“I’ve been waiting for you to call me.”
He sat on his knees at my feet.
Holding my hand with both of his hands, he kissed the back of it.
He supported the princess of the duke and paid attention very earnestly.
“Do you want anything from me?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“You only can ask me.”
“Can you spread a rumor?”
“A rumor?” Asha asked again.
“Yes. First of all… Yeah, I’d love to hear rumors that Marquis Lurtella is kidnapping poor children.”
“It’s not difficult, but can I ask you why?”
I gave him a letter from my father.
“The young lady of Lurtella is spreading bad rumors about me.”
Asha began to read the letter carefully.
“You can’t just sit through it.”
The letter stated what rumors Lady Lurtella was spreading about me.
Asha has been a faithful servant of the duke since I entered the Imperial City.
It was all about calling him once or twice a year when there’s something really necessary because he (duke) wouldn’t be able to show up.
But despite the small exchanges, I didn’t know what he was like.
“That rumor doesn’t matter. She’s a precious person in her own right.”
“Thank you, but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna let it go.”
I remembered the young lady of Lurtella, whom I saw a few days ago.
It seemed like she would definitely do something, being kicked out like she was, but I didn’t know that it would be spreading bad rumors about me in this way.
“Okay. So, are you saying to overturn this crisis first?”
Instead of answering, I nodded.
Asha seemed to be contemplating something about her, and he quickly came up with the answer I wanted.
He said, “The Lurtella Marquisate began to fall little by little because of the incident where the Marquis’ wife three generations ago kidnapped young girls and drank their blood.”
She is the grandmother of the current marquis.
For the sake of beauty, she kidnapped only little girls under the age of ten and drank their blood.
“I think we can spread the word referring to the scandal.”
“It’s not difficult, can you do it?”
“Of course.”
After exchanging those last few words, Asha left with a solemn face.
He showed me the novelty of shedding a few drops of tears before going out, perhaps to postpone the chaotic situation.
After sending Asha out, the envelope was burned to ashes in the air, as well as the documents.
Rumors that Asha spread will be fully eaten up because of the atrocities committed by her predecessors.
Marquis Lurtella deliberately spread lies about me, “What’s wrong with your behavior, what’s wrong with your attitude, what’s wrong with your extravagance, what’s wrong with your subordinates?”
The rumor was tantamount to a child’s prank compared to the provocative story of the seemingly immature Young Lady Lurtella kidnapping children in the slums.
I tightly closed my eyes to the sudden rush of fatigue.
I closed my eyes and only darkness fell.
I was told by the crown prince to leave the imperial city when I wanted to. That would not mean that there could be a possibility of forever.
You’re telling me to get out at the right time. I did intend to leave at the time he wanted.
However, if I went out in this situation, it was like running away instead.
“Would a week or four be enough for Asha to step up?”
By that time, not only the people but also the Hwangseong Fortress will be whispering and gossiping about whether rumors of Lady Lurtella’s love is true or not.
At that rate, I would be the object of fear to the people, whether the rumor was true or not.
“I’m tired.”
The tea I drank to warm up my body didn’t seem to help at all.
I didn’t think I’d fall asleep even after it’s late at night. My body was tired, but I couldn’t sleep, it was probably just stress.
I had a lot on my mind because of my unorganized thoughts.
I couldn’t sleep easily after the oracle changed.
Feelings of not knowing whether it was anger or despair continued to wander in my heart.
I didn’t want to be the Crown Princess.
But I did my best, more than what I was given.
I put a lot of effort and time into making it more valuable than anything else since it’s my seat.
Now, it turns out that it has only raised the authority of the Crown Princess’ position for the Young Lady of Lurtella.
***
Duke of Pegenteria.
The value of the name didn’t dare change anything.
The Duke of Pegenteria, who had been firmly in place with the imperial family since the empire’s birth, was a sword, shield, and treasure defending the empire.
And I was the only princess of the Duke of Pegenteria.
Although my hair color was pink, my eyes closely resembled my mother, and my nose and mouth were like my father. I used to hear a lot of comments that my brother and I looked like twins.
“I thought it was a good thing we looked alike.”
