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Chapter 44
“Good girl.”
Marie doubted her ears. She had never heard such words in her life.
“The fortuneteller clearly said you’d be a boy! Giving birth to you ruined my life. My body broke down, I lost my job!”
Her birth mother.
“You give me the creeps. Why aren’t you childlike at all? If you were even a little sweet or affectionate, you’d be worth taking care of.”
Not even Madam Noivan, who took charge of her after her mother, had ever said anything kind to her.
“This child… she tried so hard to protect her own body… haah.”
Words she couldn’t understand continued.
“So that’s how you survived for so long. Still… the princess being smart is a relief. It could’ve been so much worse.”
“Yes, the physician says the internal damage isn’t irreversible, so you shouldn’t worry too much. More importantly…”
Elza asked carefully,
“Your Highness, do you intend to keep caring for Princess Marie here in the René Palace?”
At that, Marie tensed reflexively.
It made no sense. Caring for her had always been a chore—something bothersome and exhausting.
Why else would Madam Noivan have been feeding her sleeping pills for years?
“Isn’t it obvious? Who other than me could take proper care of this child?”
But the answer she heard was unbelievable.
“She’s my sister. Even if she weren’t—how could I just watch a child being abused like that? I’m going to raise her.”
René paused for a moment, then continued.
“I promised myself I’d make everyone happy.”
Happy.
The unfamiliar word left Marie confused.
Why is she being so good to me?
Marie knew, of course, that René was her half‑sister. But even calling themselves sisters felt presumptuous— the gap between them was enormous.
René Stade was the Emperor’s legitimate daughter, a woman with unparalleled magical power in the empire’s history—known as the Goddess of War.
Marie, born the illegitimate child of a mere dancer, could never dare call her “sister.”
It was only natural that René had never paid her any mind—just as one does not care about ants on the roadside. And yet…
“It may all feel sudden to you, but I’ve realized I haven’t paid attention to you for far too long.”
René suddenly began visiting Nokss Palace to check on her. Marie had been bewildered, but decided not to read too much into it.
“Surely you’re not thinking René Princess paying attention to you is something special, are you? Wake up. She’s unbelievably fickle. She even canceled her own birthday banquet on the day of because she was in a bad mood. She probably just got interested in you for the moment.”
That was why Marie hadn’t dared speak of Madam Noivan’s violence.
If she spoke too soon and René lost interest, the furious Madam Noivan might truly kill her.
The Emperor never cared about her anyway. She couldn’t risk her life on unstable attention.
“Hello, Marie. You sleep a lot, don’t you? For how much you sleep, your height doesn’t seem to be catching up though…”
“I brought roses from the garden today. The ones in René Palace are beautiful. You should come visit sometime.”
“Do you like tarts? Our chef makes wonderful apple tarts. I brought one so we could eat it together.”
But René’s visits continued steadily.
Even though she often had to leave empty‑handed because Marie was forced to pretend to be asleep so Madam Noivan wouldn’t notice.
“That clingy woman. Why does she keep coming? You didn’t say anything useless, did you?”
Madam Noivan was growing nervous. Marie remained cautious.
Surely it was just a passing amusement. There was no reason for Princess René to stay interested.
“I’d like you to come to my wedding. You’re my family too.”
But when Marie was given a dress and invited to the wedding, she found herself wavering.
…What if His Majesty gets angry seeing me there? What if Her Highness was only saying it? Or… what if she wants to mock me?
After long thought, Marie decided to go to the wedding.
Even if René had called her to mock her, Marie felt she wanted to repay the kindness she had been shown.
Yet Madam Noivan vehemently refused.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Agh—!”
“You think you can show that wretched appearance in front of His Majesty? At the princess’s own wedding? Absolutely not!”
…but she didn’t have to rip the dress Her Highness had gifted me…
When Marie saw the dress shredded by scissors, something snapped inside her.
For the first time in her life, she screamed and lunged at Madam Noivan, but she was no match for the large woman.
“After all I’ve done raising you, you dare fight back? Fine, today you die!”
Marie was beaten badly and locked in a closet. After more than a day without food, she was starving.
Just when she thought she might truly die this time—
The closet door opened. One of the princess’s maids, whom she’d seen before, lifted her gently with a stiff expression and whispered:
“You’re safe now. Everything will be okay.”
And indeed, she soon received luxurious care.
A physician inspected her body, prescribed proper medicine, and she lay under a clean, fresh‑smelling blanket.
“You have to finish it all. Not a drop left.”
So even when René said the dreadful words—said she must finish her medicine—Marie smiled and drank it willingly.
Because she was certain this person would never hurt her.
“Um…”
Of course, after receiving such treatment, she needed to repay the kindness somehow.
When she cautiously opened her eyes, Princess René was startled.
“You’re awake? How do you feel?”
“I… I’m good at cleaning.”
René frowned. Marie swallowed nervously— cleaning probably wasn’t enough.
“I—I can do laundry, and if I learn, I can cook too. I can do anything.”
Panicking, she listed every skill she could think of.
She remembered one more thing—but it felt too trivial to call a “skill”, so she kept quiet. She didn’t want to disappoint René.
Still, this much should be enough… right?
“So… could you hire me as a maid…?”
Marie’s heart dropped instantly. René’s expression didn’t look good.
Is she disappointed at how useless I am?
Marie waited anxiously for her judgment.
“Marie.”
René suddenly leaned forward and embraced her.
It was the same warmth she had felt yesterday, but the hug was still unfamiliar. Marie froze stiff.
A deep sigh brushed her ear, making her tremble even more.
“You’re my sister. How could I make you a maid?”
“But to be useful I—”
“You don’t have to be useful.”
René gently patted her back.
“Your job is to get healthy. That’s enough.”
Marie was stunned. Words she had never once heard in her life were too unbelievable to accept.
“Th‑then… I… can stay here?”
“Of course.”
“I’m all grown, so I don’t need much care. Really… I can do laundry and cleaning myself, and I’ll stay out of sight—”
“No. You’re staying in the room next to mine. You’ll wear pretty dresses, never get your hands wet, and eat desserts with me while we chat.”
René corrected her with a smile.
“You’ll stay by my side, won’t you?”
The moment she saw that smile, something hot surged up from Marie’s chest.
But she forced herself not to cry. If she cried, maybe René would hate it and change her mind.
…I’ll become someone useful to Her Highness.
Marie vowed. She would repay the one who saved and sheltered her—no matter what it took.
If René ever needed her life, she would gladly give it.
After all, without René, her life would’ve ended in that cramped closet yesterday.
I checked on Marie’s condition and went straight to the Solar Palace. The Emperor must have known about the situation by now.
“Send Madam Noivan to a convent in the slums. Let her live in a dark, damp room, eat spoiled food, get slapped around by ill‑tempered nuns, and be dosed with sleeping pills at every meal. That should ease my anger a little.”
Emperor Otto looked mildly annoyed and let out a sigh.
“That’s excessive. Must you go that far?”
“I know what you’re worried about.”
I didn’t hesitate to say something that would’ve made Joachim faint if he were here.
“You don’t want to be criticized for neglecting Princess Marie until things got this bad, do you?”
