Chapter 3.1

“You evil bastard, you stupid bastard, you unprincipled bastard.”

‘Or maybe not? Maybe he does have principles?’

I couldn’t believe my eyes that he could be so easily swayed.

‘Then what was that expression for?’

Yes, Adrian was definitely confused. He was quite bewildered that he didn’t hate me, the person he was supposed to hate to death. Inside the carriage heading to the capital, I cursed Adrian, tried to understand him, and then cursed him again. Then I gave up, thinking what was the point of all this.

It was the marriage ban issued by the great Quinze-Nouais Imperial Family.

The marriage ban that Adrian’s father, the previous emperor, had issued was quite famous among the people of the capital. The previous emperor, who had fallen for Adrian’s mother at first sight, issued a marriage ban throughout the empire to get her, a woman who was already engaged. I remember being quite surprised by the massive scale of it when I read the history book to show Adrian.

Why on earth did the Crown Prince want to get engaged to me so much? And what was the reason for those ridiculous conditions?

After three days on the carriage, I arrived at the Quinze-Nouais Imperial Palace. The Crown Prince, who I thought would come to meet me right away, did not appear for some reason.

When I got out of the carriage, a court lady wearing a different colored uniform from the passing maids came to get me. I was then guided to a palace with an elegant design and more vibrant colors than the other palaces I had passed.

“Where is this place?”

“This is the Hyacinth Palace, Her Majesty the Empress’s palace.”

“The Empress’s palace? Why here?”

“All Crown Princess candidates are to stay in Her Majesty the Empress’s palace.”

Before I could ask anything else, the court lady turned her head. At her firm expression, I had no choice but to follow her.

I was soon guided into an incredibly lavish drawing room and was given a few instructions before meeting the Empress. And just as my tea had cooled down enough to drink, the Empress appeared. I stood up and curtsied.

“The most wise moon of the Empire, Her Majesty the Empress…”

“No, that’s enough. Sit.”

As soon as she sat down, she stopped me from curtsying and began her assessment.

“Hmm… Your face is quite pretty, but… there are plenty of beauties like you, so what on earth moved my son’s heart like this?”

The Empress, a beautiful middle-aged woman who would be second to none in the Empire, was as brilliant as the sun, befitting Sebastian’s mother. And I couldn’t answer her words.

“He’s a child who’s never begged for anything he wanted. There must be a reason why he’s acting so unreasonably.”

But she didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer and continued to speak.

“Claire Ianster, the second daughter of the count’s family. An illegitimate child who grew up in an orphanage, the crazy bitch of the Ianster family, who rejected the Crown Prince’s engagement and ran away for two years, and now she’s the fiancée of the Grand Duke of the North, isn’t she?”

In just a few sentences, the Empress confirmed my identity, and I expected a flood of accusations to follow.

“Well, that’s not bad.”

“Pardon?”

I knew how stupid my face must have looked without even seeing it.

“The Empress is not a position for a woman with an unblemished moral character. The Empress… must be strong.”

“No, no matter what…”

“The problem is Aurelian Quinze-Nouais.”

At Adrian’s name, I concluded that I could no longer just sit and listen. It was in front of the Empress of the Quinze-Nouais Empire. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t trembling.

“Your Majesty.”

“What?”

“As you know, I am the fiancée of Aurelian Quinze-Nouais.”

“But you haven’t even had the engagement ceremony yet.”

“Pardon?”

“Let’s be clear. Weren’t you first engaged to my son? Lady Claire Ianster of the Ianster family?”

“But that was a promise between the Imperial family and the Count’s family, not a promise I made to myself. And I am not the only daughter of the Ianster family.”

The Empress’s eyes showed a spark of interest.

“Are you saying that your engagement to Aurelian Quinze-Nouais is a promise you made to yourself?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

I answered with a feeling of ‘if I die, I die’ and squeezed my eyes shut. A brief silence passed.

“So that’s it.”

I opened my eyes at the Empress’s voice, and I saw that she was smiling with only one corner of her mouth raised.

“Pardon?”

“The reason why my son says he must have you. He’s never been denied anything he wanted since he was a child. Would a person be any different from a thing?”

“But Your Majesty, people are not things.”

“Not things? Do you know what your position is right now? The Ianster family is the final weight on the scale. If my son wants you, there’s no reason for me to put that weight somewhere else.”

“What do you mean?”

“And I like you quite a bit.”

“Pardon?”

The Empress, as if she had finished what she wanted to say, stood up, holding the armrests of her chair with both hands. And after a few steps, she turned back and added one more thing.

“Especially that look in your eyes.”

“What kind of…?”

“The look of someone who lacks for nothing. I despise desperate girls.”

