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chapter 5
The Crown Prince roughly let go of the Empress.
“You must truly be mad. Otherwise, you could never treat your mother like this. How did I raise you? I… I!”
“How did you raise me? Outwardly you seemed fine, but inside you raised me twisted and empty. I have my own mind, so please leave the Barota family alone.”
The Crown Prince fixed the Empress with a cold, sinking gaze.
“What did you say?”
“I said leave the Barota family alone. Then, Mother, you could become the mother of the strongest and wisest Emperor in the history of the Empire—truly wielding power, not as a mere figurehead like now.”
Hearing such words from her son, the Empress felt a deep sense of shame.
“H-How could even you say such a thing! You, of all people!”
“Mother, I can say this precisely because I am your son. I understand your pain better than anyone in this world.”
The Empress’s face turned crimson, and her hands trembled.
“Mother, I have a use for the Duke of Barota in mind. So, if you want to fatten the house of Marquis Silvestri, you should look elsewhere. You can take out your frustrations on the maids, as usual.”
With that, the Crown Prince pulled the rope hanging from the ceiling.
‘I cannot let her mess things up because of her. This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.’
Soon after, the maids arrived.
“Did you call for us, Your Highness?”
“Take Mother with you.”
The maids guided the Empress with tact.
“Please remember what I said.”
The Crown Prince couldn’t take his eyes off the back of the Empress as she was escorted away. But it wasn’t because of lingering feelings as usual.
He smirked, thinking of Uriella in her pure white wedding dress.
It was a chilling sort of smile.
The morning after the wedding, Uriella woke up out of habit, even though no one had woken her. She glanced to the side to see if the Duke of Barota had returned to the room.
‘He must have come back while I was asleep.’
She looked at the Duke of Barota’s peacefully sleeping face and smiled faintly.
‘No matter how late work ends, he always sleeps in the room.’
Uriella enjoyed watching him sleep. She thought that, apart from the servants, only she could see him like this.
‘He must have been really tired. Normally, he’d be up by now.’
Knock, knock. At the sound at the door, Uriella draped a shawl over her shoulders.
“Come in.”
When she gave permission, the door opened, and Victor, the steward of the Barota household, entered.
“Good morning, madam. It seems the Duke has not yet risen.”
“Yes, he must have been exhausted finishing the celebration alone.”
“I’ve served the previous Duke of Barota and succeeded my father as the steward. I’ve known Reitz Barota since childhood.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. He’s always been sensitive and a light sleeper. It’s unusual to see him sleep so soundly.”
“If it’s not urgent, shall we let him continue sleeping? He likely went to bed late last night.”
“Understood. Madam, about your personal maid—do you have anyone in mind yet?”
“If it’s about that, I’d like Madel to do it.”
Previously, when Victor asked this, Uriella had answered that anyone would do. She had thought of herself as an outsider in the Barota household.
‘But that wasn’t true at all.’
Unlike her expectations of being trapped in the Barota household, moving only as the Duke commanded, everyone treated Uriella with respect.
Madel, though not her official maid, was always willing to help her.
‘I can trust Madel. And I need to change the future.’
Uriella thought she had to quietly strengthen her power to stand against the Crown Prince, to ensure she would never endure such a nightmare again.
And she thought of Madel as the right person to help her.
‘Even when her life was at stake, she tried to save me. She would never betray me.’
“Also, a letter has arrived from the Imperial family for you.”
“From the Imperial family?”
“Yes, here it is.”
Uriella took the letter from Victor with trembling hands.
“…Victor? Why so early?”
As Uriella reached to open the letter, the Duke of Barota, apparently just awake, spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Good morning, Duke.”
“What is it this early? All urgent matters were handled, weren’t they?”
“I came to ask about breakfast, and there’s something for you, madam.”
“…The Imperial family sent a letter to Riel?”
The Duke frowned as he recognized the letter from the Imperial family.
“The Emperor? The Empress? Obviously, they want to summon the Duchess of Barota to court, wanting to see her face.”
“It was sent by His Highness the Crown Prince, not the Emperor or Empress.”
