Episode 38
As soon as she returned to her palace, Diana’s temper snapped. Nothing about the situation sat right with her.
Leo who always brought her exactly what she wanted whenever she offered him a deal suddenly seemed completely
uninterested in granting her request.
If he’d intended to help, he would’ve done it a year ago, no matter what it took. But instead, for an entire year, Leo
had kept her blind while letting Emilia live.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now…”
She considered asking the Emperor for help, but quickly shook her head.
The Emperor hated getting directly involved unless it benefited him somehow.
The only times he stepped in were when there was something in it for him. And really—how would killing Emilia
benefit the Emperor?
The Hermann family was already wiped out. Now was the time to unify the remaining forces, not purge whatever
useless remnants were left.
Doing so would only make the Emperor look cruel, so there was no way he’d lift a finger.
Diana bit down on her thumbnail.
“Your Highness.”
“Let go.”
“Princess, you’re bleeding.”
“Oh.”
Ever since Edwin suddenly left the capital, her habit had gotten worse.
When she’d first heard Leo was coming back, she’d felt relieved. If she made him a reasonable offer, he’d always,
somehow, make it happen.
But once she realized he’d deceived her, she found it hard to even approach him with another deal.
This was the first time Leo had ever broken an agreement with her.
And all she’d asked for was something simple quietly take out a woman no one was paying attention to. In exchange,
she’d throw her support behind his bid for the throne. It was a decisive deal, and yet he did nothing.
Since then, she’d been like this, biting her nails down into the skin more and more often.
The people around her watched with worried eyes.
I don’t trust those looks either.
She could never forget the way people had looked at her when she first arrived here. If anything, their “concern” now
just felt laughable.
Back then, she hadn’t even been given the Peridot Palace her residence was the most remote, hidden corner of the
imperial compound. Like something you shoved away so no one could see it.
The servants assigned to her all knew her situation. She’d overheard them whispering to each other when she first
arrived:
“You’d be better off quitting than ending up here.”
Everyone wanted their master to rise in power because it meant they could walk around with their heads held high
too.
But at the time, Diana had no power. No imperial favor. No affection from the royal family.
She remembered it vividly.
Later, once her treatment improved, the palace staff’s attitudes had flipped overnight—suddenly all smiles and politeness.
But Diana wasn’t in the mood to fuss over who was genuine and who wasn’t.
She needed to get this done before Edwin came back.
She glanced at the maid watching her with concern and said,
“Find me someone useful.”
“Useful… in what way?”
The girl wasn’t clueless; she was asking because she wanted to know why this person was needed. But Diana had no
intention of explaining.
If she had to give her anything more, it was this:
“Someone I can cut loose at any time.”
“Understood.”
The maid nodded silently, asking no further questions.
She knew that pressing for details would only test the princess’s patience—and there was no telling where that would
lead.
Still, an uneasy feeling lingered.
Finding someone expendable wasn’t hard. There were plenty of nobles who adored Diana. She could use one of them
for the job and then toss them aside later.
She’d done it before. That wasn’t the problem.
No, the unease came from somewhere else entirely.
But the orders of a royal were absolute, so the maid quietly left to do as she was told.
The moment Emilia returned to the village, she knew. The people here must’ve already heard about what happened
in the Grand Forest.
They didn’t make it obvious. No one approached her to ask about it.
But since her return, there was a distance between her and everyone.
Even the little boy who used to run to her house with news hadn’t come by.
“So… my name’s out now.”
Emilia Casper. Emilia Hermann.
She’d abandoned both names to live here under the name “Amy.” It was the warmest, most affectionate name
anyone had ever called her in her entire life.
She’d never imagined she’d be able to blend in and make such good memories among people again. But now… it was
all gone.
“I should regret meeting you. But I don’t. Not at all.”
By now, she should be resenting Edwin resenting that he’d come all the way here, that she hadn’t escaped far
enough, that he’d found her and ruined this peaceful life she’d built as Amy.
Objectively, she should hate him. He’d taken away her chance at a quiet, anonymous life.
But she didn’t feel angry. She didn’t regret seeing him again.
I feel… lighter.
She couldn’t bring herself to care about the people pulling away from her not when she’d finally learned the truth
about the past.
It hurt to know Edwin had suffered all this time because of her. It pained her to think he’d been hurt for her sake.
She’d thought time would make him forget. But he hadn’t forgotten or erased anything. He’d kept searching for her
all this time.
Knowing that made the heaviest weight in her life feel like it had been lifted.
“When you come… what should I say to you?”
Back home, she kept wondering.
What should she do about her relationship with Edwin? What kind of life should she choose next?
She couldn’t stay in Cardinald Village. Everyone here already knew who she was now.
Should she go to yet another place where no one knew her? Or should she follow Edwin Casper and go back to being
Emilia?
She was still thinking when she saw a familiar figure.
“Good morning, Emilia.”
“Edwin.”
They’d seen each other yesterday. And the day before. Ever since he’d shown up, they’d been meeting nearly every
day. But the wall between them still wasn’t gone.
They’d shared their honest feelings. But forgiveness and acceptance hadn’t been given or received yet.
Still, just seeing her lifted Edwin’s mood.
No one else understood her worth. Only he knew how bright she really was.
So he wanted to ask her something and this time, he’d made up his mind to actually say it.
“Emilia. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Since when do you need my permission?”
“Sorry.”
“I don’t want to hear ‘sorry’ either.”
“Heh. I’m kidding. Go ahead.”
She still hadn’t sorted out her feelings, but she wanted to answer his question.
She didn’t want to keep him waiting forever, even if her emotions were still tangled.
But then… the question that came out of his mouth blindsided her.
“What was your relationship with the prince?”
“What?”
She paused, then asked again.
She couldn’t have heard that right. Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that wasn’t on the list. What
relationship could she possibly have with a prince, living here of all places?
“A prince? I’m not even in the capital right now. And when I was there do you even know how the royal family
looked at me?”
So she asked him back why he was even asking this.
She had no idea what misunderstanding he’d gotten into, but back in the capital, she’d never done anything to give
him the wrong idea.
But Edwin saw her hesitation as her trying to dodge the question.
Realizing she was being accused of something out of nowhere, Emilia’s expression hardened.
And since she’d never looked at him like that before, Edwin was startled.
But she’d already figured out something was off. She stepped right up to him, grabbed him by the collar, and said it
straight:
“So explain yourself properly. What exactly do you think I did? How am I supposed to understand you if you don’t
tell me, you idiot?”
