Chapter 20

* * *

Rene granted the audience Adel had requested for the morning of the day the banquet was to be held. But before that, her sister personally sent clothes and jewelry to the Devryan residence for Adel to wear during her stay in the capital. A truly sister-like way of welcoming her, Adel thought.

Her heart had been fluttering all along at the thought of finally seeing her sister’s face.

“I greet Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

The place her sister summoned Adel to was a small drawing room attached to the Crown Princess’s bedchamber.

Rene was waiting for Adel while drinking tea, as if she were someone she had met and parted from just yesterday.

When Adel entered, Rene sent out every palace attendant who had been attending her. There was not even the customary embrace.

“When it is just the two of us, call me sister.”

Rene glanced at Adel and then turned her eyes back to her teacup.

“I thought you would never grow, but you have grown so tall.”

As Rene said, Adel, who had been twelve, had grown so much that she was hard to recognize. But her sister was as beautiful as ever. If anything had changed, it was only that her sister’s body was far too thin. Adel’s nose stung and tears welled. After shedding her last great tears in Herbron, she had resolved never to cry again, but strangely her heart wandered back to the edges of her childhood.

“What good is being tall when you are still a crybaby.”

“I wanted… to see you.”

“….”

“I worried about you a great deal.”

After those two sentences, she had nothing more to say. Seeing Adel say she had worried about her, a corner of Rene’s heart ached. If her heart had twisted even slightly wrong, Rene would have hated Adel and more.

For the single reason that she was a Millium and healthy.

“Fool. So fragile you burst into tears like that.”

“Sister….”

Adel secretly examined her sister’s face closely. She was relieved to see that her color was not as bad as she had feared.

“There is no need to go back to Devryan to prepare. Get ready here with your sister. Someone will come to escort us soon.”

For several days now, Rene had not grown short of breath even after sitting for a long time. She did not show it outwardly, but she wondered if she was a little excited at the thought of seeing her sister after so long, and she kept trying to calm her heart.

She was a woman who had always guarded and restrained herself in order to make the final moment less heavy.

“Who is it…?”

She felt glad inwardly, wondering if it was His Highness the Crown Prince. She did not know if she dared think so, but His Highness the Crown Prince was her one and only brother-in-law.

“Adel, your sister has something she wants to say.”

“What is it?”

“When you meet His Highness the Crown Prince, think about what kind of man he is… as a man.”

Unable to understand what her sister meant, Adel hesitated for a moment.

“As a… man?”

“Just in case. If later your sister… that is… No.”

Rene still thought that if Adel married Jeno after her death, everything would be easily resolved. So, realizing she had asked a forced question because she could not let go of that lingering hope, she closed her mouth.

“Anyway, what will you do from now on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Judging by how you came to the capital and went to Baron Millium instead of House Devryan, I can guess to some extent.”

“Th-that is….”

“Anyway, I do not like it. I should have taught you how to stand up for yourself instead of teaching you to ride when you were young.”

Wondering if her sister was scolding her, her heart strangely swelled.

“Like a fool, unable to protect even your own rice bowl, and after all these years you show up with that vacant face?”

Only then did Adel understand her sister’s words and buried her face in both hands. No tears came, but she felt a little ashamed to look at her sister’s face.

“Surely you are not thinking of crawling back into that house? Stealing the medal is despicable, but it is true they protected you for years, so I will tell them to eat and be gone.”

At the vulgar expression, which she could not believe came from her sister’s mouth, Adel’s eyes went wide.

“E-eat and be… gone.”

“Yes, you have no objection either, do you? Surely you do not still have lingering feelings for Count Devryan?”

Adel could say nothing and only moved her lips. She had thought she would only see her sister’s face briefly before returning, but her sister always defied Adel’s expectations.

But no matter how Adel felt, Rene was impatient. She could not know when her condition might worsen again, so she wanted to finish things as soon as possible, even a day sooner.

“Even if you do, throw them away. Otherwise I will completely destroy the count’s house. You have been lingering since childhood, and now this….”

When Adel reached out and took Rene’s hand, Rene stopped speaking. And when their eyes met, Adel nodded.

“I have no… lingering feelings.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.”

“I see, so that is how it was…. Seeing that you came straight here after receiving my letter, I thought that might be the case. What on earth did Count Devryan do to a child like you, that you….”

Rene tried to say more, then shook her head.

“No. So you are saying it is all right for you to part with Count Devryan?”

“Yes.”

“Then listen carefully to your sister.”

Adel felt as if she had become twelve again. Even then, her sister had said this to Adel as she left the estate: Listen carefully to your sister. But the her of that time had not kept a single thing her sister told her to do.

“The person coming to escort us today is Zakahari—no, Duke Jacques Sonnier.”

“Ah….”

Only then did Adel wonder if Duke Sonnier’s visit to Herbron had been her sister’s design.

“You have met him, have you not?”

“I have seen him in the capital as well.”

“When?”

“When there was a skirmish in the Chande Garden before the imperial palace not long ago.”

“What? You were there then?”

Adel nodded without answering.

“Ha, as expected….”

“As expected…?”

“No. Adel, your sister wants you to remarry that man.”

“Pardon? But the Duke is still unmarried.”

“Yes, and since the law says so, you will not be able to obtain the position of duchess. But for now, that man is the best option.”

“Why so urgently…?”

“Baron Millium has made his move. I have been crown princess for a long time without producing an heir, and that day will soon come, so he must be impatient. And you have appeared as well.”

At the words that her father had made his move, Adel’s face went pale. In truth, since coming to the capital, Adel could not help but be startled by how much House Millium’s power had grown. During the two days she stayed at the family home, she had witnessed ministers coming and going from the mansion several times.

Adel vaguely knew what that day her sister spoke of was. But how much time was left when she said it was not long? Her fingertips trembled with fear, and she had to clench her fists tightly.

“But, Sister… Duke Jacques Sonnier is….”

Seeing Adel’s expression, Rene let out a faint laugh.

“You mean, is he not dangerous?”

At her question, Adel nodded vigorously.

“You have grown so much. To worry about such things.”

“Did you perhaps… see something?”

“As I said before, your sister does not wish to become your enemy and fight you. It must be the same for you. So this method is the best.”

“….”

“You must be anxious, but….”

“I trust you.”

“What?”

“I will not ask why you are saying this. And I will do as you say. I know clearly that you would not harm me.”

‘And would it be too insolent if I said I felt that you are asking me for help right now?’

“Whether by negotiation or by threat, you must marry that man.”

When Adel nodded resolutely, Rene smiled a little weakly.

Before she could grasp what her sister’s smile meant, the maids soon rushed in, and Rene and Adel threw themselves into preparing. Even while they were getting ready, her sister’s nagging of this and that piled up.

Why is your hair not glossy like this, are you even taking care of your skin or not—every time she heard such things, she felt so good that the back of her head tingled. She had to be careful not to let her nose sting and tears come. Because if even a single drop fell, her eye makeup would be ruined, and she would surely get an earful from her sister.

Thinking that ordinary resolve would not be nearly enough to stand before the man she would soon meet without trembling and achieve her goal, Adel put strength into her eyes.

* * *

When she stepped out before the Crown Princess’s palace, the man was standing there, just as her sister had said.

The man was like a sleekly built beast of prey. A soft, graceful smile, ill-matched with hair black as darkness and eyes red as blood, hung at the corners of his mouth.

She had felt it the first time she saw him as well, but whenever she looked at this man, Adel strangely felt strength gather in her toes.

That she was so nervous was unfamiliar even to herself. But she thought this was not a sentiment only she held. The man was that overwhelmingly beautiful.

His face, unstained by blood, shone like a boy’s, but conversely, his fully exposed forehead made him look sharp.

“You have come out.”

At his low, resonant voice, Adel grew tense again. She could not believe she had to negotiate with—or threaten—this man from now on.

“To be granted the honor of serving two women who are like the blessing of the full moon at once.”

His words were honeyed, but his eyes were sharp. Soon her sister’s voice came.

“Thank you for granting my request for an escort, Duke Sonnier.”

Jacques naturally kissed the hand Rene extended and immediately cast his gaze toward Adel. When their eyes met, Adel felt dizzy for a moment. But according to the etiquette ingrained in her body, she readily extended her hand. Then the man before her placed his hand beneath her fingertips.

“We meet again, Countess.”

He left a kiss on the back of her hand slightly longer than the one he had given Rene. And then he cleanly withdrew from her. No—he tried to withdraw. If, in that moment, the woman called the legend of Hessenia had not snatched his hand.