Chapter 61
Her father, the King, had been neglecting Marianne for days.
It seemed like Marianne would be thrown away to a distant foreign country and married to a prince.
‘At least I’ll be a Princess or Queen.’
Marianne was angry and snorted with a harsh breath. This time the third prince, Rain, spoke.
“Marianne, keep your dignity as a princess. Don’t be frivolous.”
“What?”
For a moment, everyone turned to the direction where Marianne was, to see if she was throwing a tantrum.
They looked at her as if she were pathetic. Queen Selina coldly turned her head.
‘So annoying!’
Marianne left the small theater.
Marianne was followed only by her immediate maids.
“Princess Marianne, please calm down.”
As Marianne headed for her own quarters, she glared fiercely at her maids.
“Why do I have to be insulted by the princes? Why?!”
Both Marianne’s maids and her handmaiden shook their heads at her hysterical voice.
“This is all because of Riv Katana, that b*tch. When will my handmaidens bring that girl to me and make her kneel? I’m supposed to chastise that bitch in front of everyone!”
The handmaiden sighed.
She could not carelessly touch the Duchess of Sentoren.
Behind Riv was the Duke of Sentoren.
“I can’t do that.”
Marianne stomped her feet, irritated.
“If you don’t think you can bring the sl*t in front of me, make sure to deal with her. Kill her or disable her!”
The handmaiden kept silent about the fact that the Queen had already attempted to kill Riv Sentoren.
Marianne looked back at her handmaiden before returning to her room.
“I need to relieve my stress.”
“P-Princess?”
Marianne’s face gleamed playfully like a goblin.
The handmaiden felt an ominous presence.
“I’m so lonely and bored. I can’t be alone like this. So, send a playmate to my bedroom.”
The handmaiden turned blue in fear.
“I-If Her Majesty finds out…”
“Of course, my parents should not know. Don’t you think so?”
When the maid tried to refuse, Marianne smiled brightly.
“If you don’t want to die, follow my orders.”
Not long ago, two maids who failed to fulfill Marianne’s orders drank poison forced upon them by Marianne and died.
The handmaidens were the ones who disposed of their bodies.
They had to brainstorm to bring a man in.
A few days later, someone snuck into Marianne’s bedroom. Marianne’s laughter cut through the darkness.
***
Time passed by quickly.
Riv attended two balls with Lionel and had several book club meetings with Sophia.
She invited Sophia and her sisters, with whom she became acquainted with, for tea time, and was invited to their outdoor tea party.
Meanwhile, Riv had all but forgotten that she was a witch.
She completely forgot that her own life was nearing its end, and that she had strange predictive dreams.
The fact that she died and came back to life, and that she had met the grim reaper, all seemed to be things of the distant past.
It was a peaceful time.
The social season was half way over and before she knew it, the Royal Ball was fast approaching.
The Royal ball was only ten days away.
Claudel brought a letter.
“The Royal Family sent a letter to Your Grace.”
“Who sent it?”
“Princess Marianne.”
It was a letter stamped with a red rose seal and was also rose-scented.
Riv glanced at the letter to make sure it was safe.
“What does it say?”
After a mysterious assassin attempted to attack Riv, all letters to the Duke and Duchess went through the hands of the head butler or maid.
“It’s better to see for yourself.”
Riv picked up the letter and examined it.
The letter was calm, unlike last time.
There was no threat to kill Riv with chicken blood.
Rather, it was brief.
“Come meet me.”
Riv was to come ‘alone’ to the Royal Palace to meet Marianne. It was not written what they would do once they met.
Riv muttered indifferently.
“It seems the Queen has released Princess Marianne from her confinement.”
“Yes she has, but are you planning on going to see the Princess?”
Riv shook her head.
Even if she had become engrossed in this serenity and forgot her peril, she would never lose her memory of being killed by Marianne.
“Princess Marianne is probably not free. She can’t move around the palace.”
“I think so too. I heard that Princess Marianne’s marriage candidates have been selected. The Princess must not be able to move outside without care.”
