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Chapter 2
Cedric recalled the princess as she had reviewed the contract.
Contrary to the Empress’s worries, she had gone through the contract meticulously, maintaining a serious and calm expression.
Whenever something was ambiguous or hard to understand, she asked questions repeatedly to clarify it, and she wanted to negotiate the parts she felt were unfavorable to her.
She was nothing like the Empress’s description of someone too immature to handle real-world matters.
Even when faced with the pressure to live quietly, she had nodded obediently without a trace of distress or shame on her face.
Her calm and prudent demeanor—so different from the rumors that she suffered from an acute sense of inferiority due to lacking divine power—had left a strong impression on him.
“Well, that’s a relief. Now that the child has grown, she has started hiding many things even from her mother.”
The Empress had laughed bitterly, remarking that children always felt like babies no matter how much they grew.
Cedric had drunk his tea in silence. He had no intention of dancing to her absurd tune.
This marriage had been brought about because Crown Prince Justin desired it.
If not for the benefits granted to the ducal estate, he might have delayed the marriage even further.
Marrying the princess came with fifteen years of various tax exemptions and benefits. Honestly, considering that, he could have tolerated the princess throwing tantrums in the ducal estate.
(Still, if you don’t set clear boundaries, there’s no telling how someone might behave.)
The princess might be docile at first, but who knew if she would someday misuse the power of the ducal estate.
It wasn’t as if he would just stand by and watch the princess ruin his house, but Cedric couldn’t simply put his blind trust in a princess shrouded entirely in rumors.
“Please take good care of the princess.”
“I assume the ceremonial robes and jewelry can be rediscussed with Her Highness?”
“If you must.”
Though visibly displeased, the Empress knew she could push her greed no further and took a step back.
After offering his formal farewells, Cedric left the Empress’s palace and headed straight for the princess’s quarters.
“How did it go?”
“We’ve decided to coordinate with the princess.”
At the duke’s words, Marcel swallowed hard.
The princess’s residence was an annex tucked away in the very deepest corner of the imperial palace.
A place where no one ever visited.
When the princess had visited the ducal estate previously to negotiate the contract alone, Marcel had been unable to hide his bewilderment at her excessively plain appearance.
Though wearing a tattered and modest dress, the princess looked like a noble porcelain artifact brought from the East.
The wrists protruding from her short sleeves were, to exaggerate a bit, as thin as the brooms used by the maids.
He had even worried whether such a frail-looking princess would be able to get along well with the duke.
“Are we allowed to just walk in?”
“The Empress gave us permission. It should be fine.”
Cedric gazed at the distant princess’s residence.
“To claim they cherish her so much, isn’t she placed in a place that is neglected far too much?”
At Cedric’s scathing remark, Marcel smiled awkwardly.
Anyone who had an inkling knew.
What kind of treatment the youngest princess, devoid of divine power, received within the imperial palace.
No, not just the imperial palace—high society as a whole looked down on the princess.
(Even if she lacks divine power, a princess is still a princess. It means we retain all the advantages gained through a marriage with the imperial family.)
A satisfied smile brushed against Cedric’s lips as he looked at the rundown annex.
He thought of those who had sneered at the power-deprived princess and torn into the imperial family.
Once the princess married, her divine power would slowly fade away anyway.
Therefore, for Cedric, it was much better that the princess lacked divine power than to deal with unpredictable variables.
He didn’t care about the lowbrow gossip of lesser people. What mattered to him was the core essence.
If anything, thanks to people’s prejudices, he was able to acquire the princess and secure benefits for his house.
“At least I know this isn’t love.”
Stepping into the princess’s courtyard, Cedric looked around as he spoke.
“There isn’t even a guard watching the place? Isn’t this a bit much?”
Though they had stepped right into the princess’s residence, no one stopped them.
Marcel let out a sigh as he inspected the hallway. The corridors showed a lack of proper maintenance, with dust piled up in every corner.
“Could there be no attendants?”
At the adjutant’s expression of doubt, Cedric’s gaze shifted outside the hallway. Faint laughter drifted to his ears from a distance.
He strode purposefully in the direction of the sound.
“Where are you going?!”
Startled, Marcel hurriedly followed behind the duke.
“Look at this! My goodness, what a large and plump fruit.”
Plowing through the bushes past the garden, an excited woman’s voice could be heard.