With that, the Empress left without giving me any time to say a word. I was then guided back to a room in the annex of the Empress’s palace by the same court lady who had brought me here.

“Where is this place?”

“This is where the Crown Princess candidates stay. You must be tired from your long journey, so please rest for today.”

I hastily grabbed her as she was about to turn and leave with a stubborn expression.

“Then what’s my schedule for tomorrow? I’d like to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince privately.”

“The Crown Princess candidates are not allowed to meet with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince privately.”

“Ha, I see. Then at least tell me the schedule for tomorrow.”

The court ladies of the Empress’s palace were selected only from women who were unmarried for some reason, widows, or divorced noblewomen. They were not people I could speak to lightly.

“Tomorrow, all five Crown Princess candidates will gather. I will come to get you when it’s time. And I am Lady Claire Ianster’s personal court lady. I will do my best until you become the Crown Princess.”

I wanted to meet the Crown Prince right away, but for now, I decided to back down. I planned to ask for a private audience and beg him to let me go when I saw him tomorrow. It wouldn’t be easy, but I wouldn’t back down either.

***

The Empress’s palace was beautiful and extravagant in every room. The room I was staying in was quite excellent, but I didn’t have the luxury to enjoy its beauty. The Empress’s attitude, even from our brief meeting that afternoon, only heightened my anxiety.

I was the last to arrive among the Crown Princess candidates, and according to the court lady, there were four other candidates besides me. Night fell, but I couldn’t sleep. And at the root of my sleeplessness, of course, was Adrian.

‘They said he was hurt, but where? Did Adrian see my letter? Why was he hugging Celine? Could he have just been comforting her because she was sad I had disappeared?’

I shook my head. He wasn’t the kind of person to be so sad about my disappearance that he’d cling to another woman. If anything, he would have come after me with his sword.

‘Then, is he waiting for me?’

Yes, I still hadn’t heard a word from him. Whether it was out of hatred or resentment, Adrian didn’t want me to leave.

‘But now that Celine is there, have his feelings changed?’

My heart was in a state of confused frustration, so I stepped out onto the balcony. The wind was much warmer than in the North, reminding me that I was back in the capital. When things get complicated, I just have to focus on one thing. I will keep my promise. I said I would return, so I will do my best.

Just then, I saw a familiar man standing below the balcony. His hair, the color of the sun, shone in the moonlight.

“Claire!”

Behind the Crown Prince, who was waving at me, were countless attendants. And the most noble bachelor in this world was standing there, looking solely at me. His attitude was quite cheerful for someone who had forcibly brought me here.

***

The next day, a bizarre scene unfolded in the Crown Prince’s audience chamber: five women with black hair were lined up, sitting down. Black hair was not a common sight in the Quinze-Nouais Empire. And all the women gathered here were young ladies from noble families who had their coming-of-age ceremonies last year.

All the ladies except me held their breath, waiting for the Crown Prince to appear. When the door opened, the Crown Prince strode in. We all rose at his appearance. He paused for a moment, then as soon as he saw me, he rushed forward and hugged me tightly in front of everyone.

“You came.”

I was filled with the urge to push him away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it with so many eyes on us.

“There are many watching. Please let me go.”

“I don’t want to. They said I can’t see the Crown Princess candidates as I please. My mother hid you in her palace and wouldn’t let me see you, so I was desperate.”

He laughed happily. Since things had come to this, I quickly asked for a private audience.

“Then please dismiss everyone. I have something to say.”

He slowly pulled away from me and gave a command to the others.

“Everyone except Lady Ianster may leave. Oh, and thank you all for your hard work today.”

They were likely flustered, but no one dared to say a word. That was how powerful the Imperial Family was. After everyone had left, I sat on a sofa and immediately began to scold him.

“If you were going to do this, why didn’t you just say you were looking for an eighteen-year-old woman with black hair and purple eyes?”

“That would have been too obvious.”

I stared at him in disbelief as he laughed as if the thought alone was amusing. I felt the urge to give a knuckle sandwich to the maddeningly cheerful Crown Prince. He smiled and raised his hand, and a tea set was soon prepared for him.

“I want to drink the tea my fiancée-to-be makes… just like before.”

He was referring to the time two years ago when I brought tea leaves to the palace. I let out a sigh and poured him a cup of fragrant tea. This male lead was definitely a character who was impossible to hate, despite his actions. He should be using this charming character to win over Celine, not me.

“You still make a variety of expressions in front of me.”

The Crown Prince mumbled with delight. He seemed genuinely happy. I poured the remaining tea into my cup and decided to ask what I was curious about.

“By the way, Your Highness…”

“When will you ever remember my name?”

I pretended not to hear him and continued.

