Chapter 52

‘I’m just a half-breed who can’t even get proper royal treatment…!’

Yenikarina’s tightly clenched hand trembled.

Her maternal grandfather, Duke Skiera, had given her a generous gift.

It included several new dresses, along with matching elaborate and colorful accessories, shoes, parasols, fans, gloves, and silk handkerchiefs.

Wearing and taking off these gifts, Yenikarina spent a whole week in the newly renovated room of her palace, using it as a studio to take the best photos.

The result was highly satisfactory.

Even to Yenikarina herself, she looked truly lovely, beautiful, and adorable.

The major daily newspapers, influenced by Duke Skiera, published Yenikarina’s photos with great effort.

On the front page, the best photo from the wedding was prominently displayed, and in the middle, several pages were dedicated to praising the photos as if they were a photo spread.

It was as grand a page layout as, if not more grand than, the wedding of Aristine and Tarkan.

This was because Yenikarina insisted that her photos must be published more than the wedding photos.

‘With this, the ignorant people will surely realize who the true angel and hope of Ailugo is!’

She thought. However.

〈What? There’s not a single word about the wedding?〉

〈This is an important wedding that ended the cold war, and they’re ignoring it…〉

〈There’s no social issue to focus on, yet it’s all about Princess Yenikarina.〉

〈If they’re going to do this, they might as well publish a special wedding edition.〉

〈Even if it’s Princess Yenikarina, isn’t this a bit much?〉

〈Nothing has happened to the princess; it’s just full of compliments about her beauty.〉

〈Is the journalist clueless, or…〉

〈It looks like the photos were taken with a specific angle.〉

〈Did they spread the photos and pay the newspaper to publish them?〉

People’s reactions were the opposite of what Yenikarina had expected.

There was a limit to how much they could respond with “cute, cute” to the growing photos of the princess.

Politically and socially, there were significant issues, and it was inevitable to feel repulsion when these were pushed aside to praise the beauty of a grown princess.

Moreover, people were already captivated by the unique charm of the new princess, whom they were seeing for the first time.

‘Everyone is saying, “Aristine, Aristine! What’s so good about this woman?”’

Just as Yenikarina was barely suppressing her anger,

“What? Are you making fun of our sister Yenikarina? People were happy and cheering!”

Stalina, hearing Yenikarina’s outburst, shot a sharp remark at Aristine.

But it was Yenikarina’s face that was crumpled.

Yenikarina looked at her half-sister with disbelief.

‘Is she trying to make me look bad?’

But Stalina, unaware of Yenikarina’s thoughts, glared at Aristine with a snort.

Today, there was no stepfather, and everyone here was on her side.

Even the Queen, a strong supporter, was present.

It was time to repay the humiliation she had suffered from that arrogant princess.

Sure enough, Aristine looked flustered and stared at her.

“No, not at all. I would never make fun of Yenikarina.”

As she said this, Stalina was about to sneer and say something.

“I heard that people liked seeing Yenikarina’s photos… I was just sharing that information innocently.”

Aristine’s words made Stalina feel something was off.

It was like the discomfort when a gear is slightly misaligned in a well-oiled machine.

“I really don’t understand why Princess Stalina would think that.”

Stalina finally realized her mistake.

She gasped, her face pale.

Aristine didn’t give Stalina a chance to recover.

“Huh? Why did you think I was making fun of her?”

“W-well, it’s just that… the reaction to Yenikarina’s article was—”

‘Terrible.’

She couldn’t say it.

She was so focused on putting Aristine in her place that she overlooked this part.

Stalina’s words implied that Yenikarina had received public ridicule.

Only then did she feel Yenikarina’s and the Queen’s piercing gazes.

Stalina, at a loss, was drenched in cold sweat. Paellamien sighed softly.

“Both the princess and Yenikarina looked great in their photos.”

Paellamien’s face was gentle.

“I’m not good at taking photos, so I always worry when I have to appear in public. Could you share some tips on how to look good in photos?”

It was a skillful way to defuse the situation and change the topic.

Stalina let out a sigh of relief.

‘Only Paella can do this…’

Paellamien, feeling Stalina’s gaze, sighed inwardly.

She just didn’t want to cause trouble that would upset the Queen in her presence.

She wanted to blend in and survive in this treacherous palace.

“Hmm, I don’t really think about it. I don’t know any specific tips. I just don’t pay attention, and the photos turn out well.”

In this situation, Yenikarina was the one most conscious of her photos.

She would take dozens of photos for each pose and select the best ones.

Paellamien knew that Yenikarina had spent a whole week taking photos for the newspaper.

But she pretended not to know and spoke with an envious tone.

“Of course, Yenikarina. With your natural beauty, any photo turns out great.”

“Oh, Paella, you’re making me blush.”

Yenikarina blushed slightly and smiled lovingly.

“By the way, I heard that Prince Hamir is returning.”

The Queen nodded approvingly at Paellamien’s words.

“Yes, he’s on his way back. There’s no portal there yet.”

He would move to a nearby area with a portal and use it to return to the palace.

“He was so busy that he couldn’t come back for a while, but it seems he has some time now.”

“He’s still busy, but when I said I missed him, he immediately prepared to return.”

The Queen spoke with pride.

“Of course, Prince Hamir is very filial.”

Paellamien’s flattery made the Queen’s face light up with a smile.

“There’s no one as affectionate as our Prince Hamir.”

Yenikarina also began to boast about her beloved brother.

The conversation about Hamir blossomed.

Surprisingly, they paid no attention to Aristine.

They didn’t even glance in her direction.

‘They’re treating me as if I don’t exist.’

Aristine, though aware of their intention to ignore her, didn’t care.

‘Then…! I’ll enjoy it to the fullest without holding back!’

Aristine looked at the three-tiered cake stand with excitement.

Though it was a small tea party with just a few family members, the table was as lavish as a tea party.

On the bottom tier were sandwiches with arugula, ham, and ricotta cheese, smoked salmon canapés, and truffle quiche, all arranged invitingly.

The middle tier featured swan-shaped brioche, dacquoise, scones, and fig pound cake, which caught the eye.

The top tier, the highlight, was adorned with colorful macarons, rose praline, raspberry mousse cake, and crème brûlée.

Though her expression was neutral, Aristine’s eyes sparkled like those of someone who had discovered treasure.

Aristine quickly looked at the palace attendant.

The attendant, sensing her intense gaze, quickly placed a dessert on her plate.

First, a sandwich.

Aristine’s gaze became even more intense.

The attendant, bewildered, placed a canapé next to the sandwich.

Not enough, not enough!

Aristine’s eyes were shouting this.

Finally, the attendant added the quiche.

Though she wanted to add more, the plate was full, so Aristine had to nod.

She then took a bite of the sandwich.

‘Delicious!’

A simple combination of arugula, ham, and ricotta cheese.

But the sauce was perfect.

The bread was soft yet had a slightly rough texture, which complemented the mild ham.

The small, bite-sized pieces were disappointing; she wanted more.

But Aristine still had a mountain of desserts to enjoy.

She quickly devoured the smoked salmon canapé and truffle quiche.

‘Delicious, all of it is delicious!’

The richness of the salmon and the smoothness of the quiche.

She sipped her tea and signaled the attendant again.

Now, it was a matter of a nod, and the attendant would place the dessert on the plate.

‘Oh, you’re good at this! Of course, not as good as our palace attendants…!’

If it were the attendants from the Tarkan palace, they would have filled the plate with desserts from the start.

Aristine savored each dessert and enjoyed a happy tea time.

Indeed, the Queen’s tea time was different; everything was delicious.

‘Still, our patissier is better.’

Of course, the patissier here was excellent, but there was a gap in skill that couldn’t be bridged with the Tarkan palace patissiers.

‘I really made a good marriage.’

Thinking about it, Aristine nodded in satisfaction.

The Queen and the princesses stopped talking and stared at Aristine in disbelief.

‘How can there be such a person?’

‘How can she ignore and belittle us so openly…’

This was unacceptable.

Aristine had to try to join the conversation, even if it was embarrassing, to avoid being completely ignored.

Ignoring her would be a fun game.

If they continued to play with her, Aristine would eventually tremble with shame and humiliation and storm out of the room.

Then they would spread the rumor that she dared to leave the Queen’s tea time early, ignoring it.

‘Of course, the arrogant Silvanus can’t be helped, and she will only bring discord to the royal family, not peace.’

‘I was looking forward to this…’

Aristine looked genuinely happy.

Even if the Queen and the princesses danced and sang without her, she wouldn’t care.

‘How can she do that?’

The Queen, who had been watching Aristine with a cold gaze, finally spoke, feeling defeated for breaking her plan to ignore her.

But she couldn’t let the situation continue like this.

If left alone, Aristine would enjoy the tea time and leave satisfied.

“Princess.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You haven’t seen my son yet.”

“Prince Hamir?”

“Yes, the only legitimate heir of the Queen.”

If he’s the only legitimate heir, then he’s the only one, not two.

The second princess is unique, and the fourth prince is unique.

‘Why is she saying such obvious things as if they’re a big deal?’

Aristine looked at the Queen with a dubious expression and nodded.

“Of course, I haven’t seen him. He didn’t attend the wedding.”

How could she see someone who wasn’t even in the palace?

“Don’t be too disappointed. There were reasons for it.”

“I heard he was busy with official duties and couldn’t come. I’m not disappointed, so don’t worry.”

Aristine smiled.

Her smile was so genuine that the Queen’s brow twitched.

It would be better if she were more upset.

After all, she didn’t receive the welcome and blessing of one of her in-laws.

Aristine, meanwhile, was adding plenty of milk and sugar to her freshly poured tea.

‘I know what you want to say, but…’

Feeling the Queen’s piercing gaze, Aristine thought to herself.

Though she didn’t care, the issue had caused quite a stir in the political section of the newspapers.

A national marriage that ended centuries of hostility and a cold war.

It was inconceivable that a royal, especially the first in line to the throne—Hamir—would not attend such a historic moment.

Especially since the groom was Hamir’s political rival and a contender for the throne.

Speculation was rife that Hamir deliberately skipped the wedding because he disapproved of Tarkan’s growing political influence.

The mystery deepened because Hamir’s official duties were never revealed.

This led to debates about how the political conflict would escalate and who would have the upper hand.

“It’s fortunate that you’re not upset. Our Hamir has been favored by the Queen since childhood and has the support of the nobility.”

“Oh, I see.”

“He seems to have been born to sit on the throne.”

“I see.”

“Though it’s hard for me to say this about my own son, he is incredibly handsome, and the ladies never stop pursuing him. His masculine Ailugo features and the delicate features of his foreign grandmother blend perfectly. He’s very different from those who are just brutish and aggressive.”

‘…Why is she praising her son’s looks like this?’

Aristine’s gaze became distant.

The Queen was being a bit over the top.

On the other hand, the Queen, unaware of how Aristine had evaluated her, was displeased with her lack of reaction.

“Are you not curious?”

“Huh?”

“After all, he will be the next King of Ailugo.”

The next King.

The Queen was provoking Aristine.

Aristine looked at the Queen blankly.

Her mother was boasting about her son, whom she hadn’t even seen yet, and asking if she was curious.

Aristine immediately understood the situation.

“Hmm……”

Aristine wore a difficult smile.

“I’m married, you know.”

My husband is fine, and I just want to make money.