"If the teacher doesn't suit you, just change."
The Queen Mother winked at Madame Pinatelli as if telling her to stop talking.
"By the way, Medea. For the only Princess of this country, you look too simple."
Plain dress. The accessory is a small pearl necklace.
Medea's appearance contrasted with Birna's elaborate attire from head to toe, which further attracted the Queen Mother's attention.
'She's a Princess in name, but I can't leave her alone. Medea doesn't have her mother to take care of me like Birna... I have no choice but to take care of it."
Taking that as a signal, Madam Pinatelli opened a large velvet box.
Brilliant accessories wrapped in purple velvet were revealed.
'This is grandmother's jewelry box, right?'
Birna's eyes widened as she glanced nearby. It was only when there were national events that she could barely observe them.
"Medea, choose one you like. I wi give this to you as a gift."
It was an indirect apology for what happened in the past.
Medea quietly looked at the Queen mother. As if she was trying to gauge her intentions.
The Queen Mother felt like she had been slapped when she saw that her granddaughter, rather than liking the gift she had given her, was looking at her first thoughts.
Is she so obsessed with this child that he acts like this?'
"Don't worry, just take your pick."
After saying one more word, Medea nodded.
"Thank you, Grandma."
The look inside the jewelry box was as cautious as that of a kitten.
Birna was happy.
In the jewelry box that the Queen Mother opened, there was even a coronation tiara and a necklace that Birna had begged her to give to her when she got married someday.
'Why is it so precious to someone like Medea!'
Every time Medea's eyes touched each jewel, she became impatient as if something of hers was being taken away.
She really did not want to give up even a small pearl the size of a fingernail to Medea.
What if that gloomy thing takes the best thing first?
"Sister, If there's nothing you like, I'll choose first."
In the end, Birna couldn't bear it anymore, pushed Medea away, and quickly took the seat in front of the jewelry box.
Birna snatched the large necklace as if she might steal it.
"Grandma, I love this sapphire necklace! Don't you think it will go well with my eye color?"
At that moment, the Queen Mother's eyebrows twitched.
"This is outrageous!"
"Ha, grandma?"
Birna opened her eyes wide.
Her grandmother, who had never raised her voice even once in her life, suddenly scolded her?
"I didn't say it was a gift to you. Even though it's not your turn, where did you learn to carelessly touch the Princess?"
"Well, because she doesn't choose. I just..."
The lips were pouting, and the embarrassed eyes were full of resentment.
"You mean your sister? You need to properly address her as Your Highness! Birna Robin Claudio!"
Bang! The Queen Mother slammed the table.
'Even when Medea came in earlier, Birna didn't even say hello, but kept lying on my lap.'
Like a master who receives an example from his subordinates.
"Is your last name like Valdina since you are in this palace? Medea is the host you must serve before she is your relative."
"Ha, grandma...!"
"How long were you going to act recklessly like a fool? Do you, as Claudio, not know the manners of a military god?"
A cry that fell like frost hit her chest like a dagger.
Birna could never have imagined that her grandmother, who always looked after her pretty, would even criticize her for her humble status.
"Hurry up and apologize. Be polite to the Princess."
Birna pursed her lips at the Queen Mother's words. Her eyes were wide with anger.
It's shameful to be scolded in front of Medea, so she even has to apologize to that girl?
And that too with all due respect?
'What on earth did I do wrong?'
She was even the daughter of a King and a Princess.
This means that her blood is much nobler than that of a half-baby girl who has a mere dancer as her mother.
"How could my grandmother do this to me? Do it too much!"
Birna resented the Queen Mother and ran away.
"Hey, that immature thing. Tsk."
The Queen clicked her tongue and turned to Medea.
"Your Majesty. Shall we bring Duke Claudio's daughter back?"
Madam Pinatelli asked anxiously.
"Leave her alone. Now she also needs to understand the difference in status. How long are I going to let her behave like that?"
The Queen Mother grumbled.
After the incident at the palace, she didn't like Claudio's mother and daughter as much as she used to, but she could still feel the underlying affection in them because they didn't go out of their way to catch them and scold them.
Medea, who was looking at the Queen in silence, opened her mouth.
"Grandma, please understand Birna. We've always been together in everything since we were young."
"Huh?"
"What I had, Birna had, and what Birna didn't have, I didn't have. So my grandmother's words must have been very upsetting."
What Birna didn't have, Medea couldn't have?'
The Queen Mother paused for a moment, frowned, and spoke firmly.
"You're young anyway, so things have to change now. You are a Princess. The path is different from that child."
Medea asked calmly.
"Grandma. Birna spent more time in thr palace than in the duchy. If you tell a dog that grew up in a wolf cage that you are not a wolf, will the dog understand that?"
"..."
"Do other animals feel that a dog born and raised among wolves is a dog?"
The Queen Mother was speechless.
She was silent for a while as if she was lost in thought.
After throwing the agony heavier than a rock at her grandmother. Medea leisurely looked at the jewels.
"Grandma, can I choose this?"
Medea picked up a purple fan lying on the edge of the jewelry box.
"Fan? Isn't it too simple? Instead of choosing something better."
"I like this."
Medea fingered the cold stem of the fan.
'It's Damascus steel.'
Damascus steel was strong enough to cut through rocks, yet elastic enough to not break, making it an excellent weapon.
'I just needed a weapon and it worked out well.'
It seemed like it would be good to carry around and use for self-defense when necessary.
"Okay, if you like, do it."
Medea thanked the Queen Mother and left with the fan.
"... That kid is right. They shouldn't have been put in the cage in the first place. Birna too. Joaquin too."
The Queen Mother sighed deeply.
'Is Birna the only one who misunderstands her place?'
Her granddaughter's words a moment ago woke her up.
Wrinkled hands tapped the table impatiently.
"Your Majesty..."
Madame Pinatelli looked at the Queen Mother. She couldn't find any smile on her face.
"I must send a letter to Montega Jongil. Please return to the royal castle."
That night, a carriage carrying the Queen Mother's letter to the royal relatives left the royal castle.
***
Duke Claudio.
"Birna? Why? Stop crying and talk."
When his daughter returned to the duchy, crying, Catherine raised her beautiful eyebrows.
Today, he couldn't go with them, so he sent them to the palace alone, and he wondered what was going on.
But when Birna told the whole story, his expression hardened.
"What if you jump out of there like that? No matter how much your grandmother loves you, do you think she would even see you misbehaving right in front of her?"
She scolded her immature daughter.
"Besides, Mom said, don't give people an excuse to criticize your behavior."
How dare you lose your temper in front of the Queen Mother at this chaotic time?
"Do you think you can do as you please now? Why are you so thoughtless!"
Even though Birna ran away like that, the fact that no communication had yet come from the palace showed that the Queen Mother's feelings were different from before.
"Besides, we now have Medea. It means you are not the only granddaughter to your grandmother."
It's not enough to do pretty things, but she's done a lot of ugly things. Her efforts to go back and forth to the palace to soothe her mother-in-law's heart and make her feet swell were in vain.
Catherine forgot her culture and almost crushed her daughter.
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