TVWD 54

Chapter 54.

Meanwhile, Jacques, who had run after the tearful Merina, was busy trying to comfort her.

“Don’t cry, Merina.”

“Hic, sniff.”

“Come now, stop crying, hmm?”

“Everyone’s whispering about me behind my back, sniff, what—what should I do?”

“You should just honestly admit your mistake and apologize to Lady Levian.”

“Why should I apologize to her? She’s the one who’s awful!”

Merina cried even harder, and Jacques let out a sigh.

“But wasn’t it your fault?”

“Me? What did I do wrong? Lady Levian was looking at me like I was beneath her! She didn’t say it out loud, but her expression said I was stupid!”

Was that true?

Jacques slowly retraced his memories, but Merina’s words were false.

In fact, Rosia had looked flustered when Merina interrupted her mid-sentence.

“I don’t think that’s right.”

“Your Highness, you’ve been acting strange lately. Why are you always taking that woman’s side?”

Merina was right. Rosia was the bad woman who bullied kind Merina. He should be angry with her.

“No.”

“What?”

“Rosia Levian did nothing wrong.”

She was someone who walked through slums without caring about filth splattering her clothes, helping anyone in need. A woman with such a kind heart couldn’t possibly be bad.

Not that Merina was bad either—but what she did just now was wrong, wasn’t it?

“Your Highness, how can you take her side in front of me? You’ve always stood up for me.”

Jacques felt dizzy.

“Last time too, you got angry at me… sniff, I’m so scared, I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Merina’s eyebrows trembled as she tried to show how terrified she was.

Her frail appearance, as if she might faint at any moment, stirred his sympathy—but only for a moment. Then came a wave of irritation.

“…Noisy.”

“Pardon?”

“I said you’re noisy! Your voice makes my head pound!”

He was supposed to always treat the fragile Merina gently—so why did her behavior annoy him lately?

Right, last time she had gone into his mother’s cherished garden, and now she’d lied.

Then why had he ever felt obliged to be kind to this woman?

Merina Ikel was the sister of the woman who had taken his mother’s place.

Strange. He had no reason at all to treat her kindly—so why…?

“Go.”

“Your Highness?”

“Go before I lose my temper even more!”

Still clinging to the notion that he shouldn’t yell at her, Jacques pushed Merina away before he exploded.

Merina, startled by his sudden anger, burst into fresh tears and ran off into the darkness.

Left alone, Jacques clutched his head in both hands.

The reasons why he had to be kind to Merina, and why he had to be angry with Rosia, spun around and around in his mind.

Including everything he had ever done to Rosia.

“But that woman is the wicked one who torments Merina.”

So Rosia must have been at fault again. Poor Merina…

But in his mind’s eye appeared Rosia standing up for an old man being beaten, and cradling a newborn baby in her arms.

He had once thought she did it just to catch his attention—but Rosia seemed far too familiar with the slums for that.

And if she had wanted to appear kind, she would have spread rumors of her own good deeds. Yet Jacques had known nothing of them until he saw them himself.

That meant her actions were not fake, nor for show—they were genuine.

Her image overlapped with that of Merina, sobbing pitifully.

“Ugh…”

A wave of nausea and headache washed over Jacques.

* * *

The imperial ball had concluded successfully.

“Good. That’s three more months.”

My life span—extended by another three months.

After subtracting the two and a half months I’d already spent since my regression, I had seven and a half months left—now plus three.

The rumors around Merina would die down soon enough, so I’d have to keep reviving her as the “villainess” periodically.

Ted and Scylla’s eventual appearances were exceptional cases, so I didn’t count those.

“And if I attend a few more parties with Scylla, even the emperor won’t want to make me the crown princess.”

He’d never want to place a woman rumored to be romantically involved with another man in that position—and besides, he’d have to consider Scylla’s opinion.

This morning, Scylla had sent me flowers—lily of the valley, which shouldn’t even bloom this season. I was sure word would spread through my mother to all of society soon enough.

People would gossip that Scylla and I were indeed something special, and the crown princess seat would drift even farther away.

“How useful you are.”

Of course, I couldn’t rely solely on that tool, but for now, he’d be quite handy.

Since there was one more imperial ball I was required to attend, I sent Scylla a message inviting him to accompany me.

As soon as I wrote down the date and request on parchment, the ink shimmered white and vanished.

<Of course I’ll come!>

A cheerful reply appeared moments later.

He must’ve enjoyed yesterday’s ball immensely.

“But what’s really bothering me…”

…is the crown prince’s attitude.

He should have naturally taken Merina’s side and criticized me—yet he acted fairly instead.

Based on his previous behavior, it was impossible that the Tower Master or Duke Lisianshus had intervened.

“Cal’s odd too…”

Ever since he didn’t give Merina the flower crown, I’d found him suspicious—and his behavior only grew stranger with time, straying further from what I knew.

I understood what all this meant.

The male leads—who were supposed to be blindly devoted to Merina—were deviating from their roles.

“Now, of all times? Or… is it only now beginning?”

Was this the hidden card given at the final round?

For a moment, hope flared. But this wretched world loved to toy with me.

Just when I’d started to believe I wouldn’t die anymore, it had taken Lexian from me.

I couldn’t conclude yet that the crown prince and Calvin had turned against Merina.

Unlike Lexian, they hadn’t openly opposed her; and since this round was already twisted in many ways, it might just be a ripple effect.

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

“Kkyuuu~!”

Sensing my unrest, Lys bounded onto my desk with a soft thump.

“Lys, I told you not to come up here.”

At my mild scolding, the silver fox only tilted its head innocently.

“You understand everything but pretend not to.”

When I tapped its damp little nose, it immediately rubbed its head against my hand, so adorably I couldn’t bring myself to scold it again.

“Don’t you dare spill the ink bottle, okay?”

“Kkyu.”

After making sure Lys had settled safely on the edge of the desk, I pulled the stack of papers toward the center. Ted had organized them neatly—a hand’s breadth thick—so I had to work quickly.

“We’ve secured enough blue diamonds, so we can export those. As for the red ones…”

It’d be best to wait before releasing them.

If too much supply hit the market at once, the value would plummet.

Merina’s movement reports matched my predictions perfectly. She was still meeting various men and attending tea parties.

The crown prince’s movements weren’t recorded as thoroughly as hers, but there was enough to keep tabs on him.

“Nothing’s changed from what I know.”

So yes, I couldn’t relax.

The last item was a letter from Mark.

Since Father’s signature was at the top, he must’ve already read it.

The first part summarized the eastern jewelers’ progress, and the latter part read—

“Another spy caught in the territory, huh.”

As expected.

After I personally captured the first infiltrator in our lands, Mark had been combing through every ledger and servant.

Since then, four more attempts had been discovered—outsiders trying to tamper with our family records—and each time, Mark had uncovered them.

Three more to go, if memory served.

Fascinated by the movement of my pen, Lys crept closer, watching intently.

Lately I’d been waking up feeling lighter—not something one month of training could achieve. It had to be thanks to Lys.

Even aside from his holy energy, having a small creature wagging its tail nearby brought a sense of calm.

“Just wait a bit longer, Lys. Soon, you’ll get to wander outside too.”

“Kkyu.”

Understanding perfectly, Lys rubbed his soft fur against the back of my hand, and I couldn’t help relaxing.

Once I finished sorting all the documents, I went through the invitations the butler had filtered.

I divided them into the ones I’d answer personally and the ones I’d have Cassie handle—when something unexpected caught my eye.

The sender was…

“Merina Ikel?”