“What?”
The Duke of Barota’s voice dropped sharply. He remembered his conversation with the Crown Prince yesterday.
‘He asked to send Erika Menida and wanted Riel for himself.’
“It is a letter from His Highness the Crown Prince. I thought it was from the Empress, but the envelope bears the Crown Prince’s name at the bottom.”
“What does it say?”
“I haven’t read it yet.”
The Duke got out of bed and approached Uriella.
“Let’s check it now.”
“Here?”
Uriella was afraid of what strange things the Crown Prince might have written and didn’t want to read it in front of him.
“You need to know what he wrote so I can handle it.”
Uriella hesitated, holding the letter.
‘The Crown Prince must know that the Barota household could read this. So he wouldn’t write anything about going back in time or committing rebellion. That would be risky for him.’
In a kingdom where magic was despised, if she mentioned returning to the past, the Crown Prince’s position could be in danger. Uriella thought it would be harmless and opened the letter.
To my beloved Riel,
I am so frustrated that you take my confession so lightly. I have never been so sincere about anyone.
I am eagerly awaiting the day I can see you again.
I love you.
Seeing the letter, the Duke of Barota took it from Uriella’s hands.
“Rai.”
“The Crown Prince has clearly lost his mind.”
He tore the letter to pieces.
“Riel, did you know the Crown Prince before?”
“No, I met His Highness for the first time yesterday.”
“Then what does this ‘I love you’ mean?”
Uriella bit her lip nervously, feeling like she had been caught having an affair.
“Hasn’t he already investigated me?”
Uriella’s straightforwardness should have embarrassed the Duke, but his expression didn’t change.
“Indeed.”
“Then you know I couldn’t possibly be involved with the Crown Prince.”
The Duke knew that Riel, working day and night while caring for her younger siblings, could not be tied to the Crown Prince.
But seeing the confession in the letter, he couldn’t think rationally.
‘The Crown Prince supposedly left the Imperial family in secret. Did he meet Riel then? His reaction yesterday… I need to watch more closely.’
“Yes, that’s likely. …If he does this again, just ignore it. He’s only trying to unsettle the Barota household.”
“I will.”
The matter of the Crown Prince’s love letter was seemingly settled, but neither Uriella nor the Duke felt at ease. It marked the beginning of a delicate line drawn between them, just as the Crown Prince intended.
“Good morning, Your Majesty.”
The Crown Prince had never called the Emperor ‘Father.’
From a young age, he had been taught to respect the Emperor’s mood and uphold the dignity of a Crown Prince.
“Yes, you’ve upset the Empress again.”
“I apologize.”
The Emperor exhaled slowly. The silence weighed heavily on the Crown Prince.
“What fault could you have? It’s the Empress’s strange greed. She never knows when to be satisfied.”
“…….”
“Don’t cause unnecessary trouble; just comply adequately.”
The Crown Prince’s expression darkened further.
“You may leave now. Early mornings are tiring.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Exhausted after his confrontation with the Empress last night, he longed to see Uriella.
‘What is Riel doing now? Did she receive my letter? How is her expression?’
He imagined her blushing while reading his letter, and felt a strange comfort.
‘As expected, Riel is my salvation.’
Uriella didn’t know, but the Crown Prince had taken an interest in her during another unbearably boring party.
“Riel, your face is flushed.”
“It must be the wine. The Marchioness gave it, and it was delicious.”
“I’ll get you some water.”
From a corner of the terrace, the Crown Prince noticed the Duke and Duchess of Barota. Normally he would have ignored them, but that day he found himself drawn to them.
Especially the Duchess, gazing at her husband with such affection.
Even without touching, their eyes conveyed intense passion.
“Drink.”
“Thank you.”
Watching them, the Crown Prince thought: The Duke is truly lucky, to be raised with love and connected to someone he loves.
“Rai, do you know?”
“What?”
“That day, I was so grateful you reached out to me. My world changed because of it.”
Until then, he had only thought the Duchess started a relationship with the Duke out of mutual need.
“Yes, until I heard those words.”
