Chapter 89

Rathil pressed his temples, trying his best to recall the conversation he had heard. Fortunately, the story was so shocking that not only the conversation but also the sense of injustice he felt when he heard it came back vividly to him.

"Brother, why did you let me become the princess? No, you were the one who pushed me to become the princess! Did you start planning this from then?"

"You couldn't be sure I would become the princess until I actually became one."

"Even now, you can't be sure I'm the Lord. If you couldn't be sure I was a candidate, what does that mean?"

"Leand only heard the signs of the Lord clearly after he became the Great Sage's disciple and went to the temple. That's when he started to think the possibility of you being the Lord was high."

At the time, I thought this part was strange. At that time, you couldn't be sure I was a candidate, and now you can't be sure I'm the Lord. It sounds similar, but when you were a candidate, Leand gave up the throne to make me the emperor, and when you became the Lord, Leand took everything from me. For the sake of the country.

"It seems to be you."

"You intercepted the letter I sent to you?"

"No, that's not it!"

Rathil suddenly stopped, fell into a daze, and then muttered in a trembling voice. Hyacinth looked at him worriedly. Rathil turned his head sharply and stared into his gray eyes.

"It was you."

"What are you talking about?"

"The one Brother confused with me!"

Hyacinth frowned.

"Leand confused you with me? We... are that similar?"

"You were always together! Keep going!"

Hyacinth, not knowing the exact situation, still didn't understand what Rathil was saying. But he could tell that Rathil was in pain as he recalled something, and that Leand was involved.

"Really, I'm going to go crazy. When did you start planning this?"

Rathil clenched his fists and bit his lip. His shoulders trembled, and he squeezed his eyes shut. What exactly were the 'conditions of the Lord' that Leand found out...?

'And then Hyacinth got so angry because I betrayed him? I comforted you for the pain you felt because of Hyacinth? You cut the bond between me and Hyacinth?'

"Rathil?"

"It was Brother."

"What are you talking about?"

"On our side, it was Brother who intercepted your letters."

It wasn't certain yet, but no one else could have done it except Leand. When Hyacinth's letters were being intercepted, Leand was the crown prince, and Rathil was just a high-born but ordinary princess. Leand had the power to intercept and hide letters, and he had a reason to do so.

'Whether I or Hyacinth was the Lord, Brother probably wanted to prevent us from getting married.'

For his brother if Hyacinth was the Lord, or to keep him under observation if his brother was the Lord. Rathil wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and looked at Hyacinth, startled. Hyacinth's expression was one she had never seen before. His lips were stiff, and his eyelids trembled. His gray eyes, which always became warm like evening clouds when he looked at Rathil, now seemed to hold a storm. Rathil opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, not knowing what to say to him. What would have happened if Hyacinth and Rathil had continued to communicate? It was a story Rathil couldn't know. There were many possibilities. Rathil might have asked her father to send an army to support Hyacinth, or Hyacinth might have apologized to Rathil, saying he needed the power of the Duke, and said goodbye. A proper goodbye, a goodbye with a clear mind. Either way, it would have been better than hearing about Hyacinth's marriage years later.

"Really... what a bastard."

* * *

After the bad news, good news followed immediately. When she returned to the guest room, she found a Black Forest assassin waiting with a letter from Tashir.

"Ice and Muscle also know the truth. (Actually, Muscle didn't know, but I told him. Give me extra points) I will make sure the fake doesn't pay attention to the Lord's territory. If you have any specific instructions, let me know. I miss you, our Lord."

The Black Forest assassin quickly explained as Rathil stared blankly at the letter.

"In case the letter was lost, the names were replaced with codes."

'So Ice is the High Priestess and Muscle is the High Priest. The territory is the throne? But why am I the Lord?'

Rathil glared, and the Black Forest assassin, feeling intimidated, glanced at Kallain. He must have been badly beaten when he attacked Kallain before.

"Um... Lord."

Rathil glared, and the Black Forest assassin hunched over and quickly continued.

"The leader asked me to include a code in the reply."

"Understood."

Rathil answered firmly and quickly wrote a reply on a small piece of paper.

-We have two people who can help here. Send a signal, and I'll bring them over. Create a situation where I can confront the fake. Carriage pants.

* * *

After that, Rathil marked an X on the calendar each day while waiting for news that Tashir had finished preparing. Here, she kept hearing stories about Hyacinth. Now, hearing about Hyacinth was even more painful. Before, she could just feel resentful. Now, knowing that her brother's schemes were involved, her heart was even more complicated. In the meantime, Aini still came to see Kallain regularly, asking if he really didn't know her. It was all so complicated that Rathil wanted to return to the palace quickly. Returning to...

Rathil squeezed her eyes shut. Yesterday, she heard that the closest guard of Emperor Latrasil was discovered to be a black mage and was expelled. There were a few of them. She knew they were skilled enough to save their own lives, but if she didn't return to her position soon, they would be in danger.

'Does the head steward know the truth? Does he know and help Leand, or...'

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Rathil jumped up.

'Is it Kallain?'

She had left for a while. Has he returned? Rathil quickly went to the door and asked, "Who is it?"

But when she opened the door, the person who came was a servant often used by Queen Louise. She recognized the face because Louise had sent this person to call her to choose a dress a few days ago.

"What is it?"

The servant handed Rathil a large box.

"This is the dress Louise has lent to Miss Sadi. It has been tailored to fit Miss Sadi, and she asked you to wear it well and return it slowly after the party."

Although she asked what it was, Rathil knew the servant had come to deliver a dress. She couldn't help but know, as the box was so large it reached her waist. After the servant bowed and left, Rathil brought the box into the room, opened it, and carefully examined the dress.

'There might be pins inside.'

She knew Louise couldn't have lent the dress with good intentions. However, after a thorough two-hour inspection, there were no pins in the dress. There were no torn or ripped parts, and the design was the same simple design Rathil had chosen.

'Is she really lending the dress to apologize?'

Feeling uneasy, Rathil unfolded the dress and laid it out on the bed to prevent it from wrinkling. The festival party was in two days. It would be good if Tashir arrived before the party, but...

'It seems he will come after the party.'

* * *

As expected, two days later. The festival started before the person sent by Tashir arrived.

"I can't believe I have to attend a party in another country in this situation."

Rathil really didn't want to attend the party here, but the story of the woman staying in the guest room as Hyacinth's guest had already spread everywhere. It was better to show her face once and calm the curiosity. Kallain, wearing a white mask that covered two-thirds of his face, asked,

"Have you spoken to Emperor Hyacinth?"

"Yeah. I told him not to come near me during the party."

Rathil, looking in the mirror, kept pushing out the hem of the dress that kept curling inward at the knees.

"If Hyacinth shows no interest in me throughout the party, the strange rumors will decrease significantly."

"I will stay by your side, so the rumors will decrease even more."

"Only if Queen Aini doesn't come near you."

"..."

"If Queen Aini comes and looks at you with those sad eyes again, a different rumor will spread."

With Aini visiting almost every day, not only rumors about 'Sadi' and Hyacinth but also rumors about Kallain and Aini were spreading. Although the Duke's influence was strong, the rumors weren't spreading openly. From what Rathil could see, Kallain's frequent absences, claiming he had other business, seemed to be to avoid Aini. Since he couldn't refuse to meet her when she came, he was hiding elsewhere.

"Please stay close to me. That will be enough."

"Okay. Let's stay close together."

* * *

After agreeing with Kallain to stay close together to avoid giving others a chance to misunderstand, Rathil deliberately entered the ballroom when a large crowd was expected to enter. However, even though she did that, when Rathil and Kallain entered the ballroom and the attendant introduced them as "guests of Emperor Hyacinth," everyone's attention immediately turned to them. Curious and prying eyes examined Rathil and Kallain in detail, but Rathil pretended not to notice and linked arms with Kallain, walking to a corner of the hall. Fortunately, as agreed, Hyacinth didn't come over, and Aini, perhaps mindful of the attention, didn't approach either. After about 30 minutes, Rathil relaxed a bit and started chatting with Kallain.

'At least I should eat my fill of delicious food since I'm here.'

But just as she was starting to relax,

'Huh?'

A person passing by stepped on the hem of Rathil's dress. Not just stepped on it, but stepped on it with force.

'What?'

Rathil immediately stepped to the side. But it was too late. The hem of the dress, stepped on with force, tore with a 'rip' sound. The dress, which had covered her ankles, suddenly became short enough to expose her knees, and the room fell silent. Rathil instinctively looked at where Aini's maids were gathered. Louise, who was already looking in her direction, smiled at Rathil and waved her hand mockingly.

'Wow... was this it?'

She lent the dress just to do this? It was a possibility, as Tashir had been working hard to develop such a dress. Of course, Tashir had intended to wear it herself.

"So this is how you seduced His Majesty Hyacinth."

"How vulgar. Showing your legs like that right away."

"Everyone, take a good look! Those are the legs that captivated His Majesty!"

As the surrounding nobles, initially surprised, began to snicker and throw vulgar comments and laughter, Rathil clenched her fists. She felt a surge of anger that made her vision turn white. She was so angry that she felt something in her mind slipping away. She thought it was her sanity. But just before she was completely consumed by anger,

"Kaaaaaaah!"

"A monster!"

With a terrible scream, a terrified nobleman and woman broke through the window and rushed into the hall. As everyone's attention turned to them, Rathil, who had been about to get angry, opened her eyes wide in surprise. A woman in a white dress, stained with blood, but clearly a corpse, was entering the hall with a large axe.