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Chapter 36
“With one paltry reason of being a savior, if you presumptuously interfere as if you are the ‘master’ of the Castraine family, and not a ‘guest,’ don’t you know what will happen?”
“I have clearly sworn to protect Her Highness the Princess.”
“Even if I become an enemy of the Castraine family?”
“That would never…”
“Why not? I am the daughter of His Majesty the Emperor.”
Titania raised only the corners of her mouth in a faint smile.
“I’m glad you’re not telling a ridiculous lie that I am more important than the Castraine family.”
“…Your Highness the Princess.”
“You don’t have to pretend to like me, either.”
“I have always thought of Her Highness the Princess…”
“When I mentioned the <Glorianna’s Insignia>, you pointed a sword at my neck. That wasn’t so long ago, was it?”
Raymond suddenly realized. On that day, the day he felt Titania’s change more deeply than anyone else, she hadn’t been surprised at all, even when Raymond drew his sword. It was as if she thought he would kill her for the sake of the Castraine ducal family.
“I’ve played along to some extent for Vivi’s sake, but… that’s enough. Let’s just keep things simple. Don’t say anything ridiculous about giving me the position of the next mistress.”
“Isn’t that the position you wanted?”
Ah, yes. Raymond, who had been unable to properly question Titania about her noticeable change in attitude, finally asked. At first, the change was strange but not bad, and then, because Raymond himself had deceived her without giving his true feelings, he couldn’t ask if she had been deceiving him. And then…
“If I say I want it, will you give it to me?”
Her voice was calm. Raymond just gasped for air. It was a simple question, but it strangely made his stomach burn.
“…Yes.”
“Don’t do that.”
Titania laughed lightly. Like a flower born from the corpse of the girl who had longed for Raymond’s side with her life. Like a flower seed scattered by the wind. Infinitely light.
“Yes, an imperial fiancée who would even die for Vivi… Thinking about it that way, it wouldn’t be so bad for the Castraine family. Hmm, I’ve never thought about it like this before…”
Titania murmured lightly, as if lost in thought.
“But no.”
“We are officially engaged.”
“Find someone you love and marry them.”
“…Pardon?”
At those words, Raymond couldn’t help but be surprised.
“You love Vivi, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“How would you feel if Vivi had to marry someone she didn’t love, a mechanical political marriage based on gains and losses?”
“Our family doesn’t have to force Vivi into a political marriage…”
“A political marriage is enough with you, Young Duke. So, it’s fine. We’ve been going in circles for a while. I’ll just make it clear here. Young Duke, I plan to break off our engagement later.”
This time, Raymond was genuinely surprised and asked again.
“…Pardon?”
“I’m telling you now that I don’t plan on marrying you because I plan to break off our engagement. It’s not a situation where I can break it off right now, and I just didn’t say anything because I was worried you might misunderstand.”
Titania’s attitude was unhesitating, as if she was speaking about something she had been thinking about for a long time.
“……”
“I understand the intention of His Grace the Duke of Castraine, who purposely delayed the marriage after I came of age, you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“’I will break off the engagement for you somehow if you want, so just hold on for now.’.”
“……”
An odd sense of defiance rose within Raymond at Titania’s words. He wanted to explain that it wasn’t like that. But Raymond couldn’t deny it. He just bit the tip of his lip and barely managed to answer.
“I cannot… deny it. But…!”
“His Grace the Duke also cares for you in his own way. It means you don’t have to unconditionally sacrifice yourself for the family.”
Her voice was dry, as if it had nothing to do with her.
“Why are you going this far? Well, I guess that’s what you’re wondering…”
Titania blinked her eyes tiredly.
“I have lived without owing anything to Her Majesty the Empress. I believe I don’t owe anyone in the imperial family anything. It may have been a shameful life for the Castraine ducal family…”
Her pale face was more like a porcelain doll than a person. Her eyelashes cast a shadow below her pale cheeks.
“So, you know. With just a little pity. Just a little compassion. Because of the hand that was held out to me, saying, ‘I can help this much.’ I hate it when someone has to make a sacrifice. I really hate it. I hate the thought of anyone having to suffer even the slightest loss. I hate the thought of someone thinking that helping that young, ignorant, foolish princess is a price they have to pay.”