“Have you by any chance met my sister… Celine Ianster?”

“That again. Yes, she was quite beautiful. But what does that have to do with me?”

“Why doesn’t it? The Crown Prince’s fiancée was originally the legitimate daughter of the Ianster count’s family. Not an illegitimate child like me.”

For the first time, the Crown Prince’s smile vanished as he looked at me. In the novel, the Crown Prince, Sebastian, hated Claire. Despised her, to be more precise. After Claire branded Adrian’s face, she became engaged to the Crown Prince the following year. But the Crown Prince was indifferent to her, and she would torment Adrian even more.

Then, the following year, Sebastian saw Celine at a social event and fell in love with her at first sight. I remember how cruelly Sebastian treated Claire in the novel to break off their engagement and get engaged to Celine. So, if he had already seen Celine, shouldn’t he at least have some interest in her, if not love? Celine’s beauty was that overwhelming.

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

The Crown Prince knew why I was bringing up the topic, so he chose to avoid it.

“Your Highness.”

***

Of course, the Crown Prince had met Celine.

For two years after Claire disappeared, the Crown Prince was constantly pressured to take Celine as his Crown Princess. The Ianster family was that important, and the position of Crown Princess could not be left vacant for a woman who had disappeared without even having an engagement ceremony.

But Count Ianster didn’t rush to bring Celine before him. After all, he had already gone to the Count’s mansion and declared his engagement to Claire, hadn’t he? It was at a ball held at the Imperial Palace that he saw Celine for the first time. She was as beautiful as the rumors said. But the Crown Prince’s impression of her ended there. She constantly hovered around him, but the Crown Prince deliberately avoided her gaze. He even asked a young lady from a different count’s family for the first dance, not an Ianster. Sebastian felt suffocated at the ball without Claire. So he dismissed his attendants and went out to the Imperial garden.

Smack!

A sharp sound that should not have been heard in the Imperial garden echoed. When he quietly got closer, he saw Celine, her face a fiery red, with her hand raised. And then, the same sound was heard again.

“How dare you step on my skirt? Now, again! This bitch still hasn’t learned her lesson.”

A maid staggered and fell over, and words that didn’t suit Celine’s angelic appearance at all came from her mouth. It was so jarring, as if a different person were inside her.

But the Crown Prince did not intervene. There was no reason to make an issue of a noblewoman slapping a maid, not even a lady-in-waiting. But the Crown Prince knew. The maid had not stepped on Celine’s skirt at all, and Celine just needed someone to take her anger out on.

Just then, Claire’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“Your Highness, did you not feel anything at all after seeing my sister?”

“What on earth am I supposed to feel after seeing your sister?”

“I’m asking if you felt nothing.”

“I did feel something.”

The Crown Prince didn’t miss the look of anticipation in Claire’s eyes at his words.

“What was it?”

“That she doesn’t resemble you at all.”

“That’s all?”

This time, she made an openly disappointed expression. What on earth was Claire thinking?

“No.”

“Then?”

“She gave me goosebumps.”

Claire sighed and looked down at her teacup, as if she had given up. And then, she looked up at the Crown Prince again.

“You know that I didn’t want to come here, don’t you?”

The smile he had barely put on his face completely disappeared.

“I want to go back to the North.”

“…No.”

“Please let me go. I am Adrian, no, Grand Duke Aurelian’s fiancée.”

“Then, what about me?”

“Pardon?”

“What am I supposed to do? You and I were practically engaged two years ago, and I spent all that time looking for you. What am I supposed to do now?”

Unlike his pleading words, his face was quite fierce. I was speechless. As he said, it was as good as the Crown Prince himself coming to a noble family and proposing. It was a family’s honor that had to be repaid for generations. And since I had run away, I was in a situation where I couldn’t say a word even if they were to execute my family for treason. But still…

I wanted to see Adrian’s face just one more time. I wanted to look at his face and ask him what I was to him. It was a foolish lingering feeling, but I couldn’t help it. And even if I couldn’t go back to Adrian, I couldn’t just become the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

“Is the reason you want to go back because you have feelings for him?”

The Crown Prince was silent for a moment as I didn’t answer.

“I’m sorry, but even if that’s the case, I can’t let you. You will stay at the Imperial Palace.”

He was about to get up as if he wouldn’t listen to another word. I quickly reached out to appease him.

“I’m sorry. But I’m also very confused right now. So please, at least send me back to my house.”

“No. I can’t trust you.”

“I won’t disappear. I just need some time.”

I grabbed his wrist tightly. I felt him take a sharp breath. And I knew. That I would soon be able to go home.

“I want to go home.”

“But!”

“I miss my father.”

I drove the final nail in the coffin.