After the Emperor gave his congratulatory remarks and toasted the guests, the stage set aside for the royal family was left to my own devices.
I sat down, wearing a red sash contrasting with my white dress, and followed the other nobles in clapping lightly whenever an interesting item was introduced.
“Your Highness, the Princess.”
I turned my head at the sudden call, and my mouth tightened at the unexpected person.
It was a few generations ago when the Marchioness's precious pendant was put up for auction. Everyone was in a state of confusion at the time, so no one noticed her approaching me. Not even Irina, who was nearby.
I stared at her for a moment, then reached out my hand while still sitting down. My expression and voice were stiff, as if they were not mine.
“The Duchess of Kairak.”
It was already a dream, and my imagination was already very distorted due to Olga's work and the sudden chaos in the North.
I could have responded a little more gently, but at the moment, I was struggling just to not run away from that place.
Besides, I had never greeted her before, and it was quite rude of her to speak to me, a member of the royal family, first. She probably knew better.
“Is it okay if I sit next to you?”
There was no place on the platform except for me, and next to me was the Emperor's throne.
Below that were the maids' seats, but they were too shabby for a Duchess to sit in. I declined.
“As you can see, there is no suitable chair.”
“In this wide space, there isn’t even a single chair for me to sit on.”
She asked again stubbornly. Her eyes were half-sweet. Even though it was the beginning of a charity auction, she already smelled of alcohol.
They said that she was weak and was just resting in the spirit world... Looking at the force with which she grabbed my arm, it seemed like that wasn’t necessarily true.
Anyway, since it seemed like she would just collapse on the banquet hall floor if I sent her back like that, I nodded halfheartedly.
At the same time, the attendant who had been waiting patiently raised a backless velvet stool.
"Thank you."
She opened her eyes wide as if she had never thought I would allow it, then closed them again and laughed. Her pronunciation was very slurred.
If those eyes hadn't been the color of Veronica's, I probably would've rejected her a long time ago.
“I guess you came here because you had business.”
“We are distant relatives.”
“I don’t think you want to share your family feelings again.”
She burst out laughing.
“At times like this, I think my husband and His Majesty look more alike than I do.”
Irina looked at my uncomfortable expression, hesitated whether or not to intrude on the conversation, and then quickly went to find her mother, while Thalia had already...
I sighed secretly. It was obvious that I would be caught for a while.
I really wish Duke Kairak or his vassal would notice this quickly and come and get this drunkard off her feet.
“My husband wants this so badly he can’t stand it.”
I raised my head again at the voice that I heard out of nowhere.
The Duchess of Kairak narrowed her eyes and smiled. She pointed to the Emperor’s throne with her hand, which was precariously holding a glass of champagne.
“I once thought about it. When the face of the man who used to follow me around, saying he loved me and wouldn’t let me go even if he died, suddenly became hard, and I couldn’t find a single bit of warmth in his eyes.”
“...”
“Maybe that man never loved me in the first place.”
“...”
“My entire life was mortgaged for this mere throne, and such a handsome man was thrown into the gutter. It wasn’t for some grand purpose. My husband, in fact, just couldn’t stand it...”
“...”
“Those of such noble bloodlines, living so well...”
She pretends to be the most unfortunate woman in the world, but this kind of marriage is what most of the imperial nobility endures. A political marriage and a relationship that is only slightly better than others.
Not only was the Duke of Kairak mean in deceiving her by calling their relationship love, but the wife's despair came from her naivety in believing her husband's words at face value.
You must have lived through that tragedy without lifting a finger. You knew you were stuck in a swamp that was eating away at your life, but you didn't even try to fight back.
“My poor Veronica...”
I couldn't stand the endless lamentation any longer, so I tried to leave. I would have done the same if Veronica's name hadn't come out of her mouth.
But since I had already heard the news, it was a problem that could not be helped. I stood up and looked down at the Duchess in the same awkward posture.
“Lady Veronica is not a person who deserves pity.”
“...I don’t know why that kid looks so similar to you.”
“...”
“I often think, she doesn’t seem like my daughter.”
How long should I endure the madman's nonsense? It was clear that my expression had become strangely distorted. The Duchess added her excuse a beat later in that ominous face.
“It’s probably because I haven’t been able to hold her for so long, even though she’s my daughter. As she’s gotten older, she’s become like a ghost who doesn’t recognize her mother.”
“...”
“Maybe she’s not really my daughter.”
She burst into uncontrollable laughter, as madmen often do.
“I remember that kid dying and not breathing...”
“What did you say?”
The Duchess's eyes gradually darkened at my sharp question. Before I knew it, Duke Kairak's personal secretary had reached the bottom of the podium.
