IELNDMH - Chapter 91 < Camilla Returns >
I Ended Up Living Up Next Door With My Ex-Husband
There was still about an hour left until the masquerade ball began, but preparations to welcome the guests were already fully completed.
'The banquet hall of the Mansion of Light was such a wonderful place.'
It was a beautiful sight that I had never seen before.
This was because, after possessing Rebecca's body, I stopped hosting banquets in person for a while.
I was amazed again as I looked around the huge banquet hall.
Ivory marble with geometric patterns was spread out on the floor, and on top of it, a red carpet stretched from the entrance to the banquet hall to the podium.
The ceiling, depicting mythological figures from the ancient human world and the demonic world, added grandeur to the huge banquet hall.
At that time, I was looking around the inside of the banquet hall, lost in sentiment.
I suddenly felt a soft texture under my palm.
I was slightly startled and lowered my head to see a cute round face looking up at me with a smile.
“Your Highness!”
“Bianca, are you ready already?”
“Yes, of course! As a member of the family, I also have to welcome guests!”
Bianca shook her head loudly with a slightly flushed face.
Her nanny smiled softly as she looked at the child.
“You’ve been so excited since last night that you couldn’t sleep well. You woke up earlier than usual this morning and spent the whole time getting dressed up and even practicing dancing.”
Bianca slightly lowered her head and smiled brightly, as if she was embarrassed by her nanny's testimony.
Since it had been a long time since a banquet was hosted at Twins Castle, the expectations seemed to have inflated several times.
'If I had known that Bianca would like it this much, I would have hosted banquets for me often.'
There was not much time left until the divorce was announced.
It was at that time when I suddenly became bitter at the thought that this masquerade ball would be the last banquet I would hold in the Twins family.
Two familiar figures were seen passing through the entrance of the banquet hall.
It was High Priest Diat, dressed in a slightly more colorful high priest's uniform than usual, and Cedric, who was indifferently listening to what he was saying.
Then, for a moment, a look of joy appeared in Cedric's eyes when he saw me.
“Rebbe...”
Cedric's lips, which were reflexively trying to call my name, were slightly closed for a moment.
I winked at him as if warning him.
‘Did you forget? I say that in front of High Priest Diat, we must pretend that we are not on good terms with each other.'
Fortunately, Cedric seemed to immediately understand the meaning of my glance, cleared his throat slightly, and spoke in a blunt tone.
“Grand Duchess, you came first.”
High Priest Diat, who was standing next to Cedric, also slightly bowed his head and greeted me.
“Your Highness, congratulations on hosting the banquet. With such a beautifully decorated banquet hall, you can clearly see the hard work of the host, Her Highness the Grand Duchess.”
He lightly kissed the back of my outstretched hand, and I slowly withdrew my hand and nodded at him.
"Thank you. I hope that today’s banquet will remain a pleasant memory for High Priest Diat.”
Bianca then exchanged greetings with the High priest in a polite manner, as befits a Princess from the Twins Grand Duchy.
The child's eyes immediately turned to Cedric, who had been waiting, and to me.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke, Your Highness the Grand Duchess. Did you two follow the same dress code?”
Bianca slightly curled her lips and asked, as if just imagining it made her feel good.
Cedric was wearing a black tuxedo with beads on the collar of his jacket, and I was wearing a sparkling black halterneck dress with small jewels embedded throughout the dress.
I glanced at the stiffened face of the High Priest of Diat and hastily waved my hand.
“Is that possible, Bianca?”
When Bianca heard those words, her face grew even brighter.
“So you didn’t even have it set up separately, but you ended up fitting it so perfectly? It’s clear that you two are a match made in heaven!”
Bianca's cheeks turned red, 'As expected, the fate of being chosen by Manakin is different!' She chanted.
The more this happened, the more the High Priest Diat's countenance gradually darkened.
I hurriedly shook my head at Bianca, but she was so excited that she poured out her thoughts about how well-matched Cedric and I were.
And finally, a story that would greatly offend the High Priest of Diat flowed from Bianca's lips.
“Of course, you two look the most beautiful and happiest when you are together. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. Is that right, High Priest Diat?”
Bianca, who was eight years old, would have wanted to boast about her family's harmony throughout her life.
The child's pure heart was understandable, but the problem was that the person she was bragging about was wrong.
As expected, a nasty suspicion once again took root in the eyes of High Priest Diat, who looked at Cedric and me alternately.
'Gosh, this is a bit dangerous.'
However, I couldn't control Bianca.
To do that, I will have no choice but to tell the child about our divorce.
Cedric was nodding his head slightly with an expression that seemed to deeply sympathize with Bianca's remarks.
After thinking about it, I eventually let out an awkward smile and winked at High Priest Diat.
“High Priest, would you like to speak with me for a moment?”
The High Priest Diat had a clear look of disapproval on his face, but he eventually followed me.
Only after I got far enough that Bianca couldn't hear did I open my mouth directly to High Priest Diat.
“I have a favor to ask. The High Priest probably already knows about the relationship between my husband and I, who have been estranged for a long time, but as you can see..."
