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Chapter – 02
A brief silence passed.
Yulion tilted his head slightly to the side and raised one hand to brush near his ear.
“Could you repeat that? I think I misheard you.”
He then raised his eyebrows as if he truly didn’t understand.
I let out a low sigh and spoke again.
“Please, propose to me, Your Highness.”
This time, my voice carried even more clearly than before, and Yulion immediately stopped his playful demeanor.
His golden eyes flickered as if inspecting me, then a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
“Does the Lady have a habit of joking at the risk of her life?”
“I’m serious, Your Highness.”
“In that case, I shall answer sincerely as well. No.”
“Is it because I am a Cassian?”
“You know well. Your family, the rumors surrounding you… none of it benefits me. I will take the Crown Princess the people desire.”
Yulion’s voice was firm.
The spark of curiosity in his eyes faded, replaced by a creeping displeasure across his features.
I decided to provoke his curiosity once more.
“How about unlimited tarot supplies?”
As expected, the light returned to Yulion’s eyes.
Tarot—the medicine barely keeping the current Emperor alive from an inexplicable illness.
Yet it only grew on Cassian lands, particularly the ones I manage, which meant Yulion still had no control over the Cassians.
He regarded me with mild interest for a moment before regaining his composure and speaking indifferently.
“The Imperial family is wealthy, Lady.”
Clearly, that wasn’t enough.
I played another card.
“I can give you everything I own. Just marry me for one year.”
“No. You are a Cassian lady, aren’t you? What I desire is not found in the Cassians.”
Yulion despised the House of Cassian.
Though he didn’t openly act hostile, he was known as a righteous Crown Prince who truly cared for the people.
It was natural that he disliked the infamously cruel Cassians.
“Let me say it again. If I were to take a notorious villainess like you as my Crown Princess, the people would lose faith in me. Do you, Lady, have the leverage to risk all this?”
Every word he spoke was accurate.
Instead of answering immediately, I pulled a stack of documents from my possession.
Placing them on the table with a thud, I caught Yulion’s gaze.
“I shall place Cassian into your hands, Your Highness. This is just a small part.”
Yulion silently picked up the documents.
As he turned each page, the crease between his brows deepened.
‘Still, he controls his emotions well.’
These papers contained the scandals I had gathered about the Cassians. I had only brought a fraction of the information I could use for bargaining with Yulion.
Included were events connected to my mother’s death.
“….”
The silence was so thick it felt as if even the air had stopped breathing.
Finally, after closing the last page, Yulion’s breath revealed his unease.
“Why go to such lengths to marry me?”
“As you can probably guess, I share the same goal as you.”
Revenge for my mother.
A justification anyone could understand.
“Then we wouldn’t need to marry…”
“There’s no stronger bond than marriage. Whatever we do together, if we’re husband and wife, no one will suspect a thing.”
The House of Cassian was not a place to be trifled with.
If Yulion and I, with no prior connection, suddenly met frequently and collaborated, my father would surely grow suspicious.
Yulion was not unaware of this.
He lifted his gaze from the documents and met my eyes, golden eyes flickering with anger. At that moment, I was certain: Yulion could not refuse my proposal.
As expected, he let out a dry laugh and gestured to the sofa across from him.
“I never thought I’d reverse my words. Sit, Lady. It seems we’ll have a long night.”
He began to call for attendants but paused.
“Ah, you’ve had them all sleep. I cannot even offer a cup of tea.”
So Yulion knew everything.
Still, I had arranged for it to be as discreet as possible.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, smiling brazenly.
It was just a sleeping potion; soon everyone would awaken.
Yulion shrugged as if uninterested and moved on to the main matter.
The entire empire was abuzz.
The news that the Crown Prince had proposed to the Cassian lady spread like wildfire.
The Empress opposed it, and even my father, Duke Cassian, was taken aback.
He subtly pressured Yulion to take the first daughter, Liliana, instead.
But Yulion was adamant. “It must be her,” he insisted, swiftly pushing the marriage forward.
Before long, we were the couple at the center of the century’s most sensational romance.
“The Crown Prince, bewitched by a villainess, marries today.”
The newspaper blared my wedding announcement in enormous print.
I skimmed the headline and tossed the paper aside.
The carriage jolted slightly, and Jenid picked up the fallen paper, placing it on the seat.
“By the way, should we really not bring the other children?”
Worry appeared on Jenid’s face. She referred to the maids who had served me at the Duke’s estate.
“They all have families. If they enter the palace, they won’t be able to see them often.”
Jenid herself had family, though only her older brother and nephew. They had been estranged for a long time.
“They wanted to follow you. What if you’re lonely in the palace?”
“I’m not a child,” I replied, though a faint smile escaped me.
The maids, including Jenid, had served my mother and me since I was young; they were family to me.
For that reason, I pretended to be harsh and cruel toward them in public, to keep them safe from danger.
Likely, only Jenid and the maids knew how much I valued them.
We had a close bond, even if outsiders only saw a wicked lady tormenting helpless maids.
“Also, as commoners, it would be hard to serve as palace maids. It’s better for them to find another place.”
With that, I expelled my loyal maids from the Duke’s estate, giving Jenid recommendation letters.
