GMHYS 12

Chapter 12

Frederick, instead of meeting Bellisa the next day, secretly summoned Eleanor. In truth, sneaking someone out of the mansion was not difficult.

Eleanor obediently followed Frederick’s aide who had come to fetch her.

“I greet Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

Eleanor bent her knees. Frederick’s smile deepened.

As the aide had said, the women of Medici were all beautiful. Bellisa, who had stood in the sunlight yesterday, had looked so divine she resembled a goddess of the sea. Her wavy jet-black hair, eyes like the ocean, and radiant white skin glowing under the sun…

Frederick licked his lips.

Remembering her pearl-like fair skin made his appetite stir.

And Eleanor, standing before him now, was beautiful too. She did not exude the holy aura of her sister, but as someone rumored to carry the blood of a siren, she was certainly lovely.

A smaller body and face compared to her sister, and an image entirely different from Bellisa’s.

“You called for me?”

Her eyes were brimming with fear, like a frightened doe.

Frederick narrowed his eyes. And Eleanor… would be much easier. Princess Bellisa was to become his lawful wife. In contrast, Eleanor was nothing more than the king’s illegitimate child. Just how large was this woman’s ambition?

Frederick’s lips parted.

He smiled softly, eyes narrowing. If Eleanor’s desire was small, she would be useless. If her desire was large, she would become a valuable card. Frederick extended his large, elegant hand.

“Thank you for coming, Eleanor.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened.

Thanks to the sunlight, Frederick’s hand appeared haloed with light. Eleanor was not naïve—she didn’t know whether that hand was gilded in gold or whether it was a hand that might drag her into the belly of a sea monster.

But if she didn’t take that hand?

Eleanor was not a noble princess. Would Frederick offer his hand again?

She bit the inside of her cheek. His intentions were obvious—he wanted to take control of Eleanor and use her to keep Bellisa under watch. Now that she looked again, Frederick’s eyes were filled with seductive charm. Eleanor trembled as though hesitant.

“Your Highness…”

Frederick narrowed his eyes.

“Eleanor, don’t think too hard. As far as I know, Princess Bellisa is quite strict.”

How true. Bellisa never deviated from the proper path. There had been countless moments when Eleanor felt suffocated beside her.

“Don’t you also need a little room to breathe?”

A room to breathe.

“What… do you mean by that?”

Eleanor asked with the expression of a frightened deer and murmured in a trembling, wet voice:

“Eleanor is afraid of betraying her sister. Sister protects Eleanor, but Your Highness does not.”

Her tone was almost like a pout.

“We’ve only met twice.”

“Then will this serve as an answer?”

Frederick removed his own brooch and placed it in his palm. A top-grade emerald sparkled. Frederick distinctly witnessed the desire rising in Eleanor’s eyes.

As expected.

Those who have nothing always have reasons for clinging to those who have much. Eleanor also had her own motives for following Bellisa to Boswell. Mesmerized, she grasped the brooch.

Frederick pulled her wrist forward.

The strength he used was nearly rude in its force.

Even as she was dragged into Frederick’s bedchamber, Eleanor did not release the brooch. It bore the crest of the Imperial Family—Frederick’s token of promise. Eleanor burst into a bright smile. She should never have set her sights on someone like Grand Duke Lucian.

Hadn’t an even greater catch just fallen right into her hands?

Medici had a saying: even if it’s a stone bridge, knock before crossing. But they also had another: do not miss an opportunity. Eleanor had no intention of missing this one.

Frederick pushed Eleanor onto the sofa and climbed over her. Even as his hands carelessly pushed up her dress, Eleanor smiled. With arms pale as a mermaid’s, she wrapped them around him and drew him into her embrace.

The next morning.

Frederick’s aide stood with his hands behind his back in front of the carriage—one the Crown Prince had sent. His mouth was dry with tension. Frederick was unmistakably insane. He had played with Eleanor all day yesterday, then sent her back at dawn in this very carriage.

As the one who had dragged Eleanor—her body limp like a water-soaked cotton doll—from the carriage, he felt guilty on Frederick’s behalf. His heart stung.

He thought he had long discarded any conscience he’d had while serving Frederick his whole life, but apparently a bit still remained.

Bellisa descended, having finished preparing. Pale and white, yet undeniably beautiful. Her gaze, moist like the carved fragments of the sea, made the aide smile awkwardly. Frederick had betrayed this woman.

“His Highness the Crown Prince sent me, Your Highness.”

“…You must be working hard.”

Her frail, weary voice deepened the aide’s guilt. Behind Bellisa stood Eleanor, who also looked exhausted. Suddenly, the aide felt sorry for Bellisa. She had come to this distant foreign land to marry, her family was a mess, and her future husband was even worse.

And to make matters worse, the courtesan he had embraced on his first night in Florence was now here. Frederick never wasted his handsome looks.

Perhaps because he was descended from divine blood, his stamina was impressive. Sweat gathered in the aide’s clenched fists.

Bellisa’s life was truly unfortunate.

He swallowed and forced himself to speak.

“His Highness has sent the wedding dress. It was crafted with utmost care by the one who makes Her Majesty the Empress’s garments. If Your Highness accepts it, their Majesties will also be pleased.”

Eleanor’s face stiffened. Bellisa…

The sunlight reflected off her face, hiding her expression. The aide clenched his teeth. He wanted to tell Bellisa everything this instant and urge her to cast Eleanor out. But the aide valued his own life too much to do something so foolish.

So he chose to look away.

“Oh, the wedding dress. Please convey my gratitude to His Highness and Their Majesties.”

Her voice flowed like a song. The aide bowed.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Eleanor.”

“Yes, Sister.”

“Take the dress and go inside first.”

“Yes.”

Watching Eleanor carry the wedding dress, the aide barely choked down his sense of betrayal. Bellisa handed the aide a modest amount of money.

“Thank you for your work.”

It was a customary gesture, but for a commoner like him, it was unbearably painful. With trembling hands, the aide accepted the money. Bellisa began to turn away with an unreadable expression, but the aide quickly spoke.

“His… His Highness treasures the beauty of Medici very much…!”

His voice was so small it seemed fragile. Bellisa paused, then turned her head. She smiled gently. The aide had no idea what that smile meant. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

I’ve done everything I can.

He turned and departed from the mansion.

In the past, she had never thought deeply about what Frederick’s aide had meant. In Medici, she had been considered the most beautiful mermaid. People admired her, praised her beauty.

Perhaps she had become too accustomed to it.

She hadn’t even thought to question it.

She stared at the back of Eleanor, who was spreading the wedding dress across her bed. Too much had happened for her to interpret the aide’s words naively.

Frederick had already reached for Eleanor.

“Sister, isn’t the wedding dress beautiful? Things made by the Imperial Family truly are different. If only Eleanor could wear a dress like this for her own wedding someday…”

Her stomach twisted. Eleanor’s voice felt like it was scraping her insides. Did she commit that act because she wanted to wear a dress like this?

She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but none she could.

Bellisa bit her teeth hard. A bitter metallic taste spread across her mouth.