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Chapter 11
Frederick had, annoyingly, kept his promise. Early in the morning, he arrived to escort me and Eleanor. He extended his arm toward me.
“ I heard you weren’t feeling well yesterday. Your complexion didn’t look good.”
There was no need to wonder who let that information slip. The doctor who examined me belonged to the imperial palace—of course he would report to Frederick.
I now knew that the people Frederick had once “kindly” placed around me were actually eyes watching me. Even Countess Briana had been on Frederick’s side, not mine.
“Thanks to your concern, I’m all right now.”
Just in case, I only had a bit of soup for breakfast before coming out. As expected, everything about Frederick—his scent, tone, expression—was revolting. I questioned why I’d ever agreed to this farce. I barely swallowed a sigh.
“Your face still doesn’t look good. Was your name… Eleanor?”
Frederick called out to Eleanor, who had been walking a step behind us. Her eyes widened in surprise. She looked very innocent like that.
“Y-yes! Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Flustered, holding her parasol, she looked undeniably cute even to me. Frederick let out a small chuckle.
“Belissa seems rather frail. Eleanor, you’ll need to take good care of her.”
“Yes! I will.”
“It’s fortunate that she has such a good younger sister.”
“Th-thank you.”
A good younger sister. Yes, truly a good sister. One who would bear a child for her husbandless sister. I laughed faintly. Things I hadn’t noticed before were now painfully clear. I could read so much in Frederick’s smile and gaze when he looked at Eleanor.
So it was you—from the very beginning.
I swallowed a bitter laugh. Frederick had viewed Eleanor not as his sister-in-law, but as a woman from the start. Realizing that made my blood turn cold. Well, there was no reason he wouldn’t. To Frederick, Eleanor and I were both—
—just unfamiliar women he’d met for the first time.
Back then, simply walking at Frederick’s side had overwhelmed me so much that I’d seen nothing else. His kindness made my heart flutter. I believed he was sincere with me.
Frederick, now back at my side, spoke lightly.
“Belissa, how was your time with Grand Duke Lucian?”
I glanced at Frederick. His green eyes were fixed forward, tinged with light and amusement. Did he notice something between me and the Grand Duke? It didn’t seem like he suspected that. I clenched my fists.
“I don’t understand what you mean. The Grand Duke merely helped bring me here. I’m grateful to him.”
“I heard you visited the Grand Duke’s residence recently.”
I couldn’t tell what Frederick was thinking as he looked at me. A snake of a man.
“Yes. I did visit him.”
My heart thudded loudly—so loud I feared he could hear it. Frederick smiled silently, watching me, urging me to continue.
“I had something to ask him. I was curious when Your Highness would be arriving, and… what you might prefer.”
“You went to see the Grand Duke for that?”
“Of course.”
I tilted my head innocently.
“What else would I go to him for? We barely spoke on the ship. Isn’t that right, Eleanor?”
Dragged back into the conversation, Eleanor blinked wide-eyed again. She looked between us and then nodded awkwardly.
“That’s right, Your Highness. My sister didn’t get along well with the Grand Duke. There were even rumors they might have fought.”
Eleanor exaggerated her shrug.
“Of course, they were just rumors. At first, my sister couldn’t handle being on the ship and stayed in her room. Later, she only read books. It was a book on imperial common language…”
“Ah.”
Frederick cut Eleanor off.
“I see. Then what did the Grand Duke say?”
Why is he so persistent?
“I didn’t get an answer.”
“Why not?”
“Because I didn’t get to see him. I entered the residence, but he was too busy—never saw his face.”
I added as pettily as I could, as though offended, even speaking poorly of the Grand Duke.
“It’s not like the Grand Duke is busier than the Crown Prince. It was rude. He did come find me afterward, but…”
“And what answer did you hear then?”
“He told me to ask you myself. Instead, he scolded me for leaving the mansion without permission and supposedly worsening my health.”
“That sounds like him. The Grand Duke has always been like that. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
Thankfully, he didn’t seem suspicious.
“It’s all right, Your Highness.”
More nerve-wracking conversation followed. To an outsider, it might have seemed harmless, but because it was Frederick, every word carried weight. Damn it—did I really have to endure three more weeks of this?
I felt like I’d volunteered for my own suffering. I barely resisted the urge to dump everything on Eleanor and run.
When we returned to the mansion, I vomited until only bitter stomach acid came up.
“Don’t… tell the palace doctor. Ever.”
A snake. I scrubbed the back of my hand until my skin stung before finally leaving the bathroom.
The moment Lucian heard that Crown Prince Frederick had arrived in Florence, he assigned people to follow him. Frederick’s movements led to Florence’s red-light district, then to the princess’s quarters, and today, he had gone on a stroll with the princess and her sister.
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
Frederick never moved without intention. Visiting the red-light district right away meant he had another motive besides chasing women.
“It seems the crown prince is digging into Florence.”
“Should we block all information?” Matteo asked coldly.
Lucian was, in truth, suspecting that the source of the siren poison that spread through the navy had been the imperial family.
“…No. We should leak just enough. Spread the news quietly—how many naval officers died, and from what.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Let’s see how Frederick reacts.”
Lucian’s eyes sharpened.
Besides that—Frederick had met Princess Belissa. Belissa was a woman filled with venom toward the imperial family. He still hadn’t learned what had happened to make her react that way upon first arriving in the Boswell Empire.
For now, he intended to work with her. But if their goals ever diverged, Lucian planned to use Princess Belissa as a sacrifice.
He would not tolerate being toyed with.
“…I heard you intend to take the princess with you. What of the imperial family?”
“You think the emperor can do anything to me?”
Lucian laughed coldly. His icy blue eyes gleamed sharply.
“He’s a coward. He won’t do anything. If anyone should worry, it’s the younger one.”
There was a high chance Frederick had engineered the siren-poison incident. That child who constantly bared his teeth at Lucian—how laughable.
“For everything I’ve lost, Frederick will lose as well.”
Lucian’s lips curled.
“Do whatever it takes with the little fish that follows him around. Kill him, turn him—anything.”
Matteo’s eyes lit up. He too held a grudge against Frederick. The fallen soldiers were Matteo’s friends and comrades. Valec, especially, had served the Grand Duke with him for a long time.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Revenge must be fair—balanced.
Lucian had lost Valec, so Frederick should lose his aide as well.
Lucian stroked his chin.
“Belissa and Frederick, hmm…”
He wondered what kind of expression she wore while spending time with Frederick. His lips lifted faintly.
Her small face had been half big eyes…
“She looked far more at ease on the ship.”
What was Belissa’s reason? Lucian found himself curious.
