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Chapter : 50
“Your Highness. It isn’t Astella’s fault that she’s late to the banquet. There was trouble with the carriage on the way here, so please don’t scold my sister.”
Sensing something amiss, Verde stepped forward to take Astella’s side. With his large frame blocking her from view, Helena frowned and spoke.
“Prince Verde Binok. I am speaking with Lady Binok right now. How dare you stand in my way?”
“If I have offended you, I apologize. But my sister did nothing wrong, so please calm your anger.”
“I understand there may have been circumstances that caused the delay. But even if there was trouble with the carriage, it wouldn’t have taken hours to fix. Weren’t you already late leaving the ducal residence in the first place?”
“Well, that’s…”
An awkward look crossed Verde’s face. Helena wasn’t wrong. If they had left at the originally planned time, they wouldn’t have been late.
It took longer than expected for Astella to get ready. I never imagined she hadn’t prepared anything at all for the banquet.
He had found out three hours before departure. He hurriedly had the maids prepare a dress and help her get ready, but they ended up leaving the mansion far later than planned.
On top of that, there was trouble with the carriage on the way, and in the end they arrived after the banquet had already begun.
All this time, it was the Marquis Balche’s daughter who handled everything, and the maids just moved when told…
Verde sighed inwardly as he recalled what the maids had said when he demanded to know why nothing had been prepared.
For a long time, there had been neither a mistress nor a young lady in the ducal household, so it was possible they didn’t know how—or weren’t used to it.
The head maid who had served his mother had retired early and returned to her hometown, and the current head maid had spent more than ten years attending only to him, his father, and Karin. The same was true for the other maids.
Still, they should have known the basics, and hadn’t they received training from Freya in the meantime?
No matter how much they claimed they only followed orders, he simply couldn’t understand how they could have made no preparations at all for the young lady they were supposed to serve.
They must have grown complacent, drunk on the prestige of being maids of the ducal house. Unlike other noble families, we had neither a mistress nor a young lady, so they’ve had it too easy.
Even as he reproached the irresponsible, incompetent maids, Verde felt an uneasy sense of discomfort.
Everything was clearly too different from when Freya had been there to oversee things. The maids weren’t doing their jobs, and Astella, after a string of unsavory incidents, was being increasingly shunned by high society.
If even the princess sides with the Marquis Balche’s daughter now, it’ll be taken as absolute truth that Astella lied. I have to stop this somehow.
Having grasped the situation, Verde hurried to intervene, but Helena spoke first.
“That’s enough. I don’t need to hear any more excuses. More importantly, I just heard something rather interesting, and it seems the main character has arrived.”
“Pardon? What do you mean—”
Ignoring the puzzled Verde, Helena walked past him and approached Astella.
“I heard it directly from Duke Bethelheim, Lady Binok. You two weren’t in any sort of relationship, were you?”
“What?”
“I’ve heard all about your ‘heroic tale.’ You certainly tried hard to turn coincidence into destiny.”
“…!”
At Astella’s startled reaction, Helena smiled gently.
“High society was buzzing about it as the romance of the century, so this is quite surprising. They say you fabricated everything and lied, pretending all this time to be the duke’s lover. How could you do such a thing?”
“T-That’s not true. Your Highness must be mistaken about something.”
“Me? No. Not just me—everyone here already knows the truth.”
“The truth? I didn’t lie! Please, believe me!”
“There’s no use denying it. To deceive everyone and still stand here so boldly—impressive, Lady.”
“I, I…”
At Helena’s blunt, unrestrained words, Astella’s complexion grew paler. She faltered and took a step back, only then becoming aware of the gazes around her.
Cold eyes filled with contempt. The warmth and goodwill she was used to were nowhere to be seen.
No… this can’t be happening…!
Many of the young ladies and noblewomen she had met at a gathering not long ago were present in the banquet hall. She was sure she had cast her brainwashing spell on them again back then—so why had it worn off?
She had even tried to brainwash Helena during their conversation, but it hadn’t worked. That had never happened before.
“Is there anything left you want to say, Lady? I’ll listen, so go ahead.”
“……”
At Helena’s magnanimous tone, as if daring her to try, Astella bit her lip hard. At the same time, the concentrated stares felt like thorns piercing her skin.
‘You trash, how dare you!’
‘Even a piece of bread is too good for the likes of you!’
‘If you don’t want to die, shut your mouth!’
Buried memories began to surface one by one. It felt as though the things she had endured in that hell were crashing over her again, and she clenched her fists tightly.
I can’t collapse here. Do you know how hard it was to take this place?
Think. I need a way to turn this situation around.
She could try to brainwash everyone here again, but there were too many people; it might not work properly, and then it would be useless.
Someone who can give me the most power and flip this situation in my favor. I have to place a strong spell on that person.
Who would that be? Who?
“…!”
Her anxious eyes darted about until they locked onto someone behind Helena. A man standing beside Freya—Raiden.
There he was. The person she needed most. The fist she had been clenching loosened naturally.
If she could brainwash Raiden, she could turn the tables in an instant. Curling her lips into a smile, Astella drew up her mana.
Stronger, deeper—more intense than anything she had done before.
Yes. This time, you’ll look only at me.
Darkness fell over her pure, brightly shining green eyes. Astella’s flashing gaze shot toward Raiden.
“Wait a moment. Isn’t it too hasty to judge after hearing only one side? There’s no proof that Astella lied.”
Verde, who had been pushed aside, stepped in again to defend her.
“When Duke Bethelheim himself denies it, what more proof do you need?”
“There’s also the possibility that the duke is lying. Why insist on believing only his words?”
“Because Lady Binok’s words and actions clearly prove they were lies, and that she deceived everyone. Isn’t that right, Duke Bethelheim?”
At Helena’s look, Raiden nodded.
“That is correct. I can swear on my family’s name and my own honor that Lady Binok and I were never in any sort of relationship.”
“That’s not true! Your Grace, you clearly said you loved me!”
At that moment, Astella shouted and rushed forward. She quickly closed the distance to Raiden and clung to his arm with both hands.
“You said so to me! On the central hill of the imperial palace, when you held my hand—you clearly did!”
“Lady, what do you think you’re doing—”
“You said you loved me and asked me to marry you.”
Astella’s eyes met Raiden’s head-on. As she drew closer with a desperate gaze, the words spilling from her lips sounded almost like a fervent wish.
“Ugh…”
A black aura rose from Astella’s feet and gradually enveloped Raiden. A sweet, heavy peach scent stung his nose.
His stomach churned, and for an instant he felt his vision waver.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Your Grace, you love me. Don’t you?”
“N-No. Why would I love you…?”
“You don’t have to hide it. We’re destined for each other. There’s no one who can come between us.”
The hand that had been gripping Raiden’s arm slowly slid up to his chest. As the smile on her lips deepened, her hand crept closer and closer to his heart.
That feeling again… It’s like her voice is being driven straight into my head.
The sensation he always felt whenever he met Astella—as though his nerves were being forcibly drawn toward her.
Raiden’s field of vision narrowed, until only Astella’s figure remained before his eyes.