By now, they were likely settled in their new workplaces.
Jenid’s face still carried concern.
“You must be tired too, Lady.”
“I’m fine. Jenid is enough for me.”
Jenid, though serving as my maid, was actually a high-ranking noble: the younger sister of Count Vuen. She was never meant to be a servant.
Yet she had stayed by my and my mother’s side out of gratitude alone.
“I’m glad you say that… I am always grateful to you, Lady.”
After the Vuen family had collapsed, Jenid had almost died but was saved by my mother. She stayed by my side after my mother’s passing.
Even now, I could never fully repay her kindness.
Lost in thought, the carriage reached the gates of the palace.
“Lady, we have arrived,” said the driver.
Jenid opened the carriage door, and sunlight poured in.
I lifted the hem of my white dress slightly and stepped out slowly.
“Everyone, stand at attention!”
The guards shouted to the citizens. All was quiet.
Adjusting my eyes to the sunlight, I surveyed the surroundings.
People of all appearances surrounded me.
The one thing they shared: their gaze was on me.
“The Cassian Lady!”
“The empire is doomed. How could a villainess become Crown Princess…”
“She even expelled all her former maids!”
“Quiet! Do you want to be taken by the Cassians?”
“Who cares? Do they even know who I am?”
“Exactly! When else can we insult her freely?”
The hostile murmurs all criticized me and my house. I forced a bitter smile.
As expected.
“This way,” said the guard, guiding me near the palace gate.
The procession would march from the gate to the inner garden, where Yulion awaited.
He was already there when we arrived.
‘…as dazzling as ever.’
Even under bright sunlight, his black hair stood out.
Beneath it, his clear golden eyes—the imperial golden eyes—gazed at me with a strange brilliance.
“Rohiriel.”
Yulion called my name, greeting me with the charming smile created for public appearances.
I stepped closer to place my hand in his.
“Villainess!”
A sharp cry came from the crowd.
I instinctively turned to see a girl atop a rock, glaring at me.
“Because of the Cassians, I’ve lost everything!”
Her voice, full of malice, echoed. Before I could react, a dull impact hit my head.
Something slimy trickled down.
It fell at my feet: a broken egg, raw and stinking.
“Your Highness!”
Jenid hurried over to clean it, but I was already stained.
Before I could process the situation, her shouting continued.
“Bring my parents back, wicked Cassians!”
I brushed off the liquid as best I could.
The girl, in a robe, holding a basket of eggs, glared and shouted.
“I, Hemion Martin, a noble, cannot recognize a villainous Cassian lady as Crown Princess!”
Hemion Martin.
Hearing the name, I immediately understood.
Her family had gone bankrupt due to a new business venture by my father.
The Martins were minor nobles, yet they defied my father.
The result: ruin.
The parents died in a rockfall while being exiled, and the heir supposedly survived an assailant’s attack.
‘I heard rumors she survived somehow.’
I had planned to investigate her; now, seeing her in front of me was fortuitous.
“The Cassians are murderers! Cruel, vile, and…”
But Hemion seemed unusual.
Her voice trembled, yes, but her face was pale as if near death.
‘And one leg seems crippled.’
A guard approached.
“Let her go!”
She struggled, suddenly tearing her skirt.
Everyone froze, including me, as her thigh was revealed.
A long gash ran down her leg.
Dark red veins spidered out around the wound—a serious injury.
I grew even more concerned—for a different reason.
‘That wound… this isn’t normal. Perhaps…’
I narrowed my eyes to get a better look.
“See, I’m dying. Wicked Cassians did this to me! Please, let it be known that the Martins were victims… cough!”
Hemion vomited blood from her mouth.
The earth beneath was quickly stained black, and the surrounding weeds withered.
I dashed toward Hemion.
This was unmistakable.
A deadly, spreading poison.
It coursed through veins, causing them to bulge beneath the skin in a floral pattern. It destroyed the body and poisoned those nearby, notorious even in the underworld.
‘But it’s a poison our family often uses.’
Damn it. These Cassians never help.
Even on my wedding day, they make me the center of chaos.
I suppressed a curse and grabbed the guards who tried to take Hemion away.
“Crown Princess, Your Highness…?”
“Step aside. Now!”
If this continued, everyone nearby would be poisoned.
Judging from the vomited blood, time was critical.
Hemion was nearly unconscious.
I pushed the guards aside and laid her down.
She struggled feebly, but the strength of a dying person was minimal.
Jenid followed silently, whispering anxiously.
“Is she alright? Surely the Duke….”
It was implied: my father had orchestrated this.
If I treated her, would it raise suspicion?
But this was different.
“Precisely why it’s fine. In front of all these people, Hemion Martin has been accused. If I heal her, the Cassian family’s honor is restored under the guise of mercy.”
If Hemion died publicly, people would suspect the Cassians.
But if I, the Cassian daughter, treated her in front of everyone?
‘I’ll even be praised.’
Foiling my father’s plan and earning praise? I had every reason to act.
“Jenid, the bag.”
“Here it is.”
I quickly opened the medical kit Jenid brought and took out the tools.
Then I called out to the crowd gathered around.
