“What!? Me?”
I started to sweat. I pretended to remain calm, but I couldn’t hide my anxiety. Agnes tried to console me.
“Please don’t worry, your highness. It’s not a widespread rumor yet. Everyone knows it was Count Glane who arranged the assassination.”
“Th… That’s true.”
However, this rumor had some truth to it. I didn’t personally kill or ordered the assassination, but I was an accomplice.
Of course, I had no intention of ever letting anyone know. Agnes and Samantha were no exceptions. Only Lucretius and I would ever know the truth.
I felt a sudden panic. Lucretius made sure Count Glane was framed for everything, so why did this rumor suddenly start?
My first thought was it was Lucretius who started the rumor. There were only two of us who knew the truth, and since it wasn’t me, there was only him.
However, I shook my head quickly. There was no reason why he would backstab me like this. Even without his love confession, it still didn’t make sense he would do this to me. I was his only wife and he would gain nothing if he framed me for the crime. In fact, it would hurt him.
My voice trembled slightly when I replied, “What a silly rumor. It’s ridiculous.”
Agnes nodded.
“Yes, so I will take care of it as quickly as possible. I will find out who is spreading the rumor and…”
I suddenly thought of something. Before Agnes could finish her sentence, I interrupted her and ordered, “No, leave it.”
“Pardon?”
Agnes looked up at me in shock. I knew I was not making any sense, so I could understand why she was confused, but I was sure about this.
“Do find out who is spreading the rumor but continue to feign ignorance. There is something I want to find out first.”
After a brief silence, Agnes asked quietly, “Are you thinking it’s the dowager empress’s doing?”
“A rumor like this doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. There must be a reason for it, and the most likely suspect is the dowager empress. In a way, this could be a chance for us to find out who works for her.”
“… you are wise, but…”
“I know this is dangerous, but to get what we want, we need to take certain risks. It will take everything I have to defeat someone like the dowager empress. Don’t you agree?”
Agnes seemed impressed. She bowed deeply and replied, “Yes, your highness.”
After Agnes left, I drank the tea, which was cool by now.
I laid down the bed, but I couldn’t sleep at all.
***
It took so much work to get ready for the ball. My maids and I worked tirelessly.
The rumor about me started to become more widespread. I needed to make sure my own people were on my side. I made an excuse to give gifts and bonuses to everyone who worked in my wing.
I knew a mere gift wouldn’t be enough to buy people’s loyalty, but I hoped my reputation would benefit from it, even if just a little.
For my own personal maids, I presented special gifts. When they saw them, they were overwhelmed.
“Your highness…”
Even Samantha and Agnes seemed speechless.
The gifts were picked out by me personally. They were from my own royal collection of jewelry. I made sure to pick out the pieces I wore at least once.
Gifting items used by royal members was considered an honor. The pieces I gave to the Countess Ilan and her nieces were mine, but they were brand new and never used. Giving a piece of jewelry I personally used meant I trusted the recipients with my body.
I picked out the pieces I thought would suit each person.
Everyone looked happy except for one person.
“…”
Lisbeth.
She was staring at me with an expression I had never seen before. She was looking at me like I was a monster.
I gave her a silver hairpin with a sapphire that matched her blue eyes. As she looked at me with an unpleasant expression, the hairpin shined ominously.
The girl’s world was always filled with bright hope. When growing up in her home, she was the center of her universe.
The Bonafit was a powerless family in Cransia, but it still ruled an entire colony. At least in Aeal, the Duke of Aeal and his family had absolute power.
Lisbeth was the only child. She, therefore, never experienced any hardship. She never lacked luxuries including silk clothes and priceless jewelry.
Everyone treated her like a treasure. She grew up like a spoiled princess.
Then she came to Cransia.
Here, the girl realized how small and insignificant her world and her life had been until then.
No one cared about her in this castle. She finally realized her father’s rank was meaningless and even lowly. She saw how her father had to grovel to many young noblemen.
Her mother, the Duchess, who ruled her home like a queen, also looked poor compared to the other noble ladies in Cransia.
Then, she met him for the first time. It was at a party and she was wandering around like an outcast. Her dress, which her mother prepared herself, looked old-fashioned compared to the other young ladies’ outfits. No one seemed to want to talk to her.
Then he walked in. He looked like the prince from a fairy tale. Everyone turned to him with admiration. She heard someone whisper.
“Prince Lucretius, the heir to the throne…”
Lucretius.
The girl already knew this name. Ever since she was a little girl, her parents told her he would be her husband.
Lucretius le Cransia.
The future emperor of Cransia.
Based on the old contract between Cransia and its colony, Aeal, she was to marry him when she was older. She knew the name, but she didn’t know how beautiful he was until then.
Her father took her hand and walked towards the prince. Her heart beat fast and she blushed.
Lucretius was the first guy she ever danced with. It wasn’t that he only danced with her that night, but it was magical enough for the little girl to fall in love with him.
From then on, the girl counted the days until she became his wife.
As she became older, the girl learned the sad news that, as the emperor, Lucretius would have many wives. When she realized she wouldn’t be his only wife, she cried.
However, her parents consoled her that she would be the most beloved of all his wives. The girl finally accepted the reality of her situation and tried her best to learn the proper manners necessary to become the emperor’s wife.
The girl tried her hardest, but it was too hard. She was no good at all. Her mother hugged her and said she was lovely and beautiful, so it would be alright.
Then when the girl turned thirteen, horrible news arrived. Instead of marrying the prince, the girl was ordered to become the old emperor’s concubine. Her parents were furious, and the girl cried every day, but there was nothing that could be done. Aeal was powerless against Cransia.
They postponed the wedding date with an excuse for the girl’s young age.
Then one day, her father came back from his hunt with a black-haired girl. She looked a few years older than her and had an unusual skin and hair.
The strange girl said her name was Sa Bina. Bina had similar hair color as her father. Her mother, at first, hated it because she suspected the Duke had an affair and Bina was his bastard daughter.
However, Sa Bina couldn’t speak their language and other than her hair, she looked very different from the Duke. The Duchess had no choice but to accept that Bina wasn’t the Duke’s daughter.
Her mother still didn’t like Bina even after the Duke decided to send Bina instead of his own daughter to become the emperor’s concubine.
No matter what her mother said, to Lisbeth, Bina was a godsend. Lisbeth didn’t want to marry the old emperor and finally, her arrival saved her!
At first, Sa Bina didn’t know anything. Lisbeth tried her best to be kind to her. Bina would be sent instead of her and although the Duke said Bina owed them for her life, Lisbeth still felt guilty.
In less than a year, Sa Bina learned their language as well as the necessary etiquette to become the emperor’s wife. Lisbeth felt bad as Bina accomplished what she failed to do in three years. However, Lisbeth was prettier, and Bina would be forced into marrying an ugly old man, so Lisbeth felt better.
Besides, Lisbeth would marry the handsome prince.
Of course, Lisbeth later learned things didn’t happen as she expected.