“……”
“You may not understand, Young Duke.”
A smile that was as precarious as walking on a knife’s edge, yet so clear.
Yes, it was like a child who had grown up without receiving anyone’s love, gritting their teeth while listening to another child their age boast about their parents’ love. When they tripped and fell, they would grab the hand that someone held out to them to get up, but they would never shed a single tear.
They would grit their teeth and smile, saying, ‘Thank you for helping me,’ but they would never cry and cling to that hand, saying, ‘It hurts, it’s so hard, please help me.’
She would not beg for affection, compassion, or pity. She would not let others see her in such a miserable state. She would rather die than see someone regret holding out their hand to her.
“I have my pride, you know.”
Looking at her face, Raymond realized. Titania Sol Kite Hamastion would never, no matter what happened, beg Raymond for affection. She would absolutely never again struggle and expose her true feelings from the bottom of her heart like she used to.
It was a desperate and resolute look, as if she would rather choke herself and die in a coffin if she knew her love was a burden to someone.
“As you expected, here is the evidence of the curse found near the Rose Palace courtyard.”
Everything went smoothly. Imperial Consort Cleo thanked the First Knight Captain, who was politely bowing and presenting a black object in a square box. Everything was going according to plan.
“When is the High Priest arriving, Natalie?”
“I’m told he’s on his way now.”
“Hmph, so leisurely in a situation like this. Well, it’s not bad, I suppose.”
Imperial Consort Cleo was in a good mood.
This matter was particularly rushed. It was also a strain. It was not easy to obtain evidence of a curse containing such ‘dark power’ in just half a day. But secretly bringing it into the palace and burying it near the Rose Palace in the middle of the night was no big deal.
Well, she had already had a similar plan in mind. That’s why, when she heard there was a strange sword in the Rose Palace, she immediately thought of connecting it to a curse. She had no idea that the sword she had gifted would become an issue, but what did it matter? Titania would never be able to say that Cleo had gifted her the sword.
The apprentice priest, who usually resided by Imperial Consort Cleo’s side to take care of her skin, and Lady Natalie, the head maid, watched as the incriminating evidence was dug up from the Rose Palace. The Imperial Consort checked her clothes again. Instead of the revealing clothes she usually enjoyed, she was dressed in a relatively modest navy blue outfit. She took off the Ocean of Stars she would often wear in her hair and instead wore a plain-looking sapphire hairpin.
Today, she had to play the role of a mother, weeping and pleading because her precious princess, whom she considered her own daughter, had been cursed.
Soon, High Priest Marzid would arrive. Then, she would greet him and charge into the Empress’s palace.
“Hmph, do they think they’re the only ones who can bring in a High Priest? It’s even funnier that they have the excuse of bringing in a High Priest when she’s been bedridden for three days and hasn’t woken up!”
Imperial Consort Cleo probably guessed that Princess Titania had already woken up. The claim that she hadn’t woken up yet must be a lie. She still didn’t know if the accident was a self-inflicted incident—she had ordered an investigation, but the Castraine ducal family had dealt with it so thoroughly that there was nothing to be gained. She had to find out the current state of that child who was stuck in the Empress’s palace and wasn’t moving. Who would have known that she would use the maids, who were just pawns to test her, in such a way?
Seeing that clever move, Cleo guessed that Titania was probably alive and well.
But that was a tactic they could only use if they mistakenly thought they were the only ones who had a High Priest.
There were a total of five High Priests. Two of them were old and half-retired. There were only three young High Priests. Among them, High Priests Ilian and Marzid were famous. The other one had become a High Priest at a young age but was so engrossed in his research that he didn’t engage in outside activities.
So, the important ones were these two, Ilian and Marzid.
High Priest Ilian was a representative of the commoner faction, who advocated for opening healing sanctuaries for people of other statuses besides the nobility. High Priest Marzid was a celebrity born into a long line of famous families, who said that the divine power given by God was a reward for the noble actions of noble people and should only be bestowed upon those who were worthy, in other words, the nobility.
With these two factions at the forefront, a power struggle was in full swing within the temple.
