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Chapter 6
“Oh my. It seems our innocent Vanessa isn’t very skilled at this sort of thing. How troubling.”
“Have I fallen behind again?”
Vanessa twirled a strand of her neatly braided blond hair with faint embarrassment. Her violet eyes—clear like embedded amethysts—shone with an innocent, harmless curiosity.
Empress Dowager Beatrice clicked her tongue as she looked at the girl, widely praised as the most beautiful in Valder.
What was she to do with such a naive child?
The Blanchett House was one of the three great noble families of Valder.
While House Clark earned glory through honor and knighthood, and House Crowley produced countless scholars who secured influence through intellect, House Blanchett amassed immense wealth through calculation and business acumen.
The Duke of Blanchett focused mainly on medical investments and herbal development, to the point where his fortune now rivaled even the Emperor’s.
It was widely surprising that such a cunning man had raised such a pure and innocent daughter. Her composed, delicate beauty and gentle temperament had, through endless rumor, set many noblemen’s hearts ablaze.
And the Empress Dowager had already marked her as a future empress candidate, which made it impossible for others to openly show ambition.
“You must be poorly informed if your attendant cannot even bring you basic information,” the Empress Dowager remarked.
“Oh dear, Your Majesty. I have no interest in the spoils of war.”
“Everyone may not speak of it openly, but they all know what it is. The ‘Star of Lethe that never fades.’”
The Empress Dowager took a slow sip of champagne, lowering her voice.
“The Star of Lethe… ah! You mean that princess?”
“Yes. So it is said.”
“I heard rumors that she has already ‘fallen into His Majesty’s hands.’”
A shadow of sorrow quickly crossed Vanessa’s face.
“Oh, Vannette. With such a lovely girl as you before him, how long can my son keep wandering? Don’t worry. And… if she truly fell into his hands, she would likely already be dead.”
The Empress Dowager added calmly:
“Think of her as a decorative piece for the victory celebration. Nothing more.”
“Your Majesty, it is not that—I simply… feel sorry for her.”
Her golden lashes trembled faintly.
“She must be terrified. If she truly is a royal, this must be her first experience of such hardship. As a fellow woman, I cannot help but feel pity…”
“Tsk tsk. Are you worrying about a prisoner now?”
The Empress Dowager clicked her tongue again.
“Kindness is important in an empress, but you are far too soft-hearted.”
Vanessa smiled sweetly and bowed politely.
“Your Majesty, His Majesty will soon arrive at the honor table, so I shall take my leave for a moment.”
Still smiling beautifully, she rose from her seat.
* * *
Neither honeyed coffee nor delicate sugar sweets could hold Vanessa’s attention.
She found the rumors unsettling. In this dazzling victory celebration, more than half of the nobles’ whispered conversations revolved around “that woman.”
Lovely Vanessa.
An innocent, ignorant noble girl.
Such a title was the carefully polished image she had spent years building. Even before her debutante, she had always been the center of every room, every gaze, every moment.
So why did it feel like this?
An irritation, like a thorn in her side.
Why was a prisoner from a fallen kingdom drawing more attention than the most beautiful and beloved lady of all?
“Star of Lethe that never fades?”
How absurd. How undeserved.
Vanessa had heard enough to understand the situation. The Emperor’s chamber. Survival. The prisoner who supposedly walked out unharmed.
‘Why did he show interest? Why did His Majesty bring her here?’
That silver hair—supposedly rare and luminous—must be dull and cheap. Those cherry-pink eyes? Nothing more than a fallen kingdom’s mark of disgrace.
But Vanessa knew better than to dismiss it as a trivial rumor.
A woman who had survived the Emperor’s chamber.
That alone could become a dangerous symbol.
She scanned the hall and soon spotted Count Yanin, a notorious nobleman known for his depravity and ruined reputation.
Let’s see what kind of fate you have.
Taking a glass of champagne from a passing maid, she approached him casually. As expected, Yanin noticed her immediately and smirked, his gaze shamelessly sweeping over her.
If I become empress, I’ll start by tearing out those eyes.
Yanin, unaware of her thoughts, stepped closer.
“Well, well. The angel of Valder herself graces me.”
Vanessa smiled brightly, unbothered by his lack of manners.
“Oh my, Lord Yanin. It’s been a while. You acquired that golden falcon at the last auction, didn’t you? Are you planning something rare again this time?”
The count swelled with pride instantly.
The most beautiful lady in Valder remembered his achievement—and even praised it.
It had been a lucky purchase, but he convinced himself it was skill. And now even Vanessa recognized his worth.
As expected, this clever little lady sees me properly.
He stroked his beard with feigned modesty.
“Well, I had intended to take it easy today…”
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret.
“The auction catalog has already been distributed.”
“Oh my! I had no idea!”
“There are quite a few rare items. Relics from the Lethe royal family. Ancient art, cursed stones… and of course…”
Vanessa’s eyes sparkled as though hearing something new.
“The most valuable among them… would be the prisoner. The princess herself.”
“Then I suppose, Lord Yanin, you will be aiming for the finest prize?”
Vanessa drifted beside him as if casually strolling. She praised his judgment repeatedly, subtly feeding his ego, her cheeks even flushing at times as though she were eager to learn from him.
“W-well, there are rumors she once belonged to His Majesty…”
“Oh my! Then you intend to save that poor princess?”
The count paused.
Wait. That’s how it sounds?
“After all, unsold auction goods lose value and are discarded, don’t they? You’re thinking of that, aren’t you?”
“I suppose… yes.”
“And by doing so, you are relieving His Majesty of a troublesome item as well.”
After a moment’s thought, he nodded again.
Vanessa half-covered her face with a fan and subtly signaled nearby noblemen. They understood immediately: she was in an uncomfortable conversation she could not gracefully escape.
Before long, a man driven by “righteousness” stepped in and escorted her away as if rescuing her.
By the time Yanin finished thinking, Vanessa was already far away, turning back with a radiant smile.
* * *
Why is her name here?
Leiden paused as he casually scanned the auction catalog in his hand.
Some mistook his cold grey eyes for memories of war. Others panicked, thinking he had found a flaw in the document.
It was no wonder—Leiden Valder had never once shown interest in auction items before. Not even the catalog itself.
‘She was in the prison.’
The woman who had spoken of fate as though she understood everything, acting like a witch spinning schemes—then panicking like a child when things turned against her.
‘What was I going to do with her again?’
Was it to scare her further and see if she would still dare speak of curses against the Emperor?
Or to coax her into behaving like a proper prisoner?
Whatever it was, he had intended to see her again.
‘That might have been the problem.’
Leiden traced his memory.
Had he, perhaps in some moment of madness, ordered her to be included in the auction?
If so, his old friend—the knight commander—would have stopped him.
As a faint trace of conflict crossed his face, a man with blue eyes watched everything unfold from a distance.
