Chapter 127
Cesare, his eyes blazing with fury, tried to drag Jessica down almost by force.
“Kyaa!”
It was the moment when Jessica, caught off guard, let out a scream and nearly tumbled forward.
“That’s enough.”
Rodellia, who had approached unnoticed, steadied Jessica.
This happened right as the argument between Cesare and Jessica began.
Rodellia had hesitated. She and Jessica were far from close—in fact, they were more like enemies—and knowing that Cesare was just playing around made her even more reluctant.
She worried that jumping in would only make things worse, so she tried to stay cautious.
But seeing no one intervening in Cesare’s increasingly aggressive behavior, she had no choice but to step forward.
Even if the spell on Jessica activated, protecting a pregnant woman came first.
‘How could he treat the woman carrying his child like that…’
No matter how unwanted the child might be, reacting that way wasn’t human decency.
Meanwhile, Rodellia’s appearance drew intrigued expressions from the onlookers.
Nanael, standing nearby, was no exception.
She had already been pitying her foolish brother for digging his own grave.
‘Acting all sympathetic in such a clumsy way.’
When Rodellia unexpectedly blocked him, Nanael found it simply amusing.
She shot Cesare a cold glare and glanced at the table where the Emperor sat.
The Emperor was clearly looking at Cesare with disdain.
That was probably why Cesare was even more riled up.
The Empress had gone pale from the sudden commotion.
Watching her try to explain something to the Emperor brought a scoff to Nanael’s lips.
‘It’s like the look you give a child left unsupervised by the water’s edge.’
That kind of overprotective mothering was precisely what had raised Cesare to be so arrogant and unchecked.
Well, thanks to that, Nanael had lived comfortably, so it didn’t matter to her.
As long as it didn’t affect her, she couldn’t care less if Cesare ruined himself.
At that moment, Rodellia asked Jessica,
“Can you stand?”
Jessica was utterly flustered by her intervention.
She had been struggling terribly to fight alone just moments ago.
She hadn’t expected Cesare to reject her so vehemently.
After all, wasn’t it his child?
At the very least, he shouldn’t treat her so roughly in front of everyone.
No matter how much he looked down on her, this was just wrong.
‘But why, of all people, are you helping me?’
The one she had hoped would help—Nanael—had stayed silent.
Even the other ladies she had befriended were busy hiding their smirks behind fans.
Yet, the person she hated and despised the most was the only one taking her side, and an inexplicable emotion surged up inside her.
Was it because of the pregnancy?
Jessica struggled to control her feelings, gasping for breath.
In the midst of it all, Cesare spewed trash from his mouth.
“What does this have to do with you, Lady? Stay out of it. She’s just trying to frame me anyway!”
Cornered, Cesare had thrown off his mask, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
He was looking at Jessica as if she were scum.
And still, the only one helping Jessica was Rodellia.
Rodellia didn’t back down even as Cesare barked at her.
“You’re disrespecting your fiancée in front of everyone, so I had to step in. Is this how you usually are? You can’t accuse her without clear evidence.”
“If she’s worth disrespecting, then so be it. Mind your own business and go back to your seat—didn’t you hear me?”
“I can’t do that. I won’t overlook this until you apologize to Jessica Miranda.”
“Apologize? What did I do wrong?”
“You openly insulted her in front of people. You treated her like an adulteress—don’t you remember?”
The more Rodellia pointed out his faults, the more enraged Cesare became. He stomped his foot and shouted,
“She tricked me from the start! She’s trying to trap me with that child—am I supposed to just sit there and take it?”
“Good heavens. Even as a prince, how can you speak so recklessly? She’s someone who decided to marry you knowing your flaws. You should cherish her a bit more…!”
It was while Rodellia was methodically rebutting him.
“Stop meddling and get lost!”
Unable to listen anymore, Cesare shoved Rodellia hard.
But the one who ended up sprawled on the floor wasn’t Rodellia—it was Cesare.
In that instant, Rodellia’s brooch sparkled, activating its magic.
“Ack!”
Crash! Thud!
Cesare, fallen in an undignified heap, huffed in anger.
Rodellia was equally surprised.
‘Oh, this works well.’
The brooch from Alferen gleamed.
It seemed the magic had properly triggered against the hostile attack.
“You—what are you?! What did you just do to me!”
Cesare, abandoning all image management, reached out toward Rodellia again.
That’s when it happened.
“Y-you—you trash bastard!”
Jessica, who had been muttering to herself with her head bowed low, let out a venomous scream.
Without a moment to stop her, she grabbed a fork from the table and stabbed it into the back of Cesare’s hand.
“Aaaargh! My—my hand!”
Cesare clutched his fork-impaled hand and rolled on the floor.
Rodellia, who had squeezed her eyes shut, looked at Jessica with a startled expression.
Now she noticed Jessica’s brooch glowing ominously.
Jessica’s mouth, already ensnared by the spell, opened without filter.
“You dog-like trash. How can you call yourself human? Who’s the one trapping whose ankle here! You’re nothing but a face with no redeeming qualities—what makes you think you can look down on me?”
“Y-you’re crazy?!”
“Yeah! I’m crazy! Even the devil would bow out to a bastard like you! I’ll kill you and go to hell myself, so just wait! The devil would consider this justified, you asshole!”
By now, Jessica held a knife in her hand.
Cesare flinched at her half-mad glare.
His glance toward the brooch suggested he realized something was wrong.
“W-wait! Are you really going to attack royalty? If you put that down now, I’ll forgive—”
He tried to soothe her with a softened voice, but it was useless.
“And it’s okay for you to insult the imperial bloodline in my belly first?”
Her menacing aura remained. Cesare scooted back on his rear, pleading for help.
“Nanael! Do something about her!”
But Nanael wore a chilling expression instead.
As if she wanted nothing to do with it, she turned her head away.
That’s when Jessica shot Nanael a spiteful glare.
“You’re the same, Your Highness! You dragged me out when I was minding my own business, bringing up Rodellia and asking if I felt wronged, saying you’d help!”
Jessica displayed a fighting spirit worth a hundred soldiers.
“You knew all along about the contract with the Peris family, didn’t you? Yet every time there was trouble, you backed out!”
Nanael, suddenly under attack, let out a shrill cry.
“Jessica!”
She tried to silence her afterward, but it was futile.
Jessica flailed the knife wildly in the air, ranting.
“You’re just like that bastard! You said you’d protect me, but these past few days you’ve treated me like I’m invisible, openly ignoring me! Have you found some other way to torment Rodellia Peris now? Huh?”
Through Jessica’s mouth, the fact that Nanael had deliberately taken her as a lady-in-waiting to harass Rodellia was exposed to the world.
“What? So those rumors back then were all…”
“She got dumped by Duke Ainluk and held a real grudge.”
Whispers erupted here and there, with glances toward Rodellia and Nanael.
This wasn’t the catastrophe Rodellia had stepped in to create.
She humbled herself before Jessica’s destructive tirade.
Just in case she turned on her impulsively.
Timely, Alferen approached and pulled Rodellia away from them.
“It seems the anger control issue isn’t a spell targeted at anyone specific.”
He whispered afterward.
Rodellia nodded lightly in agreement.