There was not even a trace of respect on the face looking up at his lord's wife. Rather, it was an expression like looking at an annoying madman.
The Duchess rose from her seat as if accustomed to such treatment.
“Maybe it’s just that I’ve been drinking too much these past few years, just like my husband said.”
That meant that she had been drunk for more than a day or two. It was understandable that I had not been able to see her for nearly five months since I had started staying at the palace.
The Duchess stumbled violently as she was coming down the platform, so I instinctively grabbed her arm.
As if anticipating that reaction, the Duchess pulled my arm a little harder.
Her lips came close to my ear.
“My husband keeps saying that Your Highness is not the real Princess. If that is true, then it will really be so.”
The breath whispering in my ear was wet and unpleasant.
“Either Your Highness takes the throne, gives it to Veronica, or kills my husband. I don’t want you to involve me in any of it.”
“...”
“Now, I’m really sick of it.”
Even after the Duchess had disappeared into the clutches of her personal secretary, her words continued to haunt me, too meaningful to be dismissed as a drunkard's ramblings.
Finally, a thirty-minute break was declared to cool down the excitement of the auction.
Taking advantage of this gap, I asked Enoch to look for Cesare in the Second Banquet Hall.
If the charity auction house was a place for socializing among high-ranking nobles, the dinner held in the second banquet hall was a place for exchanging information, where all the low-ranking administrators, scribes, and noble staff gathered.
Because there were so many people in attendance, it took a long time for Cesare to be called.
As soon as Cesare arrived, I pushed him into an empty room and questioned him.
“You told me about bloodline identification before, right?”
Cesare looked puzzled, but answered steadily.
“That’s right. Why are you suddenly like this?”
“Is there really no chance that the judging stone will be tampered with?”
“...Did you hear anything from anyone?”
“I met the Duchess of Kairak.”
He blinked his eyes in bewilderment, but it seemed he had guessed everything just from the fact that he had met the Duchess.
Cesare let out a sigh.
“What was that woman saying?”
“If Duke Kairak keeps saying that I’m a fake, then it will turn out to be true.”
After listening to me, he stroked his chin for a long time, lost in thought, and then carefully opened his mouth.
“In theory, as I said last time, it is impossible. Just the act of feeding blood requires five witnesses from Duke Kairak, five from our side, and five representatives of His Majesty the Emperor, and as soon as the feeding is done, the judging stone is moved to the temple’s basement and strictly sealed.”
“What exactly does it mean to be sealed?”
“Last time I told you that the temple of the capital city is where the largest number of Bartivesa relics remain.”
I nodded indifferently. I remembered hearing it in passing before.
The temple, the soil, and several relics... The fact that the priests cherished them as if they were sacred relics, but were not able to keep them as official sacred relics, was also due to the special nature of the time.
After all, it was the hand of the Heavenly Temer that destroyed Bartivesa.
“There are eleven relics of Bartivesa stored in the temple. Of these, seven still retain their magical properties. The stone of discernment is one of them.”
“Then, what about the seal?”
“It is a wooden box discovered together with an identification stone. It is said that if an identification stone is placed inside, the surface will turn to stone, and after a certain period, it cannot be opened by any means.”
After listening to Cesare, I understood what he meant when he said that once sealed, it was difficult to open and that it was difficult to manipulate the results at will.
Every time you feed blood, priests and witnesses will flock to you, so it won't be easy to plan something while avoiding people's eyes.
But there were still questions.
“I had a conversation with His Majesty about this matter some time ago.”
“...”
“At that time, His Majesty said that by manipulating the results of the temple, he could make me a real Princess.”
“Did he say something like that...?"
Cesare rubbed his chin in thought.
I waited anxiously for him to finish his thoughts. Finally, he opened his eyes again and answered.
“It is close to impossible, but Your Highness, it may be possible.”
“What does that mean?”
“The discernment stone won’t work if you don’t feed it enough blood. As I told you last time, feed one side of the stone with the blood of your family, and the other side with the blood of the person whose blood you want to discern.”
I nodded halfheartedly.
“I remember.”
“Even if 90% of the blood fed in this way is not connected to blood relatives, it is said that in rare cases it works.”
Cesare said, counting on his index fingers.
“If 10% of the blood buried in the stone is exactly the same.”
I bit my lips hard.
I understand. If that's the case, then it would be possible to manipulate it by bribing just one priest who draws blood.
During the three blood draws, I only had to draw a little less from myself. And at the end, I could either swap the stone or save His Majesty's blood and bury it.
I raised my head as a sudden thought occurred to me.
“If it is possible to manipulate a fake into being a real blood relative, then what about the opposite case? Is it possible to manipulate a real person into being a fake?”
