(154) Princess Charlotte (2)
The smile on Charlotte's lips held neither joy nor amusement. It contained only a cold mockery.
Charlotte said, looking at Victoria with cold eyes.
“It seems like it's been years since the Princess of the East ceased to be the Princess's older sister. But the Princess still calls her your older sister.”
"Of course. No matter what happened, she's my sister. No matter what she thinks of me, she's a precious family member to me."
“But why does it sound to me like the Princess is trying to belittle the Princess of the East?”
“That... Your Highness, Princess, that’s not true. Why would I belittle my older sister?”
"Well, I have no way of knowing the Princess's inner feelings. I don't particularly want to know. But I understand that you're trying to drag me into a sisterly feud."
“No, Your Highness! How could I dare to... It’s not like that.”
Charlotte pushed the gift box she had set aside towards Victoria.
"Princess. Did you think I would hate the Princess of the East because the Northern Lord helped her? Did I seem so petty and foolish?"
Victoria lowered her head, at a loss as she faced the piercing gaze. Something was wrong.
"The reason I cried for the Northern Lord was that it was a matter between the Northern Lord and me. The Princess of the East had no place in it. Even if the Northern Lord had been attracted to her, I wouldn't hate her because of it. It wasn't the Princess's fault that the Northern Lord had turned his heart toward her."
No way. That's a lie.
There's no way she wouldn't hate Ariana. There's no way she wouldn't be jealous. It's only natural for a person to hate someone who took what was theirs.
But there was no lie in Charlotte's eyes as she glared at Victoria.
"Don't even think about using me in your sisterly strife. Go back, Princess. You won't get anything from me."
“Your Highness...”
"Hurry."
Victoria staggered to her feet and gathered up the gift box. Charlotte, who had been watching her, spoke.
“May I give you some advice, Princess?”
"Yes?"
"A Princess who came to me in such an ugly way to avoid my jealousy will never be able to beat the Princess of the East. The Princess of the East who came to me was truly dazzlingly beautiful, and that's exactly what I liked about her."
Charlotte watched with amusement as Victoria's expression turned devilish.
Victoria wanted to rush to Charlotte and grab her by the hair. She wanted to silence her arrogant mouth.
The last shred of reason left in Victoria made her turn away. Charlotte snorted as she watched Victoria leave without saying goodbye.
"Arrogant bitch. What's wrong with you? Even so, sooner or later, you'll be sold off and forced to marry a man you don't want. And when that time comes, you won't be a Princess! You'll be nothing more than the Queen of some country."
Victoria gritted her teeth as she walked down the palace corridors. The imperial maids whispered as she walked with a distorted expression, but she paid no attention.
Anyway, once she's in that high seat, she'll kick them all out. When that happens, no one will dare whisper in her presence.
When Victoria boarded the carriage parked outside the palace, someone was already seated inside. Victoria's expression brightened at the sight of her.
“Martina!”
The woman named Martina smiled with narrowed eyes.
She is a Paganus who has been hiding in the Empire and is the owner of a famous secret salon, and she has been a close friend of Victoria since the time she performed the blood ritual.
"Victoria, why do you look so unhappy? It seems things aren't going well with the Princess."
“I’ll kill her. When I become Empress, the first thing I’ll do is kill that girl.”
Martina laughed, haha.
"Well then. You can do anything when you become Empress. That's why I'm here."
“So what’s going on? Did you find out anything?”
"One good piece of information, one bad piece of information. Which one do you want to hear first?"
“Bad information.”
“It seems that the Northern Lord’s feelings toward the Princess of the East are sincere.”
Victoria frowned.
“That can’t be true. Why would the Northern Lord like her? The Northern Lord... He was so kind to me when I was in the North.”
"That's just how men feel. They want what's hard to get, but everyone wants it. I heard Princess of the East is so popular with the imperial youth lately."
"No. The Northern Lord is different. There's no way the Northern Lord would act the same way as those guys."
Martina rubbed the back of Victoria's hand.
“You have the Third Prince. Focus on the Third Prince.”
"But..."
"If you become Empress, you can bring anyone to your side. Even the Northern Lord won't be able to refuse the hand of the most precious woman."
Victoria imagined the noble Northern Lord bowing his head before her.
"So, Victoria, right now, it's time to think only about that high position. If you just sit there, what else can you not have?"
“That’s true. Yes. So what’s the good news?”
“Information on the dress that the Princess of the East will wear at the royal party.”
“What are you going to wear?”
“Red dress.”
“What? Are you crazy? In the imperial court, red is the color of the Empress.”
