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Chapter : 32
In order to make the most of the remaining week, the first thing Marianne did was gather the household staff of the estate along with Sir Tehez. She briefly explained her situation to them.
“……So I’m planning to return to the capital in a week. I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. But another imperial princess will come in my place, and Cedric’s condition has been steadily improving, so he’ll be fine even without me.”
Originally, I was just an extra who was supposed to die and exit the story anyway. The real protagonist—another imperial princess, Estelle—would surely do everything much better than I ever could.
She didn’t say that part out loud, but because she genuinely believed everything would be fine, her voice didn’t sound gloomy.
When Marianne finished speaking, silence filled the room.
Amelie, who had met Count Rubex together with her in the drawing room, lowered her head with a somber expression. Sir Tehez also bit his lower lip, unable to bring himself to speak.
Laurent and Julia reacted much the same, and finally, Chloe… stared at Marianne with eyes reddened beneath.
“Chloe, don’t cry. I’m sorry for leaving even though I asked to stay longer. Still, we’ll be able to meet again someday.”
This was a white lie, but it should be okay to say.
As Marianne smiled brightly, pushing down her guilt, Chloe sniffed.
Before tears could fall, she wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, clenched her fist, and broke the silence.
“No! Your Highness doesn’t need to apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just… just… other people are the bad ones.”
“That’s right. Look at how much Your Highness has done for the North—how could they take away someone so benevolent? It’s cruel!”
“…It’s my failure for not eliminating the informants sooner.”
Starting with Chloe—who couldn’t bring herself to say “the Emperor” or “the Prince” outright and spoke in roundabout terms—everyone added a word of their own.
Feeling that she had lived reasonably well during her time in the North, Marianne smiled softly.
“Thank you for speaking so kindly of me. Still, Estelle is young and has a good heart, so I hope you’ll treat her well.”
Was Estelle fifteen this year?
Thinking about it, she was far too young to be sent all the way to the North, which made Marianne feel a little sorry for her as well.
Originally, it would have been three years later… after her coming-of-age ceremony.
In the end, Estelle was also a victim of being manipulated by Louis.
And since she was no one else but the female lead—the important person who would one day marry Cedric and become the Grand Duchess—Marianne sincerely hoped that resentment toward the imperial family wouldn’t be directed at Estelle.
“…Understood.”
Representing the staff, Amelie accepted Marianne’s request with a clearly reluctant expression.
Tehez, on the other hand, didn’t outright refuse, but his displeasure was obvious.
Well, since Estelle is Louis’s younger sister, it’s only natural they’d feel resistant for now.
Still, because they were good people, Marianne believed they would welcome Estelle warmly—as long as she didn’t behave like Lusanna or the original Marianne from the novel.
“Alright then. Everyone, sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Cedric.”
The next day, Marianne went to see Cedric, who had gone to bed early, to tell him about their farewell in a week.
“Uh?”
“Even if I tell you now… you probably won’t remember. But I’ll be leaving the North in a week, okay? Even without your sister, you have to listen well to Amelie and eat your frost lilies properly. Got it?”
As she gently stroked Cedric’s hair while meeting his eyes and speaking as calmly as possible, Cedric frowned.
It seemed he was starting to understand what people were saying, at least a little.
“I’m sad too, but there’s nothing I can do. So please understand, Cedric.”
“Awoo…”
Marianne pleaded with him.
But Cedric let out a small cry, puffed out his cheeks, and wiggled his fingers. It seemed frustrating for him—he wanted to say he didn’t like it, but the words wouldn’t come out.
His eyes were growing red, as if he might burst into tears any moment, so Marianne quickly brought over several picture books.
“Instead, I’ll play with you a lot this week. I’ll read you all the storybooks and buy you more dolls.”
“Uh…”
Normally, Cedric loved picture books, but this time he didn’t even glance at them. Seeing him hang his head and sniffle made Marianne’s heart ache. Forcing a smile, she said,
“Why are you already so down? We still have a whole week left. Here, Cedric. How about this?”
“Uh…”
Cedric weakly cried and slowly shook his head. Chloe, who had been quietly watching them, stepped forward.
“Hehe, you must be very disappointed. I feel sad too, so just imagine how heartbroken Sir Cedric must be.”
She covered her mouth with her hand and drooped her eyebrows, but rather than looking regretful, she seemed more pleased by the harmonious sight of Cedric and Marianne.