I glanced at Bianca and then back at High Priest Diat.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke and I have decided not to show such an appearance in front of Princess Bianca as much as possible for the remaining time. It’s over anyway, so there’s not much left to fight, and I don’t want to hurt the still-young Princess Bianca any further.”
“...”
“So, I hope that High Priest Diat will pretend not to know our estrangement in front of Princess Bianca. If Princess Bianca finds out, she will be very upset.”
High Priest Diay barely nodded with the corners of his mouth lowered.
“I’m glad if it’s true to what Your Highness said...”
He paused for a moment, and his eyes became harsh again.
“Could it be that your relationship has not improved as Princess Bianca said?”
High Priest Diat spoke once again with a voice filled with caution.
“You should know that treating me like a fool is the same as treating the Pope that way. By any chance, the two of you are continuing an inappropriate relationship without my eyes...”
“This is unpleasant, High Priest Diat.”
As I spoke in a stern voice, High Priest Diat's mouth fell shut in an instant.
He seemed to be taken aback by my cold attitude, which had always treated him gently.
I kept my cold gaze fixed on him and continued my words slowly.
“Even though I was divorced, I was once the Grand Duchess of the Twins Grand Duchy. Please do this as if you are watching a prisoner or teaching a child.”
“... I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. But now, as the Pope’s representative...”
“... And especially as the Pope’s representative, you had better be polite...”
“I’m glad if it’s true to what Your Highness said...”
He paused for a moment, and his eyes became harsh again.
“Could it be that your relationship has not improved as Princess Bianca said?”
High Priest Diat spoke once again with a voice filled with caution.
“You should know that treating me like a fool is the same as treating the Pope that way. By any chance, the two of you are continuing an inappropriate relationship without my eyes...”
“This is unpleasant, High Priest Diat.”
As I spoke in a stern voice, High Priest Diat's mouth fell shut in an instant.
He seemed to be taken aback by my cold attitude, which had always treated him gently.
I kept my cold gaze fixed on him and continued my words slowly.
“Even though I was divorced, I was once the Grand Duchess of the Twins Grand Duchy. Please do this as if you are watching a prisoner or teaching a child.”
“... I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable. But now, as the Pope’s representative...”
“... And especially as the Pope’s representative, you had better be polite...”
As I took a few steps closer and narrowed the distance between me and High Priest Diat, my eyes became even more fierce.
“At least so as not to tarnish the Pope’s reputation as a representative.”
I continued speaking in a low voice as he finally shut his mouth.
“The sharper the sword, the more likely it is that if you do not swing it properly, you will hurt yourself, not your enemy.”
"...”
“Is it okay to recklessly abuse the precious authority given to me by the Pope?”
A look of nervousness appeared on the face of High Priest Diat.
As expected, the word ‘abuse’ seemed to trigger his feelings of guilt.
Since he was the High Priest of Diat who respected the Pope more than anyone else, he would quickly feel uncomfortable just knowing that he could put pressure on him.
“I understand Your Highness’s words well. Please be generous and forgive my rudeness...”
“...Of course. I'm glad we can communicate well. Then, I understand that you will grant my request earlier.”
When I answered in an overbearing manner, High Priest Diat nodded his head obediently and returned to Cedric's side.
As I watched his back, a long sigh of relief eventually escaped my lips.
'For now, I've managed to scare them off, but once suspicion deepens, High Priest Diat will definitely try to find evidence that Cedric and I became lovers.'
There was only one way to calm his already growing doubts at once.
At that moment, I made eye contact with Cedric, who was watching me from afar.
I gave him a signal by nodding my head.
'No matter how you look at it, it looks like it's today, Cedric.'
The day had finally come to show off the acting skills we had been honing.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time, the border of the Northern Twin Grand Duchy.
The Bold family's carriage slowly stopped in front of the soldier post guarding the area's border.
Duke Bold opened the carriage window halfway and held out a card proving his identity.
Recognizing that he was the Grand Duchess's father, the soldier immediately returned his identification card and bowed his head.
“It looks like the Duke is also here to attend the masquerade ball today. Are you here alone?”
"Exactly. It hits me where it hurts again.”
When Duke Bold joked, pretending to have a friendly smile, the soldier also smiled softly in response.
“Most of the invited guests have already passed through here. The Duke has just arrived at the entrance, so unfortunately you will be a little late for the banquet.”
“The main character is usually the last to arrive.”
“Haha, I see. Then, I hope you have a pleasant banquet.”
The soldier knocked lightly on the carriage door and said, 'Confirm!' As he shouted loudly, the soldiers blocking the entrance retreated to both sides in perfect order.
It was around this time that the carriage finally passed through the entrance to the Grand Duchy and started running again.
The Duke of Bold, who had been staring out the window with his chin resting, slowly parted his lips.
“We have passed the entrance to the Twins Grand Duchy, so you can rest in peace from now on.”
As soon as the words were out, someone hiding under a large cloth on the other side slowly revealed herself.
Her long white blonde hair was tied up in a stylish bun, brilliant green eyes, and an outfit that is flashy yet subtly vulgar as if it was intended to make her look like the hostess of a wealthy family.
Duke Bold looked at the other person who looked quite unfamiliar and snorted slightly.
“How do you feel about returning home, Camilla?”
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