When I was young, I didn’t really like my parents’ different hair colors. Because I thought it wasn’t family-like.
However, I remember seeing my appearance that resembles my parents as I got older and liked it.
I got out of bed thinking about my childhood.
The early morning air was fresh.
In particular, the sweet scent that flowed in, thanks to the tree planted right in front of the window. It was the scent of flowers from the tree that the crown prince planted for me on one of my birthday.
“…today, we’ll have to get ready.”
Get ready to leave.
Time has passed, and now it was time to take off the Crown Princess’s crown and prepare to return to the duke’s land.
But there was more to prepare than I thought.
I must contact the Pegenteria Duchy to ask for a carriage, call the maids to drop or pack my luggage, and make time to find the emperor and the empress.
Even if I prepare now, it would take about four days before I leave.
“It’ll take days for us to reach the duchy.”
There were two important lands in the empire.
One of them was right here in the capital.
And the other was an enormous area of milk and honey-rich and buried resources, the Duchy of Pegenteria, cared for by mother and father.
“Did it take about 10 days to get there by carriage?”
It’s been so long since I went to the duke’s estate that I couldn’t remember.
I thought it would be better to ride a carriage and feel relaxed after a long time.
After four days of preparation to return to the Imperial City, we will ride a carriage for ten days and arrive at the duke’s castle….
“I’ll be there on the day of the wedding.”
I muttered a little.
The schedule has already been changed.
Originally, Hwangseong should have been noisy by now. The people would move their shoulders to have a toast in excitement, and envoys from each country would have come and presented congratulatory gifts.
I would be trying on several tailored dresses for her wedding day and wondering which would be good.
I might have thrown up a little bit of excitement when I came to see His Majesty.
But now I was preparing to return to the duke.
Even if things changed, it changed a lot.
I covered my face with my hands as if I were washing my face.
My breath felt hot against my palms.
I didn’t want to show anyone this disorganized look.
“I need to take a bath.”
I folded my useless thoughts finely.
I folded it again and again. I folded them so small that no one could open it, pushed it to the corner of my mind, and lifted myself out of bed.
I rang the bell and called the maids in.
When I saw the maid who came in, I didn’t feel like taking a bath anymore, so I told her to prepare breakfast.
So I filled my stomach with boiled potatoes and moved on to do what I had to do.
First of all, I called in the servants who were doing chores and told them to pack up.
Later, I asked for a carriage to ride to the duke’s land and wrote a letter to the emperor and empress. The most powerful man and woman in this empire.
It was to make a promise in advance because it was hard to find them recklessly.
Even so,I hesitated on what dress and jewelry I should wear.
They were all rare and beautiful.
However, these jewels were presented to the crown princess by the emperor and empress, and were dedicated by the nobility to the empress who would lead the country in the future, not for a duchess.
I decided to leave the jewelry behind.
It was my choice because I didn’t have any lingering feelings for jewelry or money.
It’s money anyway. I don’t want to waste it.
“Give this to the Crown Prince.”
I took a ring out of all the jewels.
Then I called a trustworthy maid and handed the box that contained the ring.
“I see.”
The ring in that box was a precious thing that could not be exchanged for anything rare.
It was the ring that the prince gave me as a substitute for a wedding ring until I got married.
He told me to give it back to him when we get married, and then he’d give me something better. The ring was so precious that I couldn’t even wear it a few times, it made my young heart beat.
How upset I was when the ring didn’t fit anymore because my hands grew longer.
“He’ll ask for it back when we get married, but….”
I muttered to myself. My mood was bitter. Soon after, however, the maid I had sent came back with a ring box with an embarrassing face.
“His Majesty, the Prince said to bring it to you…”
“……”
A maid hands me a box.
I opened the box I had received from my maid. The little ring that sat inside was beautiful.
“Directly……”
This ring may not be mine, and it didn’t look as beautiful as before.
I didn’t need the expensive diamond or the jewelry.
I was able to let go of the art piece worth the price of a castle that had come from a neighboring country without regret.
So I had to let go of this ring without hesitation.
But I can’t believe you’re coming to see me. What else do you have to say?
If it was before, I would happily respond, but now I’m not happy to hear his call.