“On the other hand, the events that happen in the Royal Family will be kept silent.”
Several foreign princes were actively discussed as marriage partners for Marianne.
Among them, she heard that some had fallen in love with Marianne’s innocent portrait.
“It is said that the princes will attend the Royal ball, and as soon as it is over, Princess Marianne’s engagement ceremony will be held.”
Riv looked out her peaceful window. Then she stared at the last sentence of the letter.
As if to warn Riv…
– You’ll see me soon.
***
A few days later, a ball dress was delivered from Madame Ezerca’s studio.
It was the perfect dress.
Riv looked at it carefully.
Lionel watched her, immersed in her contemplation, with his arms crossed.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“I heard that Queen Selina sent someone privately.”
“Yes. The Princess also sent a letter.”
The mother and daughter were anxious that they wouldn’t be able to bring Riv into the palace.
The Duke’s mansion was not their territory; the palace was their domain. No one knew what would happen there.
“Do you think I should go?”
“It doesn’t matter what we think since it’s an official order for us to attend.”
Riv looked blankly ahead with dark and cold eyes.
She seemed to recall the time when she met her death.
“I hate Ailte Palace. I tried so hard to get out of it, and I still feel tied up.”
“Riv, they can’t hurt you in this place.”
“I know.”
Riv was now the Duchess of Sentoren, not Madame Katana.
But he would not be able to completely protect her, even though she was his Duchess.
Lionel wrapped her in his arms as if he sensed her anxiety.
“Summer is coming soon. Time goes by very fast. The Royal ball is the last social event.”
After the Royal ball, there would be large and small balls, but they had no intention of attending.
Lionel said,
“Let’s leave after the Royal ball. We can go on a trip, or we can go to the South.”
“I want to go to Mont Del. I want to see the sea there. I have never seen the sea properly.”
Riv agreed with Lionel, but she thought of something.
“Ah, I was invited to Countess Murden’s villa.”
“Then let’s go South after we visit her villa. Clothes are readily available in the South, so you can pack lightly.”
Time was going by fast. Spring was coming to an end.
Once the social season was over, summer would come, and in the fall, a bountiful fall would be greeted in the Southern estate.
‘Lionel will protect me.’
Riv didn’t think of her death in the winter.
***
“Today?”
Marianne took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.
She felt like she waited a very long time to meet that stupid Madame Katana.
Marianne gritted her teeth as she recalled the romantic stories about the Duke and Duchess of Sentoren.
They were stories that were hard to believe unless you saw them with your own eyes.
The Duchess of Sentoren, who was Madame Katana, was said to have changed from ugly to beautiful.
‘Everyone’s lying. You’re trying to fool me.’
Riv Katana, how could she have transformed unless she was a witch?
That girl must have the power to dazzle everyone’s eyes.
“I didn’t know they would brazenly attend the Royal ball.”
Marianne was even more upset that Lionel had not gone down to the Southern estates.
“Lionel never asked me to come to a ball! How come he never accepted my request to join him?”
Jean, a handmaiden, did not point out that Marianne’s request was preposterous.
Marianne was a minor until last year. Without the permission of the Royal Family, it would not have been possible for her to set foot in a traditional ball.
Jean said effortlessly.
“It seems like the Duke and Duchess have to attend the Royal ball. A month ago, His Majesty ordered them to attend.”
Marianne, who was about to resent her father, changed her mind.
Marianne let her lovely hair down and fidgeted.
“The Princess is really lovely.”
“Don’t think about the Sentoren couple. Princes who will love and adore you are coming.”
“The princes will decorate Princess Marianne with beautiful jewels and gold.”
The maids poured their praises to Marianne.
A bright yellow dress fluttered around her like a butterfly. Today, Marianne was more like a lovely fairy than anyone else.
“Everyone who sees the Princess will instantly fall in love.”
Marianne was indifferent to the compliments of her maids.
The time for the Royal ball drew nearer.
As the sun went down, the Royal ball, which had been painstakingly prepared for weeks, opened splendidly.