"The Empress loves Princess Dof the East. She seems to want to show it off. I saw the dress, and it was truly beautiful. It was blood-red and embroidered with gold thread. It looked like gold was gushing from the sleeves and hem."
Red dress.
Victoria was troubled after hearing the information.
There was a dress she had originally prepared to wear to the royal party. It was a dark green dress that would brighten her slightly dark skin. Victoria's skin looked its brightest in that dress, and it made her dirty blonde look even more radiant.
But she was worried because they said Ariana would wear red.
At royal parties, red was designated as the Empress's color. So, Ariana would be the only one wearing a red dress to the party.
'It'll stand out. It'll also be good for getting attention.'
At a royal party where everyone wears dresses of similar colors, Ariana will look like a single rose.
"No. Wearing red is reckless. It might offend the Empress."
But even after returning to the mansion, she couldn't shake off thoughts about the dress.
"What if I showed up before Ariana in a red dress? And everyone's attention turned to me?"
Ariana, who appeared next, would be ridiculed for copying Victoria. Whenever someone wears a striking dress, anyone who appears shortly after in a similar dress is often mocked.
'Ariana must think she's the only one who would wear a red dress to a royal party.'
The thought of Ariana strutting around in a dress the same color as the Empress made her stomach turn.
"Yeah, it's not like I'm the only one wearing it anyway. Ariana wore red, too, so the Empress wouldn't be angry just at me. And even if she was, what would she do? Sooner or later, I'll be in her place."
Victoria made her decision and secretly summoned the tailor. She wanted to keep Ariana's ears out of the situation, so she called the tailor, who was quiet and quick-handed.
When Rachel heard that Victoria was preparing a red dress, she rushed over and stopped Victoria.
"Victoria, red for a royal party? That's not allowed. If you want to wear a red dress, wear it to the party at our mansion."
“I’ll take care of it, Mother.”
“How can you possibly know what you’re doing? If you wear red, you’ll definitely look like an Empress...”
“Oh, it’s noisy!”
Victoria shouted back. Rachel stared at her daughter in shock.
"Mother, I'm taking care of myself, so you can just think about yourself. If we go to the palace party, someone will bring up the incident where you abused Ariana. Have you thought about how you'll defend yourself?"
“Victoria...”
"If Mother acts foolishly, I'll get blamed too. So please, don't worry about me and just take care of yourself."
"Ha!"
Victoria left the living room without even glancing at Rachel, who was laughing hysterically. Rachel stumbled and collapsed onto the sofa. Her chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.
She lived solely for her two daughters. She lived solely for Helena and Victoria, the apples of her eyes, whom she couldn't bear to see.
But Helena married into a humble family and only visited Rachel when she needed something, and Victoria treated Rachel as if she were a market peddler.
Rachel was the only one unaware that her once-perfect world was slowly crumbling apart. When she came to, she found herself standing precariously alone in what was left of the world, the size of a palm.
It wasn't like this before. Her husband looked only at Rachel, and her two daughters adored her. And the last one...
'Ariana...'
To avoid Rachel's hatred, she obediently bowed her head no matter what Rachel did.
Everything went wrong after Ariana escaped Rachel's cage.
'It's because of Ariana.'
If Ariana had just stayed quiet, this problem wouldn't have arisen. Victoria wouldn't have been dragged off to the investigative agency, and Helena wouldn't have married Viscount Alfreich.
So it's all Ariana's fault.
Rachel jumped up and gave orders to her maid.
“I have to go. Get the carriage ready.”
She has to meet Ariana.
She needs to make her realize how many wrongs she's committed, how much trouble she's caused their family, and make her apologize. Maybe if she vents her anger on Ariana like she used to, she'll feel a little better.
In Rachel's memory, Ariana is just a dull girl who wants to be loved by her family, even if she's been stripped of custody.
'She is my daughter, whom I carried in my womb and gave birth to!'
Rachel never imagined Ariana would dare refuse her visit. But when she arrived at her Mansion, she encountered difficulties right from the entrance.
“Ariana, your mother came to visit you early.”
When she spoke to the knight guarding the gate, he disappeared inside without even bothering to hide his displeasure. The people of the East still felt it was rude and waited. Then the gate opened, and a tall, handsome young man with blue hair stepped out.
Looking at his strong shoulders and handsome face, she thought, 'I wish Helena's husband had been a young man like this,' and then he opened his mouth.
“With what face did the Duchess come to see our Princess?”
“What?”
"Are the people of the West originally this thick-skinned? I guess I should add this information to the Western information."
“This rude...!”
His eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of his eyes slightly downturned. He looked at Rachel with amusement as he spoke.
"Spoiled, isn't that so, Duchess? I'm the Little Lord of the East, so isn't this acceptable?"
The smile on Charlotte's lips held neither joy nor amusement. It contained only a cold mockery.
Charlotte said, looking at Victoria with cold eyes.
“It seems like it's been years since the Princess of the East ceased to be the Princess's older sister. But the Princess still calls her your older sister.”
"Of course. No matter what happened, she's my sister. No matter what she thinks of me, she's a precious family member to me."
“But why does it sound to me like the Princess is trying to belittle the Princess of the East?”
“That... Your Highness, Princess, that’s not true. Why would I belittle my older sister?”
"Well, I have no way of knowing the Princess's inner feelings. I don't particularly want to know. But I understand that you're trying to drag me into a sisterly feud."
“No, Your Highness! How could I dare to... It’s not like that.”
Charlotte pushed the gift box she had set aside towards Victoria.
"Princess. Did you think I would hate the Princess of the East because the Northern Lord helped her? Did I seem so petty and foolish?"
Victoria lowered her head, at a loss as she faced the piercing gaze. Something was wrong.
"The reason I cried for the Northern Lord was that it was a matter between the Northern Lord and me. The Princess of the East had no place in it. Even if the Northern Lord had been attracted to her, I wouldn't hate her because of it. It wasn't the Princess's fault that the Northern Lord had turned his heart toward her."
No way. That's a lie.
There's no way she wouldn't hate Ariana. There's no way she wouldn't be jealous. It's only natural for a person to hate someone who took what was theirs.
But there was no lie in Charlotte's eyes as she glared at Victoria.
"Don't even think about using me in your sisterly strife. Go back, Princess. You won't get anything from me."
“Your Highness...”
"Hurry."
Victoria staggered to her feet and gathered up the gift box. Charlotte, who had been watching her, spoke.
“May I give you some advice, Princess?”
"Yes?"
"A Princess who came to me in such an ugly way to avoid my jealousy will never be able to beat the Princess of the East. The Princess of the East who came to me was truly dazzlingly beautiful, and that's exactly what I liked about her."
Charlotte watched with amusement as Victoria's expression turned devilish.
Victoria wanted to rush to Charlotte and grab her by the hair. She wanted to silence her arrogant mouth.
The last shred of reason left in Victoria made her turn away. Charlotte snorted as she watched Victoria leave without saying goodbye.
***
"Arrogant bitch. What's wrong with you? Even so, sooner or later, you'll be sold off and forced to marry a man you don't want. And when that time comes, you won't be a Princess! You'll be nothing more than the Queen of some country."
Victoria gritted her teeth as she walked down the palace corridors. The imperial maids whispered as she walked with a distorted expression, but she paid no attention.
Anyway, once she's in that high seat, she'll kick them all out. When that happens, no one will dare whisper in her presence.
When Victoria boarded the carriage parked outside the palace, someone was already seated inside. Victoria's expression brightened at the sight of her.
“Martina!”
The woman named Martina smiled with narrowed eyes.
She is a Paganus who has been hiding in the Empire and is the owner of a famous secret salon, and she has been a close friend of Victoria since the time she performed the blood ritual.
"Victoria, why do you look so unhappy? It seems things aren't going well with the Princess."
“I’ll kill her. When I become Empress, the first thing I’ll do is kill that girl.”
Martina laughed, haha.
"Well then. You can do anything when you become Empress. That's why I'm here."
“So what’s going on? Did you find out anything?”
"One good piece of information, one bad piece of information. Which one do you want to hear first?"
“Bad information.”
“It seems that the Northern Lord’s feelings toward the Princess of the East are sincere.”
Victoria frowned.
“That can’t be true. Why would the Northern Lord like her? The Northern Lord... He was so kind to me when I was in the North.”
"That's just how men feel. They want what's hard to get, but everyone wants it. I heard Princess of the East is so popular with the imperial youth lately."
"No. The Northern Lord is different. There's no way the Northern Lord would act the same way as those guys."
Martina rubbed the back of Victoria's hand.
“You have the Third Prince. Focus on the Third Prince.”
"But..."
"If you become Empress, you can bring anyone to your side. Even the Northern Lord won't be able to refuse the hand of the most precious woman."
Victoria imagined the noble Northern Lord bowing his head before her.
"So, Victoria, right now, it's time to think only about that high position. If you just sit there, what else can you not have?"
“That’s true. Yes. So what’s the good news?”
“Information on the dress that the Princess of the East will wear at the royal party.”
“What are you going to wear?”
“Red dress.”
“What? Are you crazy? In the imperial court, red is the color of the Empress.”
"The Empress loves Princess Dof the East. She seems to want to show it off. I saw the dress, and it was truly beautiful. It was blood-red and embroidered with gold thread. It looked like gold was gushing from the sleeves and hem."
Red dress.
Victoria was troubled after hearing the information.
There was a dress she had originally prepared to wear to the royal party. It was a dark green dress that would brighten her slightly dark skin. Victoria's skin looked its brightest in that dress, and it made her dirty blonde look even more radiant.
But she was worried because they said Ariana would wear red.
At royal parties, red was designated as the Empress's color. So, Ariana would be the only one wearing a red dress to the party.
'It'll stand out. It'll also be good for getting attention.'
At a royal party where everyone wears dresses of similar colors, Ariana will look like a single rose.
"No. Wearing red is reckless. It might offend the Empress."
But even after returning to the mansion, she couldn't shake off thoughts about the dress.
"What if I showed up before Ariana in a red dress? And everyone's attention turned to me?"
Ariana, who appeared next, would be ridiculed for copying Victoria. Whenever someone wears a striking dress, anyone who appears shortly after in a similar dress is often mocked.
'Ariana must think she's the only one who would wear a red dress to a royal party.'
The thought of Ariana strutting around in a dress the same color as the Empress made her stomach turn.
"Yeah, it's not like I'm the only one wearing it anyway. Ariana wore red, too, so the Empress wouldn't be angry just at me. And even if she was, what would she do? Sooner or later, I'll be in her place."
Victoria made her decision and secretly summoned the tailor. She wanted to keep Ariana's ears out of the situation, so she called the tailor, who was quiet and quick-handed.
When Rachel heard that Victoria was preparing a red dress, she rushed over and stopped Victoria.
"Victoria, red for a royal party? That's not allowed. If you want to wear a red dress, wear it to the party at our mansion."
“I’ll take care of it, Mother.”
“How can you possibly know what you’re doing? If you wear red, you’ll definitely look like an Empress...”
“Oh, it’s noisy!”
Victoria shouted back. Rachel stared at her daughter in shock.
"Mother, I'm taking care of myself, so you can just think about yourself. If we go to the palace party, someone will bring up the incident where you abused Ariana. Have you thought about how you'll defend yourself?"
“Victoria...”
"If Mother acts foolishly, I'll get blamed too. So please, don't worry about me and just take care of yourself."
"Ha!"
Victoria left the living room without even glancing at Rachel, who was laughing hysterically. Rachel stumbled and collapsed onto the sofa. Her chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.
She lived solely for her two daughters. She lived solely for Helena and Victoria, the apples of her eyes, whom she couldn't bear to see.
But Helena married into a humble family and only visited Rachel when she needed something, and Victoria treated Rachel as if she were a market peddler.
Rachel was the only one unaware that her once-perfect world was slowly crumbling apart. When she came to, she found herself standing precariously alone in what was left of the world, the size of a palm.
It wasn't like this before. Her husband looked only at Rachel, and her two daughters adored her. And the last one...
'Ariana...'
To avoid Rachel's hatred, she obediently bowed her head no matter what Rachel did.
Everything went wrong after Ariana escaped Rachel's cage.
'It's because of Ariana.'
If Ariana had just stayed quiet, this problem wouldn't have arisen. Victoria wouldn't have been dragged off to the investigative agency, and Helena wouldn't have married Viscount Alfreich.
So it's all Ariana's fault.
Rachel jumped up and gave orders to her maid.
“I have to go. Get the carriage ready.”
She has to meet Ariana.
She needs to make her realize how many wrongs she's committed, how much trouble she's caused their family, and make her apologize. Maybe if she vents her anger on Ariana like she used to, she'll feel a little better.
In Rachel's memory, Ariana is just a dull girl who wants to be loved by her family, even if she's been stripped of custody.
'She is my daughter, whom I carried in my womb and gave birth to!'
***
Rachel never imagined Ariana would dare refuse her visit. But when she arrived at her Mansion, she encountered difficulties right from the entrance.
“Ariana, your mother came to visit you early.”
When she spoke to the knight guarding the gate, he disappeared inside without even bothering to hide his displeasure. The people of the East still felt it was rude and waited. Then the gate opened, and a tall, handsome young man with blue hair stepped out.
Looking at his strong shoulders and handsome face, she thought, 'I wish Helena's husband had been a young man like this,' and then he opened his mouth.
“With what face did the Duchess come to see our Princess?”
“What?”
"Are the people of the West originally this thick-skinned? I guess I should add this information to the Western information."
“This rude...!”
His eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of his eyes slightly downturned. He looked at Rachel with amusement as he spoke.
"Spoiled, isn't that so, Duchess? I'm the Little Lord of the East, so isn't this acceptable?"
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