentions, how could I be friendly with them?
It was like two parallel lines that would never meet.
Should I drive them away? Or keep them close? Still, if I wanted to dig into the Duchy’s intentions, it would be better to keep them close.
I made up my mind.
I would keep them close and torment them. I would make them pay for the humiliation they had inflicted on Evelyn. One of the maids shamelessly spoke up.
“Hello, Your Highness, the Crown Princess. It’s been a while.”
“It hasn’t been that long. I saw Evelyn three days ago.”
That was before the wedding.
Thanks to my past acting experience, behaving like a five-year-old was nothing. I would show them what an infuriating third-person perspective looked like. I even smiled brightly.
“...You’ve become quite clever in the meantime. Remembering all that.”
The maid hid her annoyance and smiled. It was subtle enough that Evelyn might not have noticed. Not enough to hide from an adult’s eyes, though.
“Right. Evelyn is clever!”
This is sincere, you fools. I didn’t memorize all the scripts for nothing. Back then, I had memorized even the lines of other characters.
So I remembered a lot about this story as well. From now on, they would get a taste of K-society.
Let’s see how infuriating it is to be fed with a smile.
“...That’s right. You are clever.”
“Cherryna. Why are you even entertaining her? ...What does it matter what she says? We just need to do our own thing.”
Though she said it quietly, I heard everything. A fool? Even if they cursed in front of me, Evelyn wouldn’t have known. She must have been a love-starved child. If they treated her well in front of her, she would have just smiled.
The maids whispered casually.
“Still, it’s fun.”
I interjected into that conversation.
“Wow. What’s so fun? I don’t find it amusing at all.”
The maids flinched and quickly shut their mouths.
I deliberately made a sulky face. This is what they call the imitation technique. Children often mimic what adults say.
“Evelyn isn’t a fool.”
“D-did you hear that?”
“Evelyn isn’t a fool! Ah, the fool is not Evelyn, but you, right?”
The maid turned pale and trembled all over. She couldn’t control her emotions well, could she?
Well, she probably didn’t need to.
If they treated Evelyn well for just a moment, she would have been happy. I was exploiting the innocence of children.
“What did you just say?”
“Hold on, Rosie! What did you say? She probably doesn’t even know what she’s saying, so don’t engage with her!”
Then I quickly jumped in and caught the tail of the conversation.
“Wow... Cherryna doesn’t know what she’s saying?”
“Not me, Your Highness, the Crown Princess!”
“Evelyn is clever and knows what she’s saying! You two are both fools. Hmph.”
I exaggeratedly slumped my shoulders.
By the way, their names are Cherryna and Rosie. Thanks to that, I learned their names.
The two, who had danced to my tune, trembled with frustrated expressions. It didn’t seem like they had treated Evelyn well in the past, judging by their attitude towards me.
Moreover, from what they were saying, it seemed they had ulterior motives for entering the palace.
My decision to keep them close was indeed the right one.
“It must be nice to be clever, Your Highness, the Crown Princess.”
“Yeah, it is. Being foolish isn’t good. What’s wrong with Cherryna being foolish? It’s pitiful.”
“...Aah!!!”
Wow. They don’t even consider me a concern. That was beyond what Evelyn remembered. It was understandable. Evelyn had lived in her own world.
It was rude, far too rude. Cherryna stomped her feet and rolled her eyes.
She seemed to have a bad temper. She probably displayed that same temper towards Evelyn as well.
I understood why Evelyn had listened to them so obediently. She must have hated it when her only friends were angry.
Now that I knew the truth, I disliked them even more.
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