I sat down, wearing a red sash contrasting with my white dress, and followed the other nobles in clapping lightly whenever an interesting item was introduced.
“Your Highness, the Princess.”
I turned my head at the sudden call, and my mouth tightened at the unexpected person.
It was a few generations ago when the Marchioness's precious pendant was put up for auction. Everyone was in a state of confusion at the time, so no one noticed her approaching me. Not even Irina, who was nearby.
I stared at her for a moment, then reached out my hand while still sitting down. My expression and voice were stiff, as if they were not mine.
“The Duchess of Kairak.”
It was already a dream, and my imagination was already very distorted due to Olga's work and the sudden chaos in the North.
I could have responded a little more gently, but at the moment, I was struggling just to not run away from that place.
Besides, I had never greeted her before, and it was quite rude of her to speak to me, a member of the royal family, first. She probably knew better.
“Is it okay if I sit next to you?”
There was no place on the platform except for me, and next to me was the Emperor's throne.
Below that were the maids' seats, but they were too shabby for a Duchess to sit in. I declined.
“As you can see, there is no suitable chair.”
“In this wide space, there isn’t even a single chair for me to sit on.”
She asked again stubbornly. Her eyes were half-sweet. Even though it was the beginning of a charity auction, she already smelled of alcohol.
They said that she was weak and was just resting in the spirit world... Looking at the force with which she grabbed my arm, it seemed like that wasn’t necessarily true.
Anyway, since it seemed like she would just collapse on the banquet hall floor if I sent her back like that, I nodded halfheartedly.
At the same time, the attendant who had been waiting patiently raised a backless velvet stool.
"Thank you."
She opened her eyes wide as if she had never thought I would allow it, then closed them again and laughed. Her pronunciation was very slurred.
If those eyes hadn't been the color of Veronica's, I probably would've rejected her a long time ago.
“I guess you came here because you had business.”
“We are distant relatives.”
“I don’t think you want to share your family feelings again.”
She burst out laughing.
“At times like this, I think my husband and His Majesty look more alike than I do.”
Irina looked at my uncomfortable expression, hesitated whether or not to intrude on the conversation, and then quickly went to find her mother, while Thalia had already...
I sighed secretly. It was obvious that I would be caught for a while.
I really wish Duke Kairak or his vassal would notice this quickly and come and get this drunkard off her feet.
“My husband wants this so badly he can’t stand it.”
I raised my head again at the voice that I heard out of nowhere.
The Duchess of Kairak narrowed her eyes and smiled. She pointed to the Emperor’s throne with her hand, which was precariously holding a glass of champagne.
“I once thought about it. When the face of the man who used to follow me around, saying he loved me and wouldn’t let me go even if he died, suddenly became hard, and I couldn’t find a single bit of warmth in his eyes.”
“...”
“Maybe that man never loved me in the first place.”
“...”
“My entire life was mortgaged for this mere throne, and such a handsome man was thrown into the gutter. It wasn’t for some grand purpose. My husband, in fact, just couldn’t stand it...”
“...”
“Those of such noble bloodlines, living so well...”
She pretends to be the most unfortunate woman in the world, but this kind of marriage is what most of the imperial nobility endures. A political marriage and a relationship that is only slightly better than others.
Not only was the Duke of Kairak mean in deceiving her by calling their relationship love, but the wife's despair came from her naivety in believing her husband's words at face value.
You must have lived through that tragedy without lifting a finger. You knew you were stuck in a swamp that was eating away at your life, but you didn't even try to fight back.
“My poor Veronica...”
I couldn't stand the endless lamentation any longer, so I tried to leave. I would have done the same if Veronica's name hadn't come out of her mouth.
But since I had already heard the news, it was a problem that could not be helped. I stood up and looked down at the Duchess in the same awkward posture.
“Lady Veronica is not a person who deserves pity.”
“...I don’t know why that kid looks so similar to you.”
“...”
“I often think, she doesn’t seem like my daughter.”
How long should I endure the madman's nonsense? It was clear that my expression had become strangely distorted. The Duchess added her excuse a beat later in that ominous face.
“It’s probably because I haven’t been able to hold her for so long, even though she’s my daughter. As she’s gotten older, she’s become like a ghost who doesn’t recognize her mother.”
“...”
“Maybe she’s not really my daughter.”
She burst into uncontrollable laughter, as madmen often do.
“I remember that kid dying and not breathing...”
“What did you say?”
The Duchess's eyes gradually darkened at my sharp question. Before I knew it, Duke Kairak's personal secretary had reached the bottom of the podium.