It was a relief that she wasn’t too gloomy, but… isn’t this pouring oil on the fire? Help me!
When Marianne desperately begged with her eyes, Chloe thankfully seemed to understand and nodded.
“Please wait just a moment. I’ll bring some snacks Sir Cedric likes. Sweet things always lift his mood.”
“Please do, Chloe.”
Chloe left for the kitchen, leaving behind the faint image of trembling lips as she tried to hold back her laughter.
Phew. Marianne let out a small sigh. After patting Cedric’s shoulder, which was still facing the floor, she put the plan that had just come to her into action.
Actually, this works out. While Chloe’s gone…
Standing up from her chair, Marianne walked over to the cabinet that filled one wall. The lower drawers—within Cedric’s reach—were empty, but higher up, books were neatly arranged.
Since Cedric’s room had once been the Grand Duke, Duke of Calais’s office and living room, they must have left some things behind rather than clearing everything out.
Marianne pulled out one book that looked especially clean, as if it had been dusted recently. It was a continental history book she had skimmed through earlier.
When she returned holding the heavy book, Cedric—who had lifted his head at some point—blinked. Noticing his red gaze fixed on her hands, Marianne smiled faintly.
“Curious, Cedric?”
“Uh, uhuh.”
Sitting beside him, Marianne flipped past the stiff cover. The title wasn’t important.
She quickly turned past the blank pages, the title page, and the table of contents until she reached the page she wanted.
It was a map of the entire continent, spread across two full pages.
“This is called a map. It shows the land we live on. Here is the North, and this round part here is the capital. Isn’t it amazing?”
“Uh!”
As Marianne pointed to the top and bottom of the map, Cedric’s eyes sparkled. The complex illustration, so different from picture books, seemed fascinating to him.
“If you go a bit farther from the North, this area here belongs to Marquis Hill’s border territory. And up here is uncharted land, so it’s dangerous—you have to be careful.”
“Uh, uhuh.”
The northern part of the continent was colored black past the border, and above it, written in red letters, were the words Uncharted Territory, giving off a strong sense of danger.
They must have designed it this way on purpose—to warn people not to go there. From the uncharted lands, Marianne slowly lowered her gaze.
Passing the capital and going farther south, the place she was looking for came into view.
Rotento.
It was the territory where her mother had lived as Lady Rotento—and the place she could reach by breaking the brooch.
“Uh?”
Cedric whimpered softly. It was as if he noticed Marianne’s gaze lingering there. Seeing his fingers—larger than when she’d first met him—pointing near Rotento, Marianne smiled slightly.
“This is… Mother’s hometown. My uncle—Count Rotento—probably lives here too.”
Count Rotento. Marianne briefly thought about the uncle she had never met, then concluded it would be better to hide completely rather than ask him for help.
She didn’t even want to meet him, let alone consider him family. Despite her maternal grandfather’s opposition, he had pushed Marianne’s mother, Lady Rotento, into the imperial palace and became a count because of it.
If someone like that finds me, he’d obviously report me to the imperial family. Then I’d be dragged back to the palace…
Not only would her escape be ruined, but she’d likely be confined under the guise of “reflection” and used in a political marriage.
A horrifying image suddenly popped into her head—marrying some old, bald king of another kingdom—and Marianne vigorously shook her head.
Let’s think good thoughts. Only good thoughts.
Chasing away the ominous images, she looked further south on the continent and saw several kingdoms bordering the sea.
One of them caught her eye—the Kingdom of Shakoroy, a peaceful land that maintained good relations through trade not only with the Empire but also with other allied kingdoms.
Marianne planned to go to Rotento first, then seek asylum in that kingdom. Her goal was to live in a quiet coastal village or a small city that wasn’t too bustling.
I’ll buy a house on a sunny hill. Then I’ll enjoy the warm sunlight and sea breeze, rest properly for about a year… and maybe open a shop.
As Marianne sank into her imagination, Cedric blinked, puffed out his cheeks, and lightly tapped the map with his hand, crying.
“Awoo?”
“Oh—I got too absorbed. Look, here. This blue part is the sea. You’ve never seen the sea before, have you, Cedric? The sea is—”
Startled, Marianne laughed awkwardly and began explaining the sea while pointing to the blue area below the continent.
But Cedric’s red eyes remained lowered, fixed stubbornly on the kingdoms Marianne had been staring at.
