Chapter 26

“Princess, this place is dangerous. There are glass shards. It would be best to move to another spot.”

Adelina forcefully lowered Isabelle’s hand, which was gripping tightly.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I apologize!”

Marianne, on the verge of tears, repeatedly bowed her head.

For a moment, a smile appeared on Isabelle’s face, and Adelina and Marianne sighed with relief inwardly.

“I will gift you a dress that suits the Princess. Please, let go of your anger.”

Adelina subtly suggested ending the situation here to Isabelle while glancing at the people around.

‘Don’t just stand there! Lend some support! Why is no one stopping this?’

However, no one moved to help Adelina and Marianne.

Those who met Adelina’s gaze simply turned their heads.

“Really? But I must hold you accountable for soiling the dress I cherish.”

“You mean to hold us accountable…….”

Adelina turned her head at Isabelle’s beautiful yet chilling voice that made every hair on her body stand on end.

“Lie down on the floor and beg.”

Isabelle’s gaze was locked with Adelina’s, not Marianne’s.

“But…… Your Highness…… there are glass shards on the floor…… I am a violinist whose hands are my life. Please have mercy……”

Adelina instinctively felt a surge of anxiety.

“Is that so? Then.”

Isabelle folded her arms and slowly closed and opened her eyes.

Her face was now devoid of any anger, as if she had regained her composure.

“Then let Adelina Florin, the Marquis’s daughter, kneel and beg instead.”

Isabelle folded her fan and poked Adelina’s chest with it.

The maids giggled without even covering their mouths with their fans.

‘So that’s what this was about. That’s why I was called here.’

Adelina bit the inside of her lip.

The reason she was invited to a concert attended only by hostages.

The reason an Ernst musician was invited to deliberately break the cup.

It was all aimed at her.

“I will apologize on her behalf. As the representative noble lady of Ernst.”

Adelina slowly bent her waist.

The sharp glass shards on the floor came into Adelina’s view.

+++

“I apologize, Your Highness!”

Marianne immediately lay down on the floor and placed her hands down. This was before Adelina could even bend her waist halfway.

There must have been glass shards where she placed her hands, for Marianne’s hands flinched.

“How dare you!”

At Isabelle’s voice, filled with anger, Marianne’s hands flinched again, and blood began to ooze out.

“I apologize, Your Highness! Please have mercy.”

Marianne bowed her head so low that her forehead nearly touched the floor.

There were small glass shards embedded in her knees, causing a stinging sensation.

Adelina slowly straightened her back again.

‘Isabelle! Did you really have to go this far to take revenge on me?’

She gritted her teeth and glared at Isabelle’s deep green eyes.

Isabelle’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

‘Those from Ernst. Since when was Adelina ever a Marquis’s daughter?’

Tsk. Marianne’s actions bothered her more than Adelina’s did.

“Fine. I will show mercy this one time.”

Isabelle spoke in an ostensibly benevolent voice, lifting her foot while staring at Adelina.

‘Adelina. How dare you, a fake, touch a palace maid? Watch closely. This is what happens when a fake climbs up. All of this is because of you.’

Isabelle’s white high heel cast a black shadow over Marianne’s hand.

“Your Highness. I apologize alongside her.”

Adelina immediately lay flat on the floor.

Small glass shards dug into the tips of Adelina’s fingers.

Her long hair touched the floor, and the remaining raspberry drink stained the ends of her silver hair red.

The black shadow over Marianne’s hand disappeared.

‘Adelina. Don’t forget today. If you climb up, the people of Ernst will get hurt instead of you.’

Isabelle held her head high and looked down.

As if to clearly show the positions of Petrus and Ernst, Isabelle and the maids’ shadows fell over Adelina and Marianne’s backs.

“Perform until the second part and leave. That is your duty.”

Isabelle sternly commanded and led the maids into the princess’s palace.

+++

The break for the second performance was 30 minutes.

Adelina sat with the violinist and looked at her hands.

Before lying down, Adelina had chosen a spot on the floor with fewer glass shards.

She had curled her hands into a ball before placing them on the floor, so only the tips of her fingers had small cuts.

However, Marianne’s entire palm was covered in wounds, as if she hadn’t had the time to prepare.

“Use this. It should be more effective than what the maids gave you.”

The Earl of Gair’s daughter approached Adelina and handed her medicine and bandages.

“Thank you.”

“You should have bowed sooner if this was going to happen anyway. Both of you.”

The Earl of Gair’s daughter clicked her tongue softly, glanced at Marianne’s hand, and turned around.

“I tried.”

“Pardon?”

At Adelina’s calm response, the Earl of Gair’s daughter turned back.

“I tried. A lot in the past. But once you start bowing without resistance, you have to keep bowing. Deeper. Flatter.”

Adelina poured antiseptic on Marianne’s hand, looked up at the Earl of Gair’s daughter, and smiled brightly.

“So I decided not to do that anymore.”

The Earl of Gair’s daughter stared at Adelina’s face for a long time.

“It will be even harder for you in the future.”

“I know. But isn’t it too humiliating to live as if dead? After all, I am the representative noble lady of Ernst.”

Adelina carefully applied medicine to Marianne’s hand and wrapped it with a bandage.

‘Since when was she the lady of Ernst? She should mind her own business. Even we, who were real princesses……’

The Earl of Gair’s daughter took a deep breath.

To hide her self-mocking sigh, she quickly turned around.

Her steps quickened as she headed towards the other hostages, who were in the same situation as her.

The pent-up resentment she had kept hidden rose, and she clenched her teeth tightly enough to hurt her jaw.

Marianne tried to move her fingers. Though it was difficult with the bandage, she managed to slowly play a slow piece.

“My hands look strange, don’t they? People call them a witch’s hands.”

Marianne clasped her hands together. Practicing the violin for more than eight hours a day since childhood had left her hands deformed. They contrasted sharply with Adelina’s fair and delicate hands, making her feel embarrassed.

“Truly, they are beautiful hands. They bear the evidence of all your hard work.”

Adelina finished organizing the medicine and bandages, then turned Marianne’s hands over once more.

“Why did you do that? What if your hands get completely ruined?”

As the bandages became tinged with red, Adelina sighed softly and furrowed her brow.

‘Isabelle must have known she was targeting me on purpose. Why? If her hands are damaged, she might not be able to play the violin!’

From the beginning, Isabelle’s target was herself. Marianne was just bait.

“Because you are the daughter of Marquis Florin, our representative lady.”

Marianne waved both hands with a bright smile, even mimicking playing the violin to show she could still perform.

Adelina gazed at that smile for a long time.

+++

That night, Lexion stopped by briefly, saying he would drink cherry eau-de-vie with Stephan. Lexion and Stephan barged into Adelina’s bedroom but didn’t drink. Instead, they sat on either side of Adelina on the sofa, examining her bandaged hands closely.

‘What is this? Why are they staring so intently?’

Adelina fidgeted, moving her feet in a cross pattern as the two men looked at her hands with serious expressions. The rhythmic thumping of her feet on the sofa turned her cheeks pink.

“Duke, please watch over my daughter for a moment. I’ll bring better medicine.”

Stephan stood up from the sofa with a very displeased expression. He knew Adelina was in danger, but he hadn’t expected even Isabelle, who always feigned elegance, to act so petty.

Once Stephan left the room, Lexion took both of Adelina’s hands.

“They say I am the woman representing Ernst.”

“Of course, you are the daughter of a Marquis. Soon, you will also become my wife.”

Lexion carefully unwrapped Adelina’s bandages.

‘The bandaging… was excessive.’

Only the tips of her fingers were injured, so why were her palms so heavily wrapped?

Lexion gently touched Adelina’s fingertips, which still had traces of blood.

“It’s the first time.”

“What is?”

Lexion looked at her with curious eyes as Adelina made an unexpected confession, her face pink.

‘Marriage? It’s my first time too. Marriage and… that too…’

Ahem. Lexion turned his head to the side, clearing his throat slightly.

“Someone… included me in their group.”

Adelina spoke with an unusual shyness.

“Everyone else just pushed me away, saying there was no place for me.”

That there was no place for a fake.

Adelina moved her feet faster. The sound of the sofa bouncing grew louder and quicker.

‘At this rate, she’ll start running.’

Lexion gently held Adelina’s legs.

“Your place is by my side. Adelina Ernst. You belong with me now.”

He lowered his head and kissed both of Adelina’s knees alternately.

“Lexion…”

Adelina’s eyes wavered greatly. Lexion’s breath seemed to pierce through her dress, warming her knees.

“Are your knees okay? I can apply medicine and wrap them for you.”

Lexion grinned mischievously and lightly tapped Adelina’s pink cheek.

“When I slowly bent down at first, I discreetly swept the floor with my foot.”

Adelina pushed Lexion’s forehead with her finger, dismissing him.

+++

Two days later, the verdict of the letter incident at the Marquis’s residence was delivered.

Stephan read the contents of the verdict, crumpled it up in frustration, then smoothed it out with his palm and handed it to Adelina.

“It’s okay, Father. I already anticipated this.”

Contrary to Stephan’s worries, Adelina read the verdict and smiled nonchalantly.

<The verdict on the threatening letter and blade incident involving Miss Adelina Florin – The culprit maid is to be immediately expelled from the palace. Prohibited from entering the capital for the next five years.>

Adelina clicked her tongue bitterly and placed the verdict in the drawer of the side table.

For that maid, missing the chance to marry a promising noble in the capital would be a severe penalty from a noble’s perspective.

‘Just expulsion! They didn’t even catch the real culprit properly!’

But the thorough scapegoating meant they hadn’t even gotten close to the true culprit, which was truly frustrating.

+++

Early morning in May. At Lake Laktea, the capital’s nobility and foreign dignitaries gathered.

“I’m really looking forward to today’s rowing match with the Tiola Empire.”

“Indeed. They’ll work hard to make up for the loss in the last Shogan match.”

Nobles, who had already tasted the thrill of victory once, sat at tables around the lake, hoping the Petrus Empire team would win again today.

Maids set peppermint tea with ice on each table, and attendants opened large white parasols to create shade.

Adelina, along with Stephan and Lexion, occupied one of the tables.

“Adelina, what’s with that hat?”

“Duke, this is the hat that’s in fashion these days.”

Lexion sat next to Adelina and made a startled expression at the hat adorned with large, colorful flowers.

“It doesn’t suit you.”