There was not even a trace of respect on the face looking up at his lord's wife. Rather, it was an expression like looking at an annoying madman.
The Duchess rose from her seat as if accustomed to such treatment.
“Maybe it’s just that I’ve been drinking too much these past few years, just like my husband said.”
That meant that she had been drunk for more than a day or two. It was understandable that I had not been able to see her for nearly five months since I had started staying at the palace.
The Duchess stumbled violently as she was coming down the platform, so I instinctively grabbed her arm.
As if anticipating that reaction, the Duchess pulled my arm a little harder.
Her lips came close to my ear.
“My husband keeps saying that Your Highness is not the real Princess. If that is true, then it will really be so.”
The breath whispering in my ear was wet and unpleasant.
“Either Your Highness takes the throne, gives it to Veronica, or kills my husband. I don’t want you to involve me in any of it.”
“...”
“Now, I’m really sick of it.”
***
Even after the Duchess had disappeared into the clutches of her personal secretary, her words continued to haunt me, too meaningful to be dismissed as a drunkard's ramblings.
Finally, a thirty-minute break was declared to cool down the excitement of the auction.
Taking advantage of this gap, I asked Enoch to look for Cesare in the Second Banquet Hall.
If the charity auction house was a place for socializing among high-ranking nobles, the dinner held in the second banquet hall was a place for exchanging information, where all the low-ranking administrators, scribes, and noble staff gathered.
Because there were so many people in attendance, it took a long time for Cesare to be called.
As soon as Cesare arrived, I pushed him into an empty room and questioned him.
“You told me about bloodline identification before, right?”
Cesare looked puzzled, but answered steadily.
“That’s right. Why are you suddenly like this?”
“Is there really no chance that the judging stone will be tampered with?”
“...Did you hear anything from anyone?”
“I met the Duchess of Kairak.”
He blinked his eyes in bewilderment, but it seemed he had guessed everything just from the fact that he had met the Duchess.
Cesare let out a sigh.
“What was that woman saying?”
“If Duke Kairak keeps saying that I’m a fake, then it will turn out to be true.”
After listening to me, he stroked his chin for a long time, lost in thought, and then carefully opened his mouth.
“In theory, as I said last time, it is impossible. Just the act of feeding blood requires five witnesses from Duke Kairak, five from our side, and five representatives of His Majesty the Emperor, and as soon as the feeding is done, the judging stone is moved to the temple’s basement and strictly sealed.”
“What exactly does it mean to be sealed?”
“Last time I told you that the temple of the capital city is where the largest number of Bartivesa relics remain.”
I nodded indifferently. I remembered hearing it in passing before.
The temple, the soil, and several relics... The fact that the priests cherished them as if they were sacred relics, but were not able to keep them as official sacred relics, was also due to the special nature of the time.
After all, it was the hand of the Heavenly Temer that destroyed Bartivesa.
“There are eleven relics of Bartivesa stored in the temple. Of these, seven still retain their magical properties. The stone of discernment is one of them.”
“Then, what about the seal?”
“It is a wooden box discovered together with an identification stone. It is said that if an identification stone is placed inside, the surface will turn to stone, and after a certain period, it cannot be opened by any means.”
After listening to Cesare, I understood what he meant when he said that once sealed, it was difficult to open and that it was difficult to manipulate the results at will.
Every time you feed blood, priests and witnesses will flock to you, so it won't be easy to plan something while avoiding people's eyes.
But there were still questions.
“I had a conversation with His Majesty about this matter some time ago.”
“...”
“At that time, His Majesty said that by manipulating the results of the temple, he could make me a real Princess.”
“Did he say something like that...?"
Cesare rubbed his chin in thought.
I waited anxiously for him to finish his thoughts. Finally, he opened his eyes again and answered.
“It is close to impossible, but Your Highness, it may be possible.”
“What does that mean?”
“The discernment stone won’t work if you don’t feed it enough blood. As I told you last time, feed one side of the stone with the blood of your family, and the other side with the blood of the person whose blood you want to discern.”
I nodded halfheartedly.
“I remember.”
“Even if 90% of the blood fed in this way is not connected to blood relatives, it is said that in rare cases it works.”
Cesare said, counting on his index fingers.
“If 10% of the blood buried in the stone is exactly the same.”
I bit my lips hard.
I understand. If that's the case, then it would be possible to manipulate it by bribing just one priest who draws blood.
During the three blood draws, I only had to draw a little less from myself. And at the end, I could either swap the stone or save His Majesty's blood and bury it.
I raised my head as a sudden thought occurred to me.
“If it is possible to manipulate a fake into being a real blood relative, then what about the opposite case? Is it possible to manipulate a real person into being a fake?”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment