Chapter 8

The rumors were spreading smoothly, just as expected.

‘Though it seems the focus has shifted to who my lover is rather than on me…’

Whatever, I thought. What mattered was that everyone now knew I had a lover.

It was a pleasant outing for the first time in a while. The weather was sunny, and my spirits were high.

“Ha, I’m so nervous, my lady.”

“Me too.”

Jessie made a fuss, saying she would have to pray to a god she did not even believe in. But I did not scold her for it. I was nervous too.

Today was finally the day I would finalize the contract for the house I would live in. Once I paid the balance, that house would be entirely mine.

Saving the money to buy the house had been easy.

I had sold the necklaces and earrings that had been allotted to me. They were all gifts from Kirill.

They were things he had given me before I began tormenting Gizelle, though. If not for them, I could never even have dreamed of doing this.

“My lady, I’ll just stop by the general store for a moment.”

“All right. Don’t be late—come back here.”

Jessie said she had something to buy as well and then vanished in a flash.

Jessie was only sixteen. She was always so sharp and capable, but at times like this, she still showed that she was just a child.

“Here you are. Be careful not to lose the deed—reissuing it costs a great deal.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

At last, the deed with my name written on it was in my hands. The agent escorted me to the front of the shop and then disappeared.

Jessie was still nowhere to be seen. I had told her so clearly to come back early, but her attention must have wandered elsewhere again.

I rolled up the deed and tucked it into my sleeve. The slightly rough texture of the paper made my heart flutter.

I knew exactly where Jessie would have gone, so I headed that way.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

It was a voice that seized me from behind in an instant. I stopped walking as though caught in a snare.

I turned around without delay and bowed to him. Pavel was looking down at me with emotionless eyes.

“Good afternoon, Your Highness.”

For someone who had deliberately called me to a stop, he did not seem to have anything particular to say.

The fastest way to part with him was to answer his questions promptly.

“…It’s because the weather is fine, a good day for a walk. Are you out for a stroll as well, Your Highness?”

I avoided his beast-like gaze and asked in return.

“I don’t think I came out for a walk.”

Pavel seemed to have seen everything—my conversation with the agent. To tell such a person that I had been out for a stroll was a laughable excuse. If he were to get angry that I had lied, I would have nothing to say.

But Pavel seemed uninterested in whether I met with an agent or not.

“I doubt that’s all there is to your good mood.”

“Pardon?”

Pavel tilted his head slightly. He looked at me and smirked. It was the first time Pavel had ever smiled at me. Even though it was a smile as perfect as a painting, goosebumps rose along my back.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Then you truly don’t know.”

Only then did I realize that something had happened that I did not know about. Pavel, with the look of someone pointing out my ignorance, graciously elaborated.

“An extra edition circulated at midday today.”

“An extra edition?”

Had there been news urgent enough to warrant an extra?

“It’s an article about Baron Bangeger.”

“That is…”

“If you go around smiling so carelessly in a busy street like this, people will misunderstand that you were the one who planted that article. You don’t want that, do you?”

What on earth was in that article that they would misunderstand I had planted it? Before I could ask him again, he had finished what he wanted to say and disappeared.

I went straight to the nearest newsstand and bought the extra edition.

“…Redic Bangeger, two hidden illegitimate children?”

It was an article that could well be called a special feature on a massive scandal surrounding Redic Bangeger. It was astonishing how thoroughly everything had been exposed in such detail.

There was more in it that I had not known than what I had. I knew he was a lecher and a scoundrel, but not to this extent…

“My lady!”

From afar, Jessie waved her hand and came running to me.

“Did you see what I just read in the extra edition… Oh my, you’ve read it too, my lady! I guess justice is alive after all!”

Jessie cheered quietly, glancing around so that only I could hear. I smiled back at her, but something felt strange.

Unexpected good fortune made me uneasy. I could not believe such luck had come to me.

‘That can’t be.’

This was Gizelle’s world. In Gizelle’s world, no such fortune existed for me to enjoy.

* * *

If I had known I would have a nightmare, I would not have fallen asleep. But regret came too late.

I was walking alone through a patch of tall grass. No—I wanted to run, but I was walking. I limped as though I had been attacked by someone.

The more I wanted to wake up, the greater my fear grew.

‘I have to wake up.’

