Chapter 7

Watching from the side might be entertaining, but being the hunted prey is not.

Stalina, her chest filled with shame and resentment, bowed her head and bit her lip. It was the first time her eldest sister had scolded her.

'It's all because of that half-sister!'

Stalina couldn't bring herself to say anything, but she glared sharply at Aristine. Aristine, feeling her gaze, slowly tilted her head.

"Hmm? Do you have something to say? Oh, I remember, you were saying something to me earlier."

Her tone was leisurely and languid.

"What did you say? I heard something like 'vulgar'..."

Her smiling face was as beautiful as an angel's, but the words she spoke were like a snake tightening its grip around Stalina's neck.

Paellamien's face turned cold.

She had just put out one fire, and now her half-sister was starting an even bigger one, making her anger rise.

"Stalina."

A voice as cold as ice directed at Stalina.

"Apologize to Her Highness, the Princess."

"Big sister!"

Stalina protested, but Paellamien's gaze grew even colder.

"Apologize now! For your rude words, say you're sorry and ask for forgiveness."

Stalina stubbornly kept her mouth shut. No matter what, she really didn't want to.

'Why should I apologize to someone like her...!'

Her eldest sister was being too harsh. She had already admitted her mistake and promised to reflect on it.

Paellamien, looking down at Stalina who had turned her head away, called her quietly.

"Stalina."

Her voice was completely different, infinitely deep.

Stalina shuddered.

Her heart pounded violently. Instinctively, she knew.

If she didn't follow Paellamien's words now, she would really be in trouble.

She had never imagined such a thing would happen.

She had always thought it was an impossible scenario.

But at this moment, that scenario was approaching her as a vivid possibility.

Stalina, pale with fear, hesitated for a moment before bowing her head to Aristine.

"...I'm sorry, Your Highness."

Though her voice was as small as a mouse's, the words of apology came out.

"What?"

"For my... rude words."

"What did you say?"

Aristine's voice, asking in return, was calm.

But Stalina felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation.

Still, she had no choice but to answer honestly.

"Vulgar..."

"That's not all I heard."

At this, Stalina raised her head to look at Aristine.

She didn't know how to respond.

The words she had said to Aristine hadn't been well thought out.

She had just lashed out, thinking that if she could insult the princess, anything would do.

She knew it was a flaw, but people usually let it slide.

Some even praised her for speaking her mind.

Until now, Stalina had only been cruel to those weaker than her or those who had wronged her.

The princess was someone she could treat however she wanted.

But why was this happening?

"I doubt if you're really a royal. You definitely said that. Do you doubt the bloodline of the princess?"

The weight of those words made Stalina feel suffocated.

Doubting the princess's bloodline was a direct insult to the Sylvanus royal family.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have mattered.

Ailugo and Sylvanus were enemies, and the people of Ailugo often joked about Sylvanus.

They would say someone was as timid as a Sylvanus, or as useless as a Sylvanus on a hunt.

They would also say someone was as arrogant as a Sylvanus.

Sylvanus was a conquering nation, an empire with many vassal states.

But Ailugo had never cared about Sylvanus's opinions.

Unlike other countries, Ailugo was an independent and powerful nation, not bound by a vassal relationship.

However, now they were in a situation where a political marriage with the Sylvanus royal family was at stake.

'If the peace treaty my father wants is broken because of me...'

A chill ran down her spine. It felt like the edge of a sword was hovering over her.

'I was just acting as I usually do, and I was even scolding a princess everyone dislikes.'

She hadn't really done anything wrong.

'Why is this happening?'

Why.

"Princess, you are a direct descendant of the Ailugo royal family, not just a noble's daughter."

Unlike Stalina, who was in a state of confusion, Aristine's voice was calm and steady.

"I can only interpret the princess's words as Ailugo's official stance on the legitimacy of the Sylvanus royal family."

"Princess, Your Highness!"

Aristine's voice was low, but the impact of her words was immense.

Marten, who had been indifferent to Stalina's behavior, was now alarmed and called out to Aristine.

Even the Ailugo king, who had been silent despite the potential for an international incident, said nothing.

He just looked at Aristine with interest.

Tarkan, who was to be her husband, was the same.

A crooked smile played on his lips.

'Even if Tarkan is like that, my father...'

Paellamien felt dizzy.

The Ailugo king himself had pushed for this marriage alliance, desiring Sylvanus's royal blood.

'If this becomes a starting point for problems in the political marriage...'

Surely, the marriage alliance wouldn't be completely broken off because of this.

But.

'There's a good chance it could give Sylvanus an advantage.'

Sylvanus had been losing in this war.

That's why they had requested a ceasefire first.

Thanks to this, Ailugo had been in a favorable position for negotiations.

They had demanded substantial war reparations, a marriage alliance with the royal bloodline, and the opening of trade routes and portals.

Sylvanus had no choice but to accept most of Ailugo's demands.

'But if Sylvanus latches onto today's incident...'

Even if they tried to explain it as a young princess's mistake, it was at a critical point where the peace treaty was about to be signed.

Some compensation to soothe Sylvanus's feelings would be necessary.

With the envoy not even having an audience yet, it was clear how they would react tomorrow.

'If this reduces our advantages, the backlash will hit me.'

Stalina, as the cause, would bear the greatest responsibility, but she and Marten, who were here with her, would also face the king's wrath.

"Ailugo's stance? That's impossible."

Paellamien, trying to smile, spoke to Aristine, and Marten chimed in from the side.

"The fourth princess is still young and immature."

"Yes, she can't distinguish between what she should and shouldn't say."

"I can't understand why she would even think such things."

"Unfortunately, she can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Please understand, Your Highness."

Stalina's face began to turn red as she listened to them.

She could tolerate being called immature and making a mistake because of her age.

They needed to use any excuse to get out of this situation.

But it was starting to feel like they were treating her like an idiot.

Stalina, trembling with anger, forced a smile when she saw Aristine's gaze on her.

Aristine looked at Stalina, who was trying to read her, without any emotion.

She didn't look like someone who couldn't distinguish right from wrong.

'She looks young, but...'

In fact, Aristine had no intention of pressing the issue further.

She had deliberately let Paellamien handle it for the same reason.

'If I scold her directly, it might offend the Ailugo king.'

Scolding each other's children is different from a princess of an enemy nation scolding another's daughter.

She would be living in Ailugo, and it wouldn't be good to offend the king.

She glanced at the Ailugo king, who was looking at her.

'As they say, familiarity breeds contempt.'

She smiled, thinking she should try to make him laugh more.

But someone interpreted her friendly smile differently.

Paellamien, anxious that Aristine might say something to the king, quickly spoke up.

"Stalina, confess your sins to Her Highness and apologize."

Stalina, startled, looked at Paellamien.

"Big sister, I was just..."

"What did you say earlier when you refused to admit your mistake and only made excuses?"

Stalina's lips moved a few times but then closed.

She couldn't answer because she didn't remember.

"You said that doubting the bloodline was wrong. If you're a princess of Ailugo, you shouldn't do things that raise suspicion."

"That's..."

She had just said it without thinking. It had no real meaning.

If she had known it would come back to haunt her like this, she would never have said it.

She wanted to argue, but Paellamien's eyes didn't allow it.

"Formally and properly apologize as a member of the royal family."

Formally and properly.

So, was she...

'Does she want me to kneel to that half-sister?'

Stalina's face turned pale. She looked around, but no one would help her.

Paellamien, who should have been on her side, was continuously scolding her.

'The princess couldn't say anything until my sister started scolding me.'

After my sister scolded me, she only said a few words.

'If my sister hadn't scolded me, the princess wouldn't have said anything, and there would have been no problem!'

Paellamien's actions made her resentful.

She didn't understand why Paellamien had gotten angry or who had made her do so.

She looked at her father, hoping for help, but his eyes were unreadable.

The only thing she was sure of was that he had no intention of helping her.

It was really the end.

Stalina clenched her skirt tightly.

"The fourth princess of Ailugo, Stalina, apologizes to the princess of Sylvanus, Aristine."

Suppressing her rising anger and feeling humiliated, she slowly knelt before Aristine.

'I didn't plan to go this far.'

Aristine was surprised to see Stalina kneeling and bowing before her.

She had only thought that silencing the princess would be better for impressing Tarkan during this tea time.

It wasn't something that particularly upset her, and Stalina kneeling wouldn't benefit her in any way.

But the princess was already kneeling.

'Breaking the mood would be worse than showing composure.'

Especially since she had just managed to turn the tide in her favor.

'Maybe Tarkan will like this?'

She suddenly thought.

Tarkan probably had a lot of pent-up feelings towards his half-siblings.

'People usually feel a sense of satisfaction when they make someone who was rude to them kneel.'

So, maybe this was a good thing?

While she was lost in thought, Stalina, feeling the silence, started to apologize.

"My thoughts were shallow, and I spoke rashly, disturbing your peace."

Still, silence.

Unable to bear the weight of the silence, Stalina started spilling out apologies.

"I was the one who didn't know basic etiquette. I did not doubt your bloodline. Please forgive me."

She bowed her head even lower to the princess she had so thoroughly disrespected, begging for forgiveness.

This was the first time in Stalina's life.

* * *

Tarkan looked down at Stalina, who was prostrate on the ground.

The arrogant and stubborn fourth princess apologizing, and even kneeling.

He wondered what Aristine was thinking.

'Has she properly avenged the insult and is enjoying it?'

As he thought this and looked at Aristine—

Her violet eyes were shining brightly at him.

They sparkled like stars in the dawn sky, sprinkled with sugar.

'She's definitely enjoying it, but...'

Her enjoyment was in a completely different direction.

'How about it, how about it? Isn't my ability good? Isn't it politically useful? Isn't it worth a stamp of approval?'

Her expression was blank, but her sparkling eyes made it clear, making him laugh.

Laughing because of someone felt awkward, so he pretended to scratch his chin to hide his smile.

Was this the expression of someone who had just made a princess of a nation kneel with just a few words?

He realized that this woman hadn't been particularly angry even when Stalina had insulted her.

She had seemed indifferent, as if it didn't matter who was barking.

He thought she was good at hiding her emotions, but it seemed she really didn't care.

'She was composed even then.'

He remembered the first time he saw her, standing confidently despite being pointed at and ridiculed for her messy appearance.

In contrast, her body had been incredibly light and frail.

Her waist was slender.

As Tarkan frowned and tried to look away, Aristine smiled at him.

Her long, narrow eyes curved, and her lips, which had been tightly closed, curved up.

Her cheeks, becoming fuller, caught the sunlight.

Her silver hair, like lilac petals carried by the spring breeze through the open window, gently fluttered towards him.

Tarkan's eyes narrowed.

Before he could react, Aristine turned away.

'Hehe, you're surprised too early.'

Aristine thought leisurely.

She felt good that Tarkan seemed to have noticed her again.

'I'll make you beg me to be your business partner.'

This was just a taste.

Just dealing with a troublemaker wouldn't be much of an impression.

'Good. Now then.'

Aristine looked down at Stalina, who was still kneeling on the floor.

It was time to wrap things up.

Forget about being a wife, I just want to make money.