“It seems they bore fruit thanks to the rain the other day, I’m so glad.”
“It looks very juicy and sweet.”
Cedric watched the princess as she casually wiped a fruit handed to her by a maid against her clothes.
Crunch.
The sound of the princess biting into the fruit reached Cedric’s ears.
She wore an even more worn-out dress than when she had visited the ducal estate, her blue hair left naturally untied.
Crunch, crunch. The sound of the princess biting into the fruit echoed across the garden. Cedric followed that sound and took a step forward.
Rustle.
A large foot stepped on a twig. In an instant, silence fell over the garden.
“Who is there?”
A man, appearing to be the princess’s attendant, cautiously asked in the direction where Cedric and Marcel stood.
“I have come to see Your Highness.”
Revealing himself, Cedric bowed at the waist toward the princess.
(Why is he here?)
Ivana’s eyes trembled minutely at Cedric’s abrupt appearance.
Surely he hadn’t just seen her eating fruit freshly picked from a tree, right?
“To what do I owe this visit?”
Ivana put on a dignified voice to mask her embarrassment.
“There are matters regarding the wedding we need to discuss.”
“Wasn’t the duke supposed to handle all of that on his own?”
It was the duke who had told her not to worry about it in the first place.
She hadn’t had any objections, so she wouldn’t have minded even if the wedding was small-scale or made her look shabby.
So what on earth was this about all of a sudden?
Ivana eyed Cedric suspiciously.
“This isn’t something to discuss outside, so it would be better to go inside.”
There were only Solar and Anthony in her residence, but the duke didn’t need to know that fact.
Ivana had no choice but to guide him inside.
Walking ahead of the duke, Ivana tried her best not to grip her skirt too tightly.
Glancing down, she felt relieved to see she was wearing her shabby clothes. When she was in the main palace, she had deliberately worn worn-out and frayed garments.
Because Ivana Snow Windsor, devoid of her divine power, had been poor and miserable in the imperial palace.
The person who had heralded the beginning of that poverty was her most trusted nanny.
The person who whispered that she loved her every morning, kissed her good-night at night, and whom she had believed would stay by her side for life.
That woman had slowly started pilfering things, starting with the tiniest items.
When Ivana asked about missing rings and necklaces, the nanny claimed they had been sold because the palace maintenance budget had decreased.
From a certain day onward, only Anthony entered her room to clean.
When Ivana tilted her head in confusion, the nanny told her that the palace’s situation had grown more difficult, causing the other maids to quit.
She told her not to worry, as she would take responsibility for everything.
A young Ivana had blindly trusted the words of the nanny who remained by her side.
After all, unlike her family who had abandoned her after the Day of Manifestation, the nanny was surely going to stick with her until the end.
However, the situation gradually worsened.
The food coming from the kitchen dwindled, and as her body grew, her clothes became too short and small.
Only then did Ivana realize something was wrong and tried to meet her parents, but no one would see her.
By then, the nanny and attendants had already stolen her belongings and fled.
In the end, only Solar and Anthony remained by her side.
Using the authority of a princess, she accused them of corruption at the Imperial Court of Justice, but no investigation was ever launched.
A forsaken, title-only princess discarded by the imperial family held no power.
A princess’s authority stemmed from the affection and interest of the emperor—the holder of power.
Her life had completely turned upside down after the Day of Manifestation.
Conscious not to look shabby, Ivana stiffly lifted her chin.
“Come in. Anthony, bring some tea.”
The tea she ordered Anthony to make was brewed from carefully dried herbs harvested that spring, so it wouldn’t be too terrible to drink.
Swallowing a sigh, Ivana sat down on the sofa.
“Now, please tell me why you’ve come here.”
Ivana asked, putting strength into her eyes. No matter how unfavorable this marriage was to her, she had no intention of being pushed around by him.
After all, the duke was the one who had suddenly shown up unannounced.
“The Empress told me that the ceremonial robes were chosen by you.”
(The ceremonial robes… chosen by me?)
Wasn’t the duke supposed to take charge of everything related to the wedding? Ivana quietly observed his face.
His sharp, fierce gaze looked no different than before.
“I didn’t ask for anything special.”
That was all she could say. Since the bride didn’t even know the wedding date, it couldn’t be helped.
At her response, the duke fell silent.
What on earth had the Empress told him?