I wished Jessie would wake me, but I had no idea how much time had passed.

That was when it happened.

– You should have done this from the start.

The voice was unfamiliar, yet familiar. I felt that if I turned around, I would never be able to escape. But contrary to my will, my head turned slowly.

– Hnngh…

Pavel looked down at me with an expression devoid of any emotion. I knew instinctively that he was the one who had attacked me.

I had to run.

The moment I took a single step, he seized me by the hair.

– Ugh…

He kept muttering something to me. It seemed he was saying Gizelle’s name.

This is a nightmare. A nightmare that will end when I wake.

“…my lady? My lady!”

At last I thrashed like a fish escaped from a net. As I gasped for breath, I saw Jessie looking down at me with a worried face.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Ah…”

Relief at waking from the dream slowly restored my breathing. The longer my answer was delayed, the more Jessie’s face filled with worry.

“Yeah, I must have had a nightmare. Don’t worry, Jessie.”

Yes, this is a nightmare. A nightmare that will end when I wake.

Jessie wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“On a day like this, it would be nice if you could just rest.”

At Jessie’s half-complaint, I let out a small laugh.

“I’m fine.”

Jessie knew as well as I did that there was no helping it. Tonight, there was a banquet at the Erdona estate.

* * *

For the first time in a while, the Erdona estate was bustling. Once the scandal surrounding Saya had quieted, Gizelle decided to hold a banquet. It was meant to show that Erdona remained unscathed even after the broken engagement.

The master of Erdona was the Marquis Nolmen Erdona, but not anymore. The Marquis had been in a coma for three years, preserving his position in name only.

Such was the fate of a prophet. All prophets met the same end for the sin of peering into the future, so the day Nolmen Erdona would wake again was far off.

Gizelle was the sole heir who would lead Erdona in his stead. Though she had not yet inherited the title, ever since Nolmen Erdona fell into eternal sleep, Gizelle had shown the bearing of Erdona’s true master.

When the Marquis fell into his coma, Gizelle did not cry. It had been a foreordained event, and Nolmen Erdona had prepared for Gizelle’s future even in the moments before losing consciousness. All Gizelle had to do was walk the path laid out for her.

Gizelle always enjoyed being called the pure-white Erdona. Otherwise, she would never have chosen such a dress.

Once again, rumors spread quietly that I really had cheated, but there was not as much interest as before. That was rather a relief. The fact that people’s attention had died down meant it was truly time to leave this place.

Yet despite all that had happened, Gizelle still wanted to show that Erdona stood firm. In that, she was exactly like Nolmen Erdona.

Caring about people’s eyes more than anyone else.

She was conversing with people in a pure white dress that bared her shoulders.

As always, I stood like a flower on the wall, wearing a dark, deep-green dress that was the exact opposite of hers and long out of fashion.

“I can’t understand it. With that appearance, she has a lover?”

“Actually, having heard so much about Baron Bangeger’s reputation, I did feel a little sorry for her.”

“It was a wasted effort, my lady.”

I heard giggles, but they did not sting at all. I had heard such things all my life.

What bothered me was Kirill, standing alone without Gizelle at a spot diagonally across from me.

Normally, I would have tried somehow to go to Kirill and speak to him. He would have talked with me, but his gaze would still have gone to Gizelle. As though he could not give me even a crumb of attention, even at the closest distance.

‘No. That’s a thing of the past now, isn’t it.’

But habits were not easy to break. I realized that I had unconsciously placed Kirill at the edge of my gaze. A self-mocking laugh slipped out.

‘Pull yourself together. Remember—the more I get entangled with Kirill, the better it is for Gizelle.’

The resolve was quite effective. I quickly regained my composure.

Only after several dances had passed and the guests’ spirits had risen to their peak did I see my chance. Having held my place this long, I wanted to return to my room now.

I had not taken more than a few steps when it happened.

“Saya Erdona!”

A loud voice called my name from the entrance. The music cut off in an instant, and every gaze in the room turned that way.

At the entrance stood Redic Bangeger, his face bright red. Drunk enough that he could barely hold himself upright, he called my name again.

“Saya! Where are you! How dare you—how dare you make a fool of me?”

With a single sweep of his hand, a statue at the entrance crashed to the floor. The sound of it shattering rang out loudly. Gasps of shock rose from all around.